A Cascade of Moments
The Fae Souls Book 2
CAILEE FRANCIS
Copyright © 2017 Cailee Francis
All rights reserved.
Cover images: © savanevich, blackmoon979, Den.the.Grate (domain information removed) / Depositphotos.com; © Origins Digital Curio;
© 7th Avenue Designs; © Professional Add-Ons
Cailee’s author blog: http://www.caileefrancis.com/
Cailee’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/cailee-francis
DEDICATION
I’d like to dedicate this book to Wyld, who named the character of Celina, and who motivated and encouraged me throughout my creative process. I’d also like to thank Darryl for his kindness and support, and for proofreading this book for me.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue: Light and Shadow
Chapter One: Moments in Time
Chapter Two: Changing Horizon
Chapter Three: Fear and Hope
Chapter Four: Fire and Wrath
Chapter Five: Sapphires and Rubies
Chapter Six: Awakening
About the Author
Prologue: Light and Shadow
It seemed like only yesterday that Sorcha and I had stood in the dappled light, feeling fearful and hopeful as we spoke with Prince Eldran. He’d granted us the right to stay at his mansion for up to 100 years, so Sorcha and I would have a chance to remain together as a couple.
The ways of the fae are different to those of humans, and it was normal for our people to choose between reincarnation into a future life in the mortal world and retiring to the green shores. At the time Sorcha and I were faced with a decision, I wasn’t sure what either choice would fully mean for us. I couldn’t associate the green shores with heaven, because the fae weren’t dead, but in its way it was a choice to retire from the cycle of life. I thought the green shores must be similar to Prince Eldran’s island, only far larger and populated with more fae. I just knew at that time, I wasn’t ready to go there. I wanted to stay with Sorcha because we’d fallen in love and discover what sort of future we could have together. Thankfully, the Prince understood and gave us permission to remain at his mansion.
People speak easily of love, and they might’ve said I hardly knew her after such a short time, but the truth was I’d known Sorcha for far longer. Perhaps even thousands of years, though neither of us remembered it because of our memory loss. While our romance was fresh and new, my instincts told me our connection was so much deeper. I’m sure I’d known many other fae on the Prince’s island for just as long, but the mingling of desire, closeness and romance between us, combined with that depth of knowing, created something unique and special that I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, let go of while I had a choice.
Days became months, and months turned into years, and I know now that we made the right choice to stay together on the island. I would even say that it was the only choice for us.
I wasn’t ready to retire to the green shores at that point in my life. I wouldn’t have decided differently, but what I didn’t yet realise was there’s a purpose, a journey… you could even call it a destiny that each of us have. That might sound dramatic, but I couldn’t have walked away from any prospect of returning to the mortal world, even if I’d wanted to. Sorcha didn’t like my desire to return eventually, but I learned that she felt a similar pull there. It was a truth we had to accept about ourselves and each other.
Even though we knew our time together – before that would happen – was limited to a maximum of 100 years, it still felt like a lifetime to us. We couldn’t have known that the word of a Prince doesn’t always stand above the whims of fate.
Chapter One: Moments in Time
It was a special quality of Prince Eldran’s island that the weather was always mild and the breeze sweetly-scented. Colours seemed brighter, and moments clearer to me, though that might’ve been because I’d forgotten so much from before the masquerade.
I still remember the warmth of the day as I stood outside in the sunlight, a slight wind stirring my long, red hair and cooling my skin, which was damp with a slight sheen of sweat.
With a chuckle of daring, I raised my wooden training sword to parry Lee’s blow. Similarly-armed, his weapon bounced harmlessly off my own, and I kept circling so I’d be a harder target to hit.
His handsome dark eyes watched me with an almost predatory focus, but he had a smile on his face beneath his windswept dark hair.
As a warrior he’d turned out to be much more than I’d taken him for when we’d first met – as far as I could remember. It was the same Lee who’d greeted me when I arrived between the columns of Prince Eldran’s estate, Insley mansion, and the same Lee who had become my friend over many years.
Lee swung his wooden sword toward me and I easily sidestepped it.
I quickly thrust with my sword hoping to catch him off guard, but he anticipated my move and parried the training sword away. That was when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.
It was Sorcha. She’d been helping out the staff in the kitchens – something she did fairly often – and she’s brought down a basket with her. I wasn’t sure but it was a fair bet it held our lunch. I was starving – sparring was heavy work, and I felt Lee’s sword connect with my shoulder when my gaze lingered a moment too long on Sorcha.
“You need to stay focused, Celina. If I’d been an enemy, you’d be lacking an arm right about now.”
I sighed at that, then I noticed Sorcha’s smile as she sat down on a hill overlooking our sparring area. It put an immediate spring in my step.
“Alright, let’s get back to work,” Lee suggested.
We must be nearing the time for a break now, but he didn’t seem to think so just yet. I’d asked him to teach me how to fight and defend myself, so I didn’t want to wriggle out of it when the timing was less convenient. For now, I fell back into stance and readied my training sword.
