by Lisa Kumar
“Good question,” Eamon said. “Besides you being here, I don’t have a clue.” Whatever her supposed task, he could only hope it gave her some freedom from the status of a potential fated mate, if he was correct about the yellow aura. He’d move the stars to make sure no one but he had claim over her.
Aistiane smiled pleasantly, one he itched to knock off her face. “I believe I can provide an answer.”
“Then do,” he said. “And Caralyn better be exempt from being a match.”
“No one is exempt. As for the other, all in due time.”
He took a threatening step toward the old bat. “I’ve had enough of your —”
“I need to talk with Caralyn privately before I discuss it with you.”
Dread bloomed like a poisonous flower in his gut, and he shared an uneasy glance with Caralyn. “Why?”
Aistiane’s face remained placid. “She needs to hear this first.”
He fisted his shaking hands, not sure why the very thought of Caralyn becoming embroiled in Aistiane’s scheme agitated him so. “I don’t know what you’re about, but she doesn’t need to be drawn into this any more than she already is.”
“That waits to be seen,” Aistiane said, returning his glare impassively.
Chapter 19
As Aistiane’s crazy words echoed in her ears, Caralyn clutched at her bedroom dresser. “Wha-what! You’re kidding, right?” But the woman’s serious expression told her she wasn’t joking.
“I’m afraid not.”
Caralyn scrubbed her quivering hands down her face. “I can’t be a glorified nanny. No matter what you call it, that’s what it is.”
“Being a liaison between Eamon and Andrian — and one between them and the human world — is a job of great importance.”
Caralyn pinned the other woman with a disbelieving stare. “Because no one would want it. They’re both ...” She couldn’t even think of a word that described all their insanity. Hell, she didn’t even know what their “task” was. Sure, Aistiane and Eamon had mentioned something vaguely. That didn’t tell her a thing, except that he hated whatever it was. Again, she wondered just what role this woman played in Eria. She was no elf, so what was she?
“It’s not that bad and won’t be so.” Aistiane closed the distance between them and laid a soothing hand on her arm.
“I have a life, and it doesn’t include babysitting two elves who want to obliterate each other.”
“They’re not ready to be unleashed upon humanity.”
“So you want to unleash them on me?” Caralyn said as she shook her head and pressed a hand to her chest. It didn’t calm her heartbeat much, but at least it no longer felt as if the organ was going to pound its way out.
“Right now, you’re the only one who can hope to control them.”
“Me control them?” She let out a dry, derisive laugh. “I think I’d need whips, chains, and tranquilizers to do that.”
A glint of humor crinkled the skin around Aistiane’s eyes. “Most would need that, but you will be the glue to hold Eamon and Andrian together. While both are competent in many ways, they are sorely lacking in others and need the ... touch a woman can provide to their lives.”
“Not to mention they’ll kill each other if left to their own devices.”
Aistiane smiled gently. “There is that.”
“How am I to possibly control two grown elves who are trained in warfare?”
“I think you’ll find they will listen to you.”
Caralyn couldn’t stop the snort of incredulity that slipped from her throat. “Eamon barely listens to me now. I can’t imagine he’ll be any better with his homicidal tendencies blaring full-force.”
“Both know not to injure you.”
Well, that was reassuring. “It’s not myself I’m worried about. It’s everybody else they run into.”
“That is where you come in and provide a restraining hand.”
“I think they need more of a restraining fist than a hand.”
“Don’t fear, child. Everything will be fine.”
Ha, easy for her to say. “I can’t do it. I have my career as a physical therapist. I can’t give it all up.”
“You can keep your job for now.”
“For now?” Caralyn weakly repeated.
A mischievous gleam came to Aistiane’s eyes. “Who knows what the future will bring?”
That sparkle made something inside Caralyn cringe. Why did she get the feeling that Aistiane knew way more than she let on? Could that be why she was so insistent on Caralyn doing this?
“I have my life sort of planned out, and it doesn’t include two elves.” The defiance in her voice sounded weak even to her ears. She feared her lack of conviction came from within.
“I can’t truly force you, but I think your conscience will.”
You mean my soft heart. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I just can’t.”
“How about if I told you that you’d bring much joy to the lives of many elves and humans if you do this?”
Caralyn opened her mouth and then closed it, not sure how to reply. Just what was their task that she’d be able to do that? Or was this some sort of trick question? “Okay, I’m not agreeing to anything. Hypothetically, if I do this, you say I’m to keep the peace and help them with their task, but what exactly is that task?”
She prayed it wasn’t something too unpleasant, because playing referee between those two would surely be unpalatable enough. Still, she didn’t hold out much hope for any good news. Still, she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to. Ha, look at how that had turned out since Eamon came into her life.
“To fulfill the purpose of the graykindred.”
Okay, that told her a lot. Not. Though Aistiane had said practically the same thing to Eamon, at least he knew what that meant. The tension rocketing through Caralyn’s veins made her want to snap verbally at the other lady. “That’s all fine and dandy, but I don’t know what their original purpose was.”
“I created the graykindred to find the mates of some of the Erian people, at least as a start.”
