The council members stood as well, followed by my parents. As soon as I hugged them and left the room with Jordan, a sense of dread settled into me.
“You could have prepared me a little better for this, you know? Little hints here and there wouldn’t have hurt anything,” I grumbled.
She laughed. “But this is so much more fun considering how you tortured me on your birthday with all the crap you kept spewing.”
Grinding my jaw, I really regretted finding so much joy from her discomfort, because this payback was not what I had in mind.
Chapter Eight
We exited what Jordan had called the town hall and headed for the main streets we had skipped by earlier.
“Everyone is staring,” I groaned when we passed by the first store.
“Nah, they’re simply using their peripherals to peek and then turning to whisper about you to the nearest person. Totally different.”
I really needed to rethink my friend choices.
Our stroll down the main street wasn’t even enjoyable since I was so distracted by all the prying eyes. I mostly kept my head down and wished my hair wasn’t in a ponytail so I could hide behind it. When we got near the end and I completely missed everything Jordan had said, I was irritated I hadn’t taken a single moment to admire the fountain I’d seen earlier from the distance.
“How about we head to the training field? You told Selene you wanted to mentally prepare for what came next, so this might help,” Jordan offered.
“Will there be less people there?” I asked.
“Sort of. More like less people who give a crap about who you are. Guardians tend to not gawk as much as regular Arvaytans.”
“What exactly does it mean to be a guardian?”
“Well, think of them like the military you’re used to on Earth. Guardians are battle-trained, and the council assigns them duties as needed. Guardians help not only in Arvayta, but also in the Otherworld and Earth as requested, too.”
Interesting but not so surprising, given what I already knew. At least it wasn’t something that came with a shock factor like almost everything else I’d been told.
We turned left and headed down a hill to a field with a running track, some sand areas, large rock boulders, and a metal building behind all of that.
“So, what will this training consist of?” I asked.
“Hard to say until your magic starts to show what it’s capable of on an instinctual level. It could be a number of things depending on how basic we need to go. Since Stryx wasn’t able to do anything with your magic ahead of time, it might be back to kindergarten for you.”
Well, that didn’t sound like fun. Plus, I didn’t have high hopes I was going to be an exemplary student, considering I couldn’t sense an ounce of anything extraordinary within me.
A guy with shaggy blond hair, fair skin, and a wide smile jogged up to us and wrapped Jordan up in a massive hug. “You’re on my bad side for not coming to see me last night.”
She grimaced. “Well, I had a bit of a situation I had to take care of with Ryland.” Her eyes widened as she realized she’d said something she hadn’t meant to.
The newcomer’s grey eyes glanced at me, then offered his hand and a grin. “I’m Oliver. You must be Kaliah.”
“Please, call me Kali. It’s nice to meet you.” I smiled in return.
His gaze moved back to Jordan. “These fields weren’t near as exciting without you here to put us in our place. It’s been rather boring, actually, but I hear that’s about to change.”
“Yeah, a vengeful dark fae will do that. Have you heard anything about Alaryk? The council was pretty tight-lipped about it when we were in there earlier,” Jordan said.
“Nope, not a word. Though, I can sense a shift in things. Might be harder for you since you’ve been on Earth for so long, but the magic within our waters isn’t as strong as it was even a week ago.”
My mouth opened to say something, but I closed it right away, because I really had no idea what I was talking about.
“What?” Jordan nudged me.
“It’s nothing.”
“Your opinion means more than the rest of ours. You’re seeing all of this with fresh eyes, so seriously, just say whatever is on your mind,” Oliver encouraged with a heavy dose of sincerity. I decided I liked his disposition much better than Ryland’s.
“Well, the only time I’ve been able to feel any sensations of magic since I arrived was when I touched the water. Even in the shower, I felt it.”
Jordan laughed. “TMI, Chuck. We don’t need to know what you do in your alone time.”
Oliver shook his head at her. “You haven’t changed one bit, have you?”
“Nope.” She grinned proudly. “But what I meant to say was that is normal for you, Kali. Being as though you’re the direct heir of the last Arelia, water will likely call to you more than the rest of us. At least, I’m pretty sure. Guess we’ll find out.”
Oliver shoved Jordan. “Dude, you could have told us she was an Arelia. There hasn’t been one of those in I don’t know how many years.”
“Well, I didn’t say she is one. Nobody has confirmed it, but I have my suspicions, given her ancestors. Apparently, Stryx has been paying Kali visits at night for the last year.”
He turned to me and wrapped both of his hands around my shoulders. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re here. I need this excitement in my life. Anyway, you two have fun, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the start of your training, Kali.”
Before I could even say a word, he was running off in the opposite direction we had been heading and I glanced at Jordan.
“Uh, what’s an Arelia?” It was the first time I’d heard the word, and if she thought I had anything to do with whatever it was, I hoped she’d explain right away.
“It’s like a fae on steroids. Your power is heightened, you can do crazy things most others can’t. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ve never met one, and it’s not something they cover in class growing up. If you are one, I’m sure we’ll figure it out once Stryx comes back.”