“You’re taking this training light-heartedly, but let me assure you Celina, the danger is real. Our people were once much greater in number than they are now. Thousands were slaughtered when the unseelie tried to eradicate us. It’s why it’s important you know how to defend yourself.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t believe I was approaching my training that light-heartedly. I’d read bits and pieces over the years and heard more about the unseelie, but my desire to defend myself went much deeper than Lee realised. My lover in my last incarnation had died in my arms, and I wanted to make sure it would never, ever happen to Sorcha.
I think Lee saw the darker thoughts that flashed behind my eyes, as I readied myself to fight him. We tapped swords, and then each backed off, watching each other and discerning intentions. I spoke in snatches of words, as I swung out my sword, threatening to attack him but holding back from doing so for the moment.
“Other worlds have deadlier weapons than swords,” I stated, swinging my wooden sword down in an arc that he knocked out of the way. I narrowly missed his swing in return, and our wooden blades clashed, before we stepped back again.
“They do,” he admitted, “but this isn’t Earth and the unseelie haven’t tread on its soil in a long time, other than those who have been trapped there. We know there are a few, but they’re world-bound. The others have been exiled to an island where higher technology won’t function and their magic is contained. If they ever get out, their means of attacking us will be limited. However, the magic on this island–”
I darted closer, slashing with my wooden sword, and Lee didn’t evade it in time.
“That’s not right. I was explaining!”
I grinned at him. “What’s it they say? All’s fair in love and war?”
He nodded in a way that seemed to imply ‘oh yeah?’ and within moments he’d slashed me back. If the swords had been steel and the attacks real, neither of us would probably have survived the battlefield. That said, I could tell that Lee was holding back because he was an immensely better swordsman than I was.
I heard giggles and clapping from the hillside, and I was happy to see Sorcha cheering me on. She probably thought this was Lee’s and my idea of sparring all the time.
“So what were you saying about magic on the island?” I asked Lee, giving my lady a playful grin before Lee and I continued our sparring match.
He didn’t look too impressed at how distracted I was, but I usually paid more attention.
Lee frowned, but he explained. “The wards on Insley Island nullify all magic cast from outside the island’s boundaries. Any magic or enchantments at work here were either cast or permitted by the royal family. If enemies were to come here, they would experience extreme difficulty in using magic. They would likely need to resort to weapons like swords.”
I found this very interesting. “Are there any other islands like this one? Where magic is in common use.”
It was something I hadn’t really thought about before in quite the same way. I knew that the Prince and his family were royalty among fae, and they had enormous resources to hand, but I wasn’t sure if they were more magically-powerful than most other fae.
“There are other islands, but they’re all different, Celina. I trust you know about the other worlds that exist out there? Each is in its own dimension.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I read about them in the library. It makes for fascinating reading.” We’d all but forgotten our fight now, and I held my training sword loosely by the hilt.
“Each has their own governing fae, but they’re under the greater control of King Auberon and Queen Carisse. While it isn’t technically accurate, you could equate them to duchies in a kingdom.”
It made sense in that context, and I could only assume the unseelie hadn’t accepted seelie authority.
“I suggest we break here for the day,” Lee exclaimed. “We’re both tired and Sorcha’s been patient enough.” Lee wiped the sweat from his brow. We didn’t have sheaths for the wooden swords, so he just took mine from me.
Sorcha waved to us as we walked over to her. “Done now?” she asked, patting the grass beside her as encouragement for me to sit down.
I could see she had a jug of cool water – likely flavoured with raspberry or apple juice, knowing her, and some individually-wrapped sandwiches.
“There’s enough for all of us if you want to stay, Lee. I thought you might be hungry.”
He smiled warmly at that, and we both joined her on the hillside.
“You think of everything, Sorcha. I should be the one seeing to the guests, not the other way around, but I certainly won’t say no,” he said.
We dug into the food and the cool drinks, and talked among ourselves about less worrying thoughts than the ones Lee had told me about. By all accounts, the unseelie weren’t currently a threat, but some instinct told me they wouldn’t be contained forever. I decided I would speak more about it later with Jacqueline, our handmaiden. She’d been assigned to us by the Prince when we first moved more permanently into his mansion, but in reality we gave her little work to do.
Sorcha and I had more time on our hands than we knew what to do with, but we never took it for granted. After all, our moments shared here were ticking away, however slowly.
My mind drifted as I soaked up the details of the day – the lightly-stirred trees beyond an expanse of grass forming part of the Prince’s garden; the pale blue sky with white clouds, lazily drifting, and the long, silky curtain of dark hair and lovely features of my lover, as she ate her lunch. That was when I heard the word ‘memories’. I glanced up at Lee, realising I’d entirely missed his question. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d pointed out how distracted I was.
“Memories,” I murmured, trying to find the meaning of his question. “Oh, you want to know if more have come back to me?”
He all but rolled his eyes. “Yes.”