Caralyn ignored the “at the least as a start” part and concentrated on the apparent matchmaker portion. “Why would elves need help finding their own mates?”
“Let me give you a basic foundation of Erian bonds. Though elves can marry whomever they will, they are also capable of forming a complete soul-bond with the right person. These people are called bondmates. This kind of bond is the highest one that can be obtained and is truly a meeting of mind and soul.”
“So it’s like a fated kind of thing?” Caralyn asked, still processing all she’d been told. Though everything swam murkily around in her mind, a vague sense of what the two elves’ task could be started to coalesce. Why would they need to do anything on Earth, though?
“If broken down into the simplest terms, I guess that would be correct.”
Caralyn reasoned through her tangle of thoughts as she spoke slowly. “If Eamon and Andrian are to help the graykindred achieve their original purpose, don’t they need to be back in Eria to do that?”
“That would be true if our concern was with Erian-based matches. Too many of the potential fated mates are human. Quite a few are also holdouts. I think Eamon explained whom they are?”
Shock gripped her vocal cords in a stranglehold. Some of the mates were human? Was this all some freaky dream? Caralyn blinked a few times, but the room remained the same, even if it spun a little. She wet her dry lips with her tongue. “Eamon told me who the holdouts are, but he never mentioned anything about humans being possible bondmates — not that he even mentioned bondmates in any capacity.”
“Not surprising. He doesn’t believe in love, so he doesn’t look at soul-bonds too favorably. And given his hate of humanity, he despises any thought of soul-bonds between elf and human.”
At Aistiane’s matter-of-fact tone, an invisible hand squeezed Caralyn’s heart, hurting more than it should have. So what if Eamon hated hu
mans? She already knew that. From what he’d said about his mother, it sounded like her death could have something to do with that prejudice.
Steeling herself, she focused on another important question. “Why do you want to find these mates so badly, though?”
“What has Eamon told you of Eria and its magic?”
“Not much. He mentioned a little about the veil and how nature fuels part of the elves’ magic. Oh, and that he corrupted the magic that created the darkindred — now the graykindred, I guess.”
“So you know some,” Aistiane said, her voice reflective. “Good. The problem is that the magic in Eria is fading. The veil — well, we were too hasty. We didn’t foresee ...” Apparently noticing her shaken expression, Aistiane trailed off.
Astonishment coursed through Caralyn like an electric bolt. Aistiane was part of the veil? If that was true, no wonder Eamon couldn’t dismiss her, no matter how he tried.
Aistiane made a sound of regret. “I’m a manifestation of a small portion of the veil, separate yet part of it. You could say I’m the active portion. I’m as involved as the mist can become. Though I can’t kill, I know all that goes on within Eria and who passes through the veil.”
She stepped toward Caralyn and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I always forget that humans are easily spooked by news like this. I should’ve broken it to you more gently.”
Caralyn swallowed against the sandpaper ball lodged in her throat. “It’s okay. By now, I should be getting used to the impossible.”
An expression of sympathy skimmed over Aistiane’s face “This has all happened so fast, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t change anything.”
“No, but you’re handling everything with fortitude, nevertheless.”
A spate of nearly hysterical laughter hit. “I don’t know about that. I feel like I’m caught up in a strong current and don’t know how to swim.”
“You might feel at a loss right now, but you may appreciate the journey later.”
Highly unlikely. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to totally disagree. “Maybe.” Wanting to get back on topic, she asked, “Why do the graykindred have to find those mates?”
Aistiane’s eyes widened. “However did I get so off-topic?” She shook her head and retreated a few feet back as if to regain some needed perspective. “To answer your question — because all magic and thus nature in Eria needs humanity, and the bonds they produce, to feed them. Bonds generate energy the magic needs to renew itself.”
This just kept getting worse and worse. How many humans would be needed to produce enough of this energy? And Eamon and Andrian would be responsible for finding these humans? Aren’t there enough potential mates in Eria to avoid all this?”
“In the short run, I’ll admit it would be easier if there were, but I’m afraid that removing the fae worlds from the human one is what started this all. We can only resolve the issue by joining elf and human in soul-bonds.”
Something wasn’t adding up. She crossed her arms over her middle in a self-comforting gesture. “So are elf-human bonds more powerful?”
Aistiane gestured with her hands, and the bangles around her wrist jingled against each other. “Not necessarily more powerful, but humans bring their own sort of magic — one of innovation and change — to the bond, which elves and other fae peoples lack. Since Eria no longer resides in the mortal world or has contact with it, the lands and magic fade because they can’t tap into humanity’s gifts. We thought fae magic would be enough to sustain our world, but we need humanity as much as you probably need us.”
Caralyn frowned. “As we probably need you?”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that chaos reigns on Earth and that the prevalent way of life is fast-paced. Humanity is in ever-changing flux while the fae are stuck in stasis for much of their life. Neither is bad in and of themselves, but without one to balance out the other, both sides are leaning too heavily in opposite directions. The end result is the same for both, though — worldwide catastrophe and even likely annihilation.”
Nausea welled in her stomach. “Oh, that’s not good.” What an understatement.
