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None of us wanted to be bred against our will. I hoped my mother felt something for the Fae man who impregnated her. That was something I wouldn't dwell on too much, because that was a question I may never get the answer to.
What I remembered of the people who raised me, they were warm towards each other, loving. However I came about, they had that. Did they still have it? I hoped they did. In spite of offering me up to the Temple, I wanted them to be happy. They were my parents, as far as I was concerned.
"Dalyth is right about one thing," Jezalyn said slowly. "You both should learn how to use your magic properly. For your safety, for everyone else's safety, and because we might need it if we have to run from here."
I hated to admit it, but she was right. If I had a combination of magic the way Dalyth said, the way Wornar and Ryze surmised, then I needed someone from the Summer Court to teach me. I'd have to let Dalyth do that. For a little while anyway.
I nodded. "All right, we’ll stay for a while. Until we get a handle on everything. Then we make our plans. We get out of here, together."
I looked from one of my sisters to the other. Of all the Silent Maidens my age, these were the two I knew the least. By the time this was over, that will have changed. Not to mention the fact we all now had a few hundred years together.
In the back of my mind was a kernel of disappointment that I wouldn't share that with Tyla. She and I would have been laughing about all of this by now.
If we both agreed to stay for a little while longer, we would have made the most of it.
Instead, she was getting on with her human life like Zared was. Becoming a priestess and assuming I was living in some other temple, happy, and also human.
Would she write me letters and send them? She might. When she didn't get a reply, she'd eventually stop. She might assume I didn't want to be her friend anymore. Or that I met an attractive priest that consumed all my time outside of work.
She'd never know what really happened to me. That reality settled heavily on my heart. Her life would pass in the blink of my eye, then she'd be gone forever.
I wiped a tear off my cheek before the other women noticed. Not before sending sadness down the bond, apparently. I got a surge of reassurance back from Ryze and Tavian. And something from Vayne that felt like the emotional equivalent of a grunt. That was about all I could expect from the grumpy Fae commander. He wasn't chatty, but he got his point across.
I sent thanks back and assurances that I was all right. I wished I could send words and receive them. I would have liked to hear their voices right now. To explain the conversation I had with Hycanthe and Jezalyn. I'd even be happy to hear Vayne grumbling about whatever he was grumbling about in the moment.
Right now, I'd give just about anything to be curled up in my nest with them.
3
Khala
Hycanthe slumped on the bench beside Jezalyn while Dalyth talked me through everything she probably learned weeks ago.
The other omegas had shared a quick breakfast with us before being hustled away somewhere else. No one explained where and I didn't bother to ask. They wouldn’t have told me anyway.
I recognised a couple of them from the Temple in Fraxius. I'd take them with me when I left, if I could. I didn't think for a minute any of them were here of their own free will. Truthfully, the temptation to leave immediately was great, but the need to learn how to use my magic was greater.
"Now, focus on the water and the fire," Dalyth instructed. "Think of them like two threads coming together to form a blanket. Weave them together."
I saw how to draw the magic out of the water. I could have frozen the whole reflecting pool, or formed it into tiny drops of ice. From the fire, however, all I felt was warmth with a trace of magic. Nothing more. Nothing that wanted to work for me or with me.
I placed a hand over both and tried again. A fountain of water rose up from the pool, only to splash back down.
"Try again," Dalyth ordered. She was clearly getting frustrated.
So was I.
"Maybe I'm not what you think I am," I told her. "I might only have an affinity with winter."
"Maybe you just need some help," Dalyth said stubbornly.
She waved Jezalyn over. "Order her to channel both kinds of magic." She looked pissed at having to ask an alpha for help. Maybe she wished she was one.
Jezalyn gave me an apologetic look, then cleared her throat. "Channel both kinds of magic," she told me in a very alpha tone she clearly wasn't used to using. Under other circumstances, we might have giggled about it.
Today, I felt the weight of her command, and Hycanthe's glare. The omega in me was eager to obey. Not as eager as it was to obey Ryze, but eager enough. Like a puppy happy to wag her tail and sit for a treat.
I stretched my hands out and half closed my eyes.
