by M. Lynn
Everything inside of Trystan screamed for him to do it. To take this life. It would fulfill the curse. It would take something from Calis Bearne.
The Tri-Gard’s chanting grew louder in the background.
“Agh!” Trystan grit his teeth and used his remaining strength to pull the sword back. “No! I won’t do it.”
Someone you love will die by your hand.
“No!” He threw himself to the side, away from Davi, his sword clattering onto the ground beside him.
Davi rolled with a quickness Trystan didn’t know he had. He ran for Lonara’s sword, picking it up without stopping his forward movement. Before Rissa could escape Davi, he yanked her tight against his body and placed the blade across her neck. Her hands grabbed at his forearm in defense trying to remove the sword, even as her wild eyes begged Trystan for help.
“Davi! You don’t want to do this.” Trystan leapt to his feet, his hands held out in pleading. “Let her go.”
“Let her go? Like you let me go, Renauld? You showed me no mercy by holding me prisoner for years.” The Davi glaring at Trystan was so unfamiliar, so unlike the Davi he knew that Trystan’s heart sank.
There was no reckoning with this man.
“Why should I do as you ask? You stole my life from me. You and your father kept me away from my home. My family. You stole my childhood. Why shouldn’t I take something from you that you hold dear?”
“None of that was real,” Trystan growled in frustration as he swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. “Davi, please, you need to understand. Those were false memories planted in your head by Ramsey and your father. You’re my brother, Dav. We’re your family, me and Ri. We stole nothing from you. You have to remember. Please.”
“Stop your lies!” Davi’s angry scream was tinged with desperation. “I don’t want to hear any more lies.”
“Davi, remember when we were on the ship to Sona?” Rissa’s voice was calm and collected. “You were so seasick? And you told me the story of how you never felt the palace was your home when we were growing up?”
“Stop talking,” he growled as he dug the blade harder into her neck. Trystan started forward, but Rissa held up her hands, holding him off.
“I remember. I told you the palace was your home, and we were your family and that the next time I heard you say that I would kick your ass. I still mean it. So if you don’t want a severe butt kicking coming your way, Davion, you will let me go right this moment.”
Trystan sucked in a breath as the blade at his sister’s throat trembled a little before nicking her skin.
“Ri,” Trystan yelled and leapt their way just as a loud groan erupted from the very earth around them and the land under their feet began to shake. The Tri-Gard’s chanting reached a crescendo.
Leaves rained down as the trees swayed with the movement of the earth and Trystan was thrown to his knees.
He pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head to clear away the noise of sliding rocks and rupturing earth. Avery and Alixa came running from the trees, both halting in shock at the sight of Davi holding Rissa, his sword hanging loosely at his side.
“Trystan!” Alixa pointed to the Tri-Gard. Their crystals rose in the air of their own accord as the sorcerers were lost in a trance.
The crystals flew toward the earth and slammed into the ground in a cloud of dust, disappearing. The ground undulated, throwing them all off balance.
Rissa let out an ear-piercing scream and a blast of power released from her, striking Davi square in the chest. He shot into the air before slamming back into the wide base of a tree and sliding down into an unconscious heap.
Rissa stared at her hands in horror.
Magic filled the air with its thickness, zipping along Trystan’s limbs, infusing strength into him. He no longer felt as if he’d traveled all day or even been in a fight. He felt as if he could do anything.
He stepped in front of Rissa. Her eyes shone as she looked around him to Davi’s form.
“I… I… Trystan.” She buried her face in her hands. “I couldn’t control it. The magic entered me and fought for release.” Her back shook. “I think I killed him.”
Trystan pulled her against his chest. He’d blamed himself for Davi’s death before, but he hadn’t actually wielded the sword. Rissa was never going to forgive herself. He rested his chin on her head and sucked in a quivering breath.
“It’s over,” he whispered. “The Davi we knew has been gone a long time.”
