C. L. WILSON
CROWN of
CRYSTAL FLAME
For Kevin.
My one true love.
Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tan.
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Acknowledgements
By C. L. Wilson
Copyright
About the Publisher

PROLOGUE
Northern Celieria ~24th day of Verados
Death raked like a knife across Ellysetta Baristani’s
empathic soul. Talisa Barrial diSebourne was dead. Killed
by the tairen venom in the red Fey’cha her husband,
Colum, had thrown at her Fey truemate, Adrial vel
Arquinas.
Of Colum diSebourne—Talisa’s husband—there was no
sign.
The scorch of ozone, the odor of powerful magic
released with explosive force, still hung heavy in the air.
No one needed to draw Ellysetta a picture. She’d felt
Colum’s hate-..lled fury, felt Talisa’s death. Adrial’s wild,
deadly Rage. She’d sensed the moment Colum’s anger
turned to terror, seen the unmistakable explosion of
Adrial’s magic, and then… nothing. A vacuum of emotion,
the utter stunned silence of disbelief, followed at last by
grief and accusation and a chaotic whirl of unchecked
thoughts and feelings.
Colum had discovered his wife returning from the forest
with her Fey lover, and he’d set into motion the series of
events that had led to this: Talisa and Adrial dead. Colum…
simply gone.
simply gone.
“My son.” Great Lord Sebourne—Colum’s father
—stepped into the open space where his son had been. His
eyes swept the clearing. His jaw thrust out aggressively.
“Where’s my son?”
“He’s gone,” Talisa’s father, the Great Lord Cannevar
Barrial, answered in a bleak voice. “They’re all gone.” His
sons Luce, Parsis, and Severn stood in stricken silence
beside him. He swiped at the tears brimming in his eyes
and glared at his neighbor. “I hope you’re ja..ng satis..ed,
Sebourne.”
Kneeling on the ground beside the bodies of Talisa and
his brother, Rowan vel Arquinas ..xed his grief-stricken
gaze on Ellysetta. “Please, Feyreisa. Save them. If anyone
can, it’s you.”
Rowan’s ragged plea spurred her to action. She crossed
the ..eld and dropped to her knees beside the fallen
truemates.
“Rain, try the Shadar horn on Talisa,” she commanded. A
gift from the Elf King, Galad Hawksheart, the curling horn
from the magical horses called Shadar was reputed to be an
antidote to any poison—even irreversibly lethal tairen
venom.
“Ellysetta.” Rain, Ellysetta’s unbonded truemate, laid a
hand on her shoulder. “It’s too late, shei’tani. They’re
already gone.”
Her gaze shot up, pinning his. “I have to at least try to
save them,” she protested. “You know I must.”
save them,” she protested. “You know I must.”
Compassion and understanding softened his expression.
Her mate, the King of the Fey, who had once scorched the
world in a ..t of grief-stricken madness, was no stranger to
death or the desperate desire to prevent it. “There’s nothing
to be done. They have passed beyond the Veil. Even if you
could call their souls back into their bodies, you would
only summon them as demons, not as the friends we knew.
”
The sounds of shouting made them turn. Lord Sebourne
and Lord Barrial were at each other’s throats, swords
drawn. All their men had blades in hand as well, ready
—even eager—to spill their own countrymen’s blood.
“What are you thinking?” Ellysetta cried. “Haven’t you
had your ..ll of death?”
Though the Fey-Celierian treaty that prohibited Fey from
manipulating mortal thoughts with their magic—and
though that was precisely the crime for which Adrial vel
Arquinas had been sentenced to death—Ellysetta still did it.
She spun a weave of peace upon the enraged men, stealing
the raw heat of their anger.
“Sheathe your swords,” she commanded, infusing her
voice with compulsion. “There will be no more killing here
today. Lord Barrial, Rowan, tend to your dead. Lord
Sebourne, mourn your son. For the sake of the dear ones
each of us have lost, let there be peace between us.”
Though Sebourne sheathed his sword, not even Ellysetta’s
weave was enough to still his anger completely.
weave was enough to still his anger completely.
“Peace?” he spat. “There will be peace when Celieria
and her king are free of Fey manipulations and control.”
He turned to the king, and declared, “Sebourne will not
..ght beside these Fey rultsharts. I will not spill one more
drop of Sebourne blood on their behalf, or trust them at
my back. I pray gods you soon ..nd the strength to cut free
of their strings.”
Raising his voice, Great Lord Sebourne shouted,
“Warriors of Sebourne! Mount up. We ride for home!”

CHAPTER ONE
I watch my loved ones weep with sorrow,
death’s silent torment of no tomorrow.
I feel their hearts breaking, I sense their despair,
United in misery, the grief that they share.
How do I show that, I am not gone…
but the essence of life’s everlasting song
Why do they weep? Why do they cry?
I’m alive in the wind and I am soaring high.
I am sparkling light dancing on streams,
a moment of warmth in the fays of sunbeams.
The coolness of rain as it falls on your face,
the whisper of leaves as wind rushes with haste.
Etrrnal Song, a requiem by Avian of Celieria
Celieria ~ Kreppes
24th day of Verados
“The bodies of Talisa and Adrial have been sent back to the
elements,” Rain said.
elements,” Rain said.
After Talisa’s and Adrial’s deaths, the King’s Army
continued marching to the great walled city-fortress of
Kreppes to prepare for war. Rain and the Fey had stayed
behind with Great Lord Barrial and his sons to say their
..nal good-byes and return the bodies of their loved ones to
the elements from whence they came.
Now, as he and Ellysetta stood before Celieria’s king in
the chambers Great Lord Barrial had surrendered for
Dorian’s use, Rain feared that the deaths of Adrial, Talisa,
and Colum diSebourne on the ..elds of northern Celieria
today had destroyed far more than three lives.
Only one month ago, the Fey had learned that the evil
High Mage of Eld intended to unleash a terrible army upon
Celieria. An army one of his Mages had compared to the
mythic Army of Darkness, a world-conquering force of
millions. Rain and Ellysetta had spent weeks trying to
cobble together an alliance to combat the threat, but now,
thanks to what had happened with Talisa, Adrial, and
Colum, the small army they’d managed to assemble was in
danger of coming apart at the seams.
King Dorian X of Celieria, who had not risen when Rain
and Ellysetta entered, continued to scan the sheets of
parchment in his hand as if Rain had not spoken, leaving
the king and queen of the Fey to stand before him like
chastised children summoned to the schoolmaster’s o..ce.
Irritation ..ickered through Rain. Dorian had a right to his
anger—and Rain knew he deserved reproach for hiding
Adrial’s continued presence in Celieria City from Celieria’s
Adrial’s continued presence in Celieria City from Celieria’s
king—but he would tolerate no discourtesy towards
Ellysetta.
“The Fey stand ready to ..ght,” Rain announced, speaking
to the top of Dorian’s bent head, “but before this battle
begins, King Dorian, the Feyreisa and I must know what
impact our recent mutual loss will have on our alliance.”
The hands on the parchment froze. The Celierian king’s
head lifted. Eyes hard as polished stones clashed with
Rain’s gaze.
“It’s a little late for such concerns, don’t you think?” The
quiet venom in Dorian’s tone came as a surprise. Since
meeting the descendant of Marissya and Gaelen’s sister,
Marikah vol Serranis, Rain had never regarded Dorian as
much more than a too-weak, too-mortal product of a great
Fey bloodline. Fey in name only, with little to recommend
him as either a strong leader or a seasoned warrior. But
there was a new edge to Dorian that Rain had never seen
before. A ..inty glitter in his eyes and resolute hardness to
his jaw.
Trusting, accommodating Dorian vol Serranis Torreval
had grown steel in his spine—and with it a decidedly less
favorable view of the Fey.
Rain spread his hands in a placating gesture. “King
Dorian—“
“You knew!” Dorian kicked back his chair and surged to
his feet. “All this time, you knew about Adrial and Talisa.
You knew Adrial and the others hadn’t gone back to the
You knew Adrial and the others hadn’t gone back to the
Fading Lands. Knew they were using their magic to hide
their presence from Talisa’s husband. You knew, and you
condoned it. Not only that—you participated in their
deception!” He jabbed a ..nger in Rain’s direction. “You,
who posture and pride yourself on Fey honor, intentionally
set out to deceive me, the Sebournes, and the Barrials.”
Rain’s skin ..ushed. “I know how this must seem—“
“Seem?” Dorian gave a harsh, humorless laugh. “You
spoke so eloquently about honoring our customs, holding
our marriage vows as sacred as your own, and all the
while, you plotted to rob a man of his wife. Is this the
measure of Fey honor? Is this how low and worthless it has
become—or is it merely an indicator of how low and
worthless your honor has become?”
At Rain’s side, Ellysetta bristled, but he silenced her with
a small touch of his hand. «Nei shei’tani. Dorian has a right
to his anger. I did intentionally deceive him.»
“You counted on my trust… on my belief in your honor,”
Dorian continued hotly. “You manipulated me like the
puppet my own nobles have accused me of being. You
used my faith in the goodness of the Fey—even my love for
my aunt, Marissya, and my ties of kinship to the Fey—to
deceive me. You are the reason three people died today!
How I wish I’d heeded Tenn v’En Eilan’s warning about
you!”
“That’s enough!” Ellysetta exclaimed. Her green eyes shot
sparks. “How dare you lay full blame for today at his feet?
sparks. “How dare you lay full blame for today at his feet?
You, who bear as much blame as he?”
“Ellysetta, las.” Rain pulled her closer, half-afraid of what
she might do to Dorian. “Dorian has a right to his anger. I
did manipulate and deceive him. And I will bear the
weight of Adrial and Talisa’s deaths, as I bear the weight of
all the lives lost to my sword and to my ..ame.” Silently, he
added, «Perhaps Tenn was right, and I truly have lost my
way.» The leader of the Massan, the Fading Lands’s
governing council, had accused Rain of that when he
banished Rain and Ellysetta for weaving the forbidden
magic, Azrahn. Had he fallen from the Bright Path and been
too blinded by his love for Ellysetta and his hatred of the
Eld to realize it?
She whirled on him, anger eclipsed by shock and
repudiation of his silent confession. «Rain, nei. Don’t even
think that way. You are a champion of Light. Don’t you
ever doubt it.» She clasped his face in her hands and stared
..ercely into his eyes, as if, by sheer force of will, she could
make him believe her.
Turning back to Dorian, she said in a calmer voice, “In
his sorrow and guilt over today’s terrible loss, my shei’tan
allows you to heap blame upon him without protest. But I
will not. What great evil has he done? He allowed a dying
man to spend the last months of his life watching over the
woman he loved. If that is a crime, you should pray to the
gods you would have the heart to be as guilty as he!”
For the ..rst time since they’d entered this chamber,
Dorian looked uncertain. “Vel Arquinas was dying?”
Dorian looked uncertain. “Vel Arquinas was dying?”
“Ellysetta,” Rain murmured a low warning. The high
price of shei’tanitsa was a dangerous truth Fey never
revealed to outsiders.
“Aiyah, he was,” she con..rmed. «I’m sorry, Rain, but it’s
long past time he learned the truth. He is part Fey, after all.
» To Dorian, she continued, “From the moment you upheld
Talisa’s Celierian marriage, Adrial’s life was over. You did
not realize it, but by denying him his shei’tani, you
condemned him to death.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Dorian scowled and began to pace.
“Despite what the poets say, a broken heart never killed
anyone.”
“Perhaps not among mortals, King Dorian,” Ellysetta said,
“but the same is not true for the Fey. Once a Fey ..nds his
truemate, he has only months to complete the bond, or he
will die.”
Dorian stopped in his tracks. He turned, glancing
uncertainly between the pair of them. “Is this true?” he
asked Rain.
Rain sighed, then nodded. “Aiyah, it is true.” “But you
have yet to complete your bond with the Feyreisa. Are you
telling me you are dying?” “I am.”
Nonplussed, Dorian leaned back against the window, his
hands gripping the stone sill. “How long do you have?”
“Not long. Weeks perhaps. No more than a month or
two.” Ellysetta’s hand crept into Rain’s. He squeezed her
..ngers gently.
..ngers gently.
“If this is true, why is this the ..rst I’ve ever heard of it?”
“Ellysetta once asked me the same question. My answer
to her was the same as it is to you now: If you had so great
a vulnerability, would you let it be known to those who
might wish you harm?”
Dorian bristled. “You think I wish you harm?”
“You? Nei. But you are king of a people who have
shown increasing animosity towards the Fey. It seemed
wiser to keep our secrets safe.”
“Knowing this,” Ellysetta said, “can you now understand
why Rain acted as he did? It’s true he allowed our Spirit
masters to weave the illusion of Adrial and Rowan leaving
the city while they remained behind with Talisa’s quintet,
cloaked in invisibility weaves to avoid detection. And,
aiyah, he kept the secret of their presence from you so that
no blame would fall upon you. But he didn’t do it so Adrial
could steal another man’s wife. He did it so Adrial could
spend the last days of his life close to the woman he loved.
”
Dorian recovered his composure and regarded them both
with a mix of suspicion and defensive ire. “Even if vel
Arquinas was dying, that doesn’t excuse him. To
manipulate diSebourne’s mind the way he did… to run o..
with the man’s wife. Those are not the actions of an
honorable man—Fey or mortal.”
“Nei,” Rain agreed. “They are not. And that is precisely
why Adrial would have embraced sheisan’dahlein, the Fey
why Adrial would have embraced sheisan’dahlein, the Fey
honor death, and why no Fey will attempt to avenge him.
What Adrial did was wrong. None of us will deny that. But
his brother Rowan tells us he was going to do the
honorable thing. He was going to leave his shei’tani with
her husband and return to the Fading Lands.”
Dorian’s shoulders slumped. “You should have come to
me. Trusted me. If I’d known the price of the matebond, I
could have tried to do something to spare vel Arquinas’s
life. Now it’s too late. Three lives are lost—one of them the
only heir to a Great House. Sebourne and his friends will
make certain I regret my indulgence of the Fey.”
“I do understand, Dorian, and I will do all that I can to
make amends, but we have a far greater threat than
Sebourne’s vengeance to worry about now. Hawksheart
warned us the Eld would attack tonight.”
“Tonight? I thought you said the attack would come next
week? “
“Apparently, things have changed.”
“How many Elves did Hawksheart send to our aid? If the
attack does come tonight, will they get here in time?”
Rain hesitated. This, even more than Dorian’s anger, was
the part of this meeting he’d been dreading. “The Elves are
not coming.”
The king’s brow furrowed. “Lord Hawksheart thinks the
Danae alone will be enough against an army as large as the
one you expect?” Weeks ago, after warning Dorian to
marshall his troops and march to Kreppes, Rain and
marshall his troops and march to Kreppes, Rain and
Ellysetta had traveled south to plead for military assistance
from the Danae and the Elves.
“We never met with the Danae. Hawksheart’s Elves
intercepted us before we crossed Celieria’s borders. He
promised he would speak to the Danae on our behalf, but
even if they agree to come, it will be days, possibly weeks,
before they reach Kreppes.”
“Then we are doomed.” Dorian began to pace again.
“The keep is heavily guarded, and the shields are strong,”
Rain said. “Between your twelve thousand men, Lord
Barrial’s two, and my three thousand Fey, we’ll give the Eld
a good ..ght. The Mages will not claim one ..ngerspan of
Celierian soil without paying a high price.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Dorian snapped. “I’ve read the
legends about the Army of Darkness. It was millions strong,
they say.”
“Legends often grow over time.”
“Yes, but even if this Mage has built an army only a tenth
that size, our seventeen thousand would still be
outnumbered twenty to one. If the Elves and the Danae had
agreed to ..ght, we might have stood a chance. Might. But
now…”
“Now, if this Mage truly has built an army to rival the
legend, the best we can hope is to hold back the tide and
kill as many of them as possible before we are overrun,”
Rain agreed baldly. “And pray our defeat will spur the
Elves to action, as our pleas for aid could not.”
Elves to action, as our pleas for aid could not.”
“You must hold out some hope of success,” Dorian
insisted. “You would never bring your shei’tani here if you
thought defeat was certain.”
“She is here because I am, but if the situation becomes
dire, her quintet will take her to safety.”
At his side, Ellysetta went sti.. as a poker. «Rain, I’m not
leaving you.»
«We will talk later.» He would not look at her.
«Nei, we won’t. Because there is nothing to talk about. I
won’t leave you. You’re mad if you think I would.»
The corner of his mouth quirked, and despite the
seriousness of their situation, he cast her a quick glance that
sparkled with wry humor. «I believe we’ve already
established that, shei’tani, and I’m getting madder by the
day.»
She glowered. «That’s not funny.»
Thick swaths of embroidered velvet hung across the
glass, bu..ering the room against the chill of the north’s
snowy winters. Dorian pulled back one of the hangings and
peered out across the torchlit northern battlements into the
darkness of Eld.
“It is late. My scouts have reported no armies on the
horizon. My generals have already sought their beds. I
suggest you do the same. If an attack does come tonight, ‘tis
better we face them rested and ready to ..ght.” Dorian
returned to stand beside his desk. “Lord Barrial’s servants
have prepared a suite for you and the Feyreisa. Her quintet
have prepared a suite for you and the Feyreisa. Her quintet
may stay with you, of course, and you may post another
quintet to stand watch with the tower guard. But have the
rest of your troops make camp outside the walls. I am not
the only Celierian unsettled by today’s events. Emotions are
running high, and I prefer to avoid any potential con..icts.”
“Of course.” Rain gave the brief half nod that served as a
courtesy bow between kings and held out a wrist for
Ellysetta’s hand. “We have no wish to cause you further
distress.”
After leaving the king, Rain and Ellysetta went out to the
Fey encampment—Rain to meet with his generals and
Ellysetta to ease what she could of Rowan’s grief. One of
Lord Barrial’s servants was waiting for them upon their
return and showed them to a spacious suite in the inner
fortress’s west wing.
Now, secure behind her quintet’s twenty-..ve-fold weaves
and Kreppes’s own impressive shields that self-activated
each night at sundown, Ellysetta lay in Rain’s arms in the
center of the room’s opulent bed. A warm ..re crackled in
the hearth, illuminating the room with a ..ickering dance of
shadows and ..relight.
“How is Rowan?” Rain stroked a hand through her
unbound hair.
“Devastated.” Her head rested on his chest. She snuggled
closer, needing the feel of his arm around her, the sound of
his heart beating beneath her ear. “The loss of his brother
his heart beating beneath her ear. “The loss of his brother
eats at his soul. Bel o..ered to spin a Spirit weave to
Rowan’s sister, but that only made things worse. He
couldn’t bear the thought of telling her their brother is
gone. He blames himself for Adrial’s death. I don’t know
how he could possibly think that. None of this was his
fault.”
“Grief isn’t always logical. And with a Fey, it’s never
mild. Our kind do not love in half measures.”
The Fey did nothing in half measures. That intensity of
emotion was part of their appeal. It made them the ..ercest
warriors, the staunchest allies, the most passionate lovers.
The most devoted mates.
“I wove what peace on him I could,” she said, “but I’m
worried. There is a look in his eyes… a shadow I’ve never
seen before. Almost as if some part of him died with
Adrial, and the rest is only going through the motions of
living. When this battle starts, I don’t think he intends to
live through it.”
“I will talk to him tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Rain knew loss. He knew what it was to
wish for death. Ellysetta traced a pattern across the skin of
his chest. She ran a hand down his torso, ..ngertips stroking
the silky-smooth skin. All she had to do was touch him to
set her world to rights. “Rain…”
“Aiyah? “
“About what you said earlier to Dorian. The bit about my
leaving if the battle grows grim.”
leaving if the battle grows grim.”
He caught her hand, stilled it. “I’ve already commanded
your quintet to take you to safety, when the time comes.”
She rolled away and propped herself up on one elbow
so she could see his face.
“Lord Hawksheart said we should stay together,” she
reminded him. “‘Do not leave your mate’s side,’ he said.
‘You hold each other to the Light,’ he said. And he said we
could only defeat the Darkness together.”
“He said many things. Most of which I don’t trust.”
“I see.” Ellysetta freed her hand from his and lay down
on her back to stare up at the ceiling. “So we kept
information from Dorian for our own purposes, yet you
expect him to forgive our transgressions and trust us as if
nothing has ever happened. But when it’s we who are
deceived—when it’s Lord Galad keeping information from
the Fey for his own purposes—somehow that makes his
every word suspect?”
Dead silence fell over the room, broken only by the snap
and pop of the logs on the ..re.
Rain sat up, furs spilling into his lap as he twisted to face
her. Silky black hair spilled over his muscled shoulders. His
brows drew together.
“You think I have treated Dorian the way Hawksheart has
treated us?”
She met his gaze. “I think we decided which truths to tell
him and which to keep secret, just as the Elves have done
to us. So now he distrusts us. Just as we distrust the Elves.
to us. So now he distrusts us. Just as we distrust the Elves.
Yet somehow you think he should just forget our
deceptions and heed our advice without question—while
you will not trust Lord Galad.”
Rain scowled. “The two are not remotely comparable.
Hawksheart left your parents to su..er a thousand years of
torment. He sent gods knows how many people to their
deaths. He refuses to ..ght the Darkness he knows is
coming.”
“And three people are dead because we let Adrial stay
with his shei’tani and hide his presence from the Celierians.
And now, though you’ve been told we must both face the
High Mage together, you want to send me away and ensure
our defeat.”
“You are twisting the facts. I want to keep you alive!
How is that so wrong?”
She sat up and put her arms around him. “I don’t want to
die, Rain. But I won’t be sent away so you can sacri..ce
yourself. You need me.” She stroked her ..ngers through his
hair, smoothing the long strands back from his beautiful
face. The bond madness was upon him. He fought it every
moment of the day, and without her close by, the battle
was more di..cult. “And I need you, just as much.”
The last three weeks, they’d been each other’s constant
companions, never apart for more than a few chimes, and
tonight, when he met with his generals while she went to
heal Rowan, she’d felt his absence acutely. She’d come to
rely on the strength she drew from him when he was near,
rely on the strength she drew from him when he was near,
just as she’d come to rely on Lord Hawksheart’s magical
circlet of yellow Sentinel blooms to keep the Mage out of
her dreams when she slept. Just this last bell apart from
Rain had left her feeling stretched thin. She’d found herself
constantly reaching for him through their bond threads,
drawing his emotions to her and soothing him with her
own. Needing to know that he was close, that he was well,
that she was not alone.
It frightened her, a little, how much she needed him.
“Sending me away won’t save me, Rain. Without you to
keep me strong, it’s only a matter of time before the High
Mage claims my soul.” She already bore four of the six
Mage Marks needed to enslave a soul, shadowy bruises
upon the skin over her heart, invisible except in the
presence of the forbidden Dark magic, Azrahn. Two more
Marks, and she would be lost forever. “You know that, even
if you want to deny it.”
His face crumpled. “I can’t lose you.”
“And that’s why you can’t send me away. Because the
only way you could ever truly lose me is if the Mage claims
my soul. Besides,” she added softly, “if you sent me away,
where would I go? You’re the only family I have left.”
Ellysetta was, essentially, an orphan. Mama—Lauriana
Baristani, her adoptive mother—had been killed by the Eld.
Papa and her two sisters, Lillis and Lorelle, were lost in the
magical fog of the Faering Mists. Her Fey parents, Shan and
Elfeya v’En Celay, whom she had never met, were prisoners
Elfeya v’En Celay, whom she had never met, were prisoners
of the High Mage of Eld, and had been for the last
thousand years. Except for Rain, she had no other kin.
His head bowed. Shei’tani. The word escaped his
battered mind, ..lled with sorrow and despair. “I need to
keep you safe.”
“The safest place for me is at your side. Whatever
happens, we face it together.”
His eyes closed and he nodded. “Doreh shabeila de.” So
shall it be. She pulled him close, stroking his hair and back,
and he kissed her tenderly. But when tenderness blossomed
to passion, and he would have borne her down upon the
bed, she stopped him.
“If this is to be our last night together, shei’tan, I don’t
want to spend it here, in a strange room in a cold castle on
the borders.”
His brows rose. “Then where would you have us go?”
“To the Fading Lands.” When he frowned in confusion,
she lifted a hand. The lavender glow of Spirit, the magic of
thought and illusion, gathered in her palm. “I want to
spend our last night in Dharsa, with our friends and family
around us and the tairen singing from the rooftops and the
scent of Amarynth in the air.”
Rain’s lips curved in understanding. “I think, between the
two of us, we can arrange that.” His weave joined her own,
threads merging and spilling out across the room. The
walls, the bed, all of Celieria faded away, replaced by the
perfect beauty of Dharsa and the gardens near the golden
perfect beauty of Dharsa and the gardens near the golden
Hall of Tairen. Faerilas, the magic-infused waters of the
Fading Lands, burbled in exquisite marble fountains, and
the air was redolent with the scents of jasmine, honeyblossom,
and Amarynth, the ..ower of life. The Fey were
singing, the music rising into a soft evening sky. Fairy ..ies
winked and glittered amidst the ..owers and trees.
And there, standing in the great marble arches, stood
Ellysetta’s family. Mama and Papa and the twins. Her Fey
parents, Shan and Elfeya, healthy and whole and free, their
faces alight with love. Kieran and Kiel, Adrial and Talisa,
and Rain’s parents, Rajahl and Kiaria. Even sweet, shy,
gentle Sariel, Rain’s ..rst love, was there, dancing the Felah
Baruk with the joyful Fey maidens and ..erce-eyed Fey.
Rain and Ellysetta joined them. They danced and they
sang, and as the night deepened, they walked out into the
perfumed gardens and made love beneath the stars.
And overhead, the sky was ..lled with tairen.
And the world was ..lled with joy.
The Faering Mists
Lillis Baristani had never been happier in her life. She
didn’t know if she’d died and gone to the Haven of Light or
if the Faering Mists was a magical place where dreams
came true. Either way, she never wanted to leave. Mama,
who died in the Cathedral of Light this summer, was here.
who died in the Cathedral of Light this summer, was here.
And Lillis spent every day glued to her side, sitting beside
her on a wooden swing in the misty garden, cooking and
laughing with her in the kitchen, lying with her head in
Mama’s lap as Mama read to her at night. Everything she’d
missed since Mama had died. Everything she’d wished she
could do again.
Every moment seemed perfect, enchanted. And Mama
was even more wonderful than Lillis could ever remember
her being. It was as if whatever had happened that day in
the Cathedral of Light had changed Mama, stripping her of
the fear and disapproval that had so often darkened her
eyes.
Tonight, Lillis and Mama cuddled together on the
suspended wooden swing Papa had installed on the back of
their house, rocking gently as they watched the fairy ..ies
dance across the garden, trailing glittering fairy-..y dust in
their wake. As they rocked, Lillis heard herself confess that
she and Lorelle had revealed their magic to Papa and to the
Fey.
The chime the words were out, she clapped a hand over
her mouth and wished them back, but instead of delivering
the sharp chide Lillis expected, Mama only smiled and
stroked Lillis’s hair.
“It’s all right, kitling,” she said. “I should have told the
truth myself long ago, but I was afraid.”
That made Lillis’s eyes go wide. Mama? Afraid? But she
never feared anything. Lillis was the scaredy-cat of the
never feared anything. Lillis was the scaredy-cat of the
family. “What were you afraid of, Mama?”
“Oh, many things.” Mama sighed. “Mostly I was afraid to
face the truth about myself. And afraid that what happened
to my sister might somehow happen to you or Lorelle or
Ellie.”
Lillis leaned back to look up at her mother in surprise. “I
never knew you had a sister.”
“She died long ago.” Mama’s eyes were dark and sad.
“Her name was Bessinita… my sweet little Bess… and I
loved her more than anything in the world.” Then Mama
had told her how Bess had been a Fire weaver, too, like
Lorelle and Mama, only when Bess was two, she
accidentally burned a neighbor’s house down. The villagers
had insisted on winding Bess—taking the baby out into the
dark Verlaine Forest and abandoning her there to die.
“What did you do?”
“There wasn’t anything I could do. I wasn’t even as old as
you are now.” She rested her chin on the top of Lillis’s
head. “I prayed and prayed that someone would ..nd her
before the lyrant did, or if nothing else, that the Bright Lord
would send his Lightmaidens to carry Bess away to the
Haven of Light.”
Tears turned Lillis’s vision hazy. “Poor little baby. Poor
little Bess.”
“That was why I was always so afraid of magic, kitling.
Not because I thought you or Lorelle was horrible for
having magic, but because I’d been taught that magic was
having magic, but because I’d been taught that magic was
evil, that it could make the people who had it evil, too. I
was so afraid of what people would do if they knew.”
“But you’re not afraid anymore?”
Mama smiled gently. “No, kitling. When I let love be my
guide, fear lost its power over me.”
“So you’re not mad at us for telling?” Lillis asked.
“Of course not.” Mama pressed a kiss in Lillis’s curls.
“I’m very proud of you and Lorelle both, and I’m proud of
Ellie, too. I love you all more than I can say.”
“I love you too, Mama.” Lillis snuggled closer and closed
her eyes in bliss. Her arms squeezed tight around Mama’s
neck, holding her close, and she breathed deep of the
special scent that was Mama’s own, the scent of home and
love and security, where bad people never came, and
monsters never howled. “I never want to lose you again.”
Mama caressed Lillis’s hair in slow, rhythmic strokes, and
the beat of her heart thumped reassuringly beneath Lillis’s
ear. “I’ll always be with you, Lillipet. No matter what. If
ever you’re feeling alone or afraid, just remember that. And
remember this, too: We are all the gods’ children. All our
gifts come from them. It’s what we do with those gifts that
determines whether we walk in Light or Shadow. The
choice is ours. When you see Ellie again, will you tell her
that for me? And tell her I said to let love, not fear, be her
guide.”
“You can tell her yourself. Once Kieran and Kiel get here,
we can all go ..nd Ellie together.”
we can all go ..nd Ellie together.”
Mama smiled. “I think she’ll understand it better if it
comes from you. Will you promise me, kitling?”
Lillis frowned a little but agreed with an obedient, “Yes,
Mama.”
“And you won’t forget? No matter what?” “No, Mama.”
Her reward was a kiss and another hug. “That’s my sweet
Lillipet.”
Lillis burrowed into her mother’s arms, closing her eyes
in bliss as Mama’s love and warmth enveloped her.

CHAPTER TWO
Celieria ~ Kreppes
25th day of Verados
As the watchtower of Kreppes rang six golden bells, the
guards fresh from the dining hall and a good night’s sleep
climbed the steps to replace the night watch. Soft light
from the rising Great Sun lit Celierian ..elds untouched by
war and the perfectly aligned rows of creamy canvas tents
fanned out to the west and south of the castle walls. Across
the Heras River to the north, the dark ..r-and spruce-..lled
forests of Eld remained empty of all signs of an
approaching army.
“Are you so sure they are coming?” Dorian asked Rain, as
the two kings toured the ramparts. “You claimed the attack
would come last night, yet it did not.”
“Hawksheart said the attack would come last night,” Rain
corrected. “I don’t know why he misread what he Saw.”
“What if you’re wrong about where the attack is coming,
too? What if Celieria City is the real target? I’ve e..ectively
emptied the city of defenders. I marched half my armies
here and sent the other half to King’s Point with my son on
your word that an attack was imminent. I left only a few
your word that an attack was imminent. I left only a few
garrisons to protect the city itself. Please, tell me I have not
made the most colossal mistake of my lifetime.”
“Celieria City was neither the target speci..ed by the
Mage we captured nor the target Hawksheart warned us to
protect,” Rain said.
“And yet, here we stand, and there is not an enemy in
sight.” The Celierian king folded his arms over his chest.
“Or is there perhaps some other important little tidbit of
information you’ve been keeping from me? Some reason
you wanted me here that you thought I’d be better o.. not
knowing?”
“Nei, there is not. I have always spoken true. I may not
have told you everything, but I’ve never lied to you.”
“Oh, right. You don’t lie. That would be dishonorable.
Instead, you just manipulate and deliberately mislead.”
Rain’s muscles drew tight as his temper rose. Dorian had
a right to his suspicions, but this was deliberate insult. “Are
you going to throw that in my face every time I advise you?
The enemy may not have attacked last night, as Hawksheart
said they would, but there remains no doubt in my mind
that they will. There is no doubt in my mind that we are
facing the deadliest battle of our lifetime. Our ability to
strike any sort of signi..cant blow against this High Mage’s
army will depend on how closely we can work together,
how much we can trust each other.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before you
chose to deceive me.” A hard north wind blew Dorian’s
chose to deceive me.” A hard north wind blew Dorian’s
blue cloak back o.. his shoulders and tugged strands of
dark hair from his queue to whip about his face.
“Spit and scorch me!” Cursing under his breath, Rain
stalked to the crenellated edge of the battlement. He
grabbed the edges of the stone and held on as tightly as he
was holding the fraying edges of his temper.
Ellysetta was down in the encampment with her quintet,
checking on Rowan and making the rounds of the Fey and
Celierian armies—ostensibly to see if any of the warriors
needed healing, but really to start mending fences and
rebuilding damaged trust. As important as that was, Rain
should have known better than to take this walk with
Dorian without her. Thanks to his encroaching bond
madness, his ability to control his temper proved elusive
when he strayed too far from Ellysetta’s side. Even the
smallest con..ict sparked his tairen’s ire—and considering
that a tairen’s idea of diplomacy was to ..ame-roast his
opponent and eat his smoking carcass, that was not
particularly helpful.
Rain stared across the river at Eld and counted to ten.
The enemy, he reminded himself, lay there—across the
river. Not standing here beside him. He clung to that truth
and used it to force back the growing threat of his tairen.
“I’ve already said I was wrong,” he told Celieria’s king.
“But do not forget—the decision I made came after a
summer full of di..culties dealing with your people. I
warned you war was coming, but you and your Council
ignored my concerns and rejected my warnings until the
ignored my concerns and rejected my warnings until the
Eld attacked the Grand Cathedral of Light and tried to
capture my shei’tani.” Ellysetta would have been proud of
how calm and controlled he sounded, how neatly he laid
out his argument, when all he really wanted to do was grab
Dorian by the throat and shake some sense into him. “The
anti-Fey sentiment so prevalent amongst your nobles—your
Queen, among them—was still fresh in my mind.”
“All Annoura and those nobles ever did was warn me
that Fey would manipulate mortal minds. It seems to me
that all you did with the whole Talisa and Adrial ..asco was
prove them right!”
Rain drew a long, deliberate breath. “As I told you,” he
reiterated slowly, “I did what I thought best at the time.
Adrial remained with his shei’tani, but I tried to make
certain that if his presence had been discovered, you would
be absolved of all blame.”
“So you lied to me—manipulated me—for my own
bene..t?”
“You and I are kings, Dorian. You know as well as I do
that in politics, truth is often the ..rst casualty. I doubt you
can claim with any shred of honesty that you’ve never
manipulated facts or obfuscated in order to avoid a con..ict
or do what you believed was right.” When Dorian did not
immediately reply, Rain knew the thrust had struck home.
“Fey do not lie. That puts us at a severe disadvantage when
dealing with mortals who have no such scruples. So, we
have learned to dance the blade’s edge of truth, to veil
truths we do not wish to share. It is a survival tactic we
truths we do not wish to share. It is a survival tactic we
have found necessary when dealing with your kind.”
“I am your kind—or so I always believed myself.” Dorian
was the descendant of Marikah vol Serranis of the Fey,
Gaelen vel Serranis’s twin. “But apparently my blood is not
Fey enough for you to feel the same—or to trust me as I
have always trusted you.”
“Setah,” Rain rumbled. “Enough.” His hands slashed
through the air with curt command. “What is done cannot
be undone. Will you allow hubris to keep us at each other’s
throats, or can we agree mistakes were made on both sides
and move on? “
“Hubris?” Dorian’s brows rose. “Is it hubris to want to
know how far I can trust an ally? “
“You can trust us to defend Celieria from the Eld!” Rain
snapped. “You can trust us to stand against our common
enemy and give no quarter. To die by your side. You can
trust that the Fey will not leave this battle..eld so long as a
single Eld soldier stands with weapon in hand. Can that not
be enough? “
“I suppose it will have to be.”
Ill-humored and grudging though it was, that was the
sound of capitulation. Rain closed his eyes for a brief
moment and drew another long, deep breath of the icy
northern air. His nerves felt as if he’d just spent a full day
being scoured and pummeled by the Spirit masters of the
Warrior’s Academy. His head hurt, and every muscle in his
body was clenched tight with the e..ort he’d expended to
body was clenched tight with the e..ort he’d expended to
keep his dangerous temper and wayward thoughts in
check.
“Beylah vo, King Dorian.”
Dorian put his hands on the cold stone and leaned over
one of the deep crenels as he gazed northward into Eld. “So
you do truly believe they’re coming?”
“There’s not a doubt in my mind. The Mage we Truthspoke
said the attack would come this week. If the Eld
have been watching our buildup here at Kreppes, it’s
possible they may choose a di..erent place to cross the
river, but let us wait at least this week before we assume
our information is wrong.”
Dorian considered the request, then gave a curt nod.
“Very well. We wait. But if there is no sign of attack within
the week, I will have no choice but to redeploy my armies.
There are other locations of greater strategic importance
than Kreppes.”
“Agreed,” Rain said. “And I will send my warriors
wherever you need us most. Until then, I think it best to
continue our preparations for battle. As we learned in
Teleon and Orest, just because we can’t see the armies of
Eld doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
“I will inform the generals to give you whatever
assistance you require.”
Rain started to leave, then paused. “And Dorian? For
what it’s worth, if I had to do it over, I would tell you
about Adrial. You are right. I did you a disservice by
about Adrial. You are right. I did you a disservice by
keeping that truth from you.”
Celieria’s king—the mortal descendant of an ancient Fey
line—nodded without turning. Rain left him there, standing
on the ramparts, solemn and solitary, morning sunlight
glinting on his crown, the bright Celierian blue of his cape
snapping in the wind.
In a small tent in the heart of the allied encampment,
Ellysetta sat beside Rowan vel Arquinas, holding his hand
and sharing his grief over Adrial’s death. Tears spilled,
unchecked, down her face. Adrial and Rowan both had
served on her ..rst quintet, back in Celieria City, before
she’d known she was Fey, in a time when all their lives had
been happier and more carefree.
Since the day she just met them, the brothers, Rowan and
Adrial, had done everything together. And though to
mortals, the seventy-year di..erence between Rowan’s age
and his brother’s might have seemed insurmountable, by
Fey standards they were practically twins. They’d even
looked alike, both black-haired, brown-eyed, full of
mischief and laughter. Rowan, especially, had an almost
tairen-fondness for playing pranks.
The Fey who sat beside Ellysetta now was a shadow of
his former self. All the happiness, the laughter, the
mischievous glint in his dark eyes was gone. In its place lay
a cloud of such overwhelming grief she didn’t know how
he could even move.
he could even move.
“I failed him,” he whispered, his voice cracked and
broken by all the helpless tears he’d shed.
“Oh, nei.” Her chin trembled on a sudden swell of
emotion. She wrapped her arms around him as if
comforting a child. ‘Nei, Rowan, nei, kem’ajian. You didn’t.
He would never want you to say that—not even to think it.
”
“But I did. My mela told me to look over him. To keep
him safe. And I didn’t.”
Ellysetta didn’t mean to pry, but with her arms around
Rowan and her empathic senses so enmeshed with his, she
couldn’t block out the vivid, memory of the day Rowan’s
mother had placed the precious, squirming little Adrial in
his arms for the ..rst time.
“Rowan, my son, meet your brother, Adrial,” she’d said.
And Rowan had oh-so-carefully held his brother and
gazed down at him in awestruck wonder. Baby Adrial’s
bright, inquisitive brown eyes had been wide open and
sparkling with hints of what would become great magic. A
tiny, waving hand had caught the tip of Rowan’s ..nger and
curled around it in a tight ..st. In that touch ..owed a warm,
bright haze of wordless emotion: security, trust, and most
of all, perfect innocent joy. Rowan had been little more
than a Fey youth himself—the blood of his ..rst battle had
yet to wet his steel—but with that ..rst touch of radiant,
untarnished innocence, he had known he would su..er any
fate, pay any price, sell his soul to the Dark Lord himself, if
fate, pay any price, sell his soul to the Dark Lord himself, if
it meant he could keep his brother safe.
Yet here he stood, still alive, and Adrial was gone.
Rowan had failed him. Failed the promise he’d made to
their mother to always keep his brother safe.
Tears gathered in Rowan’s eyes and spilled over in a
..ood. Harsh sobs racked his warrior’s body. He could have
taken a sword to the chest with naught but a brief gasp, but
this loss ripped his vulnerable Fey heart to shreds.
Holding him, sharing his pain, Ellysetta wept, too. He
needed to grieve, so she grieved with him. Sharing his
memories, sharing his torment, taking it into her soul and
giving him back what small measure of peace he would
accept. She stayed with him, soothing him, singing to him,
weeping with him, until together they had drained enough
of his sorrow that he could sink into the much-needed
peace of the sleep she wove on him.
When she ..nally emerged from Rowan’s tent, Rain was
there, waiting. Wordlessly, he opened his arms, and with a
fresh spill of tears, she fell into them.
“Oh, Rain.” She closed her eyes and clung tight to him as
if she could absorb some measure of his strength. And
perhaps she did. He was her rock, her haven in the storm,
and it was to his soul, his love, that she’d anchored all the
happiness left in her life.
If anything ever happened to him… The mere thought
made her shudder.
Eld ~ Boura Maur
The Tairen Soul and his mate were in Kreppes.
An unexpected thrill of anticipation curled in the High
Mage Vadim Maur’s belly when he received the news from
his assistant, Primage Zev, one of the handful of Mages who
had been with Vadim since their earliest days as Novice
greens. Of all the Mages now living, Zev was the one
Vadim mistrusted least. He was an experienced Primage
who knew his limitations—one of which was a lesser
command of Azrahn than Vadim possessed.
“How many tairen are with them?” he asked.
“Just the Tairen Soul, Most High.”
“Elves?”
“No sign of them.”
Fezai Madia had been bragging that the harrying tactics
of her Feraz on Elvia’s southern border were keeping
Hawksheart and his minions occupied. Perhaps she was
right, after all.
“Primage Soros?”
“Awaiting your orders, Most High.”
“Excellent.” Vadim rose from behind his desk and
stretched, enjoying the youthful tug and pull of supple
muscles in his new, virile body. Gethen Nour, the Primage
whose body Vadim Maur now inhabited, had tended his
form well. Pity he had not been so conscientious about
form well. Pity he had not been so conscientious about
tending his work. “Zev, old friend, it’s time to prepare for
conquest.”
“Yes, Most High.”
“Come with me.” Vadim strode from his o..ce, and Zev
hurried close behind. Purple robes and blue swept over
black stone as the two Mages ascended to the uppermost
level of Boura Fell. There, in a large room ..tted with
skylights that traveled up through more than four tairen
lengths of rock to the forest ..oor above, a hundred Feraz,
recently come from Koderas, had assembled. On the far side
of the room, brightly garbed fezaros, Feraz cavalry, crooned
to their caged zaretas, the swift tawny cats of their desert
land that they rode into battle. Nearer to the door, twenty
Feraz witches sent by their leader, Fezai Madia, amused
themselves by trying to ensnare the Mages and soldiers
Vadim had set to guard them.
When the witches caught sight of Vadim, six of the
sloeeyed beauties headed his way, hips swaying, bright silk
veils ..uttering, ankle bells jingling an exotic invitation with
each step. They surrounded him and trailed silken,
perfumed hands over his chest, his arms, his back. The air
around him grew heavy, warm and sweet and intoxicating.
“At last, they have sent us a handsome one.”
“Look at his hands. Such strong hands.” Smaller, feminine
palms brushed perfumed skin in a simulated caress. Breasts
rubbed against his arm. Moist lips skimmed across his neck,
his jaw, his ears.
his jaw, his ears.
“Are you so strong everywhere, zaro?” Nimble ..ngers
darted under his robes and reached for the fastenings of the
silk trousers he wore beneath.
In his old body, Vadim had been mostly immune to the
seductive enchantments of Feraz witch women, but the lust
surging through his new, youthful body as the witches
worked their wiles made it clear that was no longer the
case. And it gave him a new understanding of Gethen Nour,
the Primage who had inhabited this body before Vadim.
He’d always despised Nour’s endless carnal indulgences—a
powerful Mage controlled his urges; he did not let his urges
control him—but if this ravenous hunger was a force Nour
had constantly battled, no wonder he’d given in so often.
Now, however, was not the time to surrender to such
urges. What the Mages did with Azrahn—enslaving the
souls of the weak—Feraz witches achieved through
seduction. When a man surrendered to the sensual spell of
a Feraz witch, she could bind him to her will, enslave him
with her touch, her scent, her body, until he would rip his
own ..esh apart to please her.
With more e..ort than he cared to acknowledge, Vadim
suppressed the lust screaming through his veins and caught
the wrist of the witch unfastening his trousers.
“Enough,” he said. “In a battle of power with me, my
dear, you would not like the outcome. Ask your Fezai
Madia what happened to the last witch who tried to bend
Vadim Maur to her will.”
Vadim Maur to her will.”
The witch in his grip went still, and most of the sultry
promise blanked from her beautiful face, leaving a look of
wary suspicion. “You are Chazah Maur?”
“I am.”
“But I was told Chazah Maur was an old man. Not one so
young and”—her gaze swept over him—“dazoor.” His lip
curled. Like most of the Feraz language, dazoor was a word
with many meanings. When applied to an object, like a
house, it meant sturdy, well built for its purpose. When
applied to a man, it meant much the same thing, but
considering that Feraz witches considered men good for
only two things—muscles and mating—the connotation
translated to something more like “strong and mountable.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment to my new form, Fezaiina,
but rest assured, I am the same Mage—with the same
power—as before. So I suggest you and your sisters save
your seductions for the Celierians and the Fey. I need my
men and my Mages clearheaded and under my control. I
will not take it kindly if I ..nd you’ve interfered with that.”
“Zim, Chazah.” The witch lowered her lashes and
inclined her head. “As you command.”
“Good. Now give me an update on the potion you have
been working on. Is it ready?”
“The potion has been tested and approved by your
Primage Grule in Koderas,” the witch said. “My sisters and I
are waiting on the rest of our supplies, then we can begin
preparing the potion in the quantities you require.”
preparing the potion in the quantities you require.”
“How long will that take?”
“Once we receive what we need? Three days, Chazah.”
Then, because no Feraz witch could help herself for long,
the Fezaiina trailed a hand across his shoulder. “Time
enough for other things, hmm?”
He caught her wrist again and this time wrenched it hard
enough that the sultry seduction in her eyes became a
dangerous glitter. “Do not press me. I will see that you get
what you need. You see that you do what you’ve
promised.” He thrust her away from him.
The Fezaiina rubbed her wrist and regarded him from
beneath her lashes. “Zim, Chazah.”
“Watch them,” Vadim told Zev when they exited the
room. “Make sure no one goes near those women without
..rst being warded against Feraz witchspells. And don’t let
the same men guard them more than once.”
“Yes, Most High.”
“Be sure they get what they need for their potion. I want
twenty barrels of the stu.. in four days’ time.” “Yes, Most
High.”
“And see to it our friend Lord Death gets well fed. I want
him strong and healthy by the end of next week. I have a
feeling I’ll be needing him soon.”
Zev bowed without question. “Of course, Most High. I’ll
see to it immediately.”
