But it also meant seeing Devlin on a daily basis and once again being part of a family. No, the Wildren of the Weald weren’t my blood relations, but we took care of one another and cared about each other. After my awful experience in the mortal world, the daily chores and good-natured bickering and teasing was a balm to my wounded soul.
Yes, I missed my old job and the friends I’d made there, and I felt somewhat unfulfilled having given up my college career, but I had never been passionate about those classes. They had merely been a way of preparing for adult life in the mortal world; a way to make ends meet once I graduated. Now I was preparing for a simpler life in Eile, and I couldn’t have been happier, despite the fact that I came home most afternoons so worn out I could collapse and fall asleep on the living room floor.
I grinned to myself as I recalled my first days in the Weald. The moment I arrived with Devlin’s hand clasped in mine, Enorah knew what had transpired.
“So, looks like we’ve got a new addition to our family,” she’d said, her intelligent eyes glittering.
I had been so pleased by her phrasing, and I had felt like part of their family ever since. After that, she’d insisted on taking me under her wing. That meant weapons and defense training, which was harder for me because all the others, except for the youngest kids, were so much bigger than I was and already had several years’ worth of experience under their belts.
“You have an advantage you’ve yet to utilize,” Enorah told me. “Your foes will think you’re an easy target. Let them. Then show them that just because you are short, it doesn’t make you any less fierce.”
I hadn’t appreciated her reference to my height, or lack thereof, but she did have a point. In those first few weeks, I realized that I couldn’t rely on my glamour to get me out of sticky situations. After having discussed it with Devlin and Enorah, we came to the conclusion that the strange purple light I had emitted during my ordeal with the Daramorr had indeed been my glamour manifesting itself. Yet for some reason it had remained dormant since, even after several days of living exclusively in the Otherworld. I was beginning to suspect that perhaps Mikael and Moira had stolen all of my magic during their botched sacrifice attempt.
“It never has behaved like other glamour,” Devlin had murmured when I brought up my concerns to him. “Perhaps it needs more time to emerge, or maybe it only does so when you’re under stress.”
He may have been right, but it bothered me not to know anything about my magic.
Shaking my head free of those troubling thoughts, I returned to the present and proceeded to pull on my clothes. Once dressed and fully awake, I headed downstairs and stepped into the main room of the little cottage I shared with Devlin. The place was bigger than my basement apartment back in San Luis Obispo, one of the only cabins in the Weald with a second story, and it was tucked away from the main stretch of the little village, giving Devlin and me plenty of privacy, something we both appreciated.
My cheeks warmed, and I felt a foolish grin break out on my face as memories from the past several nights came to mind. Enough of those thoughts, my inner voice warned, you don’t have time to daydream about Devlin all morning. You’ve got too much to do.
Reluctantly, I took my own advice and headed into the kitchen to make tea. Coffee was a little harder to prepare without a nice electric coffee maker, so I only made it on special occasions in the Weald.
As the kettle boiled over the fire, I sat down at the desk against the far wall and picked up the letter I had started over two weeks ago. It wasn’t a note to my adoptive parents, informing them that I was of fae origins and now happily residing in Eile. No, they wouldn’t have believed it, and there really was no point. They had made it clear they no longer cared what happened to me.
The message wasn’t intended for my co-workers, either. They were under the impression that I had moved back east with Devlin. Kelly had been delighted, though upset that she wouldn’t be seeing me anymore. Margie had been surprised. I’d had a promising future at the Green Tea Leaf; had I never learned I was from the Otherworld and had I never met Devlin, I would have continued working at the cafe in the hopes of making manager one day. Jonathon, to my amusement, had been horrified at my sudden desire to move away with, according to him, some random guy I’d met only a few months ago.
“And you thought I was crazy to go out with Moira,” he’d mumbled after hearing the news.
I couldn’t help but laugh. He did have a point.
I missed my friends, but this letter wasn’t addressed to any of them. After living in the Weald for over a month, I was finally going to let Meghan know about it. My face broke into a huge smile when I imagined her receiving the letter and reading it. But first I had to finish the accursed thing. I’d been so busy with settling in and getting to know all of the other Wildren that I hadn’t found a good time to get around to it. And, of course, I’d had trouble finding the right words.
Enough procrastinating Robyn! The sooner you write this letter the sooner you and Devlin can visit Meghan and Cade.
I had just put my pen to paper once again when the familiar sound of footsteps approaching the cabin distracted me. I knew that sure step. Devlin was back.
Forgetting the letter for the moment, I pushed it aside and stood, moving to let him in.
Devlin seemed surprised at first when I pulled the door open, but then his handsome face melted into a smile and his blue eyes grew warm. When he looked at me that way, I found it hard to breathe. Coming in from the cold, he closed the door behind him and turned toward me. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my cheek to his chest. He smelled so good, like wood smoke and snow and clean forest air.
