The HeartStone Path

The HeartStone Path cont.

CHAPTER 4

The first thing I noticed was that I was being held by someone who was on their horse and, Gods, I was tired.  Why was I so tired?

The person holding me stopped their horse and slid to the ground, holding me gently to their chest.  They were trying not to jostle me overmuch, which, let’s face it, isn’t easy to do when you are getting off of a horse.

Around me, I could hear the sounds of complete and utter chaos.  People were shouting and there were the distant sounds of battle.  Dragon roars and gryphon cries. 

“Oh, Gods, Morrigan,” I heard the Prince say.

The person holding me tightened their grip.  “No.  You left her out there!  How could you?”  A distinctly male voice that rumbled against my body sent warmth flowing through me.  My power stretched, reaching for this person, like a languid spoiled beast.

“I thought she was right behind me,” the Prince said.  He sounded angry and scared at the same time.

He must have reached for me because the arms around me tightened and I was spun away abruptly.

“Not a chance, faerie,” the person holding me growled.

“Enough,” a strong, feminine voice said.  “I’ll take her.”

Distinctly feminine arms lifted me away from the man who held me.  I wanted to cry out and reach for him, but my body wouldn’t work.  Inside, my power reached for him instead.  What was wrong with me?

The strong scent of sage washed over me.  Boudicca held me.  She was calling for my sisters to follow her, then she was carrying me inside the Keep.  I somehow knew she was carrying me to the Master’s garden.

He was waiting for us at his door.  Boudicca carried me inside and laid me on a cot that had been laid out underneath the rowan tree.  She and the other sisters settled around me.  I could feel them near me and the Master standing at the foot of the cot, waiting patiently for me to acknowledge him.

Instead, I stared up at the branches of the rowan tree.  I ran over the hundreds of warnings he and the Witch had given me over the years, to never let anyone see any other part of me, to never let anyone see what I could do.  And I had blasted Battle Mage Magic all over the plain at the demon legion.  To be fair, if I hadn’t, the legion would have reached the Keep.  Probably.

I finally looked down at my feet that the Master standing there.

“Ah, child.  Delved to deeply, I see,” was all he said.

I snorted and moved my eyes back up to the rowan branches.

“Tell me of the legion,” he was saying to Boudicca.

“It was a full legion.  I don’t know how it even got in to the Realm.  But it got in and almost to the Keep without the Yova or the Dyr’scal even noticing they were here,” she explained.

“And how did Morrigan come across them?” he asked.

“We were out in the forest,” Rhiannon answered him.  “We were about to turn around and come back to the Keep, but Kai found us and led us to the legion.  Morrigan sent us back to raise the alarm.  She and Prince Aerron tried to lead the legion away long enough for us to get here.”

“So, you thought dear Rhoca could outrun hell hounds,” he turned back to me.

I snorted again at the branches.

“She gave us time to reach the Keep,” Aine said.  “I don’t know about the rest, but if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to make it to warn everyone.”

“I am not questioning your decision,” the Master said calmly.  “Or hers.  I am only trying to understand the events of the afternoon.”

“Oh,” Aine said quietly.

“Go on back to your rooms and get some rest,” Boudicca told my sisters.  “You will need it before the Rites tonight.  I will sit with Morrigan.”

I could tell that Rhiannon and Aine didn’t want to leave, but they didn’t want to disobey Boudicca either.  They both bent over the cot and hugged me tightly before they left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

Boudicca got up and talked to someone outside of the door, Corbyn probably, and then stepped back in to the room and sat next to the cot.

“Morrigan, what were you thinking?” she asked me, her voice etched with worry.

I turned my head to look at her, relieved that I could finally move a part of my body.  “I couldn’t let the legion reach the Keep.”

“Was she seen?” the Master asked.

Boudicca nodded sadly.  “Everyone on the walls saw.  Everyone in the air.  The Yova and the Dyr’scal won’t talk.  But the people in the Keep, the people who were on the walls, they were asking questions.”

“She’s an orphan,” he said simply.  “We don’t know her bloodline.  Under great stress, in times like that, a great surge of power can emerge and never be seen again.  It’s not impossible.”

“I don’t know how many will accept that,” Boudicca said skeptically.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said.

Both of them turned to me, shocked.

“Oh, child,” the Master said sadly.  “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“But I did exactly what you told me not to do,” I said, trying to sit up on the cot, but falling back down.

“You must heal, child,” he said.

Panicked, I turned to Boudicca.

“She knows,” he told me.  “You are safe.”

I didn’t ask how she knew.  I didn’t care in that moment.  I let the glamor slip away and felt my body change.  I didn’t try to summon anything extra.  I just waited for my body to knit itself back together.

I sighed as I felt my body fixing itself.  My power restoring whatever damage had been done.  When I was strong enough, I sat up and moved to sit on the edge of the cot so I could face Boudicca.  She smiled at me from where she sat, totally unfazed by what she saw.

“What?  No horns?” she asked.

I snorted a laugh and summoned silvery horns for her that grew out of my temples and sloped backwards over my head.

“Nope, not a good look,” she decided, shaking her head.

“Noted,” I smiled, letting the horns disappear.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Better.  Healing under the glamor takes a long time,” I sighed.

“It will be easier after the Rites.  Your Tuillaryn will be able to heal you and you will be able to heal him,” she explained.

“Handy,” I shrugged.

“It can be.  Not everyone can shift in to an ultimate power form for ultra-healing.”

“And here I thought I was behind the power curve,” I said.

The Master laughed as he walked around from the end of the cot.  “You have never been behind the power curve, child.  If you are feeling better, I suggest getting some rest in your room before the Rites tonight.  The Tribes will have locked down the Realm and cleared it.  It will be safe.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself.  I was surprised at how much I wanted the Witch right then.  She would have sat next to me on the cot and wrapped her arms around me and held me until I felt like I could face the world again.  It sounds silly, I know, but she had helped make everything better when I had lost it periodically over the last seven years.  My heart ached at her absence now.

Instead, I mentally gathered myself together and settled the glamor over my body again.  I forced a smile on my face before I stood up from the cot.  Maybe they were right.  I just needed to rest.  A bath and a nap before the Rites.

I nodded to Boudicca and the Master and slipped out of the garden into the quiet hallway.  No one was around as I made my way to my room.  I was grateful for that.  I really didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Inside my room, I locked my door behind me and crossed to my bedroom, stripping my dirty clothes as I went.  A bath was what I decided I needed first.  I started the water running, then went to lay out the plain white dress that I was required to wear for the Rites.

When the water was ready, I sank in up to my chin.  The hot water soaked away the tension, but it couldn’t take away the thoughts from the afternoon.  I couldn’t get the legion out of my head.  Or the Prince.  He hadn’t been making any sense when he had been trying to talk to me.  And how had the legion gotten in to the Realm in the first place?  Had the Tribes found any answers?  Would the Councils tell us?  Would Boudicca tell us?

I found it impossible to relax in the bath, so I finished washing and drained the water.  I rushed through drying off and putting on the dress.  I still had more time, so I decided to clean my room.  Maybe that would help settle my mind and nerves.

I put away all of my books and weapons.  The scrolls and maps were rolled back up and put back in their solid leather sleeves.  Potion bottles and labels were organized.  I even organized my clothes and set my basket by the door to remind myself to do my laundry.  It still didn’t help. 

Kai was nowhere to be found in my room or on the patio, so I guessed she would be in the stables.  If anything, I would be calm near her and Rhoca.

Thankfully, no one saw me as I slipped through the Keep and out to the stables.  I felt beyond guilty when I reached my horse’s stall.  There was fresh hay on the floor, she had been rubbed down and there was a fresh bale in her feed bag that she was lazily tugging bits from. 

On the far wall, across from the door of the stall, Kai was curled up on the hay.  I stopped by Rhoca first and pressed my forehead to hers, apologizing for not being there to take care of her after such a hard ride.  It was the first time I hadn’t been there.  I wrapped my arms around her strong neck and breathed in her earthy smell.  This…this was exactly what I needed.  I gave her sleek neck one more squeeze, then made my way over to Kai.  I lowered myself on to the hay and settled my head on to her warm side, closing my eyes against her velvety fur. 

I had only meant to rest, not fall asleep.  I wasn’t sure what exactly woke me up, but the moment I was fully awake, I knew I was being watched. 

I didn’t move from where I was next to Kai.  I didn’t want whomever was watching me to know that I was awake just yet.  Rhoca was still by her feed bag, against the wall, dozing.  The person had somehow made it in to the stall without alerting her or Kai.  I took a deep breath, as if in my sleep, trying to figure out who it was, and froze.  The Prince was in the stall with me.

I gave up all pretense and shot to my feet, cursing myself for already being in the shapeless white dress and unarmed.  Kai sat up next to me and settled her emerald gaze on the Fae male.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said quietly.

“Why are you here, Your Grace,” I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

He took a step closer to me.  “I thought you were right next to me on the plain, Morrigan.  I am so sorry.  I would have never willingly left you out there,” he said softly.

“I appreciate your concern, Your Grace, but I can handle myself,” I said, still confused.

“I am well aware of your capability to do so.  It has nothing to do with that.  What I was trying to tell you earlier today, in the forest…I should have told you sooner, talked to you sooner.  But I told myself that you were better with your Tuillaryn.”

“Your Grace, I don’t understand,” I finally confessed.

He rubbed a hand over his face.  “You don’t have to choose him, Morrigan.  Tonight.  Gods above, I thought he was crazy when he told me, and now I see it.  I thought I could resist it.  You can choose, Morrigan, before the Final Rites.”

“Your Grace, you still aren’t making any sense,” I frowned. 

He closed the distance between us and took my hands in his.  “The bond isn’t final until you say the Rites tonight.  You can choose.  There is so much I need to tell you…”

“Take your hands…off…of my…Tuillaryn,” said an angry voice from the door of the stall.

I turned to look towards the door and saw a man leaning against the wood frame of the doorway of Rhoca’s stall.  He was as tall and as powerfully built as the Prince.  His silver-blue eyes were narrowed in anger at the Fae male holding my hands and a muscle twitched in his firm jaw.  He was wearing a simple white cotton shirt untucked over worn leather pants and he was barefoot.  My Tuillaryn, then.

The wooden frame groaned a little when he pushed himself off from it and stepped towards us.  The Prince smartly dropped my hands, but he didn’t step away from me.

“What are you doing here,” he asked Prince Aerron.

“It’s none of your business, boy,” the Prince ground out.

“That is my Tuillaryn, therefore, it is my business,” he said calmly as he walked towards us.

