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  A good scrubbing was just the thing I needed. The tub was already full of steaming water, and I tossed the towel aside before I stepped in and sank into the rose-petal covered water. I didn’t need such trappings, but the servants were probably conditioned to run baths like this. I wrinkled my nose as the fumes from the flowers filled my nostrils. It smelled like a girl, but I didn’t care. It was infused with other oils, too, which penetrated my skin and soothed the ache of life away. I let my head drop back against a towel as my body relaxed. I soaked for a while until the water was no longer steaming. Only then did I scrub the rest of the grime away, dirtying up the water in no time. I rinsed off, relishing the heat as it tried in vain to scald my skin off. Heat had no effect on me, but it was soothing enough. Finally, I stepped out to dry off.

  Landing on the bed with just the towel wrapped around my hips, I let the luxurious feel of the bed with its feather down comforter and soft sheets envelop me. I succumbed to sleep, tumbling into dreams of red hair, emeralds and Unseelie warriors hunting for human blood. Regardless of the intensity of my dreams, I let oblivion overtake my troubled mind in hopes of finding some quiet peace in slumber.

  Chapter Sixteen Always the One to Leave

  Always the One to Leave

  October 20th, 1702

  Since the incident of the girl’s murder in the village, I have obsessed over finding a sanctuary for humans who indeed have the ailment of “the sight.” One oracle from a nearby grotto told me of stones that can be worn around the neck to hide a human who has the sight and also help them to “unsee” glamour magic, which most faeries wear to hide their unusual appearances. The Leluara stone is a rare gem found deep inside Faerie which can be mined to make necklaces for the humans with “the sight” to wear and keep safe from hunters whose sole purpose is to find and exterminate them.

  I won’t be able to make the journey until next year, when the cold season has passed, for there is too much work to do to prepare for the winter, but I hope to bring back some of these stones to help the children born with this special vision and keep them safe from harm.

  ~Brendan

  I tightened the straps that kept my sword’s sheath from slipping. Well rested and waiting for Nyol to get his shit together—meaning assemble the group of ten warriors, including Paki—I stretched and shook out my sore muscles. I had worked out in the morning but still felt stiff from the journey. Wearing a clean set of clothes did make me feel more “human,” a thought that darkened my mood even when I tried not to let it. It brought a scowl to my face as I rolled my neck and retied my boot where the laces were loosening up.

  “What’s hitching up your parade today?” Nautilus joined the group, his long dreadlocks pulled back in a rough ponytail, exposing his sharp jawline and turquoise-grey eyes, which came from his merfolk lineage. His wide smile as he greeted his friends, shaking their hands in a display of camaraderie, made me roll my eyes. His dreads were so long, I wondered if they made his head ache from the weight of them.

  He held out his hand to me, and I relented, taking it and giving him a firm shake. Might as well start this journey off on the right foot.

  “No more than the usual troubles.” My eyes found Sary standing near Shade, talking softly to her before she realized I was staring in her direction. She averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly. Served her right. I finally looked away, too. No point in putting salt on the wound. “Some things I’ll never understand,” I muttered to myself.

  Nautilus found what I’d been looking at, chuckling before giving me a firm pat on the back. “I hear that. Some things aren’t meant to be understood.” He leaned forward. “Especially the troubles the opposite sex brings.” He let go, held out his other hand and placed a rock into my fist. I unfolded my fingers from it, my eyes widening. A ruby stone sat on my palm, gleaming in the light.

  “What the hell is that?” I didn’t like the feel of it. It looked like hardened blood and radiated a cold energy.

  “It’s a water stone, much like the one I gave your sister when we had to fish her ancestor, Kilara, out of Lake Tahoe. My peace offering. It’ll help you if you ever need to take a trip through water by letting you breathe. Just hold it in your mouth.”

  I stared down at the ruby stone. An underwater breathing stone. Shade had told me about hers, and I decided I could definitely use one. I held it up to the light. Even though it appeared transparent, the gem was more opaque inside and didn’t let the light penetrate all the way through. Its facets of shiny red glimmered and hummed with a magic I’d never experienced before.

