Silence. Everyone’s jaws were practically on the ground. “Did he seriously just bark out orders and storm out?” Chel asked, perturbed. Kaeleigh just stared after the door. Her eyes were full of tears, but she refused to let a single one fall. Chel came along her side and linked their arms. Turning to Hal she said, “Well, what’s the news and how long do we have?” Chel in the midst of tension and her own personal changes, remained lighthearted and positive.
After Hal had explained their remaining time had shortened as other guests had arrived earlier than expected, the girls pushed Hal and Finn out of the bedroom. They proceeded to try on the dresses, which were more like gowns, that had been brought up for them. Remarkably, they fit well and were in colors attractive on each of them. Kaeleigh’s gown for the evening was a lovely shade of green and the material fit her like a glove. A really snug glove. The material was so lightweight it felt like she wasn’t wearing anything, not to mention the plunging neckline that plunged much further south than anything she had ever worn. Her hair was left down, her curls relaxed and elegantly lying exactly where they should, draped across her shoulders and down her back. She was completely uncomfortable with her own reflection looking back at her. Kaeleigh had her own bad feeling about tonight. She was unable to explain it, but there was an ache deep down in her gut that refused to be ignored. She didn’t know what to do about it yet, but she knew they needed to leave as soon as they could.
A knock from Finn on their bedroom door told them it was time to go. Chel kept checking her reflection in the mirror, touching her hair now pinned up elegantly on top of her head with still enough pieces of her black and blonde hair coming out in multiple directions that she still looked like Chel. Her dress was a beautiful cream silk that complemented everything—her hair, her eyes, her coloring, her figure, all of it. Even her tattoos seemed to complement the dress. Chel caught Kaeleigh’s eyes in the mirror and her pierced-dimple-cheeked smile touched her eyes.
“Kaeleigh, you are stunning!” she exclaimed as she clapped her hands and bounced on the balls of her feet. Kaeleigh returned the infectious smile and allowed herself to giggle over the giddiness that oozed from Chel. Kaeleigh knew Chel had secretly always wanted to get dressed up and go to a ball. She put on a tough act sometimes, but she was girly deep down.
“I feel like an extra in Sex and the City. Oh! Or Extreme Makeover where they make you practically unrecognizable. You are the one that is stunning,” Kaeleigh said, watching her friend blush in the mirror. “You look absolutely amazing, Chel!” she added as they turned to leave the room.
Kaeleigh gasped as she yanked Chel back to the mirror and swung her around.
“Kaeleigh! What are you doing?”
As Kaeleigh pointed at Chel’s very exposed back where the material of her dress began to “V” down her lower back, Chel gasped in response to what she was seeing.
“When did you get that one? I’ve never seen it before,” Kaeleigh asked, eyeing the tattoo.
“That makes two of us,” Chel said, confused, as she tried to adjust her dress to get a better look. “What is it? Can you tell?”
“So you didn’t do this one?” Chel shook her head. “That means you got a marking like mine!” Kaeleigh began to give a smile like they were sharing a big secret.
“Wow. I guess so. I’ll have to ask Hal about it.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
Kaeleigh went out first then turned back to Chel. “Yes, you do that. And speak of the devil...” She tilted her direction toward Hal, who was leaning against the door frame waiting for them, trying for nonchalance.
His eyes instantly found Chel. He stood at attention, but couldn’t seem to keep his jaw in its rightful place. He saw Kaeleigh trying to stifle a giggle and he looked away suddenly, trying to suppress the red heat that was climbing up his neck toward his face. Trying to cover his awkwardness he tried for formal. “Ladies, you both look lovely. If you’re ready we shall proceed to the hall.” He turned toward the door ready to bolt when Chel walked up next to him and lightly placed her hand on his arm. He seemed to relax and she smiled. As he held his arm out, she took it and he ushered her out into the great hall, her voice trailing behind them as she asked, “Hal, can you tell me about the shifter marking? I think maybe I got mine.” She turned to show him her back. Hal’s eyes widened probably more at the “V” cut of her dress exposing her skin, but his hand hovered over her marking as if wanting to touch it, but decided against it. He then went on to explain about it’s design and how the mark of the Shifter can change, but the wavy lines and circular crescent shapes indicated her lineage and dominant animal. There voices faded as they kept walking.