He bent down and nudged my face away from his chest so he could kiss me.
“I’ll never get tired of walking into this cabin and finding you here,” he said as he draped his arms loosely around me.
I smiled, my eyelids drooping lazily. “And I’ll never grow tired of listening for your return.”
It was totally sappy and the sort of behavior I would have scoffed at a few years ago, but I couldn’t help it.
“Where have you been this morning?” I asked him, reluctantly pulling away from his embrace so I could tend to the whistling tea kettle.
Devlin released a great sigh and walked over to the large table in the middle of the room. He ran a hand through his pale hair and then laced his fingers together on the table.
“Conferring with Enorah and a few others.”
I lifted my eyebrows at that before returning to my task of preparing the tea. I grabbed a few muffins I’d made the day before and tossed them onto a tray with the teapot and mugs. Once everything was ready, I carried the whole thing back into the main room and set it down in the center of the table.
As I pulled my hands away, Devlin reached out and stopped me, his fingers wrapped around my left wrist, his thumb caressing the skin. I looked up at him, the surprise clear on my face. What I saw in his eyes startled me. Fear, apprehension, anger, reluctance.
Swallowing back my own rising anxiety, I said, “What were you discussing with them?”
He lifted his other hand and proceeded to pull me gently forward, his fingers trailing up my arm until they found the tattoo just below the elbow, the one that resembled a Celtic thundercloud. For a few seconds, Devlin let his thumb trail over the dark ink, his eyes fixated on the swirling design. My unease only grew.
“Devlin,” I said, my voice a little sharper than before. I tried to pull my arm away but he wouldn’t let go.
“Devlin!”
This time I gave it a hard yank and managed to pull free. Devlin blinked up at me, as if seeing me for the first time.
“What’s wrong?” I insisted.
He answered me by reaching into his pocket and pulling out a worn piece of folded parchment and tossing it onto the table. He gestured toward it and I leaned forward, picking it up and carefully unfolding it.
“I showed that to Enorah and a few of the ol
dest among us here, those of us who have been out in the world.”
As he spoke, I stared at the image drawn in black ink. It was a crude interpretation of my tattoo, the same tattoo Devlin had just been examining. I glanced back up at him, my brow creased in confusion. This was causing him to look so forlorn? Why?
Devlin released a small chuckle, but there really was no humor in it. “I thought it looked familiar,” he murmured as he rubbed his face with his hands. “I knew I had seen it somewhere before.”
Now that sent spikes of fear through me. What did that mean?
“Devlin? Can you speak clearly please? You’re kind of freaking me out.”
He looked back up at me, his jaw set in a hard line. Great. What he was about to say next couldn’t be good.
“About three years ago, I joined Enorah and a few others on a quest to the Amsihr Mountains north of here. We were commissioned to find and destroy a draghan.”
I sat down in the chair I had vacated earlier, eager to hear this story. Enorah had mentioned this adventure to me before but it had been devoid of details.
“Draghan? Is that like a dragon?”
Devlin nodded once.
“You have dragons here?!” I didn’t know whether I should be thrilled or terrified. Sure, dragons were awesome, but then again it would be like living with dinosaurs, I imagined.
“Not usually,” he continued. “Draghans sneak over from other realms every now and again, and they have to be dealt with. That’s why we were called upon.”
I nodded, and he kept speaking. “This particular draghan was terrorizing a group of women, the Amsihria, who reside in a colony up in the mountains. They live there alone, never interacting with the world beyond their small realm, and they are charged with taming the weather of Eile.”
He took another deep breath and pressed his fingers against the parchment resting on the table.
“This symbol was one among a few others etched in their halls.”
A strange feeling rose and shimmered through my blood, a sensation similar to the one that overtook me during those times my glamour had stirred.
I took a deep breath and said, “So, you’re saying that …”
Devlin cut me off, his voice short, as if he was trying to hide some emotion and failing miserably. “Enorah and I think that you are one of their daughters.”
I slumped back in my chair, the prickling just below the surface of my skin turning to a feeling of dread.
“It would explain why your glamour seems so strange, and why I had a hard time determining whether or not you were of the Otherworld.”
“Devlin,” I said, my voice quiet, “why do you seem so upset by this?”
His eyes were no longer wary or distant, but sparking with low anger.
“Because the Amsihrias’ Maithar, their leader, hates Lorehnin born Faelorehn. And these women are secluded and are kept away from men.”
My eyes widened. “They never marry?”
He shook his head. “They share only one man among them because, after all, they must replenish their numbers as time goes by. Their glamour is only potent enough to handle the tasks of weather taming for a certain time, then it fades.”
I was horrified. These women had to share one man? I tried to imagine myself sharing Devlin with a mountain full of women. The mere thought made me simmer with rage.
“I’m afraid if they find out about you they’ll want you to join their ranks, Lorehnin born or not. For the Daramorr to have hunted you down, I know you have strong glamour, whether it is willing to show itself yet or not.”