Used to disappointment when it came to getting more information, I sighed. “So, there’s a lot I still don’t know, isn’t there?”
She nodded. “But there’s a lot all of us still don’t know, so try not to worry about it. We’re going to figure it out together. Oliver, Ryland, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Right, I believe two out of three are correct, but not so sure about Ryland. He was nice around my parents, but the look of despise he sent my way in the guest house told a different story.”
She grabbed my hand and made us stop walking. “Listen, Kali. There are some things that aren’t my place to explain to you, but I need you to trust me when I say Ryland is good people and someone that I consider a dear friend. He’s also one of the best guardians we have at our disposal, but he’s going through a few things right now. When he’s ready, I can guarantee you’ll be the first to know about it, or maybe even before then, depending on how things go.”
That was intriguing yet ominous. I wanted to interrupt her and ask more questions, but while Jordan normally had no filter, if she said it wasn’t her place to tell, then I knew she wouldn’t. She was loyal to a fault.
“Even though you’ve already been physically training, you’ll still need to maintain. Chuck Norris didn’t become a badass and stay that way by being lazy, you know. So, each morning we’ll run five miles before we begin any of our training sessions to help keep endurance up.”
“Is there an outdoor or indoor pool around here?” I asked, because I’d love to do some laps in the water instead of on the track.
“Not in the sense of ones you’d see on Earth, but there are plenty of clean bodies of water you can use, and considering where I think your magic is coming from, it’s probably a good idea to rotate between running and swimming.”
As we passed the track, we came upon a group of fifteen or so guardians practicing hand-to-hand combat.
They moved with a precision and grace that I knew was far beyond anything I was capable of, but I hoped to be there one day soon.
Jordan waved to a few, but we kept walking and entered the training building. The door clicked shut behind me, and when my eyes finally adjusted to the darker room, I took in the different parts of the room and the groups utilizing the resources.
There were two guys beating the crap out of each other with bamboo sticks, followed by another handful of people doing archery, but instead of arrowheads piercing into the target, there were orbs of magic—or so I assumed—flying through the air and blowing up the targets. Pure craziness, yet I couldn’t wait to try it.
Next, a young woman was on her own and creating a swirling vortex of magic that had me so entranced that I almost ran into two guys wrestling on my right. Once I got my wits about me again, I continued my perusal and found a guy all the way in the back. He had no shirt on and was beating the crap out of a punching bag, but of course, it wasn’t an ordinary one.
No, this one was translucent, yet every time his foot or fist made contact with it, there was a bright light that ricocheted off of it. When the flashes became too much for my eyes in the dim room, I glanced down at his back and noticed tribal-style tattoo work along his shoulder blades that continued down the backside of both rib cages.
Then, my gaze traveled further and took in his tapered waist and the fine curves of his lower half before asking Jordan who he was.
“You don’t recognize him?” she asked, and I shook my head. “Look a little harder. Tell me if you sense anything familiar about him.”
The way she said it had me on edge, and as I stared harder, trying to avoid the bright flashes of light, I was able to get a good glimpse of his hair and immediately knew it was Ryland I had been ogling.
“Why does he seem to be everywhere?” I complained, and more importantly, why did my chest tighten at seeing him again?
“Or maybe you just keep searching him out without realizing it. I mean, he is all the way in the back corner. For most people, he would have been easy to overlook.”
“Shut up, Satan.” My eyes tore away from Ryland and searched out the exit. “I’ve seen enough to satisfy my curiosity. Let’s head back to town and do some window shopping until I figure out how to get money around here.”
She followed me to the door and kept talking. “We don’t actually have true currency around here, more like IOUs. Everyone does their part to contribute, and not many have more than anyone else. Except for the council members, because they pretty much work day and night.”
My eyes widened. “So, you’re telling me I can walk into any store we passed and get whatever I want?”
“Not exactly. You take what you need, not what you want. There’s a difference.” Her tone was almost chastising.
“What if I want a snack or something frivolous? Do those types of things not exist around here?” I was so confused. How could there be no currency? It just didn’t make any sense how that system wouldn’t be abused. It would never work on Earth. Humans were greedy beings.
“Don’t overthink it. I promise, you’ll settle in just fine before you know it. How about we start with the bookstore?”
“There’s a bookstore here?” My heart was already pounding. There was nothing I loved more than snuggling up on the couch with a good romance or history novel. Romance because I didn’t get out much, and history because there was no such thing as too much knowledge.
She laughed. “I pointed it out to you earlier, but you were too busy having a panic attack to notice. Come on. We’ll sneak right in, and nobody will even make fun of you when you smell the books.”
I snorted. “Nobody but you.”
My best friend loved to poke fun at my nerdy side—really it only consisted of an obsession with superheroes and books—but I didn’t care. I was proud of who I was and never once in my life tried to impress anyone, which made me realize how ridiculous I’d been by being so freaked out about the stares and whispers from the others on the street.