It was a move that made Prince Aerron turn to face him fully and away from the door.  I was left to stand almost between them, looking back and forth between them, and wondering who would strike first.

“You know as well as I do that it isn’t set yet,” the Prince said darkly.

“You keep saying that,” I said loudly.  “What does that mean?”

“Don’t answer that,” Boudicca said from the doorway.  “Either of you.”

Neither of the men turned to look at Boudicca, but their shoulders dropped slightly.

“Your Grace, you won’t answer that question and I won’t tell you again to drop it.  The King, your father, is waiting for you at the stones,” Boudicca said to Prince Aerron, dismissing him.

The Prince looked like he was considering grabbing me and dragging me out of the stables with him for a brief moment.  The man who stood in front of him must have guessed his intentions because he positioned himself between the Prince and me, putting me firmly behind him.  I didn’t object, just leaned out from behind him to watch what happened next.

Boudicca stared at Prince Aerron for a long moment, a hand on the hilt of the dagger on her hip.  Gods, she was still armed from earlier that day.

After a long moment, the Prince left the stall and then the stables.  I noticed Corbyn, Bridgette and Tobin outside of the stall, waiting in case the Prince had tried to do something.

“You didn’t need to bait him like that, Tristan,” Boudicca sighed.

The man in front of me, Tristan, shrugged.

“You have a few minutes, then both of you need to get to the stones.  The Gods know why, but all of the Councils are here.  Try not to be late,” Boudicca said over her shoulder as she left the stall.

Tristan waited for her to leave then turned to look at me, his eyes travelling over me from head to toe and back up again.  “Did he hurt you?”

I almost laughed at him.  “No.  Why are the Councils here?”

“No one knows,” he answered simply and held out a hand to me.

I had a choice then.  I could put my hand in his and walk with him out to the stones or I could reject him and walk out on my own and look for the Prince.  My instinct was to accept the offered hand, despite everything Prince Aerron had said.

I looked up in to those silvery blue eyes and set my hand in his.  Inside of me, my power didn’t roar to life, fire didn’t dance along my bones, like it had with Prince Aerron.  Instead, it stretched languidly and practically purred.  I was enveloped again with the sense of calm and safety.  It was surreal.

“Master Byr hasn’t been able to get rid of the Councils since this afternoon.  The Fae representative, King Einal, found some ancient loophole to be present at our Rites,” Tristan explained.

“Maybe that’s what he was trying to tell me,” I said, mostly to myself.

“There is a Private Forum tomorrow morning about the Fourth Realm, so that’s why the Councils were planning on staying on after the public Rites this morning.  But they weren’t supposed to know about our Rites,” Tristan told me.  He was walking as slowly as he could so that we could talk on our way out to the courtyard, through our gate and out to the stone circle hidden behind the High Keep.

“How do you know about a Private Forum in the morning?” I asked him.

“People talk too loud,” he said with a shrug.

“You eavesdrop,” I teased, poking his ribs with my free hand.

“I do not,” he huffed, deflecting my hand easily.  “Maybe I happen to be in the right hallway when people are talking.  But I maintain that they talk much too loudly.”

I laughed and was surprised at how easily it came.  How could this possibly be the same gangly boy that I had instantly wanted to hate when we were thirteen? But, then, I definitely wasn’t the same scrawny girl I had been at thirteen, either.

“How did you know I was in the stables?” I asked.

“It was a guess.  You weren’t in your room, so I decided to try the stables.  It’s where I go when I need to get away,” he said.  “What was the faerie doing in there?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed.  “Truly,” I swore when I saw the look of reproach in his eyes.  “He has never spoken to me outside of our training before today.  I don’t know what he was trying to say.  He wasn’t making any sense.”

“So, you have no idea why he was holding your hands,” he said flatly.

I looked up at him.  “Are you jealous?”

He rolled his eyes.  “Of that faerie?  Never.  I just don’t like him near you.  I don’t trust him.”

I knew there was more to it, but I let it drop.  “It didn’t seem like a good idea to argue with him at the time.”

“Do you know what he was saying about choosing?” he asked, pulling me to a stop and turning me to face him.

“No, I don’t, and I wish someone would explain it,” I said, all humor gone.

Tristan looked around to make sure no one was nearby.  “I overheard him talking to his sworn about it a few years ago.  I’ve tried killing him in training more than a few times because of it.  His father found something in some archives that says that a Ranger Pair is not set until the Final Rites.  If the Prince could have gotten you to choose him instead of me before tonight, you could have been sworn to him instead of me and he would have been your Tuillaryn.”

I frowned.  “To what end, though.”

“I don’t know,” he said.  “I’ve been trying to find that out ever since.  Because you were as shocked as I was to find him in the stables with you tonight, that shot one theory to shit.”

“Which was…”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable.  “That you loved each other.”

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop the snort of laughter that escaped me.  “That’s absurd,” I said when I could talk again.

He raised an eyebrow at me.  “Is it.”

The laughter died in my throat.  “He is a High Fae Crown Prince, Tristan.  I am a nobody, an orphan.  I am sworn to the Order of Ebon Lys and sworn not to marry or have a family.”

“A Ranger with considerable power,” he countered, “that has drawn all of the Councils to supposedly secret Rites.”

“How could they possibly be here for me?” I said angrily.

He weathered my temper easily.  “Do you know of anyone else here who stopped a demon legion nearly by themselves today?”

I took stock of the man standing in front of me.  Silvery blue eyes reflected the moonlight that was glowing around us as the full moon was rising over the trees. Now that I was looking closer, I realized that he was a mix of Immortal Kindred and Mountain Yova.  The hair on the sides of his head was cut close to the skin, with the hair on the top of his head long enough to be brushed back.  I hadn’t noticed his ears before, because I had been focused on the strong set of his jaw and high cheekbones, that were just a little too big and softly pointed.  His nose was straight and matched the rest of his other masculine features.

Under his white shirt, I could see the tattoos that the Yova were known for, snaking down both of his arms and across his broad chest.  They were, no doubt, inked down his spine where their warriors carried their swords after they passed their sacred tests.  I wondered if him completing his training as a Ranger and Tuillaryn filled those requirements for the Tribes, or if he had been taken up in to the mountains for that.  For him to be matched to me, he had to have some serious power of his own. 

I noticed a scar that cut through his right eyebrow and across his right cheekbone down to his jawline.  It was thin and barely noticeable.  What had happened already in our training that he had that scar?  A fight with the Prince?

He shifted his weight under my attention and turned us back to the stones.  Night had fallen and everyone was no doubt waiting on us already.

“What else have you heard?” I whispered as we got closer to the stones.

“I’ll tell you later,” he promised.

I forced a smile on to my face for my sister who was running towards us.  Any questions I had for Tristan would have to wait. 

Aine arrived in front of me, a step ahead of a handsome man that could only be her Tuillaryn.  Tristan laced his fingers through mine just as Aine reached for my free hand and tried to pull me away.  She gave him a quizzical look when she felt the resistance.  He just offered her a lazy smile. 

“Mor, you’re not going to believe it,” she said in a rushed whisper.  “All of the Councils are here.  All of them.  Look.  The Council of Races is there on the west side and the High Council is on the east.  The Druid Council is at the north of the circle, and that has left Boudicca and the rest of the Ranger Pairs to the south.  Even the Guild Council is just there, behind the Council of Races.  Someone in the High Council didn’t give Master Byr a chance to argue at all, so the other Councils are using that as their excuse to stay.  Master Byr is right angry.  I’ve never seen him that shade of red.  Even when you melted the bells.”

“That was you?” Tristan whispered to me.

I didn’t answer him.  Instead, I let Aine continue to pull us the rest of the way up to the stones where the Councils were indeed waiting for us.  She didn’t stop talking as we walked.  I felt a little guilty for tuning her out, but I was distracted by the High Council and what Tristan had told me.

“She doesn’t stop, does she,” Tristan whispered when we reached the center of the stone circle.

Aine had talked all of the way up the hill, through the trees, in to the glade, through the bodies of the waiting Council members, through the line of stones and in to the center of the circle where we were expected to stand.

I shook my head and took his other hand.  “You get used to it.”

He gave me a look that suggested otherwise.

We stood the closest to Master Byr.  Aine stood next to me, with Rhiannon on her other side, the closest to Boudicca and the other Ranger Pairs.  Behind us, the High Council stood silently and, unfortunately, I had a clear view of the Council of Races that stood behind Tristan, Rafe and Cam.   

Prince Aerron tried to catch my eye from his place next to his father, King Einal.  I resolutely refused, sweeping my eyes over the council before settling them back on my Tuillaryn in front of me.  I locked my hands around his forearms as his completely encompassed my own.

Our voices were drowned out by the Druids around us, our voices becoming one.  My grip tightened as the wind picked up around us, threatening to pull us apart.  I braced my feet a little wider apart as I tried to keep my footing.

I kept my eyes locked on to Tristan as the world fell away around us.  The wind tore my hair out of the braid I had twisted it in to.  I could only watch as the pale blue runes flared to life on my skin and moved down my arms and up Tristan’s arms, his neck, across his chest and no doubt the rest of him.  He clenched his jaw but didn’t let go or look away.

Around us, pale blue light began to grow in intensity until it was so bright that I had to close my eyes.  And then the world went black.

I was alone, floating in the darkness.  I spun around, rather ineffectually, trying to figure out where I was.  There was simply…nothing.  I was drifting along through nothing.  This couldn’t be good.  I wasn’t scared or worried.  There wasn’t even a shred of fear.  More than anything, I was curious.

I tried leaning forward and found that I moved in that direction.  Well, that was a start, I guess.  I looked down, expecting to find the shapeless white dress I had been wearing for the Rites, but instead found my usual clothes; pants, boots, cotton shirt, and the custom fitted leather I wore over it.  I even had my weapons. How odd.

Around me, as I drifted, little balls of energy began to light up the darkness.  They weren’t random, though.  They moved on purpose, with a purpose.  I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched.  Still, I wasn’t scared. 

The distant balls of energy began to shine brighter as a few of them came closer to where I was.  They would come closer to me, then move away again.  It felt like they were as curious about me as I was about them. 

More balls of energy appeared as I drifted along.  Some of them purposely moved in the same direction I was going, some went in their own direction as if they didn’t care one way or another if I was there or not, and others noticed me and went in the opposite direction.

After some time, I realized that I wasn’t alone.  There was a presence next to me.  A part of me knew that I wouldn’t be able to see them, but I spun around looking for them anyway.  I could feel their amusement ripple across me, though, at my frustration.  All I could see was a faint shimmer of a distortion of light next to me on my left if I looked out of the corner of my eye.

