by Genna Love
He swallowed, his wide eyes glued to hers. “You were in mine as well.”
Now that their skin had touched, his tranquil presence slightly dulled her other emotions. It wasn’t that she felt peaceful, but at least she no longer feared she might explode from it all being too much.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Kailas.”
“I’m Zarah, and these are Taariq and Eli.” Introductions seemed too mundane after the day they’d all had, but something about the normalcy soothed her.
Another Monk walked down the stairs with a pile of brown cloth in his hands.
“It’s all right. This is my friend, Taban.” Kailas grinned at the other Monk. “He’s brought you all robes to wear.”
Taban handed them each one, his eyes lingering on Zarah.
“You’re the banished princess,” he said in neither excitement or disgust. “I visited the castle for prayer once many years ago and saw you and your…family.” He lowered his gaze.
She winced as she took the brown fabric from him. “Yes, I am.”
Kailas tilted his head. “Why were you banished?”
“I…” She wasn’t sure how much she should share. Something had given her the visions of Kailas, so she believed she was meant to trust him. But she didn’t know this other Monk. “I accidentally hurt the Cardasian Prince.” It was truthful, but vague.
“And they banished you for it?” Taban asked. “That seems… extreme.”
Zarah couldn’t help but laugh at the shock on his face. “A lot of what has happened seems extreme.”
“Do you also have magic like Kailas?” Taban’s tone was curious, not disgusted.
Kailas gave his friend a look of warning. He had shared his gift with his friend, and he was still there helping him?
Eli and Taariq remained still next to Zarah.
If she were smart, she’d lie. But this man was helping them, and she didn’t want to be dishonest. “Yes, I do.”
His eyes widened as he grinned. “What element can you control?”
“We need to get to the docks,” Eli cut in before Zarah could answer. “As soon as we can.”
“I overheard one of the guards who was here looking for you all mention that they were scouring the south end of Penrith tonight,” Taban said. “Heading that direction will be dangerous.”
Eli sighed. “I will go to the docks while you two head back to my house. If the guards are focusing on the south end, hopefully the north side will be clear.”
Zarah turned to him. “It’s too dangerous to go alone.”
“If I don’t let them know to wait, they will leave without us. And I won’t let that happen.” He closed the distance between them and cupped her cheek. “You worry about getting to my house safely, and I will meet you there as soon as I can.”
She closed her eyes and absorbed the calmness of his touch. “You swear?”
When she opened her lids, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I swear.”
Dressed in robes, they all left the underground room where Zarah and her two men had spent the entire day. There was no light shining in through the windows of the worship room as they left the way they’d entered. Candles now flickered around the statue of the woman. The gemstone on her forehead wasn’t as noticeable now, but something about it still pulled Zarah’s attention. She’d seen bigger jewels before, so why was she so fascinated by this one?
They walked in a single file line behind Kailas, all keeping their gazes down.
When they exited the Monastery, Taban hesitated at the door.
Kailas turned to his friend. “Thank you for everything. If anyone should ask—“
“You’re visiting your father’s house for a night of prayer.” Taban nodded. “Be safe, my friend.”
The two Monks bowed to each other before Taban headed back inside, shutting the large door behind him.
“You’re coming with us?” Zarah asked.
“We need to talk somewhere safe.” Kailas clasped his hands in front of his body and circled his thumbs. “Taban is the only one who knows about my gift of air. Magic is just as forbidden in the Brotherhood as it is in the kingdom, possibly even more so. It’s considered unholy.”
How long had he been living amongst supposed brothers who would hate him for something he was born with?
“My house will be safe. You three go there now, and I’ll be there soon.” Eli smiled at Zarah before he headed south.
“Let’s go.” Taariq took the lead, guiding Zarah and Kailas through the streets at a hasty pace.
She was thankful he remembered the way. Her head was too jumbled to trust it with directions. Except for an occasional drunk or beggar, the streets were empty. She expected nothing less. After the horrible events, the Lyrian people would be scared. Who knew what Marius’s next move would be.
Would he send in the Cardasian Army to keep the people in line?
Thinking of what they’d done to Taariq’s parents made her more worried for her people. They’d slaughtered innocent people to prove a point then. What would keep them from doing that again?
They stayed close to the buildings, using them as a shield from the moonlight to keep as out of sight as they could.
Voices echoed ahead.
“This way.” Taariq grabbed Zarah’s hand and tugged her down a side street and behind a stack of barrels sitting against the building.
Kailas hurried behind them.
All three crouched down and pressed their backs into the stone so the barrels would hide them from the view of the people approaching.
“Why did we get stuck doing these patrols?” a male voice asked. “Do they think the princess is going to be going on a late night stroll?”
Zarah’s heart pounded at the mention of her title.
“Since when does it matter why we’re doing something?” another man said. “The Prince doesn’t tolerate questions. Best to keep your mouth shut.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the first man mumbled.
A few minutes later, Taariq peeked out into the street. “It’s safe to leave. Let’s hurry.”
