Birth Stone

by Kate Kelley

  “Not bad, but you aren’t there yet. I can still sense your emotions. They’re grappling to get out, suffocating. They need to be let free in order to peacefully reside inside you, in order for you to have control over them.”

  Lyra swallowed. That made no sense. It doesn’t sound like it was going to be a pleasant experience today.

  “And what is the rose quartz for?”

  Oriel grinned, surprised. “You know your crystals.”

  “I know some. Alec gave me a rose quartz one year as a gift. I have a whole collection of precious stones at home. Admittedly, I don’t know what most of them are.”

  “And were they all gifts from Alec?”

  “Yes. He was always thoughtful, even when I didn’t want to think so.”

  “He is thoughtful, Lyra. Not was. He’s still alive.” Lyra sucked in a sharp breath and nodded. “You know this to be true?”

  Oriel’s face took on a pitying expression. “Yes, beautiful girl. He’s alive. He’s the only family you have left, but he’s alive.”

  The statement stung and Lyra scowled in confusion. “Thanks for the reminder.”

  A tense moment of silence stretching between them, Lyra studied an acorn on the ground while her thoughts spiraled out of control. A squirrel barked in between the trees.

  “Lie down. Let’s talk about it.” Oriel’s voice was a low vibration, a hammock to rest her weary mind in.

  Lyra couldn’t help but obey, desperate for relief from her pain. She knew Oriel was the answer. The ground provided a firm but soft bed for her aching bones, though she was sure her light blue dress was ruined now.

  Oriel knelt beside her body and placed the rose quartz on her abdomen, to the place between her bellybutton and her breastbone. Where her aura resided. The slight weight of the stone emphasized her Aura; she was acutely aware of it.

  “Focus on the weight of the crystal. Let it ground you, anchor you to the earth.”

  Instinctively, Lyra let her eyes drift closed. Oriel’s hypnotic voice continued, a melody she felt compelled to chase.

  “You are a child of the earth. Gaia birthed you from the soil of your mother’s womb and you will return again to her some day--to the earth, to Gaia, and to your mother. Her name was Rumi Claire, is that right?”

  Instantly an image of her mother, heart-shaped face, brilliant green eyes, chestnut hair tumbling down her shoulders in luscious waves, a tired smile on her soft features.

  “Yes.” She answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “You loved her. And your father, what was his name?”

  “Wasif.” An image of him, classically handsome features, with bright blue eyes and the same shade of golden hair as her own, freckles lining his nose and cheeks, a goofy grin on his face as he chased her around the yard. She could almost smell him, the comforting mixture of old books and brandy. A pain seared through her chest as she contemplated them, and her loss.

  “They were teachers. They loved sharing knowledge. Loved everyone...they were dear to our community. Such a loss for our village.”

  “And what about to you? What did you lose when they died?”

  Lyra swallowed back the lump in her throat, kept her eyes closed. “My parents. My…” She clamped down on her pain, attempting to bury it.

  “Tell me,” Oriel urged softly, running the crystal along her center in slow, methodical circles.

  Lyra’s voice rose in pitch. “My home, my well-being. My everything. I was just a girl. Ten years old. And I didn’t even get to say goodbye. We didn’t get to bury them. They drowned. Such a cruel way to die.”

  “And how did life go on after that?”

  “I was lost as a child. I followed Alec around, getting him out of trouble. I clung to him. When I turned fifteen, I was told I would teach at the school. I didn’t want to teach like they did, and yet I was compelled to carry on that legacy. I should be grateful but I had no sense of direction, no sense of who I was. I closed myself off from everyone. I became the quiet girl with the dead parents, what a tragedy. Nobody knows what to say to an orphan. An orphan doesn’t know what to say to anyone else, least of all to yourself. And so you just float through life and hope you reach shore before you drown.”

  “Surely you had friends.”

  A rising tension sought release in her chest, and she struggled to control her breathing, her chest rising and fallin g rapidly.