I got the feeling that the presence wanted me to follow them.  I don’t know how to explain it, I just felt it.  I had no reason not to follow whoever it was.  They felt comforting, safe…like home.

We began to move faster through the darkness than I had been before on my own.  This presence had a purpose.  It was leading me somewhere.

Around us, more balls of energy lit up and began to move closer to us.  I was surprised to see how many kept up with us.  Some tried to press close but couldn’t get as close as the presence next to me.  I could feel their frustration ripple across the space when they reached the invisible barrier and the sadness from the presence next to me.

I don’t know how long we had been travelling through the darkness, but we had collected quite the gathering of energy around and behind us.  Next to me, I could feel a sense of urgency building in the presence and we began to move faster.  I wasn’t surprised that the balls of energy kept up with us.

Ahead of us, the darkness changed.  There was some kind of opening, I think.  I couldn’t see it clearly enough.  The sense of urgency was mixed with happiness and almost relief, like we had almost made it to somewhere important.

I began to feel a pull towards that place in front of us.  Deep inside of me, something cracked open.  It felt like a thread unraveled and tethered itself to something inside of that opening ahead.  I had to get there.  I needed to get to that place.  I reached out my right arm towards the opening, keeping my left close by the presence, still desperately needing them near me, as well.

Then I felt the first tug pulling me backwards.

No!  That was in the wrong direction!

I turned a panicked look to the presence next to me and the balls of energy around me.  Frustration, sadness, loss, anger, determination, need and so many other emotions pulsed around me.  More than anything, though, I felt love, pride and a sense of belonging.

I kept trying to force my way to the opening.  I gained a little bit of distance and yelled in triumph.  Then I was pulled backwards again.  The presence tried to grab my arms, the balls of energy battered themselves against the invisible barrier and I screamed my frustration.  I pulled and pulled against the invisible force.

I was yanked roughly backwards again.  This time away from the presence and the balls of energy.  They followed me through the darkness, never quite able to reach me as I was pulled roughly back through the way I had come.  I screamed for them, for something that I had briefly held in my soul.

The last I saw of the darkness was a gathering of balls of energy.  I felt their presence and all of the emotions they were pushing towards me.  I pulled them all into my heart and soul and held them close.  For whatever reason, that was everything to me.  I instinctually knew that.  That and whatever that thread inside of me was now tethered to.

I opened my eyes slowly and blinked up at the full moon.  I became aware of the feel of grass under me, the sound of hushed voices around me and the feel of warm air pressing softly against my skin.  A large, strong hand tightened suddenly on my left forearm, then I was being pulled roughly into a strong body.

Tristan cradled me against his chest.  I chose to stay quiet and just listen to the world around me.

“What happened?” Tristan whispered to someone.

“The Rites finished and you both passed out and then woke up,” a male voice whispered back.

“Is Morrigan okay?” Rhiannon asked.

His arms tightened slightly.  “She’s fine.”

“I saw her eyes open.  Let me see her,” Rhiannon hissed.

I had closed my eyes again the moment Tristan had swept me up and was firmly keeping them closed.  I couldn’t explain why, but my instinct was screaming at me to do it.

“I could have sworn,” Aine whispered.

Tristan curled me against his chest again and stood.  I could feel the press of bodies around us, clambering to see if I was okay and asking questions.  He refused to let anyone pull me out of his arms.  And, now that the Rites were complete, no one could.  Not even the High Seat.

“Spent too much of her power this afternoon,” someone said.

“Should we worry about this?” someone else asked.

“Is she fit for service?  She couldn’t even make it through the Rites?” someone whispered and was met with a growl from my Tuillaryn.

“She merely dove too deeply this afternoon,” the Master’s calm voice cut through the chatter.  “Tristan, take your Tuillaryn in to my chambers, if you would, please.  We will coax her back to us and then get her to her bed.  She merely needs to sleep and recharge.”

“Yes,” Boudicca agreed.  “And the rest of us have an early morning,” she said pointedly.

There were grumbles of agreement, but I didn’t pay attention.  Tristan was carrying me back towards our Keep.  I still carefully kept my eyes closed.  I could hear my sisters around us and the Councils behind us. 

In the courtyard, I heard the Councils cross to the entrance that led to the main part of the High Keep where they should have been in the first place.  Boudicca continued to lead the rest of us in to our part of the Keep.

Her voice wrapped around me warmly as she told my sisters that I would be okay, that I just needed to rest, and they would see me in the morning.  Now that the Rites were complete, they were allowed to sleep wherever they wished, but to stay close as Boudicca would need to see all of us at some point the next day.

I felt each of them kiss my exposed cheek before they left for wherever it was they were going to sleep that night.  Rhiannon whispered some thinly veiled threat to Tristan about what would happen to him if something happened to me.  His body shook with silent laughter.  He must have smiled at her because I heard her stomp away from us.

Boudicca waited until everyone was well away before continuing to walk with us down the hallway.  She stopped us at what had to be the Master’s doorway.

“Morrigan, I know you are awake,” she said quietly. 

I turned my head and looked at her, taking in her frown.  She wasn’t angry with me, though.  Something else was bothering her.  “It seemed like the smart thing to do.”

Tristan was daring her to argue with me.  Boudicca sighed heavily instead.  “He is waiting for both of you in there.  I will keep people out of this hallway until you are finished.”  She turned and opened the door for us.

Tristan didn’t set me down until we were well inside the room and Boudicca had closed the door quietly behind us.  The Master wasn’t simply waiting for us, he was moving around his chamber…packing.  Why was he packing?

I watched him move back and forth between open trunks and marveled at how the room was steadily shrinking around us.  “You’re packing,” I was all I could think to say.

“Observant as always,” the Master said without looking up from his current task, tucking some of his beloved books in to a seemingly endless trunk.

“Why,” I pressed.  It bothered me to see him like this. 

He stopped moving and stood, his back to us.  He picked something up from the trunk in front of him and turned towards us.  He was holding two packages.  “I must leave, child.”

“What?  Why?” I asked. 

He shook his head and looked down at the packages in his arms.  “More time.  I wish I had had more time,” he said more to himself than to us.  He looked back up to the two of us again.  “You must listen to me now.  Both of you.  I must leave.  No, child, not like Lady Cassidra.  Listen.  You must remember what we have told you.  Remember your lessons here.”

“I don’t understand,” I started to say.

He walked forward and shoved a cloak with a package hidden within its folds into my arms.  “It will all make sense one day, child.  I promise,” he said, meeting my eyes purposefully.  He placed a hand on my chest, right where I felt the tether coiled tightly within me.  “Listen to yourself and to those who earn your trust.  Follow your path.  I must go.”

Boudicca knocked on the door and leaned in.  “They are coming.  Hurry.”

“Who is coming?” I said, a little too loud. 

Tristan put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head.  I felt a slight pressure against my mind, but I shook it away.

The Master’s belongings began to disappear around us.  The cloak and package disappeared from my arms.  “They are in your rooms,” he told me quickly.  “I will see you again, child.” Then he was gone, and the room was empty as if he and the Witch had never been there. 

Boudicca ushered us out into the hallway quickly and shut the door silently.  We followed her through the dark hallways as she led us to the hallway I shared with my sisters.  We were almost there when she stopped us.  “Lean against him,” she hissed, “like you are still weak.”

I immediately did as I was told, shaking my head against the pressure in my mind that was there again.  Boudicca pushed us to start walking down the hallway just as King Einal rounded the corner, leading an attachment of his personal guard.

Boudicca was leaning against the wall and Corbyn appeared at her shoulder.  Tristan pulled me in to a shadow where we wouldn’t be seen.

“Where is he,” King Einal demanded.

“Why are you in my Keep, Your Majesty,” Boudicca countered.

“Give him over, Boudicca.  I won’t ask again,” King Einal said angrily.

Boudicca wouldn’t be intimidated.  “I won’t ask again why you are in my Keep, Your Majesty.  You have no reason to be here.”

“Not to mention the several laws you have broken by crossing our threshold uninvited.  Your Majesty,” Corbyn said in a dark voice.

“Give him over to me.  I know he has been lying to me.  To the Council,” King Einal growled.  “I will have him questioned.”

“Baseless allegations of which you have no proof,” Bridgette said, walking out of the dark, Tobin at her side.  “Unless you are willing to share all of this ‘proof’ with the Councils in an Open Forum suddenly.”

King Einal’s expression turned murderous.

The rest of my older sisters walked out of the dark with their Tuillaryns and stood as a united front, blocking the hallway that led to the Master’s chamber.  They were blocking the way as if he was still there.  And King Einal was buying it.

“If you won’t hand him over, give me the girl,” King Einal ground out.  “She obviously was not tested correctly when she arrived nor placed correctly.”

Boudicca openly laughed in his face.  “I will give you a full minute to leave my Keep, Your Majesty.  Now.”  Her voice held barely contained rage.

“You wouldn’t dare,” King Einal challenged her.

Corbyn stepped forward towards the king, a direct challenge.  “You are uninvited and unwelcome and have threatened a member of our sect.  By the Law of Witnesses, we don’t even need to let you live.  You are down to thirty seconds.  Your.  Majesty.”

“This isn’t over, Boudicca,” King Einal threw over his shoulder.

Boudicca put an arm out to stop Corbyn from following them.  “It’s not worth it.  We know what his game is.”

“Gods, Boudicca,” Roslyn sighed after the sounds of the retreating Fae had faded.  “Is she safe?”

“She is.  And he is gone,” Boudicca sighed and sagged against Corbyn.

“Will he return, though?  She will need him,” Sabeyne asked.

“He will,” Corbyn answered.  “When they have need of him.   And when he cannot be found out.  What did you find?”

“Others, too.  It’s not just in mundane sects.  There are discrepancies in our sect, as well,” Bridgette whispered.  “We didn’t have enough time to look at much.”

Boudicca wiped a hand over her face and stood up straight again.  “Were you able to find the cause?”

Tobin shook his head.  “The discrepancy isn’t even noted.  We only noticed because we know the Pairs personally.  It’s like you said.  The new laws, the change in the reports, it’s all small right now.  It wouldn’t be noticed by just anybody unless they were specifically looking for a deviation.”

“What do we do?” Roslyn asked.

“Keep going like everything is normal,” Corbyn said.  “We don’t mention King Einal’s little excursion into our Keep, either.”

“Someone gave him enough courage to think he can get away with that,” Sabeyne grumbled.

“Indeed,” Boudicca said.  “Corbyn is right.  Don’t give any hint that you have noticed anything.  We don’t know where it’s coming from yet.”