When the call came for the feeding of Lord Death, the High
Mage’s oldest and most treasured prisoner, the umagi
Melliandra made sure she was the one chosen. A full week
had passed since Lord Death had nearly slain the High
Mage, and though she’d practically had to tie herself to the
wall to keep from going to him, she’d deliberately stayed
away until now. She couldn’t a..ord to draw attention to
herself by constantly being ..rst in line to tend the most
powerful prisoner in Boura Fell. The Mistress of Kitchens
would get suspicious, and Melliandra’s careful, quiet plans
for freedom would be ruined.
Tray in hand, Melliandra hurried down the winding stairs
to the lowest level of Boura Fell and down to the last door
at the end of the long, dark corridor. There, behind a
sel’dor reinforced door, inside a narrow cage forged of
..oor-to-ceiling spiked sel’dor rods, his body pierced and
manacled and weighted down by more sel’dor than any
other prisoner had ever survived—and still guarded twentyfour
bells a day—Shannisorran v’En Celay, Lord Death, the
greatest Fey warrior ever born, lay captive.
He remained hidden in the shadows in the corner of his
cage when she entered. She knew why—and it wasn’t the
same reason umagi darted for cover when a Mage
approached, or tunnel rats ..ed when a torch drew near.
Lord Death didn’t hide in the shadows because he was
afraid. He lurked there because he was a predator, blending
into his surroundings as he stalked potential prey and
calculated the probabilities of a successful attack.
calculated the probabilities of a successful attack.
She should have feared him. She wasn’t sure why she
didn’t except that she needed him.
“They tell me you haven’t been eating.” She set the tray
down and pushed it towards the cell bars. She hadn’t been
able to hide her surprise when the Mistress of Kitchens put
an enormous, steaming bowl on the tray and commanded
that Lord Death must consume every drop. The usual fare
for prisoners was cold, fatted porridge, leftovers from
umagi meals. Today, however, the food on the tray was a
savory stew, thick broth swimming with plump grains,
chunks of real meat (which did not look like or smell like
tunnel rat), mushrooms, and chopped tuberoots. Melliandra
had never had fare so rich. She’d never even been this close
to such a feast. Her stomach growled loudly, something it
had been doing since the moment she picked up the tray.
“Sounds like you need the food more than I.” Lord
Death’s low voice rasped from the darkness.
She licked her lips. The temptation to sneak a taste was
so strong she could hardly bear it. She closed her eyes and
breathed in the heavenly aroma. “It’s hot. It smells too good
to waste. Come, eat. You need your strength.”
“Why? Because you need me strong enough to kill the
Mage for you?”
“Ssh!” She shot a look over her shoulder. The door to the
cell was cracked open. “Voices carry in this place.”
Thankfully, the guard wasn’t listening. Judging from the
blissful sighs and sounds of slurping, the cup of stew she’d
blissful sighs and sounds of slurping, the cup of stew she’d
given him from Lord Death’s bowl was holding the guard’s
full attention.
She turned back to Shan. “And yes, that’s why. You
nearly killed him last week. I thought for a moment, I was
free.”
Like a darrokken springing on its prey, Lord Death
exploded from the shadow, crossing the cell in a single
leap. His hands curled around the spiked cell bars. Eyes
glowing bright, teeth bared and savage, he snarled, “You
should have let my mate die. You should have let us die.
Why didn’t you, for pity’s sake?” Then, as abruptly as it had
come, his fury faded. He slumped against the bars of the
cage, and his whole demeanor changed from anger to
despair. “What have we ever done to you that you should
keep us in such torment? “
She looked away. Pity was a stranger to her, shame even
less familiar. But she felt both now.
“I couldn’t let you die,” she whispered. “You’re my only
hope.” Her voice almost broke then, and she had to stop
and clear her throat. Don’t be such a mush-hearted fool,
Melliandra. You’ll destroy everything. But she could
practically feel his pain as if it were her own. She knew
what it was to be caged, to long for freedom that never
came.
She gave herself a mental shake and sat up straight,
steeling her resolve. She needed this man to keep his
promise, and not just for herself. For Shia’s son, too. Only if
promise, and not just for herself. For Shia’s son, too. Only if
the High Mage died could they be free.
“You’re the only one capable of killing the High Mage.
He fears you. Everyone in Boura Fell knows that. The only
thing he fears more is a Tairen Soul, and since it’s unlikely
a Tairen Soul will make an appearance here anytime soon,
that leaves you. I need you to kill him. It’s the only way.”
“The only way what?”
“The only way to be free.” A lifetime of caution stopped
Melliandra from mentioning Shia’s child. She even tucked
away all thought of him in that secret place in her mind
where even the Mage could not go. “So long as the High
Mage lives, there’s no life, no freedom for me. He owns my
soul.”
“Then how is it possible you are here, asking me to kill
him for you? I thought no umagi could plot against his
master.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“If you want my help, you’ll make it my business.”
She glared at him in stubborn silence.
His brows rose, and he crossed his arms. “I have nothing
but time, little umagi.”
She hu..ed a frustrated breath, then dug a small cup from
her pocket and thrust it through the cell bars. “Fine. Eat
your stew, and I’ll tell you.”
Shan tilted the serving cup and shook more of the stew into
Shan tilted the serving cup and shook more of the stew into
his mouth. It was good. Ja..ng good. The best food he’d
had in years, possibly even centuries.
“So there’s a secret place in your mind where you can
hide thoughts from the Mages?” he repeated as he chewed
the ..avorful chunks of meat. The little umagi had told him
about how one day she’d discovered that she could keep
secrets from the Mage, and how she’d been testing it over
the last months. “So where did it come from? How did you
create it? “
“I don’t know. One day it was just there. And I realized
that what thoughts I keep there are private. The High Mage
can’t see in. It’s like a room protected by privacy weaves,
and it gets larger the more thoughts I keep there. That’s
how I can have this conversation with you and know he
will never learn of it.” She watched him dip his cup into
the bowl again, and when he carried it to his mouth, she
licked her lips.
Despite a thousand years of horrendous torture, despite a
soul-deep enmity for the Eld, the Fey called Lord Death felt
his heart squeeze with pity. Poor child. Those big, hungry
eyes of hers had been tracking every move of the serving
cup since he’d begun to eat, and even the hand pressed
hard against her stomach hadn’t been able to quiet its
growls. If her presence was another of Vadim Maur’s
twisted games of torment, it was the best attempt of the
millennia. Because, gods help him, he had fallen for it.
“Do all umagi have this secret place?” Shan drained the
cup in two mouthfuls.
cup in two mouthfuls.
“I don’t think so. I think I’m the only one.”
“The stew is very good. You should have some yourself.”
He o..ered her the serving cup and nudged the half-eaten
bowl of stew towards her. “Go on. Every child deserves a
treat now and again.”
Her eyes ..ashed up, molten silver and full of sudden ire
and cynicism. “I’m no child. And treats are just bait to trap
the stupid.”
“No bait here, child. Just a shared cup to seal our…” he
started to say “friendship” but realized the little umagi
would probably ru..e up some more, so he settled on a
di..erent word, “… agreement.” It hurt his Fey heart that
any child should be so misused she suspected a trap in even
the simplest kindness. “Teska. Please. It’s really quite
delicious.”
The o..er was too much temptation to refuse. She
snatched the cup from his hand, dipped it in the bowl, and
poured the still-warm stew into her mouth. Her eyes closed
in bliss. Judging by the look on her face, she’d probably
never tasted anything so good in her life. That realization
hurt, too. His heart wept for her—almost as much as it
wept for the daughter of his own blood whom he’d never
seen, never held.
“In the Fading Lands, kaidina, you would have been
cherished and pampered every day of your life. Not a
chime would go by that you did not know how greatly you
were loved. Your father would have carried you so proudly
were loved. Your father would have carried you so proudly
in his arms, and sung young songs from ages past to make
you smile, and rocked you to sleep spinning Fey-tale
weaves of beautiful shei’dalin maidens and their brave
shei’tans, while fairy ..ies sparkled in the gardens outside
your window. And every warrior of the Fey would
willingly lay down his life to save you from the slightest
harm.”
Rather than growing misty-eyed by his maudlin
confession of fatherly dreams, the little umagi took
umbrage. “I am Eld. Your warriors would have killed me
on the spot and left my bones for the rats.” She handed his
serving cup back through the bars. “So will you kill the
Mage, or won’t you?”
Shan understood. She was an Elden umagi, brutalized
since birth, suspicious of the slightest kindness. She did not
need or want his useless dreams of a Fey-tale childhood.
She did not need or want his friendship. Very well. He
would not let his Fey heart be softened by the vulnerable
appeal of too-big eyes in a too-thin face.
“I need my sorreisu kiyr,” he said. “My Soul Quest crystal.
I tried to kill your Mage without it and failed. If you want
me to kill him, you need to get me that crystal.”

CHAPTER THREE
Celieria ~ Dunbarrow Manor
27th day of Verados
Damn the Fey! Damn Dorian and that Fey-lover Barrial!
Grief and rage writhed like snakes in Great Lord Dervas
Sebourne’s chest. He paced the con..nes of his study in
Dunbarrow on unsteady feet. Small waves of sea-green
Sorrelian quist—a highly intoxicating liquor distilled from a
fermented blend of sweet sea grapes and deadly
moonshade—sloshed over the rim of the crystal tumbler
clenched in one ..st.
Dervas lifted his glass and tossed back its contents in a
single gulp, barely feeling the ..ery burn as the potent
liquor slid down his throat. This wasn’t his ..rst glass of
quist tonight, and it wouldn’t be his last. When a man lost
his only son and saw the end of his Great House looming
on the horizon, his soul craved a stronger balm than
pinalle.
Dervas harbored no illusions about his future. King
Dorian would not leave unpunished the Great Lord who
had spat de..ance and insult, then taken his men and ridden
away from the coming battle with Eld. Sebourne had
broken with the king, and Great House Sebourne would
broken with the king, and Great House Sebourne would
soon sink into disfavor and, ultimately, into obscurity.
And with it would go the power he’d meant to pass on
to his son.
His only son.
His dead son. The son who’d been murdered, his body so
completely destroyed there wasn’t even a corpse over
which Dervas could mourn, as a father should. Nothing.
Just emptiness where a life had been.
All because of the Fey—and that weak, spineless puppet
of a king who sat on the throne of Celieria while the
Fading Lands pulled his strings.
Damn them! Damn them all! He hoped the Eld
slaughtered them and left their corpses for thistlewolves
a n d lyrant to feast upon. Renewed fury seized him,
ampli..ed by intoxication. Dervas shot to his feet and
hurled his glass of quist into the hearth. Crystal exploded.
Flames leapt with a roar as the potent liquor ignited.
The blast of heat and the sudden change in attitude left
him overwarm and swaying on his feet, so he stumbled to
the window that looked out over Dunbarrow’s western
forti..cations and threw open the sash. Cold winter air
..ooded in. He thrust his head out the window and took a
deep breath.
The moons overhead were both three-quarters full, the
Mother waning, the Daughter waxing. This week, the
brightest nights in the last three months signaled the last
hurrah of Light before both moons went new two weeks
hurrah of Light before both moons went new two weeks
hence.
Something about that was important. He frowned and
rubbed his temple as a band of pain tightened around his
skull. With a groan, he pressed the heels of his palms
against his bloodshot eyes and staggered away from the
window, only to freeze when he saw a dark shape move in
the corner of the room. Suddenly, the air in Dervas’s lungs
grew short. Each breath became a labored gasp, and his
heart beat a rapid tattoo. Shadow ..ickered at the edges of
his vision, and a strange, sickly sweet smell ..lled his nose.
For an instant, he wasn’t standing in his study in
Dunbarrow, he was back in Old Castle Prison in Celieria
City, watching in mute horror as a ..gure wreathed in icy
shadow stepped towards him.
The image of Old Castle faded, but the shadowy ..gure
remained. It stepped into the light. Blue robes gleamed
richly in the candlelight, and dark jewels glittered on a
silken sash that hung from the intruder’s waist.
Dervas reached for his sword, but his waist was bare, his
weapons belt lying useless in his bedchamber. “Who are
you?” he demanded. “What are you doing here? What do
you want? “
Gloved hands pushed back the robe’s deep cowl,
revealing a ghostly-white face and eyes like the blackest
pits of the seventh Hell.
“Nerom, umagi,” the creature uttered. “Remember.”
Dervas squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, but
Dervas squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, but
invisible ..oodgates ..ung open in his mind, pouring out
decades of suppressed memories in a wild deluge.
The shadowy ..gure who’d come to visit him in Old
Castle assumed a face—Lord Bolor, a newly invested minor
lord who’d recently come to court. Only Lord Bolor wasn’t
a Celierian at all. He was an Elden Mage masquerading as a
Lord to gain access and in..uence over the Celierian court.
And he’d come to command Dervas, on behalf of the High
Mage of Eld, just as other Mages had come to command
Dervas in the past.
Just as Mages had commanded every Great Lord
Sebourne before him—ever since the minor lord Deridos
Sebourne, vassal of the Great House Wellsley, had traded
his soul in exchange for power and wealth three hundred
years ago.
In return for Deridos’s soul, the Mages had engineered
and released the Great Plague that had wiped out the
Wellsley family, along with half the inhabitants of northern
Celieria. When, in the resulting fear and chaos, Deridos not
only successfully defended Moreland from an Eld attack but
also “discovered” the cure for the Great Plague, a grateful
King Dorian VI had raised House Sebourne to Greatness and
granted to it the vital border estates previously entailed to
Great House Wellsley.
The Eld had been using Sebourne land as their Celierian
base ever since. Over time, every inhabitant of Sebourne
land, from infant to elder, peasant to Great Lord, had been
bound to the Mages of Eld. Dervas had surrendered his own
bound to the Mages of Eld. Dervas had surrendered his own
infant son to the Mages when they came calling, as had
every Great Lord since Deridos. Those who married into
Great House Sebourne surrendered their souls as well
—some willingly, others less so.
Dervas shuddered as his Mage induced “memory” of his
wife dying in childbirth along with their second son was
replaced with a clear vision of his wife weeping, arms
clasped protectively around the small mound of their
unborn child, as she stood on the battlements of Moreland
Castle. The day was Colum’s ..rst birthday, and the Mages
had come to claim him and his mother, Great Lady
Sebourne.
“You call yourself a Great Lord?” she cried. “You’re
nothing but a slave to an evil master. Worse, you’ve
damned our son to the same enslavement! Well, at least
this child will be free! And so will I!” And with that, she
leapt to her death rather than accept a Mage Mark for
herself or her second child.
Now, standing here, stunned into sobriety by those
memories, he realized she’d been right. He wasn’t a Great
Lord. He wasn’t any sort of lord at all. He was a slave. A
witless, unsuspecting puppet of the Mages.
Oh gods.
The Primage smiled. “Oh god,” he corrected in lightly
accented Celierian. “Seledorn, to be precise, the mighty
Dark Lord, God of Shadows. And, yes, I hear your thoughts.
There is no part of your mind I cannot enter. No thought or
There is no part of your mind I cannot enter. No thought or
action I cannot control. I am the Mage who claimed you,
and all that you are is mine.”
Sebourne’s stomach clenched in a tight knot, and the
blood rushed from his face. With a choked cry, he spun to
one side and retched into the waste bin by his desk until
nothing remained in his belly but bitter gall.
“Clean yourself up, umagi, and come kneel before me.”
Dervas didn’t give his body the command, but his hands
wiped a cloth across his face and his feet began walking.
He tried to ..ght it, tried to make himself stop, but it was as
if he were merely an observer trapped in some other
person’s form. He circled the desk and crossed the room,
then dropped to his knees before the Mage.
“You see?” The Primage shook his head. “Still you wish
to rebel. You always do.” He sighed. “Very well. Go to the
hearth—no, on your hands and knees. You are my dog,
umagi, and I am your master.”
Weeping, but unable to refuse, Dervas crawled.
“Your right hand o..ends me,” the Mage said when he
reached the stone hearth. “Put it in the ..re.”
“No, please!” But his hand was already reaching for the
..ames. “Please!” Then, because now he remembered all the
times before, the prices he’d paid for his attempted but
never-successful rebellions over the years, he cried, “Please,
master! Please, master, forgive your worthless umagi.”
His hand stopped moving towards the ..re, but he was
still close enough he could feel the heat licking at his skin.
still close enough he could feel the heat licking at his skin.
Unless the Mage released him, his hand would slow roast.
And the Mage would make sure Dervas felt every torturous
moment.
“Will you serve me, umagi, of your own volition, or must
I force your obedience as I am doing now?”
“I will serve! Please, I will serve!”
“Then speak your vow, Dervas, son of Gunvar, and speak
it with conviction.”
Dervas closed his eyes and spoke the mantra of surrender
and obedience he’d been taught so long ago. “This umagi
serves you willingly, master. Whatever your command, he
obeys without hesitation. This life and this body are yours
to use or destroy.”
“You may rise.”
Dervas dragged in a sobbing breath of relief and rose on
shaking legs. “What is it you require of this umagi, master?
”
The Primage smiled. “It is time for you to ful..ll your
purpose.”
Celieria ~ Kreppes
27th day of Verados
The hooves of a thousand horses thundered in the night. An
army of men, out..tted for war, rode across the ..elds and
woods of northern Celieria, Great Lord Dervas Sebourne at
woods of northern Celieria, Great Lord Dervas Sebourne at
the lead. The army moved swiftly, covering the miles
between Dunbarrow and Kreppes without stopping.
You will ride to Kreppes with your army. You will beg
an audience with the king and throw yourself on his mercy,
pleading with him to forgive your anger on the day your
son died. Grief and your distrust of the Fey drove you mad,
you will say. Remind him of his own son and how he
would feel should Prince Dorian perish.
But you have had time for that ..rst rage to pass. You are
a Celierian, and loyal to your king. You request the honor
of ..ghting by his side. Above all, you beg to be near
because you do not trust the Fey.
Remind him of how they lied to him, how they
manipulated him into believing what they wanted him to
believe. Are those the actions of a loyal race? Trusted
allies? No, they are not. Lord Barrial may trust the Fey
implicitly, but would it not be better for the king to keep
at least one advisor by his side who is not so blind to the
possibility of Fey duplicity?
Lord Sebourne’s army reached the perimeter
encampments around Kreppes before the tower watch
struck nine silver bells. Camp..res burned across the ..elds
around the fortress, illuminating the rows of neatly ordered
tents, both Celierian and Fey. Amongst the Celierian tents,
pennants from the King’s Army ..uttered alongside those of
the Border Lords who’d sent troops in answer to their
king’s call, Great Lord Barrial, the new Great Lord
Darramon, all of the lesser lords from hundreds of miles
Darramon, all of the lesser lords from hundreds of miles
around.
Dervas noted the familiar crests as he left the bulk of his
army waiting at arrow point on the outskirts of the
encampments while he and a personal guard of six men
rode, under escort, towards the city gates.
And if the king does not grant me an audience?
You’d better hope he does, umagi. Else you will cause
such as scene you will get thrown in the castle jail. One
way or another, I want you inside that fortress where you
are supposed to be. Where you would be had you not
ridden o.. in a ..t of pique after the Fey killed your son.
Yes, master.
Good. Now, Primage Nour gave you a necklace when he
visited you in Old Castle Prison, did he not? Fetch it.
Torches burned on the sides of Kreppes’s great gates.
Bowmen stood at attention on the tower, their arrows
nocked and aimed at Dervas as the gatekeeper and his
companions approached.
“I am come to see the king,” Dervas informed the
gatekeeper with cold command. “Tell him Great Lord
Sebourne requests an audience.”
The guards at the gate made him wait. Two pikemen
blocked the way while a runner went for permission to
admit Great Lord Sebourne and his entourage into the
castle.
Dervas sat tall and proud in the saddle, staring down his
nose at the king’s men. He had come garbed for war, but
nose at the king’s men. He had come garbed for war, but
that did not stop him from looking as resplendent as a
Great Lord ought. His armor gleamed to a mirror polish. A
thickly furred cape attached to his epaulets, ..owing back in
regal splendor over the scale-armored rump of his mount.
A thick gold chain circled his neck, the heavy, jeweled links
carved with symbols of protection, each link growing larger
and more elaborate as it neared the jewel’s set piece—two
gleaming white stones, one round and a smaller, crescent
shape to symbolize the Mother and Daughter moons, set
above a sparkling amber crystal surrounded by a ring of
stylized waves suggesting the radiance of the Great Sun’s
corona.
You will keep this necklace with you at all times.
Waking, sleeping, in the bath. You will not take it o.. for
any reason, understood?
Yes, master.
Good. There is one particular danger you must watch out
for. The Tairen Soul keeps one who was once dahl’reisen
by his side.
Yes, master. Gaelen vel Serranis.
They say he can detect Mage Marks. If they discover you
are Mage claimed, they will either put you to death or put
you under such great guard as to be useless to us. So if vel
Serranis is summoned to check you for Mage Marks, speak
the word Gamorraz to activate the larger of the two white
stones.
What does the stone do? Is it a weapon?
What does the stone do? Is it a weapon?
Of a sort. Just keep it close and use it if you must to
keep from being discovered. The amber crystal will let me
hear your thoughts, while warding against all but the most
deliberate attempts by others to do the same.
The runner returned and whispered in the gatekeeper’s
ear. The gatekeeper turned to Lord Sebourne and said, “His
Majesty will grant you the audience you have requested,
Great Lord Sebourne. But you and your men will not be
permitted to bring weapons into the castle.”
Sebourne drew back. “I’ve come to defend my country
against invasion, and I am not permitted to carry a
weapon?”
“I’m sorry, my lord, but not into the castle. Your weapons
will be stored in the armory and returned to you in the
event of an attack. His Majesty prays you will understand
the precaution.”
Dervas caught sight of a Fey warrior beyond the gate.
The Fey was clad for war, his black armor bristling with a
full complement of silvery Fey blades. “A Great Lord of
Celieria must surrender his weapons, but Fey wander the
castle freely, carrying enough steel to slaughter an entire
regiment? Where is the sense in that?”
The gatekeeper didn’t even have the courtesy to look
embarrassed. “King’s orders, my lord. You must surrender
your weapons here at the gate.”
Dervas capitulated with ill grace. He turned in the saddle
and nodded to his men. They all immediately began
and nodded to his men. They all immediately began
unbuckling their sword belts. Dervas tossed his to the
gatekeeper, then bent down to remove his boot daggers
and hand those over as well.
“Two swords. Two daggers. Shall I surrender my shield,
too? Who knows, I might bludgeon someone with it in a ..t
of rage.”
The gatekeeper ignored the sarcasm and answered with
studied politeness, “If you wish us to hold your shield, my
lord, we would be happy to do so.”
“Bah.” Dervas waved a gauntleted hand.
“If you and your men will dismount, my lord, we will
stable your horses.”
Dervas dismounted and handed his reins to one of the
guards. With his men at his heels, he walked through the
gates of Kreppes.
Once you are in the castle, you will make note of
everything you see. Troop counts, location of the guards,
artillery on the battlements, entrances and exits, defensive
positions, any weakness that can be exploited. There is
nothing too large or too small for you to consider.
And ..nally, once you’ve had your audience with the
king, you will make it your business to discover where in
the castle the Feyreisen and his mate are lodged. Every
detail you noted about the castle, you will also note about
their location. Where it is, all the ways to access it, what
time they rise and retire, how many and which warriors
guard them, anything and everything you can think of. You
guard them, anything and everything you can think of. You
will ..nd a way to secrete this stone in their room or just
outside it.
The guards escorted Dervas across the outer courtyard,
which housed stables, secondary barracks, training ..elds, as
well as houses and workshops for the small, walled city
that was Kreppes. A second gated wall surrounded the
pentagon-shaped inner castle. Dervas noted the towers
every two tairen lengths along the battlements of the
crenellated second wall, the location of the armory and
second barracks, each set of stairs leading up to the
battlements, the number of guards standing the walls.
Only a handful of Fey stood among the Celierians on the
walls, and that surprised him. Dorian was such a Fey-lover,
he’d hand over the keys to the kingdom if he could.
“Great Lord Sebourne?” They had reached the main
building entrance. A young soldier wearing the Celierian
blue-and-gold tabard of the King’s Guard stood on the
steps. He bowed deeply. “I am Lieutenant Arvin, my lord.
My men and I will escort you to the king.” Another six
Guardsmen stood just inside the arching doorway with its
wide, steel-reinforced door. Arvin nodded to the gate
guards, who saluted and headed back the way they’d come.
“I apologize for the armed escort, my lord,” Arvin said, as
they walked through the keep. “Tensions are high. I do
hope you understand.”
Dervas wanted to snap that he understood a great many
things, including the fact that the Fey had poisoned the
things, including the fact that the Fey had poisoned the
king’s mind, but he held his tongue. He was here to mend
fences and salvage what he could of his power and his
standing in the court.
“If surrendering my weapons and submitting to armed
escort will set my king’s mind at ease, then I surrender and
submit gladly,” he lied. They crossed the main hall. At the
back of the hall, a stairway led up to a second level. There
were two doors on the left and an open archway on the
right. Two of the King’s Guard stood beside each of the
doors and the archway.
“Thank you, my lord. I appreciate your gracious
understanding.” Lieutenant Arvin stopped beside the
second door on the left. “The king has granted this
audience to you alone, my lord. Your men must remain
here.”
Sebourne motioned for his men to step back.
“There is one ..nal thing, my lord. I have been
commanded to search you before you enter the king’s
presence.”
Sebourne’s brows shot up towards his hairline. He had
accepted every slight with grace, but this was too much. His
ire spewed out before he could check it. “Search me? What
in the gods name for, boy? Do you think I have a sword
stu..ed up my ass? I am a Great Lord of Celieria! I was
asked to surrender my weapons, and I have done so. You
have my word I carry no other weapon on my person. That
should be more than su..cient for you!”
should be more than su..cient for you!”
The lieutenant would not be swayed or intimidated. He
remained instead, polite but ..rm. “Please, my lord. I must
insist. King’s orders.”
Dervas hu..ed and snorted and glared—and muttered in a
dark voice about the end of the civilized world—but in the
end he submitted to the abominable indignity of a search.
He knew exactly why he was being subjected to it. Dorian
meant to humiliate him, to put him in his place, to remind
him there was no right or power even Great Lord Sebourne
enjoyed except by the consent of the king.
What of the king, master? When we were in Celieria
City, Master Nour said that when we reached Kreppes, I
was to kill Dorian.
That was the original plan, but now that the Feyreisen
and his mate have come, the plans have changed. Your new
mission is to assist in the capture of the Tairen Soul’s mate.
Yes, master, of course… but Dorian… please, I would
still like the honor of killing him… now more than ever.
For my son.
And so you shall, but locating the Feyreisa is your ..rst
priority. And it is to that aim that you will devote all your
e..orts. Once you have provided me the information I
require and put that stone in place, your reward will be the
honor of killing Celieria’s king.
After a thorough pat down, the lieutenant led Sebourne
through the door and down the connecting hallway. They
passed ..ve doors, three on the left, two on the right, before
passed ..ve doors, three on the left, two on the right, before
the hallway made a thirty-degree turn to the right. Two
more of the King’s Guard stood at attention beside the
fourth door on the right. The door led to a small,
windowless interior sitting room, fairly bare by court
standards, though the two couches and chairs that occupied
the room were of obvious quality. There was a closed
second door at the back of the room, ..anked by more
guards.
“Make yourself comfortable, my lord. I will let His
Majesty know you are here.” The lieutenant bowed deeply
a ..nal time, went to rap softly on the back door, then
slipped inside.
Dervas cooled his heels in the small sitting room for the
better part of a bell. Though several people came and went
through that guarded back door, no one came to summon
him. No one came to look after his needs or o..er him
refreshment. No doubt the waiting and the deliberate lack
of polite comforts were more small punishments.
And now, my umagi, I am going to erase all memory of
this conversation until it is time for you to ful..ll your task.
This is for your sake as well as ours. With your memories
gone, even a shei’dalin as powerful as the Tairen Soul’s
mate could Truthspeak you but still learn nothing of value.
At last, after what seemed like an eternity, the door
opened again. King Dorian’s valet, Marten, stepped into the
sitting room. “Great Lord Sebourne? His Majesty will see
you now.”
“That dimskull Dorian has reinstated Sebourne.”
Ellysetta looked up at Rain in shock as he shed his
golden war steel and prepared for bed. “What?”
“Aiyah. Told me so himself half a bell ago.” Rain
dragged a hand through his hair in a distracted gesture and
sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t call Dorian a dimskull. We’re
desperate for troops. I can understand why he did it.” He
met her gaze. “But I have a bad feeling about this, Ellysetta.
I don’t trust Sebourne.”
“You think he will betray us?”
Rain shrugged. “I don’t know. I told Dorian he should at
least let Gaelen check Sebourne and his men for Marks, but
he wouldn’t hear of it. Sebourne is still a powerful, wellconnected
Great Lord with many supporters. He fears that
alienating Sebourne—especially after what happened with
Colum—would spark a civil war.”
“He may be right.”
“I know.” Rain slid under the covers and pulled Ellysetta
into his arms. “But I still have a bad feeling about this.”
Rain’s bad feeling left Ellysetta just as unsettled as he
was. It took her a while to get to sleep, and when she
..nally did, she dreamed. Images ..ickered across her mind.
Charred and broken stone, shattered glass, the ruins of a
building. A dark hole ripped into a wall. Stairs leading
down into a windowless room. A sconce lit, revealing a
very large, dark oval mirror perched on a column of stone.
As Ellysetta watched, the dark oval of the mirror began
As Ellysetta watched, the dark oval of the mirror began
to glow with silvery-blue light, just like the phosphorescent
mirror pool at the heart of Grandfather Sentinel in Elvia.
The surface seemed to ripple, and a face rose from the
glowing depths. A Fey face, strong and stern, with
paleblond hair and eyes like deep green wells.
A strange tug of recognition pulled at her. The Fey in the
mirror was a stranger… but something about him struck a
deep chord, as if she should know him—or once had. She
reached out a hand, but before her ..ngers could brush the
mirror’s surface, the mirror dissolved. The dreamview
became a white blur.
When it focused again, she was walking in a grim,
denuded landscape. The glare of a harsh white sun blazed
down on a world leached of all color, alien and yet
somehow still familiar. A river ..owed in the distance, its
surface still and black—the Heras. The tumbled ruins of a
stone fortress lay scattered before it. From the shape of the
hills and the destroyed fortress, she recognized the ruins as
Kreppes.
The ground beneath her feet was covered in a thick layer
of what she ..rst thought were broken shards of sunbleached
shells. She stumbled on a rounded bulge hidden
beneath the shards, and pain darted up her leg as her ankle
twisted beneath her weight.
Ellysetta nearly fell to her knees, but she managed to
catch her balance. She turned to see what had tripped her,
and her stomach clenched with a sudden surge of nausea.
and her stomach clenched with a sudden surge of nausea.
The rounded bulge was a skull… a man’s skull.
White teeth grinned in a macabre smile beneath the graywhite
shadows of empty eye sockets.
She took a stumbling step backward, away from the
skull, and the shells beneath her feet crunched and
snapped. Only then did she realize these were not stones,
nor shells. They were bones. Shattered as if by some god’s
terrible hammer. Bleached white and brittle by the sun.
The remnants of what had once been living, breathing
people.
Thousands of people.
And in the center of that barren landscape, upon that
graven sea of the dead, Ellysetta stood alone. Garbed in
scarlet from head to toe like a splash of blood on the snowwhite
..eld.
And she knew, with a certainty she could not explain,
that every person whose shattered skeleton lay beneath her
feet had died because of her.
Ellysetta’s eyes opened. The brittle white boneyard of her
dream became the night-dark ceiling of the room she and
Rain shared at Kreppes. She could hear the low voices of
her quintet just outside the bedroom door.
She sat up, and out of habit turned to check the Sentinel
blooms beneath her pillow. The ..owering sprigs were still
in place, as they had been every night since leaving Elvia.
Not a Mage-sent dream then.
Beside her, Rain stirred. His hand ..exed against the bedBeside
her, Rain stirred. His hand ..exed against the bedsheets,
seeking her. Shei’tani. The sleepy call drifted from
his mind. Not Spirit, merely an unchecked thought.
She brushed back the silky spill of hair that feathered
across his brow. “Las, kem’san. Ruliath.” Peace, my love. Go
back to sleep. A push of encouraging Spirit accompanied
the words, a gentle weave that she laid upon him without
guilt.
He was so weary. The fact that her dream had woken her
but not him was proof of his utter exhaustion. He had been
so strong for so long, but his vast power was beginning to
..ag. Madness—both from the trauma of war and from their
uncompleted truemate bond—was chipping away at the
powerful barriers that held back the torment of his
overburdened soul. Yesterday, his thoughts had been so
loud her quintet had heard them on several occasions.
Since the moment she’d called him from the sky, he had
taken care of her, looked after her, put her safety before his
own. Now it was her turn to give him back a fraction of
that devotion. She loved him so. No longer because he was
the hero of her dreams but because he was the Fey, ..awed
and yet so ..ne, who had won her heart. He was a king, a
great and noble leader of the immortal Fey, but he was
also just Rain, her beloved, hers to protect.
And she would protect him… just as ..ercely as the tairen
defended the pride.
When she was certain he was well and deeply asleep, she
rose from the bed and dressed quietly, drawing a thick,
rose from the bed and dressed quietly, drawing a thick,
furlined velvet cloak over her gown. There would be no
more sleep for her tonight. The strange, disturbing dream
hadn’t terri..ed her, as her dreams often did, but it had left
her tense and unsettled all the same. She needed to get out
of this room and go for a walk to clear her thoughts.
In the antechamber outside the bedroom, she was
surprised to see the ..ve warriors of primary quintet instead
of her secondary.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, closing the
door behind her. “Shouldn’t you all be asleep?”
“Shouldn’t you?” Gaelen countered.
She arched a brow, then had to smile. “Mei sorro.” The
phrase, which meant well struck, was one Fey warriors
used in training when their sparring partners hit a good
blow. It was a phrase she’d become quite familiar with
since Gaelen and her quintet had begun training her in the
use of Fey weapons. She was getting better at hitting
precisely where she aimed but still had work to do to
improve her own defenses.
“More dreams?” Bel asked softly. He watched her closely,
his gaze ..lled with a mix of certainty and concern.
“Aiyah.” She grimaced, then confessed, “I’m beginning to
question the real reason Lord Galad gave me those Sentinel
blooms. They seem to make me dream more, not less.”
“You’re starting to learn the true nature of Elf gifts,” her
uncle Tajik muttered sourly. “When an Elf gives you a rose,
always look for the thorn.”
always look for the thorn.”
She turned to the red-haired Fire master with a puzzled
frown. “Why do you hate the Elves so?” Her uncle never
had a kind word to say about his woodland kinsmen.
“I don’t hate all Elves,” he clari..ed. “Just their king.”
“What has Lord Galad done to earn your wrath?”
“You mean besides sentencing my sister and her mate to
a thousand years of torment? “
“You were bitter before you learned that.” She pinned
him with a level gaze.
Tajik looked away. “I loved once. An elf maid named
Aliya. With her brother’s consent, we would have bound
ourselves to one another in e’tanitsa.” He shrugged.
“Instead, he sent her to her doom.”
Ellysetta’s hand ..ew to her throat. “Aliya was Lord
Hawks-heart’s sister? Tajik, are you saying Galad
Hawksheart sent his own sister to her death? “
Tajik nodded. “I could have saved her, but he made sure
I didn’t. Had she lived, it would have changed a Verse in a
minor Song, but he said that one change might have
rippled to a greater, more important Song, and put its
outcome in danger. He wasn’t willing to take that risk. Her
death ensured that change wouldn’t happen.”
“Oh, Tajik.” No wonder he harbored such enmity
towards the Elf king. If Galad Hawksheart had intentionally
sent Rain to his death, no power on earth, the Seven Hells,
or the Haven of Light would have spared him from her
wrath. She laid a hand upon her uncle’s arm. “Kem’san avi
wrath. She laid a hand upon her uncle’s arm. “Kem’san avi
i ver’baloth.” My heart weeps for your sorrow.
“Beylah vo, kem’jitanessa.” He covered her hand. “Now
perhaps you will understand that when I say you be wary
of Elf-gifts, it is no idle warning. I know just how far
Hawks-heart will go to protect his precious Dance. If he
thought tormenting your dreams with those Sentinel
blooms would bene..t the Dance, he would give them to
you without a qualm and never tell you their true purpose.
”
Was it possible? Could the Elf king have gifted her with
the Sentinel wreath not to protect her from the Mage’s
dream-attacks, as he had claimed, but rather to open her
mind to prophetic Elvish dreams?
Your Elvish blood awakens.
The memory of Hawksheart’s words echoed in her mind.
Since the moment she’d drunk the Elves’ liquid sunlight
and placed her hand on the Elf king’s Mirror, her dreams
had not stopped or grown less frightening. Instead, they
hummed with a sense of veracity she could not shake, no
matter how much she wished to.
The dream she’d just had, and several others before it,
were no Mage-spawned nightmares sent to torment her.
They were potential verses of her Song, brutal, vivid visions
of the dread future that awaited her if she did not ..nd a
way to complete her truemate bond with Rain and defeat
the High Mages’ evil plans for her.
Ellysetta pressed the heel of her palm to her heart. The
Ellysetta pressed the heel of her palm to her heart. The
walls felt like they were closing in, as if the weight of the
world were pressing down upon her, oppressive and
su..ocating.
“I need some air,” she said, and bolted for the door.
Except for the guards standing at their posts and the
occasional footstep of a watchman going about his night
duties, all of Kreppes lay silent and still beneath the starry,
moonlit winter sky.
After rushing from her suite in the west wing, Ellysetta
climbed the stairs to the ramparts, where the cool air and
open sky made her feel less closed in. She walked along
the northern battlement in the company of her quintet and
looked out over the river into Eld. She didn’t know what
she was expecting to see. Some sign of malevolence,
perhaps, or approaching evil, but all she saw was the
unbroken darkness of Eld’s great forests, stretching across
the horizon, and the silvery shine of moonlight re..ecting
on the swirling con..uence of the mighty Heras and the
Elden river Azar.
“Doesn’t look like such a threat, does it?”
She turned to see King Dorian step from the shadows of
the wizard’s wall, the raised walkway spiked with high,
open-roofed towers set back from the main battlements.
“Your Majesty.” She inclined her head. “Forgive me. I
didn’t see you there. I did not mean to intrude.”
“Your presence could never be an intrusion, Feyreisa.”
“Your presence could never be an intrusion, Feyreisa.”
The compliment ..owed o.. his tongue with both courtly
ease and surprising sincerity. How strange it seemed. She’d
grown up all her life seeing this man’s image on the coins
that passed from one Celierian hand to another in
commerce, and now, here he was, standing beside her on a
silent night on the eve of war, o..ering the pretty charm of
a courtly Grace. Master Fellows, the Queen’s Master of
Graces who had taught a woodcarver’s daughter the ways
of Celieria’s royal court, would have beamed with pride.
“It is strange, how peaceful it looks.” The king continued,
nodding towards the vast, shadowy forest to the north. “I
have fought in three wars before this. Always, I could see
my enemy approaching. I never realized what a comfort
that was.” Hands braced on the ..at surface of the stone
crenel, he scanned the dark horizon. “I keep looking for the
camp..res, the ships, the troops that experience tells me
must be there, yet, my reports say this enemy can simply
appear, with no warning, and in great strength. This…
nothingness… is very unsettling.”
“Perhaps the waiting is actually the ..rst part of the
attack.” A chill breeze blew through the fortress’s night
shields. She drew her velvet robes tighter and plumped the
fur collar higher about her neck. “To constantly be on your
guard, knowing your enemy is stalking you, but not
knowing how or when the next blow will come… such
torments are one of this Mage’s favorite weapons.”
“No doubt because it is so scorching e..ective.” Dorian
pushed back from the wall and turned to face her. “Is that
pushed back from the wall and turned to face her. “Is that
what it’s like to be Mage-Marked? To feel as if you’re
constantly waiting for an attack? “
The question took Ellysetta by surprise. No one had ever
asked her what it was like, to be Mage-Marked, and though
Dorian had always treated her with impeccable courtesy,
he’d never invited personal con..dences.
“I suppose it is, in a way,” she answered. “The pressure is
always there, but it doesn’t just come from without. It also
comes from within.”
“How so?”
“Well, he doesn’t just attack you. He also tries to trick
you into betraying yourself. Sometimes, the tricks are very
persuasive.” All her life, she’d battled the Mage and the
nightmares he sent to torment her. Since coming into her
power, that torment had only grown worse. “I doubt I
could have lasted this long if not for Rain. He is my
strength.”
Dorian looked away. “You are very lucky to have a love
so sel..ess and steadfast.”
His glum tones made her empathy ..are. The sense of
loss—even despair—that had surrounded him these last
days, spurring his temper, fanning his anger, suddenly
made sense.
“I know how blessed I am to have Rain,” she agreed. “All
my life, I dreamed of a Fey-tale love. My mother always
tried to discourage me. I was an unattractive child.” She
smiled a little, remembering. “She no doubt meant to spare
smiled a little, remembering. “She no doubt meant to spare
me the pain of lost hopes, but I didn’t realize that at the
time. So when she’d tell me to set aside my dreams of Feytale
love, that such great loves weren’t meant for mortals,
I’d remind her that she had found such a love with my
papa—” She hesitated, then admitted softly, “—and that
you had found such a love with the queen.”
When he said nothing, she added, “I’m sure that whatever
di..culties may lie between you now, they will not last. I
have seen the great love you bear her.”
He glanced at her with sudden suspicion. “Are you
reading my thoughts, Feyreisa?”
“Nei, King Dorian. I and every Fey in Kreppes have done
all we can these last days to shield ourselves from mortal
thoughts and emotions. But not all thoughts require magic
to detect.”
He grimaced. “I suppose not. Especially when one isn’t
being particularly subtle.”
“If you need to talk, I would be glad to listen. About
anything.” She started to reach for his hands, but drew back
before she touched him. The moment her skin touched his,
her promise to leave him the privacy of his thoughts and
emotions would be broken.
“You have never much cared for the queen.”
“I—” His statement caught her o.. guard and left her
scrambling for an appropriate response. She wanted to
deny his remark, for his sake, but Fey did not lie.
“No.” He smiled. “You haven’t. It’s all right. Most people
“No.” He smiled. “You haven’t. It’s all right. Most people
don’t. She is not an easy woman to like…” He looked back
towards Eld, “… or to love.”
“But you do. Love her, I mean.”
“More than life.” He rubbed his face, weariness apparent
in every line of his body. “So much that the break between
us weighs on me more heavily than this war.”
Ellysetta had to ..ght to keep herself from touching him,
from weaving peace upon him. His emotions had opened
up so much she could not hope to block them. The ragged,
aching hole, the emptiness, as if part of his soul was
missing. The fear that his wife’s love might be lost forever.
“Your Majesty… Dorian…”
“Some people believe I don’t see her ..aws,” he
continued as if he hadn’t heard her, “but I do. I simply love
her in spite of them. Or perhaps because of them. She is a
princess of Cappellas. There’s not a more deceitful,
conniving, heartless land in all the mortal world. Intrigue,
betrayal, murder: They’re a way of life there. No one trusts
anyone—not even their own family. And she grew up in
that. Can you imagine?
A child, a beautiful, innocent little girl, raised in that…
that darrokken pit of a Hells hole. Ah, gods.”
He leaned back and shook himself, as if trying to shake
o.. the overwhelming emotion. “She didn’t let it break her,
though. She was too strong. So strong she could live
through all of that and still allow herself to be vulnerable
enough to love me.”
enough to love me.”
The words kept tumbling out, as if he needed to say
them, to hear them. As if he needed to remind himself.
“She is vain, I know. And she plays her game of Trumps
with the members of the court, making them dance to her
tune so she can control them. She constantly schemes for
ways to increase Celieria’s power and might. But all that is
part of her armor. She learned from a young age the best
way to protect vulnerabilities was through power, and that
power comes from being the most beautiful, the wealthiest,
the wiliest, the most controlling. That is how she defends
herself and the few people she will ever let herself love. In
a way, she is like a tairen. Fierce. Territorial. Willing to
destroy anything or anyone who trespasses on her lair or
threatens the members of her pride.”
Ellysetta would never have drawn that comparison
herself, but a look at Annoura through her husband’s eyes
put a di..erent perspective on Celieria’s beautiful, scheming
queen. “I never understood that about her.”
“Few do.” He gave a melancholy smile. “She doesn’t
want people to understand her.”
“Because that would make her vulnerable.”
He nodded. “There’s nothing she fears more than that.”
Fear and vulnerability were concepts Ellysetta
understood all too well. She didn’t like Queen Annoura.
The woman had never been more than grudgingly gracious,
and sometimes not even that. But King Dorian was a good
man with a kind heart, and Ellysetta could tell he loved his
man with a kind heart, and Ellysetta could tell he loved his
wife deeply—perhaps as much, in his own way, as she
loved Rain. There must be something worthy inside the
prickly queen—some goodness Ellysetta had never seen.
“I have faith you will ..nd a way to set things right,” she
said. “Hold fast to your hope. She loved you once enough
to overcome what she feared most. A love that strong does
not wither easily.”
Dorian closed his eyes, rubbing his face in a weary
gesture. “So I have always believed. We have had our
arguments before, some of them quite fearsome. How
could any man not, with such a strong, stubborn woman for
a wife? But this time…” He shook his head. “This time
feels di..erent.” Bleak shadows ..lled his eyes. “I chose the
Fey side over hers one too many times. She says I have
betrayed her. And the way she said it… the look on her
face…” He shook his head. “I don’t know that this breach
can be mended.”
Ellysetta winced. He had trusted the Fey, the way
Annoura had trusted him, chosen to support them at deep,
personal cost. No wonder he’d been so devastated to
discover how they’d deceived him.
“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty.”
“As am I, My Lady Feyreisa. As am I.” Dorian heaved a
sigh and rubbed his neck, rolled his head in a slow circle to
loosen the tight muscles. “It’s late. Both of us should be to
bed. Tomorrow will be another long day.”
“Of course.” She started to leave him to his solitude, then
“Of course.” She started to leave him to his solitude, then
paused. “Before you go, King Dorian, may I ask you a
question? “
He inclined his head. “Of course.”
When he turned around, a dark brow raised in patient
inquiry, she said, “I know you feel that we betrayed you by
letting Adrial remain in Celieria without your knowledge.
But if you had to make the decision to come here again
—even knowing that we hid the truth about Adrial’s
presence from you—would you still come?”
He bowed his head, and his chest expanded on a long
inhale as he considered the question. “Yes,” he admitted
softly. His sober gaze lifted, met and held hers, and he
recon..rmed in a ..rmer voice, “Yes, I would. I would
command that Talisa Barrial remain in Celieria City,” he
clari..ed, “but the rest, I would do again.”
Ellysetta nodded. “Beylah vo.” She hesitated. Five months
ago, she’d been a peasant, a woodcarver’s graceless gawk of
a daughter who never could have dreamed she would be
standing here on the battlements of a northern castle,
garbed in velvets and sharing a midnight conversation with
a king. And she had de..nitely never dreamed that she
would be bold enough to o..er that king her advice. And
yet, that was exactly what she was going to do.
She had vowed not to weave magic on him, but she
could not stand by and let him continue to su..er, as he
clearly was. Her empathic nature would not allow it.