The people in Arvayta didn’t know me, so I couldn’t blame them for being curious. The only way to make things any better was to show them the real me, and I was going to get on that just as soon as I finished with the bookstore.
Chapter Nine
We spent a couple of hours in the bookstore, followed by another hour window shopping as I made mental notes of which stores I wanted to visit again when I wasn’t so tired. The high I felt in the bookstore was fading fast until we passed by the fountain.
“Any history to this?” I asked Jordan when I stopped to sit on the edge of the stone before dipping my fingers into the water. Once again, the tingles ran through me, and I shuddered at the overwhelming feeling of emotion.
“It’s said to have been a gift to the guardians from Queen Taliah, your grandmother. How come?”
Hmm, I wondered if the stronger feelings were because of who had given the fountain to the people or simply another effect of being connected to the water as Jordan had thought earlier.
“It’s stunning is all.”
She raised a brow. “Then why is most of your arm submerged in the water like you need it more than your next breath?”
Oops. Standing back up, I shook my hand out. “Just a warm day. No reason to overthink anything,”
She mumbled something as she tugged me along, but I missed it, too busy smiling at the people instead of shying away from them to ask what she’d said. Not being so worried about what others thought of me was a whole lot easier than stressing about it.
When we got to the edge of town, Jordan turned to me with a challenging smirk on her face. “Want to port?”
“Uh, walking hasn’t killed me yet.” Then I realized I didn’t need to be afraid of anything. I’d seen plenty of people disappearing and reappearing while we’d been out. “Actually, why not? Let’s do it.”
“Really?” Jordan was beaming with excitement. “For the first time, I won’t even make you do any of the work. All you have to do is close your eyes and not throw up on me.”
If queasiness was part of the process, maybe I needed to rethink saying yes so soon. I was pretty sure my body wasn’t yet adjusted to the new world, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by getting sick with something that seemed so easy for everyone else.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhaled and closed my eyes as I considered telling her never mind. Though, before I could voice my thoughts, Jordan latched on to my arm and my subsequent shout was cut off right before I stumbled onto my parent’s front yard.
“Are you freaking kidding me? You truly are Satan,” I grumbled as I rolled over, taking my time to stand back up since my equilibrium was seriously thrown off balance. On the plus side, I was only dizzy and had no desire to throw up.
“You know it was fun, and I didn’t have time for you to overanalyze it. Some things we’re just going to have to rip the band-aid off with.” She shrugged, then left me on the ground and headed into the main house.
I went to the guest house since I still had bags in my hand from the books I’d purchased, or borrowed. I had no idea, really. The whole idea of a barter system was a lot harder to wrap my head around than Jordan made it seem.
Dropping them off quickly, I double-checked my hair wasn’t a wreck from the porting that still had me feeling queasy, then headed to my parents’. When I walked in through the back door, my insides warred with each other at the sight of Ryland sitting at the dinner table with my parents and Jordan. I was equal parts eager and nervous, because our interactions had been so off-kilter so far.
“There she is.” Mom gleamed, but she seemed to be the only one smiling.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I took a seat next to Dad, furthest from Ryland.
Nobody answered me at first, and the tension in the room was palpable when Dad finally spoke. “Ryland brings news from the Otherworld. He was there for an errand this afternoon and met with some of our liaisons.”
“So, what did they say?” I asked, because he wasn’t getting to the point on his own fast enough for my liking.
Ryland cleared his throat but wouldn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he focused on Jordan as he explained. “Alaryk, the dark fae with the vendetta against you has made a public appearance and his first threat. He said if the Atwater heir isn’t either dead or turned over to him by month’s end, then he would start punishing the other races until someone brought you to him.”
A hiss escaped my lips as hatred for someone I’d never even met flowed freely through me. This fae was hitting right where it counted most for me: harming innocent people.
“So, when do I go meet him?” I asked, because to me there really was no other choice. I wouldn’t be able to handle the death of others on my conscience, so we either needed to set a meeting with the psycho or find a way to kill him first.
“That’s not happening, Kaliah. You’re not ready,” Dad snapped.
“And whose fault is that? Certainly not mine.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them, but the thought of other people dying on my behalf was making me extra snarky.
“Kali, I know this sucks, but your parents are doing their best, given the situation,” Jordan said, trying to calm the tension.
“I understand that, but they’re not the ones who have to live with being the cause of however many murders. I’m not trying to be a martyr by any means, but I do have a heart. My life isn’t worth more than anyone else’s.”
They all shared a look that said I wasn’t going to win the argument, so before I said something else out of anger, I decided I needed a moment alone. Without excusing myself, I headed upstairs and decided to let them keep talking, because I knew it didn’t really matter what I said. I was going to be outnumbered and overruled.
Though, I also trusted that Jordan would have my back now that she knew how I felt. She would be my voice if needed, so I didn’t worry about it too much. Instead, I went to the upper balcony I’d found when I was done getting ready earlier that day. Opening the door, I sucked in a deep breath of crisp air and closed my eyes.
Of Dreams and Sorcery (Royal Fae Guardians Book 1) Page 6