“What about the Private Forum in the morning?  Do you think we will find any answers in the Fourth Realm?” Bridgette asked.

I elbowed Tristan behind me.  He shrugged but didn’t take his eyes away from the Pairs at the end of the hallway.  I was as bad as he was now, eavesdropping on the older Pairs.

“I will tell you as much as I can after the Forum,” Boudicca promised.  “I already know how I am going to run the mission.  Corbyn will run one half, I will run the other.  I will explain in the morning.  For now, we have to keep her safe.  She’s not ready.   Neither is he.”

“Her sisters?” Roslyn whispered.

“Are strong members of this sect,” Boudicca finished for her.  “As are their Tuillaryns.  We treat them as such.  They are all powerful.”

“Are they…like her?” Tobin asked.

Corbyn shrugged.   “We don’t even know everything about her other than she is powerful.  Her parentage is unknown.  Her sisters were each born of Boudicca’s realm, but only one parent is known.  You know it’s the same with their Tuillaryns.”

I looked up at Tristan again.  He nodded in acknowledgement.  He only knew one parent.  Well, one was better than none.  My sisters had never told me that, but I wondered if they even knew.

“So,” Sabeyne started.

“So, we keep going,” Boudicca said, “one step at a time.  We find out what is happening to the Pairs, we keep our new Pairs safe.  Especially her.”

“There are hands in this, Boudicca,” Bridgette warned her.  “Unseen hands.  A lot of them.”

“I know,” Boudicca sighed.  “But right now, we need sleep.  We have the Private Forum in the morning, and we will be leaving soon after.  I need you all ready.”

That was our cue.

We slipped soundlessly down the hall to my door and in to my room.  Thankfully, my door didn’t make a noise as I opened and closed it. 

Once we were inside, I leaned against the back of the couch and wrapped my arms around myself.  It was almost too much to take in.  Almost.  But I wasn’t really thinking about all that had happened in the Keep.  I was thinking about where I had been.  I was trying to wrap my brain around why it felt like I had been gone for an extended period of time, but in reality, it had only been a few seconds. 

“Morrigan, are you listening to me?” Tristan was asking me.

I realized I was staring at the floor and turned to look at him.  “I’m sorry.  What?”

“Are you okay?” he asked again.  He took a few steps towards me and stopped when he was standing in front of me.

I tilted my head back slightly so I could look at him.  That was going to take some getting used to.  “I’m okay.  Just tired.  That was a lot, though.”

“It was,” he frowned.  He reached out a hand like he was going to try to comfort me and then let it drop, like he thought better of it.  That hand clenched at his side like he was fighting an internal battle.

“I will be okay tonight,” I told him.

Disappointment flitted behind his eyes for a brief moment, then it was gone.  His shoulders dropped and that hand relaxed.  “Are you sure?” he asked softly.

I nodded.  “I am.  I just need to sleep.”  I nodded towards my bed and was surprised to see the two packages sitting in the middle of it.  “I am perfectly safe in my own room.”

“I…of course you are.  Sorry.”  He stepped back, putting space between us.  I found that I didn’t like that space all that much and frowned inwardly at that realization.  “I will let you get some sleep, then.  I’ll meet you for breakfast in your kitchen?”

“Sure.  Sounds good,” I found myself saying. 

I didn’t move from where I was leaning on the back of the couch as he let himself out of my room.  I waited a few minutes until I was sure he was gone and went to lock my door.  I didn’t need or want anyone waking me up in the morning before I wanted to wake up.

I made straight for my bed, then, stripping the shapeless white dress as I went.   I dug around in my dresser for an old cotton shirt and slid under my blankets.  Sleep.  I just wanted sleep.  I would sort everything else out in the morning.

The blackness swirled around me again.  The balls of energy moved around me excitedly outside of the invisible barrier that kept them from me.  I drifted through the darkness again, searching for that opening and the presence I had felt before.

Instead, I was accompanied by many distinct balls of energy that were pushing emotions towards me.  I noticed that each individual ball had a unique feeling.  I let myself be pulled along by them through the darkness.

At some point, the presence made itself known again.  The prevailing emotion was joy.  The presence was stronger than the balls of energy.   It could pull me and itself faster and with a purpose through the darkness and I knew where we were heading.

As before, just as I saw the opening, I was roughly ripped backwards away from the presence and the balls of energy.  The tether was pulling inside of my chest almost painfully.

Frustration and anger echoed through the darkness, and I woke with the sound of my frustrated screams echoing in my ears.

CHAPTER 5

I woke up angry, with my fists knotted in my blankets.  It took me a moment to realize why I was so angry and frustrated.  Then I remembered the dream, the darkness.  I fell back against my pillows and released my blankets.  At the foot of my bed, Kai looked at me sadly.

“Well, if you have any answers, now’s the time, my friend,” I said to her, staring up at my ceiling.

Her only answer was a heavy cat sigh and a push of her head against my hip.

“I know I have to get up,” I said to her, annoyed.  “I don’t want to.”

A knock on my door ruined any ideas I had about staying in bed any longer. 

“Morrigan?” Rhiannon called from the hallway.  “Why is your door locked?”

I groaned, throwing my arm over my eyes.  I flicked my hand at my door, unlocking it.  The bolt slid smoothly.  That got my attention.  I sat up in bed and stared at my hand and then the door.  Nothing had exploded or been set on fire.  Nothing had even moved except for the bolt, like I had intended.

What in the Goddess’s name?

Rhiannon frowned at me.  “Are you okay?”

I nodded.  “Sure,” I said slowly.

“Did you just unlock a door?” she asked.

I nodded again.  “They were right,” I said to myself.

“You settled,” Rhiannon said, her voice full of wonder.  “Try something else.”

I smiled at her and turned to the candles that sat on my desk.  The windows shattered in the patio doors instead.  I groaned and dropped my head in to my hands.

Rhiannon repaired the glass for me and crossed to my bedroom.  “Guess not,” was all she said.

“What did you need?” I asked finally.

“Why was your door locked?”

“I didn’t want to be woken up too early.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, what?”

“Nothing.”

“No, it’s not nothing.  Why?”

“I just…I woke up Aine this morning.  Her door wasn’t locked,” Rhiannon cringed.

I couldn’t stop the laugh that came out.  “And you saw more than you wanted to,” I laughed.

“It’s not funny, Morrigan,” Rhiannon huffed.

“Oh, yes, it is.  It serves you right, you know.  You should have knocked or something.  Trying to wake people up so early after the Rites,” I said, still trying to contain my laughter.

“Like she hasn’t woken us up before dawn plenty of times before.  And I did knock.  No one answered.  I was worried,” Rhiannon pouted.

“No, you were being nosy,” I countered.

She glared at me.  “Anyway,” she said loudly.  “I was coming to tell both of you that breakfast was being started.  Bridgette sent me.  Your door was locked so,” she trailed off.

“Wait.  So, you thought someone was in here with me, too?” I almost yelled.  My laughter was entirely gone.

Rhiannon only shrugged.

“Who did you think was in here, Rhiannon,” I asked her.

“It doesn’t matter.  No one was in here,” she said, crossing her arms.  “Even if there was, it’s not my business.”

I raised an eyebrow at her.  “Who, Rhiannon.”

“Tristan,” she said quickly.  Lie.  But I wasn’t going to call her on it.  I let it go.

“I’ll be at breakfast in a few minutes,” I said, getting out of bed.

She nodded and left my room.  Kai watched her go, a confused look on her furry face.

“I don’t understand, either,” I said, pulling clean clothes out of my drawers.

Kai grumbled and jumped down from my bed.  She crossed the room to the open patio doors.  “Don’t be gone long,” I said to her.  “We are leaving today.”  But she was already gone.  She would be back in time.  She had a knack for that.

I laid my clean clothes out on my bed, then went to go start a bath.  I hurried through washing and cleaning my teeth.  I tied my hair into the utilitarian braid it was used to and called it good.  I left off the leather when I got dressed.  I didn’t think I was going to need knives at breakfast.

In the kitchen, I found Tristan and everyone else already either seated with plates or standing at the counters and stove making more food.  Roslyn handed me a plate when I walked in.  Tristan left his place at the counter and walked with me to take a seat at one of the long tables.

Rhiannon was sitting next to Cam, Aine was practically in Rafe’s lap and was sharing a large plate with him.  Rhiannon rolled her eyes comically when I got to the table and noticed our sister.  I smiled at her and shrugged my shoulders.  To each their own.

I was comfortable sitting next to Tristan.  The kitchen was warm and soothing.  Everyone was having their own conversations around me while they ate.  I stayed quiet and just soaked it all in.  I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was coming, but I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere around me just yet.

Everyone stayed in the kitchen after the meal.  We cleaned up together and sat back down at the long table and talked about anything and nothing.  It was around mid-morning when Corbyn walked into the kitchen and it all stopped.  No one had wanted to admit that this is what we were all waiting for.

“Library,” was all he said.

We got up and filed past him towards the large library.  Inside, Boudicca was standing at the head of a long table with chairs set around it.  Stacked in front of her were portfolios and files.  She looked tired and drawn, but she still offered us a smile when we walked in.

I took a seat between Tristan and Rhiannon and waited for everyone else to get settled.  After what I had heard the night before, I found myself both wanting and not wanting to hear what my older sister had to say.

“How was the Forum?” Bridgette finally asked.

“Rough,” Corbyn answered as he crossed to Boudicca’s side.  “But nothing has changed.”

Bridgette nodded.  Under the table, Tristan squeezed my knee.

“We are going to the Fourth Realm,” Boudicca started.  “Everyone here.  Just in different capacities.   We are running two different missions.”  She nodded to Corbyn.  He handed out the folios to the older Pairs first, then handed out folios to the newest Pairs.

“First, the easier mission,” Boudicca sighed.  “Bridgette and Tobin, you will lead the mission.  In the Fourth Realm, a kingdom has been cut off somehow.  We aren’t sure what has happened.  All of the other kingdoms have reported that they have lost all contact with their emissaries.  Any messengers that have been sent into the kingdom have not been heard from.  This is worrisome as this kingdom borders the kingdom of Oryn’lea and the High Forest Fae Kingdom.  No one outside of the Private Forum and those in this room will know that you are in the Realm.  You are to find out everything you can about that kingdom and try to get inside its borders and back out.  Your contact is Corbyn.

“The other half is the rest of you and me,” Boudicca nodded at me and my sisters.  “In response to the legion attacks, that we now think may have been coordinated, King Torrynd has called a Conclave.  The rulers across the Fourth Realm have been sending in their responses since yesterday evening.  Either they themselves will attend or a member of their family will attend as their voice.  I am attending in my official capacity as my father’s voice.”