“You should write your queen. Tonight, before you
“You should write your queen. Tonight, before you
sleep.” She said it quickly, before her courage failed. “Tell
her you love her. Tell her all the things you shared with
me, about the many ways you admire and value her. Tell
her… tell her that if you had your life to live all over again,
you would still choose her above all others to be your
queen and the mother of your children. Sometimes women
need such reassurances.”
For a moment, she thought she had o..ended him by
o..ering such personal advice. He stood so still, watching
her with such an indecipherable expression on his face. But
then he bowed—not just the restrained, regal half nod
shared between kings, but a deep, courtly bow, a sign of
great respect.
“You are as wise as you are kind, Feyreisa,” he said when
he straightened. “The Tairen Soul is a lucky Fey.” He
nodded to Gaelen and the rest of her quintet, and
continued down the stairs.
“That was well done, what you did back there with
Dorian,” Bel said, as Ellysetta and her quintet walked back
to the suite.
“I didn’t do much,” Ellysetta denied.
“You got Celieria’s king to acknowledge that he still
trusts the Fey military advice,” Gaelen said. “That, even
knowing how we misled him about Adrial, he still trusts us
to have his kingdom’s best interests at heart. That’s more
than anyone else has accomplished.”
than anyone else has accomplished.”
“And you put his mind at ease about his queen,” Bel said.
“No man, Fey or mortal, does his best when his heart aches
and regret weighs heavy on his mind. Even if he cannot
mend what is broken between them, for now he has hope
that he can.”
“It’s most likely a false hope, you know. Queen Annoura
never struck me as a forgiving woman.”
“Perhaps,” Bel acknowledged. “But to a man standing on
the eve of battle, even false hope is better than none.”
Several bells after his walk on the ramparts, with the letter
to his queen lying on his desk, written, sanded, and sealed,
Dorian paced the chamber in restless thought. Pouring his
heart out in the letter to his wife had brought back vivid
memories of how utterly he’d fallen in love with her, how
deeply and completely she had loved him back. Theirs had
been a Fey-tale love, just as the Feyreisa said. He’d known
it. His entire kingdom had known it… So what had
happened? And why? For the ..rst time, he began to
examine the events of the past, attempting to understand
how a love so true could have gone so wrong.
Lady Ellysetta’s remark about how the Mages constantly
pushed at her mind, trying to trick her into betraying
herself, had started him thinking about the possibility that
Dorian and Annoura’s troubles had not been of their own
making. He knew for certain that at least one Mage had
in..ltrated his court, masquerading as the newly entitled
in..ltrated his court, masquerading as the newly entitled
Lord Bolor. That Mage had stood in the presence of
Dorian’s queen and could easily have Mage-claimed
Dorian’s subjects. He’d only been discovered thanks to the
diligent e..orts of Gaspare Fellows, the Queen’s own Master
of Graces. But what if Lord Bolor had not been the ..rst
Mage to hide in Dorian’s court? What if there had been
others? What if those others had been working their evil on
Celieria’s queen?
Annoura had changed these last years—especially the last
six months or so. At ..rst, the changes had been so subtle,
taking place over a period of time so that they had not
raised his suspicions. A hint of disquiet here. A small
jealousy there. A fear ampli..ed. His brave, strong, beloved
queen had begun to doubt him, to see rivals for his
a..ections, enemies among friends. It was almost as if she
were back in Cappellas again, ..ghting a bitter, brutal
shadowy war for survival and power.
Looking back, he could see it clearly, and the change no
longer seemed at all natural.
Annoura wasn’t Marked. He took what comfort he could
from that, but someone had been playing on her fears.
Undermining the love and trust Dorian and Annoura had
shared for decades. Rousing all the suspicions bred into her
by her Cappellan upbringing. Tricking her into betraying
herself, just as the Lady Ellysetta said the Mages tried to do
with her. And he, so used to her changeable nature, her
manipulations, and the small ways she’d always tested his
love, had thought nothing of it.
love, had thought nothing of it.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that
Mage in..uence was the only explanation that made sense.
And since the changes in Annoura had begun before Lord
Bolor came to court, that meant Lord Bolor wasn’t the only
Mage who’d been in..uencing her.
So who was it? Who had been closest to her? Who could
have had the time and opportunity to play on his queen’s
suspicious nature and amplify her fears?
Jiarine, Lady Montevero, was an obvious candidate
—considering that she’d been the one to befriend Lord
Bolor at court—but she’d been taken to Old Castle for
questioning after Bolor’s unmasking. Tortured by some toozealous
prison guard, too, according to his Prime Minister
Lord Corrias’s report. And she’d known nothing. She was,
apparently, as big a dupe as the rest of them.
Annoura’s other Favorites were possibilities, including, of
course, the oh-so-charming Ser Vale, a handsome, minor
noble sponsored to the court years ago by Jiarine
Montevero. He’d wormed his way into Annoura’s inner
circle quickly enough. If Dorian didn’t trust Annoura so
much, he might have suspected the relationship between
her and Vale had become deeper than mere friendship and
..irtation.
He scrubbed his scalp in frustration. Did he really think
Lady Montevero and that silky-smooth lordling, Ser Vale,
were agents of Eld, or was he just an angry, jealous
husband trying to blame someone else for the
disintegration of his marriage to a complicated and
disintegration of his marriage to a complicated and
temperamental queen?
Dorian spun away from the window and stalked across
the room to his desk. Maybe he was angry and jealous. But
maybe he was also right. He needed someone he could
trust to conduct an investigation. If there really were still
Mages at work in Celieria City, his queen and his entire
kingdom lay at risk.
Dorian sat down, pulled a fresh sheet of blank vellum
from his paper box, and uncapped the inkwell.

CHAPTER FOUR
Eyes ..lled with cold blood-fed
seeking, enjoying their amusement’s dread
Eyes that look forward to bloods..ed
anxious, desperate to taste the dead.
Shadow’s Eyes, a Fey poem
Celieria ~ Celieria City
29th day of Verados
Hooves thundered down the North Road as a royal courier
—the last in a network of couriers posted every ten miles
from Celieria City to Kreppes—galloped towards the city
gates. As one of the four riders assigned to run the ten
miles stretching between the royal palace and the ..rst
posting exchange on the North Road, his face was wellknown
to every guard who worked the gate, but he still
..ashed his courier’s ..ag as he approached—a bright red
square of fabric to indicate that he carried dispatches from
the king. The guards hoisted a larger version of the same
..ag over the gatehouse and raised the gate so he could ride
through without stopping.
“Make way!” the city guards cried. “Make way!” They
“Make way!” the city guards cried. “Make way!” They
rushed to clear the crowded city street as the courier
galloped past.
Five chimes later, his horse lathered and panting, the
courier arrived in the small, private courtyard of the king’s
dispatch o..ce. Alerted by the signal ..ags raised at the
north gate, Lord Renald, the king’s minister of
communications, was there to greet him and to take the
pouch bearing the king’s dispatches. Lord Renald had never
trusted vital communications to any servant or underling.
“Thank you, son,” Lord Renald said, when the courier
handed over his leather satchel. “I will have a return pouch
ready to go before twelve bells. Take your rest until then. I
understand there are fresh burberry buns and clotted cream
in the courier’s hall.”
“Thank you, my lord.” The courier tugged the brim of his
hat and grinned. Lord Renald was a favorite among the
palace servants. He never spoke a harsh word, and always
ensured the comfort of those who served him.
Lord Renald carried the precious mail pouch into his
o..ce, closed the door, and sat down to personally sort and
log its contents. A bell later, he emerged from his o..ce to
deliver the post.
A young serving maid entered the now-empty room to
collect the tea tray she’d brought to him earlier. Three
letters lay under the linen tea cloth—one written in Lord
Renald’s hand, the other two sealed and marked with the
king’s personal signet. She dropped the letters in her apron
king’s personal signet. She dropped the letters in her apron
pocket, picked up the tray, and headed for the kitchens.
Lord Renald was indeed a man of impeccable character
and incorruptible loyalty to the crown, but he was also a
devoted husband and the adoring father of three young
children. And that was the leverage the Mages had used to
claim him.
A knock rapped on the door of an apartment in the
courtiers’ wing. “Morning ke..ee, Ser,” the maid called
through the door.
A moment later, the door opened to reveal Ser Vale,
Queen Annoura’s most favored of her Favorites. “Thank
you, my dear.” He stepped aside to let the servant deliver
the tray and ..ashed his famous, dazzling smile at one of
Annoura’s other young Dazzles, who was eyeing the ke..ee
enviously as he walked by. One of the perks of being a
Queen’s Favorite—besides the luxury of claiming a slightly
larger room in the palace—was the option of having the
palace sta.. deliver meals to one’s room rather than being
required to eat with the other Dazzles in the queen’s
breakfast room.
Once the maid had departed and the door to his room
was ..rmly closed behind him, Vale’s smile winked out.
The charming, sensual, seductive face of Annoura’s Favorite
disappeared. A di..erent man, much colder, much harder,
and in..nitely more dangerous, emerged in his stead.
Sulimage Kolis Manza, apprentice to the great Vadim
Sulimage Kolis Manza, apprentice to the great Vadim
Maur, High Mage of Eld, lifted the linen cloth beneath the
plate of burberry buns and examined the three letters. The
note from Renald was a brief summary of the
correspondence from the king to his ministers and from the
generals to their sta..s. Kolis opened the sheet, scanned its
contents quickly, and set it aside.
He poured a cup of ke..ee and held the sealed letter
addressed to Queen Annoura over the steam until the wax
seal loosened. An adept slice with a letter opener popped
it free, then he unfolded the vellum and read the words
Dorian X had written to his queen.
The letter contained no Writs of Authority, nothing that
needed to be passed on, just a maudlin outpouring that
made Kolis’s lip curl. In Eld, the Mages had long ago
learned the uses and the limitations of women. They were
kept to their place. Baubles to be enjoyed. Tools to be
used. Nothing more. For a while, with Jiarine, Kolis had
become too attached—and look where that had gotten him.
Weeks of torture, terrors that still woke him, gasping and
drenched in cold sweat—the punishment he’d earned for
failing his master.
He would never fail again.
He tossed Dorian’s note to Annoura into the ..re that
warmed his spacious apartment. He’d worked too hard to
destroy the royal couple’s marriage to risk reconciliation
now. The break between Celieria’s royals had been severe,
and Kolis meant it to be ..nal.
and Kolis meant it to be ..nal.
As Dorian’s romantic outpouring to Annoura burned,
Kolis picked up the last letter. He frowned at the name
written on the outside of the folded vellum. What on earth
could the king have to say to the Queen’s Master of Graces?
Kolis loosened and popped the seal and read the contents.
Halfway through, his hand began to shake.
Gaspare Fellows and his pesky little magic-sni..ng cat
had brought about the demise of Lord Bolor—the man
Kolis knew as Primage Gethen Nour. Now Dorian wanted
Fellows to spy on the rest of the court to sni.. out other
agents of Eld and turn them over to the Fey and the King’s
justice.
And the ..rst two people the king wanted Fellows to
investigate were Jiarine Montevero and the Queen’s
Favorite, Ser Vale.
Twenty chimes later, garbed in resplendent, fur-trimmed
wool and rich brocades, Ser Vale entered Her Majesty’s
apartments and executed a full, ..ourishing court bow
before her.
“Your Majesty. As always, I am dazzled by your
radiance.” From another mouth, the outrageous
compliment might have sounded laughable and insincere,
but Kolis harbored genuine appreciation for the queen’s
considerable beauty. What might have seemed insincere
from another tongue ..owed like a bewitching spell from
his.
his.The queen’s Ladies-in-Waiting sighed. They all liked Ser
Vale, lusted for him in fact. But he had always been careful
to keep his dalliances to a minimum. It was much easier to
keep the queen’s interest if she thought he pined for her in
every way.
Of course, it helped that the queen was a celebrated
Brilliant in her own right. And today, garbed in shimmering
aquamarine, she was the epitome of regal feminine
perfection. Her silvery blond hair was piled high atop her
head, dusted with iridescent powder, and set with countless
pear-shaped diamonds that caught the light and cast
dancing rainbows upon the wall with her every move. An
enormous diamond pendant hung from a chain of
aquamarine-and-diamond ..owers encircling her neck.
“I saw the ..ags go up on the gate announcing word from
the king,” Vale said. “I hope, Your Majesty, that he only
sent you the best of news.”
He hid a smile as Annoura’s hands tightened into ..sts in
her lap.
A movement at the corner of his eye caught Kolis’s
attention. He looked up to see the small, elegant ..gure of
Master Fellows entering the queen’s chamber, the white
kitten called Love perched on his shoulder like a sea
captain’s bird.
Kolis forced a charming smile when Fellows looked his
way, but his mind was busy running through a thousand
possible next moves. One thing was certain. Fellows was a
possible next moves. One thing was certain. Fellows was a
problem in need of immediate remedy.
Kolis had no intention of su..ering Nour’s fate.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
Melliandra had deliberately stayed away from Lord Death
for three days, hoping he’d get over the crackbrained
notion that she should risk her life trying to steal his Soul
Quest crystal from the High Mage. And what was the ..rst
thing he asked when she’d accepted the chore of visiting
him again?
Did she have his sorreisu kiyr?
Did she have it! As if she could just trot up to the High
Mage’s o..ce and ask for it to be handed over!
Did the dimskull Fey understand what he was asking her
to do? Did he have the slightest clue? Melliandra scowled
as she stomped back to the kitchens with her tray.
He was punishing her for saving his mate. That’s what
this was. Or so she tried to convince herself. Because if he
didn’t really mean it, she didn’t really need to risk herself
trying to achieve it.
Melliandra accepted her next assignment—cleaning the
refuse bins—without complaint, even though she’d done it
two days ago and it shouldn’t have been her turn again for
at least another ..ve days.
No one really liked pushing the refuse carts. There was
No one really liked pushing the refuse carts. There was
never any telling what would end up in them. Noxious
poisons, rotting carcasses, and all too often, the bodies of
the more unfortunate guests of Boura Fell’s Mages.
An image of Shia ..ashed in her mind. The torn, blooddrained
body. The blind, staring blue eyes.
Melliandra shook her head. No, she would not think of
Shia. Especially not while pushing a refuse cart through the
Mage Halls.
But Shia was on her mind. Ever since Lord Death had
spun that sweet picture of a happy, loving childhood,
Melliandra had been thinking of Shia, of the songs Shia had
sung as she’d combed a young umagi’s hair and given her
the ..rst taste of kindness she’d ever known, and the ..rst
name she’d ever had: Melliandra.
It was possible the Fey had plucked those memories
from her mind when he’d spun that fanciful Fey tale of a
wonderful childhood in an e..ort to manipulate her four
days ago. That’s what any Mage would have done. And why
she’d let him know it wasn’t working.
Even though it had been.
Melliandra, you are such a dimskull.
She reached the stairs and, despite not wanting to go
anywhere near Lord Death again today, headed back down
to Boura Fell’s lowest level. The lower ..oors were usually
the most likely to have the most revolting surprises in their
bins, so whenever it was her turn to run the refuse carts,
she always preferred to start at the bottom and work her
she always preferred to start at the bottom and work her
way to the top. That way, no matter what retch-inducing
foulness she found in the bins, she could tell herself the
next ..oor would be easier.
It wasn’t always true, but at least it gave her something to
look forward to.
* * *
When Melliandra reached the level of Boura Fell that
housed the High Mage’s o..ces, she pulled the ..oor’s refuse
cart out of its storage closet and rolled it along with an
almost light-hearted feeling in her chest. She’d just learned
that the High Mage was away from Boura Fell. He’d left a
little over a bell ago to visit one of the other Bouras
—Koderas and his great new fortress, Toroc Maur, if the
rumors she’d overheard in the Mage Halls were correct.
Apart from the fact that his absence meant his refuse bins
would be empty (which was always a great relief; she
hated ..nding those small, lifeless infants whose blood he
used to communicate with his Mages a..eld) the great,
crouching malevolence of his all-seeing presence was gone,
too, and with it the probing worms of his consciousness,
digging into her soul, ri..ing through her thoughts, poking,
spying. Owning.
Melliandra could not recall a single day of her life when
Vadim Maur had not been near. But since he’d incarnated
into Master Nour’s younger, much ..tter body (and, oh, the
cursing and Rages that had erupted in the Mage Halls over
cursing and Rages that had erupted in the Mage Halls over
that!), he’d become much less reclusive. Much more likely
to be found roaming the halls of Boura Fell rather than
simply sitting behind his desk or locking himself away in
his spell rooms.
When she reached Master Maur’s o..ces, the guards were
standing at their usual posts, but a trio of Primages were
arguing beside them. Two of the Primages were attempting
to gain entrance to the High Mage’s o..ce on some pretext
—fabricated, no doubt—while the third Primage, Master
Maur’s assistant, Zev, was steadfastly refusing to admit
them.
“My orders are clear,” Zev was saying. “No umagi enters
unsupervised, and no Mage enters at all until Master Maur
returns. If you need something from his o..ce, you may
submit your request to me. I will communicate your desire
to Master Maur, and if he approves it, I will bring the item
to you.”
Outraged and grumbling, the two Primages stalked o...
Primage Zev turned, swift as a tunnel snake, and speared
her with a sharp look. “Why are you here, umagi?” His
will, like a dark, su..ocating cloud, pressed down on her,
tendrils of command and inquiry prodding at her mind.
Melliandra swiftly shoved every free thought and
emotion back into the private space in her mind and
slammed the door hard shut. She ..lled her mind with
umagi concerns. She was hungry. She’d have to ..nd
someone weaker to sit beside at dinner tonight and steal
someone weaker to sit beside at dinner tonight and steal
their portion. Who best to single out?
“Mistress sent me, master.” No need to feign that tremble
in her voice. She was really frightened. Zev was no Maur,
but he was still a Primage, and still perfectly capable of
shredding her body and mind if he discovered even a hint
of her desire to kill Vadim Maur.
The tension in her chest didn’t begin to ease until the
Primage grunted and turned to face the o..ce doors. A dark
glow massed around his hands, a cloud of shadow shot
through with slivers of light, like shining threads in a dark
cloth. More threads began to glow about the door. She only
saw them for an instant. A strange web of light and dark
plaited together in a complex and oddly beautiful pattern.
Then she blinked, and the vision went away.
The Primage opened the doors to Vadim Maur’s o..ce
and motioned her to go inside. “Do what you came for, and
be quick about it.”
He followed her in and watched her as she crossed the
room to the High Mage’s great desk. She glanced furtively
around the o..ce as she went, looking for more threads of
shadow and light. She knew she’d just seen magic: the
weave this Primage had spun and the weave he’d unraveled
to let her pass. She’d actually seen it—the individual
threads and their pattern, not just the hazy glow visible to
anyone when someone wove strong magic. She recognized
it because she’d heard the appearance of magic described
many times. The novices in the Mage Halls were young and
chatty, and not yet learned enough to spin e..ective privacy
chatty, and not yet learned enough to spin e..ective privacy
weaves.
She couldn’t see any other magic in the room, not even
around the door at the back of the o..ce. Umagi weren’t
allowed across that threshold. So far as she knew, no one
was. If there was going to be more magic anywhere in this
room, she would have expected it to be there, warding that
door. But perhaps wards only showed themselves in the
presence of other magic?
Aware of Primage Zev’s eyes upon her, Melliandra
empted the waste bin by Vadim Maur’s desk, bobbed a
quick bow in the direction of the Primage, and scurried
out. She pushed the cart down the hall to the next door,
pausing to look back and watch the Primage reseal the
wards protecting the High Mage’s room.
There. She could see them again. Those shining threads
of magic.
Eld ~ Koderas
Vadim Maur walked beside Primage Grule, the Mage he’d
tasked with restoring Koderas to its full, pre-Wars capacity.
He’d already visited the enormous forges, where
blacksmiths hammered sel’dor ingots into swords and
armor, and the foundries where molten sel’dor was cast
into barbed arrowheads, spears, and the like. Now, the two
Mages passed through an archway and down a series of
railed walkways that overlooked Koderas’s siege workshops
railed walkways that overlooked Koderas’s siege workshops
and the various machining and assembly rooms where
thousands of umagi toiled round the clock constructing the
massive battering rams and trebuchets that would be used
to grind enemy fortresses into dust. No less than three full
rooms were dedicated to the manufacture of bowcannon
and their massive, tairen-killing bolts made from tree
trunks jacketed with barbed sel’dor sheaths and razor-sharp
spearheads.
“You have done well, Grule.” Praising those who served
him wasn’t Vadim’s strong suit, but Grule’s last centuries of
e..ort had exceeded even Vadim’s highest expectations.
“Not even during the previous Wars did Koderas operate
with such seamless e..ciency.”
“Thank you, Most High. There is no prize I value more
than your approval.” A ..ush of pleasure touched Grule’s
tanned cheeks. Unlike most sun-bereft Mages, who toiled
all their lives beneath the surface of Eld, Grule had spent
the last year aboveground, overseeing the start of Vadim
Maur’s next great achievement.
They had reached the end of the elevated walkway.
Grule opened the door at the end of the walkway, and the
Mages stepped out of the hot noise of the production ..oor
into a cool, dark corridor. From there, they climbed a ..ight
of stairs that led to a pair of heavy double doors covered
with swirling patterns of rune-etched silver and bloodred
crystals in the sigils of Seledorn, God of Shadows. Grule
reached for the heavy, intricately wrought silver-and-sel’dor
handle and murmured the words of a release spell while
handle and murmured the words of a release spell while
his ..ngers traced an unlocking weave in the air. Unseen
bolts shifted with an audible click.
“After you, Most High,” Grule murmured, and with a
wave of his hand, the doors swung open.
Vadim Maur stepped over the threshold and into the gray
light of the cloud-..ltered afternoon sun. He squeezed his
eyes closed against the brightness. It was the ..rst time he’d
stepped foot aboveground since the scorching of the world
a thousand years ago, and even much-..ltered sunlight was
a hundred times brighter than the dim, sconce-lit shadows
of Boura Fell.
“Forgive me, Master Maur.” Grule leapt forward to block
the sunlight with his body and cast the High Mage in his
broad shadow. “Shall I weave screens for your eyes?” He
lifted his hands in anxious anticipation.
The old Vadim Maur, trapped in his aged and decaying
body, would have snapped in rage. But the newly
incarnated Vadim Maur, housed in a body both young and
..t, was not so quick to anger.
“No need.” Already Vadim’s new, younger eyes were
adjusting to the abundance of light. He lifted a shading
hand over his eyes and squinted at the world around him.
They were standing on a windswept point of land
formed by the con..uence of two great rivers: the Frost
heading down from the Mandolay Mountains in the north,
and the Selas, ..owing east from its source near the Rhakis.
Vadim turned in a slow circle, drinking in this long-unseen
Vadim turned in a slow circle, drinking in this long-unseen
world. Behind them lay the mile-long open sel’dor pit that
housed the new, much-improved, Koderas. Clouds of thick
black smoke boiled up from Koderas’s great ..res. What
trees might have once surrounded the pit had long since
died away, and all that remained was thick brush, covered
in heavy gray layers of ash and sel’dor dust.
Vadim’s chest swelled with pride. Some who looked
upon Koderas might have seen ruin in the ash and soot and
poisonous gases choking the life from the surrounding
forest. But not Vadim. He saw Koderas for what it truly
was: power. His power. Raw and brutal and ugly, perhaps,
but indisputably great nonetheless.
He turned the ..nal quarter of his circuit and beheld the
second reason he had come: the shining glory of Toroc
Maur—the ..rst Elden stronghold to extend aboveground
since the scorching of the world.
Though little more than a massive outer wall and
sca..olding now, when completed the immense citadel
would crouch on the banks of the Selas River like a great,
horned spider, its gleaming black spires stabbing up from
the center of a wide, high-walled and well-defended central
keep, towering nearly as high as its foundation, the
subterranean levels of Boura Maur, plunged deep. The ..rst
soaring sel’dor bridge that spanned the river to connect
Boura Maur to Koderas had already been built. Flanking
the bridge’s entrance, two enormous ..ags of Eld, rich
purple embroidered with silvery moons and stars set in the
exact con..guration of Vadim Maur’s birth, snapped in the
exact con..guration of Vadim Maur’s birth, snapped in the
wind.
Emotions coiled inside Vadim: satisfaction, pride,
eagerness. Centuries of planning and toil were ..nally
coming to fruition.
“Show me,” he urged.
After touring the existing construction of Toroc Maur and
examining in detail the plan for the next stage of
construction, Vadim followed Grule up the stone steps to
the citadel’s high, well-defended walls where cannoneers
had assembled beside the bowcannon mounted on the
battlements.
“Ah,” Vadim said. “The new bowcannon bolts. You
perfected the spell? “
“I did. I believe you will be very pleased.” Grule nodded
to the cannoneers, who immediately began ..ring the
newest weapon—bowcannons bolts spelled by magic to ..y
faster and higher than ever before—fast and high enough to
outpace even a Tairen Soul ..ying at his top magic-powered
speed. The High Mage spent a full quarter bell watching
the cannoneers demonstrate the splendid performance of
the new bolts.
“Well done, Grule,” he praised when the exhibition
concluded. “You may well have just ensured our victory.
With the skies tairen-free, nothing can stop my Army of
Darkness.”
“You honor me, Most High.” Primage Grule bowed low.
“You honor me, Most High.” Primage Grule bowed low.
“But there is more. I’ve added a new improvement since
my last report. The idea came to me after I read a book of
Drogan blood spells. The potential is… incalculable.”
Vadim arched a brow. “I am intrigued. What is this new
improvement? “
“If you please, Most High, allow me to demonstrate. Do
you see that umagi running in that ..eld there?” He pointed
to a tiny spot on one of the distant grounds and handed
Vadim a telescoping spyglass.
Vadim lifted the glass and saw a man in tattered rags
running for the forest edge. “You are letting one of your
umagi escape?”
“One of our less valuable prisoners from the battle at
Teleon. I told him if he reached the edge of the forest alive,
I would grant him his freedom.” Grule gave smile. “I
thought he might run faster with a little incentive.
Cannoneer Raegus, prepare to ..re.” He nodded at the
cannoneer on the far end of the battlement. The man
turned the crank to reposition his bowcannon.
“I don’t understand. He is aiming away from the target.”
Grule’s smile grew wider. “Indeed he is, Most High.” He
raised his voice and called, “Fire when ready, cannoneer.”
“Ta, Master Grule.” The cannoneer uncorked a small
..agon, poured a stream of glowing red liquid on the tip of
the mounted cannon bolt, then returned to the ..ring pad
and pulled back the release lever. The thick, braided metal
bowstring gave a sharp twang of sound, and the bolt shot
bowstring gave a sharp twang of sound, and the bolt shot
into the air. The launch ignited the acceleration spell, and
the bolt rapidly picked up speed, just as all the other new
bolts had done.
What happened next, however, made Vadim Maur’s jaw
drop.
The ..ying bolt, launched in the opposite direction of the
escaping umagi, took a swift and sudden turn in the air and
sped unerringly towards the running man. Moments later,
the small dark speck racing towards the forest edge went
down.
“I don’t believe it.” Vadim Maur raised his spyglass to an
eye. Sure enough, the bolt had struck its target, cutting the
..eeing man in two and pinning the upper half of his body
to the ground. He spun to Grule. “How?”
“I used a variation of a Drogan summoning spell to direct
the cannon bolt, and used that umagi’s blood as the base
for the spell. Once the cannoneer applied the potion, the
bolt was magically drawn to the donor of the blood.”
“You mean…”
“Yes.” Grule was smiling again. He knew he’d done well.
“Give me the Tairen Soul’s blood, Most High, and I will
shoot him from the sky.”
“Do that, Grule, and I’ll give you your pick of jewels
from my own sash. And your choice of seats on the Mage
Council.”
Vadim clasped the Mage’s hand in a celebratory
handshake. “Well done, Grule. Well done, indeed.”
handshake. “Well done, Grule. Well done, indeed.”
“Thank you, Master Maur. Your praise means everything
to me. And now, I’m sure you’re anxious to see the real
treasure of Boura Maur.”
Vadim and Grule took the wide, winding stair that
circled down from Toroc Maur into the heart of its Boura
below. Descending to levels known only to a select few,
and accessible to even fewer, Grule opened the door and
ushered the High Mage into the secret rooms that held the
real purpose for his visit.
There, in a vast, low-ceilinged hall where the
temperature dropped close to freezing, a raised earthen
walkway led across what appeared to be an endless sea of
mist. Brass ember-pots hanging from the ceilings
illuminated the mists with a sickly red-orange glow. As
Vadim and Grule stepped out onto the walkway, Grule
wove a spell that sent sparks of magic ..ying across the
chamber. Ember-pots brightened, and the mist thinned to
reveal a vast series of open pits where masses of grayish
white bodies crowded together like maggots packed in a
rotting wound.
A dull murmur rose up from the undulating mass,
senseless and wordless. A low, rattling moan, like an
asthmatic breath dragged through throats choking on
phlegm. The disturbing sound would instinctively raise
hairs on the necks of the unsuspecting… and strike terror in
the hearts of those who recognized its portent.
Revenants. Man-shaped creatures spawned from scraps of
human ..esh and bone, grown like witch-weed in a soupy
human ..esh and bone, grown like witch-weed in a soupy
morass of soil, magus powder, and the putrefying o..al of
both man and beast. Not entirely living, not entirely dead,
but rather soulless hulks with a rapacious hunger for live
..esh. And despite their current moribund state, when
loosed from their pack, they moved with the speed of
striking serpents—and the carnivorous ferocity of a lyrant
taking down its prey.
They were the perfect weapon. Animated by the darkest
of Dark magic, the creatures were all but indestructible.
They had no hearts to pierce, no lungs to rob of breath, no
veins to drain of blood. Instead, like great, gruesome
sponges, they thrived by absorbing the blood and dissolved
..esh of their victims. Both their outer skin and the lining of
the long digestive tube that coiled from maw to waste duct
exuded a corrosive enzyme that lique..ed ..esh and bone on
contact, then soaked up the resulting nutrient-rich goo and
shuttled it inward to the rest of the creatures’ ever-hungry
bodies. On a battle..eld, where revenants could gorge and
wade through swamps of slain men, even dismemberment
only served to multiply their numbers, for a revenant limb
separated from its host needed only a soaking of fresh
blood to grow again.
Their only thoughts—encoded into every cell of their
ravening beings—were to feed and kill… and to serve the
Elden Mages who held their leashes.
“How many have you grown now?” Vadim asked.
“Three million two hundred thousand, Most High,” Grule
answered. “Stored cold, kept hungry. When you unleash
answered. “Stored cold, kept hungry. When you unleash
them, nothing living will long stand in their path.”
Three million two hundred thousand. A force like none
this world had ever seen, exceeding even the wildest
accounts of the mythic Army of Darkness.
“Excellent.” The Celierian king had gathered his allies at
Kreppes. Vadim’s eyes along the border had provided daily
reports of their preparations for war, but their e..orts
would be for naught. Celieria would belong to Eld before
the new moons rose on the thirteenth night of Seledos
—and after that, the Fading Lands. “You have done well,
Grule. You are a Mage worthy of his jewels.” He cast a
..nal, gleaming gaze over the revenant pits. “Prepare them
for transport.”
Celieria ~ Kreppes
30th day of Verados
A knock sounded on Rain and Ellysetta’s suite door. When
Gil went to answer it, no one was more surprised than
Ellysetta to ..nd Great Lord Dervas Sebourne on the other
side. The warriors of her quintet went instantly stone-faced,
as did Rain, when Gil ushered the Celierian Great Lord
inside the room.
“Lord Sebourne,” Rain greeted with wary sti..ness.
“Feyreisen.” Sebourne’s voice was equally crisp. “I’ll be
brief. The king may have decided to overlook your lies and
brief. The king may have decided to overlook your lies and
manipulations, but I have not. So do not think my return
signals anything to the contrary. For now, I have no choice
but to set aside my personal feelings and accept you as a
member of this alliance, but when this war is over, I intend
to lead the Council of Lords to eliminate Fey interference
in all walks of Celierian life. And be warned, war or no
war, if I discover you or any of your Fey are using magic to
in..uence or invade mortal minds, I will be the ..rst to call
for your execution. Have a pleasant evening.”
He gave a curt nod and stalked out.
Ellysetta gaped after him. She turned to Rain, shaking her
head. “Did he really just come in here and threaten you?”
“It seems that he did, shei’tani.” Rain’s hands dropped to
the hilts of the meicha scimitars at his hips, and his eyes
narrowed on the closed door Great Lord Sebourne had just
exited.
In the hallway, Dervas Sebourne dropped a small white
stone into the brass wall sconce beside the Feyreisen’s suite
door before walking briskly back to his own rooms.
Ellysetta was still marveling over Lord Sebourne’s
inexplicable visit when a loud sound, like the rolling of
thunder in the distance, broke the night’s silence. She forgot
Sebourne’s aggressive intrusion in an instant. A bright smile
broke across her face.
“They’re here!” she cried. “They’ve come! The pride has
come!”
come!”
Rain was already heading for the door. Together, with
Ellysetta’s primary quintet ringed around them, they raced
out of the fortress and through the outer gate to greet the
approaching tairen.
“Steli! I’ve missed you so!”
The great, snow-white tairen lowered her head and
purred contentedly, blue eyes whirling sky-bright, as
Ellysetta ..ung herself against Steli’s neck and stroked the
thick, soft fur.
Two other tairen, Xisanna and Perahl, had ..own with
her from Orest. Rijonn, the Earth master of Ellysetta’s
quintet, had fashioned a lair for them in the side of one of
the newly heightened hills near Kreppes. Small by tairen
standards, the lair was nearly as large as all of Kreppes.
Rain, Ellysetta, and the tairen ..t inside with enough room
to move freely about.
«Steli missed Ellysetta-kitling, too. Human city not so fun
without you. Too much prey-scent, but Fey-kin says not to
eat. Makes Steli…» An image of a snarling, slavering tairen
..lled Ellysetta’s head.
“I’m sorry we had to leave you, Steli, but thank you for
staying behind to look after Orest for us.”
«Mrr… scratch there. So good.» The tairen’s purring grew
so loud the soil around her began to vibrate. Gleaming
ivory claws sank into the dirt, and the great cat’s sleek tail
thumped the ground, raising clouds of dust.
thumped the ground, raising clouds of dust.
“Why did you leave, Orest, Steli-chakai?” Rain asked.
She cocked her head to one side. «Rainier-Eras and
Ellysetta-kitling are here, not there.» Her tone made it clear
she thought the answer should have been obvious to even
the thickest skull.
Ellysetta smothered a laugh. The tairen were in a mood
for mischief.
Rain sighed. “And if the Army of Darkness does indeed
strike here, as we believe, we will be grateful for your
presence, but Orest was still under attack when we left.
Which tairen will speak to Lord Teleos on behalf of the
pride now that you are gone?” Tairen did not, as a rule,
speak to humans. They didn’t speak to Fey either, except
for the Tairen Souls. They considered it beneath their
dignity. Steli had only agreed to do it because Rain asked
her to.
«Ah.» Steli’s nose twitched. «Fahreeta talks.»
Xisanna snorted. «Talks talks talks.»
Huah. Huah. Perahl and Steli chu..ed with tairen
laughter.
“You’re telling me Fahreeta agreed to stay behind and
speak with Lord Teleos on behalf of the pride?” Fahreeta
was a proud, preening beauty, the last tairen Ellysetta could
imagine lowering herself enough to talk to a human, not
even one with as much Fey blood in his lineage as Dev
Teleos. “I can’t believe it.”
«Mmm,» Steli con..rmed. «Fey-kin tells Fahreeta she so
«Mmm,» Steli con..rmed. «Fey-kin tells Fahreeta she so
pretty, so brave, sooooo beautiful. Fahreeta likes the Feykin
now. Says she and Torasul will stay, and she will talk
to the Fey-kin. She even lets the Fey-kin pet her fur and
purrs to him all the time.» Blue eyes gleamed with sly
humor. «To-rasul likes the Fey-kin not so much.»
“Oh dear,” Ellysetta said. She didn’t need the perfectly
rendered picture of one very large, very cranky Torasul to
know what that meant.
Fahreeta was a ..irt of tairen proportions. Sleek and
beautiful and well aware of it. Her mate, Torasul, had
more than a tairen’s supply of patience—which was good,
else his mate’s constant teasing would drive him mad—but,
as the Water master Loris v’En Mahr occasionally reminded
his own whirlwind of a mate, even the vastest of seas
eventually broke upon the shore.
«Not worry. Steli warned the Fey-kin not to pet Fahreeta
so much else maybe Torasul decide the Fey-kin looks tastytasty.
» She snickered and sang an image of Dev Teleos’s
face as Steli explained that Fahreeta’s mate might eat him
in a ..t of tairen jealousy.
Rain frowned in concern. “Lord Teleos does not
understand pride ways. Perhaps I should sing to Sybharukai
and ask her to send other tairen to Orest,” he suggested.
“Just in case Torasul loses his temper.”
Huah Huah. The other two tairen fell on the lair ..oor,
rolling on their backs, their great bodies shaking with
laughter. The bright, vivid tones of tairen speech ..lled the
laughter. The bright, vivid tones of tairen speech ..lled the
lair, so richly vibrant the sounds actually shimmered gold
and silver in the air. «This is a very good joke, Steli-chakai.
Rainier-Eras so worried. He thinks Torasul will really eat
the Fey-kin.» Tairen tails swirled and twined together, and
large paws batted the air.
“This is a joke?” Rain arched a brow and his arms
crossed over his chest. “You are joking?”
Huahuahuahuah. Steli’s eyes squeezed shut, and her head
bobbed up and down as wheezing snickers escaped through
her nose. «So good joke. So good.»
Ellysetta clapped a hand over her mouth to hide her
rapidly widening grin. “Oh, you wicked cat!” she
exclaimed, then ruined the scold with an irrepressible
laugh.
«You need to move now, shei’tani.» The command, sent
on tight weave of Spirit, came with a tug of Air that pulled
her away from Steli’s side.
As soon as she was clear, Rain sprang. The sparkling gray
mist of the Change billowed out.
“Mraawwrrr!” Steli squawked and tried to scramble
away, but she couldn’t move quickly enough to avoid
Rain’s pounce.
Black and white tairen, limbs tangled, wings tucked tight
against their bodies, rolled across the ..oor of the small lair,
wrestling for supremacy. The other two tairen, still
laughing, scooted to one side and watched with eager
amusement, occasionally dodging to miss a ..ailing limb or
amusement, occasionally dodging to miss a ..ailing limb or
tail as necessary.
Finally, Rain had Steli pinned, his fangs clamped around
the back of her neck. Instantly, he released her, roared his
victory, then padded over to Ellysetta’s side, chu..ng and
blowing smoke in smug triumph. Steli hopped to her feet,
sni..ed, and went o.. to a corner of the lair to groom her
ru..ed fur.
«So what is the truth of the matter, Steli-chakai?» Rain
asked. «Did Fahreeta truly agree to speak with Lord Teleos
for the pride?»
«Oh, yes. And the Fey-kin did tell Fahreeta she so
beautiful. And he did pet, and she does purr. But Torasul
not jealous. Jealous of two-leg? Even Fey-kin?» She snorted
and shook her head, clearly ..nding the entire idea absurd.
Abruptly, Steli’s mouth opened wide, fangs gleaming,
pink tongue curling in an enormous yawn. «Steli is tired.
Long ..ight from Orest. Needs sleep. Rainier-Eras and
Ellysetta-kitling stay with the pride.»
It was less a question than a command from the First
Blade of the Fey’Bahren pride, and Rain agreed.
«Aiyah, Steli-chakai. We will stay with the pride.»
In Fey’Bahren, the tairen frequently slept apart from one
another, but here, in this new lair that had no volcanic
heart to warm its stones, they piled together in a nest of
fur, wings, and limbs, sharing body heat and the comfort of
the pride. At the center of the nest, sandwiched on a bed of
soft fur between Steli and Rain, Ellysetta slept, too, and
soft fur between Steli and Rain, Ellysetta slept, too, and
even without Lord Galad’s Sentinel blooms, she only
dreamed good, happy tairen dreams of hunting and ..ying
and life enveloped by the tight-knit love and security of the
pride.

CHAPTER FIVE
Eld ~ Boura Fell
1st day of Seledos
Shrouded in the luxurious folds of his purple robe of o..ce,
High Mage Vadim Maur sat on the imposing throne of Eld,
his body cradled in the cupped black hands of Seledorn,
Lord of Shadows, whose colossal body, graven in sel’dor
ore, towered over him like the vengeful god he was.
Massive black dragon wings, the carved stone polished to a
glossy sheen, soared up from the god’s back and curved
forward to form a great, dark protective dome over the
Mage’s throne. The symbolism of the throne was clear:
Seledorn cradled the High Mage in his hands and sheltered
him in the haven of the god’s divine might.
The sentiment was one in need of reinforcement.
Vadim’s spies in the Council and the Mage Halls had
carried back the whispers that had begun to circulate
among the Mages in the days since his incarnation. As
gifted a Mage as Nour had been, there were a handful of
others who possessed a greater command of Azrahn, and
with Vadim now inhabiting Nour’s body, those Mages had
begun planning to overthrow him.
But the Mages were greatly mistaken if they believed
But the Mages were greatly mistaken if they believed
Nour’s limitations had lessened Vadim’s ability to hold on
to power. He was still Vadim Maur, the greatest High Mage
in the history of Eld. He was the High Mage who had
engineered his own Tairen Soul after centuries of breeding
and experimentation.
And soon… very soon… he would claim that Tairen Soul
and bring her back to Eld to serve as the host vessel for his
next incarnation. He’d feared her lost when she ..ed to
Elvia and slipped beyond his reach—but now she was back.
Though she was still somehow blocking him from her
dreams, the great, vast, dark potential of her drew his
senses like a lodestone. Her closeness brought his magic
simmering to the surface, sending tiny sparks of dark
power coursing through his veins until his whole body
tingled with electric anticipation.
When the new moons rose over Dark Night, the
thirteenth of Seledos, it would be Vadim Maur, Tairen
Soul, who sat cradled in the hands of Seledorn, god of
darkness, and the world would cower before his greatness.
“My Mages!” he cried to the thousands assembled in the
vast cavern of Boura Fell’s throne room. Blue-robed
Primages had gathered closest to the throne, followed by
red-robed Sulimages. Several dozen select sa..ron-robed
Apprentices and even a handful of promising green-clad
Novices had been granted permission to squeeze in to the
nooks and crannies at the back of the cavern. “My Mages,
long have we dwelled here in the darkness, recovering
from the devastation of Demyan Raz’s lost Wars. Long have
from the devastation of Demyan Raz’s lost Wars. Long have
we toiled in secret, patiently rebuilding our numbers,
silently growing strong again—even stronger than we were
before.
“Many of you had barely donned Novice green when
Rain Tairen Soul scorched the world. You do not remember
a time when Eld was a power to be reckoned with, when
Mages walked freely aboveground, and the lesser beings of
this world sought our counsel and good favor.”
He let his gaze pass slowly round the chamber, resting
longest on the older Mages—both those who had been his
supporters and, more importantly, those who had not. “The
eldest among you remember what it was like to be a Mage
in the Council of Demyan Raz. He was blinded by his own
ambitions. He underestimated the power of the Tairen
Souls. I have not.”
He watched the faces of those he least trusted for some
..ickering look, some smirk to betray their true feelings, but
he found nothing. Not because they trusted him; he wasn’t
fool enough to think that. No, they were simply skilled
adversaries, well versed at hiding their thoughts and
pretending loyalty.
“Some of you were with me that day when Lord Death
—the Fey warrior who had never once tasted defeat in over
two thousand years—threw down his swords and
surrendered to me without a ..ght. So, too, will I conquer
Rain Tairen Soul, and the Fading Lands will soon follow.”
He saw the heads beginning to nod, as those who had
He saw the heads beginning to nod, as those who had
been with him remembered his daring plan and their
triumphant return to Eld with Lord Death and his mate in
tow. Experienced Primages long into their ..fth incarnations
had sneered at the young Primage Vadim, dismissing his
idea as ridiculous nonsense. Those Mages, who had
trembled when Lord Death stepped onto a battle..eld,
thought it impossible that such a great and fearless warrior
could be taken alive—let alone brought to heel in such a
simple way. And yet he had, and Lord Death’s capture had
catapulted Vadim high into the ranks of the Mage Council
and ultimately earned him the coveted purple of Eld’s
highest o..ce.
He was the youngest High Mage ever to sit on Eld’s
throne. And if several of the older, more hidebound
Primages who’d opposed his appointment had ended up
mysteriously dead in the process, well, they’d served as a
cautionary tale. Such was the price of progress in the
Magedom of Eld.
“We tested the strength of the Fey at Teleon and Orest,
and found them far more vulnerable than we thought.” He
pinned his gaze on the Mage he suspected of fomenting
most of the dissension currently rippling through the
Council’s ranks. “Their numbers are few, their allies fewer.
If not for the tairen, both cities would belong to the Empire
of Eld. Best of all, our use of the chemar proved a
resounding success.”
The real victory of Orest and Teleon, though, was that
Ellysetta Baristani had left the safety and protection of the
Ellysetta Baristani had left the safety and protection of the
Fading Lands. With his four Marks upon her breast, it was
only a matter of time before he completed the claiming of
her soul. First, however, he had a kingdom to conquer…
and a trap for a Tairen Soul to set.
“Now the armies of Celieria are divided, their mortal
allies still weeks away. They and the Fey are ripe for the
plucking. The victory I have long promised you is upon
us.” Vadim rose from the throne and spread his arms wide.
“At last, my Mages, we are ready to reclaim our rightful
place in the world. At last, the time has come to unleash
the full might of Eld and seize ..rst Celieria, then the world
for the glory of Seledorn, God of Shadows!”
Celieria ~ Kreppes
The night was deep. Alone in his bed, dark but for the light
of the waning moons shining in through the windowpanes,
Dervas Sebourne lay sleeping. Still, unmoving, more statue
than man. Outside, the bell tower of Kreppes rang the ..rst
small silver bell of the night, and that sound heralded the
arrival of the ..rst day of winter, and the ..rst day of
Seledos.
Lord Sebourne’s eyes opened.
It was time.
He rose quietly and dressed in silence, with slow
deliberation. Leather trousers, boots, no chain mail, the
deliberation. Leather trousers, boots, no chain mail, the
sun-and-moons pendant he’d worn all week. A leather vest
lined with steel plate was his only armor—nothing to alert
the King’s Guard of his intent.
He donned the same weapons he’d worn since receiving
the king’s pardon: a sword sheathed at his left hip, a long
dagger sheathed at his right. But just in case someone
needed a quick silencing, he strapped on two small wristbows,
each loaded with a poison dart and covered by the
wide cu..s of his surcoat.
He slipped a vial of extra darts for the wristbows into his
surcoat pocket before slipping out of his bedroom and
closing the door noiselessly behind him.
* * *
None of the soldiers standing guard in the hallways paid
Dervas much mind as he walked out of the east wing into
the courtyard. They were used to the folk in this castle
taking midnight strolls along the battlements. The week of
waiting for war to begin had worn the nerves of even the
staunchest soldier.
He made his way towards the shadowy cleft between the
fortress and the inner wall that surrounded it. Six of his
personal escort, armed as he was, were waiting.
“The others?” he asked in a toneless whisper.
“Dispatched to their locations, my lord,” his captain
replied. The other six men of his guard had their own tasks
replied. The other six men of his guard had their own tasks
to perform this night.
“Then it is time.”