He looked toward the Tri-Gard who were all picking themselves up from the ground. They’d done it. The impossible.
Magic. He’d grown up seeing it as no more than a fairytale. Now it was back. Dreach-Sciene was as it should be.
Lonara and Ramsey’s lights were gone now, throwing them all at the mercy of the night. Why weren’t they recreating it?
A commotion started from their direction and when Trystan pushed Rissa forward, he caught sight of Ramsey lunging for Briggs.
“I’ve been waiting twenty years to get my hands on you,” Ramsey growled.
Lonara didn’t stop him this time.
When Briggs spoke, his voice held none of the craziness they knew him for, only clarity and a cold aloofness.
“But I was better than you, Kane.”
Ramsey knocked Briggs to the ground.
Briggs laughed as the air rushed out of him. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good old brawl. Where’s your magic, Ramsey?”
Ramsey pulled his hand back and light shot toward Briggs. He rolled away and deflected it with a wave of his hand. “That’s more like it.”
Lonara grabbed Ramsey’s arm before he could try again. “We have him now. Let’s take him back to the palace of Dreach-Sciene. He’s our only source of information on Calis.”
“Twenty years!” Ramsey jumped to his feet. “I have been doing Calis’ bidding for twenty years because his loyal dog, Briggs Villard, was close enough to my grandchildren to strike.”
Trystan shook his head. “No, we found him in Sona.” Briggs couldn’t be the enemy, could he?
Ramsey turned on him, but before he could speak, Rissa’s scream reached their ears.
Trystan had run to Ramsey as Rissa approached Davi’s prone form. He looked so still, lifeless. Rissa hadn’t gotten a chance to examine Davi the first time he died. She hadn’t seen the way his face softened with an innocence he’d long lost. It had kept her from grieving properly.
When Davi died, it hardened her and she couldn’t ever go back to the girl she was before.
It was a funny thing, loss. From the moment she’d seen Davi in Dreach-Dhoun, she’d imagined she could have him back. Even when he didn’t recognize her, there was still a chance. While he was standing at his father’s side, there was breath in his lungs and therefore she was alive as well.
Magic flowed into her effortlessly. Briggs once told her magic had to be drawn upon, controlled. It took practice and skill. But it entered her veins of its own will as if the earth was giving her a gift instead of making her take it.
The Tenelach allowed her to feel the earth trying to thrive before magic was returned, but it hadn’t prepared her for the hum vibrating through her body now that it had.
It was all she heard as she stared down into Davi’s face. Tears welled in her eyes. There was yelling across the clearing. She glanced up briefly. Something was happening with Ramsey and Briggs, but her mind was to full to process their struggle.
She lowered herself beside Davi in a crouch and for a moment, wished she too could bring him back as Calis had. That she had the power of the Dreach-Dhoun king. It was hard to reconcile the man before her with the one who’d come to Dreach-Sciene to kill Trystan.
Yet, he was no longer the boy she’d known.
She stroked his cheek and was so focused on his closed eyes, she almost didn’t notice it.
His chest moved.
A whimper caught in the back of her throat. “Dav.” She felt frantically for a pulse, he
r eyes widening when it beat strong against her finger. “Davi.” She gripped his shoulder and shook him. What if her magic had broken his neck?
Her hands ran over his chest looking for any open wounds and finding none.
“Davi,” she cried. “Please, wake up. You can’t do this to me. Not again. I barely survived it the first time.” She bent forward and pressed her face to his chest. The tears broke free. “Please. Please.”
She lifted her head in time to see Davi’s eyes shoot open.
“Dav?”
His arms flew up, and he grabbed her by the shoulders before launching himself at her and pinning her to the ground. Her scream pierced the night air.
“Davi,” she wheezed, trying to breathe as she was crushed. Her magic warmed her skin, but she refused to use it. Not on him. “It’s me.” She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for him to make his final move. “It’s Rissa. It’s me. It’s me. It’s me. I love you.”