Finn stepped up next to Kaeleigh and in a similar gesture offered her his arm. She graciously took it with a smile. “You look nice, Finn, are you ready to meet our doom?” Kaeleigh said, trying for lighthearted to ease their sudden tension.
Finn looked her in the eyes. “You are beautiful, Kae, and with you on my arm, I would gladly meet any doom that came to take me,” he said seriously but added a small smile in his own attempt at lightheartedness. However, Kaeleigh knew there was nothing light about what he said and that made her more nervous than she already was, if that was even possible.
“Remember to keep your energy and emotions under control in there. I’m not as sensitive to as others but if I can feel even the amount you are giving off now in spurts, they will be able to feel it too, and that won’t keep the attention off of you.” After a moment’s pause, Finn asked, “Are you all right, Kaeleigh?”
Kaeleigh nodded and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to center herself and draw her own energy back inside her, putting up mental walls around her to keep it inside. She didn’t know if she was doing it right, but it helped her focus it and it seemed to work well enough for now. It was one of the things she had wanted to spend more time on with her grandfather before they had to leave. Thinking of him made her chest hurt. She still didn’t know if he was hurt or worse—she had to find her way back to his cottage somehow.
Kaeleigh heard her name, bringing her back to the present moment, and she realized she was rubbing her chest over her heart where the pain was sharpest. Finn looked concerned but she appeased him by patting his arm. “I’m okay, Finn, but I do have a bad feeling about tonight. What do you think will happen?”
Finn stared straight ahead as they maneuvered through the doorway catching up to Hal and Chel, but Kaeleigh could see the frown on his face and the intensity with which he seemed to be trying to figure something out. “I don’t really know, but it’s not going to be good. I want you to stay close to me.” Slowing down just a little, he brought his head down closer to hers and lowered his voice. “I don’t like him or trust him on a good day, but there is something not right with Daegan here. I know you don’t see it or you think you can help him, but please be careful.”
Kaeleigh looked up at him with soft, understanding eyes. “I trust you, Finn... and I do see it maybe more than you know, but I will be careful.”
Quietly they all walked the rest of the way down one corridor and then another with nothing but the sound of their breathing and their footsteps on the smooth marble floors until they were standing at a pair of large, heavy wooden doors manned by Faerie warriors equipped with spears. Their eyes were soulless and empty as if they were under a spell. Hal spoke a few words that Kaeleigh didn’t understand. The guards stepped to each side of the doors and grabbed a huge round iron door handle and pulled them open toward them in tandem. The effect sent butterflies swarming in Kaeleigh’s stomach. She took a deep breath. Chel looked back at her with a reassuring smile and nod of confidence. Kaeleigh squared her shoulders, steeling herself to face what she was about to encounter, but she had no idea what that might be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Exhile
The Realm of the Unforgiven Dead
“He’s in so much pain!” cried Cley-una as she sat on the hard dirt floor holding her knees up to her chest and
rocking back and forth.
Eva frowned. “I thought she helped him.”
“She can only do so much for him at this point. The pain is getting to be constant. The grip on his control is slipping. He may push her away before he is able to find a way to break free,” Cley-una replied sadly. “The darkness that woman is weaving is getting stronger over him.” Infuriated, she jumped up and began pacing next to the cave wall. Dy’lánd, her husband, came up behind her, stopping her in her tracks and holding her biceps securely.
“He is strong. He is strong, Cley, and he will not let this darkness overtake him.” He stared intently into her eyes, infusing the confidence and the truth he believed behind his words.
“There must be something I can do to help him!”
“Cley, we’ve done what we can by leading him to the Sol-lumieth,” he said gently as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms lovingly.
She pulled away and continued to pace in agitation. Eva came up next to her, reinforcing the words of Cley-una’s mate. “Kaeleigh is his only help at this point. She won’t give up on him, I know it.”
