“This is why you are not ready,” Gaius’ voice sounds from somewhere near the side of the sofa. I sigh at how right he is.
“Not now, come back later.” I swat at the air, unwilling to get up, the pounding in my skull is unrelenting. “Do other Elemental fae have to deal with this? Or do they just wake up one day and have their powers?” I groan as each word sends another throb through my brain. I picture a tiny Embrys burning the house down and hope that their powers don’t manifest right when they are born. It would not be fun to birth a fire wielder.
“There is a moment, usually after the age of five, that the powers manifest. Sometimes, with the very powerful, it manifests right at birth which can be difficult on the mother. Most Elemental fae have their families to guide them from a young age so it grows gradually,” Gaius says, sounding farther away from me now.
Great, I've got fifteen years of catching up to do.
Suddenly, I feel Gaius’ hands on my head and before I can swat him away and ask what the heck he is doing I feel my migraine suddenly disappear.
I rip the blankets back and sit up, and am met with a smirking Gaius surrounded by four more deer.Did they multiply?“You healed me! Can you heal people?”
I do not heal, but I can trick your mind into forgetting the pain, one of my abilities.
“Cool. Can you teach me?”
“One thing at a time! Your mind needs to rest but your body does not! Come, help me clean the soot off of our new friends.” He motions behind him and I notice the room is a lot more crowded. “Then you may scoop out the droppings from the backroom. They have all been courteous enough to use just one room as the toilet.” Gaius claps his hands together as if the work ahead is something exciting.
Greeeat.
Chapter Eighteen
The day is a hard slog but I am grateful for the work to distract me from my worries. Every so often my mind slips back to who Ina was, where Embrys might be and if he is safe at his father’s estate, if Marissa is all right with the Sylvans, then to Oleander and what could possibly be happening to her in the Palace. The lone wolf seems to be keeping tabs on me though and comes to give me a little nudge whenever she notices my mind is wandering, possibly a task she has had to do for Gaius her whole life.
As a matter of fact, all the animals seem to be keeping tabs on me. Even at the end of the day when I went for my bath, those same three ducks from the night before accompanied me, making me squirm at the memory of what they saw, then blush at the thought of Embrys’ hands on me.
I am now lying in bed, alone at last and can feel the exhaustion of the day taking hold of me. Gaius’ healing touch wore off a while ago and the inside of my head feels like a construction site but when I close my eyes the pain eases a bit. The space feels empty without Embrys but as I start to drift I can feel his presence waiting for me in my dreams, as if he is still hovering and protecting me from afar.
I wake to the sound of metal scraping against stone. When I open my eyes it is dark and it takes me a moment to adjust to the sudden lack of glow worm light that I had grown accustomed to.
“Get up!” a deep voice rumbles and I feel rough hands clasp onto my arms and yank me out of my bed.
“Unhand me!”That wasn’t my voice.
I am pulled into a hallway with iron sconces lining the walls, giving me more light to see by and I startle at the sight of vargs holding onto me. I look down and see I am in a crisp, white night gown and red hair swishes in front of me.
Oleander! Am I in the Palace?
Oleander is led up a few flights of stone stairs and through a high ceilinged room with doors lining the left side wall and floor to ceiling windows lining the right side, showing a twinkling night view of what I am guessing is the capital city. The floor is glistening, white marble and there are white statues depicting different motifs of The Divine Mother in the middle of the hall.
There is one similar to the one in the square of Inverdell, with The Mother birthing the earth and there is another one showing her holding a large drop of water in one hand and a clump of soil with a small tree growing from it in the other. The last, and largest, is a carving of a scene with many different creatures-of-fae bowing down to The Mother in her fae form,the new religion.
The door at the end of the hall is cracked open. I can hear voices arguing, male voices. Oleander allows the vargs to lead her to the door and is pushed through ahead of them, stumbling on her bare feet.
“Ah, Oleander. Pleased you could join us.” She looks up to see a boardroom with a large wooden table housing around two dozen chairs, tucked in. Only four chairs at the very end are inhabited with Pyralis, Galeheart, a young man with slickedback, jet black hair and a sharp pointed nose and the dark haired man I recognize from my dream in the forest the other night.
“Not like I had a choice… your majesty.” Oleander bends at the knees, curtsying.
Your majesty… The Wolf King!
“How dare you speak to his majesty…” Galeheart half rises in his chair but The Wolf snaps his fingers and points for him to sit back down. He levels a stare at Oleander and gives her the wolfy grin I have seen in my nightmares.
“We have come to an agreement about your future, child. Come, sit and join us.” The Wolf motions for Oleander to come and sit in the empty chair beside him but she chooses the farthest seat instead.
“You have not given me my trial yet, so you cannot possibly havecome to an agreement. He is the one to blame, not I.” Oleander points to her father and I half expect to see him burst into flames but all I see in his eyes is sadness.How could he frame his own daughter?
“You have a right to your trial but we would like to give you an alternative offer instead. After all, I am not an unfair ruler. There are witnesses to your crime, Miss Pyralis. It would be wise to heed my warnings and choose the easier path. You have stated you do not know where the girl is so this is your only other option to bargain with.” The Wolf says and I notice Galeheart sneer, looking Oleander up and down as if she is dessert.
I look to the young man beside him and start to see the resemblance between him and the head of the House of Wind. Although, where Gaelheart is all sleaze and fake smiles, this man is stone cold. His stare feels like it is boring into my soul through eyes as black as his hair. Oleander clenches her jaw and bunches up her fists at her side before slamming one onto the table, setting the crystal-ware that lies in front of the men trembling.