“Ri,” Trystan called, running toward them. He was too far. Davi could end her before he reached them.
She waited for him to fulfill his mission for his father. Kill the king and princess of Dreach-Sciene.
But the moment didn’t come, and she opened her eyes. A dark gaze held hers, confusion clouding over his face.
“Davi.” She reached up to touch his cheek. He didn’t stop her.
The confusion faded away.
“Ri.” His voice was hoarse as if not used to saying her name.
She swallowed a sob.
Trystan reached them and ripped Davi off Rissa, pushing him to the ground beside her. He held his Toha sword, angling it down towards Davi.
“Trystan.” Rissa sat up and bent forward to bury her face in her hands. “It’s him.”
“What do you mean?” Trystan snapped.
Rissa looked up with tears streaming down her face. “Our Davi is back.”
Understanding flashed across Trystan’s face and he stumbled back, dropping his sword to the ground.
Davi laid on his back breathing heavily, his eyes drifting to the stars above.
Ramsey joined them. “He’s gone.”
“Who?” Rissa pushed herself to her feet.
“Briggs. We’ll explain later, but he got away.” His eyes found Davi. “But it seems someone else has returned to us.”
Rissa wiped her face. Davi was here. Their Davi. She turned to him and extended a hand. The minute he took it, warmth enveloped her. The earth too was rejoicing in his return.
As soon as he was on his feet, Rissa stepped toward him wordlessly. He moved back, but she caught him. “Davion, you’re infuriating.”
As if his full name on her lips cracked the wall standing between them, he pulled her against him. She wrapped her arms around his back and held on as if it would keep them together forever.
“I didn’t remember you.” His entire body shook, and he buried his face in her neck. “I can’t believe I forgot you. I held a sword at your throat.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She breathed him in. “I remembered enough for both of us.”
His tears dampened her skin and she couldn’t remember ever seeing Davi cry, even as a child.
“I’m so sorry.” He squeezed her tighter and rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Me too. I gave up on you.”
He pulled back and wiped his thumbs under her eyes.
Trystan approached them, his own eyes shining. He put a hand on Davi’s shoulder, but Davi flinched away and released Rissa.
His eyes darkened when they found Ramsey. “I sense magic. It’s returned? What have you done?”
“What do you mean?” Trystan asked but Davi shook his head and stepped away from Trystan. “I… I’m sorry. I need to…” Without an explanation, he took off into the trees.
Trystan and Rissa both looked to Ramsey, desperate for answers.
Ramsey sighed. “That boy.” He shook his head. “You don’t know what he’s been through. He may have his memories returned, but that doesn’t mean he’s the same young man you lost. I’m afraid he never will be again. Do not forget, whether he remembers his life with you and your father or not, he is still the son of Calis Bearne.”
Lonara spoke up for the first time since Briggs escaped. “None of you are to attempt using the magic you now have access to. Sleep tonight. Tomorrow is a new day with new challenges. We have brought power back to Dreach-Sciene this day, but it is only the beginning.”
Chapter 26
Davi pulled magic from the earth, using it to protect himself from the cold morning air. Now that Dreach-Sciene had their magic back, the cold would stretch out for months. He’d experienced seasons in Dreach-Dhoun. The power kept the weather in balance. It would allow crops to thrive and the people to be fed.
If they survived what was to come.
The voice in his head reminded him just who he was, as if he could forget. His memories were recovered days ago, but the ones of the past few months were also there.
Growing up, he’d longed for a family name. He’d always just been Davion. Now he was Davion Bearne. He wanted to hate the name and the man it came from, but he couldn’t.
His father was not a good man.
And yet he loved him.
He was the only family Davi had. Well, not the only family.
Lorelai. What was happening to her? She’d chosen to help Ramsey and Trystan.
The crunch of grass alerted him to someone’s presence just moments before Trystan dropped down beside him. It wouldn’t be long before they reached the far edge of Aldorwood and the forests grew thicker the closer they got.