The rest of the walk was free from any wandering guards, and Zarah took a long exhale when they were back in the safety of Eli’s house. Taariq lit the fireplace with his magic to give them light.
She and he took off the robes right away, but Kailas stood there awkwardly as he took in the space around him.
“I haven’t been in a house for many years,” he said, eyeing the hearth. “It’s beautiful.”
He walked around, admiring the decorations Eli had placed all around.
“Eli has a flair for the elaborate,” Taariq said. “I wasn’t the one who picked out this ridiculous tunic. I do admit, it looks good on me, though.” He winked at Zarah.
She gave a small smile.
“What made you save us?” Taariq asked.
“As I said before, I dreamt of Zarah.” He faced them both again. “I sometimes see the future in my dreams, a gift passed to me by my mother who also gave me air magic.”
“Where is she now?” Zarah moved closer to him.
“She passed many years ago, but not before sharing one of her visions,” he said. “She told me that someday I would need to save a woman, and when you appeared in my dreams, I knew it was you.”
Taariq huffed. “Visions of the future? Seems a bit far-fetched.”
“I dreamed of him too,” Zarah’s gaze bounced between the two. “It wasn’t of the future, exactly, but it was unusual all the same. How is that any crazier than any other form of magic?” When Taariq didn’t answer, she continued, “How about I make us all some tea?”
She excused herself to the kitchen to prepare some hot water over the stove. She needed a distraction to give her a moment to her thoughts.
Everything was happening so fast now. Her family…was gone. The guards and Marius had seen her, which meant she was in more danger of being caught than ever. And now Kailas had entered her life just as Madame Briar h
ad predicted.
When she returned to the sitting room with the tea and three mugs, only Kailas was there. He sat on the couch, alone, staring into the flames.
“Where is Taariq?” Zarah asked as she set the tray she carried onto the table.
“He said he was heading to his room for the night,” he said. “But he warned me he would be listening, and that if I put a hand on you, he’ll be down in a blink to kill me.”
Sounded like Taariq.
She poured two glasses and handed one to him before sitting down. “I’m very grateful for your help. I’m sorry if the others seem—“
“—Protective,” he finished her sentence. “I’m not offended. It’s clear they both care deeply for you. I don’t blame them for being cautious of a stranger.”
“Yes, quite.” She had never fully taken in the version of Kailas that visited her dreams. But the one sitting there with her now wasn’t what she would have expected of a Monk. His face was angular, with full lips and large brown eyes. Although his head was totally shaved, she imagined his hair would be the same shade as his irises. And it was probably a sin on a thousand different levels, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like underneath the loose robe he wore. “Will you get in trouble if they find out you aren’t in the Monastery tonight?”
“Taban will cover for me.” He blew on the tea before taking a sip. “This is delicious. Thank you.”
“Of course,” she said. “You said the Monk Brotherhood is against magic?” It had been a while since she’d read about life in the Monastery, but they were devoutly religious, and it was taught to all Lyrians that magic was sinful.
“Yes, which is why I joined. When my mother passed, I was determined to prevent her prediction from ever coming true. I believed if I joined the Brotherhood and prayed harder than anyone else, my magic would be taken from me so I could be pure. But that never happened.”
“You didn’t want to find me?” A knot formed in her lower stomach. It was silly to feel rejected over something so small, but the connection to him, and the day she’d just experienced, made her more sensitive .
“When my mother shared her vision, it all felt so distant. Like someone explaining the way chocolate warms your mouth without actually tasting its sweetness on your tongue,” he said. “I was young and afraid. My father urged me to be like him and work the family business, but he was the last person I wanted to imitate. I didn’t want anyone else to tell me what to do, especially some vision.”
He took another drink. “But when I saw you in my dream, my world stopped. It would sound absurd to anyone else, but although I wasn’t ready to admit it at first, there was no real choice to be made.”
His words stirred something inside her. It wasn’t the passion she shared with Taariq, or the feeling of safety being with Eli gave her. Kailas’s words lifted her confidence, convincing her she was worthy of the elemental gifts bestowed upon her.
“What is the gift of air like?” She’d felt the intensity of fire and the calmness of water. How would air compare?
Kailas set his cup back on the tray and rolled up his robe’s sleeves. “May I have your hand?”
Zarah put her cup next to his and extended her arm.
He hovered his palm over the top of her hand and a slight breeze blew against her skin. “Air is quiet and gentle. I spent many years denying this part of myself, but I’m starting to believe that my gift is just an expression of the Divine in me.” He brought his hand back into his lap.
“With the others, I’ve been able to absorb the magic in them to harness the elements myself. Could I try the same with you?” It was awkward asking someone she’d only just met if she could pull from his power, but she needed to know if she could access air like she could water and fire.
Kailas swallowed. “Of course.”
She leaned toward him and rested her right hand on his. Then with a deep breath, she brought her left hand over her cup of tea and willed her magic to flow from her hand. It didn’t come out fast or strong, but as she focused harder, the liquid in the cup moved.
“It worked.” She grinned.
Now she had used three of the four elements. As ridiculous as it had seemed at first, she was starting to believe Madame Briar was right.