“I beg your pardon,” Aine interrupted.

Corbyn frowned at her and opened his mouth to say something but Boudicca stopped him.  “No, it’s okay.  I am a daughter of a King of the Fourth Realm.  My father will be staying, with the rest of my family, to defend our home.  So, I am going.  I am bringing three noble young women with me from houses in my kingdom as companions, as is expected as a woman of my rank.  As Corbyn is expected to travel with his own peers.”

“Oh,” Aine said slowly as it sank in.  “Oh!” she said again.  “We are…”

“Yes,” Boudicca said.  “In your folios are the information about your houses and your titles.  We need you to know those folios inside and out, should anyone question you about your house, or mine, while we are there.”

“What else are we to do while we are there,” Rhiannon asked.

“You are playing your part as noble ladies,” Boudicca said.  “That is what I need you to do right now.”

“But…” Rhiannon protested.

“But nothing,” Boudicca cut her off.  “This is going to be constantly evolving depending on this Conclave.  I cannot plan past the Conclave.”

Across the table, the older Pairs were giving her hard looks.  Cam had placed a hand on her shoulder.  Aine was leaning around Cam to look at her like she had lost her mind.  I even turned to look at her.  She was glaring back at Boudicca, her temper just below the surface.

“These are your orders, Rhiannon,” Boudicca said firmly.  “More orders will come down as the situation changes.  This is how it works.  Missions are constantly evolving.  If you can’t do this, you need to tell us now so I can reassign you.”

Rhiannon’s eyes widened slightly.  Boudicca would do it.  She would pull Rhiannon and Cam in a heartbeat and we would leave without them.  Even I didn’t dare question that.

Rhiannon finally lowered her eyes and nodded.  “I accept the orders,” she said firmly.

“Good,” was all Boudicca said.  “Bridgette, Tobin, gather your team.  We need you to leave immediately.  Use the stones.  Our contact will be waiting for you in the Fourth Realm.  Corbyn will send you through.  The rest of us, we are travelling in an official capacity as a Royal attending the Conclave.  It will take us a little longer to get ready, but we must leave as soon as possible as well.  Pack what you need for court.  You will be attending dinners, balls and whatever else the season requires.  I don’t know how long this is going to take.  There will be carts in the courtyard to carry our trunks.  Someone will come to your rooms to gather them.  When they arrive, you also need to be ready to leave.  Do you have any questions?”

We all shook our heads and got up to leave.   Boudicca stopped me on my way past her, her hand on my arm.

“Spell Kai to bring her with you.  It’s not a problem.  There will be other ladies there that have travelled with pets,” she whispered to me.

“She will kill me,” I whispered back.

“She will get over it.  I don’t want you there without her,” she said pointedly, squeezing my arm before letting go.

I nodded and moved to the door where Tristan was waiting for me.  “What did she want,” he asked.

“For me to spell Kai so I could bring her with me,” I told him.

“Hmmm,” was all he said.  “I’ll be down to your room as soon as I pack.”

I didn’t have time to agree before he was gone.  I shook my head and returned to my room, overwhelmed by the feeling that I would never see it again.

I shook it off and pulled my trunks and bags out of my closet.  I picked out a dress to change in to.  I needed something for summer in the mountains.  Sleeves and a higher neckline.  At least until I knew what the fashion was, I guess.  Then I picked out a cloak to match.  I laid those out on my bed and set to packing.

Books, weapons, more clothes, and more books.  A smaller trunk was filled with the things I couldn’t part with from my bathroom and my vanity.  That went inside of a larger trunk that held underclothes and shoes.  One whole trunk was weapons.  I should probably do something about that.  But, then, another whole trunk was books.  I probably had a habit.  At least a full trunk was clothes that was expected.  I supposed a noble lady was supposed to have more than one trunk of dresses.  Damn.

I did still have more dresses to pack.  How many trunks were we allowed to take?  That certainly was not in the folio or in the brief.  I should have asked.  Maybe I could part with some of the other things I was taking?  Well, definitely not the books.  But not the weapons, either.  Ugh, why was this so hard?

I was still agonizing over the decision when Aine walked into my room.  “What are you doing?” she asked me.

I sighed dramatically.  “How many trunks are we supposed to take?  Just how many are supposed to be filled with clothes?  I don’t want to give up the trunks with weapons or books,” I pouted.

“Oh, thank the Gods,” Rhiannon said from the doorway.  “I was just coming to ask you the same question.”

Aine laughed at us.  “You cast this spell on your trunks,” Aine said.  She said some words over the trunk holding my dresses and then began to pile more dresses in to it.  It never seemed to fill up.  It was the same spell the Master had used to pack his chamber.

“What did you do?” Rhiannon gasped.

“I have been fighting with that spell for a few years now.  I found it in the archives.  I was running out of space in my closet and I was looking around for a spell to expand it.  I found this.  Of course, I had to change it up a bit to be able to use it on whatever I want,” she explained.  “But it pretty much works on anything now.”

I shoved my saddle bags at her at the same time Rhiannon demanded, “Teach me.”

Aine’s bright laugh rippled through my room again.  “Here.  Watch,” she told Rhiannon.  She repeated the process over my saddle bags, my trunks, my pack. 

Rhiannon nodded.  “I’ve got it.  I’ll be right back.”

“Did you teach Rafe?” I asked her.

“Of course, I did.  Be serious, Mor,” she rolled her eyes.  “Come on, do you need help with the dress and your hair.”

I looked at my packed room and then back at my sister.  “I do, actually.  Thank you.”

“Nice choice of dress,” she told me.  Of course, it was.  It was one she had made for me.

“I was trying to think of mountains in the summer,” I shrugged.  “And I don’t know the fashions yet.”

She frowned.  “Neither do I,” she confessed.  “But we will learn quickly.  The folio says that Tarvael is known for its shops.  We also come from wealthy houses.  Boudicca will need us to keep the appearance of noble ladies and that means keeping up with the fashions.”  She smiled at me through the mirror as she piled my hair neatly on top of my head and twisted some falling curls with magic.

“Any chance to shop?”

That won a smile.  “That, and it gives me a chance to learn more about the court.  Boudicca will be in the Conclave, so we will have to be with the Princess since she is the closest peer.  We will be folded into the Royal Household.  Most of the rulers attending the Conclave are men, so there won’t be many women added to the court while we are there.”

Interesting.  “How do you know?”  I asked.

“I’m assuming,” Aine shrugged.  “The majority of rulers in the Known Realms are men.  Several of them have Queens that rule beside them as equals.  Those that do, will leave their Queens behind to protect their homes.  In our case, Boudicca’s father has a daughter that he trusts to send to the Conclave and the other rulers accept his decision.  Which is interesting, if you think about it.  Any Queens who attend, will be attending with guards, possibly a small retinue.  Our position is unique since Boudicca’s kingdom is fully guarded while she attends.”

I tossed this information around in my head.  I hadn’t thought about all of that.  But, then, courts and kingdoms hadn’t been my strong suit throughout the years.  I had merely accepted the orders and the mission.  I hadn’t even thought about the why or how.  I mentally kicked myself for not looking at all of the angles.

“All done,” Aine said suddenly.

“Thank you,” I smiled at her through the mirror.  She had worked a miracle on my hair yet again and made it behave.  “I need to find Kai now.  Boudicca wants me to spell her so she can go with us.”

“Oh, she’s right there,” Aine said, pointing to the floor by the couch. 

Kai was laying in a patch of sunlight, watching us carefully.  “Do you want me to do it?” Aine asked.  “I don’t mind.  I have a spell I have been wanting to try.   That way you can pack up the last of your things.”

“Thank you, Aine,” I hugged my sister.  “That would help.”

I watched out of the corner of my eye as I packed the clothes that I had had on into my pack as Aine flicked her hand over Kai and the great shadow cat shrank down to the size of a small house cat.  I choked down a bit of laughter as Kai turned to me slowly.

“I am sorry, Kai.  Boudicca’s orders,” I tried to say as neutrally as possible.

“Are you ready, my lady,” an unknown male voice said from the door.

Aine and I both turned to look at my door.  A man stood there in black and silver livery, looking at us expectantly.  An unknown crest was sewn over his left breast, a crowned crow, its wings spread wide, on one side and a crowned unicorn on the other. 

All I could do was nod.  It was Aine who found her tongue first.  “Yes, we are.  Thank you.  I’m sorry, Morrigan.  I need to get to my room.  There must be someone there waiting for me.”

She hurried from my room and I was left with the patient man still standing in my door.

“I, um, do you need help with anything?” I asked him.

He shook his head politely.  “No, my lady.  I simply need to know what you are keeping to carry on your horse.”

“Oh, um…” I looked around for a moment.  I set my sword on my bed, then my saddle bags next to my cloak.  Next, a stiletto that I still wanted to strap to my thigh.  Then my bow and quiver that I didn’t want crushed in the wagon.   “I think that’s it.”

“And that trunk there, my lady?” he asked, indicating the on set against the foot of my bed.  It was the only one that I hadn’t moved near the door.  I had packed the package from the Master in it.  It absolutely needed to go with me. 

“Yes,” I said softly.  “That one must go with me.”

He nodded.  “Do you have a symbol or a way to mark them, my lady?  So, they don’t get mixed up with the others.”

“Oh.”  I picked up the folio that was still on my bed.  I flipped open the cover, looking for the crest of my house that I had been given.  I was shocked to find a wolf, its head tossed back as if it was howling and three symbols I had never seen before.  I turned it so the man could see it. 

His eyes widened and looked between me and the symbol on the paper a few times before he bowed deeply.  “I am so sorry, my lady.   Forgive my rudeness.  I will mark them immediately.”  The crest instantly appeared on all of my trunks, pack and saddlebags.  It even appeared on the shoulder of my cloak that I was planning on wearing.

I really needed to read that folio.

“Thank you,” I said quickly.  “Do we need to get out to the courtyard?”

“Yes, my lady, of course.  Right away,” he said, bowing again.  He waved his hand and my belongings lifted up in to the air and fell in to line behind him as he led them out of my room.

I just shook my head at him as my trunks trailed him out of my room and turned to strap on the stiletto.  I clasped the cloak around my shoulders and was tossing my saddle bags over my left shoulder when Tristan walked in.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, reaching to pick up Kai.  She growled at me and jumped up on to Tristan’s shoulders instead.  “She is never going to forgive me,” I frowned.

“Oh, she will be fine,” he said, taking my saddle bags from me.