I stood up and walked over to Devlin, leaning into him so that his forehead rested against my shoulder.
“They can’t have me,” I said plainly, fiercely. “They can’t make me join them.”
I pulled away enough so that I could tilt Devlin’s head back and look at his face, my smile melting my ferocity away. “Though I wouldn’t mind meeting them. And this is good news. Maybe I’ll be able to find my mom, and it will be so much easier if they all live in one place.”
Devlin returned my smile, but there was still something lurking in his eyes, some speck of trepidation that didn’t reduce the slight bit of fear that clung to me. Was he hiding something from me? Not telling me the whole truth? I dashed the thought away, wondering if maybe I was misreading him.
Devlin wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap. I took advantage of my new position and snuggled in close to him.
“I’d like to go meet these Amsihria someday,” I whispered as I listened to his heartbeat.
Devlin smoothed my hair away and leaned in to kiss me. I didn’t think I’d ever grow weary of his kisses.
“Very well. When would you like to go?”
I blinked up at him in surprise. A minute ago he had seemed very unwilling to speak of them, now he was open to a visit?
“Really?” I asked.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in a half grin. “You are right. They may have information about your mother. And perhaps I’m overreacting a little. I should know more than anyone in Eile that you won’t do anything you wish not to do.”
And that only made me smile before leaning my head against his shoulder once more.
“How about we go after I get some more defense lessons under my belt,” I offered. “Later this spring? And then maybe we could visit Meghan and Cade on the way!”
The entire idea of traipsing across Eile with Devlin, and the thought of a visit with my best friend was enough to make me practically giddy.
Devlin chortled, his ill humor apparently gone for good, and stood up with me still in his arms. He spun us a few times, and I laughed out loud, clinging tightly to him so I wouldn’t go flying across the room.
“Then I had better let Enorah know,” he said once he’d set me down.
“Fine, but after we have breakfast,” I insisted, pulling him back to the table where the tea sat cooling.
Regardless of the light mood that now filled our cabin, the strange disquiet still lingered around Devlin like a biting wind that refused to give in to the warmth of a bright, sunny day. I was sure it had something to do with the Amsihria and what he had, or hadn’t, told me. But I would try and puzzle it out later. Right now my mind was going wild with ideas of what these secluded women might be like. A thrill of delight coursed through me at the very thought.
Maybe your mother is with them Robyn, your real mother. The one who had been so attentive to the child in your dreams. And maybe she can teach you about your glamour and why she gave you up in the first place.
With a huge grin, I sipped at my tea and leaned against Devlin, imagining what wonders the future might hold.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Steve Provost, my editor, for your superior skills in the world of grammar and for all the work you put in to making Lorehnin a polished book. I would also like to thank my beta readers, Becky Dillingham, Charles Dyer, Melanie Kucharik, and Jodi Moore, for taking the time to read through this manuscript with a fine-toothed comb. And, as always, a resounding Thank You to my readers, for sticking with me all this time and for giving the characters of my Otherworld Series many more imaginations to thrive in.
About the Author
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson grew up and still resides on the Central Coast of California, the very location that has become the set of her novel, Faelorehn, and the inspiration for her other series, The Legend of Oescienne.
Miss Johnson has a degree in Art Practice with an emphasis in Celtic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She now draws much of her insight from the myths and legends of ancient Ireland to help set the theme for her books.
Besides writing and drawing, Miss Johnson enjoys reading, gardening, camping and hiking. In her free time (the time not dedicated to writing), she also practices the art of long sword combat and traditional archery.
For contact information, visit the author’s website at:
www.jennaelizabethjohn
son.com
Other Books by this Author
The Legend of Oescienne Series
The Finding (Book One)
The Beginning (Book Two)
The Awakening (Book Three)
Tales of Oescienne - A Short Story Collection
The Otherworld Trilogy
Faelorehn (Book One)
Dolmarehn (Book Two)
Luathara (Book Three)
The Otherworld Trilogy - Omnibus Edition (includes Faelorehn, Dolmarehn and Luathara)
Ehriad – A Novella of the Otherworld
Ghalien – A Novel of the Otherworld
Connect with me Online
Twitter: @AuthorJEJohnson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenna-Elizabeth-Johnson/202816013120106
Smaswords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AuthorJEJohnson
My Website: http://www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com/
A Sneak Peek at Ghalien – A Novel of the Otherworld . . .
-One-
Recollection
I was dreaming of Meghan when the harsh wave of dark magic tore me from my much-needed sleep. The moment the shock of waking up to such unpleasantness wore off, my anger grew hot and fierce. My dreams were never reminiscent of pleasant memories from the past, for most memories I dared to recall were anything but pleasant. But this one had been joyful and whatever unnatural faelah awaited me outside in the courtyard had ruined it.
Lorehnin: A Novel of the Otherworld Page 30