So much really hinged on Eamon and Andrian finding these people? What a sobering thought. Eamon and Andrian weren’t ready to interact with humans on their own. The simplest person could see that. If so much rested on those two, how could she say no? Conversely, how could she say yes? She was no superhero or even a leader. Life should be nice and uncomplicated. It’d been anything but in the three days she had known him. Three days? God, it seemed so much longer.
She knew she was probably grasping at straws, but she still really didn’t understand how magic worked in Eria. “What happened to the magic Eamon corrupted? Is that magic gone, or has it been restored?”
“Since Eamon no longer has possession of the orb, that magic is recovering the strength to carry out its original purpose of guiding the graykindred. The overall magic of Eria has received a boost from this release of the graykindred.” Aistiane gave a sad smile. “Unfortunately, this is only temporary.”
“Wait, so you used this orb to help the graykindred?” Aistiane had mentioned the orb while she was talking to Eamon, but Caralyn hadn’t had a clue as to its context in relation to anything else.
“More than that — to imbue them with their mate-finding abilities.”
Caralyn frowned. “Okay, the orb created the graykindred?”
“As a group, yes. The first members were outlaws, and I offered them a new way of life, a way to pay recompense for their previous wrongdoings. To do so, I altered a human bondmate’s blood and kept this essence in the orb. I then placed this essence within each of the graykindred. When Eamon stole the orb, his hate and bitterness corrupted the magic within the orb. In turn, this corrupted the graykindred.”
Sorrow pasted itself across Aistiane’s face. “The magic drove most insane during the first years. Only with time were most able to overcome the worst effects. Some never did and paid for it with their lives.”
Caralyn’s chest tightened. “That’s horrible.” Eamon had done that terrible evil. How could she have slept with him? Then again, a person didn’t have to be totally rotten to do evil things. Eamon was a creature of contradictions. Darkness and light mingled fiercely within him, and though he’d been nurturing that darkness, he hadn’t been able to put out that bit of light that still lingered.
“It was a dark time. Fortunately, the king’s new wife and bondmate freed the darkindred by cutting the orb out of Eamon’s hand.”
“Oh.” So that was how he’d gotten that healing scar on his hand. She knew there had to be more to the story than that, but her mind was too full of the choice weighing on her to consider it further. “So Eamon and Andrian will find the bondmatess?
“In part. Other graykindred will come, and they will need to be led.”
A terrible suspicion took root like a poisonous weed in her stomach. “You mean Eamon to help lead the people he has corrupted?” Please, let me be wrong.
“Yes.”
That one word hit like a hammer, and her body jerked. “H-how could you possibly expect him to take a leadership capacity among the graykindred? That sounds like a sure death sentence.”
“It may seem harsh, but Eamon’s need for repentance is great.”
Anger kindled within. She didn’t know why she needed to defend him. The urge was so strong she couldn’t ignore it. “So you’re throwing him to the people who have reason to hate him the most?”
“There’s some justice in that, don’t you think?” Apparently seeing her gearing up to protest, Aistiane held up a hand. “I won’t allow irreparable harm to come to him, though. That would rather defeat the purpose.”
“How will you be able to prevent it? You can’t guard him all the time.”
“I won’t have to. I’ve tied some of Eamon’s life force to Andrian’s so none of the graykindred can hurt one without hurting the other. Since they adore Andrian, none will seek to
kill Eamon. However, this only applies to the graykindred. Anyone else could seek to kill either of them, and it wouldn’t affect the other.”
Potent relief hit. “You can do that?”
Aistiane looked at a few of the framed photos that sat on the dresser. “I can’t kill anyone directly, but I can manipulate circumstances to indirectly bring about a desired result.”
“That must be handy.” And quite dangerous if not used for good things. Hopefully, Aistiane’s preventative measure would work the way it should.
Aistiane shrugged. “Sometimes it is, but I have to be careful of unintended consequences.”
“I see.” And she really did, but the contemplation of it made her head throb.
“So, my dear, will you do it?”
Words flew out of her mouth before she could reassess them. “Where will they live?”
“Initially, with you.”
Oh God, she wasn’t seriously thinking about it, was she? “And money?” If she did this insane thing, she couldn’t afford to support two grown men ... elves.
Aistiane chuckled. “They will have their own bank accounts, which I’ll set up soon. Money will be no trouble at all. We’ll also compensate you for your time, and any money you’ve spent or will spend on Eamon and the graykindred will be repaid.”
Well, money would be no problem, then. What other excuse could she think of? There were probably none that Aistiane couldn’t dismiss somehow. “When will the others come?”
“They’ll trickle in over the next few months. Don’t worry — I’ll have a home base set up close by so Eamon can easily travel back and forth from your apartment, should he choose to stay with you.”
Every particle within her froze. “Why would he do that?”
Aistiane gave her a long, pointed look. “I think you know.”
Great, just great. She knew they’d been together. Was it emblazoned on her forehead or what? Or could she smell it like Kaiden had? A flush of mortification hit. God, she was going to take a heavy-duty shower after this.
After a few seconds, Caralyn sighed wearily. “Will they just be centered here in Murren?” Though that seemed limiting to their purpose, what did she know? “And how will they find these mates and then secure them?”