“I can carry my things by myself,” I said, trying to take back my saddle bags back, sword, quiver and bow.  He had even swung my pack up next to his.

“Sure, you can.  Are you coming or not?”

I glared at him but had no choice but to follow him.  I gave my room one last look and closed my door behind me.  It felt ominous somehow.

Out in the courtyard, wagons were being loaded, horses were being lined up and loaded down.  Guards and liveried women and men were everywhere.  The High Seat and a few Druids stood off to the side talking to Boudicca and Corbyn.  I barely recognized them, dressed as they were.

Tristan led me to our horses.  I was forced to stand demurely by as he strapped everything to my saddle.  I glared daggers at him the whole time.

“I am more than aware that you would rather skin me alive than let me do anything for you, Morrigan,” he whispered to me as he stood next to me, strapping my sword to Rhoca’s saddle.  “But this is for the benefit of Boudicca’s people.  They don’t and can’t know who we are.  We are already playing our parts.  As far as they know, we have only been receiving our education here.”

“Well, they aren’t wrong,” I grumbled.

Tristan mumbled an agreement.  “At least you aren’t ridding sidesaddle.  Come on, up you go.”

“Oh, you can’t be serious,” I hissed.

“You think you can get on your horse like that?”

I tried lifting my left leg high enough to get my foot in to the stirrup and then stomped my delicately booted foot in the dirt when I failed.

“How ladylike.  Are you done?” Tristan snorted behind me.

I turned and glared at him, then turned back to my horse, my hands still on my saddle.  My waist suddenly burned as his hands spanned my waist and lifted me up and on to my saddle.  I gave up all ladylike pretense and set my legs on either side of my horse and settled my long riding skirts around me.

Tristan didn’t wait around.  He walked around and lifted himself gracefully up into the saddle of the large blood bay next to me.  The entire time, Kai had held on for dear life to his shoulders, refusing to let go of him and ignoring me.  Traitor.

“Thank you,” I ground out.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Don’t make me repeat it,” I hissed.

“Oh, don’t worry.  I heard it.  I just wanted to see if you would say it again,” he said, smiling at me.

I wanted to knock the smile off of his gods damned handsome face.

Around us, the rest of our party were mounting horses or climbing into wagons.  It was time to go, I guess.  I ignored the nervous flop my stomach gave as Corbyn walked down the line and made sure everyone was ready.  It was a short trip to the stones.  What was I so nervous about?

It only took a few minutes to reach the stones and few more to get everyone settled inside of them.  I dimly wondered why we weren’t using the Realm Port.  Surely everyone else arriving for the Conclave was using the Realm Port? 

Beside me, Tristan pulled Kai off of his shoulders and tucked her in to his cloak, into a deep inner pocket.  Then he reached across and gathered my right hand in his bigger one.  I almost pulled away, until I felt Rhiannon grab my left hand.  Around us, everyone was linking hands or arms and making sure they were touching the horses in some way.  Ah, so you had to all be touching to move together.

The Druids outside of the circle began to chant.  I screwed my eyes shut and prepared to be swept away into the darkness again.

I felt the pull of the darkness, the call of the energies, but all of the bodies around me must have been a solid anchor because when I opened my eyes again, I was in a circle of stones that I had never seen before.  I looked around at trees and mountainside that was entirely new.

CHAPTER 6

“The Lunadyn mountains,” Tristan whispered.  “Welcome to Vahl’strael.”

Rhiannon let go of my left hand, but Tristan kept hold of my right.  I didn’t argue.  I still had one hand to guide Rhoca with.  I could have guided her with my legs, if necessary, but I wasn’t telling him that.

Outside of the stones, two men on horses in red, white and gold, were waiting for us.  They bowed at the waist to Boudicca and Corbyn and turned to lead us down the mountain side. 

Below us, the view was stunningly breathtaking.  The Shadow Keep and Gryphon Aerie Castle were hewn from the mountainside, both brutally asymmetrical that made them beautiful in their own right.  The only color on the steely gray was the red, white, and gold banners and flags that whipped, rippled and danced in the mountain wind. 

The castle and Keep were legendary.  No one could remember how they had come to be, only that they had been truly carved from the mountain face.  As a result, there were few seams in the granite where the layers had been added and there were few symmetrical lines.

Because the castle guard were Mountain Yova, the towers that jutted upward toward the skies above the castle were topped with enormous covered platforms that were able to accommodate the massive beasts and their handlers.  All over the mountains around us, aeries were scattered around in hidden valleys where the tribe bred and raised their gryphons.

From the tops of the towers, red, white and gold flags and banners bearing the sigil of King Torrynd’s House, the Crowned Ice Bear of House Raaschbaul, whipped and curled in the mountain wind.  On each of the tower platforms, a single mountain gryphon and its rider stood, keeping watch over the mountains, forests and plains that could be seen from their vantage points.

Along the walkways of the Keep and castle, the guard made up of Yova and Immortal Kindred from the King’s own clan, either stood at their posts or walked along their section of the wall.  Yes, the Fourth Realm was currently at peace, but not having a standing army was just foolish and poor political move.

In contrast with the stark buildings, the grounds between the castle, Keep and the city below were widely known for their flower and vegetable gardens, fruit orchards and small purposely designed forests that pushed right up against the wild forests that surrounded the castle and city.  Even though the buildings themselves were devoid of color, all the same variations of grey as the mountains, the people of the kingdom made a point to surround themselves with as much color as they could when they were not covered in snow.

In an attempt to fight the cold, the people of the northernmost kingdom of the Mabondyn Continent had come up with an ingenious way of altering their homes and other buildings.  Every building had thick bay windows pushing away from the walls on almost every level and portions of the roofs were also thick domed glass that let in every ray of sunshine available.  Even with the Elven technology available to everyone, they still couldn’t beat the warmth that the sun offered.

Tarvael was a beautiful city in it’s own right.  It was one of the few cities in the realm that didn’t have a portion of the city that could be considered slums, or poor section.  Whether it was because the population took care of each other or the wealthy of the city didn’t want their city to appear poor in any way, I wasn’t entirely sure.

In the city center, there was a large fountain with a beautifully sculpted red and white marble dragon that was fed by an under ground hot spring.  This warmth was harnessed by the engineers of the city to feed the various green houses year-round with life giving warmth.

The market of Tarvael was pristine.  The Black Market that marred other cities’ reputations had not made it to Vahl’strael, but not from lack of trying.  It’s merchants and Guild Members firmly kept that ugliness at bay.  The market was known for it’s exquisite furniture made from the stone pine that was found all over the mountains nearby, the green houses, fabrics that came from the mysterious valleys high in the Lunadyn mountains, a Dwarven forge where, arguably, the best weapons in the realm were made, a shop where a trio of Ancients made instruments, and, oddly enough, a rather well known lot of law firms and bankers.

King Torrynd was also know for not employing anyone who served the Order anywhere in his castle.  For anything.   He could not stop the Druids in the Shadow Keep from having their own staff, but he wasn’t having it in his castle.  Instead, his privy council and public council was made up of his Yova Generals, Immortal Kindred, Elves, Dwarves, Khaskarii and Humans.  Oh, he made all of the necessary vows and kept his word with the Order of Ebon Lys, but he knew where to draw the line.

King Torrynd’s court, his nobles and the city of Tarvael were as diverse as his councils.  The entire kingdom was well known for its tolerance and its acceptance of every Race.  Only the Forest Fae King, King Einal, every really had anything to say about it, but no one cared what he said unless they either needed his armies or were trying to stave them off.

Boudicca led the way down the mountain after the court messenger, to the castle and Keep below.  As we got closer, I could see the gate wide open for us.  I pulled my cloak tighter and steered Rhoca closer to Tristan.  No one was happy about the cooler temperatures.  Kai had burrowed deeply inside Tristan’s cloak.  The only evidence of her being the lump at his side.  He had one arm cradling her and the other holding his reins.  He smiled when he looked at me and jostled Kai slightly.

I smiled back at him, thankful that he had carried her through the stones and down the mountain for me.  I was sure she was going to completely ignore my existence for at least a few days, just because she could.

I was lost in the beauty of the mountainside and the sights and didn’t notice that we had approached the wide open castle gates until Tristan squeezed my hand and let go.  I turned to look at him then to where he nodded.

The entire royal family was out on the steps of the castle waiting to greet us.  I swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that suddenly appeared in my throat.  I could do this, couldn’t I?

Boudicca swung down from her horse and stepped into the King’s open arms with a smile.  I sat frozen on my horse, trying to keep my mouth closed.

“Your Majesty!  It is so good to see you again!” Boudicca said happily.

“Your Grace, welcome to my home and thank you for attending in your father’s stead.  Tell me, is he well?”  the King asked politely.

“He is, he is.  He and my lady mother wished to stay and watch over our home.  And with my sister so heavy with child, I am afraid you are stuck with me this time,” she smiled sweetly.

“I will try to do my best with what I have been given,” the King teased her.  “Corbyn, my friend, how have you been?”

“I am well, Your Majesty.  Thank you,” Corbyn answered him, accepting another of the King’s massive hugs.

“Are we in time, Your Majesty?” Boudicca asked.

“You are the first,” King Torrynd answered her, his smile fading finally.  “I have received answers from all, though.  They will begin arriving in two days.”

“Good,” Boudicca said, visibly relaxing. 

“Who have you brought with you?” King Torrynd asked, finally turning to look at the rest of us.

Boudicca and Corbyn turned to look at us, as well.  We were on.  I forced a smile on to my face.  Tristan swung down from his saddle and moved to help me down from my saddle.  The others took his lead a split second later.

Tristan helped me down, then stepped away to a polite distance and gave Kai to me.  She seemed to know what was expected of her and calmly let me hold her.  At the same moment that Tristan bent forward to bow, I dropped into a curtsey, holding my cat to my chest as I dropped my chin into her fur.

“Ah, Your Majesty, noble ladies from my court.  Even though the travel was sudden, their mothers insisted.  You know how mothers can be about unwed daughters,” Boudicca sighed.

“Indeed,” King Torrynd said, glancing at his own daughter.   “And the gentlemen?”

“My companions, Your Majesty,” Corbyn answered.  “They need a little…adventure…under their belts before they settle down in their houses.”

“I had expected you to travel with a fraction of your household, of course,” King Torrynd said.  “I was merely curious about the new faces.  We will get to know each other at dinner this evening.  You do not need to keep your people here, Boudicca, if they are needed at home.”  He looked pointedly over her shoulder at the guards standing with the wagons.

“Only those who are necessary will be staying, of course,” Boudicca smiled.