  “Thanks man,” I said.

  He tipped his head at me before walking toward Nyol to help the stragglers with their equipment. I pocketed the stone and wondered if it was truly a gift. Nothing came cheap in Faerie. I wondered what price I’d have to pay for it later on.

  Shade turned toward me as Sary left the room. My heart sank. So much for a warm farewell. I hated how frosty it made me feel, but I shook it off as my sister made her way toward me. She also held out her hand. A shiny, blue marble-sized orb sat in her palm.

  “Another stone gift? I’ll be dragging from all the extra weight,” I joked. She rolled her eyes at me and snatched my wrist, forcing the marble into my palm, no matter how I tried to avoid her reach, teasing her with some smooth dodges.

  “You’re still a dork, you know that? It’s the summoning stone I told you about. You’ll need it to summon Camulus. When you do, rub it in your hands and hold it to your lips when you call him. He’ll come and snatch you out of any mess you’re in.”

  I folded my fingers over its smooth surface, unable to hide my reluctance at possibly having a traitor as my savior.

  “Hey, I’m not always in a mess.” She gave me a knowing look. “Okay, so sometimes I can use a get out of jail card. So … what if he doesn’t get us out of our bind, then what?”

  Shade’s eyes didn’t harden this time. Instead she just shook her head, her eyes twinkling with jest. “Don’t start. He will. If he doesn’t, he’ll have way bigger problems with me than facing a self-proclaimed Unseelie king.”

  Well, that settled it.

  She winked and pulled me in for a tight hug. She sort of reminded me of Mom with her concern, and the thought made my chest seize. I hated leaving so soon after I had arrived. Leaving my family was always hard and never got easier. I hugged her back.

  “Hey, take care of Anna and James for me.” I looked away, not liking to say goodbye. I sucked at it.

  “You know I will.” She let me go and turned toward Nautilus, joining him in another embrace. I narrowed my eyes, again wondering what was going on between the two of them. Maybe I was just being delusional, but I really had to wonder when the guy was definitely into my sister more than he should be.

  Nautilus didn’t look like he wanted to let her go. He was definitely still crushing on her hard. I laughed a little inside, shaking my head at how pathetic he was because Shade still had no clue about his feelings. Too bad. He was going to get his heart smashed into smithereens around my sisters. Even Anna wasn’t going to give into him easily, that was for certain.

  “You all ready? Don’t want to get there when I’m ninety,” I hollered and started for the main exit. I could hear scrambling behind me, but I paid no attention to the warriors hurrying to join me as I donned my sunglasses and headed out into the open air, right where I belonged. It would help if I kept my eyes opened. I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I slammed right into Dylan.

  “Whoa, there!” The Teleen warrior was walking in as I was leaving and caught me as I went tumbling back. The guy must’ve been working out because I bounced right off him like he was a steel wall.

  “Crap! Sorry, man.” I caught my balance, and we gave each other a firm hug, the kind brothers would give. “Where you been?” I was glad to see the guy, even though at one point, I hadn’t liked him with any cell in my body. Now, after all we’d been through, he was the closest to a big brother I’d ever have.


  The wide grin on his mouth made his whole face light up. “Hey, Benton. Great to see you, too. On another errand to the Teleen Kingdom, as usual. Queen Gretel is a great ally to the South, but quite a demanding one.”

  I nodded, knowing he was still bound to serve the Teleen Kingdom where he’d grown up. “They replace Nautilus as captain yet?” I shifted on my feet. They were still aching from the prior day’s journey to the Scren. Now I had more travelling to do. No rest for the weary.

  “Yeah, actually that’s why I was summoned. She wanted my opinion on another successor.”

  “Nautilus wasn’t included?”

  Dylan’s blue-grey eyes glimmered in the bright sunlight, filled with a dark apprehension. “Nautilus was relieved of his duty.”

  “What? How come?”