Somehow, she was an aether mage.
Kailas
Kailas watched the glow of flames flicker in Zarah’s eyes.
He, Zarah, and the two other men surround a bonfire burning high into the night’s sky.
“You have it?” Eli asked him.
Kailas pulled the bright blue jewel from his pocket. “And we’re sure this is a good idea?”
“The tribe elder said it will help her.”
He turned to Zarah. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She tilted her body to him and took his hand. “It will all work out. I have faith.”
Kailas jerked awake, sweat covering his entire body. He’d worn his robes to bed on the couch since sleeping nude in a stranger’s house wasn’t an option. He’d kicked the thin blanket Eli had given him onto the floor sometime in the middle of the night, so he picked it up, folded it, and set it over the couch’s arm.
The cool light of early morning shined in through the windows. After so many years of waking up before the sun, his internal clock was too trained to sleep in. How long until the others awoke? He didn’t have long before he’d need to return to the Monastery if he planned to continue his life as a Monk. Leaving for a single night was risky, especially without approval from one of the Friars. But with the catastrophe of the day, he doubted anyone would give him too hard of a time if they noticed he was missing.
As his mind awakened, the memory of a dream lingered on its surface. There had been a fire and Zarah and the others were there too. He closed his eyes and searched deeper until he remembered everything about his nighttime vision.
He’d pulled a vibrant sapphire from his pocket—a jewel he recognized right away as part of the motherly statue of the prayer room—for something they were about to do that would help Zarah. But what?
And if the vision were to come true, it would mean that Kailas would have to leave his life as a Monk behind. Could he do that?
Since it might be hours before anyone else arose for the day, he decided to explore the garden area Eli had told him about when he’d arrived back at the house late the night before. The chilly morning air cooled his skin, drying the lingering droplets of sweat on his arms.
There was an impressive assortment of botanical life in the small area, rivaling the variation of the Monastery gardens, which were at least five times the size. He leaned in and smelled a fully bloomed rose, then continued along the outside, admiring all the different flowers.
When he’d made it all the way around the garden, Eli stepped outside.
“You’re up early,” Eli said.
“As are you.” Kailas gave a quick bow, a habit he imagined would be hard to break.
“I had too much on my mind to get much sleep.”
The other man, Taariq, didn’t hide his distrust for Kailas, but once Zarah had shared her trust for him, Eli had treated him kindly.
Eli crossed the garden and sat on the bench underneath the large trees.
“Do you feel it too?” Kailas asked as he sat next to him. “The connection to her.”
The corners of his mouth curved. “More than I’ve wanted to admit. At first, I thought it was simply because she’s a beautiful woman. I’ve been known to fall for a pretty face a time or two. But I’ve been around her nearly two weeks now, and everyday the pull to her grows.”
Zarah was beautiful. Even though he’d been celibate his entire life, and had never tasted more than a quick kiss of a woman’s lips, Kailas couldn’t deny that. But that wasn’t what called to him. He’d learned to shut down lustful thoughts many years ago. Whatever it was that attached him to her was more than physical attraction.
He and Eli sat silently on the bench as the sun rose and brighten
ed the entire sky. Neither talked, but something about meeting another mage, even if their elements were different, made him happy.
Besides his mother, he’d never known anyone else with magic. And it hadn’t been until moments before her death that his mother revealed her gift of air. When his powers developed, he’d had so many questions, with not a single soul to ask them to.
In one day, he’d now met a water mage and a fire mage, as well as Zarah who was something more. If he chose to go back to his life in the Monastery, he would also go back to living a lie. The thought of that suffocated him.
Eventually, they returned inside. As Kailas helped Eli prepare breakfast, he tried to convince himself that returning to the Monastery was the righteous choice. But the more thought he gave it, the more he knew he couldn’t abandon Zarah. His soul yearned to be near her, and how could he ignore such an overwhelming feeling?
He’d joined the Brotherhood to belong, to have a family, but what if the new destiny in front of him gave him both of those things without hiding his truest self?
Zarah and Taariq found him and Eli in the kitchen just as breakfast was ready.
The four of them ate together at the dining table, no one saying a thing as they spent more time staring at their food than actually eating it.
Finally, Kailas broke the silence. “I had another vision.”
Zarah inhaled sharply. “About me?” Dark circles rested under her puffy eyes and he hadn’t seen her smile once all morning.
“About all of us,” he said. “We were somewhere dark and there was a fire blazing in front of us. I’m not sure where exactly we were, but I pulled a large sapphire out of my pocket. Someone had told us we needed it to protect Zarah.”
“A large sapphire?” she asked. “Like the one on the statue in the Monastery?”
Kailas nodded. “Yes, I believe that’s the exact one I had.” The little food he had just eaten threatened to come back up at the thought of what he was about to suggest. “I think we need to steal it.”
Thievery was one of the cardinal sins, and one of the surest ways to get a Monk permanently banished from the Brotherhood. It was a good thing Kailas had already decided he was leaving his old life behind.