  “Only Alec...only Alec. He alone saw me and loved me for what I was--a lost bird. And then he left me too.” Lyra’s mouth opened to say more but a sob escaped her lips. Screwing her eyes shut even tighter against the flood of tears, she tried to tamper the pain, breathing deeply through her nose.

  “He just left you, just like that?”

  The sob broke free and Lyra curled to the side, tears freely flowing. She spoke words she hid inside her heart her entire life, words she never thought she’d speak. Speaking them now sounded foreign, like someone else was uttering them.

  “He left me all alone in a place that wasn’t home anymore. I’ve been told I’m not supposed to be this hurt, but I am! I am hurt. It hurt like hell to be left again and again year after year, it was like--reliving my parent’s death over and over again to watch him leave on that ship, not knowing if he’d return or if the sea would claim him too. And they might as well have. He’s gone too...He’s gone too.” Curling in tighter on herself, she let the sobs go freely, her body spasming as the waves of pain hit her. All sense of time was lost, and minutes or hours could have passed.

  She came to within the circle of strong, bronze arms, holding her against a strong chest. Sniffing loudly, she pulled back and peered up at Oriel. He looked down at her, a tender expression etched into his beautiful features. A damp spot marked his ivory tunic where he let her cry on him. She didn’t know how she ended up from the ground to in his arms.

  “Sorry about your shirt.” Lyra’s voice came out scratchy, surprising her. She hadn’t cried that hard since...well, since her parents died. A weight she didn’t know she was carrying was absent and breathing was easier. She took in a lungful.

  “How do you feel?” Brushing her hair back from her face, he held her gaze.

  “Lighter. Thank you for letting me unburden myself. Truly, I don’t know how you got me to say all of those things.”

  “Rose quartz is a healing crystal. It speaks directly to the heart chakra, unwinding resentments and fears, wounds. It allows you to receive and give love more readily. And of course, in turn, allows mages to control their auras better.”

  Lyra smiled, amazed. “That’s incredible. Healing crystals. I thought that was just folklore.”

  Oriel shook his head. “Not at all. And this is just the first of many sessions with you to open you up and bring you to your full potential.”

  A loud throat clearing jolted Lyra from Oriel’s embrace, causing a wicked blush to splotch her cheeks. The King was standing feet away, arms crossed with a more-surly-than-usual expression on his face.

  “If the two of you are quite done, I’ll escort you back to the castle.” He pinned Lyra with a blank stare.

  Lyra didn’t know why she felt ashamed. Oriel stood briskly and helped Lyra to her feet.

  “She’s breaking through. A couple more weeks of aura healing and work and she’ll be a master, I’m sure of it.” He smiled politely, handing her over to the King. Lyra felt his dead stare bore into her but chose not to meet his gaze.

  “Is a nervous breakdown a requirement of your training, Oriel?”

  Oriel snorted. “You know as well as I do that she must purge resentment to reach full potential.” He quirked an eyebrow at the King before adding, “Perhaps you would benefit from a session or two. You seem awfully wound up lately.”

  The King smirked. “Perhaps so. Let’s get moving, daylight is waning.”

  Despite the tense interactions between Oriel and the King, Lyra felt lighter than ever as she followed Terrin back through the woods, careful to step over fallen logs and stumps
. The King’s pace was, as usual, much faster than her own and she struggled to keep up, though her body felt better able to this time than the last time she walked with him to Oriel’s cottage.

  “You need to be in better shape for our journeys. We’ll be hiking far worse terrain than this, and climbing.” He glanced backwards at her, eyeing her dress. “And you’ll need something more appropriate to wear.”

  “I’ve already thought of that. My lady’s maid is procuring something for me. As for the physical state I’m in, what do you suggest to help me prepare for our journeys?”

  Terrin stopped at an impossibly large tree, with a cavern to fit two people inside. He turned back to her, contemplating. “You’ll train with me. We can start next week, after the ball. Oriel wants your aura stronger before training with me. Lest you attack again.”