The King nodded to someone just inside the door and I heard someone clap.  A veritable army of maids and groomsmen descended upon the courtyard and our wagons and horses.  Rhoca was swept away after my belongings had been removed and whisked inside the castle.  It all happened in a whirlwind of movement before I knew what was happening.

Boudicca went to speak to what I guessed was the head guard that had travelled with us.  After a short discussion, a small cluster of the original group stepped away from the wagons and towards the castle.  The rest left through the gate and were, I could only guess, returning to Boudicca’s father.

“Come,” the King boomed, “let’s get you all settled into your rooms.”

The King gently took Boudicca’s hand and looped it through the crook of his arm.  Corbyn fell in easily behind them, his hands clasped behind his back.  The King’s children fell in behind them.  Aine pulled Rafe, making us fall in behind the royal family.

The King led us into the castle and began giving an impromptu tour with Boudicca on his arm.  She looked natural there, I couldn’t help but notice.  She smiled at him and his children, teased them, laughed with them, pointed out rooms in the castle to us.  It was as easy as breathing for Boudicca and Corbyn.

When we reached a long, wide hallway in the royal wing, Boudicca stopped all of us.  “This hallway is where some of your rooms are.  Ladies, if you will come with me.”

She showed Aine to her room first, towards the beginning of the hallway, then Rhiannon on the opposite side of the hallway.  I was the last, at the end of the hall.

“This is your suite,” Boudicca said, opening the double doors.  “I have handpicked your maid along with the room.  Like I did for your sisters.”

“My suite,” I said numbly, setting Kai down. 

“Yes.  It’s pretty self-explanatory.  Your front room, a bedroom, bathroom.  You have everything you need.  All of your trunks have already been delivered.  There is a box over there in the corner for Kai to, um, you know.  A maid will take care of that.”

“I can take care of Kai, Boudicca.  This is too much,” I said.

“No, Morrigan.  These are rooms befitting your station.  And you will let the maid do her job.  Everyone here is paid rather well.”  She looked out into the hallway, then stepped in and dropped her voice low.  “Read the folio and read it again.  Learn every word of it.  Then you need to read what the Master gave you.  Don’t try to deny it.  I know what he gave you.  Read it when you get a chance.”

“Boudicca…”

“There isn’t time.  Not now.  Get situated, unpack, read.  We will see each other at dinner,” Boudicca said.

“Our Tuillaryns,” I said, stopping her before she walked back out into the hallway.

She turned back to face me.  “Are not your Tuillaryns here.  They are unmarried nobles, like yourselves.  You cannot be seen alone with each other.”

“I understand.  Have you explained it to Aine?” I asked.

“I have.  It went about as well as you would expect.  You aren’t worried about Rhiannon?”

I shook my head.  “Rhiannon will follow orders to a fault.”  When Boudicca didn’t reply, I changed the subject.  “What are you going to do about Aine?”

Boudicca shook her head, like she was shaking herself free of her own thoughts and looked up from the floor.  “I have an idea that should work.  I need to contact a few people for it, though.  I will see you at dinner.”

She didn’t give me a chance to say anything more about it.  My older sister stepped out in to the hallway and shut my door.  I stood barely inside the front room where I had stopped when we had first walked in.  I was still holding Kai and my saddle bags.

I set Kai down on the floor and my saddle bags on the small, round table that was set in front of a large window.  The table was polished to near gleaming, like every other piece of furniture in the rooms that I could see. 

The rooms were draped in red, white and gold.  I didn’t mind the colors, they just weren’t my favorite.  I understood the purpose, though.  I subtle reminder of exactly who’s kingdom one was a guest in.

The front room was comfortable.  There were three plush chairs and a couch set around red and white marble fireplace.  Across from the fireplace and its furniture, there were bookshelves that were filled with what I guessed was appropriate reading for a lady of the court.  I ran my finger along some of the spines gently.  Histories of the noble houses in the kingdom and of the kingdom itself.  I would at least put those to good use.  I ignored the shelves of what appeared to be fiction, though it pained me.  I wasn’t here to spend my days reading stories.

In front of the bookshelves, was the small round, blonde pine table with four matching chairs around it where I had placed my saddle bags.   There was another table in front of the couch that was lower to the floor, also blonde pine.  Each of the plush chairs had a little cushioned footrest in front of it that matched the upholstery of the chairs.  I rolled my eyes at them, unable to stop myself.

Above the fireplace, there was a portrait of the royal family, painted before the Queen had died.  Gods, she had been beautiful.  A member of a different clan, her hair had been dark brown instead of the King’s reddish gold and her children’s golden hair.  All of her children favored their father’s fair features.  I wondered if that had ever bothered her?

In my bedroom, the bed dwarfed the bed I had back at the High Keep.  It was at least twice the size, if not bigger, and was piled high with downy blankets and pillows.  Who needed that many pillows?  The sheets were outrageously soft, though.  I decided I could live with that.  The headboard and footboard were both curved upward and away from the mattress.  The craftsmanship was absolutely stunning, like the rest of the furniture in the bedroom. 

I needed to unpack, not just stare at my room.  I moved to my trunks and stopped suddenly.  There was a dull pain that was becoming an ache that was building in my chest.  I pushed a fist against my diaphragm against the pain.  The feeling that something was terribly wrong washed over me.  Inside my chest, the coiled thread shook and pulled. 

I fell to my knees, unable to hold myself up anymore.  With my other fist, I stifled a sob that suddenly broke free from my throat.  Gods, what was wrong with me?  The ache became pain that made it difficult to breathe.  The corset definitely was not helping matters.

Then, as quickly as it had started, the pain and the feeling were gone.  I wrapped my arms around myself and looked around the rooms.  I had no idea what had just happened.  My first instinct was to find the Master and the Witch and tell them what had happened.  In their absence, I was left to figure it out for myself.  That brought in a completely different feeling.

I used the footboard to pull myself back up from the floor and leaned against it until my knees didn’t feel weak anymore.  I didn’t even want to think about what had just happened, so I busied myself with my belongings.  Unpack and read.  Those had been Boudicca’s orders.

I was sitting at the table, reading the folio for the third time, when I was interrupted by a knock on the door.  I looked up at the door and noticed that the natural light was beginning to dwindle outside.  It must be nearly time for dinner and I hadn’t changed out of my riding skirts.  I groaned and got up to open the door.

Instead of Boudicca or one of my sisters, I was greeted by a new face.  A maid wearing a simple uniform was holding a few dresses draped over her arms and a basket was dangling from the crook of her left elbow.  I leaned out in hallway and saw similar maids standing at my sister’s doors.

“May I help you?” I finally asked the woman.

“I am Varina, my lady.  Your maid.  I have come to help you dress for dinner.  The Princess has sent dresses in the current fashion, in case you had need of them.” 

She had a polite, serene expression, but her eyes were anything but.  Her bright blue eyes snapped with intelligence and cunning.  The hands that held the dresses were rough and calloused that spoke of years of handling weapons.  Her strong build was barely hidden underneath the maid’s uniform.

I opened the door more to let her in.  She slipped by me with barely a sound, despite what she was carrying and her height, slightly taller than I was, and waited for me to close the door.  Hand-picked by Boudicca indeed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what time it was,” I tried to smile.  I glanced at the folio and let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding.  I had remembered to close the folio before I opened the door.  I didn’t need a maid reading through my identity.  What a ridiculous mistake to even have it out where it could be read.  I needed to lock it away in my personal trunk before I went down to dinner.

“There is enough time, my lady, if we get started,” she said.

“Of course.  You can lay those on my bed, I guess.  I’m not sure what you might be able to find in the closet.  I have never paid much attention to the fashions,” I confessed.

“No need to worry, my lady.  We will find something.”

I fidgeted with the edge of my sleeve while she laid down the dresses and went to search my closet.  She made comments to herself that I couldn’t hear as she searched my wardrobe.  While she was distracted, I racked my brain, trying to bring forward every lesson I had received over the years from Bridgette and Tobin. 

“This will do nicely,” came the maid’s voice from my closet.  She brought out a pale blue dress that Aine had made for me the year before when she was trying out new styles.  I was surprised she had found anything in my closet that would suit a dinner with a royal family.  “Other dresses in there can be altered to fit the fashion, if you will allow, my lady.”

“If that is what needs to be done,” I said absently, tugging on the ties of my dress.

“My lady, allow me.”

I stood patiently, kind of, while Varina removed the dress I had arrived in and unlaced my corset.  Instinctively, I drew a deep breath the moment my body was free.  It was bliss.  My lungs filled with cool air and I pushed the feeling through the rest of my body.  Even if it was a small moment of freedom for my body, I was going to enjoy every bit of it.

The maid settled a clean shift and a different corset around my chest, but she didn’t lace it as tightly.  “Expand your lungs, not your diaphragm to breathe,” she said bluntly, like it was common sense.  I followed her advice as she tightened the laces near my waist and left a little more room around my chest.  It lifted my breasts delicately above the corset every time I breathed, but I could breathe.

After she had settled the dress on me, she pointed to the cushioned bench in front of the vanity.  I sat down obediently and watched her through the mirror as she took down my hair, shook it out and began to redress it.  Her strong fingers expertly piled my curls mostly on top of my head and arranged the rest to fall artistically over my left shoulder.  It took nearly every hairpin I had to create the masterpiece.

Then she turned me to face her and went to the basket to retrieve face paints.  I didn’t like using them and had refused Aine every time she had tried, but this was different.  I closed my eyes and let the maid do her job.  I told myself that it was just for a short time.  I would be a painted doll for only a short time, then I would be done and able to take on a more serious mission.

When she was finished, she told me to turn to face the mirror again.  My eyes widened when I saw myself.  She hadn’t used much of the paint, only enough around my eyes to make them stand out more and on the rest of my face to make me look slightly less pale.  It was minimal and well done.  I needed to learn how to recreate the effect for myself.

I smiled at her though the mirror.  “Thank you,” I said, honestly happy with the transformation.

“You are welcome, my lady.  Do you require anything else this evening?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so.  Wait.  How do I reach you if I do need you?”

Varina stopped by the door to the bedroom and turned to face me.  She smiled tightly and pointed to a rope near my bed and another rope near the table.  “If you pull on either of those, it will ring in my rooms and in the kitchens.  I will know if you have need of me.”

I didn’t like that one bit, someone being chained to my whims.  I frowned at the ropes.  “I will save you the ringing.  I will come find you if I need you.”

A genuine smile lit her face.  “As you will, my lady.”

I waited for her to leave, then quickly grabbed the folio from my table.  I didn’t want anyone else walking in while I was locking it away.