Cley-una stopped to look at Eva. If anyone understood, it was Eva. “What am I supposed to do? He’s my son! I would give my life for him, but I can’t even do that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Gazing around the room, Kaeleigh was awestruck at what she saw. Ceilings grand enough for a cathedral and taller than she remembered the “castle” structure fortified with. It wasn’t an enormous room but it was large enough for a dinner party, with a banquet table sprawled out before them in the center of the room.
They cautiously made their way into the room, not sure what was expected of them. Hal sauntered in like it was nothing more than a casual family dinner and perhaps to him, that was exactly what this was with a few extra guests. He seemed at ease. Kaeleigh, and now Chel holding onto her arm, followed him in with Finn following closely behind them.
Except for the slight flex of his fingers at his sides as Hal walked, there wasn’t much of an indication that caused Kaeleigh to think he wasn’t quite as at ease as he appeared. She didn’t realize she was looking for Daegan until she spotted him standing just off to the right of where Maleina and an older man were having a quiet but heated conversation with an even older man with a long white beard striped with pepper down the center, leaning on a tall staff crookedly made from knotted wood. Something in her chest tightened as Daegan’s eyes locked on hers. It felt like her heart stopped. The cold, heartless stare that he appeared to be reserving specifically for her these days seemed to be a perma-fixture. She turned her head, breaking the connection, allowing her chest to loosen as she took in the eclectic mix of guests that had arrived.
Mingling throughout the room, there were about twenty guests besides Kaeleigh and her little group. She had to nudge Chel in the ribs to stop gawking as she reminded herself to do the same thing. There were people, or beings, from what seemed to be the upper caste of this society, all dressed in what Kaeleigh assumed to be the formal wear for this territory.
It appeared the majority of those present were Faeries, both Earth and Ferrishyn, though also mixed amongst them were Elves and Shifters. There were several textures and even fewer colors, but all similarly dressed as Kaeleigh and her friends. The shifters seemed to be more bold in their dress with bolder colors that accentuated their more solid and muscular body types. The women, like Chel, had more curves than those of the Faeries but especially more than the Elves. The Elves wore mostly colors of the forests: muted greens, browns, creams, and whites. They all stood taller than most; stately, poised, and not as provocative. Also not to be missed were their pointy ears, which were extensions of their high chiseled cheekbones surrounded by hair shining with a luster humans would envy.
Though all the attire throughout the room was reflective of their native environment, they were all sleek and beautiful. Especially the Faeries that were amongst Maleina. The material of their dress was either fibrous such as linen or like spun silk in muted greens, sharp browns, and soft creams. To Kaeleigh’s surprise, the twigs in their hair seemed so natural it didn’t even catch her off guard. The Ferrishyn elite were similarly dressed to Daegan and Halister, but the rest looked relaxed in mostly white linen suits of course accessorized by leather straps holstering various weaponry.
Just opposite them stood two ladies and a gentleman, each regal and statuesque in posture and demeanor. Each looking down their noses at her with skepticism and cynicism. The guests’ appraisal was brief, as if Kaeleigh and her friend’s attendance wasn’t worth their time or distraction.
Another pair of younger women stood not far off to the side from the last group. Innocent and girlish in appearance, they wore simple white and cream cotton dresses with frilly edges complete with pantaloons and flower baskets. One had long golden hair with spirals and a large floppy bow on top of her hair; the other had long black hair pulled to either side braided and tied with tiny ribbons each accompanied with twigs. Slightly pointed ears and smooth, fair skin indicated them to be Faeries. Yet their eyes held anything but innocence as there was an unexpected malice in their assessment of Kaeleigh as she passed them by.
Kaeleigh noticed others standing around the room unabashedly taking in what they saw before them in her and her friends. Kaeleigh felt the weight of their stares starting to fray at her edges, leaving her feeling exposed and insecure. Obviously, they had been dressed to stand out amongst the natural and muted elegance of the guests. At that, she stood tall in defiance, her shoulders back, not willing to let them make her feel small. Even though she did in fact feel that, there was no way she was going to allow them to see and find weakness within her. Courage beginning to fill her, Chel noticed and mirrored Kaeleigh until they were a united front staring back, daring anyone to be the first to break the unspoken challenge that was being subtly issued throughout the room.