  Lyra’s eyes widened at the prospect of training with him. “What sort of training will it be?”

  The King ushered her into the cramped tree, grabbed her hand with one hand and her waist with the other. He looked down on her, gray eyes lighting despite the darkened cove they stood in.

  “Combat, of course.”

  He’s teasing me, surely. Words failed her.

  “I meant what I said about never attempting to take the portal by yourself, or initiating it yourself. Less experienced mages can get stuck in between places, with no way out. Do you understand me?”

  He was doing that patronizing thing again.

  “Not particularly, but fine.”

  The King rolled his eyes. “Why did you initiate the transition before?”

  “I--was flustered.” It must have been the newly released emotions that allowed her to be so open.

  “Because?” His voice deepened, the timbre grinding on her senses.

  “You make me nervous," she blurted.

  The King stilled, then took her hand carefully, turning it over and tracing the lines in her palm. Lyra’s head swam. That familiar shock ran through the contact and she sighed audibly. Oriel was liberal with physical touch, yet somehow it was different when the King touched her.

  Did I just sigh out loud?

  “I’m your King. It’s natural to be nervous around me.” His decadently deep voice wrapped around her like a blanket. As if not being able to help himself, he flattened his palm to her own for a few beats. They might as well have have been flush against each other, fully naked. Lyra held her breath as that damn throbbing between her legs began. But then the King gathered her tight to him while placing their palms on a glass-like obsidian surface in the back of the tree cavern. And off they flew.

  Chapter 14

  The noon sun was high in the sky and the heat of it warmed her skin as the cool breeze attempted to chill her. October crept closer. Lyra strolled casually through the market, her arm looped through Oriel’s, her boots clicking on the cobblestone street.

  “What is she thinking?” Oriel nodded at a young girl who was eyeing some beaded jewelry quietly at a booth. She looked no more than fifteen years old, white blonde hair falling straight down her back, petite frame wrapped in a fine, dark dress. Her eyes darted around before she resumed her attention to the jewelry.

  “Well, I can guess she’s not too interested in the jewelry. She seems to be waiting for someone. A beau, perhaps. Probably a boy her parents don’t approve of. She’s also without a lady’s maid, so that’s a sure fire sign she’s up to no good.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. But how would you know of such a thing, do you have experience?” Oriel grinned.

  Lyra stuck her tongue out at him. Reading emotions was one thing, reading thoughts another.

  Two weeks had passed since her first crystal healing and training sessions with Oriel. She proved to heal and emotion read very quickly, much ahead of schedule. For the past week, they had been working on thought reading, which proved to be infinitely more challenging. The mind was a harder thing to tap into than the heart.

  A robust man with a fur coat and monocle passed to her right, piercing her with a sharp stare and furrowed brow. She flinched and looked away. It was hard to get used to some of the looks she got since they started her training in the market this week. She was a stranger here, and some of these people didn’t take kindly to her being in their presence and getting a chair at the King’s table. Apparently that’s all the people of Gem cared about, besides their riches.

  “Who was that guy?” Lyra asked, keeping an eye on him as he meandered through the crowded street.

  A grim expression crossed Oriel’s face. “That is Abner. Lead Scholar here in Gem. He’s in charge of procuring new scrolls for the library and teaches some classes to budding scholars.”

  “Not a pleasant sort, I take it.”

  “Not at all. Angry, brooding, calculating. Not unlike Terrin, really. Though Terrin at least has the looks to make up for it. Abner is the size of a bear and dresses like a gaudy actor.”

  “Why would he look at me in such a way, though?”

  “Well, as I said, he’s not a kind man. Not many scholars are, really.” Oriel shrugged.

  Lyra stared into the portly man’s back, gauging his emotion. Cool calculation, indifference, but intent.

  Hmm, that’s an odd mixture of feelings.

  It only fueled her curiosity. Igniting her center softly, she trailed behind the man, careful not to get too close, but keeping a close range. His back was still facing her as he made a snide remark to a merchant.