They entered the central building where the king was
housed. When the battle began, the wide stone ..oor would
be carpeted in rows of sleeping men at night. But for now,
all the troops that did not ..t in the over..owing barracks
spent their nights in one of the encampments outside the
fortress walls.
In the otherwise empty hall, six King’s Guard stood on
duty. Two near the hallway leading to the east wing, two
by the hallway to the west, and another two at the top of
the stairs. All six watched Sebourne and his men with
unblinking eyes as they entered.
“You two, come with me,” Lord Sebourne said to his
men in a carrying voice. “The rest of you stay here. I won’t
be but a few chimes.”
Leaving four of his guard to wait in the main hall, he and
the other two jogged up the stone steps to the second level
and the hallway that led to the king’s chambers.
The four guards downstairs sat on a table near the guards
on the right of the room. Three of Sebourne’s men started a
game of toss blade with a sheathed dagger—an old
Celierian warrior’s game fashioned after the Fey Cha Baruk,
the Dance of Knives. The fourth man started an easy
conversation with the closest guards.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m starting to wish the
..aming Eld would just attack already,” he said. “I haven’t
..aming Eld would just attack already,” he said. “I haven’t
had a decent night’s sleep since we got here.”
A clatter made both the guards and Lord Sebourne’s man
glance around to ..nd two of Sebourne’s fellows chasing
after the sheathed dagger, which had skittered across the
hall towards the other two King’s Guard.
“Vern, you dorn!” one of Sebourne’s men complained in
a loud whisper. “You’re the ..aming worst at this game.
You can’t throw worth a damn.” The two reached the fallen
dagger the same time Lord Sebourne reached the top of the
stair.
“I can throw better than you can catch!” The man called
Vern raised his voice on the last word.
Lord Sebourne and his men sprang into action. The two
men on the right of the hall sprang towards the two King’s
Guard guarding the eastern corridor. The two chasing the
dagger went for the west hall guards. Lord Sebourne and
his two companions lunged for the pair at the top of the
stairs. Daggers ..ew. Blades slashed. With their throats slit
and chests pierced, the six King’s Guard died in a swift,
near-soundless instant.
Sebourne and his two companions headed down the
now-unguarded second-..oor corridor while his other four
men quickly dragged the limp corpses of the King’s Guard
into an empty chamber.
Dorian sat at the small camp desk he’d unpacked and set
up in his bedchamber. He would have used the larger desk
up in his bedchamber. He would have used the larger desk
in the adjoining chamber, but his valet, Marten, was
sleeping on the chaise in there.
“Just think of me like a faithful hound, guarding his
master’s door,” Marten had said with a smile when Dorian
objected. Had there been a dressing room, Marten would
have slept there on a cot, as he did in Celieria City; but
Kreppes was an ancient castle, built for war, not
fashionable living, and it lacked many of the amenities of
newer abodes.
Dorian sanded the damp ink of his third letter to
Annoura in as many days. She hadn’t answered him yet.
Though some part of him had hoped she would, another
part hadn’t really expected her to. Still, in the small bells of
the night, when he couldn’t sleep, it comforted him to
write to her, to pour out his heart to her as he so often had
in their many years together, to imagine her face softening
in a smile as she read his tender words.
When the ink was dry, he folded the letter and lit a stick
of Celierian blue sealing wax o.. the ..ame of his candle
lamp, holding it over the folded ..ap. As the drops of
melted wax splashed on the folded vellum, forming a small
pool of Celierian blue, he heard the bedroom door open.
“I’m sorry if I woke you, Marten,” he said without
looking up. He pressed his letter seal into the pool of wax
and held it for a moment to let the impression set. “I
couldn’t sleep.”
“You didn’t.” The voice didn’t belong to Marten.
“You didn’t.” The voice didn’t belong to Marten.
Dorian’s head whipped around. “Sebourne? What are
you doing—” His words cut o.. abruptly. His hands clapped
to his throat, found the small dart, plucked it free. Poison.
Potent and fast-acting. Already his muscles were failing, and
he couldn’t seem to take a breath.
“Avenging my son,” Sebourne hissed. He stared into his
king’s stunned and disbelieving eyes and rammed his sword
home, driving the blade up underneath Dorian’s ribs to
pierce his heart. “Your kingdom belongs to Eld now. Before
this week is out, your son will be as dead as mine. Your
wife and the child she carries will be servants of the High
Mage, and I will be Lord Governor of Celieria, the newest
province in the Empire of Eld.”
Cannevar Barrial knew he should sleep. His body was
aching. His eyes were raw and bleary. He would be no use
to the king or the allies if the enemy struck when he was
too tired to lift a blade. He knew that, but except for a few
chimes of restless dozing, true, restful sleep had eluded him
all night.
His mind was ..lled with too many memories of Talisa.
He could hardly close his eyes without seeing her tearstained
face, her despair, without reliving the shocking
moment of her death, when she’d leapt between her
husband and a red Fey’cha blade to save her lover. Even
now, Cann could feel the strike of the blade as if it had hit
his own heart rather than his daughter’s back.
his own heart rather than his daughter’s back.
Ah, gods. He sat up and covered his face with his hands.
He wanted to rail against her death. To believe it had never
happened. But he was too much a man of the north. Too
much a lord of the borders. He’d seen too much death
—and worse—to wallow in grief-stricken denial.
He rose from the soft, feminine bed covered with plush,
furlined silk comforters in shades of wintry blue and tender
spring green. Severn and Parsis had thought him a fool for
taking Talisa’s suite after o..ering his own to King Dorian,
for torturing himself with her memory. Only Luce had
understood. Luce, Cann’s wild, sweet, fey child, with eyes
that saw more than most. Almost a man now, and so like
his mother. Luce realized that his father needed these
memories of Talisa’s life to make peace with the memory
of her death.
He crossed the room to stand beside Talisa’s delicate
carved dressing table. The table was all-girl, painted
creamy white and laid out with brushes, combs, perfumes,
and all manner of womanly mysteries. His hand closed
around the pot of perfumed cream Parsis had given her for
this past year’s Feast of Winter’s End. Cann unscrewed the
lid and lifted the jar to his face, breathing in the delicate
aroma of Talisa’s favorite ..owers—the scent he would
forever remember as hers. Bright, warm, sweeter than a
spring morning. His eyes squeezed shut. His heart squeezed
tight. But as he breathed the scent, he could see her face,
alight with laughter, as she and the other maidens from
Kreppes and the surrounding villages had danced around
Kreppes and the surrounding villages had danced around
the Spring Tree, weaving brightly colored ribbons around
the pine pole’s carved scenes of winter, trailing ..owers in
their wake as they went. Such a good day. Such a happy,
happy day.
He breathed the perfume again, trying to ..x that memory
in his mind. When he thought of her, he wanted to
remember that—not the other sight that hurt so much.
A sound ..ltered through the closed door of Talisa’s
room. Cann didn’t even consciously recognize it, but a
lifetime on the borders made his body go tense all the
same.
In that one instant, his weariness evaporated, and his
grief found itself tucked unceremoniously into a tight box,
utterly removed from his current consciousness. Cann the
grieving father gave way to Great Lord Barrial, the ..erce
and wily wolf of the borders. He set the perfume pot
down, his hands automatically seeking the grip of his
swords but ..nding only empty air in their stead.
“Krekk.” His weapons lay atop a bedside table, next to
the rack holding the armor he now cursed himself for
removing. The studded leather he’d slept in would do
precious little to stop an axe, pike, or arrow strike in a fullon
battle.
“We’ll wake you at the ..rst sign of trouble,” his sons had
promised when they convinced him to shed the armor. But
trouble was here, and they had not come.
And that was troubling in its own right.
And that was troubling in its own right.
Cann raced across the room in swift silence, grateful for
the plush furs on Talisa’s ..oor that mu..ed the sound of
his footsteps. The latch on the door began to lift just as he
reached the bed. He dropped down behind the bed and
slipped one of his daggers from its sheath. He wasn’t half
as good with the throwing daggers as the Fey, but at a
distance as short as the one between him and the door, he
didn’t miss.
The door cracked opened.
A voice whispered, “Da?”
Parsis. Cann let out a breath. “Here, Parsi.” Wary habit
kept him crouched where he was, dagger pulled back for a
throw.
Parsis poked his head around the edge of the door. Once
he saw his father, he stepped quickly inside. Severn came
in on his heels, closing the door behind them.
Now sure it was his sons and no one else, Cann rose to
his feet. Both of them here, fully armed and armored, could
only mean one thing. “So, it’s begun?”
“The king is dead but not by Elden hands. The attack
came from within.” Parsis’s eyes were dark. “It’s Sebourne,
Da.” He moved swiftly across the room to his father’s side
and reached for the armor hanging on the rack.
“Sebourne?” That was a shock Cann had not expected.
He slipped into the chest plates Parsis held out. “You’re
sure?”
“Luce saw Sebourne’s men kill some of the King’s Guard.
“Luce saw Sebourne’s men kill some of the King’s Guard.
”
“Where is Luce?”
“Gone to lower the shields and sound the alarm.” Sev
knelt to fasten the greaves to his father’s legs.
With the night shields up, they couldn’t spin a weave to
alert the allies. Sebourne would know that and take
precautions to keep those shields up, which mean Luce was
headed for danger. As his sons helped him into his armor,
Cann sent up a quick prayer for Luce’s safety and a quick
curse for Sebourne’s insanity.
“Grief must have driven Sebourne mad.” Arrogant,
hottempered, and power-hungry though he was, Cann had
never known Sebourne to harbor treasonous sentiments
against the king. But grief could do strange things to a man.
“Who the ja..ng Hells let him close enough to the king to
kill him?”
“I don’t think they let him, Da. Luce said all the guards in
the main hall were dead. And Sebourne’s men were taking
care to hide the bodies.”
The boys fastened the last of his armor in place and
handed him his weapons. He buckled his sword belt, slung
his quiver on his back, and settled the band of black
Fey’cha across his chest. Sev handed him his Elfbow. He
strung the bow quickly, curling his left ankle around one
end, bending the long, recurved body of the bow across his
back, and settling the loop on the end of the bowstring into
place. Bow in hand, he nodded to his sons. “Let’s go.”
place. Bow in hand, he nodded to his sons. “Let’s go.”
His sons pulled their swords, and together they slipped
out into the hall.
* * *
The halls of the fortress’s central keep were eerily quiet.
All of the King’s Guard stationed in the central tower were
missing from their posts, with only a few drops of blood an
occasional sign of disturbance to hint at their fate. Cann
and his sons, followed by the King’s Guard who had been
stationed in the east wing, padded through the silent
corridors.
In the king’s suite they found the bodies of Dorian X and
his valet, Marten, both unmistakably dead. Cann shared
grim looks with the others. Even with the eyewitness
accounts of his sons, this irrefutable proof of Sebourne’s
treachery left him stunned.
“When we ..nd him,” Cann growled softly, “he’s mine.”
His boys nodded. Together, they slipped back into the
hallway and made their way to the stone steps leading to
the central hall.
They found Sebourne and two of his men disposing of
the body of a King’s Guard in the ..rst hallway of the west
wing.
Cann didn’t hesitate. With a speed that would have done
his Elvish kin proud, he pulled an arrow from the quiver at
his back, nocked it, aimed, and let ..y. A second arrowed
followed a split second later.
followed a split second later.
Sebourne’s two companions dropped without a sound.
The Great Lord whirled, blade unsheathed and raised for
battle. At the sight of Cann and his sons, Sebourne’s lip
curled.
“You,” he spat. “I should have known.”
“Ta, me,” Cann snarled. “You miserable, ja..ng traitor.”
He thrust his bow at his son Severn. His hand dropped to
the hilt of the blade sheathed at his hip, and he drew the
shining blade from its scabbard.
“Traitor, am I?” Lord Sebourne snarled, baring teeth like
a lyrant issuing challenge. “Because Great House Sebourne
is ..nally standing up to that puling Fey-lover of a king?”
“Because Great Lord Sebourne is a spineless rultshart of
an assassin, too cowardly to face his enemy in open battle.”
Cann crossed the courtyard in a few long strides and took
his battle stance, sword raised.
“I’ll face you—gladly.” Sebourne raised his sword.
Torchlight glinted along the blade’s ..ne, gleaming length.
“You killed my son. You and those Fey maggots—and that
loose-legged slut you called a daughter.”
The insult to Talisa did not make Cann charge recklessly
at his opponent as Sebourne had no doubt intended.
Instead, all his anger, all his grief, shrank down into a hard,
icy knot deep inside his core.
“Your son was a weak, spoiled bully,” he replied. “I
should never have let my daughter waste herself on him.
Even on his best day, he wasn’t worthy to kiss her hem.”
Even on his best day, he wasn’t worthy to kiss her hem.”
Satisfaction surged inside him as Sebourne’s nostrils
..ared. The Great Lord swung his blade with reckless force.
Cann dodged the blow with ease and swung at Sebourne’s
unprotected back. Dervas spun sharply, raising his shield in
time to de..ect Cann’s blow. He was no stranger to warfare
and no easy kill, with re..exes honed by a lifetime of living
in the wilds of the northern borders. Like Cann, there were
few lords who could best him.
They ..owed from one masterful form to another,
attacking and counterattacking with blurring speed and
steady, relentless prowess. Scissor Blades. Circle of Ice.
Death Drop. Ring of Fire. Shield Strike. Helm Cleaver.
Neither ..inched or faltered.
Cann had appreciated Sebourne’s skill a time or two in
the past, and they’d spent many a day sparring together in
a friendly rivalry. Right now, he heartily regretted those
days. Sebourne knew him too well, knew how he attacked,
defended, which combinations came most naturally to him.
But, then, he knew Sebourne, too.
He watched for the patterns that inevitably appeared in
Sebourne’s ..ghting. And eventually, it came. After a
particularly savage series of attacks and parries, a panting,
sweat-drenched Sebourne backed o.. into a lighter attack
called Maiden’s Dance. The series of teasing blows, though
swiftly delivered, carried much less strength behind them.
They weren’t meant to kill, only to in..ict numerous
shallow wounds to weaken an opponent through blood
loss and shake his con..dence.
loss and shake his con..dence.
Cann took more of the wounds than he normally would,
hoping that would encourage Sebourne to attempt his
favorite next move. And there it was. Maiden’s Kiss… the
glancing blow to the face intended to lay open the cheek or
blind an eye. Not a killing blow, just a bloodletter like
Maiden’s Dance, but to dodge the Kiss—which was often
the instinctive response—put a ..ghter o..-balance. The
attacker could then deliver a hard blow and a sweep of his
boot across the defender’s ankle to put the defender down
on his back and vulnerable to Final Point, a sword buried
deep in a vulnerable throat.
Cann didn’t dodge. He spun into the Maiden’s Kiss,
taking the side of Sebourne’s blade across the cheek. He felt
the sting, the warm spurt of blood as his skin split. But
helm and chain-mail coif saved him from worse injury as
he spun into and under the blade, ducking beneath
Sebourne’s sword arm. Cann’s sword bit deep into
Sebourne’s wrist as he went, while his left hand reached for
one of the black Fey’cha strapped to his chest. He sprang
up behind Dervas, dagger in hand, to deliver a slicing blow
to the vulnerable back of Sebourne’s leg
Sebourne went down on one knee, his sword clattering
to the courtyard’s paving stones.
Breathing heavily, Cann circled back around, kicked
Dervas’s fallen sword across the courtyard, and thrust his
sword under Sebourne’s chin. “You traitorous rultshart. I
should kill you now.”
“Then why don’t you?” The defeated Great Lord hugged
“Then why don’t you?” The defeated Great Lord hugged
his injured hand to his chest and curled his lip in a sneer.
“Because you don’t deserve a quick death, Dervas. Our
new king, whose father you slew, will want you punished
as the traitor you are.” Cann nodded to the King’s Guard,
then stepped back and sheathed his sword. “May the gods
have mercy on your Shadowed soul.” Abruptly feeling
drained and hollow, Cann turned to rejoin his sons.
“I won’t need that mercy, Barrial,” Sebourne called after
him. Then his voice took on a Dark edge, and he added,
“But you will.”
Cann saw Sev’s eyes widen. He heard Parsis shout, “Da!
‘Ware!” just as Sev raised his father’s Elfbow, arrow nocked
and drawn. Cann spun and dropped to one knee, blade in
hand, to see Sebourne lift his uninjured arm. The cu.. of
Sebourne’s sleeve had fallen back to reveal a small bow
strapped to his wrist.
Cann’s sword, Sev’s arrow, and the King’s Guards’ swords
all pierced Great Lord Sebourne in an instant. The poison
dart from the wristbow bounced o.. the wall behind Cann’s
head and fell harmlessly to the stone pavers.
Mortally wounded, Dervas Sebourne, the last of his Great
House, cried, “Gamorraz!” then toppled to the paving
stones. Bright streamers of blood spilled from his nose and
mouth as his pierced heart pumped the ..nal moments of
his life away.
On Seborne’s chest the round moonstone in his necklace
began to glow.
began to glow.
“What the—?” One of the King’s Guard bent down to
examine the pendant. The white stone grew brighter.
Cann had no idea what the thing was, but he knew magic
when he saw it. And if the magic was Dervas’s dying gift to
them, it couldn’t be good.
“Put it down!” he cried. “Get back! Everyone get back!”
His warning came too late for the guard holding the
necklace.
Bright light gave way to rapidly expanding darkness. The
guard screamed in helpless terror as the growing blackness
consumed his hand and arm and half his torso. The
smoldering remains of his body dropped to the ground and
convulsed. Howling shadows fell upon his twitching corpse
with ravening hunger.
“Demons!” someone cried, and the Celierians scattered.
Screams erupted from all corners of the castle.
“Attack! We’re under attack!”
“Da! Look!” Severn pointed back towards the open
portal behind them.
Cann looked in time to see a great, tawny cat leap from
the well, a brightly garbed and veiled Feraz warrior on its
back. The warrior carried a strange urn on a chain that he
spun in circles over his head. Some sort of liquid sprayed
forth, the ..ne droplets settling on the ..eeing Celierians.
The Celierians cried out, some slapping themselves where
the droplets had landed on their skin. They slowed,
stumbled a bit as if they were disoriented. Several of them
stumbled a bit as if they were disoriented. Several of them
shook their heads and rubbed at their eyes. But then, one
by one, they straightened and drew their swords.
“The king! Save the king!” they cried.
And they fell upon their fellow countrymen, hacking and
slashing their own people.
“Krekk,” Cann swore. They were in trouble. If the Eld
took the castle from the inside, all the allies encamped
around Kreppes would be geese plump for the plucking.
“Sev, Parsi—to the gate!” he cried to his sons. “We’ve got to
open the gate! We can’t let them take the castle.”
They raced up towards the outer courtyard and the main
fortress gates, but before they could reach it, a mob of
magiccrazed Celierians blocked their way.
Blades ..ashed and whirled. Cann and his sons were all
gifted swordsmen, trained from birth by the dahl’reisen
who guarded Barrial land. Blood spewed—none of it theirs
—but as the droplets splattered on Cann’s face, his eyes and
skin began to burn and a strange, disorienting fog came
over him.
“Da?” Parsis grabbed his arm.
Parsis’s face went in and out of focus. He blinked,
rubbing at his eyes with bloody hands. A strange scent
..lled his nostrils, warm and exotic, intoxicating. On the
heels of the scent came fervor. Bloodlust. Courage and
determination.
The face hovering before him changed. Shadows played
across the features, twisting and reshaping them into the
across the features, twisting and reshaping them into the
face of the enemy. Pale, skin untouched by sunlight, hellish
black pits for eyes, evil oozing from its pores.
“The king!” he cried. “Save the king!” And he thrust his
sword into the monster.
In Kreppes’s west wing, outside the suite occupied by
Ellysetta and Rain, the door and half of the corridor-facing
wall dissolved into nothingness as a portal to the Well of
Souls appeared where the brass hall sconce had been.
Twenty Primages, led by Primage Soros, leaped out of
the Well, globes of blue-white Mage Fire spinning in their
hands, ready for launch. But the sight of the empty room
drew them up short.
“Check the bedchamber!” Soros commanded.
Mages and Black Guard ..ung open the connecting doors
to the adjoining bedchamber and ..ooded inside, arrows
nocked, swords drawn, Mage Fire blazing. Soros rushed in
behind them to claim the High Mage’s prize. But instead of
gloating with victory, his expression darkened to
thunderous rage.
The room was empty. The bed still neatly made.
“Sebourne!” he cried. “You worthless ja..ng rultshart!”
Ellysetta Baristani and the Tairen Soul were gone.
Outside the castle, in the tairen’s makeshift lair, Ellysetta
came awake with a gasp. Her body was ice-cold and
came awake with a gasp. Her body was ice-cold and
shivering uncontrollably. Something was wrong. Something
was very, very wrong.
She reached for Rain. Her ..ngers closed around his bare
arm, gripped tight, shook him hard.
“Rain, wake up. I think it’s begun.” She left her hand on
his arm so he could sense what she found as she reached
out in search of the trouble that had roused her. Her
empathic senses soared on wafts of lavender Spirit
gleaming with golden shei’dalin’s love.
Suddenly, she grabbed her throat, feeling the barbs of an
arrow pierce her throat. She tried to breathe, but her lungs
..lled instead with bubbles of blood. The king. Save the
king! Then pain eased, and her body went limp.
Rain grabbed her shoulders and shook her with sudden
fear. “Shei’tani!”
She blinked. Stared up at him. Feeling returned to her
limbs. She pulled back her senses, locking them tight inside
herself. “Kreppes. They’re inside the fortress. They’ve taken
the castle! They’re attacking our camp!”
“Krekk.” Rain leapt to his feet. Green Earth swirled as he
summoned his golden war armor and steel. «Fey!
Ti’Kreppes! Ti’Dorian! The enemy is upon us!» He grabbed
Ellysetta’s arm, and together they raced for the lair’s
entrance.
The tairen erupted from their makeshift lair with roars and
jets of ..ame, springing from hill to sky, soaring up on
jets of ..ame, springing from hill to sky, soaring up on
widespread wings before wheeling back around to dive
towards Kreppes.
The Eld had taken the ramparts and were ..ring the
trebuchets and bowcannon ..lled with shrapnel bolts on the
allied camps. Massive hunks of stone, balls of burning
pitch, and bolts that separated into hundreds of razor-sharp
shards rained down upon the allies. Chaos ruled. Tents
were a..ame. Burning men shrieked and ran in mindless
terror while around them soldiers raced in every direction.
«Kaiven chakor, ti’Feyreisa! Ti’Feyreisa!» Rain cried on
her quintet’s path. He swooped low over the Fey tents, and
Ellysetta leapt from his back and rode a shaft of Air to the
ground.
She landed on her feet in the center of the Fey
encampment and was immediately surrounded by hundredfold
weaves and scores upon scores of grim-eyed warriors.
“I need cots and tables,” she told Bel when he, Gaelen,
and the others reached her side. “Tell the lu’tan to start
bringing me the wounded.”
“Nei, Ellysetta,” Bel said, “we need to get you to safety,
away from the battle..eld. Rain’s orders,” he added, when
her eyes ..ashed. “It’s too dangerous for you here.”
“I know what he wants, and I know why he wants it, and
I’m not going anywhere. There are wounded men who
need my help.”
Bel exchanged a speaking glance with Gaelen.
“Kem’falla,” Gaelen said, “it’s not just dangerous for you
“Kem’falla,” Gaelen said, “it’s not just dangerous for you
to be here. It’s dangerous for everyone around you.”
She speared Gaelen with a cold glare. “Don’t try to play
on my empathies, Gaelen. I know what I’m asking. I know
that my presence puts everyone in danger, and if there
were any other option, I’d take it. But we have wounded
—dying men. I can feel them right now. I’m all they’ve got,
and I will not abandon them. Now get those tables and cots
—and send the wounded my way. And tell my secondary
quintet to attend to me. All of the generals were in the
castle with the king. Rain’s going to need leaders for this
army, and you ..ve are it. You stay close, though, Gaelen.
I’m going to need your help for healing.”
Gaelen had known her long enough to recognize when
she was determined. He gave a curt bow. “La ve shalah,
doreh shabeila de.” As you command, so shall it be.
Bel squared his shoulders and signaled to his brother Fey.
“You heard her, kem’jetos. Cots, tables, wounded. Gil, you
spread the word to send the wounded here. I’m going to
track down the Celierians’ next in command.”
«Bel, Gaelen, have you lost your mind?» Gillandaris vel
Sendahr hissed his outrage on the quintet’s private path. Of
all the quintet’s warriors, Gil was the one who believed
that guarding her included protecting her from her own
stubborn nature whether she liked it or not. “It will take
the Eld two heartbeats to ..gure out she’s here. This
hundred-fold weave lights a beacon to lead their way. We
need to get her to a more secure location.»
need to get her to a more secure location.»
«Believe me, she isn’t going anywhere no matter what
Bel or I or anyone else say or do,» Gaelen told the whiteblond
Fey. «Or have you forgotten what she’s like when
she’s determined to do something?»
«Between the ..ve of us, we could make her go.»
Gaelen gave a bark of laughter. «Good luck with that,
Fey.» He clapped a hand on Gil’s shoulder. «I’ll sing a
mourning ballad in your name when she sends your
charred and shredded corpse back to the elements.»
Gil turned to the other two. «Taj, ‘Jonn. Come on,
kem’jetos. You know I’m right.»
Ellysetta’s uncle shook his head. «Nei, Gil. I saw my sister
in Ellysetta’s face just then—and more than a bit of my
bond brother, too. She’d carve out our hearts and eat them
roasted before she’d let us drag her away.»
Gil turned to Rijonn, but the giant Earth master put his
head down and went to work spinning cots and tables for
his queen.
“Seven scorching Hells!” Gil cursed and kicked a nearby
water barrel. “Gods save me from stubborn women!” With
a scowl as dark as a thundercloud, he started spinning
Spirit weaves to alert the allies where to send their
wounded.
Tairen breath and tairen venom combined. Fire exploded
from Rain’s muzzle, a great, incinerating jet of magic ..ame
that burned hotter than any natural ..re. Stone, ..esh, bone,
that burned hotter than any natural ..re. Stone, ..esh, bone,
magic: Nothing could long withstand the searing fury of
tairen ..re.
The sky before Rain went dark with sel’dor arrows,
shrapnel bolts, ..ery mortars, all hurtling towards him as he
hurtled towards them. Unfaltering, he ..ew, clearing a path
with his ..ame. The scurrying ants on the wall became
people, armored men lifting bows, racing to reload
artillery, the oval shapes of their faces illuminated by
moonlight. He drew a deep breath, ..lling his lungs.
The boiling cloud of tairen ..ame engulfed the western
wall of Kreppes, consuming the bowcannon and trebuchets
mounted there, along with all the troops that manned
them. The tip of Rain’s tail raked the northwest tower as he
passed, gouging a crater in the tower’s outer wall. The
supporting wall compromised, the tower collapsed, raining
stone and screaming, ..ailing men into the spike-..lled pit
below.
Steli, Xisanna, and Perahl strafed the other walls with
similar results.
Roaring in ..erce triumph, the four tairen circled and
dove in for a second run.
In the few chimes’ respite from bombardment a..orded by
the tairens’ attack on the castle, the allies regrouped. Bel
sent out a massive Spirit weave to locate and summon the
men next in the chain of command of the Celierian forces.
As the new leaders of the Celierian forces made their way
As the new leaders of the Celierian forces made their way
to the Fey encampment, the ..eld commanders gathered
their troops, and the chaos of the allied camps yielded to a
ragged semblance of order.
In Ellysetta’s makeshift healing tent, the ..rst of the
wounded had arrived on her tables—men with limbs
missing, skin scorched away, screaming in agony.
“Las, las,” she crooned, stroking bloody, burned brows. “I
am with you. Don’t be afraid. Ssh. There is no pain,
kem’storran. There is only warmth and light. Do you feel
it?” A golden glow of powerful magic radiated around her
as she worked. The rest of the world, the other wounded,
the battle raging less than a mile away: All faded from her
consciousness. The entirety of her thoughts, the
concentrated power of her great magic, was focused solely
on each dying man carried to her table.
Gaelen and her secondary quintet ringed around her,
keeping close by her side as she spun her healing weaves.
Despite Ellysetta’s orders, Bel and the other warriors of
her primary quintet refused to leave her. Instead, to
accommodate Ellysetta’s commands without ..ghting the
dictates of their lute’ashieva bonds, Bel had set up a
military command post beside her healing tent, and it was
there that he, Tajik, Rijonn, and Gil met with the Fey
commanders and the new leaders of the Celierian forces.
A map of Kreppes and surrounding area—modi..ed by
Rijonn to show the recent forti..cations and topographical
changes—lay ..at on a large table. The commanders
changes—lay ..at on a large table. The commanders
gathered around it.
“Most of our heavy siege was inside the castle,” Bel said,
“but we still have the trebuchets and bowcannon mounted
on the hilltops.” He spun a Spirit weave to mark their
locations. “These are within ..ring range of Kreppes.” He
indicated the siege directly north of the castle. “We need to
reposition them to provide cover ..re for the tairen and do
what we can to keep the cannon o.. those walls. Quintets
of Earth masters will move the others into position here
and here and here.” The small, glowing replicas of the
siege weapons on the far eastern and western hilltops
disappeared from their current locations and reappeared in
the formations placed to attack the west, east, and south
walls of the fortress. “The rest of the Earth masters will
start constructing siege towers and ladders to scale the
walls.”
“Commander Tarr.” Bel ..xed his gaze upon the Celierian
o..cer in charge of the king’s archers. “I need your archers
in position along these lines.” He pointed at the map and
drew the lines in Spirit. “When the tairen aren’t ..ring the
castle, your men should be.
“Commander Nevin, Chatokkai vel Amah, as soon as the
towers and ladders are ready, you’ll lead your men up the
southern wall. Commander Bonn, our Earth masters are
working on a battering ram. Your men will storm the gate
on my signal. Fifty quintets will accompany each of your
attack forces to weave shields and keep Mage Fire o.. you.”
Bel stepped back from the table. “My lords, my blade
Bel stepped back from the table. “My lords, my blade
brothers, we either retake Kreppes, or we bring it down.”
In the outlying ..elds surrounding Kreppes, two dozen men
broke o.. from the mass of Sebourne troops, each taking a
di..erent direction into the crowd of allied troops.
There were so many men running hither and yon, no one
paid any attention to Sebourne’s men… or the small white
stones they dropped in their wake.
Two young Celierian infantrymen rushed through the
crowded encampment towards the area where Commander
Bonn was marshaling his forces. One of the two fell behind,
and his companion turned to scold him.
“Get a move on, Kip. The battering ram is nearly done,
and Commander Bonn won’t wait on us.”
“Wait a chime, Jamis,” Kip said. “I thought I saw
something over here.” He took a few steps towards one of
the paths between the lines of allied tents, drawing his
sword as he went.
“Saw what? Kip!” his companion exclaimed. Kip had
disappeared into the shadows between the rows of tents.
“Kip!” He started towards the place Kip had disappeared,
then stopped when his friend emerged from the shadows.
“What was it? Kip? Are you all right?”
Kip had a strange, disoriented look on his face. His sword
arm dangled at his side, and his ..ngers curled loosely
arm dangled at his side, and his ..ngers curled loosely
around the hilt of his unsheathed blade.
Concerned, Jamis started towards him, only to stop when
Kip’s eyes suddenly ..xed on Jamis’s face and the confused
look changed to something much more disturbing.
Something menacing.
Kip raised his sword.
Rain led the tairen in series of ..ame runs over Kreppes’s
ramparts to weaken the enemy shields and keep them
occupied while the allies put their plans into action. The
bowcannon and trebuchets were gone, not even piles of ash
remained where they had stood. The current menace was
archers armed with barbed sel’dor arrows. That and the Eld
were up to the same tricks they’d used months ago at Orest,
with portals to the Well of Souls opening and bowcannon
..ring from within. They kept the sky ..lled with sel’dor,
but before the tairen came within ..ame-reach, the archers
would race down the battlement steps, the portals would
close, and the ..re would splash against the smoldering
stone of Kreppes’s diminishing ramparts. As soon as the
tairen passed, the archers would rush back into place, the
portals would reopen, and they would send a barrage of
sel’dor arrows and bolts chasing after the tairen.
Xisanna had taken a sel’dor bolt to her ..ank and Perahl
had a large hole in his left wing. Stra..ng the Kreppes
battlements was getting to be a dangerous game of dodgetairen.
tairen.
Rain folded his wings and dropped. Wind whistled past
his ..attened ears. He held his forelegs tight and streamlined
against his body. The tuck-winged dive was one of his
favorite tairen maneuvers. He had always loved the speed,
the reckless thrill, the sudden breathless jolt as his wings
snapped wide and plummeting fall curved sharply into a
high-speed glide. And in battle, he loved how small a target
it made him on the approach, and what a blur of speed he
was as he shot past the enemy, raining ..re upon him.
Spewing ..ame into the onslaught of arrows and bolts, he
burrowed a tunnel through the air. But as he drew another
breath in preparation for his next jet of ..ame, a blast of
..re from Steli illuminated the ..gure of a man standing on
the battlement, distinctive Elfbow drawn, as he took aim at
Rain.
That was no Elden Mage, and no servant of the Dark
either.
What in the gods names was Cannevar Barrial doing up
there?
His left wing dropped. The straight glide towards
Kreppes became a banking roll away from his target just as
Cann ..red at the spot Rain had been.
«Cease ..re!» Rain sang to Steli and the tairen. «Cease ..re!
» he cried on the new Warrior’s Path. «Those aren’t the Eld!
It’s our men in there! Cease ..re! Cease ..re!»

CHAPTER SIX
“Cannevar Barrial has been Mage-claimed.”
After sighting Lord Barrial on the ramparts of Kreppes,
Rain and the tairen had broken o.. their attack and
returned to the Fey command post with the grim news.
“Impossible,” Gaelen said. Now that most of the camp
had retreated out of range of the castle’s weapons, the
in..ux of wounded needing Ellysetta’s care had slowed to a
trickle, and since the worst of the injured had already been
healed, she’d released him to join the rest of her quintet.
“Dahl’reisen have lived on Barrial land for centuries. They
would have known if he’d been claimed.”
“Then perhaps the claiming happened in Celieria City,
when he was away from the dahl’reisen,” Rain said,
“because that was de..nitely him on the ramparts, with his
Elfbow. Shooting at me.”
“Could he have been trying to send you some sort of
signal?” Bel suggested.
“Not likely. It’s only because I turned away that he
missed.” Considering how fast Rain had been ..ying in that
stra..ng run, that was no mean feat.
“Then you should have killed him when you had the
chance,” Gaelen said. “Terrible as it sounds, death by tairen
..ame is the greatest boon you could give the soul-claimed.
..ame is the greatest boon you could give the soul-claimed.
It stops them from harming others, and they can’t be called
back to serve in demon form.”
Rain hunched his shoulders. Everything in him rebelled
against the idea of slaughtering friends—especially Cann.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” he muttered. “I wouldn’t have
been surprised at all to see Sebourne up on that wall… but
Cann… He doesn’t like the Mages. He’s worked against
them all his life…”
“Most Mage-claimed have no recollection of their
claiming. That’s part of what makes them so dangerous.
They’re undetectable unless you spin Azrahn to check them
for Mage Marks.”
“Maybe, but could all of Kreppes have been claimed
without detection? Over half the forces in the castle are
Barrial men who’ve been stationed at Kreppes for years.
Even if Cann is Mage-claimed, he couldn’t have overtaken
all the troops in the castle without help.”
“Perhaps vel Serranis’s dahl’reisen friends haven’t been
quite as observant as he thought,” Tajik suggested with an
arched brow.
Gaelen cast a withering glance Tajik’s way but didn’t
take the bait. “How many Eld did you and the tairen see on
the ramparts?” he asked Rain. “It’s possible they came in
through portals to the Well of Souls like they did at Teleon
and Orest and overwhelmed the defenders.”
Rain reran the stra..ng runs in his mind’s eye. How many
Eld had he seen? “I don’t know. It was dark. They were
Eld had he seen? “I don’t know. It was dark. They were
..ring on us and the encampment.” His brows drew
together. Come to think of it, he couldn’t recall seeing any
Mage robes at all on the wall.
«Feyreisen! Come quickly.» A cry rang out across the new
Warrior’s Path. «Something is—» The call broke o..
abruptly.
Rain tried to trace the weave back to its sender, but the
Spirit threads had already dissolved. “Who was that?” he
asked. Gaelen and the others shook their heads. «Fey!» he
called. «Report! Identify yourself? What’s happening?»
A moment later, another call rang out, but it was a
di..erent voice this time. «Fey! Ti’Commander Bonn! We’re
under attack! It’s—»
The second call broke o.. as abruptly as the ..rst.
“Where is Bonn?” Rain demanded.
“Here.” Bel pointed a ..nger and threads of Spirit
illuminated a position deep in the heart of the allied
encampment—well out of range of enemy ..re. No attack
on that particular location should have been possible
without the enemy coming through the surrounding allies.
Unless the enemy had been among them all the time.
Sudden suspicion reared up. “Where are Sebourne’s
men?”
Squads of Fey went in search of Sebourne’s men while Rain
and several hundred Fey raced across the allied
and several hundred Fey raced across the allied
encampment to Commander Bonn’s position. They arrived
to ..nd a full-..edged melee in progress. Shouts of “Save the
king!” and “For Celieria and King Dorian!” resounded as
silver swords ..ashed in the moonlight.
«Fire masters!» Rain cried. «Light the sky!»
Streamers of brightly burning magic shot into the air over
the encampment, illuminating the battle below. Shadowy
..gures struggling in the darkness became Celierians and
Fey locked in mortal combat. Rain had suspected he would
..nd Sebourne’s men among the group, and he did. But
there were others, too—King’s army, Barrial men, even Fey,
all slashing at each other with grim savagery.
Of the Eld, however, there was no sign.
Not a single sel’dor blade or arrow. Not a single Mage
robe. Nothing.
“My Lord Feyreisen!” Surrounded by a cadre of armored
soldiers, each with shields raised, Bonn was being driven
back by a horde of attackers wearing Sebourne colors.
«Fey, form a line. Take out Sebourne’s men.» Rain dove
towards the beleaguered commander. Fey’cha ..ew from his
..ngertips, spinning out in silvery blurs, thunking home
with lethal accuracy in the throats of Sebourne’s men. He
spoke his return word to call his blades back to their
sheaths and threw a second volley even before the ..rst
bodies hit the ground.
Reaching Bonn’s side, Rain dispatched another six
attackers with red Fey’cha to their throats and spun a rapid
attackers with red Fey’cha to their throats and spun a rapid
..vefold weave to shield the Celierian commander.
“Commander Bonn, order your men to fall back behind
the Fey. It will be easier for us to deal with this attack if
they stand clear.”
“My men?” Bonn gave him a harried look. “Most of those
are my men.”
“We were waiting for the Earth masters to ..nish the
battering ram,” Bonn explained. “There was a commotion
near the tents, and the next thing I knew my men started
attacking each other.”
“Did you see anything else? A Mage perhaps?” Rain
could detect no Azrahn, so if the Mages were controlling
the allies, they’d either found a way to mask the signature
of their weaves, or they were using some other method of
control entirely.
Before Bonn could answer, an armored Celierian
infantryman charged the Fey line. “For King Dorian and
Celieria!” he cried as he attacked.
Seven Fey’cha hit him simultaneously, and he dropped
like a stone at Commander Bonn’s feet. The commander
stared at the fallen man in shocked dismay. “Avis? “
“You knew him?” Rain watched the commander’s face
for any sign of deceit or treachery but saw only genuine
shock and sorrow.
“He was my Sergeant at Arms. One of my most trusted
“He was my Sergeant at Arms. One of my most trusted
men.” Bonn’s dark brows drew together. “There’s no way
he could have been one of Sebourne’s plants.”
“Mage-claimed?”
“Impossible.” Bonn shook his head in bewilderment.
“Vel Serranis checked all my men yesterday at my own
request.”
Rain skimmed the minds of the combatants with the light
Spirit weave Fey often used in melee combat to determine
enemy from ally. The only thoughts he could detect came
from the allies and were predominately concerned with
defending king and country and slaughtering the traitors
wearing their own colors. A number of the combatants
kept wondering how friends they’d slept, eaten, trained,
and worked beside could have turned on them with so
little warning.
He tried a di..erent, more probing weave with the same
result. Rain could not tell friend from foe.
What the ..aming Seven Hells was going on here?
«Bel.» Rain sent the call on gleaming lavender threads.
«Scan the area around me. Tell me if you can sense
anything controlling these men.» Apart from Rain himself,
Bel was the strongest Spirit master of the Fey, and with the
bond madness making Rain’s control of his magic
increasingly unpredictable, it seemed only wise to get a
second opinion. If there were any subtle weaves controlling
Bonn’s men, Bel would be able to detect them.
One of the Fey behind him gave a strangled gasp. Rain
One of the Fey behind him gave a strangled gasp. Rain
turned in time to see the ..ash of the red Fey’cha embedded
in his throat wink out as its owner invoked his return
weave. The dying Fey gazed at him in an instant of mute
surprise, then crumpled to the ground.
Rain spun back around, searching the crowd, ..nding the
soulless eyes, the vivid scar marring the perfection of what
otherwise would be a shining Fey face.
«Dahl’reisen!» he cried. “Dahl’reisen are among the
attackers! Fey! Fall back. Bonn, tell your men to get out of
there now!”
“Dahl’reisen?” Tajik turned to Gaelen. “That’s three times
now we’ve found your friends in league with the Eld.”
“Not every dahl’reisen joins the Brotherhood, nor does
every one who joins stay,” Gaelen answered with a scowl.
“Whoever these dahl’reisen are, I doubt they’re acting in the
name of the Brotherhood.”
“You doubt?” Tajik pounced on the opening. “Which is
another way of saying you hope it’s not them, but you
aren’t really sure, isn’t it?”
“They are dahl’reisen, Tajik. The Dark Path’s call can be
very strong.”
“Quiet!” Bel snapped. His eyes were hazy, his mind
traveling on weaves of lavender light, probing the minds of
the warriors engaged in the melee.
“Bel, something is wrong.” Ellysetta walked into the
“Bel, something is wrong.” Ellysetta walked into the
command tent. “No one from this new battle in the
encampment is being brought to me. Surely there must be
wounded? “
“There are wounded.” His eyes narrowed and began to
glow as he sent his senses out, away from the protected
healing enclave. “They do not come.”
“Why?”
“They don’t believe themselves badly injured. They are
determined not to give up.” He blinked, and his eyes lost
the soft haze of magic, becoming twin cobalt diamonds
glittering beneath ebony brows. “All they’re thinking of is
..ghting, of dying, if necessary, to protect king and country.
”
“Krekk,” Gaelen said.
“What is it?” Ellysetta asked.
“It’s a rare mortal who, when faced with his own death,
thinks only of king and country. Mortals may believe in the
Bright Lord and his promises of a next life, but every one
of them I’ve ever fought beside has clung to this life with
his last dying breath.”
“Are they Mage-claimed?”
“I doubt it. I checked many of them personally,” Gaelen
said. “So many would not fall so quickly. And even if it
were possible, directing so many Mage-claimed all at once
would raise such a stink of Azrahn that every Fey for forty
miles would come running.”
“Could the dahl’reisen be controlling them with a Spirit
“Could the dahl’reisen be controlling them with a Spirit
weave?” Gil asked.
Bel shook his head. “I already checked. It’s not Spirit. I
don’t think it’s a weave at all—or if it is, it’s nothing I can
detect.”
Gaelen turned slowly. Thin, questing tendrils of his
magic spun out in every direction, and with each quarter
turn, the frown on his face deepened. “It must be a spell of
some kind. But I can’t sense what it is or where it’s coming
from or how it’s controlling them.”
“Whatever it is,” Tajik interrupted, “it’s not a..ecting only
Bonn’s men anymore. I’m getting reports from all over the
encampment. Our own men are turning on each other. Fey
included.”
“Scorching Hells!” Rain and the Fey ..red Fey’cha without
cease to cover their retreat, but the attackers only seemed
to be multiplying—and determined to kill them.
“Watch out, Feyreisen!” Powerful air weaves swirled
around Rain, batting down a red Fey’cha that had been
..ying towards him. At the same time, ..ve lu’tan loosed
their own red daggers. They screamed and fell to their
knees in agony as the dahl’reisen attacker clutched his
pierced chest and collapsed in death.
“Feyreisen, I know that dahl’reisen.” One of the Fey
commanders pointed to the body. “He’s Paris vel Mirothel,
an Earth master who came with us from Dharsa. He’s one
of our own.”
of our own.”
“Rasa?” Rain asked.
“Nei. Not even close. He was only a boy during the Mage
Wars.”
Rain’s mouth went grim. If Paris hadn’t been rasa,
slaughtering a thousand mortals should not have tipped
him into Shadow… and yet clearly something had. That
could only mean one thing. Paris had either slain one of
the dahl’reisen or one of his own blade brothers—and then
come after the rest of his blade brothers.
“Whatever this is,” the Fey commander said, “it’s too
dangerous to risk its spreading further. Fey are killing Fey.
You should have the tairen ..re the ..eld.”
“Fire the ..eld?” Bonn echoed. “You can’t be serious.
These are our own men—including some of my oldest and
most loyal friends.”
“As your Avis just proved, those friends would kill you if
they could,” Rain reminded him.
“Isn’t there some other way to neutralize them until we
can ..gure out a way to undo whatever has taken over their
minds? “
A Tairen Soul’s ..rst instinct when threatened was to
attack, to kill to protect the pride. Even now, he could feel
his tairen Eras hissing, growling, unsheathing his claws in
preparation for attack. Tairen did not trouble themselves
with morality. To them, there was only survival or death.
So when a threat arose, they eliminated it—swiftly and
conclusively. There was no word in tairen speech for
conclusively. There was no word in tairen speech for
remorse, nor any word for mercy. There was only strength
and weakness, predator and prey, survival or death.
But as Rain looked out over the turbulent—and growing
—knot of attackers who wore the faces of his allies, he
thought of Cann, standing on the ramparts of Kreppes,
Elfbow drawn and aimed at Rain, trying to kill him.
A tairen’s ..rst instinct might be to kill, but Rain was
more than tairen—and these people were friends. Some of
them were Fey, blade brothers. No matter how ..ercely his
tairen half urged him to scorch and shred them, his Fey
half rebelled at the thought.
The ..ve bond-threads he shared with Ellysetta warmed
with golden brightness, infusing him with warmth. Her
voice, as calming as a tranquil summer sea, washed over
him in soft waves.
«Las, shei’tan. Ke sha eva ku.» I am with you.
He closed his eyes, absorbing her Light, drawing her
gentleness into his soul and knitting her pro..ered strength
into the ragged threads of his self-control. When he was
calm once more, he told her what was happening.
«Gaelen believes it’s an ensorcelment that’s somehow
being passed like a contagion,» she told him. « Bring some
of the a..ected to me. If we can ..gure out how the spell is
controlling them, we may be able to counteract it.»
Rain hesitated. They didn’t know what this evil was or
how it spread, and he was loath to let a single possessed
combatant within a tairen-length of Ellysetta.
combatant within a tairen-length of Ellysetta.
His hesitation must have given him away, but Ellysetta
wouldn’t permit his over protectiveness. «Rain, we don’t
have a choice. If I can’t ..gure out what this is and how to
stop it, the Eld will just use it against us again and again.»