I had set my personal trunk against the footboard, between the trunk that held my weapons and the trunk that held my books.  As I knelt down in front of the trunk, the memory of setting the locks on the chests was forefront in my mind.

The Master and the Witch had insisted that I learn how to key the trunks only to myself.  I hadn’t understood the importance and had argued that only I had the keys for them.  They wouldn’t let it go.  I had carried each of my trunks, one at a time, to the Master’s chamber.  I had watched carefully as the Witch had nicked her thumb with her dagger and ran the pad of her thumb over the lock of a chest.  She had explained that the lock recognized her power and only her power.  Then she told me to try to open her chest, both with the keys she handed me and with my own drop of blood.

The keys went in to the lock, but wouldn’t even turn, no matter how much strength was applied to them.  I certainly didn’t want to break her keys.  The trunk had remained inert as I tried keys, a dagger, and other ways to get in to the trunk.  Finally, I tried my own blood, repeating the Witch’s movements.  It was the same as the other ways I had tried.  The lock didn’t budge or even give an indication that the magic had been disturbed.

Finally convinced, the Witch and the Master had wrapped their combined power around the room as I set the spells on my own trunks.  The air in the room had rippled dangerously several times, but nothing had been able to explode or melt.  When I was finished, both of my teachers tested my locks. Satisfied, they told me to return my trunks back to my room.

I listened for any sound outside of my door, then ran my thumb across the lock.  I had found out, on accident, that I didn’t need a drop of blood for my locks.  The spell recognized my power without it.  The mechanism turned soundlessly.  I opened the lid and set the folio on top of the package that I still hadn’t opened.  I frowned at the leather wrapped bundle, wondering if I had time to open it.

A knock at my door and Tristan’s voice made up my mind for me.  “My lady?” his voice drifted through the door. 

I shut the lid and ran my thumb back over the lock.  “A moment,” I called to him.  I smoothed my skirts and pulled on the shoes that Varina had set out for me.  She hadn’t said anything about the stiletto that was strapped to my thigh.  I checked it one more time before I walked to the door.

Tristan’s eyes widened slightly when he saw me.  “May I take you down to dinner?” he asked quietly.

I closed my door behind me and let him loop my arm through his.  At the end of the hallway, Aine waited on Rafe’s arm and Rhiannon stood next to Cam.  Boudicca was standing off to the side from them, alone.

“This is going to take some getting used to,” I whispered. “I need to show you that package.  It’s locked in my room.”

Tristan didn’t get a chance to reply.  We were close enough to the others that they would have heard anything.  Boudicca smiled and led us down the stairs to the main floor.  At the base of the stairs, a groom was waiting to lead us the rest of the way to the right dining room.

The dining room was filled with three large, long tables.  We were led to the table with the royal family.  Corbyn was already sitting near the King with an empty chair between them. I guessed that chair had been left empty for Boudicca.

Both Corbyn and the King got to their feet when she approached them.  Everyone in the room noticed that the King had pulled out the chair for her and settled her in it before sitting back down in his chair.  I let Tristan repeat the process for me when we reached our chairs. 

The dinner was uneventful.  We talked with the royal family and the nobles at the table.  The conversation consisted mostly of Boudicca having to answer questions about the health of her family and kingdom.

“I do apologize for the…size…of this evening’s dinner,” King Torrynd said.  “Normally, the majority of the court eat in different, smaller dining rooms or in their own rooms.  This evening is an exception as many of them are moving to homes in the city until the Conclave is over.”

I didn’t think that having enough room in the castle for visiting royalty would have been a problem.  The castle was certainly large enough to accommodate everyone in the dining room. 

A man a few seats down from the King explained why.  “We have received replies from many of the rulers.  They will be bringing their council members with them.  Along with guards, of course.  The court willingly offered up their suites to accommodate everyone.”

“It is no problem at all,” the older woman next to him said.  “We understand the need for the space, though his majesty would have never asked it of us.”

After dinner, Boudicca led my sisters and me up to her suite.  She settled a heavy ward over the rooms after we settled on the couch and chairs.  This was going to take a while.

“Did you all get a chance to read this afternoon?” she asked us.

“We did,” Rhiannon answered for us.

“Good.  Because the mission may have just changed,” Boudicca sighed.

“Will we be leaving?” Aine asked.

Boudicca shook her head.  “No.  Not yet, anyway.  King Torrynd received a message today that the Queen of Oryn’lea has died.  The King, her husband, sent a private message to King Torrynd just before dinner.  The Queen was shot during the evening meal yesterday evening, in front of the entire court.  The wound should have healed as soon as the arrow was removed and the royal physician attended her, but it didn’t.  It was a fatal shot.  They have yet to find the assassin or how he or she was able to render the Queen mortal.”

Rhiannon tapped her fingers against her bottom lip, deep in thought.  “Who will attend the Conclave for Oryn’lea now?  And why didn’t the King send a message to the High Keep immediately?”

Boudicca frowned at her.  “The King is sending his daughter, the Princess, along with a guard and some council members to attend.  Both Kings are close friends and allies.  They have been for the entirety of their reigns.  I’m sure neither of them want to alarm anyone further with so many rulers on their way here for the Conclave.”

“No one wants to cause a panic and make the attending rulers worry,” Aine reasoned.  “Many of them are leaving their family behind as well as their kingdom in the hands of others.”

“I want to send you to Oryn’lea to see if you can figure out what happened to the Queen,” Boudicca told us.  “I just can’t figure out a reason to do so.  You arriving with me was easy to explain.  Sending you to another kingdom without me…I am going to need a valid reason for that.”

“What about Bridgette?”  Rhiannon asked. 

“They are on their own mission,” Boudicca said, shaking her head.  “I’ve considered sending you in secret, but I wouldn’t be able to explain your disappearance.  Not after you have met the family and court.  The benefit of sending you like this, as ladies of the court, you will have access to almost everything without having to sneak in to the kingdom.  I will figure it out.  In the meantime, Aine, I have found a way to make things easier for you.”

“What do you mean,” Aine asked skeptically.

“A marriage contract between your house and Rafe’s.  Messages were sent this afternoon.  I have no doubt that both families will approve so that you can be publicly betrothed.  He still can’t be seen in your rooms or with you alone, but it will explain your closeness, your bond while we are here,” Boudicca offered.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes.  “For the love of the Gods,” she said under her breath.

Aine shot an angry glare her way, but Boudicca stopped her before she could say anything back.

“For now, I need you here for the Conclave.  I won’t be able to bring you in to the meetings, but you will be around the people from other kingdoms who won’t be in the meetings, either.  Listen to what they have to say, if they mention demon activity beyond the major attacks.”

“Any gossip, rumors, half truths that might actually hold some truth,” Aine finished for her.  “We know.  There isn’t much else for us to do.”

“There is, actually,” Boudicca said, trying not to sound annoyed.  “You can get close to the Princess.  She is about your age and will be helpful navigating.”

“We can do that,” Aine said happily.  Rhiannon didn’t look so convinced.

“Tomorrow you will have to yourselves.  No one is due to arrive for another day or so,” Boudicca said, getting up from her chair.

We took the cue and rose from our own seats.  I felt like Boudicca wasn’t telling us everything, but that wasn’t a surprise.  She couldn’t always tell us everything.  There were no doubt parts of this mission that we would never know about. 

I slipped in to my room, thinking about what Boudicca had told us.  Surely Corbyn had told our Tuillaryns the same.  I needed to get out of this dress and open that package.  I took off my shoes as soon as I closed the door, sighing happily.  My shoes in one hand, I started pulling the pins out of my hair with the other.

I froze when I was walking past the couch and someone cleared their throat.  I realized that I hadn’t even looked around my room when I had walked in.  I had been too distracted, and I had taken the safety of the castle for granted.

Tristan was standing on the other side of the couch, his arms crossed and an amused look on his face.  “Do you need help?” he asked.

I shook my head.  “I’ve got it.  I think.  What are you doing here?”

“You are the one who mentioned the package and that you needed to show me.”

“Oh.  Give me a minute.”

“Take your time,” he said, turning to sit back down on the couch.

I closed the door between the front room and the bedroom.  It certainly took me longer than a minute to get out of the dress I was wearing and to pull the remaining pins out of my hair.  The court fashion may be bare shoulders and thin sleeves, but that wasn’t mine.  I found a comfortable cotton shirt and pants to sleep in, then retrieved the package from my trunk.

Tristan was sitting on the couch petting Kai when I returned.  I noticed he had taken off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair and unbuttoned the top buttons of his linen shirt.  His feet were up on one of the footrests, crossed at the ankles.  The firelight danced slowly across his features.

I sat at the opposite end of the couch and handed the package to him across the open space.  He took it and settled back against the back of the couch.

He pulled the string on the package and was shocked to find two books.  “Why books?” I asked, more to myself.  I took one of them and opened the book in my hands, not knowing what to expect.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Tristan sighed. 

“Yes, but you can’t be found in here,” I pointed out.

He smirked like he could care less if anyone found him in my suite.  “Let’s find out what is so important about these books.”

“Tristan, you can’t be here,” I said firmly.

“No one will find me in here,” he assured me.  “We can read at night.  It shouldn’t take us long to get through them.  You should keep them in here, though.”

I gave up trying to argue with him.  “Fine.  But you aren’t staying in here.”

“Who said I was going to?”

I glared at him and settled down to read.  I quickly lost track of time.  I had stretched out at some point and put my feet in Tristan’s lap.  He was absently rubbing my feet with one hand and holding his book with the other.  The first time my eyes began to droop, I realized that it we had been sitting and reading for far too long.

I pulled my feet out of his lap and closed my book.  “It’s late,” I said, holding back a yawn.  “You need to go.  Will you be seen?”

Tristan shook his head.  He handed the book to me and picked up his coat.  “I’ll show you.”

I followed him in to the bedroom, holding the books to my chest.  “What are you doing?”

He moved the large tapestry aside and pushed a stone.  “This is how.  It leads down to my room, just below yours.”

I shook my head.  Boudicca chose the rooms.  Of course, his room would be right below mine and linked by a passage.  It was all too surreal for me, something out of one of the books Aine liked to read.

Tristan stepped in to the passage, let the tapestry fall and he was gone.  I barely heard the stone wall sliding back in to place.  I lifted up the tapestry and ran my hands over the stones.  I wasn’t sure I was all that happy about our rooms being linked in such a way and even less happy about the fact that I couldn’t do anything about it.

I shrugged it off and returned the books to my trunk.  It was a problem for the next day.  I was too tired to think about it.