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When she’d returned from Millerell, even before she got showered, she’d planted herself on the stone entry. She needed to think, to settle her mind, to figure things out.
She liked being in her simple mountain garden. When she’d built and landscaped her home, she’d created a natural sloping garden full of rocks, junipers, several holly shrubs and other winter loving plants. Now that it was April, the snow was gone and the plants looked relieved. Some of the new growth was bright green.
The view helped as well. It was a roll of majestic forested land well in the distance. The range was much taller than where she’d built and had snow-capped peaks.
She sighed. Traveling in the time-path always left her fatigued and for some reason her heart labored now in her chest. More than once, she’d tried to self-heal, but the heavy, weighted sensation continued. She was a little concerned. If she wasn’t better by the next evening, she’d seek Vojalie out for a remedy.
A pair of realm night-sparrows chased each other into the nearby pines. She watched. If only her own life could be so simple.
Rez.
The moment she merely thought his name, her heart started beating harder. Worse, desire rippled down her arms and kept rippling until her whole body shivered.
She’d never experienced so strong and profound a reaction to a man in her life. She didn’t understand it at all especially since he wasn’t the kind of man she could admire.
She rose to her feet. She needed a distraction. Anything to take her mind off the memory of Rez’s fangs piercing Wanda’s arm.
She headed to the kitchen where the bowl still lay smashed on the floor. She was grateful for a simple chore to take her mind off the man.
She swept up the debris, slowly moving her broom to keep the flour from billowing into the air. Yet, her mind kept circling back to Rez’s eyes. They were light blue and incredibly beautiful, clear as water, with a strange pull on her.
She recalled how Wanda, one of the bartenders at the Wild Boar, had offered so readily to feed him as had several other villagers. She’d felt their willingness. She was still shocked.
Of course, Rez had just saved an entire troll family and who knew how many other realm-folk by taking on two Invictus pairs. Still, she’d hardly expected so many to come forward. It was clear the villagers knew him well and appreciated him. She wondered if he’d helped them out in the past.
She would never approve how he left the Tannisford Vampire Guard, however. She knew his reputation and it wasn’t good. He’d refused to rejoin the Guard and hadn’t fought in the final battle against Margetta. Her brother, Scott, had died in service as a Guardsman. Rez had no excuse for not taking up arms, even if tragedy had struck his family. He wasn’t the only person in Tannisford devastated by Invictus attacks.
Once the flour was cleaned up, she took her satchel to her workroom. She checked her supplies carefully, noting any depleted quantities. She sterilized the needle and syringe and replaced the essential oils, herbal infusions and mineral compounds she’d used to make the antidote.
She’d been training with Vojalie for a full, intense two years on the mysteries of time-travel with a side-specialty in dark fae poison antidotes.
Were tonight’s events the reason why? Had Vojalie seen her in the future with Rez and knew the training Holly would need?
She could still recall the moment when Vojalie approached her about joining her small group of apprentices. She’d just finished teaching one of her classes at Tannisford University, when Vojalie had appeared in the hallway.
She’d known of the powerful fae all her life. Everyone knew who she was and how much she’d done over the centuries on behalf of the Nine Realms. She served on the Sidhe Council and was married to an ugly though extremely charismatic troll named Davido. They had a young troll child at home, Bernice.
Yet, she’d never met the woman personally. To see her in the halls of the university, having appeared out of nowhere, had been a shock. She was so surprised, she’d almost dropped into an old-fashioned and outdated curtsy.
When Vojalie had asked for a private word, Holly took her to the office she shared with a couple of other teachers. Each was present when she and Vojalie arrived, but quickly excused themselves.
Vojalie had gotten to the point right away: She was looking for several gifted fae women to train in time-pathing.
Holly had been unable to speak for a half-minute. She kept wondering if she’d heard correctly. “But I thought time-pathing was a myth?”
“I thought so myself and ignored the call for some time. Then suddenly, the realm-gift was on me. I received a series of visions as well showing I was called to train a select few fae women.”
“Was I in one of the visions?”
Vojalie had nodded solemnly. “It also helps for each to have some vampire heritage. Apparently, a spattering of strong vampire genes aids in time-pathing.”
“My mother is a vampire.” She’d spoken quietly. She recalled feeling very confused about what was going on. Time-Pathing? It seemed absurd and impossible.
Yet even as she’d looked into Vojalie’s sincere, brown eyes, she’d felt the past calling to her, demanding she heed Vojalie. She must apprentice herself to the beautiful fae woman who had served the Nine Realms forever.
So, she had.
Now she was here.