«One,» he capitulated with ill grace. «One only. Under
heavy guard the entire time and slain at the ..rst hint of
danger to you. And don’t bother trying to negotiate. It’s that
or nothing. I won’t risk you, shei’tani.»
«Very well,» came her grudging agreement. «Send me
your one… but hurry. We’re getting more reports from
elsewhere in the camp. The contagion is spreading.»
“My Lord Feyreisen?” Bonn prodded. “What are your
orders?”
Rain opened his eyes. “We will try to save as many as we
can,” he told the Celierian. On the new Warrior’s Path, he
gave the command, «Fey, do whatever you must to
immobilize them, but don’t kill them unless you have no
other choice. And shield yourselves. Until we know what
this spell is and how it is passed, do everything you can to
minimize your risk of being a..ected.»
A moment later, the weaves spun out like ropes of
lightning, vivid green and lavender and silvery white,
shining bright in the darkness of the night.
Weaving enemies unconscious was much easier when those
enemies did not include Fey warriors bombarding you with
red Fey’cha and countering your weaves as quickly as you
red Fey’cha and countering your weaves as quickly as you
could spin them… especially when you were trying not to
kill the ones thwarting you.
In the end, Rain sent three quintets after each ensorcelled
Fey, one to stop his weaves, one to stop his weapons, and
the last to render him unconscious. Once all the ensorcelled
Fey were contained, the lu’tan made quick work of
immobilizing the mortals.
“Careful, Fey!” he called, as warriors rushed towards the
mass of limp bodies. “Don’t touch them. Whatever this is,
we don’t know how it’s spread. Use weaves only to bind
and move them.”
Turning back to Bonn, he said, “Can you point out one of
the ensorcelled men who you know is not Mage-Marked?
The Feyreisa is going to try to counter the spell that has
addled their minds, but I won’t take the chance of sending
a Mage-claimed to her.”
As the Fey lined the still-living magic-bound soldiers on
the ground, Bonn searched through the rows of unconscious
warriors until he came across a face he recognized. “This
one. He’s one of Avis’s men. He was one of the ..rst vel
Serranis checked.”
“Kabei. Take him to the Feyreisa.” Rain gestured to the
Fey, who hoisted the man onto an Earth-weave stretcher
and carted him o.. the ..eld towards the shining dome of
magic where Ellysetta waited.
“What shall we do with the wounded, Feyreisen?” the
Fey commander asked.
Fey commander asked.
“Have the Fey do what they can to keep them alive, but
don’t send any more of them to the Feyreisa until they’re
free of this ensorcelment.”
Rain regarded the carnage grimly. Hundreds lay dead and
dying. Hundreds more were useless to the allies until a cure
could be found. The Eld could not have devised a more
e..ective attack. Using the allies’ own men against each
other had dealt twice the damage of any conventional
attack—and all without the loss of a single Eld life.
He bent over one of the fallen to bind his limbs and seal
the deep slice in his side. The puddle of blood that had
gathered beneath his fallen form shone like black oil in the
waning moonlight. A faint, exotic scent made Rain’s nostrils
twitch.
“Do you smell that?” he asked the Fey closest to him.
“What?”
“That smell… a sweet spice… very faint.” Rain lowered
his head closer to the unconscious Celierian.
On the ramparts of Kreppes, an armored man lowered a
small brass spyglass and turned to hurry down the stone
steps to the yard below. Though he wore the colors of the
King’s Army, the pallid skin that had never seen daylight
belonged to no Celierian. The man crossed the yard and
ducked into the common room of the large barracks, where
a blue-robed Primage and a trio of red-robed Sulimages
stood waiting.
stood waiting.
The soldier bowed to the Mages. “The Fey have
contained the infected, master. They have rendered them
unconscious and are binding them now.”
The Primage accepted the news without expression and
waited for the soldier to bow again and exit before he
turned to the Sulimages. “You know what to do.”
The dome of magic surrounding Ellysetta and the allies’
command center parted to admit the Fey carrying the
unconscious body of the ensorcelled Celierian. They
deposited the man on one of the empty tables set up for
the wounded. Unwilling to leave Ellysetta’s safety to
anyone else, her primary quintet closed around her
protectively, and their magic swirled around them and her
in visible auras.
When she started to reach for the bound man, Gaelen
blocked her. “You mustn’t touch him. We don’t know what
this is or how it’s passed,” he said.
She sti..ed a sigh. “Give me a little credit, Gaelen. I
wasn’t planning to touch him, but I can’t examine him from
halfway across the room.”
Unchastened, Gaelen reluctantly stepped aside.
Ellysetta moved closer and began to examine the
unconscious man carefully. He was soaked in blood, both
his own from numerous deep cuts as well as splatters that
clearly had come from other donors. Gaelen checked him
for Mage Marks, just to be on the safe side, before Ellysetta
for Mage Marks, just to be on the safe side, before Ellysetta
spun protective weaves around her hands and began
checking the man’s body for clues as to what had taken
over his mind.
“We’ve already ruled out Azrahn and Spirit,” she said as
she worked. “So how else could a spell of this sort be
invoked? “
“Potions or totems are the usual vehicles,” Rijonn said.
“If it’s a potion, it was most likely added to their food or
drink,” Tajik suggested.
“But di..erent areas of the camp were a..ected at the
same time,” Bel said. “Which means someone would have
had to slip the potion into all the cookpots—and if they
did that, why would only some of us be a..ected? “
“If the spell is tied to a totem, the totems could have
been hidden in various parts of the camp,” Gil said. “The
spell could a..ect anyone within a speci..c distance of the
totem.”
“If that were the case, Rain and the others would have
been a..ected when they got near it,” Ellysetta said.
“We know the spell a..ected di..erent areas of the camp,
which means there were multiple points of origin, but not
all occurred at the same time. Whatever it is a..ects Fey and
Celierian alike, and it spreads.”
“It could be darts,” Gil suggested. “Delivered by ..ngerbow,
wristbow, or even blowpipes. They’re tiny enough to
be easily missed, and could deliver a potion or poison
directly into the blood.”
directly into the blood.”
“Or insect stings,” Rijonn added in his rumbling voice. “I
remember Lord Shan telling us once about a Feraz witch
who used an army of buzz..ies to attack her enemies.”
“I haven’t heard anyone talking about darts or swarms of
insects,” Gaelen said, “so I think we can safely rule those
out.”
“It burns,” Bel exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at
him. “When I was scanning their thoughts, looking for what
was controlling them, I heard a couple of Celierians
thinking about something burning them. I didn’t think
anything of it at the time. I thought the Fire masters had
spun a weave on them.”
“Burns how? Their eyes, their throats—ah!” Ellysetta
gasped as a sudden chill, like the poisonous bite of an ice
spider, raced up her spine. Her legs went weak, and she
had to grab the edges of the table to keep from falling.
“What is it?” Gaelen asked with quiet urgency. “Is it the
poison?”
Before Ellysetta could gather her wits enough to respond,
a cry rang out across the Warrior’s Path.
«Portals opening! Fey! Bote’cha!»
Rain leapt to his feet, away from the bodies of the
unconscious, as gaping black maws opened up across the
encampment. Barrages of sel’dor and Mage Fire poured out
of the openings, clearing a path before brightly colored
fezaros leapt out of the Well on the backs of their tawny
fezaros leapt out of the Well on the backs of their tawny
zaretas, swinging not swords but strange pierced pots on
long chains.
Fey’cha ..ew. Most of the fezaros and their ..erce cats fell
quickly, but not before dozens of Fey and Celierians around
them went strangely still, then turned on their brethren,
crying, “Save the king!” and “For Celieria and King Dorian!”
«It’s a potion of some kind,» Rain spun the news to
Ellysetta and her quintet as his blades ..ew. «Feraz are
dispersing it, so their witches are most likely the makers.
The potion appears to possess whomever it touches on
contact.»
More fezaros leapt through the openings, now protected
by growing rings of ensorcelled allies. And behind them,
staying to the center of the growing rings, came blackarmored
Elden archers, and blue-and red-robed Mages.
Sel’dor arrows, invisible against the night sky, rained down
upon the allies, and everywhere they fell, cries of “Save the
king!” soon erupted. Possessed Fey turned on the
unconscious infected warriors and began unweaving their
bindings. Within scant chimes, the enemy numbers had
mushroomed.
“Fey! Five-fold weaves! Get those portals closed and take
those ..aming archers out! Don’t let the arrows strike you!”
Rain leapt into the air, Changing and diving for the closest
portal. Though he hadn’t wanted to ..re the ..eld when the
only enemy was ensorcelled friends, now that the Mages
had made an appearance, it was a di..erent story.
had made an appearance, it was a di..erent story.
Tairen ..re erupted from his muzzle, blasting a knot of
Mages and searing the opening to the Well. The Mages
threw up protective weaves to save themselves, but the
magic of Rain’s ..ame enveloped the archers around them.
Lit up like candle lamps and screaming in mindless agony,
the archers ran in frantic circles until they dropped. The
gaping black maw of the Well winked shut.
Roaring in triumph, he dove after a second knot of
enemies.
“I’m ..ne,” Ellysetta assured her quintet who had dragged
her away from the healing table and her bespelled patient.
“Ellysetta.” Gaelen’s voice was stern, but his eyes held
only concern. The other four warriors of her quintet
straightened from their attack stance and sheathed their
bare red Fey’cha steel, but like Gaelen, their level of
tension remained high.
“Nei, really. Whatever it was, it’s already gone. I’m ..ne.”
It was true. The ice-spider sensation had receded almost as
rapidly as it had come. “It wasn’t the spell. The same thing
used to happen to me in Celieria City all the time. Bel can
tell you.”
“She’s right,” Bel con..rmed. “We never found out what it
was or where it came from, but it never seemed to hurt
her.” “I don’t like it,” Gaelen said.
Abruptly irritated, Ellysetta scowled at him, and snapped,
“I don’t either, but it’s the least of our worries at the
“I don’t either, but it’s the least of our worries at the
moment. Our brothers are killing each other. Whatever this
Feraz potion is, I need to ..gure out how to cure it. That’s
what’s important.”
Gaelen instantly clamped his mouth shut, and Ellysetta
turned her attention back to the ensorcelled man on her
table.
Half a ..eld away from the blazing hundred-fold weaves of
the healing tents, Rowan vel Arquinas bared his teeth in a
feral snarl. His Fey’cha ..ew like lightning. Scores of men
had already fallen to his blades. Scores more yet would…
and all of them clad in the colors of Great House Sebourne.
In Rowan’s mind, each man that gasped and fell with a
shudder as tairen venom shut down his body wore Colum
diSebourne’s face. He killed the arrogant, murdering
rultshart again and again and again, as he had not done
when it would have mattered, when it would have saved
his brother and Talisa.
The memory of Adrial and the sound of his mother’s
voice echoed in his mind, driving him with whips of Fire.
You must always look out for your brother, Rowan. Protect
him. But he had failed, and Adrial had died. And despite
Ellysetta’s many kindnesses and her shared love and
calming weaves, Rowan’s heart was a desert, cracked with
pain and guilt and shattering grief.
He channeled that grief into Rage. All he lived for was
vengeance. To kill every Sebourne, as he’d not been able to
vengeance. To kill every Sebourne, as he’d not been able to
kill the one he hated most. He hated them even more than
he hated the Mages. He fed on that hate, gorged on it,
thrived on it.
His red Fey’cha ..ew, ..nding target after target. And
when his Fey’cha harnesses were empty, he simply spoke
his return word—which called each blade back to its sheath
in pristine condition—and began again.
He didn’t even have to foul his hands with Sebourne
blood.
* * *
Rain strafed the encampment, looking for knots of Mages
and Eld, burning them where he could. Scores of fezaros
were rampaging through the rows of tents, swinging their
pots of mind-altering poison. Mages, secured in their
protective rings of archers, sent globes of Mage Fire soaring
across the possessed into the ranks of the uninfected.
Sel’dor burned in his chest and wings. He’d developed a
workable initial pattern of attack—dive for the knot of
Mages, Change to avoid the barrage of arrows, then Change
back to Fire the group—but they’d adapted. Now arrows
and Mage Fire ..lled the air in a constant barrage. He’d
given up the dodge-by-Changing technique and started
taking the ..ights of arrows and Mage Fire head-on. Tairen
..re consumed the bulk of what came at him, but he still
took a few good hits.
took a few good hits.
One of the Water masters or the Celierians had opened
the aqueducts to let the waters of the Heras pour into the
..eld. The battle..eld became a swamp of mud and blood.
Worse, whatever the Feraz potion was, the waters of the
Heras did not neutralize it. Instead, the madness seemed to
be spreading more quickly.
«Rainier-Eras!» In urgent tones, Steli sang an image of a
bowcannon bolt racing at him from behind.
Rain tucked his wings and rolled right just as the bolt
whooshed past. His spine curved, wings spread, and he
emerged from the banking roll to wheel sharply about.
Tairen eyes scanned the battle..eld, where several
bowcannon were emerging from portals across the ..eld.
The Eld were getting down to business now. They’d
brought in the artillery.
Feral magic ..ared in Rain’s body and he bared his fangs
in a savage growl. Time for killing.
Why couldn’t she ..gure this out?
As Ellysetta worked on the body of the unconscious,
ensor-celled man, she wished Gaelen’s sister Marissya were
here. A powerful shei’dalin, with over a thousand years of
healing—and combating enemy poisons and potions
—Marissya would have a much better idea of what to do
than Ellysetta did.
The bulk of Ellysetta’s training had come from those few
short months with Venarra v’En Eilan in the Fading Lands,
short months with Venarra v’En Eilan in the Fading Lands,
and none of what they’d covered included how potions
worked—or how any non-Fey magic worked, for that
matter. Give her a warrior su..ering cuts, broken bones,
bruises, even mortal wounds and missing limbs, and she
could knit his broken body back together. Give her a dying
warrior whose soul was halfway to the Veil, and she could
hold him to the Light and call him back to the world of the
living.
But this Feraz potion magic… she didn’t understand it.
And she didn’t have the ..rst clue how to stop it. She’d
already done everything she knew how to do. Rain said the
potion infected the person on contact, but a detailed scan
of her test subject’s body revealed no traces of any
suspicious liquid on his skin. Not, of course, that she would
have been able to isolate it even if there was such a thing.
The man was covered in blood and cuts and bruises and
abrasions. His body looked like it had been used as a
battering ram.
She’d spun a weave of Water and Air to wash and dry his
skin, hoping that removal of the battle grime might shed
some light on his condition, but to no avail. Desperate, she
sent a probing weave of pure shei’dalin’s love into his
body, healing everything she could ..nd wrong with him,
but when her quintet lifted their sedation weave, the man
went wild.
Concentrating was becoming more di..cult. The battle
was worsening, and despite the e..orts of her lu’tan, the
pain of the wounded and the dying was trickling through
pain of the wounded and the dying was trickling through
their shields—as was Rain’s increasing battle Rage. Her
head was aching, and her skin felt tight, making her shorttempered
and snappish. She wove what peace she could on
Rain while she worked, but that made it even harder to
focus.
All the while, she was intensely aware that, with each
passing moment, more Fey and Celierians fell to the Feraz
potion or a possessed ally’s blade. And though no one
would come right out and say it, everyone was looking to
her for answers when she had none to give. She was
terri..ed she was going to fail, and thousands would die
because she couldn’t ..gure out a way to save them.
Rain swooped over the knot of Mages, ..re roaring before
him. He held the ..ame, heeling back to hover over the
Mages and bathe them in ..re. He wanted those shields
down. Wanted those Mages to burn.
Savage satisfaction raced through him as their shields
cracked. Mage screams rose, high-pitched and wild, then
fell quickly silent in the incinerating heat.
Rain ..ung his head skyward and loosed a mighty roar of
primal triumph.
Death to those who endangered the Fey! Death to those
who injured his friends, his brothers! He was Rainier-Eras,
Feyreisen, and he was winged vengeance.
«Rainier-Eras!» Steli sang another warning. The images
carried on her tairen speech showed a portal opening on
carried on her tairen speech showed a portal opening on
his ..ank and ..ring a shot right at him.
Rain spun into a sharp roll, but not quite quickly enough.
The bowcannon bolt ripped through his hide, slicing deep.
He roared in pain and wheeled around to spew ..re at
the closing portal, but as he turned his vision went blurry.
He faltered. His wings folded, and he fell from the sky,
landing on four paws and swaying dizzily.
«Ellysetta…» The bolt had been poisoned. Potioned.
«Burns. It burns. Burns in the blood.» He could feel the
potion racing through his veins, merging with his blood,
changing it. «Vision dizzy. Smell… spice, like cinnamon
growing stronger.» He growled and shook o.. the dizziness
as he tried to tell her everything, hoping that something he
said would make the di..erence. He sang the sensations to
her in tairen song so she could see them, feel them, taste
and touch them for herself.
The burning had consumed him now; the potion had
spread throughout his body. The haziness of his vision was
clearing. The faces around him were changing. Some of the
faces around him smelled of the faint spice. Others did not.
And the faces of the others were changing the most…
changing to monsters. He sang the changes, until he
couldn’t remember why he was singing, who he was
singing to, until he was surrounded by enemies. Enemies
that must be stopped.
He was death, winged vengeance.
«For Celieria and King Dorian!» He screamed, and he
«For Celieria and King Dorian!» He screamed, and he
leapt into the air, ..ame boiling from his muzzle.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Powerful, brave, graceful you stand
Deadly sword bright in hand
Eternal love protecting my heart
The two of us shall never part
For all time, ke vo san
My soulmate, my life, my shie’tan
My Shei’tan, a poem by Evia v’En Herran
«Rain!» Ellysetta cried his name as his tairen song broke o..,
but there was no response. «Steli! Xisanna! Perahl! Rain has
been infected by the potion. You must bring him down. We
cannot let him ..y!»
Con..rmations roared across the sky in sparkling notes of
tairen song as the three great cats raced across the darkened
night to bring Rain down.
“Kaiven chakor.” She spun to face her primary quintet.
“Help the pride. The tairen will bring him down. You ..ve
keep him there until I can ..gure out how to neutralize this
potion.”
When they hesitated, clearly torn by their lute’asheiva
vow to guard her life above all others, she spun bu..eting
weaves of Air and Spirit and shoved them towards the exit.
“Stop him. Nothing is more important. Stop him, or we all
“Stop him. Nothing is more important. Stop him, or we all
die.” She ..lled her voice with every ounce of compulsion
she could muster. She wasn’t shy Ellie begging them to help
her please. She was their queen, holder of their lute’asheiva
bonds, commanding them to serve her. “Go!” she barked.
They went.
Ellysetta closed her eyes for a brief moment. Gods help
them all. Then she drew a deep breath, her eyes ..ashed
open, and she turned the full force of her concentration and
determination upon the ensorcelled man strapped to her
table.
“Well, my friend,” she said grimly, “like it or not, you
and I are going to ..gure out exactly what this is and exactly
how to stop it.”
Rain howled and thrashed, ..re blazing, jaws snapping. His
tail lashed like a whip. If he’d been a female tairen, he
would have impaled someone—preferably a great many
someones—on his tail spike.
Three monsters held him pinned to the ground, their
bodies perched on his wings, his back, his neck. Fangs had
a grip on his throat and were squeezing just enough that his
vision was starting to go dim.
A company of ..endish enemies approached, led by ..ve
foul wretches with ghoulish features and long, clawed
hands. Ropes of poisonous green magic oozed from their
gnarled ..ngertips. Something hard wrapped around his
muzzle, sealing his mouth shut so he could not ..ame. A
muzzle, sealing his mouth shut so he could not ..ame. A
hideous miasma enveloped him in choking fog.
He struggled, ..ghting the monsters on his back, ..ghting
the magic swirling around him. Fighting. Fighting.
But the magic and the press of the fangs against his
throat were too much. His vision dimmed. Consciousness
..ed.
Ellysetta reexamined the images and sensory perceptions
from Rain’s tairen speech, ..xing a keen shei’dalin’s eye on
every tiny detail as she went over the information again
and again. The poison got into the blood, and it burned,
he’d said. Based on the information he’d sung to her, the
burning sensation was localized to start with, but spread
rapidly as the blood carried the poison to every part of the
victim’s body.
Whatever was in the blood, however, wasn’t something
obvious. She’d already checked the test subject’s blood and
found nothing. Now, with Rain’s information and sensory
perceptions fresh in her mind, she reexamined her patient,
looking at his blood more closely to see what she had
missed.
Nearly a full bell later, she ..nally found it.
She had to hand it to the Feraz. When it came to potions,
their expertise was impressive. The active ingredient in the
potion wasn’t a foreign substance in the blood. It was a
slight excess of a naturally occurring element that caused
the body chemistry to change and, in doing so, to give o.. a
the body chemistry to change and, in doing so, to give o.. a
faint but distinctive scent. That, in and of itself, was
harmless, but the potion contained a second ingredient, a
chemical that interacted with the sense of smell to alter the
way the brain processed sensory inputs. Anyone exuding
the faint cinnamon spice scent was perceived as a friend,
but everyone lacking the scent was interpreted by the
infected brain as a monster and a threat that must be killed.
Once she understood how the potion worked, Ellysetta
spent another half bell ..guring out the best way to undo its
e..ects and discovered that she could spin a basic Earth
weave to extract the excess chemical in the blood and a
slightly more complex weave of Earth and Spirit combined
to reorient the brain’s sensory-processing abilities.
She tested her solution on the Celierian strapped to her
table. Within a few chimes of receiving her healing weaves,
he sat up, completely cured and back to his right mind.
Ellysetta didn’t pause to celebrate or even soothe the
man’s confusion. «This is the cure,» she called on the
Warrior’s Path, sending images of her weave patterns.
«Every Earth and Spirit master needs to start weaving this
now.» Then she ran for the exit.
“Ellysetta!” Her lu’tan cried in alarm as she burst through
the protective hundred-fold weave and onto the unshielded
battle..eld outside.
Inside the healing tent, behind the protection of the
hundred-fold weave, the pain and torment of this battle
had been muted. The moment she stepped outside those
had been muted. The moment she stepped outside those
weaves, a wave of agony slammed into her empathic
senses. The breath left her lungs on a shocked gasp, and she
dropped to her knees.
“Bright Lord save me,” she gasped, hunching over, her
arms wrapped around her belly.
She thought she knew the pain of battle, of death. But
now she realized just how much Rain and her quintet had
been protecting her from. There were scores of new
dahl’reisen, and the unchecked pain of their lost souls
spilled out in shrieking waves. Men, maimed, dying in
horrible pain, were screaming. Men were burning. Their
pain, their torment, their fear bombarded her senses. She’d
never really wondered what the Seventh Hell was like, but
now she knew. It was like this.
And still, the battle raged.
The Earth and Spirit masters were weaving. Allied
combatants were beginning to come back to their senses.
That should have been a good thing, but their horror, their
self-loathing when they realized what they’d done… the
friends they’d slaughtered. Men and Fey fell to their knees,
clawing at their own eyes and faces, consumed by guilt and
grief.
A powerful ..ve-fold weave enveloped her, muting the
naked su..ering of the battle..eld. “Kem’falla.” Her
secondary quintet ringed around her. “Come back inside
the healing tent.”
“Nei.” She let them help her to her feet, then shrugged
“Nei.” She let them help her to her feet, then shrugged
them o... “Take me to Rain. I need Rain.”
Primage Soros saw the slender ..gure in red run out from
the hundred-fold weave and fall to her knees. He saw the
Fey gather around her quickly, but instead of returning to
the protection of the hundred-fold weave, all six of them
began to run across the perimeter of the battle..eld. He
scanned the area and saw the Tairen Soul in the distance
—still lying bound and unconscious, protected by the other
three tairen and ..ve Fey.
Now was his chance.
He summoned his Mages and gave the order. The Eld and
Feraz moved swiftly to block her path, while four other
groups converged upon her.
As Ellysetta and her lu’tan raced across the battle..eld, they
passed one horri..c scene after another. The agony of
shattered bodies and shattered minds battered her in
endless waves. She could feel her soul separating. Part of
her was going numb. Another part of her was writhing and
screaming. But a third part, a very scary part, was growing
angry.
These were her friends, her people, her countrymen,
both Fey and Celierian, and they were being slaughtered all
around her. Worse, they were being manipulated by magic
into slaughtering their own friends, their own countrymen,
their own blade brothers. Their howls of anguish fed her
their own blade brothers. Their howls of anguish fed her
anger.
Something vast and dark was bubbling inside her. She
ran faster. She needed Rain beside her, his arms around her.
She didn’t see the Eld closing in. One moment, she and
her lu’tan were running. The next, her spine went icy cold,
and her legs went weak. She stumbled and fell. When she
crawled back to her feet, a portal to the Well of Souls had
opened to her right and left. Mages, Eld, and Feraz were
pouring out.
Everything seemed to suddenly slow, as if time had
grown weary. Blooms of Mage Fire exploded all around
her. Sel’dor arrows pierced her lu’tan, toppling them.
Someone was shouting, “Fey ti’Feyreisa! Ti’Feyreisa!“
A sel’dor blade slashed. The Spirit master of her
secondary quintet spun, blood from his severed throat
splashing across her face. Her Water master’s mouth went
wide. His hands reached for the place where his abdomen
had been before the bubble of Mage Fire cut him in two.
“Ellysetta! Down!”
She dropped to her knees as Rowan vel Arquinas leapt
over her, his hands a blur, red Fey’cha ..ying at incredible
speed. But there were too many of them and no lu’tan left
alive around her to protect his back.
T hree sel’dor arrows caught him in the back. He
stumbled towards the gaping Well of Souls, Fey’cha still
..ying from his ..ngertips. Mages and Eld dropped by the
dozens. A fourth arrow slammed into Rowan’s shoulder,
dozens. A fourth arrow slammed into Rowan’s shoulder,
spinning him around to face her. His eyes met hers for an
instant.
His mouth moved. “Ellysetta, I—“
A ..fth arrow buried itself in his chest. He staggered back
and toppled into the Well.
Something snapped inside her. The great, dark anger
took hold. Her skin ..ashed hot, then cold, and she began to
shake.
This was too much. Too many friends dead. Too much
grief and pain and su..ering. No more. Not here. Not this
day.
Her ..ngers clenched in ..sts at her side. She could feel
magic rushing towards her, as if she were a vortex, pulling
every bit of energy into herself, feeding o.. it, growing
stronger. The Mages tried to call their magic, but she drew
it out of them and poured it into herself. She saw their eyes
widen and realized they were afraid, and that made her
laugh with savage joy.
The fury inside her roared for release, for justice, for
blood. Her mind shot out across the battle..eld, throughout
Kreppes, ..nding every Eld, every Feraz, every host of
Darkness. And she seized them by the throats with invisible
hands, lifting them up o.. the ground, dangling them in the
air. She lifted her shaking ..sts. The bodies hanging in the air
began to twitch and shake. Gurgling noises escaped from
throats as the convulsions grew stronger. Terri..ed eyes
throats as the convulsions grew stronger. Terri..ed eyes
bulged and rolled in purpling faces. Billowing clouds of
red mist ..lled the air as hearts exploded from Eld chests
and burst into ..ame.
“Ellysetta!”
The sound of Rain’s voice snapped her out of the strange
furor that gripped her. A loud crack—the sound of
thousands of necks breaking in unison—sounded across the
strangely silent battle..eld. Then came the thuds as the
corpses fell from the air.
Ellysetta turned to her shei’tan. “Rain, I—” Her voice
broke o.. as her knees buckled. All the energy she’d
gathered left her in a whoosh, and darkness ..lled the
vacuum left behind. Senseless, she toppled into his arms.
2nd day of Seledos
The sun shone down upon Kreppes. Its golden light
illuminated the devastation of the night’s brutal battle.
Swords, which Ellysetta had always found such elegant
weapons when displayed in the Cha Baruk, were in reality
little more than butchers’ cleavers. Severed limbs scattered
the ..eld. Hands. Feet. Heads. Bodies sliced open like
haunches of beef. She’d never seen so much blood. The
..eld was soaked in it.
Alongside the dead killed by the enemy and by the
ensorcelled allies lay the scattered remains of all those she
ensorcelled allies lay the scattered remains of all those she
had slaughtered.
“Come away, Ellysetta,” Rain said. “It’s time to Fire the
..eld.”
“Nei,” she said. “I will watch.” She wasn’t just a
shei’dalin. She was a Tairen Soul. War, and its ugly
consequences, was her purview now. She could not let Rain
and her quintet continue to shelter her, no matter how
much they wished to. She was, after all, responsible for
hundreds of the bodies lying on the battle..eld.
Her gaze skimmed the edges of the battle..eld, pausing at
the sight of Cannevar Barrial standing beside the empty
bier where the bodies of his three sons, Parsis, Severn, and
Luce had been sent back to the elements. Deep lines etched
Cann’s graven face and threads of white now streaked his
dark hair. He had aged decades in a single night. Four of
Cann’s ..ve children had perished in the span of a week.
Almost his entire family gone. Just like that. Worse, Cann
suspected his son Severn had died by Cann’s own hand
when the Feraz magic had consumed him.
Ellysetta had tried to o..er what peace she could, but
nothing she said or did helped him. Cann was a hollow
shell, an automaton driven by a single, searing ..ame that
burned in his dead eyes: the need for vengeance.
She dragged her gaze away from Cann and the pain she
could not heal and tried to distance herself from her
emotions, like most of the warriors had done.
“Has anyone sent word to Prince Dorian and the queen?”
“Has anyone sent word to Prince Dorian and the queen?”
she asked, as the Fire masters walked out among the dead.
Rain nodded. “Bel sent a Spirit weave a few chimes ago.”
The Fire masters summoned their magic, gathering the
bright orange weaves of their Fire, then spilling it out upon
the ground. The Fire burned bright and hot, consuming the
bodies of the slain, but there was so much sel’dor on the
..eld that their Fire did not consume everything. When they
were done, the bones of the dead remained, not scorched
by the Fire but bleached white, as if by the Great Sun.
Ellysetta’s mouth went dry. Feeling dazed, she stepped
away from Rain and walked slowly onto the Fire-cleansed
battle..eld. She stood there, a shei’dalin draped in scarlet,
standing in a bleached white ..eld of bones, the remains of
thousands of slain, most of whom had died either by her
hand or because she’d not been quick enough to ..nd the
cure to the Feraz potion.
Her dream had come true.
Celieria ~ Celieria City
“Noooooo!”
The scream ripped through the marbled halls of
Celieria’s royal palace, punctuated by a series of shattering
crashes and sobbing wails. Courtiers stopped in their tracks,
gossiping tongues frozen midwag. They turned towards the
queen’s apartments for a single, hushed moment, then the
queen’s apartments for a single, hushed moment, then the
whispering recommenced, setting the palace hallways
abuzz.
“It’s true. It must be true. The king is dead.”
In her chambers, Annoura swept her arms across another
elegant desk, sending crystal candle lamps, books, and
statuary crashing to the ..oor. She shrieked in wild, mad
grief and ..ung herself at her bed hangings, snatching great
handfuls of sumptuous fabric and ripping it free of its
mooring hooks. Plaster rained down upon her and the
puddles of velvet she threw to the ..oor.
“Your Majesty, calm yourself!” pleaded the minister who
had brought her the news of Dorian’s death. “Your Majesty,
please. You’ll make yourself ill. Think of the child!”
“Get out! Get out!” She grabbed part of the broken vase
from the ..oor and heaved it at him, narrowly missing his
head. One of the delicate, carved chairs from her vanity
followed the ..rst missile. The minister dove out of the way
a split second before the chair crashed against the wall
where he’d been standing and broke into splinters.
“I’ll fetch Lord Hewen,” he quavered, and pelted out the
door.
With the minister gone, Annoura spun on the Ladies-in-
Waiting who were huddled in the corner of the room, some
weeping, some gaping in shock at their queen’s utter loss
of control. “You too!” she shrieked. “All of you, get out!
Get out, damn you!” She grabbed the broken candle-lamp
stand from the bedside and advanced upon them, jabbing
stand from the bedside and advanced upon them, jabbing
and swinging the lamp stand like a halberd.
Squealing, the ladies ..ed. An antique porcelain teapot
exploded across the gilded door as it closed behind them,
drenching the wood, walls, and plush carpet near the
threshold with steaming tea and ..lling the room with the
scent of jasmine.
Annoura went through her apartment like a cyclone of
destructive grief, shrieking Dorian’s name, smashing and
rending everything she touched. She ripped pages from
books, shattered perfume bottles, tore curtains from
windows, smashed mirrors, and slashed paintings. Not a
single moveable or breakable object escaped her fury of
grief.
When there was nothing left to destroy, nothing more
whole than the shattered pieces of her heart, she curled in
the ruins of her destroyed bed and wept.
Ser Vale hurried down a servants’ stairway to the underpalace,
where an entire invisible city worked industriously
to keep the palace operating smoothly and Their Majesties’
courtiers well served and sated.
Lord Hewen, the royal physician, had been in to see the
queen. Vale’s informants told him she was sleeping ..tfully.
There were no obvious signs of distress with the child,
though Lord Hewen had not performed more than a
cursory visual examination for fear of waking the queen.
The ministers wouldn’t even allow a single servant in to
The ministers wouldn’t even allow a single servant in to
tidy the mess Annoura had made of her apartments for the
same reason.
Vale was perhaps the only person in the court for whom
the news of the king’s death was neither surprising nor
unwelcome. He expected similar news to arrive any day
from Great Bay, and once it did, Vale’s star in the Celierian
court would go sharply on the rise.
It was time to tie up loose ends.
Celieria ~ Kreppes
5th day of Seledos
“I’m worried, Rain.”
Ellysetta paced the ..oor of her room in Kreppes Castle.
Ever since she’d stood on the Fired battle..eld outside
Kreppes and realized that one of her dreams had come
true, fear had been a constant companion, eating away at
her peace of mind, tormenting her as ..ercely as any
nightmare ever had.
She’d kept the fear to herself these last days. Rain had
been so busy. He and Lord Barrial had spent most of their
time scouting Great Lord Sebourne’s lands in search of
Mages, and at Gaelen’s suggestion, Cann had summoned his
dahl’reisen friends and asked them to check all the
remaining Sebourne inhabitants for Mage Marks. In the
meantime, armies from the surrounding border estates were
meantime, armies from the surrounding border estates were
sending troops to secure the lands until the new King
Dorian could decide what to do with them.
But Moreland was secure now, and Rain was back.
Ellysetta couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“I’m worried that if that dream came true, some of my
others might, too.” Like the dream she’d had last month
about Rain dying by Ellysetta’s hand while Mage-claimed
Lillis and Lorelle danced in a shower of his blood. “I’m
worried about all those people I killed and how I felt when
I killed them.”
Ellysetta dragged her palms over her face and eyes, as if
that simple gesture could shut out the world. But shutting
out the world—pretending it wasn’t there—never solved
anything. If she’d learned nothing else, she’d learned that.
Hiding from the monsters only made them stronger.
“Hawksheart said I was the double-edged sword. He
warned you that I have just as much capacity for evil as I
do for good. I believe him, Rain. And I’m so afraid—so
terribly frightened—that the evil is winning.”
“Shei’tani…”
“Nei, Rain. Listen to me. There’s something dark inside
me—and it isn’t all the tairen, and it isn’t all the High Mage
either. You want to pretend it’s not there, but it is. Some
horrible, vicious part of me was glad to kill those people…
I thrived on murdering them. Worse, I didn’t just want to
kill them. I wanted to make them su..er. I wanted to hear
them scream and beg for mercy. I wanted to see the terror
them scream and beg for mercy. I wanted to see the terror
in their eyes and know I put it there!”
“Ellysetta, they’d just killed Rowan and turned our own
people against each other. They made friends slaughter
friends. Your Rage was understandable. Do you think I felt
any di..erent? What do you think Steli would have done if
the Eld had turned tairen against tairen?”
Ellysetta bit her lip. She knew what Steli would do. The
..erce white tairen would shred, scorch, and maim every
living creature on the battle..eld. “I’m not Steli, Rain.”
“Neither was I when Sariel died. Yet you’ve told me so
many times that what I did didn’t make me evil. Was that
all a lie?”
Her gaze shot to his. “Nei, of course not!” “Then how am
I to be forgiven for what I did in war, yet you are not?”
She hated when he turned her own arguments against her
this way. “You weren’t Mage Marked, Rain. You weren’t
told you’d been born either to save the world or destroy it.”
“True. I wasn’t born to save the world. I was merely born
to slaughter millions.”
“You were born to end the Mage Wars,” she corrected
sharply, “and in doing so to save all those people the Eld
would have enslaved if you hadn’t done what you did.”
His hands cupped her face, and his eyes brimmed with
sorrow and love and such understanding she nearly wept.
“Aiyah, shei’tani. That I was. And though I will never
forgive myself for what I did, every day when the doubts
creep in, I remind myself that the gods made me for their
creep in, I remind myself that the gods made me for their
own purpose. That no matter how seemingly dark and
terrible that purpose was, they trusted me to ful..ll it. And I
remind myself every day, that somehow, I must have
proven myself worthy in their eyes because they sent me
you, my soul’s mate and the beacon that drew me back
from Shadow.” His thumbs brushed lightly across her lower
lip in a tender caress. “Perhaps, shei’tani, it’s time you
began to believe the same about yourself.”
Her lashes fell to cover her eyes. Almost since the ..rst
moment she’d met Rain, she’d been telling him to forgive
himself, to see the Light in his soul that even the Scorching
of the World had not been able to dim. Now their roles
were reversed, and she was bewailing her own sad plight
as if no one in the world had ever walked so Dark a path.
And yet, the doubts were there. She could not deny or
ignore them. “What if I’m not strong enough? What if I’m
not good enough? What if Tenn and the Massan were right,
and I’ve already done all I was meant to do, and the only
way to save the world is for someone to kill me before I
fall to Darkness?”
His thumb brushed against her lower lip, and though
sorrow shaded his eyes, there was a steady calmness, an
acceptance about him, that she’d never seen so strongly
before.
“Then we will die together, Ellysetta.” The corner of his
beautiful mouth titled slightly upwards in a mournful ghost
of a smile. “Whatever your fate, I will share it. Wherever
your Path leads, there, too, walk I. Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem
your Path leads, there, too, walk I. Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem
surah, shei’tani.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, not
so much embracing him as trying to merge her body into
his until there was no part of them that stood apart. She
kissed him with desperate passion, as if his lips could wipe
out the pervasive sense of doom that sapped her courage
and ..lled her with fear.
“Kiss me, Rain. Love me.”
“I will. I do.” He touched his mouth to hers in a kiss of
gentle devotion, but she would have none of it. Her lips
parted, and she took his mouth with urgent need at the
same time her body surged against him. Earth weaves spun
from her hands, and his armor dropped from him like
leaves from an autumn tree.
He pulled back, frowning. “Ellysetta?”
“Ssh. No more talk. I don’t want any more talk. I just
want you. I want this.” Her nails raked down his naked
..esh, teasing him, scoring his skin with a combination of
pain and pleasure that made him gasp and his eyes turn
bright as stars. She wanted heat, wild and passionate, not
tenderness. She called his essence with ruthless command
and shared hers in such an unfettered rush that he cried out,
barely managing to remain on his feet as every muscle in
his body went hard as stone, then began trembling
uncontrollably.
She pushed him back onto the bundles of fur that served
as their bed, stripping her own leathers with impatient
as their bed, stripping her own leathers with impatient
weaves. Naked, she crouched over him. Nails and teeth
raked and nipped. He reached for her, but she evaded his
hands. Fire and Air danced across his skin in alternate
waves of heat and cold. He reached for her again, and she
growled a warning in her throat. He bared his teeth and
growled back. He caught her in a ..rm grip, his ..ngers
sinking into her ..esh and driving her inexorably towards
union.
Passion unraveled the tight barriers in his mind, and his
escaping thoughts intruded on her own, memories of the
..re and screams of great, winged tairen coming together in
the sky in a ..erce mating.
She inhaled sharply, feeling the burn in her ..esh, the
hunger tightening her womb and inner muscles. Hands
gripped her hips, and he plunged inside her in one swift
thrust, wrenching a ragged cry from her throat. Oh, gods.
Her eyes closed. Flames consumed her as her body
stretched and burned to accommodate him. His hips thrust
again.
“Rain!” She clawed at his shoulders, fought him for
control, as a tairen female battled her mate for sexual
supremacy until he proved his strength and dominance and
established his right to mate her and father her kits.
Stars exploded against the back of her eyes, and it was
her turn to tremble uncontrollably as his hands and mouth
and magic and the pounding rhythm of his hips drove her
to ..rst one peak, then another and another until she could
not think, could not speak. Until she could barely even
not think, could not speak. Until she could barely even
breathe without setting o.. yet another deep, shattering
orgasm.
In the end, even that was not enough. Because when they
were spent, and Rain lay sprawled and sleeping beside her
own limp, perspiring body, she could still feel within her a
spreading black ice deep within her core, chilling her from
the inside out.
Celieria ~ Celieria City
Master Gaspare Fellows, the Queen’s Master of Graces, held
a scented handkerchief to his nose and rolled his eyes. The
wharfs. Why did questionable personages always arrange
their nefarious assignations at wharfs? Of course, since the
nefarious person in question was a ship’s captain, he
supposed it made sense. But, gods have mercy, the stink of
sweat, bodily excretions, and rotting ..sh o..al was blinding.
Then again, would he rather be blinded by stink and
battling the heaves, or lying on the ..oor of his wellmaintained
palace apartment, clean, perfumed, and utterly
dead?
In the days since they’d learned of King Dorian’s demise,
a string of tragic deaths had a..icted the palace. Lady
Nadela, Prince Dorian’s betrothed, had tumbled down the
marble steps of the grand staircase and broken her neck.
She died instantly. Lady Jiarine Montevero, who’d been
among the ladies walking with the future princess at the
among the ladies walking with the future princess at the
time, had been so terri..ed of being declared Lady Nadela’s
murderer that she’d written a hysterical note proclaiming
her innocence and hanged herself in her room to avoid
being tortured again in Old Castle Prison. Two of the late
king’s most trusted ministers had perished in horrible
accidents.
Gaspare, himself, had narrowly escaped not one, but
three, brushes with death, including an attempt to poison
himself and Love at breakfast this morning. Only an open
window and an unfortunate, hungry thief of a sparrow had
saved them. Life in the palace had become a risky business
since King Dorian’s passing, and considering that Gaspare’s
breakfast was prepared and tasted by Her Majesty’s own
servants, he greatly feared that the assassin was someone
very close to the queen.
The king was dead, the Fey had left Celieria City, and the
queen was possibly in league with an enemy of the crown.
With nowhere to turn in the city, Gaspare had decided
his only viable course of action was to leave. That decision
had brought him here, to the wharves. Or, more
speci..cally, to the Crown and Cutlass Pub in the wharf
district.
Tugging the collar of his greatcoat closer, Gaspare pulled
down the brim of his dark hat, ignored the blinding smells
around him, and marched towards the Crown and Cutlass.
The burning lantern over the pub’s door swung in the
strong night breeze o.. the bay, and the wide circle of its
light rocked back and forth, like a pendulum, casting the
light rocked back and forth, like a pendulum, casting the
door in and out of shadow as it moved.
“Be brave,” Gaspare muttered to himself. “Be brave. Be
brave.”
“Mmrow?” A small, warm, furry head poked out of the
edge of his greatcoat. The little skull beneath the fur
nudged his throat as it twisted and turned to get a good
look at their surroundings.
“Yes, I know, Love,” Gaspare sighed. “You’re brave
enough for the both of us. Now get back in there. This is
not a nice place. The men in here probably eat pretty
kittens like you for a morning snack.” He pushed his
kitten’s white head back into his coat and su..ered the
punishment of her tiny, needlelike claws sinking into his
chest.
The pain of Love’s displeasure helped him summon the
courage to open the pub door and step inside.
Crowded, dimly lit, and smoky, the interior of the pub ..t
Gaspare’s image of a pub of ill repute to perfection. The
swarthy, dangerous-looking men idling inside looked up as
he entered, as did the blowsy pleasure girls sitting on their
laps and leaning low to whisper in their ears. Although,
Gaspare noted, the term “pleasure girl” was something of a
euphemism in this establishment. He doubted there was a
single female in the place under the age of forty. Most were
missing several teeth. And likely most of their hair, too,
judging by the number of dirty wigs he saw.
“Hallo there, handsome.” A hand clapped on Gaspare’s
“Hallo there, handsome.” A hand clapped on Gaspare’s
shoulder, and he turned to ..nd the grandmother of all
pleasure girls standing beside him. Gaspare’s eye for detail
captured the woman’s garish caricature of beauty in one
horri..c glance. A frizzy yellow mop for hair, greasy eye
makeup that had melted and settled into the lines around
her eyes, ..accid breasts propped up on display by tight
stays: The sight was indelibly seared upon his brain.
“Lookin’ for some company? “
He sti..ed a shudder and tried not to breathe the fetid air
gushing from the woman’s red-painted lips.
“Thank you, my good woman, but no,” he declined
politely. “I’m looking for Captain Sarkay. I was told he
would be here.”
“Har!” The woman near felled him with a heave of
odorbefouled laughter. “Eren’t you the fancy gent? ‘Thank
you, my good woman,’” she mimicked. “More’s the pity.
Looks like you could use a good hoist of your mainsail. Ah
well, some other time, perhaps.” With a prosaic shrug, she
waved a thin hand towards one of the tables at the back of
the pub. “Sarkay’s over there. The handsome one in green.”
Handsome was as relative a term as girl, in this place,
Gaspare decided. The only man in green he could see at the
back table was a swarthy giant, with a long black mustache,
bald head, and tattoos curling around every inch of his
beefy forearms.
“Many thanks, madam.” Gaspare gave a short bow out of
ingrained habit, then wished he hadn’t when he noted the
ingrained habit, then wished he hadn’t when he noted the
pub patrons eyeing him with speculation. If he wasn’t
careful with his court Graces, he’d get himself clubbed and
robbed and rolled into the alleyway.
He made his way as quickly as possible through the
crowd to the green-clad giant at the back. “Captain Sarkay?
”
The giant looked up slowly. “Who’s askin’?” Up close,
the fellow was even more intimidating. Black brows arched
with a wicked ..are over dark, dark eyes. Scars curled
around his head and down the side of his face—as if he’d
stopped more than one sword blow with his skull.
“The name is…” Gaspare racked his brain for a name
that sounded suitably tough and street-wise, “… Fist. Ru..o
Fist.” He started to hold out a hand, then thought the better
of it and grabbed the back of a nearby chair instead. “I
understand you have a boat for hire? No questions asked?”
The captain arched one demonic brow. “Aye. I’ve a ship.
Where is it you’re looking to go, Goodman Fist?”
“King’s Point.”
“No one sails to the Point these days. There’s a war on,
haven’t you heard?”
“Well then, what’s the closest village with an open port
before the Point? Take me there. I’ll pay extra if we can
leave tonight.”
“Leave me.” Annoura commanded in a cold, emotionless
“Leave me.” Annoura commanded in a cold, emotionless
tone.
Her Ladies-in-Waiting instantly obeyed, dropping deep
curtsies as they backed out of what had been the king’s
bedchamber. Since destroying her own bedchamber,
Annoura had taken to sleeping in Dorian’s. The decision
had been a matter of convenience at ..rst, but she realized
almost immediately that being here, among his things,
soothed her as very little else could these days.