I tangled my fingers through my hair as I thought about it. “Yes and no. I’ve forgotten a lot of the little everyday details that everybody has, but I’ve put names to faces that didn’t have them before. My former partner’s name was Lydia. Her ex was a bit of a crim – this was before she and I became a couple. He didn’t treat her well, and I helped her get away from him. I know we started a new life together – it was pretty good, but he wasn’t having it. He decided that if he couldn’t have her no one should, so he killed her and tried to kill me.”
Lee lowered his gaze apologetically. “I’m so sorry this happened to you both, Celina. You’re a good person and the human world can be an ugly place at times. Not that the fae world is necessarily all that different,” he added as an afterthought.
I felt a touch against my hand, and glanced over at Sorcha, who held my hand comfortingly. I could always trust her to help me feel better, even when I was talking about the past, and somebody else. She was incredible like that and in many other ways.
“It’s alright, Lee. Well it’s not but it was a long time ago and I can’t change what happened. I don’t know – maybe it’s possible in some way. I know we jump around in time when we reincarnate–”
Lee stopped me there. “That’s not a good approach to take, Celina, and it’s not possible. It would upset the time stream; not just for you, but also Lydia. She’s probably in another life by now. You know the one who did it though, who killed her?”
I nodded at that. “His name was Davis Williams. I don’t remember a lot, but I know what he looked like, and that his family had money until they lost it all. He was violent and seemed to feel the world belonged to him, as if he could take what he wanted. He certainly tried and to some extent succeeded.” I hung my head sadly.
Lee sat his glass down on the ground. “So are you thinking of going after him –for revenge?”
It unnerved me, how perceptive Lee could be. “It depends. I may never go back to a time when he’s alive, or I may not remember. I think Prince Eldran said we forget when we reincarnate, didn’t he?”
With a gesture of his hand, Lee suggested yes and no. “It’s like the way you’ve remembered him. You forget a lot, seemingly everything, but then it comes back to you, usually at unexpected times. When you encounter someone you know well, you feel that familiarity. It’s like a cloud is lifted from your mind and you can see through to the truth. I haven’t returned to the mortal world in a long time now. I’ve served the Prince for centuries.”
Sorcha scratched her head, wondering about that. “Was it some kind of punishment or do you get paid? I don’t think I’ve ever asked, Lee.”
He laughed at that. “It’s not a punishment. Some of us are drawn to serve, and I don’t know if it was by destiny or sheer luck, but the Prince once saved my life. I have everything I could need here, but I’m not paid. Fae don’t use currency in the same way mortals do; we trade in goods or services. I could leave tomorrow, but I feel my place is here.”
Lee spoke with enough conviction that I could feel his loyalty to Prince Eldran in the words he spoke. The fae were said to have an innate ability to see to the truth of a matter. I don’t know if it was that or the fondness in Lee’s voice, but I found I respected him more for it.
I smiled as he poured himself another drink. “I’d be interested in hearing more about your story of how the Prince saved your life.”
Lee grinned at the suggestion. “I used to have a talent for landing myself in the worst sort of trouble. It’s part of why I learned to fight, because if I hadn’t I probably would’ve got myself killed. It’s a long story though and perhaps better suited for another time.”
From there, he seemed to swiftly change the subject. “If you met him in a different lifetime, would you hunt down Lydia’s killer?” he asked.
I wondered if this was one of those ethical question
s I was supposed to get right, and whether he’d be disappointed if I failed it. “I don’t think I’d remember him – or would I? If I did remember and I encountered him in another life, he’d still be the same person who killed my partner, wouldn’t he? In that case, I might hunt him down.” I’ve certainly fantasised about it a time or two.
Lee frowned, but he also seemed to understand. “The problem is humans aren’t always the same when they return. You could punish him and it would still be his conscious self that suffers, but he wouldn’t know what he’s being punished for. His new life might be his chance to choose better and do something right for a change, and if you’re violent towards him, the cycle of violence could continue.”
I can live with that. My first thought surprised me because I didn’t think I was that bloodthirsty, but when I looked back at what had happened and at the good destroyed by him, I didn’t want him to get off scot-free. Death would catch up with him eventually, but I knew now that it wouldn’t be the end for him. I didn’t know what would happen between those two points in his life or his afterlife, as it were, but I just knew I had to find some kind of justice for Lydia, and in a way for myself too. He was an evil man and he’d done terrible things. There had to be a reckoning.
Before we could discuss it further, Sorcha pushed a sandwich into my hands.
“Eat now, avenge later – or don’t,” she said with a reassuring glance.
She probably knew I was only one step away from saying something that would disappoint Lee and probably cast doubt on whether he should be training me to defend myself. I let out a soft sigh, because it might be a situation I’d never have to face – or I might one day, but I couldn’t say for sure what would happen. Even if I avenged Lydia, it wouldn’t give her back her life.
I didn’t want to be so consumed with the pieces of memories I’d salvaged that I missed what was right before my eyes now – my girlfriend who loved me, and who I cherished, and a dear friend who I trusted more than most others. I ate my sandwich – just plain ham this time, and soaked up the sunshine and the quiet surroundings of Insley Mansion. Things really were pretty good here.
A Cascade of Moments Page 1