  Focusing on his head, she extended her aura into her arms and gently extended her fingers. She felt the power pool out from her hands like water, clear and steady. With the power, she focused on his mind chakra, willing his mind to open to her. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she was vaguely aware of Oriel standing at her back. She could see a whisper of a blue light inside the man’s head now, then felt a snap and a channel opened, a connection, like a buzzing vacuum starting in her fingertips and spreading through her energy centers and, lastly blooming in her mind. Abner turned and spotted her, and his face screwed up like a feral rat.

  Quietly, she heard a murmur, from inside her head. And it wasn’t her own thought.

  “What does Oriel know about her, I wonder? I should sic Persimmon on him to find out. That whore can use her body to manipulate him-”

  Abruptly the connection was severed and her head buzzed loudly, her vision blurring. Oriel grabbed her arm, steadying her. Abner squinted his eyes at her before turning abruptly on his heel and walking haughtily away.

  “Let’s return and you tell me what you heard. Away from prying eyes,” he murmured.

  They turned and began making their way to the shore, toward Oriel’s cottage.

  “You’ve done well,” he added as an afterthought.

  Their clipped pace was too fast for Lyra, her vision going in and out of focus. She blinked rapidly to try to restore her vision. The vacuum was still faintly tugging at her centers. When the crowds fell far behind them, and the cobblestone faded to sand, the breeze turned much sharper and the waves lulled her senses to hush. She felt her vision clearing and the buzz quieted as they reached the small cottage.

  “Come in and lie down.” Oriel helped her up the rickety steps and into the cozy room. It smelled just like Oriel--spices and rich tea. She plopped onto the couch and slipped off her boots as Oriel loudly fixed tea in the kitchen. They had a tradition going now. Training in the market, relax and sip tea and discuss her progress in the cottage. Sometimes she’d have dinner here, sometimes Poppi would bring her dinner in her room. She hadn’t seen the King in two weeks. Not that she cared.

  Oriel returned shortly with two steaming cups of tea and a loaf of lemon cake. Sipping gingerly, Lyra closed her eyes.

  “What a trip. That was the most I’ve gotten out of anyone. It was--strange--to hear someone’s voice without them speaking to you.”

  Oriel nodded solemnly. “It’s a necessary skill, but it is also something you shouldn’t overuse.”

  “Why’s
that? It seems like an exceedingly useful skill to have.”

  “Well, besides it being morally questionable to probe into someone’s private thoughts, going too much into someone else’s mind can have dangerous side effects.”

  “Such as?”

  “Opening your mind too far can allow it to...fall out, so to speak.”

  “You mean I could lose my mind if I read too many minds?”

  “Precisely. But that’s only if you use it many times, every day.”

  “I see.”

  This magic shyte just keeps getting better and better.

  “What did you hear from Abner?”

  “He said--thought, rather--about what you might know about me. Whatever that means. And he said he might be able to use Persimmon to find out what you knew, through certain..techniques..”

  “Techniques, what sort of techniques? She’s a scholar, and definitely smart, but not a mage.”

  Oriel scrunched his brow.

  Lyra’s face reddened. “Techniques of the..physical sort.”

  Oriel stared at her, the innuendo going over his head. I’m going to have to spell this out for him.

  “Sex, Oriel. He called her a whore--” Lyra couldn’t go on.

  “Ah.” Understanding dawned on Oriel's face and he took a sip of tea. “Well, no need to fear for that. I wouldn’t let her back into my bed if someone paid me.”

  “Well, that’s..good to know.”

  Another thought occurred to Lyra. “Unless..well, unless we could flip their tactic on it’s head. Use your fake relationship with her to figure out why they want information on me.” Lyra’s face was hot, but she refused to back down. This was something she was learning from training--to stick to her gut and say what she was thinking, regardless of what others might think. It was the hardest thing for her to do, but also the most rewarding. She was feeling more like herself than she had in a long time. Oriel didn’t meet her gaze.