Annoura rose from the dressing table and crossed the
room to Dorian’s bed. She felt closer to him here. One of
his robes lay on the coverlet. She wrapped herself in it and
crawled into his bed, laying her head on his pillow. His
scent surrounded her, almost as if he were here, holding
her in his arms. Hugging that illusion close, she closed her
eyes and drifted o.. to sleep.
As she had every night since his death, Annoura dreamed
of Dorian. Not the cold and distant Dorian he’d been their
last weeks together, but the Dorian as he’d been when they
..rst met. Dazzling. Seductive. Devoted. The most intensely
passionate man she’d ever met. With hazel eyes that could
glow like stars and a mouth that drove her mad when he
whispered kisses across her skin.
Tonight, like the other nights since his death, she
dreamed they were back in the secluded garden terrace in
Capellas, where they’d shared their ..rst kiss. The lilac trees
were blooming, as they’d been that day so long ago. Dorian
stood on the terrace’s stone pavers, older than he had been
on the day of their ..rst kiss, but still a dark, lustrous jewel,
on the day of their ..rst kiss, but still a dark, lustrous jewel,
framed by the lilac’s soft hues. The wind ru..ed his hair
and blew the hem of his rich velvet surcoat about him. He
held out a hand, his hazel eyes full of love, and spoke her
name. “Annoura.”
“Dorian.” She reached for him and nearly wept when the
warmth of his hand closed about hers and the familiar heat
of his mouth possessed her lips. Unlike the day of their
..rst kiss, the dream Dorian didn’t simply kiss her and
declare his love. Instead, he bore her down upon a bed of
soft lilacs, and cool, intoxicating fragrance enveloped her
with dizzying sweetness.
Dorian’s hands smoothed burning paths down her body.
She arched against him, calling his name, pleading with
him to join his body with hers. Fearful that, like every
other night, the dream Dorian would once again drive her
to a frenzy of need, then evaporate, leaving her empty and
aching and sobbing into her pillow.
Tonight, however, as her need reached its peak and the
Dorian of her dreams started to fade and pull away from
her, she clung to him, weeping and pleading for him not to
go. “Please, dearling, don’t go! Stay with me. I’ll do
anything, only please don’t go. Don’t go!”
“Anything, Annoura?” he asked. “Will you give yourself
to me, heart and soul, willingly and without reservation?
Will you surrender everything you are to me? “
Annoura hesitated. Something in Dorian’s voice didn’t
sound right, and for a moment she could swear his hazel
sound right, and for a moment she could swear his hazel
eyes had turned dark—almost black.
Her hesitation must have convinced him she was
insincere, because he started to fade again. She could feel
him growing insubstantial in her hands, dissolving like
mist.
“Wait!” she cried. If she let him go, she would wake and
..nd herself alone again. And the pain of that aloneness
was more than she could bear. She’d do anything to keep
him with her, even just as a dream. “Yes. Yes, of course.
Anything, Dorian. Only don’t leave me.”
His hand caressed her face. “Then say it, dearest. You
must say the words, so I can stay with you.”
She didn’t know the words he meant, but suddenly they
were there, on her tongue, tumbling past her lips. “I
surrender myself to you without reservation. My body and
soul are yours to command.” The moment she said the
words, it was like some bubble of pressure burst inside her,
and she drew a sobbing breath. “Now please, Dorian,
please stay with me. Please.”
Dorian smiled. “Of course, darling.” He bent to claim her
mouth in a deep and passionate kiss.
As he did, a sudden, piercing coldness stabbed Annoura’s
heart. She cried out in surprise, and began to struggle
against him. Her eyes opened in sudden fear, and her
mouth opened to scream.
In the bedchamber of the late King Dorian X, Kolis
Manza blew another pu.. of somulus powder into the
Manza blew another pu.. of somulus powder into the
waking queen’s face. Instantly, the scream died silent in her
throat, and her beautiful blue eyes went hazy once more.
Her naked, struggling body went lax and pliable against
his.
“I’m here, darling,” he whispered reassuringly. “I’ll never
leave you again.” His tongue thrust deep into her mouth as
his sex plunged deep into her body.
And on the satiny, alabaster skin of Annoura’s left breast,
the shadow of Kolis Manza’s ..rst Mark lay like a bruise
over her heart.
Elvia ~ Navahele
In the heart of Elvia’s ancient Deep Woods, the Sentinel
tree called Grandfather, a colossal arboreal giant planted in
the Time Before Memory, spread his branches wide across
the mossy glens and misty silver pools of the great Elvish
city of Navahele. Far, far beneath the surface of
Grandfather’s island, burrowed into the heartwood of his
mile-deep taproot, the Elf king Galad Hawksheart ..oated
in the phosphorescent blue glow of his Mirror pool. Long
strands of golden hair ..oated about his face and shoulders.
The cream-colored fabric of his full leggings ..oated, too,
transparent and weightless in the water of the pool. His
eyes were closed, their piercing green vision turned inward,
as his mind and his soul traveled through the complex
webs of the Dance, seeking answers, revelation.
webs of the Dance, seeking answers, revelation.
Understanding.
For the ..rst time in his ten thousand years, Galad Hawksheart
was blind. The Song—Ellysetta Erimea’s Song, to
which he had dedicated his entire life and sacri..ced
countless others—was singing, but he could not See its
Verses clearly.
And so he submerged himself in the magical waters of
his Mirror, and every chime of the day and night, he
searched the Dance for the answers that eluded him.
A familiar sentience brushed his consciousness. Cool and
ageless. He recognized her instantly, of course.
His sister, his twin, Illona Brighthand, the Lady of
Silvermist. Queen and coruler of Elvia, though she had long
ago left Navahele—and, with it, him. She had secluded
herself in her palace in the cloud-forests of the Silvermist
mountains, leaving the rule of all Elvia east of those
mountains to him—along with all interaction in the world
on behalf of the Dance. She had never spoken to him again
after leaving.
And so they had lived the last two thousand years.
Until now.
Galad. She spoke his name, and her voice was like a
crystal chime upon the wind. So pure, so beautiful. Gentle,
yet so ..ercely unyielding.
Sister. He included no warmth, no surprise, in the voice
he sent soaring across time and space, but she would not be
fooled. Of all creatures in the world, she knew him better
fooled. Of all creatures in the world, she knew him better
than anyone, even Grandfather.
Erimea’s Song confounds you.
Of course she knew. She had her own Mirror in
Silvermist. She left the interpretation of the Dance to him,
but that did not mean she did not watch, as he did. She also
knew how to follow the faint ethereal traces of his
presence, to know which Verses of the Song he had Seen,
which he had returned to time and time again.
Most of all, she knew which Verses should have been
certain, ..xed, unchangeable—and which, now, were not.
She is leinah thaniel. Illona’s cool voice whispered across
his mind.
You don’t know that, he retorted. The Dark One may
simply have chosen to play a di..erent Verse. That was the
one limitation of Elvish Sight. They could never See
Shadow clearly except where there was Light. He could
watch his cousin Elfeya’s torture in Eld because she was of
the Light, but Eld activities that involved only other
Shadowfolk appeared only sporadically, and then only as
murky, constantly-shifting possibilities instead of
certainties. Past events were easier to see, but to Shadow-
Sung futures, he remained dangerously blind.
You know I am right.
Bayas.
All the denial in the world won’t change the truth, Galad.
She is what she is. Bayas, he denied.
Anio. She is leinah thaniel. The Elves must go to war. No
Anio. She is leinah thaniel. The Elves must go to war. No
matter the cost, we cannot let Shadow win.

CHAPTER EIGHT
Eld ~ Boura Fell
“Master Maur!” Primage Vargus stood at attention as the
High Mage strode into the war room in a swirl of purple
silk and visible purpose. “Your orders, Most High?”
“It is time. Tell the generals to prepare their men. They
attack on my signal.”
“Yes, Most High. I’ll contact them immediately.”
Vadim leaned against the map table, with its glowing
vertical display of the armies and battle..elds stretched
across Celieria’s northern border. “And tell Horan to release
his pets.”
Celieria ~ Orest
“Lord Teleos!” The armored soldier raced from the
battlements of Upper Orest into what had once been a lush
conservatory overlooking the magni..cent falls of Kierya’s
Veil and Maiden’s Gate. The building now served as Lord
Teleos’s command center, and the soaring glass walls and
ceilings provided a perfect panoramic view of Upper Orest
and the vast stretch of Eld and Celieria to the east,
and the vast stretch of Eld and Celieria to the east,
separated by the wide dark ribbon of the Heras River.
Devron Teleos looked up from the table where he and
his generals were reviewing the defense plans for Upper
Orest and the hastily rebuilt lower city. The look on the
approaching soldier’s face brought Lord Teleos to his feet,
his spine sti..ening with a mix of dread and grim resolve.
“What is it?”
“Something approaches in the skies to the north, my
lord,” the soldier gasped.
Teleos headed to the glass walls of the conservatory. One
of the Celierian generals was already there, spyglass raised
and pointed north. “What in the Bright Lord’s name is that?
”
Teleos followed the man’s gaze and saw tiny black
specks on the horizon. What appeared to be a ..ock of dark
birds was ..ying towards them across the forests of Eld. The
Fey blood in Lord Teleos’s veins had blessed him with a
variety of gifts, including the ability to see much greater
distances than mortal eyes could. His eyes narrowed,
bringing the distant shapes into closer focus. He saw the
barbed and taloned wings, the long white fangs, the
iridescent sheen of black scales, and the bottom dropped
out of his stomach.
“Bright Lord save us,” he breathed. “Dragons. Dragons are
coming.” To the gathered Celierian military leaders, he
issued a spate of orders. “Captain Morrow, sound the
alarm. Get the women and children to Maiden’s Gate.
alarm. Get the women and children to Maiden’s Gate.
Order every able-bodied man and boy capable of wielding
a bow to report to the armories. And light the signal ..res.
We’re going to need all the help we can get before this is
over. General Arlon, tell the cannoneers to arm the
bowcannon with ice shot.”
To the Fey general who had led his men to Dharsa to
defend Orest from the Eld, Dev said, “General vel Shevahn,
we’ll need every Fey you can spare on the wizard’s wall.”
The Fey bowed his head. “Already done, Lord Teleos.
We’ll shield as much of the city as we can against dragon
..re, but be aware that whatever we do to keep out the
dragons will keep the tairen out, too. And we’ll have to
lower the wall shields each time we ..re, or the ice shot
will be useless. “
“Understood. Do what you can.” On threads of Spirit
spun intentionally too weak to travel far, he added, «And
call the Feyreisen. I count twenty dragons coming in. The
tairen are outnumbered.»
Celieria ~ Kreppes
Rain and Ellysetta raced for the clearing just south of their
encampment. The defenders of Orest were in trouble. Four
tairen didn’t stand a chance against twenty dragons, even
with the Mists to aid them.
Torasul had already sung the call to Sybharukai, and
Torasul had already sung the call to Sybharukai, and
except for two of the great cats remaining behind to watch
over the kits, Fey’Bahren had emptied. The entire pride
was winging towards Orest to protect their kin and ..ght
alongside the Fey and Lord Teleos’s men.
Rain wished he could say the same for the Fey, but a
frantic weave to the Massan had proved that blind idiocy
still reigned supreme in the Fading Lands’ governing
council. They were convinced that Rain, not the Eld, were
to blame for the war and that Rain’s devotion to Ellysetta
had blinded him to the danger she posed.
«lf not for you, there would be no war!» Tenn accused.
«From the moment you arrived in Celieria, you convinced
yourself the Eld were a threat to the world, and you refused
to hear a single voice of reason. You beat the drums of war
without cease. You convinced Dorian to build up his
troops. You built Fey garrisons at Orest and Teleon, built
up Fey and Celierian military presence on the borders. Is it
any wonder the Eld attacked?
«You, Tairen Soul, made Celieria the target. You—not the
Eld—ordered thousands of ..ne Fey warriors to their
deaths! But the Massan will not endanger more Fey lives by
condoning your madness and your senseless war of
aggression against Eld.»
«You are a fool, Tenn,» Rain replied. «I am not the
enemy. Perhaps you think I don’t deserve to wear the
crown your brother once did. But Johr Feyreisen would
never have condoned your actions. You bring shame to
your family line.»
your family line.»
«How dare you!»
«I give you fair warning, v’En Eilan. When this is over,
and Ellysetta and I have completed our bond, I intend to
claim my throne. I suggest you do not stand in the way.»
Magic exploded in a billowing cloud of gray mist as Rain
Changed on the run and soared into the sky. He wheeled
back and dipped low over the ..eld. Ellysetta timed her
mount perfectly, leaping up on a jet of Air and landing in
the saddle as he dove past.
«Bel, Gaelen, gather the Fey and as many Celierians as
can be spared and follow us,» Rain commanded. «The
Massan have refused their support. We’re on our own, but
we can’t let the Eld take the Veil.»
«We’ll be right behind you, Rain,» Bel vowed.
«Steli-chakai, we’ll be ..ying fast. Come when you can
—and ..y high to keep out of bowcannon range.»
With a roar, Rain banked in a tight circle, and with a
burst of magic-powered speed, rocketed high into the sky,
heading west, towards Orest and the gateway to the Fading
Lands.
The Faering Mists
“Lorelle, I don’t think I like it here anymore.” Lillis
clutched Snowfoot to her chest so tight, the little kitten
mewed a protest and scratched her hand trying to get free.
mewed a protest and scratched her hand trying to get free.
Lillis barely even noticed. The scratch didn’t hurt and
almost as soon as it appeared, it disappeared again, healed
by the magic that ..lled everything and everyone in this
valley.
She wanted for nothing. She and Lorelle had a beautiful
bedroom of their own ..lled with all the treasures and toys
they could ever wish for. They had an entire roomful of
beautiful dresses to wear and delicious foods to eat
—including so many rich, powdery chocolate com..ts that
they’d practically made themselves sick gorging on them.
But despite her joy at being reunited with Mama,
something about this place didn’t feel right.
No matter how many sweets they ate, Mama never
objected. And Lorelle, who could be so irritating
sometimes, had been inexplicably pleasant and goodnatured.
Lillis asked about Kieran and Kiel several times now, but
each time the beautiful Fey lady Eiliss—or one of the
dozens of other beautiful Fey lords and ladies with her
—would smile gently, and say, “Patience, kitling. If they
survived the battle, they would want you to remain here,
where you are safe.”
Papa and Mama seemed in no rush to ..nd Kieran either.
Or to leave.
“But it’s so peaceful and beautiful here,” Papa said, when
she talked to him about it. “We’re all together and we’re all
safe here. Isn’t that enough, Lillipet?”
safe here. Isn’t that enough, Lillipet?”
At ..rst it had seemed so. At ..rst it had seemed perfect.
But now, even though only a few days had passed, the
perfection was beginning to wear thin. Part of the problem
was, they weren’t all together. Ellysetta wasn’t with them.
Kieran and Kiel weren’t with them.
And no one but Lillis seemed the slightest bit interested
in ..nding them.
Lillis stroked Snowfoot, then knelt on the ..oor to nuzzle
the kitten’s tiny nose and roll one of the pretty latticework
jingle balls across the carpet. Snowfoot leapt upon the ball
and swatted it with a tiny paw, sending it rolling across the
..oor. The bells chimed merrily against the pretty white
stone in the ball’s center.
“Maybe we should try to ..nd Kieran and Kiel on our
own,” she told Lorelle.
Beside her, Lorelle looked up with a frown, then tossed
her own jingle ball for her kitten, Pounce. “Mama and Papa
would never allow it. We don’t have any idea where we
are or how to ..nd our way back. We’d get lost.” Pounce
leapt for the ball, missed, and went sliding across the
polished marble ..oor with his limbs splayed and an
expression of pure bewilderment on his fuzzy face.
“Besides, you heard Lady Eiliss yesterday. We should stay
put until they ..nd Kieran and Kiel, or Kieran and Kiel ..nd
us. It’s much too dangerous to go wandering around.”
Lillis frowned. “I don’t think anyone is looking for Kieran
or Kiel at all. If they were, why wouldn’t they have found
or Kiel at all. If they were, why wouldn’t they have found
them?”
“We’re in the middle of the Faering Mists,” Lorelle
replied. “It’s hard to ..nd anything in here.”
“Lady Eiliss found us easily enough. And Papa. And how
can Mama really be here?” Snowfoot pounced on his jingle
ball again, sending it skittering, and Lillis caught the toy
with an idle hand. Her brows knit together. The worry that
had been preying on her mind roused again, and this time
it would not be brushed aside. “Lorelle… do you think
maybe we’re all”—she bit her lip and whispered her
growing fear aloud—“dead? And this is really the Haven of
Light? Eiliss looks beautiful enough to be a Lightmaiden.”
“Of course not.” Lorelle rejected the idea immediately,
and for the ..rst time since Lillis had come to this city in the
Mists, Lorelle’s brows furrowed in a very Lorelle-like scowl.
“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Lillis lunged for her twin and threw her arms around her
throat in a fervent hug.
“Hey!” Lorelle exclaimed in surprise. “What was that for?
”
“Nothing. Everything.” Tears sprang to Lillis’s eyes. She
swiped at them with backs of her hands. “It’s just that’s the
..rst time you’ve really seemed like you since I got here.”
“You ninnywit.” Lorelle gave her a shove.
Lillis rocked back, laughed, then hugged her again, even
tighter this time. “Oh, Lorelle, I’ve been so worried.
Everything seemed so perfect, so wonderful. More like a
Everything seemed so perfect, so wonderful. More like a
dream than anything real.”
“Why is that so bad?”
“It’s not.” Lillis frowned. “It’s just that…”
“Aren’t you happy here?”
“Yes… but…” She couldn’t put her fears into words. The
sense of… not exactly wrongness, but more of a notrightness.
She frowned. Lorelle usually knew what she was
feeling even before she did. Why didn’t she now?
“Just be happy, Lillis, and enjoy this place. We’re safe
here. Nothing can hurt us. We’re with Mama and Papa. We
have everything we need—and everything we’ve ever
wanted.”
“But not Ellie. And not Kieran and Kiel either.”
Before Lorelle could answer, a knock sounded on the
door.
Lillis put a ..nger to her lips and signaled Lorelle not to
answer. Lorelle ignored her and called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Eiliss, the tall, shining woman
who had found Lillis, stood in the threshold. She wore a
gown that sparkled like snow in sunlight, and her long,
golden brown hair tumbled down her back in lustrous
ringlets. A circlet of fragrant white Amarynth crowned her
head, and her warm amber eyes made Lillis want to laugh
with joy and forget all about silly things like whether or
not this—and she—were real.
“Come, ajianas,” Eiliss said. “We have visitors. I think you
“Come, ajianas,” Eiliss said. “We have visitors. I think you
will both be pleased to see them.”
With a cry of excitement, Lorelle bounced to her feet and
bounded out. Lillis paused to pick up Snowfoot, then
followed more slowly. Eiliss led the way down the
corridors of the beautiful building out into the verdant
town square, where ..ngers of mist swirled and eddied
around soaring conifers and evergreens, and a central
fountain splashed like the melody of a peaceful song.
There, at the center of a cluster of Fey villagers, stood
two Fey warriors clad in black leather: one with ..owing,
waist-length blond hair, the other with shining chestnut. At
the sound of Lorelle’s excited squeal, they turned in unison,
their beautiful Fey faces breaking into smiles of welcome.
“Little Fey’cha,” laughed Kiel as Lorelle raced across the
square and leapt into his arms. He swung her around in
exuberant circles.
“Ajiana.” Kieran walked towards Lillis, a dazzling smile
upon his beloved face, his Fey-bright eyes as blue as sky-
..owers.
Lillis stood frozen in place. Her heart pounded like one
of Papa’s hammers in her chest. Kieran looked exactly the
way she pictured him from her most treasured memories.
Exactly. Tall, handsome, his skin luminescent, his eyes Feybright…
… with Love the kitten perched upon his shoulder,
..icking her stubby little tail against his ear and purring so
loud Lillis could hear it clear across the square.
loud Lillis could hear it clear across the square.
And then she knew, and her nine-year-old heart broke.
“You’re not real.” Tears blurred her vision. “None of this
is real.” Mama, Papa, Lorelle, Kieran, Kiel—the family and
friends she loved so dearly—all were just an illusion. She
turned to Eiliss, sobbing. “Why? Why are you doing this to
me? “
“Are you not safe?” the shining Fey replied. “Are you not
happy? “
“It’s all a lie!” she cried. “I thought Fey didn’t lie!”
“Is it a lie to o..er you what your heart desires? To make
you happy and keep you safe from harm. Here, in the
Mists, you can be with your mother. Is that not what you
want most?”
Hot tears ran down Lillis’s cheeks, and sobs tore from her
throat in painful heaves. “But not like this!”
Lorelle—or rather the illusion that wore Lorelle’s face
—stepped forward. “Listen to Lady Eiliss. You are in danger
out there. Here, with us, you are safe. You wanted to be
safe, and so you are. You wanted to be with Mama, and
she’s here. You wanted Kieran and Kiel, and they are here,
too.”
Lillis backed away. “No! No! I won’t stay here. This isn’t
what I want.” Her wild, tear-..lled gaze ..xed on Mama,
standing in the doorway, watching Lillis. She was the only
one who didn’t say anything, the only one who didn’t try to
convince Lillis to stay. She simply stood there, watching
Lillis with wise and watchful eyes. It’s better to choke on a
Lillis with wise and watchful eyes. It’s better to choke on a
bitter truth than savor a honey-cake lie. Mama’s admonition
rang in Lillis’s ears.
Lillis squeezed her eyes shut and clutched Snowfoot to
her chest. “Go away!” she cried. “Go away, all of you! This
isn’t what I want! I want the truth! Show me the truth!”
A hot tingling sensation ..ashed through her body. The
burbling splash of the village fountain and the whisper of
the wind rustling through the treetops faded. The pleading
voices of Papa, Kieran, Kiel, and Lorelle died away and the
world fell into utter silence.
Pain intruded. It started as a dull ache, then accelerated
to burning, throbbing spikes of pain jabbing her like
knives.
Lillis cried out, and her eyes ..ew open.
The village in the misty valley was gone. Lorelle, Papa,
Kieran, Kiel—Mama—all were gone. She lay buried in a
pile of rubble. The world was dark except for a tiny shaft
of pale light that illuminated the prison of rocks and dirt
and broken tree limbs that lay heaped over her body.
She couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe. Something
heavy pressed down on her chest. She tried to move her
hand, then cried out when bones grated and a sharp pain
lanced up her arm.
She coughed, then cried out again. Her chest was on ..re.
Each breath felt like the stab of a knife. She had no
sensation at all below her chest, and she had a terrible
feeling she knew why.
feeling she knew why.
Just two years ago, Tomy Sorris’s older brother had
fallen from the roof of his family home while trying to
sneak out his bedroom window and get into mischief with
his friends. They said his back was broken and that he
couldn’t move his arms or legs. His injuries had been too
grave for the local hearth witch, and he’d died before a
more powerful healer could come.
Was that why the Mists had created that illusion of Mama
and Papa and the beautiful city in the valley? Had
whatever magic lived here in the Mists been trying to make
her last bells as happy and peaceful as possible?
Lillis closed her eyes and let the tears welling in her eyes
spill down into her hair. “Mama… Papa…” This bit of hard
truth wasn’t just bitter, it was the most awful torment she’d
ever known.
She was dying.
She’d thought she was going to die before, when war had
broken out at Teleon and she’d seen the darrokken racing
up the mountainside towards her, but now she knew it for
certain. Death was crouching patiently, just beyond what
she could see. She could feel its cold nearness in each
painful, struggling gasp of breath. Soon it would pounce,
just like Snowfoot pouncing on a jingle ball.
Frightened, she tried to call out, but her throat was too
dry, her lungs too short of breath to do more than croak
raggedly. “Papa? Lorelle?”
No answer.
No answer.
“Kieran? Kiel? Anyone?” Her weak, raspy call fell like a
coin into a bottomless wishing well, swallowed quickly by
silence and darkness.
Her head fell back. More frightened, desolate tears
spilled from her eyes, and her broken ribs sent jolts of pain
radiating through her with each small, ragged sob she
couldn’t manage to hold back.
For the ..rst time in her life, Lillis was all alone.
And she knew, if someone didn’t ..nd her soon, she
would die here, lost in the Faering Mists, trapped in the
rubble of a shattered mountain.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
A knock sounded at Vadim Maur’s o..ce door.
“Enter.”
The door pushed inward, and Primage Zev stood on the
threshold. “Generals Corag, Grosh, and Daemor are in
position, Most High.”
“Excellent. And our Celierian friends?”
“Awaiting your command, Master Maur. The Tairen Soul
is approaching Primage Fen’s position.”
Vadim leaned back and touched his steepled ..ngers to
the underside of his chin. “Tell Fen to spring the trap.”
Celieria ~ Northern Border
The missile struck without warning.
It came from behind and plowed into Rain’s hind leg just
below his left hip, detonating an explosion of raw pain. He
roared and wrapped Ellysetta in an instinctive bu..er of
magic as he careened through the air and fought to regain
control. Instantly, a new agony seared him, worse than
weapon’s initial bite. Needles of white-hot pain shot
through his veins and stabbed behind his eyes. A familiar
bitter tang ..lled the back of his mouth.
Sel’dor.
«Ellysetta, hang on! We’re under ..re!» Despite the pain,
he maintained his protective weave around her.
A moment later, the sky before them turned black with a
barrage of bowcannon spears ..ying faster and higher than
any he’d ever encountered. Rain reared back. A second bolt
pierced his chest, near his foreleg, while a third skimmed
by so close it tore the edge of his right wing. He roared and
banked with desperate speed as a fourth bolt scored his
ribs and tore a hole through his left wing, leaving splinters
of sel’dor behind. With Ellysetta on his back, he could not
Change to avoid the missiles.
«Rain! To your left!» Ellysetta spun a dense pattern of Air
and slammed it into the volley of spears, batting them
away bare moments before they pierced Rain’s heart.
«Hold on. Keep low.» His wings ..apped wildly as he
«Hold on. Keep low.» His wings ..apped wildly as he
fought to retain his balance and keep them aloft while he
scanned the ground below for the source of the weapons
..re. A Celierian Border Lord’s castle hugged the bend of
the Heras River, and he spied the bowcannon on its
ramparts just as they spat a fresh volley of sel’dor-tipped
missiles.
Tairen breath heaved from his lungs, meeting the ..ne
mist of venom that sprayed from his fangs and igniting just
a few ..ngerspans from his muzzle when the two combined.
Tairen ..re poured forth in a roaring jet, incinerating the
incoming spears to harmless black dust. He screamed a
de..ant challenge and dove toward the ramparts, raining
..re upon the castle walls, consuming one full line of
bowcannon and the soldiers scrambling to reload them.
Ellysetta ..ung weaves and Air and Fire everywhere his
..ame had not scorched. She cried out and her weaves cut
o.. just as Rain felt the prickle of arrows pepper his hide.
He spun away, roaring with fury. She’d been arrow-shot.
«Shei’tani?»
She clung to his back, leaning low over the saddle front.
«I’m ..ne.»
But she wasn’t. Two sel’dor-barbed arrows had buried
themselves deep in her back, and he felt them as plainly as
if it were his own back burning with their foul acid. Just
the e..ort to speak to him on Spirit racked her slender body
with pain.
They had wounded his mate! He screamed his Rage, and
They had wounded his mate! He screamed his Rage, and
tairen fury turned his vision scarlet.
Before he could circle back and ..re the rest of the castle,
a third volley of spears burst from a line of cannon hidden
in the surrounding forest. He banked instinctively in a tight,
northward wheel, but the spears came too fast. Fresh black
agony ripped through his right shoulder and back leg.
He tumbled through the air, losing altitude faster than he
was losing blood. His tattered wings fought for balance, but
every powerful ..ap shredded muscles against the razorsharp
shards of sel’dor in his ..esh. His right wing, impeded
by the spear piercing his shoulder, could not keep up with
his left, and he careened helplessly northward, towards Eld.
«Rain! Look!»
Below, he saw what had previously escaped his notice:
Eld soldiers, thousands of them, massing beneath
camou..age netting draped between the trees. They raced
out from beneath their cover, and sunlight glinted o.. their
armor and unsheathed weapons. A company of archers
loosed a hailstorm of arrows. He spun what protection he
could around Ellysetta’s own shield and ..red a path
through the dark cloud of sel’dor missiles. He put on a
burst of speed as he passed the archers, trying to outpace
their second volley, but a Mage must have been
accelerating their shots. Arrows tore through the tattered
membranes of his wings and sank into his hide. He heard
Ellysetta’s pained gasp as two of the missiles pierced their
shields and buried themselves in her leg.
shields and buried themselves in her leg.
He saw the Eld running in pursuit as he plummeted
down a faltering glide path. «Hold on, Ellysetta!»
The trees rose up quickly—too quickly—and he
cannoned into them, tucking his wings tight against his
back as he smashed through the treetops. Desperately,
roaring in pain when the sel’dor punished his use of magic,
he threw a protective web around Ellysetta just before he
lost control and went tumbling downward. He felt Ellysetta
being ..ung from the saddle and heard her cry out, but
there was nothing he could do to stop her fall. He crashed
through the forest, shattering massive trunks with his
tumbling body. His wingbones snapped, but even that
searing pain was nothing compared to the agony of the
sel’dor buried in his ..esh or the worse agony of Ellysetta’s
scream as she fell to earth. His paws ..exed, claws
extending to dig into the trees, the ground, and even solid
rock to slow his momentum.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of destruction,
his battered tairen’s body came to rest against a small copse
of fragrant brindlewood tree. Tiny yellow leaves drifted
down upon him in a shower of bright winter fragrance.

CHAPTER NINE
On dream’s whispered breath, I search for thee.
On wings of hope, I soar.
On desire’s breeze, I call to thee,
And pray with song and roar.
Tairen’s Chant to His Beloved,
a poem by Rainier vel’En Daris, Tairen Soul
The Faering Mists
Stinging little pinpricks roused Lillis back to consciousness
and she looked down to ..nd her kitten, Snowfoot,
kneading her chest with his tiny, sharp claws. The pouch
tied around her neck that had secured the kitten had slung
o.. to one side during her fall, which explained why she
hadn’t noticed the kitten earlier.
Snowfoot mewed piteously and nudged his head against
her hand, the way Love, the kitten, always had when she
was hungry or thirsty.
“I’m sorry,” Lillis whispered. Her voice came out scratchy
and hoarse. “I’m so sorry.” More helpless tears trickled
from the corners of her eyes. Snowfoot was hers to care for,
and she couldn’t do any more to save the kitten than she
and she couldn’t do any more to save the kitten than she
could to save herself.
Lillis started to sob again, then stopped because it hurt
too much. She’d never been this alone or this badly
wounded or this frightened. Always someone had been
there to watch over her and protect her and keep her safe
from harm—Mama, Ellie, Papa, Kieran, even Lorelle.
Lorelle would never just lie down and die. Lorelle was
the strong one, the fearless one. Lillis could almost hear
Lorelle now, irascible and impatient. “Stop sniveling, you
ninnywit. What good has that ever done anyone?”
Thinking of her twin made Lillis’s tears ..ow faster. For
all that Lorelle could be snappish and bossy, there was no
one in the world Lillis was closer to. She couldn’t think of
a single time in her life when they’d been apart for more
than a few bells. Until now.
Lillis squeezed her eyes shut and tried again to contact
her twin. Lorelle… Lorelle, can you hear me? It wasn’t
magic, exactly. Not magic the way the Fey spun it, in any
case. It was more like sharing thoughts—as if some part of
them had been united in the womb and never fully
separated.
Again and again, she called her twin, but Lorelle didn’t
respond. It occurred to Lillis that perhaps Lorelle had not
survived the destruction of the mountain—that she had
perished as Lillis herself was so close to doing—but as
quickly as that awful thought surfaced, she shoved it away,
out of her mind. No, Lorelle was alive. She had to be.
out of her mind. No, Lorelle was alive. She had to be.
Maybe the magic of the Mists did something to silence their
connection. Or maybe Lorelle was living in some happy
illusion like the one that had nearly trapped Lillis.
She tried calling Papa, but that didn’t work either. She
hadn’t really expected it to. If Lorelle couldn’t hear her, it
was highly unlikely Papa would. Her call to Ellie met the
same silence as all the others.
Finally, in desperation, she reached out to the last living
person with whom she shared a connection: Kieran vel
Solande. Surely, if anyone could break the power of the
Faering Mists and ..nd her, Kieran could.
Assuming he was still alive.
“You are alive,” she muttered. “I know you are. I know
it.” Please, gods, let him still be alive. She clenched her jaw
and gathered her strength, her last ounce of hope, and all
the emotions she associated with Kieran: The way he made
her feel so safe. The joy when he—or rather the illusion of
him—had turned in that city in the valley of Mists and that
familiar, dazzling smile had broken across his face. The
love that blossomed in her heart whenever he was near.
Fusing those energies together, weaving them into her
call the way she’d secretly spun magic all her life, she ..ung
the cry out into the Mists, praying for the gods to grant it
wings. Kieran! Help me. Pease, help me.
The e..ort was too much. Darkness closed in upon her.
She was so weak. So tired. As if sensing Death creeping
near, Snowfoot began to mew more loudly.
near, Snowfoot began to mew more loudly.
A clatter of pebbles sounded overhead, and dirt
showered down upon her face. A weak, painful cough
racked her frame.
“Lillis!”
A mu..ed voice echoed in her ears, tinny yet strangely
familiar. Light turned the inside of her closed eyelids rosy.
With e..ort, she cracked open her eyes. Images swirled
slowly into focus. Faces hovered over her, surrounded by a
glow of light. Blue eyes burning with fear and concern held
her gaze as strong, familiar hands reached for her.
She breathed his name on a weary sigh as her lashes fell
shut again, and the light faded. “Kieran.”
Eld ~ The Forests North of the Heras River
Ellysetta sat up and pressed both hands against her head.
The world was spinning drunkenly, and she was so dizzy
she could barely sit upright. Flung free of the saddle, she’d
gone ..ying through the air and into the evergreen branches
of a large conifer. She’d crashed and tumbled through the
branches, losing all sense of balance and direction until the
ground rose up to smack her in the face.
She spat out dirt and blood, then wiped the back of her
hand against her mouth and took inventory of her injuries.
Long, bleeding scratches scored the exposed skin of her
hands and face, but her shielding weave and leathers had
hands and face, but her shielding weave and leathers had
saved her from more serious wounds from the fall. Her hair
bristled with leaves and splinters from broken tree limbs.
She started to draw her legs up in order to stand, but
pain lanced up her left leg. She cried out and clutched her
thigh. Her hand came away covered in blood. The arrows
that had struck her thigh and back had been ripped out
during the fall.
She held her hands over the gash in her leg and spun a
healing weave to stop the bleeding, hissing as fragments of
sel’dor burned beneath her skin. The barbs from the Elden
arrows had broken o.. inside her leg, but there was nothing
she could do about them now. She left the barbs in place
and sealed the skin over them.
The instant the leg was healed enough to stand on, she
got to her feet and sent out a narrow, questing thread of
Spirit. «Rain?»
He didn’t answer, but his trail was plainly marked by the
line of shattered trees and debris from his crashing descent.
Pain shot up her leg as she took her ..rst hobbling step
towards him, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to
endure it.
She’d seen the Elden army as she and Rain had fallen out
of the sky. She knew they weren’t far behind, and she knew
that the Eld would already be combing the woods. Any
chime now, they’d reach this very spot and follow the crash
path directly to her mate.
She pressed her palm against her leg and hobbled faster.
She pressed her palm against her leg and hobbled faster.
«Rain, I’m coming.» Desperation gave her the strength to
ignore the pain and begin to run. She vaulted clumsily over
small downed trees and ran around several larger ones.
When she ..nally caught sight of Rain, motionless, still
tairen, covered by a blanket of yellow leaves, her breath
stalled in her lungs.
“Rain!” Adrenaline shot through her. She covered the
remaining distance between them at a full-out sprint and
fell to her knees beside him. Her hands plunged into his
thick fur at his neck, seeking a pulse. “Don’t be dead.
Please, don’t be dead.”
A rattling breath wheezed out of him. «Not… dead… yet.
» Pain accompanied the faltering thread of Spirit, muted
but still sharp enough to make Ellysetta clench her teeth.
She smoothed her hands over him, trying desperately to
hide her terror as her hands came away drenched in blood.
Sel’dor-..lled wounds didn’t bleed, but he’d taken enough
glancing blows and external injuries from the crash that the
ground beneath him was rapidly becoming a blood-soaked
pool.
«Rain… can you Change?» She hated to ask. If he were so
injured that a simple Spirit weave felt like knife blades on
bone, the powerful, concentrated magic required by the
Change would likely kill him. «I need to get you
somewhere so I can get the sel’dor out of you and heal you,
but we can’t hide while you remain tairen.»
His eyes opened slightly. «Leave… me.»
His eyes opened slightly. «Leave… me.»
She reared back. Did he think her such a coward that she
would save her own life at the expense of his? “I can’t
leave you to die, Rain. I won’t.”
«I distract… you ..ee.»
“That’s not an option. The Fey and the tairen need you.”
She stroked his face and stared urgently into his pain-dulled
eyes. “I need you.”
«You can survive… my death.» Bloody bubbles foamed at
his nostrils. His lungs were ..lling. He was dying already,
and they both knew it. «Run. Mages… cannot take you… »
He meant it. She could feel his sincerity. He wanted her
to leave him here to die. He thought she actually could.
“Don’t be a ninnywit. I could never—ever—leave you,
not for any reason.” She smoothed a hand down the soft,
thick fur of his massive tairen jaw. “Whatever choices we
make, we make together. Whatever fate, we face it
together.” She blinked back tears and infused her voice
with what she hoped was convincing sternness. “So, unless
you want us both to be guests of the High Mage before
nightfall, we need to get out of here. Now, can you
Change?” The Eld would be here soon, and all chance for
escape would be lost.
«Nei. Too much sel’dor.» A cough shook his tairen’s
body. His eyes closed, and for a moment she feared he was
slipping away from her.
“Then I’ll have to remove as much as possible so you
can.”
can.”
Several of the bolt shafts and arrows had sheared o..
during his crash, but quite a few still remained. They stuck
out from his ..esh like obscene quills. The bowcannon
missiles ranged in size from spears the diameter of her arm
to the two thick bolts as wide as tree trunks that protruded
from his chest and rear leg.
She stood up and took hold of one of the thinner spear
shafts lodged in a foreleg.
«Must push… not pull… spears barbed.»
“I know.” She’d removed enough sel’dor arrows from
wounded warriors to know what to expect. Of course, none
of those warriors had been Rain.
She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. Steady,
Ellysetta. You can do this. You must do this. She took hold
of the spear shaft, planted her feet, pushed with all her
might.
The spear moved, slowly sliding deeper into Rain’s ..esh
with a squishing sound that made her stomach lurch. She
tried to weave away what pain she could, but there was so
much sel’dor in his body and hers that the attempt only
injured them both. “Sieks’ta, shei’tan. Sieks’ta. Forgive me,
I’m so sorry.”
The spearhead gave a mu..ed screech as it scraped
against bone. The sound jolted every nerve in her body,
and Rain’s pain roared through her. Nausea rose sharply,
dousing her with sudden clammy weakness. She spun away
and lost her breakfast in the dirt.
and lost her breakfast in the dirt.
When she lifted her head a ..ash of movement caught her
eye. The Eld had discovered the swath of broken and
shattered trees in Rain’s crash path. Black-armored Elden
soldiers were pouring from the woods two miles away.
«Shei’tani… leave me…run.»
“Don’t be a dimskull.” Ellysetta dragged her arm across
the back of her mouth. Grimly, she grasped the spear shaft
again, marshaled her strength, and shoved. The barbed
spearhead broke past the bone and pierced the remaining
layers of muscle and skin.
Ellysetta opened her eyes, then swallowed thickly. The
spearhead now jutted out from the front of his leg, just
above his wing, a viciously sharp, ugly, black thing that
bristled with broken barbs and glistened with Rain’s blood.
She’d never seen anything so nakedly evil. Rage ..ared
inside her. She grabbed the bloody spearhead and yanked it
free.
Rain coughed again, and the sound snapped her back
into action. She hurried to the spear in his leg and had to
climb up on top of him to inspect the wound. This bolt
was not so deeply embedded as the one in his chest. She
could see the misshapen bulge of it, just below the surface
of his skin.
«Rain, I think I can just cut this one out.»
«Do it.»
She yanked one of the black Fey’cha from the sheaths at
her waist, then stared at it in surprise. What a fool she was
her waist, then stared at it in surprise. What a fool she was
not to have thought of this from the ..rst. She dragged the
sharp edge of Bel’s bloodsworn Fey’cha across her thumb.
Blood welled from the cut, and she smeared it across the
shining edge of Bel’s steel.
«Ellysetta?» Instantly Bel’s voice sounded in her mind,
faint but clear.
«Bel! We need help. We’re in Eld. Rain’s been shot by
bowcannon—he’s badly wounded.»
«We’re coming. Be strong, kem’falla, and do whatever
you must to stay alive.»
“Bel and the lu’tan are coming, Rain.” But there was no
way he or any of the Fey would reach them in time. She
glanced over her shoulder. The Eld soldiers were closing
the gap quickly.
Rain gave a weak cough, and Ellysetta’s attention
snapped back to him. They were running out of time.
“Hold on, Rain,” she said. “This is going to hurt.”
She positioned the knife at the entrance wound and
dragged it towards her in one swift motion. His ..esh
parted, and without the thickness of Rain’s tairen hide to
keep the weapon embedded in his leg, the heavy weight of
the spear shaft pulled the buried head free. The spear fell
into the dirt, leaving behind a gaping wound.
She quickly attacked the remaining spearheads, pushing
one through the tissue of his leg and cutting out the others,
until only the massive bolt buried in his chest, near his
right foreleg, remained. “I can’t get this last one, Rain. It’s
right foreleg, remained. “I can’t get this last one, Rain. It’s
too large and buried too deep. I can’t push it free.”
«I’ll have to drive it out myself. Step back, shei’tani.»
Rain struggled to his feet. A spasm of racking, ..uid-..lled
coughs nearly felled him, but he managed to remain
upright. He drew a shallow breath, summoned his strength,
and drove his shoulder down, towards the ground. Pain
exploded as the bottom of the spear slammed into the
ground and the spearhead tore a path through muscle,
sinew, and bone and pierced through the skin of his back.
For one long, breathless moment, nothing existed but the
blinding agony, but even that was a relief from the
crippling mass of sel’dor. He rose to his feet and rubbed
against a nearby tree until the barbed spearhead caught and
he could pull himself free of the bolt’s thick shaft. He
shook himself as if he could shake o.. the pain like water
clinging to his fur.
“Some of the barbs have broken o.. inside you,” Ellysetta
said.
«I know.» The dark metal’s presence was impossible to
miss, burning like acid within his Fey ..esh. Rain cast a
grim eye at the approaching Eld. He couldn’t ..y in his
current condition, and even if he could, the Eld and their
bowcannon would be waiting for him.
He and Ellysetta were vastly outnumbered. They must
run and hide, which they could not do while he remained
tairen.
«I need your strength to help me Change. It will be
«I need your strength to help me Change. It will be
painful, and I will not be able to shield you from it.» All of
his energy would have to be directed to completing the
Change while the sel’dor shrapnel turned his own magic
against him.
“Rain, stop talking. Do what you must. I’ll be ..ne.”
Pride surged through him. She was so ..erce. She had
become a warrior of the Fey… nei, a Tairen Soul, strong
and brave.
«Ke vo san, kem’san.» He nuzzled her gently, rubbing his
face against her, then stepped back.
He drew within himself, marshaling his strength and
focusing his energies inward. The sel’dor was there, a
distracting, discordant energy, but he did his best to block
it.
He had Changed when riddled with sel’dor barbs before,
as had all of the Feyreisen during the Mage Wars. Most had
survived. Some had not. When he Changed, the sel’dor
would not Change with him. It would remain in his ..esh,
at its current size and general location, but hopefully not
piercing any vital organs.
He summoned his magic.
Instead of the usual, intense pleasure of the Change, the
sel’dor twisted the sensations. His nerves registered the
horrible agony of ..esh tearing from bones and liquefying,
skin splitting and burning, magic simultaneously crushing
him and tearing him apart. Beside him, Ellysetta shrieked
and fell to her knees in pain, and her torment nearly drove
and fell to her knees in pain, and her torment nearly drove
his tairen to madness.
He held the weave and fed it power, forcing his magic
into the familiar lines it now rebelled against. The webs of
his magic bucked and writhed, ..ghting their natural paths.
For one desperate, frightening moment, he thought he
would fail, that he would die, and Ellysetta would be left
alone and unprotected to face the approaching Eld.
But even as that unimaginable horror seized his mind,
she crawled across the ground on her knees and reached a
shaking hand out towards the wildly undulating cloud of
gray mist swirling around him. She touched the mist. The
bright strength of her power poured through him. He
grasped her o..ering gratefully, weaving her strength to his
own dwindling supply. She was there with him, in his
consciousness, every thread of their nearly completed bond
vibrating with harmonic energies. She was a bright, shining
presence in his soul, a vast and endless warmth, stealing his
fear and transforming it into con..dence and strength
enough to force the unruly weaves to his command and
complete the Change.
The howling pain of sel’dor quieted. The tairen shrank,
folding in upon itself, condensing, until once again it was
the invisible sentience mingled inside his body with his
own soul.
Rain fell to his knees in the dirt, Fey once more and
weak beyond belief, his body a..re with the barbs of sel’dor
buried in his ..esh. The ones so large they now protruded
buried in his ..esh. The ones so large they now protruded
from his ..esh, he plucked out. The others he left where
they were. He would not completely heal, nor regain his
full strength until the sel’dor in his body was removed.
Until then, working magic would be painful at best, which
gave the Eld a powerful advantage.
Breathing raggedly, Ellysetta knelt beside him and spun
what healing she could as she grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry,
Rain, I know you’re hurt, but we have to go. We have to go
now.”
“Aiyah.” He forced himself to rise and swayed dizzily on
his feet. One hand reached out, weaving a Spirit illusion,
nothing particularly intricate or strong, but hopefully
enough to fool the approaching Eld and give Ellysetta and
him a brief head start. “Run. That way.” He pointed to the
east.
The Eld would expect them to go south, towards the
river and towards Celieria, but clearly one or more of the
Border lords had either been overrun by the Eld or
surrendered himself and his lands to their service.
Rain didn’t know how much of the borders had been
compromised, but he couldn’t a..ord a river crossing into
enemy territory any more than he could a..ord to take wing
here in Eld. They’d have to backtrack towards Lord
Barrial’s land and cross the river at nightfall. The moons
were both on the wane, and for once, he hoped darkness
would be their ally.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
Melliandra lay on her thin pallet in the umagi den. The
sconce lights were low, as they always were, emitting the
barest of orange glows. Just enough for eyes accustomed to
the dark to navigate the rows of sleeping racks that lined
the room from ..oor to ceiling.
Sleep, in Boura Fell, was a carefully rationed luxury… a
brief respite in a lifetime of toil granted only because
umagi couldn’t function without it. Each skrant was
allowed only a few bells per day in a bunk shared in shifts
by four other umagi. There were no days and nights in
Boura Fell. Only work and sleeping. And punishment when
you slept too much or worked too little.
But even though sleeping bells were precious and few,
Melliandra had been using most of hers to practice her
newfound magic.