But the trees didn’t provide him with the solitude he needed, the peace he’d sought since waking up to remember everything he’d done to the people he loved.
Trystan extended a wooden bowl toward him. Rabbit stew again, no doubt.
“Thought you could use some breakfast.”
Davi took the bowl, doing his best not to shrink away from Trystan’s voice. He could see the two of them in his mind, sparring and laughing and fighting side by side. But what he hadn’t told anyone was that the memories Calis and Ramsey planted in him were still there as well. One moment, he saw flashes of stumbling through the palace with Trystan after too much wine. The next, it was Trystan standing on the opposite side of the bars of a cell, taunting him.
With Rissa, it was better. Ramsey had taken everything of her so all he had was the truth.
He couldn’t even look at Ramsey Kane.
“Eat,” Trystan said.
“Are you going to force me?” Davi looked to the sky, ashamed at the harshness of his voice. “I’m sorry. I just can’t always tell what’s real.”
“I’m real, Dav. You and I are real. You’re my brother.”
Davi breathed in deeply. “Truwa, Brathair.”
A grin spread across Trystan’s face. “Trust, brother.” He nodded toward the bowl. “Now eat. We have a long day ahead of us.”
Red hair shining in the sunlight caught Davi’s gaze and Trystan followed his line of sight. Rissa stood at a distance with Avery and Alixa, sword in hand. She danced around them with quick feet.
“Since when is she training with a sword?” Davi raised an eyebrow.
“You know Ri. She finally annoyed Avery enough to teach her. She’s fast, but not really any good at actually handling the blade.”
Davi laughed, the first genuine laugh since coming to Dreach-Sciene. “She’s good at everything else. She has to leave some things to the rest of us who are rather useless without a sword in our hands.”
Trystan looked sideways at him. “I missed this.”
“I’m going to try, Trystan. Do you think they’ll welcome me back at court now that my parentage is known?”
“They’re coming around on Alixa.”
“Duke Eisner is not the same as Calis Bearne and you know it.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m the king now.”
Davi stared into his stew as he took another bit
e. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
Trystan laughed, but when Davi looked at him again, all humor was gone.
“Can I make a first request of the king?”
“Dav.” Trystan gripped his arm and when Davi tried to flinch away, he held it tighter. “Anything.”
“I need to go back to Dreach-Dhoun.”
Trystan’s hand dropped. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It’s not what you think.” Davi rubbed his neck. “My cousin, Lorelai. I need to get her away from my father.”
“No. Absolutely not. I am not letting you risk your life for the woman who killed my father.” Trystan jumped to his feet and Davi followed him.
“She didn’t do it.”
“That’s bull, Dav. Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s true. Lorelai couldn’t kill him. A man my father sent to watch her finished the job.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Do you want to know how I know?” Davi growled. “Thom was blackmailing Lorelai. Using her. Her body. Her mind. She almost let him destroy her just to keep her secret from Calis.” He stepped close to Trystan. “And you know what I did? I killed him.”
Trystan’s jaw unclenched. “This Thom killed my father?”
Davi nodded.
“And he is dead? By your hand?”
“I’m glad he is.” Davi pounded on the side of his own head. “My feelings about Marcus may be messed up because of what Calis put in here, but I know what he was to me. He has been avenged, Brathair.”
Trystan leaned back against a tree and slid down until he was sitting again. “My father’s killer is dead.”
“I have a lot to tell you, Trystan, but I’m not going to tell you everything. You’re going to have to be okay with that. You have to give me time.”
“Now that we’ve completed our mission, time is something we finally have.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Davi knelt in front of Trystan. “All we’ve done is exactly what my father wanted.” He paused for a long moment to study Trystan’s face. “My orders were to allow you to escape and then follow you. Once magic was returned to Dreach-Sciene, I was to kill you.”