  “He requested to leave the post voluntarily so he could remain at the Scren Palace.” He sighed, looking somewhat disturbed.

  “Um, okay. Does that bother you?”

  He rubbed his eyes and wiped the sweat forming on his brow. The morning sun was already beating down on us, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  “It does. Frankly, having him here while I’m gone isn’t ideal. I don’t know what he’s up to. I trust Shade, but I don’t trust him.”

  I nodded, giving him a small chuckle. “I hear ya. No worries, man, I got the merman joining me on this journey to see what the Unseelie are doing near our home in the outskirts of Portland.”

  Dylan lifted an eyebrow, looking pleasantly surprised. “Really? How’d you pull that off? He never leaves the Scren.”

  “He volunteered, if you can believe that. I think he wants to prove himself or something. To either Shade or Anna.”

  “Anna?” Dylan retreated into his thoughts, looking mystified. There was more going on at the palace than I could ever really catch up on in just one day. I hoped I’d get to return soon. There just never seemed to be enough time.

  “Listen, I hope you get some rest, okay? We’re heading off now. Great to see you again.”

  Dylan nodded, still looking pensive. He shook my hand and waved us goodbye as we turned and headed out the front gates of the Scren Palace.

  Sometimes, I didn’t really want to know what was going on with the women in my family. It gave my head a slow, dull ache to think of the problems they could get into without me around. Faery women were prized in this culture, especially hybrids who had more power than anyone else. Still, Anna wasn’t from faery lineage, but from the effects the land had already had on her, she’d be as immortal as one and could probably be the perfect prospect for some of the faery males hanging around, especially since her affinity to fire would allow her to be paired off with a fire-attuned faery like Nautilus.

  The thought made me sick, and I glared at the merman as we headed out, crossing into the dry desert surrounding the lush island of the Scren. I’d keep an eye on him. One misstep and he could kiss goodbye the chance of ever getting close to my sisters again.

  Past the strip of dead land was a scrawny forest dotted with pitiful, withered-looking trees. I remembered fighting the Unseelie army there after Shade had acquired the Scren from its previous ruler. It was also the site of our mother’s, Jade’s, death. The memory resurfaced with a painful stab in the gut. I sucked in a breath as the memory flashed before my eyes, the moment I’d come upon Shade, screaming and hysterical, with Mom’s dead body in her arms. It blurred into the depressive scene of her funeral after the battle. I doubted the ache would ever go away. Losing her had shaken all of us up.

  I gulped down the pain and reached into my pack for a bottle of water. I sipped on the cool fluid to wash away the thrum of my memories and the headache they always left me with. I hated feeling this way. Hated losing the ones I loved. Losing my father had hit me hard several years ago. But losing my mother? That almost shattered me. It was one reason I never stayed too long at our house near Portland or at the Scren. Memories were terrible and constant reminders of the things we’ve loved and lost.

  In the meantime, I wanted to forget. If it meant being alone with strangers, so be it. I had bigger concerns than my own emotions. One of them was this notorious Oran and his tribe of banished Unseelie. Something told me he wasn’t going to be an easy person to negotiate with. No matter what, the dread forming in my stomach made me wonder if the decision to find him was going to be the right one or just another knot of regret in the tangled bunch I already possessed. My track record so far pointed to the latter.

  Chapter Seventeen Home

  Home

  November 22nd, 1702

  The Pyren is almost complete, hidden beneath our home. I have started the transfer of the mass of trunks filled with scrolls and magical objects I hid in the barn until the Pyren was completed. The move should be completed before the snow becomes too harsh and it becomes impossible to leave the house.

  I hope to continue to add to the collection for future generations of our family. The winter will be long this year, so I will have plenty of time to catch up on writing spells in a grimoire which have worked well for me, old and new. My wife has also started her own grimoire while instructing the children to keep one for themselves. I even coerced my father to begin one, to fill it with all the knowledge of his days.