Every spare moment of the workday, she now spent
haunting the Mage Halls, watching the novices practice,
listening to them talk amongst themselves, picking up
every small scrap of information so she could teach herself
to use her newfound abilities. And each sleep shift, she
brought what she learned back to the quiet dark of the
umagi dens to practice.
She closed her eyes, letting the darkness envelop her. She
could hear the breathing of the other umagi. The occasional
cough and sni..e. The shifting of a body in its bunk. She
cough and sni..e. The shifting of a body in its bunk. She
tried to silence those small noises from her mind. From
what she’d learned eavesdropping in the Mage Halls, all
novice Mages learned to access their magic by ..rst silencing
their minds. It was only there, in the darkness and the
silence, that a Mage and his magic ..rst truly connected.
Not that she wanted to be a Mage. She didn’t. But she
needed to know what Mages knew, to better defend herself
and Shia’s son against them. Most importantly, she needed
to know how Mages wove their wards—and how they
unwove them—because that talent was the key to all her
plans. With it, she could enter Vadim Maur’s treasure room
where Lord Death’s magic crystal and weapons were stored
—and with it, she could gain access to the nursery where
Shia’s son and the other valuable infants of the Mage’s
breeding program were kept.
Melliandra took deep, unhurried breaths, holding them,
letting them out again in a slow, steady rhythm. She
breathed in through her nose, held that breath for a count
of ..ve, then exhaled through her mouth to the same count.
In through the nose and out through the mouth. Inhale.
Hold. Exhale. Slowly, as the rhythm took over, her body
began to relax, the world faded away.
And there, in the darkness, she found the silence, perfect
and absolute. She’d never known absolute silence until this
week. It was peaceful. She’d never known that either.
Her breathing continued, slow, steady, and in the silence,
she initiated the next step all novices learned. Stretching
out their senses, opening their minds to let magical
out their senses, opening their minds to let magical
receptors begin to absorb the subtleties of the world
around them. In the Mage Halls, the novices had taken
turns holding an object, with each novice trying to
determine what the other was holding.
“Don’t in..uence, just observe,” instructed one of the
apprentices who’d come to help them. “Let your partner’s
senses become your own. If you do it properly, he won’t
even know you’re there.”
Melliandra had been practicing that skill every waking
bell these last days. What did that umagi have in his
pocket? What was this umagi hiding in the corner? What
secret savory had the kitchen mistress tucked away for
herself today? She was getting very adept at peering into
the brains of the umagi around her. Yesterday, she’d had a
moment where she’d seen through the eyes of the kitchen
mistress—which, she discovered, was a very disorienting
practice when the kitchen mistress was walking one way
down a hall, and Melliandra was walking the other.
She’d even practiced on the two Mages who’d tried to get
into Vadim Maur’s o..ce that day last week. She’d heard
them talking about the High Mage, about how they’d
known the Mage whose body Vadim Maur now inhabited.
They’d been talking about how that Mage—Nour—while
strong, hadn’t been as strong as either of them. There were
other Mages, like them, who were growing dissatis..ed with
Vadim Maur, concerned that he’d lost focus, that his war
against Celieria and the Fey was more about some secret
personal goal than the triumph and glory of Eld.
personal goal than the triumph and glory of Eld.
It wasn’t until this morning, when she’d gone back to
listen in on the novices practice again, that she’d heard the
apprentice warning the novices not to get too bold with
their attempts at eavesdropping.
“Don’t try this on a Mage, greenies,” he’d warned.
“Unless you’re more powerful than he is, he’s going to
know you’re there, and he won’t be pleased.”
And yet she’d tried it on those two Mages—the ones who
claimed they were more powerful than the High Mage was
now—and neither of them had detected her presence. Just
to be sure her success was no ..uke, she’d eavesdropped on
several other Mages throughout the course of the workday.
Not one of them had noticed her in their minds.
Her success gave her courage. And this time, as
Melliandra stretched out her senses, she directed them in
search of a speci..c mind, a speci..c pair of eyes. It was,
surprisingly, much easier than she expected, perhaps
because the cool, dark path to that mind already existed
inside her, forged when she was very young.
In the silence of her mind, unnoticed by her host,
Melliandra looked out through the eyes of Vadim Maur.
The Faering Mists
Kieran knelt beside Lillis’s body and prayed while the
shei’dalins worked frantically to save her. Behind him,
shei’dalins worked frantically to save her. Behind him,
Lorelle clung to her father and Kiel with desperate fear.
T h e shei’dalins, surrounded by a thinner mist and a
golden light, had been the ..rst of the lost party Kieran and
Kiel located. Both of the women had already healed each
other’s wounds from the falling mountain, and rather than
heading o.. blindly into the Mists, they’d decided to wait
and send questing calls of Spirit out in every direction. Kiel
had stumbled across one of those Spirit threads, and the
two of them followed it to its origin. Together, the four Fey
began combing the rubble in search of the Baristani family.
Many bells later, they found Lorelle and Sol, both
completed covered by a fall of rocks that hid them from
view. How they’d found them, Kieran wasn’t entirely sure,
but he’d followed a sudden feeling that had taken him o..
in the right direction. Lorelle and Sol were both barely
alive—hardly more than a few heartbeats from death,
actually—and as the shei’dalins healed them, they said that
someone or something in the Mists had been holding them
to the Light.
It was by tracking the ..ickering remnants of that Light
and the growing sense of urgency pulling at him like a
lodestone that Kieran had found Lillis, buried under a pile
of rubble, her body shattered, dying. She had been the one
holding her family to the Light.
There was hardly a bone in her body left unbroken,
hardly a ..ngerspan of skin not horribly bruised and
scratched. A large tree limb had impaled her left leg. Sharp
rocks had all but sliced o.. her right arm. Her back was
rocks had all but sliced o.. her right arm. Her back was
broken in three places.
There was no reason she should still be alive at all
—especially after feeding so much of her strength to her
sister and father. And yet she was.
The shei’dalins couldn’t explain how she had survived,
and Kieran didn’t care to try. He only cared that she was
alive, and the shei’dalins were here to heal her, and he was
with her. Nothing else mattered.
“I’m here, ajiana,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “I’m
here with you. Your papa is ..ne. Lorelle is ..ne. You need
to stay with us now.” Tears gathered on his lashes and
dropped onto her cheek, making little paths through the
layer of grime coating her skin.
Her eyes ..uttered. Dazed eyes found his face. Her
cracked lips parted in a faint smile. “I knew you were
alive,” she whispered. “I knew you would come.”
He blinked back more tears and brushed his hand across
her hair. “Always, ajiana. Whenever you need me, I’ll
always ..nd a way to reach you. No matter what.”
The Forests of Eld
Together, Rain and Ellysetta sprinted through the tall, dense
trees of Eld’s old forest. Thick, soft moss, layered with
fallen leaves and shed needles, carpeted the forest ..oor.
Undergrowth was sparse, but Rain used Earth to thicken
Undergrowth was sparse, but Rain used Earth to thicken
the occasional stands of small evergreen shrubs and thin
saplings to provide cover from their pursuers. He had to
use a light hand. Too much thickening of the brush, and he
might as well blazon their path in sun-bright colors.
Ellysetta ran beside him, her footfalls Fey-silent despite
the limp in her gait. She more than kept up his pace, but
they still weren’t running even half Rain’s normal speed.
They ran for bells, stopping to rest only when their legs
wouldn’t carry them another step. Rain wasn’t certain how
far they had run. Forty miles. Maybe sixty. Still nowhere
near close enough to expect rescue from the lu’tan.
Rain threw small obstacles behind them. Spirit weaves to
confuse and mislead their pursuers: mu..ed voices to draw
Eld attention in a di..erent direction, a ..ash of Ellie’s bright
hair to draw their eyes, splashes of blood leading away to
the west.
Within his body, the remaining sel’dor barbs shifted
continually, tearing muscle and ..esh, burning, making his
every weave a painful exercise. Each time the pain grew
too sharp, Ellysetta touched him and stole away the worst
of it.
Afternoon turned to evening. They came upon a narrow
dirt road that cut a swath through the forest and very nearly
stumbled into the path of an oncoming squad of Elden
soldiers. Rain grabbed Ellysetta’s arm and hauled her back,
and they ducked into the shadows of a small rocky
outcropping.
outcropping.
«Do you think they saw me?» she asked.
«Nei.» He cursed softly to himself. «But they’re de..nitely
looking for us. See how they’re scanning the forest as they
march?»
One of the soldiers stopped to nail something to a tree.
«What are they doing?» Ellysetta asked.
«I don’t know.» Rain narrowed his eyes. The man had
hammered what looked like a round moonstone on the
tree trunk. While farther down, another soldier hung a
similar stone on the opposite side of the road. «Whatever it
is, I don’t like the looks of it.»
They ducked back into a small crevice in the rocks as the
soldiers drew closer. He spun the barest hint of Spirit to
veil the pair of them and make them appear to be part of
the stone itself. The weave would not hold up to close
inspection, but unless the Eld stood within a few
armlengths of them, it should su..ce.
He held himself still, hands clenched, as the Eld
approached. Rage, his old familiar friend, burned deep
within him, hungering for blood and vengeance.
Ellysetta laid a hand on his face, her touch cool and
calming.
Rain covered her hand with his. «I will do nothing to
endanger us, shei’tani.»
«I know you will not.» Her trust in him was simple—and
absolute.
absolute.
He swallowed his hatred, tamping it down as, behind
them, the Eld stopped beside the rocky outcropping. Part
of him—perhaps the still sane part—didn’t believe her trust
was warranted, but he prayed to the gods he would not fail
her.
“Here as well,” one of the soldiers announced in an
authoritative voice.
There was a bit of grumbling. “The Tairen Soul himself
gets shot down, and Primage Keldo has us hanging ja..ng
rocks on trees.”
“We all do our part, corporal. If it bothers you, perhaps
you’d like to discuss it with the Primage yourself?” There
was a snap to the squad leader’s voice.
“No, sergeant,” the corporal replied sullenly.
“Good. Then hang the chemar every hundred paces, as
the honored Primage has ordered. If the Tairen Soul passes
this way, we’ll have been the ones to set the trap.”
The squad of soldiers moved away, leaving the
grumbling corporal behind to ..nish his task. “Perhaps
you’d like to discuss it with the Primage yourself?” he
sneered under his breath. “Scorching brown-nose. Bet you
wear a dress and bend over any time the Primage gets a
sti.. one.”
From the sack at his waist, the corporal yanked out a
small round stone set in what looked like some sort of
pendant, then he pulled hammer and nails from another
pouch. He slapped the stone against the tree trunk at
pouch. He slapped the stone against the tree trunk at
shoulder height, pinned the nail through the bale loop at
the top of the stone, and swung his hammer. His foot
slipped on a pile of slick leaves, and the hammer slammed
down on his thumb instead of the nail head.
“Krekk!” The white stone fell to the ground and skidded
across the slick blanket of fallen leaves, down an incline.
The Eld soldier loosed a stream of colorful swearing and
shook his smashed thumb.
“Son of a pole-shriveling bone-hag. Miserable
chervilja..ng, krekk-gobbling rultshart.” The corporal stuck
his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it as he stomped
after the fallen stone, which had come to rest near a small
rocky outcropping. “I’ll bet they’ve already found him. I’ll
bet they’re roasting his Hells-..amed Fey changeling ass
over Mage Fire right this very moment, and I’m missing out
on the lot of it.” He snatched up the fallen stone.
He stopped short, his gaze freezing on the shadowed
outline of two pairs of booted feet visible within a
translucent gray veil of stone. “What the… ?” He squinted
and stepped closer. The boots were connected to legs and
whole bodies. It looked as if two people had been
entombed in the stone.
Understanding, unfortunately late, bloomed in the young
man’s brain as he looked up, straight through the weak
Spirit weave into Rain Tairen Soul’s glowing eyes.
T h e chemar dropped from the corporal’s nerveless
..ngers.
..ngers.
“Krekk.”

CHAPTER TEN
Eld ~ North of the Heras
Rain’s Fey’cha ..ew true, burying hilt-deep in the Elden
soldier’s throat. Tairen venom did its job. The young man’s
eyes rolled back instantly, and he dropped to the ground.
A shout rang out from the squad farther up the road.
“Come on!” Rain grabbed Ellysetta’s hand, launched out
of their hiding place, and headed due south. The time for
backtracking to a safer crossing was over. They needed to
get to the river—and fast.
He sent a blast of Fire up the road and whispered his
return word to retrieve his red Fey’cha from the fallen
soldier’s throat. As they sprinted across the dirt road, Earth
rumbled to Ellysetta’s command, shifting beneath the feet
of the squad of soldiers. A chorus of screams rose as trees
toppled down on top of them, and another gout of ..ame
lit a deadly bon..re.
One of the white stones on the trees began to glow as
Rain and Ellysetta ran past, and a glowing rune appeared
in its center, as if written in ..re.
“What is that?” Ellysetta pointed at the glowing stone.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. Run faster, shei’tani.”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. Run faster, shei’tani.”
She put on a burst of speed, then faltered as a wave of
ice washed up her spine, and her knees went weak.
“Rain… My legs…” Her legs abruptly folded, and she went
sprawling into the bracken. Rain circled back and snatched
her up o.. the ground, but her trembling legs would not
hold her weight. She collapsed against him, clinging to him
to hold herself upright. “I’m sorry.”
“Las. There is nothing for which you should be sorry.” He
scooped her up against his chest and continued to run.
Behind them, the screams of the burning soldiers died out,
leaving only the crackling of Rain’s Fire.
Ellysetta’s trembling increased until her entire body
shivered uncontrollably with the familiar sensation of ice
spiders crawling up her spine. Her temples ached, and
there was a strange pressure at the backs of her eyes, not
unlike the burn of unshed tears. She stared over Rain’s
shoulder as he ran, and watched in horror as a black spot
began to widen in the place where the glowing chemar
stone had been.
“Rain! It’s the Well! The Well of Souls is opening!” Her
..ngers clawed into his shoulders as a sudden, powerful
blast of cold, gagging sweetness swept over her. Robed
Mages rushed out of the Well, globes of deadly blue-white
..re whirling in their hands.
“Run!” she cried. She ..ung a series of ..ve-fold weaves
behind her, but the sel’dor weakened her threads, and the
Mages easily batted them aside.
Mages easily batted them aside.
Rain clutched her to his chest and raced across the rolling
hills of Eld. The exertion opened his barely healed wounds,
and drops of bright scarlet marked a trail that would be all
too easy to follow. Of course, with Mages at their back,
leaving a visible trail was the least of their worries.
Ellysetta didn’t think the situation could get worse, then
two—no, make that three—new portals opened. She saw
one of the white stones with the ..ery rune glow bright, just
before a ..fth portal opened where the stone had been. “It’s
the stones! They’re using those stones to open the portals.”
The Eld were gaining on them. Carrying her as an extra
burden slowed Rain down too much. She squirmed in his
arms. The tingling, ice-spider feeling was still strong, but
the initial rush of weakness had faded. “Put me down. We
have no chance of outrunning them if you keep carrying
me.”
He set her on her feet without breaking stride, and she
landed running.
«If we can make it to the river, we might have a chance
at escape.» The Heras was fed by the powerful faerilas
Source at Crystal Lake, and its waters worked like acid on
Mage ..esh. Even with their magic tightly leashed, Mages
avoided wetting so much as their smallest toe in the ..erce
waters of the Heras. «The river won’t stop the Mages
completely, but at least it might slow them down.»
They raced through the trees, leaping over small rocks
and fallen tree trunks. As he approached a ..nal, small
and fallen tree trunks. As he approached a ..nal, small
ridge, Ellysetta could smell the brisk, clean waters of the
Heras and hear the rushing burble of its swift current.
Almost there. Five more tairen lengths, and they would
be over that last ridge and speeding down its slope to the
protection of the river and away from those gods-scorched
chemar stones that were spitting out Mages by the dozens.
An arrow slammed into Rain’s back, knocking him
o..balance and sending him sprawling.
“Rain!” Ellysetta scrambled down the hill towards him.
“Leave me! Run! Get to the river! I’ll be right behind you.
”
“I’ve already told you, I’m not going anywhere without
you.” Her eyes went wide, and she lunged for him. “Look
out!”
Rain threw himself to one side. The arrow in his back
snapped in two as he rolled onto his back, and two more
barbed arrows thunked into the ground at the exact spot
he’d just vacated. A third arrow sank into a tree trunk near
Ellysetta’s head.
Rain’s eyes ..amed at the sight of the poisonous black
missile quivering in the tree so close to his shei’tani.
Despite the howling protest of the sel’dor embedded in
him, he sent Fire spinning from his out..ung hand. It
scorched several trees and ignited the three Elden bowmen
who’d shot the arrows.
Ellysetta grabbed him and yanked him to his feet.
Together, they raced up the ..nal ridge, scrabbling over
Together, they raced up the ..nal ridge, scrabbling over
slick piles of fallen leaves and tumbled rocks. A storm of
arrows erupted from the trees at their backs. Ellysetta ..ung
a blast of Air to knock them o.. course.
At the bottom of the hill, a pair of yellow-robed
apprentice Mages stood surrounded by archers and
swordsmen. Magic crackled around them in a visible
nimbus, and in their hands they coaxed deadly globes of
blue-white ..ame to life.
One of the two Mages sent his ball of Mage Fire roaring
towards them. Rain attempted a ..ve-fold weave, but sel’dor
howled through his ..esh. His resulting weak, crippled
weave only managed to de..ect the Fire, not destroy it. The
Fire plowed through another clump of trees, eradicating
portions of them from time and space.
In a battle of magic today, even those two apprentice
Mages would win.
“To the river, shei’tani. Hurry!”
Behind them, at the bottom of the hill, the second Mage
released his ..re. Rain looked back just in time to see it
hurtling towards them. “Get down!” He ..ung himself at
Ellysetta, knocking her to the earth and covering her body
with his own as the enormous ball of blue ..re roared over
their prone bodies, close enough to singe Rain’s skin with
the burning ice.
A hail of arrows followed on the heels of the Mage Fire,
and yet another volley of Mage Fire followed the arrows.
Ellysetta de..ected the arrows but Rain could not even slow
Ellysetta de..ected the arrows but Rain could not even slow
the Mage Fire.
“Rain.” Ellysetta gasped softly and grabbed his hand,
squeezing tight.
A sudden blast of energy from the west ridge intercepted
the hurtling balls of Mage Fire and destroyed them.
Their unlikely savior was a blue-robed Primage heading
up a second troop of soldiers and archers. “Kill the Tairen
Soul, if you must, idiots,” the Primage shouted in Eld to the
two apprentice Mages, “but harm the girl, and the High
Mage will roast and eat your livers out of your still-living
bodies.”
Rain glanced behind them, to the Mages approaching
from the west, north, and east, then looked down at the
troops standing between them and the river. “That’s our
only chance,” he said. “I don’t see any Mages there.”
Ellysetta raised her brows. “So what are we standing here
for?”
He laughed, loving her. Then his expression went serious
as he handed her two red Fey’cha.
She took the poison blades and searched his face.
“In case, I cannot save us,” he admitted in a low voice.
Her gaze fell, and she nodded in solemn understanding.
Their situation was grim. Rain would die before letting the
Mages take her, and if he did, the Fey’cha would at least
give her a way to avoid capture. She sheathed the poison
blades carefully in the knife belt across her chest.
blades carefully in the knife belt across her chest.
He touched her cheek. “Lend me your strength, shei’tani?
”
“You need not ask.”
“And give me one last kiss?”
She smiled and moved into his arms. “You need not ask
for that either.”
Her lips, so warm and soft, parted beneath his. She tasted
of life and sweetness and all the dreams he’d ever dreamed
as a boy. She tasted of hope and of a future he’d never
allowed himself to want since he’d found his wings. Regret
dimmed his pleasure. She was so young, her life so
unful..lled.
Ellysetta pulled away to look into his eyes. “No regrets,
Rain. I have none.”
Peace settled over him. He nodded, his throat too tight
for words, and kissed her once more. «Ver reisa ku’chae.
Kem sera, shei’tani.»
Her hands closed around his. The brightness that was
Ellysetta ..owed up his arms and ..lled him with peace and
warm, rejuvenating strength. He gave her back the essence
that was himself and watched her eyes ..utter closed. She
smiled, a secret, womanly smile. “Ke vo san, shei’tan. I
always have. I always will.”
Together they turned to face the advancing line of
soldiers.
“There.” Rain directed her attention to the spot where
the line of soldiers was thinnest. He gathered his power.
the line of soldiers was thinnest. He gathered his power.
They would not have more than a few moments to make
their escape. He would have to strike hard and fast, with
only one or two concentrated weaves to open up a corridor
between the advancing Eld.
She squared her shoulders. “Let’s go.”
They ran down the hill, magic blazing. Earth shuddered
violently. The ground split open to the left and right, and
dozens of soldiers toppled into the ..ssures. Fire and Air
roared down the hillside, plowing through the remaining
line of men and clearing a direct path to the Heras River.
Sel’dor screamed in Rain’s ..esh, ampli..ed by the echo of
Ellysetta’s matching pain, but he roared his de..ance of it
and held his weaves until his very bones rebelled. They
raced through the burning carnage as the remaining soldiers
converged on them, swords drawn.
A badly burned soldier leapt from the smoking ruins of
his fallen comrades to make a grab for Ellysetta. She
slashed out with Rain’s red Fey’cha. Blood spurted from the
Eld’s torn throat, splashing her face. She swiped her
forearm across her face and kept running. Beside her, Rain
swung his seyani sword in his left hand and ..red o.. red
Fey’cha with his right.
Behind them, the Mages had reached the crest of the
ridge. A line of archers ..red a volley of arrows. As they
soared overhead, Rain saw the white stones attached to
each arrow shaft already brightening. Rain grabbed
Ellysetta’s hand and put on a desperate burst of speed.
Ellysetta’s hand and put on a desperate burst of speed.
Too late. Portals opened like gaping black maws directly
in their path. Mages and soldiers poured out, blocking their
path to the river and cutting o.. their only hope of escape.
Cornered, breathing hard, Rain and Ellysetta turned to
face the enemy.
The Fading Lands ~ Chatok
With the Baristanis healed and safely in tow, Kieran and
Kiel led their small group back up and over the shattered
mountain to the edge of the Faering Mists. Though Teleon
and the Garreval now appeared completely clear of Eld,
Kieran and Kiel took no chances. They traveled just inside
the edge of the Mists, following that edge to the Garreval
and emerging only to make a swift dash into the Mists-
..lled pass between the Rhakis and Silvermist mountains.
They stayed close to the shei’dalins, walking in the
thinner mist that surrounded them, and the passage into the
Fading Lands went without incident. Kieran held Lillis on
his back, while Lorelle rode on Kiel, and the girls’ kittens,
who had also survived their ordeal, purred happily inside
their slings on Kiel’s and Kieran’s chests.
Within a few bells of entering the Garreval, they emerged
onto Taloth’Liera, the great, walled ..eld that marked the
boundary of the Fading Lands. Fey in full war armor stood
atop the wall and ..anked the mighty steel gates that led
into the Fading Lands.
into the Fading Lands.
The warriors guarding the gate greeted Kieran and Kiel as
if they’d risen from the dead. Which, Kieran supposed, they
had.
“We’re glad to see you alive and well,” the captain of the
gate said. “I’m sure Marissya-falla will make the Feyreisa’s
family feel right at home.” «Despite the current
circumstances,» he added on the Warrior’s Path.
Kieran and Kiel shared a frown. «What circumstances?»
Kieran asked.
The Forests of Eld
Eld surrounded Rain and Ellysetta on all sides, swords
drawn, sel’dor-barbed arrows nocked and aimed. And with
them were Mages. Scores of them. Yellow-robed
Apprentices, red-robed Sulimages, and twelve of the most
dangerous, the blue-robed Primages. The Mages’ eyes were
alight with the unholy red-sparked black of Azrahn, and
each of them held globes of lethal Mage Fire at his
..ngertips.
“Throw down your weapons, Tairen Soul,” one of the
red-robed Sulimages ordered, “or we’ll see how your mate
likes dancing with our Fire.”
Rain sneered at the threat. “Harm her, and the High Mage
will roast your liver and eat it from your still-living body,”
he reminded them in ..uent, perfectly accented Elden.
he reminded them in ..uent, perfectly accented Elden.
To the right, the blue-robed Primage gave a wry laugh.
“Very true,” he acknowledged pleasantly in equally ..uent
Feyan. “You have good ears, and a wonderful command of
our language.” Suddenly, his eyes blazed black with red
lights, and the line of Eld bowmen behind Ellysetta let their
arrows ..y.
Ellysetta cried out as half a dozen arrows plowed into
her back and shoulders, dropping her to the ground and
pinning her there. The red Fey’cha in her hands fell
harmlessly to the dirt.
Rain let out a choked snarl of fury and reached for his
own red Fey’cha, but ..ve more bowmen shifted their
stance to aim directly at Ellysetta.
“But,” the Primage continued calmly, “there are degrees
of harm. The High Mage wants her brought to him alive,
but he won’t mind a scratch or two. And I’m quite expert at
knowing how to bring a Fey close to death while keeping
her chained to life.” All pretense of warmth left his voice,
and his smile vanished. Eyes swirling with Azrahn
threatened from the hard, cold face of an unforgiving
enemy. “Now drop your weapons, or we’ll see how much
more sel’dor your mate can take before she cannot stop
herself from screaming.”
Rain dropped the sword and Fey’cha still clutched in his
hands, then began to unbuckle the straps that held the rest
of his weapons.
“Nei, Rain,” Ellysetta moaned. Her face turned towards
“Nei, Rain,” Ellysetta moaned. Her face turned towards
him, her eyes glazed with pain. “Don’t do it!”
He shook his head. «I have no choice, shei’tani, and they
know it.» He’d given her the red Fey’cha to take her own
life if he was slain. But ..ghting would only ensure her
torture and his certain death, and she would be left alone
and vulnerable in the hands of the Eld.
When all his steel lay in the dirt at his feet, two soldiers
and one of the apprentice Mages approached. Two of them
gathered his weapons and retreated out of reach.
“Hold out your hands,” the yellow-robed Mage ordered.
Rain extended his arms.
The Mage nodded, and the soldier beside him pulled a
pair of black metal manacles from a large leather pouch.
Long, sharp black spikes drove inward from the metal cu..,
and thick, heavy metal chains joined the manacles together.
“We run across dahl’reisen from time to time,” the
apprentice Mage informed him, “so we’ve learned to
always be prepared.”
Rain shuddered and dropped to one knee as the Eld
clapped the manacles over his wrists and drove the sel’dor
spikes into his bones. The dark metal, poisonous to the
Fey, burned where it touched him, making his skin redden
and blister, short-circuiting his body’s natural self-healing
abilities. His wrists, like every burning wound where
sel’dor shrapnel still lodged, would remain unhealed and in
constant pain until the foul metal was removed.
The Eld stripped o.. his boots and drove a second set of
The Eld stripped o.. his boots and drove a second set of
spiked manacles into his ankles. The raw, searing pain left
him breathless and dazed. Ellysetta wept openly, sobbing
his name.
“What about her, Master Keldo?” the Apprentice Mage
asked.
“Bind her hard,” the Primage answered. “Wrists, ankles,
and throat. Master Maur said this one is dangerous.”
The apprentice Mage approached Ellysetta with heavy
black manacles and chains.
“Leave her alone!” Rain ordered. He strained against his
chains. “Do not dare to touch her.”
“The bindings will cause no permanent injury,” the
Primage assured him. “But her magic will be contained.”
He issued a sharp command, and several soldiers rushed to
hold Ellysetta down as the apprentice clapped the spiked
manacles into place around her wrists and ankles.
Ellysetta screamed and began to struggle. Panic grabbed
Rain by the throat. He lunged forward, trying to reach her,
dragging the four Eld soldiers holding his chains o.. their
feet. Someone cracked him hard over the back of his head,
and he collapsed facedown on the ground.
The Fading Lands ~ Chatok
Kieran could scarcely believe the “circumstances” that the
captain of the gate had been referring to. Once again, Orest
captain of the gate had been referring to. Once again, Orest
was under attack. This time with dragons to combat the
tairen. Once again Rain had called for every warrior in
Dharsa to head for the Veil.
And once again, proving that his incalculable stupidity
knew no bounds, Tenn v’En Eilan had countermanded that
order just as he had countermanded Rain’s order to defend
Orest and the Garreval this summer.
To justify his command, Tenn had reminded the Fey that
Rain was an outcast, a dahl’reisen stripped of his crown
and banished for spinning Azrahn. He’d even gone so far as
to warn that any Fey who chose to ..ght alongside their
deposed king did so at his own peril and should expect no
aid from the Fading Lands.
Kieran met Kiel’s gaze in grim silence. «That scorchbrained
fool,» he hissed to Kiel on a private weave. «Teleon
was destroyed, Orest nearly taken, and Tenn’s still hiding
behind the Mists, thinking that will save us? How can he
think dividing us will make us stronger?»
«We could head for Orest now,» Kiel suggested. «The
shei’dalins can take Master Baristani and the girls the rest
of the way to Dharsa without us. If we hurry, we could
make the Veil in a little over two days. From the sounds of
it, the Fey at Orest need every blade they can get.»
Kieran glanced at the girls standing alongside their father
and the two shei’dalins. He wanted to head for Orest. His
hands itched to hold his blades and feel the razor-sharp
steel slice through Eld ..esh and bone. He could almost hear
steel slice through Eld ..esh and bone. He could almost hear
the voices of his slain blade brothers at Teleon crying out
for him to avenge their deaths.
He clenched his jaw and silenced them. «Nei,» he said.
«Nei, the Feyreisa entrusted her family’s safety to us. I will
not abandon that duty to another. We see them safe to
Dharsa, and into my parents’ care. And then we head for
Orest.»
«Agreed, but we need to move quickly. The sooner we
reach Dharsa, the better.»
Kieran tugged at his lower lip. Where was a ba’houda
steed when a Fey needed one? Celierians couldn’t run even
half the speed of a Fey for more than a few chimes, and
they tired much too easily. Kieran and Kiel didn’t have the
strength to carry all three of them—and with a war on, the
Garreval couldn’t spare a single warrior to help them.
A gust of sandy wind whipped a long scarlet veil o.. one
of the shei’dalins. Kieran watched it swirl and tumble
through the air, with the shei’dalin running in pursuit, and
his lips curved in a slow smile.
«I think I have an idea. Wait here.» Turning, Kieran
jogged back into Chatok, returning a few chimes later with
a pile of blankets he’d ..lched from the barracks. He set the
blankets on the ground and summoned his Earth magic.
Lillis watched his weave with interest. “A carpet?”
Kieran gave her a grin. “Lillis, kem’alia, haven’t you ever
heard the story about the Feraz desert boy and his magic,
..ying carpet?”
..ying carpet?”
Her eyes widened. “Oooh. We’re going to ..y?”
He laughed. “Aiyah, you are. Hop aboard. You, too,
Master Baristani and Lorelle. Kabei. Now, hold on.” Kiel
and he combined their powers in an Air weave strong
enough to lift the carpet several handspans above the sand.
Another simple weave propelled the levitating carpet
through the air. Soon, the ..ying carpet and its riders were
racing across the sands towards Dharsa, with Kieran, Kiel,
and the shei’dalins sprinting swiftly alongside.
Eld ~ North of the Heras
When Rain awoke, he was collared as well as manacled.
The heavy metal yoke around his neck wasn’t spiked like
the manacles, but it blistered his skin, constricted his
airway, and made breathing an e..ort. Even if he managed
to break free of the Eld, there was no way he could run or
..ght with the collar limiting each breath to shallow, hardwon
gasps.
Ellysetta lay beside him in the dirt, curled into a small,
trembling ball. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow
and labored. Both her wrists and ankles were bound in
heavy sel’dor and a matching collar circled her neck,
attached to a thick chain. Rain’s gaze followed the length of
hated black metal links to the Eld soldier holding the other
end of the chain.
He couldn’t have been out for very long. They were still
He couldn’t have been out for very long. They were still
in the forest. If much time had passed, he and Ellysetta
would already be halfway to whatever foul den the High
Mage called home.
Half a tairen length away, the Mages stood together,
arguing over something. After a furtive but thorough look
around, Rain estimated there were about ..ve hundred Eld
soldiers and bowmen gathered in the surrounding trees,
weapons in hand but not aimed. Rain turned his attention
back to the Mages, focusing on the blue-robed Primages.
They were the greatest threat, the strongest source of
enemy power. The other Mages were powerful—no Mage
advanced beyond green robes without mastering the ability
to wield dangerous levels of his own innate magic—but
they were only apprentices to the darkest secrets of Azrahn.
The Primage called Keldo was the obvious leader. There
was both arrogance and temper in the haughty arch of his
blond brow and the unmistakable snap of command in his
voice. A sash bedecked with sparkling jewels attested to his
many victories, and rings of power gleamed on each of his
..ngers, including two thumb rings set with large black
selkahr the size of Soul Quest crystals. Which Fey, Rain
wondered, had died—or worse—so this Mage could wear
those rings?
The Mages were still arguing. Keldo scowled and said
something, but he kept his voice too low to carry far. Rain
strained his ears to catch the tail end of what Keldo was
saying.
“… You think Primage Garok could ever have conceived
“… You think Primage Garok could ever have conceived
—let alone carried out—the capture of the Tairen Soul and
his mate? Don’t be such fools. Master Maur is the greatest
Mage in the history of Eld, and thanks to his vision and
leadership, we stand on the eve of the greatest victory Eld
has ever known.” Keldo made a slashing gesture. “No. We
deliver Master Maur’s prize to Boura Fell, as ordered. If
Garok believes he is the better Mage, let him issue
challenge. I, for one, will never bet against Master Maur.”
So… there was apparently dissension in the Eld ranks.
Rain wished there was some way to put that knowledge to
use, but once the High Mage had Ellysetta in his control,
he’d be able to put his last Marks on her, and there would
be nothing and no one with the power to defeat him.
He dragged himself closer to Ellysetta and reached out
for her hand, but before his ..ngers could touch hers, the
soldier holding Rain’s chain gave his collar a vicious yank.
Rain fell backward, choking and grabbing at the collar.
The Eld soldier smirked. “Not so almighty without your
magic, are you, Tairen Soul?”
Rain narrowed his eyes. Even with all the sel’dor in him,
he could still summon enough magic to weave the Air out
of a pair of lungs.
The sight of the man’s shocked, bulging eyes and sudden
terror was worth the vicious beating Rain received as half a
dozen soldiers leapt on him and bludgeoned him
mercilessly until he released their comrade.
The choking soldier fell to his knees in the dirt, coughing
The choking soldier fell to his knees in the dirt, coughing
and wheezing. Rain ..ung his hair out of his bruised and
bloodied face and sneered. “Not so arrogant with no air in
your lungs, are you, Eld rultshart?”
“Ah, you’ve awakened,” the Primage observed in a cool
voice. “And still full of de..ance, though I’m sure the High
Mage will rid you of that soon enough.” His eyes went cold
as he turned them on the still-wheezing Eld soldier. “Get
up. You are a fool to taunt a Tairen Soul, even if he is
sel’dorpierced and bound. Unlike your friends I would not
have intervened while he killed you. If you bait him again,
I’ll kill you myself, and I promise you, your death at my
hands will be far more painful than mere su..ocation.”
The choking man blanched and lurched to his feet.
“Understood, Primage Keldo.” He saluted briskly and
resumed his station, standing sti..y at attention.
“As for you,” the Primage continued, piercing Rain with a
cold stare, “bringing you back alive will add a substantial
jewel to my sash, but your mate is the true prize. Cause me
trouble, and I’ll slit your throat without a second thought.
Captain!” An Eld o..cer snapped to attention along with
several of his men. “Prepare him.” As the soldiers moved
forward, the Mage told Rain, “These men are going to clean
your wounds and pack them with sel’dor powder. We’re all
going to take a trip to the High Mage’s palace, but in your
current condition you’d never survive a journey through the
Well of Souls. The smell of your blood would drive the
demons mad with hunger.”
Rain su..ered the ungentle ministrations of the Eld as
Rain su..ered the ungentle ministrations of the Eld as
they doused him in water to wash away the blood, then
rubbed his wounds with powdered sel’dor to soak up any
fresh blood that might ooze from them. Keldo himself
cleansed and packed Ellysetta’s wounds, then stroked a
hand over her cheek when he was done.
Rain’s chains rattled. “Do not,” he hissed.
The Primage arched a brow. For a moment, Rain thought
he might dare some other, graver indecency, but apparently
he remembered his own warning about baiting Tairen
Souls. The Primage removed his hand, and Rain crawled
over to pull Ellysetta into his arms. This time, the soldier
holding his leash did not try to stop him.
At his touch, Ellysetta’s trembling lessened. One arm
crept up around his neck, and she turned her face into the
hollow of his throat, ..inching back when her skin touched
his sel’dor collar, then settling against a spot on his chest
instead.
His embrace seemed to draw her back from whatever
nightmare had gripped her mind, and he felt her return to
full consciousness. “Rain…”
“Shh. Las, shei’tani. I am here.” He feathered a kiss on
her pale brow, another in her bright hair, and kept his
wary gaze on the enemy that surrounded them.
“Touching,” the Primage sneered, but he made no move
to separate the pair of them. Instead, he turned sharply to
two of the yellow-robed apprentice Mages. “Gelvis, Harryl,
open the portal.”
open the portal.”
“Yes, Master Keldo.” The two apprentices raised their
arms. The cu..s of their sa..ron robes fell back, and the air
around their hands began to glow as they gathered their
energies. Rain clutched Ellysetta close as the sickly sweet
odor of Azrahn ..lled the air, and the temperature dropped
several degrees.
He watched the patterns of the weave form, dark ropes
of red-tinged black writhing like snakes, looping and
intertwining, undulating, pulsing like blood through veins.
The chill of Azrahn grew colder until Rain felt his skin
tingle with false warmth. The weave outlined a wide
rectangle and began to bleed inward upon itself, forming
an impenetrable, pulsating darkness in the late-afternoon
shadows of the forest. As the edges of the weave touched
and the last light shining through was blotted out, Ellysetta
began to moan. Her limbs trembled violently.
Bright shafts of white blazed out from the edges of the
weave, and it fell inward, like a cloth falling down an
abyss. Sheer, inky blackness loomed in the middle of the
forest. A low, keening cry issued from deep within the
darkness. Whispers, insidious, hungry, frightening, snuck
into the world.
“Rain…” Ellysetta clutched at him, her skin gone
clammy, her eyes open and unfocused.
“Interesting,” the Primage observed. “She feels the Well
open, just like a demon.”
At last Rain’s mind made the connection that had been
At last Rain’s mind made the connection that had been
eluding him for months. The wandering souls that
occasionally sent shivers through Ellysetta and made her
legs go weak. The whispering voices that had so terri..ed
her when the tairen sang the Fire Song to cut the invisible
bonds that tied Cahlah and Merdrahl to the earth and freed
their souls to dance the stars. The pieces of the puzzle
..nally began to fall into place. When the Well of Souls
opened, Ellysetta sensed it. The opening of the portal
sapped her strength, leaving her weak and trembling. As if
some part of her were being drawn back into the Well each
time it opened.
Could the infant tairen whose soul had been stolen from
the Well and tied to hers be trying to get back where it
belonged? Or had whatever black magic the Mage had
spun on her in the womb left her somehow uniquely
connected to the things that dwelled in the Well?
“Rain…” she whispered. Her body went limp, and she
slumped against him, unconscious.
Rough hands grabbed Rain’s arms and hauled him to his
feet. Ellysetta dangled from his arms, her head back, her
curls spilling to the ground like a waterfall of ..ame.
“Wait!” he snapped. “Something’s wrong with her!”
Primage Keldo sneered. “Perhaps the fact that she’s
carrying her weight in sel’dor?” His expression hardened.
“Pick her up and carry her, or we’ll do it for you. The High
Mage is expecting us, and he doesn’t like delays. You two”
—he jabbed a ..nger at two armored soldiers standing
nearby, then jabbed again to the swords, Fey’cha, and
nearby, then jabbed again to the swords, Fey’cha, and
weapons’ belts piled a short distance away—“bring their
weapons.”
As the two soldiers rushed to gather the Fey steel, Rain
lifted Ellysetta into his arms. The Primage nodded, and the
soldiers standing behind Rain shoved him towards the
gaping maw of the Well of Souls.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Soul stained black by darkness
I’ve been banished to this half life.
All I have left is remembered honor
And for this I now must ..ght.
I’ll protect those that I left behind
So they’ll never feel this sorrow.
I’ll hold the line day and night
So my Fey brethren will not follow.
Dahl’reisen’s Lament, by Varian vel Chera
The Forests of Eld ~ North of the Heras River
Before the sole of Rain’s boot touched the ground in his
third step towards the Well, the world went mad.
A shadowed blur whooshed past his ear. The expertly
thrown red Fey’cha buried itself in the chest of one of the
apprentice Mages holding open the gateway to the Well of
Souls. Red blood blossomed. The Mage’s mouth opened in
a soundless scream.
Blackness came rushing out of the Well. Demon!
Rain tightened his grip on Ellysetta and shoved away
from the Well, propelling them both backward as the
from the Well, propelling them both backward as the
formless dark mass enveloped the Mage. He caught a brief
glimpse of the demon’s snapping teeth and bloodred eyes.
Then the air turned scarlet as the Mage’s body shredded.
Long strips of ..esh peeled away from bones; blood sprayed
in a ..ne mist that never made it to the ground, bones
pulverized into powder. In an instant, he was gone—utterly
consumed.
The red Fey’cha that had initiated the Mage’s death fell
to the forest ..oor only to disappear before it hit the
ground.
A savage grin curled the edges of Rain’s mouth. He didn’t
know how in the Seven Hells Bel had done it, but he’d
somehow managed to reach them in record time. “Fey!” he
cried, “Ti‘Feyreisa! Ti’Feyreisa! “
The whistling whoosh sounded again, this time in force
as scores of Fey’cha rained down upon the Eld. Half the
Mages died before they had time to raise their shields.
Demons howled and rushed out of the Well, driven to
frenzy by the sudden rush of rich, red blood.
The Fey must have been using Gaelen’s invisibility
weave, because Rain didn’t catch a single glimpse of blackclad
warriors or even the slightest purple glow of a Spirit
weave. But their steel ..ew with blinding speed and deadly
accuracy, and that was all he cared about.
As swift and merciless as the demons that consumed the
dead, the Fey rained down slaughter on the enemy. Eld
screamed and scattered in fear as invisible foes ripped open
screamed and scattered in fear as invisible foes ripped open
Eld throats and chests, parted heads from shoulders, and
cleaved mailed soldiers in two. Only the Fey’cha were
visible, ..ying without cease, outpacing Eld arrows four to
one.Without the dead Mage’s Azrahn to keep it open, one
side of the Well doorway began to collapse. The apprentice
Mage holding open on the other side gurgled as a red
Fey’cha buried itself in his throat. He toppled over and was
shredded and consumed before he could hit the ground.
The doorway fell in upon itself, closing rapidly.
Primage Keldo leapt forward and channeled a
concentrated burst of Azrahn to keep the Well open. Even
as he did so, he ..ung a shield around himself and ..red
deadly globes of Mage Fire at the unseen attackers. “Get the
girl into the Well!” he shouted. Fey’cha bounced harmlessly
o.. his shields.
A dozen Eld converged on Rain and Ellysetta—and died.
Their bodies dropped like autumn leaves.
Rain hauled Ellysetta into his arms and bolted away from
the Well. Huge, furious balls of Mage Fire rolled past Rain
on either side. He smelled the stench of seared ..esh and
heard the thud of ruined bodies falling to the ground as
some of the Mage’s shots hit the invisible rescuers. Rain
kept running. His seldor-bound magic was useless, and
Ellysetta’s life was in danger. He had to trust the Fey to do
their job. “Fey, ti’Feyreisa!” he shouted. “Fey, to the
Feyreisa! Protect her! Shields up!”
Feyreisa! Protect her! Shields up!”
A ..ery hammerblow punched Rain in the back of one
leg, sending him sprawling. The smell of scorched ozone
..lled his nostrils. He fell to his knees, and his elbows
slammed so hard into the ground that his teeth rattled. He’d
been struck by Mage Fire, and only the power of his golden
war steel had saved him the loss of a leg. He released
Ellysetta and rolled to his feet in time to see another of the
Primages advancing on him, more Mage Fire blazing.
Half a dozen Fey materialized directly in the Primage’s
path. Another half dozen shimmered into visibility in a
loose ring around Rain and Ellysetta. Mage Fire roared
towards them. In the hands of the Fey, magic blazed to life,
huge, powerful ropes of it forming a ..ve-fold weave. Earth.
Air. Water. Fire. Spirit.
A sixth, dark rope joined the rest.
Azrahn.
Rain’s gut clenched. He spun instinctively towards
Ellysetta, saw the six-fold weave surrounding her
unconscious form, saw the scars on the faces of the Fey
surrounding her.
It wasn’t Bel who’d come to their rescue.
It was dahl’reisen.
His hand instinctively reached for his Fey’cha belts, but
his steel still lay in a heap on the ground near the portal to
the Well of Souls. Before he could make a move to recover
his blades, a massive concussion shook the ground. Rain
dropped to his knees as Mage Fire exploded harmlessly
dropped to his knees as Mage Fire exploded harmlessly
against one of the six-fold weaves.
More dahl’reisen added their weaves to the others. Power
swelled until the very air crackled. Clouds boiled in the
sky. Rain glanced back in time to see the Primage feed
power into his shields in a desperate, doomed attempt to
save himself as thirty-six dahl’reisen interwove their magic
into a single, enormous rope of energy. It blasted through
his shields like ..re through paper, incinerating him in a
single ..ery ..ash.
The doorway to the Well of Souls collapsed. The feeding
demons howled in fury as the closing door sucked them
back into their world.
Abrupt silence fell over the Eld forest.
The dahl’reisen paused brie..y to gauge the remaining
number of enemy, then continued methodically
exterminating the Eld. They made short work of those who
..ed and the few who remained to ..ght, and slit the throats
of the still-groaning Eld wounded as they began dragging
Eld bodies into a large pile and retrieving Fey’cha.
“Fire the bodies quickly.” The order came from behind
Rain’s back. The speaker’s voice was harsh and gravelly,
and it held the unmistakable ring of command. “Jaren, you
and your men send our fallen brothers back to the
elements. Others will come. We must leave.” The
dahl’reisen obeyed without hesitation. The pile of Eld
corpses burst into ..ames. The half dozen dead dahl’reisen
who’d not been consumed by Mage Fire were gathered and
who’d not been consumed by Mage Fire were gathered and
laid out in a line. Six-fold weaves enveloped the bodies,
then blazed bright. When the magic died down, the bodies
of the slain dahl’reisen were gone.
Rain turned to the speaker, a tall dark-haired warrior
with a thick scar that curved across his throat up to his left
cheek. Rain did not recognize him, but that wasn’t so
surprising. Before the Wars, Fey had numbered in the
hundreds of thousands.
“You will come with us,” the dahl’reisen told Rain.
Rain glanced at the dahl’reisen still ringing around
Ellysetta. Had these men who walked the Shadowed Path
rescued them only to turn around and imprison them
again?
“The woman and I are heading for Orest,” Rain told him,
then cursed himself for the useless attempt to hide
Ellysetta’s identity. He’d already shouted it to them all. Fey,
to the Feyreisa! Protect her!
One of the dahl’reisen’s dark brown brows lifted in a
mocking gesture almost identical to the one Gaelen so
enjoyed using. “Your sense of direction is somewhat
lacking, Tairen Soul. This is Eld.”