Maleina stepped forward out from the small group she was talking to, clapping her hands for the attention of the room. Tonight she was wearing a different gown, this one black and satiny smooth as sin. She wore high costume-like ruffles that encased her neck and shoulders although detached from the actual dress itself. Her red hair now had the additions of black pieces up on top of her head with wild maniacal curls escaping its hold. Her bright red lips matched the daggers on her fingers. The gentlemen behind her stood stoic, each dressed regally, one more showy than the other with a tuxedo and top hat. He had held Maleina’s arm when they were talking, indicating this must be Wren, her husband and the other Paladin.
“Finally our guests of honor have arrived. So nice of you to join us,” she added with a subtle sarcasm that did not go unnoticed. She walked slowly and elegantly into the center of the room commanding focus from all present. Kaeleigh dared to shoot a quick glance Daegan’s way and saw what she thought looked like a spark of confusion.
Looking at each of the guests, Kaeleigh noticed that not everyone seemed entirely happy to be there, but as soon as Maleina began speaking, their attention was raptly diverted to hang upon her every word. A sudden chill slid down Kaeleigh’s spine, her focus on high alert as she noticed even her friends seemed to be focusing a little too intently on what the very regal yet sultry woman before them was saying. Her words didn’t seem to matter as she was only thanking everyone for coming and directing them all to take their seats at the long banquet table.
Kaeleigh’s eyes shifted back and forth between her friends, Maleina, and the others there. The only other ones seemingly not under her hypnotic voice were Hal and Daegan, but even Daegan seemed to be extremely agitated under the surface. When Kaeleigh’s eyes shifted back to Maleina she was briefly ensnared by the spark of irritation hidden behind the facade of hospitality. Something inside Kaeleigh clicked with satisfaction knowing Maleina definitely had an underlying motive; she just needed to find out what it was she intended to do.
Regaining her confidence, she and Chel followed Hal to seats that were obviously reserved for them direct
ly in the line of sight of Maleina, who sat at one end while her husband, Wren, sat at the opposite end of the long table. A girl rolled her eyes at Hal as she sat next to him opposite where Chel was seated next to Kaeleigh. One of the guests came up to sit beside Kaeleigh but was rudely displaced as Finn guided her to the next seat down. Finn slid into the chair next to her after gentlemanly pulling her chair out for her. She gave him a wide-eyed look, but he just smirked and shrugged her off.
“What?” Finn said unconcerned.
Kaeleigh shook her head. “We are trying to not attract attention, remember? They might see that as rude.”
“I don’t really care. And I’m pretty sure we already do stand out. I’m not leaving your side in this place.” Rolling her eyes so he’d know she was annoyed, but also giving a slight nod of her acceptance, gave his tight face a glimmer of peace that he didn’t have to fight her on this too. “Deal with it,” he added even though he already knew he had won this one.
Feeling a slight pat on her leg, Kaeleigh turned to Chel, bending in slightly to hear her whisper, “Something’s not right here, I can’t tell what it is but I can feel... the wrongness.”
Kaeleigh nodded. “Try not to focus too much on her.” Afraid to say much else, she patted Chel’s hand on her leg then waited for what would happen next. Kaeleigh couldn’t help but look to where Daegan was still standing near Maleina’s chair. He seemed to have an inner struggle going on. Frustration was plain on his face if you were looking at it. Why he wasn’t sitting with the rest of the room, Kaeleigh wasn’t sure. It appeared he was going to but was held back. She frowned, trying to understand him. Perhaps she never would, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away yet.
With an extremely subtle shift of her fingers in the air, Maleina sent a challenge in her eyes toward Kaeleigh. Instantly a tension snapped. Daegan took a deep breath and moved to sit next to Maleina, across and down a couple seats from Kaeleigh.
Veiled Shadows (The Age of Alandria: Book Two) Page 19