  ~Brendan

  The house appeared past the thicket of evergreens and lush pines of the forest surrounding our home. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of exhilaration I’d feel seeing it come into my line of vision. I’d missed it. How could I have stayed away so long? So far, there was no sign of Oran’s tribe, which made me suspect they were staying away from the wards placed around my family’s house.

  Relieved to discover the house and the Pyren safe and intact, I wanted to holler out with joy. Running the last few dusty concrete steps up the creaky porch, I slipped my key into the slot, twisting it as fast as possible before yanking open the door. It was dark, cool and somewhat musty inside. I flipped the lights on and frowned at the astounding layer of dust all over the place. Mom probably hadn’t taken the time to place an enchantment to keep it off everything, but that was of little to no consequence. I already knew the spell from reading her grimoire. Funny how she had a whole chapter of housekeeping spells but rarely used them. Her writing had been humorous, and I was surprised to find I loved to read about her life before her memory had been altered. It’d been easy to absorb her nifty spells.

  I reached into my pack and pulled out a small pack of herbal mix, crumbled into chunky powder. I’d only need a pinch to make the spell ignite. Whispering into my hands, I rubbed the tiny dried leaves into dust with my fingers, feeling the magic amplifying as my magic bonded the spell to the herbs. Magic was a natural thing, tied to the environment, whether by air, earth, water or fire. This was a simple spell meant to keep a place tidy enough to live in without much effort.

  I held the dust of herbs out in the palm of my hand and blew it into the room, letting it dissipate before I lit it on fire with a puff of breath from my mouth. It ignited like a flash bomb, and a moment later, the place was immaculate, the way it’d been when Mom was still there. That thought brought water to my eyes, and I wiped it stealthily away before I headed over to plop onto the couch.

  The others, Nautilus, Nyol and Paki, entered after observing me performing the spell. They’d waited quietly behind me and had let me do my thing without interruption. That made them pretty cool in my book. The solemn expressions on their faces never exposed what they really felt while in working mode. That was fine with me, but it made me feel like I was surrounded by robots.

  I missed Sary and Braelynn with an unanticipated vengeance. They provided much needed animation to the people around them, like adding color to a grey world, painting it with every hue of the rainbow. Now I knew what drew everyone to them so much. That’s what they were, vibrancy in a dark, dismal world. These guys looked like grey, rusty automatons in comparison. What do men do without women? It amused me to think that we ever survived without them.

  Zen
a flew back into my thoughts, bringing a smile to my lips. I wanted to see her again, but it’d have to wait. I pulled off my boots and stretched my sore toes, grimacing from the pain. I’d have to soak them with some magical herbs to heal the blisters forming. That and fix my shoes; the soles were getting far too thin.

  “My men will make camp outside within the dome,” Nyol stated. “I’ll send out scouts to find the location of Oran’s camp. Anything changes, let me know.” He turned to leave, with Paki right at his heels. The ex-queen’s son was young but a loyal second lieutenant to Shade. It’d been strange to find he’d been so willing to serve Shade after she had his mother’s memory wiped. The former queen had opposed giving the crown back to my sister, the rightful heir. If it irked him in any way to serve under my sister’s rule, he didn’t show it. Maybe he was just grateful she’d spared his mother’s life.

  I leaned back against the squishy cushions of the couch. Nothing felt better than to be home. We’d lived there my entire life, and though at one point it had felt confining, now I couldn’t think of a better place to be. Shade would probably never return; her home was the Scren Palace. Anna would probably remain at her side until she married. What of my younger brother James? I didn’t know about him. He might join me once he was old enough to train harder. I wouldn’t entrust anyone else to train him besides my sisters or myself. In the meantime, he’d stay safe within the Scren walls. It was far too dangerous to return home without protection.

  So there I was, by myself in my childhood home. I guess it was mine in a way. I sighed and stood up, walking over to the hall where the door to the basement stood. It looked like any old door, and even the basement would pass the scrutiny of an intruder. Only a magically inclined person would feel the wards around the hidden door in the basement. Only one who was meant to know it was there would be able to open it.