“We were… diverted.”
“You are both wounded, and I imagine you would like to
be rid of that Eld jewelry before continuing your journey.”
The dahl’reisen’s nose wrinkled with distaste as he touched
the sel’dor manacles welded in place around Rain’s wrists.
Rain met his gaze steadily. “You know I cannot allow any
Rain met his gaze steadily. “You know I cannot allow any
of you to touch her.”
The mocking brow arched again. “You believe you could
stop us if we were determined to do so? Sel’dor-pierced
and shackled?”
“I would die trying.”
“Still so noble. Still so bloodthirsty. How many souls
weigh on your own, Rainier vel’En Daris?”
“Millions,” Rain answered ..atly. “And you?”
“Not so many as that. But enough to leave me with this.”
He touched the scar on his neck and cheek. “Strange, is it
not, that I should be the one banished.”
“We su..er and survive our su..erings as the gods see ..t.”
“Ah, of course. The will of the gods.” He tired of
pricking Rain’s honor. “You will tend your mate, Feyreisen.
We who are the Brotherhood of Shadows do not touch Fey
women. She will be safe enough, but with your permission
we will weave Spirit upon her to keep her from waking. In
her current condition, our proximity would be too harsh a
torment for her to bear.”
Knowing he had little chance, Rain agreed, and one of
the dahl’reisen spun a dense Spirit weave over Ellysetta.
Rain watched closely to be sure there was nothing in the
weave but patterns to make her sleep.
“Once we reach our village, we will remove your
shackles,” the dahl’reisen leader said as the other man
..nished the weave and stepped away. “There are women
with healing talent who will see to you both. We will—”
with healing talent who will see to you both. We will—”
His voice broke o... He lifted his head with sudden
alertness, his shadowed green eyes growing darker. “More
Mages have arrived. Blue robes, by the feel of them—and
many of them. We must cross the river quickly.”
Only then did Rain scent Azrahn on the wind, so faint he
might never have detected it without the dahl’reisen’s
drawing attention to it.
“The Eld are using the Well of Souls to travel,” Rain told
t h e dahl’reisen leader. “They’ve planted white stones
throughout these woods to open portals to the Well at will.
”
“The chemar,” the scarred warrior murmured. “Aiyah,
they are a disturbing new development. The Eld only
recently began using them, and they stink of witchcraft. We
have destroyed all those between our position and the
river. But we appreciate the warning.”
Rain eyed the other man with speculation and an
unsettling sense of confusion. Dahl’reisen walked the
Shadowed Path. They were corrupt and untrustworthy…
and yet there was something about this man… “Do you
have a name?”
The dahl’reisen’s eyes ..ickered with surprise. Fey did not
a sk dahl’reisen their names. Dahl’reisen were the dead
—nei, worse than the dead, they were the dishonored.
“I am Farel.”
Celieria ~ Orest
The sky over Orest was on ..re. The screams of tairen and
dragons rent the air. Great jets of searing ..ame and smoke
boiled like demonic thunderclouds, turning the sky a sickly
orange. Hundred-fold weaves kept the ..ames from burning
most of the city, but the ramparts of lower Orest were
scorched, parts of the stone walks littered with the seared
rubble of bowcannon and the smoldering heaps of ash that
had once been men. Two dozen bowcannon were still
operational, surrounded by thickets of dense, protective
weaves that the Fey opened to let the cannoneers ..re, then
sealed again once the shot was o...
The tairen darted in and out of the Faering Mists using
the magical barrier for cover, soaring out to launch an
attack and draw the ..re of the dragons so the cannoneers
could load and launch their ice shot, which exploded on
the slick, superheated dragon scales like water dropped in
a vat of hot grease. Three of the great beasts had fallen,
their broken, bloody carcasses draped over the city’s walls
and rooftops, but the victory had not come cheaply.
“My Lord Teleos! Look!” One of the general’s aides
pointed to the east. An army was marching towards Orest,
banners waving the familiar blue and gold of Celieria and
an equally familiar gold gryphon on a ..eld of red. “It’s
Lord Polwyr!”
Teleos ..xed Fey eyes on the approaching army, and the
tension in his gut didn’t ease until he saw the familiar face
of his neighbor and friend, Gri..et Polwyr, heading up the
of his neighbor and friend, Gri..et Polwyr, heading up the
column, riding his favorite white warhorse. “Thank the
Bright Lord. He must have seen our signal ..res. Quickly!
Open the eastern gates and wave him in. Tell the
cannoneers keep those dragons o.. him while his men cross
the ..eld.”
Eld ~ The Heras River
A fog had moved in, blanketing the Heras in thick
whiteness. Long black barges emerged from the mist as the
dahl’reisen band approached the banks of the river. Dark
sails snapped in an unnatural wind, and the shallow boats
skimmed rapidly across the swirling current, steered by an
unseen hand. Along the Eld shores, dahl’reisen slipped like
shadows through the trees, their numbers—nearly ..ve
hundred strong—moving swift and silent.
Still holding Ellysetta, Rain struggled to keep up, and his
steps fell heavily on the ground. With more Mages
advancing rapidly on their heels, Farel had barely taken the
time to strike the chains o.. the manacles clamped to Rain’s
ankles so he could run rather than hobble to the river’s
shore. His gait was awkward, the barbs from the sel’dor
missiles shredding his ..esh with every step. His body
poured constant energy to heal the muscles even as they
ripped against the barb’s sharp edges, and the pain was so
consuming, he’d had to separate his mind from his body.
As they hurried down the steep hillside to the water’s
As they hurried down the steep hillside to the water’s
edge, the black boats beached themselves on Eld soil. The
dahl’reisen leapt aboard without pause and pushed o...
Rain had to admire the practiced economy of motion.
These dahl’reisen moved like a swift, honed blade, each
man acting as a seamless part of the whole. Even without
their impressive invisibility weaves, they could no doubt
strike without warning and disappear before anyone could
summon a defense.
He clambered aboard the last boat and took the seat
Farel indicated. Ellysetta’s head lolled back against his arm,
her bright hair spilling down to the boat bottom in a fall of
wild spirals. Her lips were parted, her breath whispering
through in shallow gasps. Around him, dahl’reisen cast
furtive glances ..lled with curiosity and longing and envy.
How long had it been since they’d seen a Fey woman?
Since they’d stood even half a league from one?
He drew Ellysetta more closely against his chest. His ..at
gaze met the others, warning them o.. as the boat pushed
away from the shore and turned, heading for the other side.
“You are the Brotherhood of Shadows,” Rain said. “Did
Gaelen vel Serranis send you to rescue us?” Of course, it
had to be Gaelen. The reckless, rock-headed lu’tan would
have done anything to save Ellysetta, even send dahl’reisen
for whom coming within a mile of a Fey woman was an
act punishable by death.
Farel’s eyes ..ickered. “What do you know of Gaelen vel
Serranis?”
Serranis?”
“I know he leads a band of dahl’reisen he calls the
Brotherhood of Shadows. He came to Celieria several
months ago with reports of Mages returning to power and
the Eld gathering an army.”
“You cannot have captured him. You would have ordered
his death for approaching his sister.”
“Aiyah, I would have.”
“Yet he still lives.”
“He does.” Rain was not about to tell the dahl’reisen that
Ellysetta had restored Gaelen’s soul. They might be Gaelen’s
comrades, they might have rescued Rain and Ellysetta from
certain doom, but they were still dahl’reisen, Fey outcasts
who had chosen life on the Shadowed Path over
sheisan’dahlein, the honor death. They were what Gaelen
had been before Ellysetta restored his soul, honor-lost
warriors capable of committing the most heinous of all Fey
crimes—even murdering a Fey woman. Rain had not
forgotten that Gaelen had originally come to Celieria City
to kill Ellysetta because he believed she was Vadim Maur’s
daughter. Instead, Ellysetta had restored Gaelen’s soul, and
he’d bloodsworn himself to her protection.
“You confuse me, Tairen Soul.”
Not half so much as I confuse myself. Rain sighed and
pressed his lips to Ellysetta’s brow. She had entered his life
and tilted all his certainties into questions.
“We would have saved her regardless of Gaelen’s
commands,” Farel announced abruptly. “She is Fey. We
commands,” Farel announced abruptly. “She is Fey. We
may have lost our path, but we still own enough of our
souls that we would not have allowed a fellana to fall into
Eld hands.”
Rain looked up. Farel was watching Ellysetta. There was
no mistaking the helpless adoration, the naked longing. No
Fey woman had ever claimed Farel’s soul, yet still he could
not help but love them. It was plain on his face that even
now, even dahl’reisen, he remembered the dreams of every
Fey boy and man for a truemate, he remembered the
untarnished beauty and limitless love of Fey women. He
might want to blame them for his banishment, but he could
not.
“Beloved of us all,” Rain said quietly.
“The gods have mercy upon us.”
With another man, Rain would have laughed at the
familiar rejoinder. But he could not laugh with a
dahl’reisen whose only hope of mercy had perished long
ago.
The boats reached Celierian shores under the protective
blanket of mist, and the dahl’reisen disembarked as quickly
as they had boarded. As the last man leapt to dry land, the
boats dissolved and shrank, becoming the fallen trunks of
trees littering Celierian shores.
“The Mages will likely follow us,” Farel said. “And not
necessarily by the river. We slay them where we can, but
the Eld have thoroughly in..ltrated the borders. The north
belongs to Eld, and only now does Celieria begin to know
belongs to Eld, and only now does Celieria begin to know
it.”
“So Gaelen warned us months ago, but few believed him.
”
Farel nodded, but this time silenced any bitter reply he
might have made. “Gaelen told us to keep you safe until he
arrived, so you’ll be coming with us.”
To one side, a dahl’reisen emerged from the mists
leading a black ba’houda horse. “Can you ride, Tairen
Soul? It’s either this or we carry you and your mate on a
pair of litters. We cannot a..ord to let you slow us down.”
“I can ride,” Rain said. Flamed if he would let some
dahl’reisen cart him about like a decrepit mortal. It
wounded his pride to allow Farel’s men to lift him into the
saddle, but better that than allow the dahl’reisen to touch
Ellysetta. When the ba’houda actually moved, more than his
pride hurt but he gritted his teeth and bore it, clasping
Ellysetta tightly against him as they galloped through the
Celierian hills.
Every so often, a small squad of dahl’reisen would peel
o.. from the main group and lope away in some di..erent
direction. Decoys, Rain presumed, sent to befuddle any
followers and to erase the signs of passage of the main
party. The dahl’reisen operated with impressive precision.
Which wasn’t all that surprising since all dahl’reisen were
seasoned Fey veterans with many centuries of training and
warfare beneath their belts. Once, they had been among the
best warriors of the Fading Lands.
best warriors of the Fading Lands.
Rain was grateful for the dahl’reisen weave that kept
Ellysetta unconscious. Between the sel’dor in her body, his
own burning pain, and the presence of the dahl’reisen, she
would have been screaming in torment. And with his arms
around her—his body pressed against hers, their shared
pain would have formed an agonizing harmonic.
Rolling farmland ended at the edge of a deep wood, and
the dahl’reisen came to a halt. Rain’s innate tairen sense of
direction and long-forgotten memories pinpointed their
location. This was Verlaine Forest, the deep, vast woods in
northwest Celieria. Legally, the forest was part of King
Dorian’s family holdings, but in reality Verlaine Forest
belonged to no one. During the Mage Wars, Fey, Celierians,
and Elves alike had found refuge here amongst the trees,
using the forest as a base from which to launch attacks
against Eld. Dark, bitter battles had been fought all around
the forest’s edges, terrible magic released in and around its
ancient borders, but the Eld had never conquered the dark
Verlaine, nor penetrated its deepest interior.
Farel approached and laid a hand on the neck of Rain’s
mount. “You’ll have to run from here. Not even ba’houda
will enter this wood. Do you have the strength to carry your
shei’tani and still keep up?”
Rain arched a brow. “You just lead us to safety. I’ll ..nd
whatever strength I need to follow.”
The corner of Farel’s mouth lifted. “Then follow, Tairen
Soul.” He turned and plunged into the dense, dark forest of
the Verlaine.
the Verlaine.
Rain adjusted Ellysetta in his arms, set his jaw, and ran.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
“Escaped? What do you mean my prizes have escaped?”
Primage Vargus stood before Vadim Maur, shaking like a
leaf in a hard wind. “The dahl’reisen were using their
invisibility weave—the one that renders them completely
undetectable. They came in such numbers, with no
warning, and they destroyed all the chemar in the area so
we couldn’t ..ank them. We searched for them, but found
no sign of their tracks. We can only assume they’ve crossed
the river and taken refuge in the Verlaine by now.”
Vadim paced, the hem of his purple robes swirling
around his feet with each brisk step and sharp pivot. He’d
been waiting impatiently for the arrival of Ellysetta
Baristani, and when she had not been delivered to him
within one bell of her capture, he’d gone looking for an
explanation—and found Vargus in the war room, sweating
a river as he tried frantically to coordinate a doomed search
for the missing captives.
“We did at least recover the Tairen Soul’s blood, Most
High.”
Vadim stopped abruptly in a billow of purple velvet.
“Did we?”
Vargus nodded. “Quite a lot of it. Enough for Primage
Vargus nodded. “Quite a lot of it. Enough for Primage
Grule to ensure that the next time the Tairen Soul ..ies near
Eld will be his last.”
“See it done.”
Vargus bowed and exited the room.
Vadim began to pace once more. The dahl’reisen. They’d
been a thorn in his side for centuries, slaughtering his
umagi, foiling the raids he sent to bring back the magical
o..spring from the breeders he’d released into Celieria in
the hopes of creating a greater and more powerful pool of
prospective breeders. He’d captured a number of the
dahl’reisen over the years and added their gifts to the
bloodlines he was creating. For that usefulness—and
because he hadn’t wanted to tip his hand to the Celierians
—he’d never sent a large enough force into Celieria to kill
them.
But now—incredibly—it seemed the dahl’reisen had
joined forces with the Fey.
And that was an alliance he could not allow.
Vadim wrenched open the door to his o..ce and barked
a curt command to Zev.
“Summon the Mharog.”
Melliandra leaned close to the bars of Lord Death’s cell and
spoke in a low voice. “Remember I once asked you if you
could show me how to unravel a ward?”
Lord Death’s head was bent over his bowl as he scooped
Lord Death’s head was bent over his bowl as he scooped
hot stew into his mouth. At her question, his glowing green
eyes looked up, pinning her. “I remember. I also remember
telling you it takes magic to unweave magic.”
“What if someone just recently discovered they have
magic? Could you teach them how to use it?”
His eyes narrowed. “I used to be a chatok… a teacher.
But learning magic takes time.”
“What if you don’t have much time?”
“That would be unfortunate. Instruction cannot be
rushed.”
She took a breath. She couldn’t believe she was about to
suggest this. “What if you didn’t exactly instruct?” She
swallowed, and forced herself to spit it out. “Mages control
people. They make them do things, even magical things.”
“Mages do many things Fey do not. Controlling others
through magic is one of those.”
“Yes, but could you if you had to?”
Lord Death’s brows drew together. “What are you
thinking, child? What are you asking me to do?”
“There’s an important battle coming. The High Mage is
planning to personally oversee it. He’ll be leaving Boura
Fell. It would be the perfect time to get your things.”
The Fey set down his bowl and gripped the cage bars.
“When?”
“In a few days. Like I said, there’s not much time. That’s
why I need to know, if I can bring you someone with
why I need to know, if I can bring you someone with
magic, and I show you the wards that need to be unraveled,
can you—I don’t know—spin a weave of some kind to
control their magic so they can unravel the wards?” “Who
is this magic user? How do you know you can trust him?”
She bit her lip. Once her secret was shared, it could never
be unshared. But then, she’d already shared other secrets
with this Fey, ones that would be far more perilous to her
if he ever revealed them.
“Her, not him. The magic user is a girl. And I know I can
trust her, because she’s me.”
Celieria ~ Orest
“I am very glad to see you, my friend.” Teleos clasped
Gri..et Polwyr’s forearms. The neighboring Border Lord’s
men had been deployed in lower Orest, while the
nobleman himself had been escorted to the command
center in Upper Orest.
“And I you, my friend. I saw the signal and the ..re in the
sky”—he jerked his chin towards the tairen and dragon
..ghting claw and fang overhead—“and thought you could
use a hand.”
Despite the grim circumstances, Teleos laughed. “You
thought right. I’ve never been happier to see your ugly
face.” He and Gri..et had been friends since they were lads.
Gri..’s second son bore Dev’s name.
Gri..’s second son bore Dev’s name.
A sudden cry rang out over the Warrior’s Path. «Portal
opening near the south gate! Fey to your posts! Sound the
alarm!»
The bells of Lower Orest began to ring. Teleos swore. A
single portal had opened a mile east of Lower Orest, well
out of cannon or weave range. A score of Eld soldiers
emerged, racing north and south, and in their wake, dozens
and dozens of other portals opened. Elden warriors and
Mages poured out in a thick, black tide. Behind them, a
second row of portals spewed batteries of bowcannon and
siege weapons.
“Looks like they mean to take her this time,” Dev said.
Gri..et moved to Dev’s side. “They do, my friend,” he said
softly. “I’m sorry, but they do.”
“Gri..?” Dev turned in time to see his friend’s eyes turn to
bloody black horror. The sickly sweet ice of Azrahn washed
over him. “Ah, no.” Dev’s mournful whisper ended on a
choked grunt. His breath ..ed his lungs in a sudden,
agonized gasp and pain doubled him over as the blade in
Grifet’s hand slid under the scales of Dev’s armor and sliced
through his belly, driving up towards his heart.
Celieria ~ The Verlaine Forest
For most of the day, Rain and the dahl’reisen picked their
way through the Verlaine’s heavy underbrush and dense
way through the Verlaine’s heavy underbrush and dense
stands of trees, pausing only a few times for brief rests.
Progress was slow until the daunting thicket of the outer
forest gave way to an older, deeper wood where small,
persistent saplings and evergreen molia bushes vied for
survival alongside great, densely needled conifers and thick,
gnarled oaks. Twilight descended, and the forest gloom
became an impenetrable darkness. Rain’s eyes adjusted
automatically, his elongated Fey pupils opening wide to let
in every hint of light. Where mortals would be blinded by
darkness, Rain and the dahl’reisen had the clear vision of
cats hunting in the night.
A loud scream rent the air. Rain jerked to attention.
“Lyrant,” Farel said. “The forest is full of them… along
with other vicious, Shadow-spawned creatures created and
loosed upon it by the Mages.”
They ran deeper into the forest, and Rain began to spot
the shadows of dahl’reisen sentries perched high in the
branches above. He knew there must be conversations
..ying over private Spirit weaves, but the dahl’reisen were
too disciplined for him to detect the barest hint of it.
They approached a deep thicket draped with thorny,
..owering sago vines. Except for the faintest glow of a
privacy weave and the fact that the dahl’reisen sentries now
allowed themselves to be visible, Rain would not have
given the thicket a second thought.
“We’re here,” Farel said. The vines parted as Farel
approached, and he ran through the resulting tunnel
approached, and he ran through the resulting tunnel
without slowing. The dahl’reisen guards watched silently,
their faces inscrutable, as Rain and Ellysetta passed by them
and followed Farel through the opening.
They emerged from the long tunnel at the edge of a
village. A remarkable, unexpected, secret village—large
enough it could nearly be called a city—hidden in the heart
of the Verlaine.
Rain looked around with a mix of shock and admiration.
He had not expected something so large, nor so impressive.
Dahl’reisen Earth masters had done their work well. Cabins
nestled amongst the trees, integrated with an almost Elvish
..air so that they were scarcely distinguishable from the
forest as they hugged the thick trunks and perched high in
the heavy branches. Vine bridges draped from tree to tree.
Rope ladders and hanging wooden stairs that could be
raised or lowered at will granted access to the buildings
overhead. Round, illuminated orbs hung from the tree
branches, casting a golden glow upon the city in the trees
and the forest ..oor below, where well-worn paths
bordered carefully tended gardens.
Villagers rushed out to meet the returning raiders.
Among them were several dozen more dahl’reisen—some
in full leather and steel, others looking incongruously like
Celierian townsmen in tunics and breeches—numerous
mortal men and women, even elders with wrinkled skin
and whitening hair. And there were children, scores of
them, varying in age from the smallest babe still suckling at
its mother’s breast to tall, stripling youths on the cusp of
its mother’s breast to tall, stripling youths on the cusp of
adulthood. Rain stared at the children in wonder, seeing
more than one Fey face among them. They all watched him
with a mix of intense curiosity and deep-rooted wariness.
As the dahl’reisen entered, the villagers moved forward.
Women opened welcoming arms and clasped suddenly
weary-looking dahl’reisen to their breasts. Small children
cried “Gepa!” Father! Several women gave choked cries and
rushed to clasp the hands of the wounded, while others
waited and stood in grief-stricken silence as Farel’s warriors
delivered unto them the steel and sorreisu’kiyrs of the
fallen.
Watching them, Rain’s throat grew tights. He
remembered countless similar scenes from his own
childhood. Happy homecomings when his father, Rajahl,
had returned safely from battle. Bitter homecomings when
Rain himself had brought the wounded and as many dead
as he could carry back from a particularly bloody clash
with the Mages.
He had never dreamed to ..nd such warmth… such
love… in a dahl’reisen village.
A tall woman in dark skirts approached Farel. She was
young despite the wealth of startling white hair she wore
tied back with a simple band. Her face was barely lined,
her eyes large, clear pools of misty gray surrounded by
thick black lashes. Rain estimated she had seen no more
than thirty mortal years. She paused at Farel’s side and
clasped his hands, staring up into his eyes. Though they did
not embrace or speak aloud, Rain guessed this was Farel’s
not embrace or speak aloud, Rain guessed this was Farel’s
chosen companion.
The white-haired woman released Farel’s hands and
accompanied him back to Rain and Ellysetta.
“This is Sheyl,” Farel said. “She will tend to you and your
mate once we rid you both of the sel’dor.” He led Rain
over to a smith’s forge built in a small clearing o.. to one
side of the village. Six dahl’reisen followed—to guard the
villagers from the Tairen Soul, Rain supposed—but the
others dispersed, moving as far from Ellysetta as they could,
some even leaving the village altogether.
The smith was not dahl’reisen, but neither was he wholly
mortal. His muscles were thick as a Celierian’s, but his eyes
were pure Fey, pale, crystalline blue and glowing with
latent magic. He turned to Rain, a folded wad of leather in
his large hand. “If you will allow me, Feyreisen, I’ll remove
that collar. You can lay your mate on that cot in the corner,
then come sit on this bench.”
Rain hesitated, searching the man’s gaze for any hint of
treachery. When he found only sincere compassion, he
nodded and laid Ellysetta gently on the clean bedding. A
blanket had been folded neatly at the end of the cot, and
he draped it over her before returning to straddle the bench
near the forge.
The smith tucked the wad of leather between the collar
and Rain’s neck, then slipped a small steel plate between
the leather and the collar.
“Turn your head away.”
“Turn your head away.”
Rain obeyed, and someone—he couldn’t tell if it was the
smith or the dahl’reisen—summoned a ..ve-fold weave. The
dominant thread in the weave was Fire. He could feel the
concentrated heat of it. Cooling Water and brisk Air kept
the heat from penetrating through the leather or spreading
through the rest of the collar. The ..ve-fold weave went
suddenly ice-cold, and a sharp blow made Rain ..inch. After
repeating the process another ..ve times, the despised collar
fell away.
“Beylah vo,” Rain said, rubbing at his throat. He took a
deep breath and winced as the shrapnel still buried in his
chest reminded him sharply of its presence.
“Sha vel’mei,” the smith replied. And in perfect Feyan,
he added, “Removing the manacles will be quite painful,
I’m afraid. There’s no way to break open the bonds without
driving the spikes farther in, and they leave thorns we must
then cut out.”
“It can’t hurt more than it already does, but see to my
mate ..rst,” Rain ordered. Now that he knew what the
removal procedure entailed, he would not allow Ellysetta
to su..er her bonds a moment more than necessary.
“As you wish,” the smith agreed, “but I’ll need you to
hold her. As I said, the procedure will not be pleasant.”
Rain returned to Ellysetta and knelt at her side, gathering
her against his chest as the smith ..rst removed Ellysetta’s
collar then the manacles binding her wrists and ankles.
Even with the weave keeping her unconscious, the pain of
Even with the weave keeping her unconscious, the pain of
the procedure roused Ellysetta enough that she sobbed and
fought Rain’s grip until the smith had removed the last of
her bonds.
Then it was Rain’s turn again. He hissed through gritted
teeth as the smith worked on the barbed shackles piercing
his wrists. When the ..rst shackle fell free and the sharp
pain of the thorned spikes ripping out of his bone almost
wrenched a cry from his throat, Ellysetta roused once more.
“Rain?” Her eyes ..uttered opened, dazed and ..lled with
empathetic pain. Now free of her sel’dor manacles, enough
of her power must have returned that she was able to ..ght
o.. the weave meant to keep her unconscious. She reached
for him, groping blindly, and when her ..ngers grasped
nothing but air, she pushed herself o.. the cot and crawled
across the dirt ..oor to reach him. The dahl’reisen made no
attempt to stop her. Instead, they carefully backed out of
her way so that she could not accidentally touch them.
“Ellysetta, nei.” Rain tried to push her away when she
grasped his hand. “Do not touch me while they are
removing the shackles. You will feel it too clearly.”
Though barely conscious, she would not be dissuaded.
Instinct, pure and Fey, drove her. Her long ..ngers curled
around his bleeding wrist. She murmured his name over
and over, weeping, as a featherlight weave of healing Earth
and soothing Spirit penetrated his abused ..esh. He felt her
pain as the despised sel’dor buried in her ..esh rebelled
against her use of magic, but she persevered, ignoring her
own torment as she tended his.
own torment as she tended his.
“Stop,” Rain pleaded, pulling away again. Even if she
could ignore what she felt, he could not. “Enough, shei’tani
—” The word he’d so carefully avoided using slipped from
his lips. He glanced up in time to see Farel’s eyes narrow.
“Leave her.” The white-haired Sheyl stared at Ellysetta,
her eyes sympathetic. “Can you not see she feels it anyway?
Let her ..nd what comfort she can in trying to heal you.
Lian, ..nish quickly. She will try to bear the brunt of his
pain for him.”
Rain kicked up a leg, halting the smith. “Nei, do not.”
Sheyl’s pale eyes ..ashed with sudden ..re. “You Fey are
fools,” she snapped. “Always trying to protect your women
from their own nature. It hurts them more, do you not
understand? Worse, you make them weak, when they need
to be strong!”
The accusation took him aback as much as the woman’s
fearless attack.
“Don’t scold him for what he does out of love.” It was
Ellysetta who spoke, surprising them all. Her eyes were
closed, but her voice, though quiet, was lucid. “If it is my
nature to ease his pain, it is his nature to protect me from
it.” Her lips curved in a wan smile. “He knows I am a
coward at heart.”
“That you are not,” he denied. He drew her up into his
arms and whispered his vulnerability for her ears alone.
“My sun rises in your eyes, shei’tani. I cannot bear for you
to be hurt.”
to be hurt.”
Her eyes opened, and she lifted her hand to his face,
stroking her ..ngers against his skin. “Then let me heal you.
”
Tears pricked his eyes. He kissed her once with great
tenderness and released her. “Tend me if you must,
Ellysetta, but do not try to take all the pain upon yourself.”
Rain nodded his permission for the smith to continue.
Ellysetta knelt at his side. She ..inched when he did as the
second wrist shackle fell free, and cried out with him when
Lian pulled o.. the ..rst of the manacles piercing his ankles.
Despite his command, she absorbed the worst of his
torments into herself and muted them. Her tears and ..ngers
and soft lips brushed over the deep puncture wounds at his
wrist and each ankle.
When the last despised manacle fell free, they were both
exhausted and trembling. Rain gathered Ellysetta into his
arms and simply held her, resting his head against hers,
breathing when she breathed, clasping her hand and
o..ering back what strength he had.
“It is true then,” Farel murmured. “Rain Tairen Soul has
found his truemate.”
Rain looked at him. Farel and all of the other
dahl’reisen, men who had long ago learned to bear
su..ering without emotion, stood there, their eyes reddened
with the bottled tears dahl’reisen could not shed and their
hands clenched tight. They stood witness to the love that
would always be their deepest dream, and it still had the
would always be their deepest dream, and it still had the
ability to touch them as nothing else could.
“It is true,” Rain con..rmed.
He saw the woman Sheyl meet Farel’s gaze and saw the
brief nod between them. Gods, how could I be such a
trusting fool? He started to rise, reaching instinctively for
his absent weapons’ belts. The weave came crashing down
upon him like a killing wave. Darkness descended with
brutal abruptness.

CHAPTER TWELVE
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
7th day of Seledos
“Kieran!” Robed in green and white and shining like a star
in Dharsa’s fragrant night, Marissya v’En Solande raced
down the steps of the gold-and-white palace of the Fey
king. Her truemate, Dax, followed close on her heels.
Together, they rushed across the courtyard and rounded the
great, Fire-lit tairen fountain, to greet the approaching band
of weary travelers.
“Mela.” A smile broke across Kieran’s face. He loped
across the remaining distance and fell into his mother’s
outstretched arms, savoring her ..urry of hugs and kisses,
and submitting with good nature to the thorough maternal
inspection that followed. “I am well and unharmed, mela,”
he assured her, lifting her hands to his mouth and kissing
them before stepping into his father’s ..erce embrace.
“Gepa.”
“You worried your mother and me.” Dax’s eyes were
suspiciously bright when they broke apart. He cleared his
throat and gripped his son’s forearms. “I wish I could ask
you never to do so again.”
Kieran ducked his head. His parents would never make
Kieran ducked his head. His parents would never make
such a request because he could never honor it. Worry was
the burden of every Fey warrior’s parent.
“Lillis, Lorelle. Master Baristani.” Marissya stepped past
Kieran to greet Ellysetta’s family with calmer, but no less
heartfelt, embraces. “Meiveli ti’Dharsa. Kiel.” Her smile
turned solemn. She hugged the blond warrior, kissed him
on both cheeks, and held his hands tightly. “Beylah vo,
ajian. Thank you for bringing Kieran home safely.”
Marissya waved everyone towards the palace. “Teska,
come inside. Master Baristani, I will show you and the girls
to your rooms. I’m sure you must be weary.”
They were, Kieran knew. The girls hadn’t had the energy
to do more than ooh and aah over the starlit beauty of
Dharsa. Tomorrow, however, would be a di..erent story. As
soon as they were rested, they’d be bounding all over the
city, getting into the Haven only knew what sorts of
mischief. He grinned just thinking about it. Quiet, wellordered
Dharsa was about to get a much-overdue jolt of
joyful chaos.
As his mother led the Baristanis into the palace, Kieran’s
brief humor turned solemn. He and Kiel followed Dax to
one of the balconied terraces overlooking the city.
“We passed Eimar v’En Arran on our way here,” Kieran
said. After Tenn’s latest refusal to support Rain, Eimar v’En
Arran, Air master of the Massan, had gathered several
thousand like-minded Fey and headed for the Garreval to
join the war. Kieran watched his father closely. “Is there no
join the war. Kieran watched his father closely. “Is there no
hope Tenn will admit he was wrong and repair the breach
between himself and Rain? Does he not understand the evil
of the Eld?”
Dax sighed. “He understands, but he is convinced he’s
doing what’s best for the Fading Lands.”
“How? By tearing us apart? Dividing our people?”
“By keeping us safe. By holding to the Light and living
with honor, in accordance with the Scroll of Law.” Dax put
his hands on the balustrade and leaned forward, watching
the glowing lights of the fairy ..ies darting through the
gardens and the Fire-lamps of the city ..ickering through
the trees in the valley below and on the sides of the
surrounding hills. “I’ve known Tenn a long time. I do not
question his motives. I truly believe he’s doing what he
thinks is right.”
“Do you think he’s right, Gepa?”
“I think he is an honorable Fey.” After a brief pause, Dax
met his son’s gaze, and added, “I also think there is a
reason other than their link to the prides that our kings
have always been Tairen Souls and not truemated Fey
Lords.”
Kieran nodded. Tairen Souls were born to defend the
Fading Lands. Every one of them expected to die in battle,
and except for the occasional accident, every one of them
did. A Tairen Soul also knew, before binding himself in
e’tanitsa, that his duty to the Fading Lands came before his
duty to his mate. But Tenn was a truemated Fey Lord, and
duty to his mate. But Tenn was a truemated Fey Lord, and
his strongest instinct was to keep his mate safe.
“The girls are already asleep.” Dax, Kieran, and Kiel
turned as Marissya joined them on the terrace. “I never
realized how dear they had become to me until we thought
they were lost. It is good to have them back.” Her
expression turned somber. “They were asking for Ellysetta.”
Kiel and Kieran shared an uncomfortable silence.
“We thought it best to not tell them that Rain and
Ellysetta had been banished,” Kiel admitted. “In fact, I think
it’s best if we tell them she and Rain are away ..ghting the
war and will return when they can. It’s true enough. If Rain
and Ellysetta could return tomorrow, I’m sure they would.”
“You haven’t heard then?” Dax said.
“Heard what?” Kieran asked.
“Bel sent word on a private weave this morning. Rain
and Ellysetta were shot down over Eld yesterday. No one’s
heard from them since.”
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Village in the Verlaine Forest
T h e dahl’reisen carried the unconscious bodies of the
Tairen Soul and his mate to a small cabin not far from the
smithy. There, Sheyl scrubbed their wounds clean of sel’dor
powder before slowly and painstakingly removing each
ragged shred of the black Elden metal from their bodies.
She regretted the brutal but necessary weave that had
She regretted the brutal but necessary weave that had
robbed both Fey of their senses. She knew the Tairen Soul’s
hesitant trust in his dahl’reisen rescuers would be gone
when he woke, but after witnessing how di..cult it had
been for him and his mate to su..er the removal of their
manacles, she’d suspected the surgery to remove their
sel’dor shrapnel would have been beyond their capacity to
endure. The Mages had engineered sel’dor to block Fey
magic, cause immense pain, and resist e..orts to remove it.
Not even powerful Fey healers could coax sel’dor out of
..esh using magic, and there was no magic—regardless of
how powerful—that could completely weave away the
pain. Neither she nor Farel was willing to risk having their
village destroyed by a Tairen Soul driven mad by his
truemate’s pain.
She worked on the Tairen Soul and his mate for bells,
opening wounds with a razor-sharp black Fey’cha, digging
about with long steel pincers to remove the sel’dor
fragments, then probing with bare ..ngers to make certain
she’d gotten it all before healing the damage both she and
the Eld weapons had caused. Two other village women
with healing talents assisted her.
By the time she was done, the small steel bowl beside
the raised surgery cots was ..lled with bloody black metal
ranging from small pea-size bits to long, dagger-length
shards. Sheyl had seen more than her share of wounds
..lled with sel’dor shrapnel, and she was amazed that Rain
Tairen Soul had even managed to survive, let alone retain
his faculties, with that much of the poison metal in his
his faculties, with that much of the poison metal in his
body.
It was a testament to his strength and endurance—and to
his mate’s powerful magic. She’d probably been healing
him from the moment he was ..rst struck, though it was
obvious neither of them was aware of it. Sheyl had seen it
clearly the moment they rode into the village, the Light
..owing from Ellysetta into her mate, the shadows of pain
and death ..owing out of him back into her. Without her,
he would almost certainly have died.
Sheyl closed the last of the Tairen Soul’s wounds and laid
another weave upon the matepair to guarantee they would
sleep the night. Ellysetta’s Light was too dim for Sheyl’s
liking, and she needed uninterrupted rest to recuperate.
Only then did Sheyl open the door and admit the other
village women waiting outside.
The women bustled in and began the familiar task of
making Sheyl’s patients comfortable after their surgery.
They deftly stripped the remaining clothing from the
unconscious Fey couple and washed them thoroughly with
warm water and soap to cleanse away all traces of blood
and grime.
“Sheyl.” One of the women summoned her to Ellysetta’s
side. “Look.”
The woman was standing over Ellysetta, holding a
curling black spiral of Azrahn in her palm. On Ellysetta’s
left breast, just over her heart, four shadowy points lay like
a ring of bruises against her pale, luminous ..esh.
a ring of bruises against her pale, luminous ..esh.
Sheyl recognized the Marks instantly. Memory
—premonition—..ashed. A cry of denial rose up in her
heart, but her expression remained carefully blank.
“What are we going to do? Four Marks. Her presence
puts us in terrible danger.”
“Calm yourself. She’s been unconscious almost the entire
time. Even if the Mage was watching through her eyes, he
couldn’t have seen much.”
“Farel will still want to know.”
“And I will tell him,” Sheyl assured her. “Now ..nish
drying them, and have the men carry them to the top room.
Tell Imrion and his brothers to spin a weave around the
cabin to block what they can of the dahl’reisen’s pain from
the Feyreisa. Shutter the windows and post guards at the
door. I will take their armor and leathers to be cleaned and
mended.” She gathered up the discarded pile of golden
armor and studded red leather and let herself out of the
cabin.
Farel was waiting for her across the yard. His face was as
blank as hers. She wasn’t ready to face him yet, so she
turned away and carried the armor and leathers to a small
cabin farther down the main village thoroughfare. She gave
them to another of the village women and stayed to chat.
He waited, patient as time itself, until she abandoned her
attempt at procrastination and went to him.
When she reached his side, he held out his hand,
uncurling his ..ngers to reveal a black Fey’cha.
uncurling his ..ngers to reveal a black Fey’cha.
“When we recovered the Tairen Soul’s steel from the Eld,
Rythiel found this.” In a swift, practiced motion, Farel
..ipped the blade to show her the Fey markings
emblazoned in the pommel.
Sheyl recognized the name symbol instantly. “That’s
Gaelen’s mark.”
“I found it with several others, all bloodsworn. They are
hers. The Tairen Soul allowed a dahl’reisen—and not just
any dahl’reisen but Gaelen vel Serranis—to bloodswear to
his truemate. How can that be, Sheyl?”
“Have you asked Gaelen?”
“He will not answer. I told him they were safe, that I had
brought them here as he commanded. All he would say was
that we must protect her from the Eld even if it costs the
life of every man, woman, and child in this village.”
Because of that, she almost didn’t tell him about the
Mage Marks on Ellysetta’s chest. Though she had loved him
all her life and told him more than she ever revealed to
another living being, there were still many things she kept
from him. Some things no person should have to know. But
another woman had seen the Marks ..rst, and Sheyl knew it
would not remain secret for long.
“She bears Mage Marks.”
Farel was rarely caught o.. guard, but this time his mouth
almost fell open. “What?” “Four of them.”
His brows snapped together. “Then why would Gaelen
command us to bring her here? Her mere presence
command us to bring her here? Her mere presence
endangers us all.”
“I don’t know.”
Did the Tairen Soul know about his mate’s Marks? Was
that why he allowed a dahl’reisen to bloodswear himself to
the Feyreisa? Did he perhaps think Gaelen, who was at
least a fourth-level talent in Azrahn, could use his forbidden
skills to help protect the Feyreisa from Eld Mages? Sheyl’s
mind whirled with questions and possibilities, but she cut
them o.. quickly. If she allowed her mind to ask the
questions, her second talent might provide the answer, and
she could not do what she must in the coming days if the
outcome would be in vain.
Her second talent was premonition. Unfortunately, she
always saw true, and it was rarely something pleasant. The
gods had not given her the vision of possibilities, only of
unalterable destiny.
“At least she can’t have seen much,” Sheyl said to ease
the guilt and recrimination she knew Farel was feeling for
having brought such a danger into their village. “You told
me she was unconscious most of the way.”
“She was.”
“Then I’m right. She can’t have seen much—which means
the Mages can’t have either. I’ve put them in the top room,
shuttered the windows, and posted guards. They will both
sleep until dawn.”
He began to pace, a sure sign of overwhelming agitation
and distress. “They can’t stay here.”
and distress. “They can’t stay here.”
“Nei,” she agreed. “You must take them away tomorrow,
at ..rst light.”
“We should kill them both now, while they sleep.”
She shook her head. “Don’t talk foolishness. Any
dahl’reisen who killed her would become Mharog.”
He whirled on her. A muscle ticked in his clenched jaw.
“Then we get one of the mortals to do it—one of the old
men—and we feed him to the lyrant when it’s done so the
Dark deed dies with him.”
“Nei.” Sheyl’s voice was calm and even but as unyielding
as stone. “You will not harm her. You will take her away in
the morning. And you will grant her and the Tairen Soul
safe passage out of the Verlaine.”
“Sheyl—“
“Nei. Dahl’reisen you may be, but your soul remembers
what it is to be Fey—even when it is inconvenient. She is a
shei’dalin, and you are pledged to protect her from harm.
And he is the last Tairen Soul. If you kill him, the Eld win,
and you know it. Now, it is late, and I am tired. Come, take
me to bed.”
“Sheyl, every moment she spends in this village puts all
our lives in danger. You think I can just forget that and go
to bed?”
“Aiyah, you can. We are safe enough for now. They will
leave tomorrow. You and the dahl’reisen will go with
them. I want tonight.” She took his hand and tugged him
towards their cabin.
towards their cabin.
“The Tairen Soul is healed. He would never allow
dahl’reisen to escort his shei —” He broke o.., eyes
narrowing slightly. “You’ve seen this? That they would
leave, and I would accompany them?”
“Aiyah,” she lied. He’d not been in her vision, and that
meant there was a chance to save him. “Now come, Farel
vel Torras. Your hearth witch needs your attention.”
He allowed her to pull him towards their cabin. And
when the doors closed behind them, her hands helped him
to shed his weapons and leathers.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
Steel clattered outside the High Mage’s library door, the
sound reverberating in the stone chasm of his chambers.
Vadim glanced up.
“Come in,” he commanded. “And refrain from terrifying
my soldiers.”
Six tall, dark ..gures entered on booted feet that made no
sound as they walked, and with them they brought an icy
chill that prickled even the High Mage’s ..esh. Behind them,
the Eld soldiers who had accompanied them were
trembling so hard their armor rattled.
With a wave of his hand, Vadim dismissed the soldiers
and turned his attention to the six creatures standing before
him. They had been Fey once, then dahl’reisen. He had
him. They had been Fey once, then dahl’reisen. He had
captured them centuries ago, and unlike so many of their
brethren who had died in his untender care, they had
crossed that ..nal bridge, leaving the Shadowed Path and
descending into total Darkness.
They were the Mharog, Fey who had given themselves
utterly to evil. Immensely powerful. Utterly merciless. With
skin as pale as snow and pure black eyes like bottomless
chasms, they were frightening creatures, and even Vadim
Maur, who owned their souls, harbored a carefully hidden
terror of them.
“You summoned us to serve?” The tallest of the six asked
the question. His voice was a whispered song of power,
mesmerizing and deadly. Azurel he was called now, though
once he’d claimed another name that had been celebrated
in the Fading Lands.
“Your old friend Rain Tairen Soul has a truemate.”
A dangerous light sparked in Azurel’s black eyes. During
the Mage Wars, he’d been sent by Rain Tairen Soul to ..ght
in the desperate, bloody battle that had delivered him into
Mage hands and ultimately drove him down the Dark Path.
Over the centuries, Vadim had used that event to batter
down the dahl’reisen’s defenses and breed hatred in his
heart for the Fey and for Rain Tairen Soul in particular.
“One of my Mages had captured them, but the
dahl’reisen who’ve harried us for so many years along the
borders rescued them. The dahl’reisen harbor them now.”
He’d never sent a force capable of defeating the dahl’reisen
He’d never sent a force capable of defeating the dahl’reisen
into Celieria before, afraid of tipping his hand, but the
need for discretion was over. It was time to release the
hunters and let them pursue their prey. “You will track
them down, destroy the dahl’reisen village, and bring the
girl and any survivors to me. The Tairen Soul is yours to
kill.”
He gestured to a shadowy corner of his o..ce, where a
hard-eyed Mage in rich blue robes stood in silence. A sash
heavily laden with jewels of achievement circled his waist
several times and hung down to the ..oor. “This is Primage
Dur. He will accompany you, along with two hundred of
my Mages and a garrison of my best men into Celieria.”
“Your men will hinder us.”
“Don’t be a fool and don’t take me for one,” Vadim
snapped. “Six Mharog, even ones as powerful as you, aren’t
strong enough to confront the Tairen Soul and hundreds of
dahl’reisen on your own. Besides, the Feyreisen’s mate is
Fey born. Your touch would kill her. My men accompany
you so that she will be returned to me alive. If she is not,
rest assured you will continue your service to me in demon
form.”
Azurel hesitated long enough to make Vadim gather his
power, then he gave a lingeringly insolent bow. “It will be
as you command.”
As silently as they had entered, the Mharog slipped away.
Vadim sat as his desk for several long chimes, his ..ngers
steepled.
Celieria ~ The Dahl’reisen Village 8th day of Seledos
Dawn broke over a beautiful land of lush forests. As the sun
rose, pastel morning skies became vivid cerulean, bright
and cloudless over a verdant countryside. Shining lakes and
rivers teemed with ..sh. Flocks of birds soared above herds
of pronghorns bounding through thick forests. Silverhorned
Shadars thundered across open plains, while
winged Aquilines danced over glassy mountain lakes,
touching golden hooves and feathered wingtips lightly on
the water’s surface in a show of aerial mastery.
A familiar roar sounded, and Ellysetta turned to see a
pride of tairen race across the sky, fur shining in the
sunlight. Dozens of juveniles ..ew with the pride, some
engaging in mock battles, while others tested their wings
for the ..rst time beneath the watchful eyes of their elders.
Attentive adults ..ew below and behind the smallest of the
kitlings, ready to break an infant’s fall or snatch a weary kit
from the sky.
The tairen ..ew north, towards the jagged volcanic peaks
of the Feyls, where Ellysetta could see hundreds more
tairen circling the updrafts around the smoking peaks and
launching themselves into the sky from the labyrinth of
caverns riddling the range.
She turned her eyes west, and there was Dharsa, a shining
jewel of white stone and golden spires rising from the
forested hills like a crown. Moored boats bobbed in the
forested hills like a crown. Moored boats bobbed in the
harbor, while others sailed up and down the River Faer.
The city streets were busier than she’d ever seen them,
thronged with thousands of Fey, Elves, and other races.
And there were children. Hundreds of children. Infants
cradled in their mothers’ arms. Toddlers playing in
orchards and gardens over..owing with starry white
Amarynth. Fey youths gathered in the Warrior’s Academy
and the walled courtyards of the Hall of Truth and Healing
as robed elders instructed them in the ways of magic and
Light.
The Feyreisen’s palace rose from the city’s central hill,
and there in the courtyard outside the Hall of Tairen, stood
Marissya and Dax and with them a tall warrior in black
leathers who was idly scratching the ear of the brown
tairen kitling at his side. Three other kitlings played in the
Source-fed fountain while an adult tairen Ellysetta did not
recognize perched on the golden roof overlooking the
courtyard. As if sensing her presence, the young warrior
looked up. Eyes like blue stars—whirling with the
opalescent radiance of the tairen—met hers.
«Keralas,» she whispered, and the warrior—Marissya and
Dax’s as yet unborn Tairen Soul son—smiled.
The whirling radiance of his eyes ..ashed, a blue starburst
that intensi..ed to dazzling white light that blotted out
her vision.
When she could see again, she was no longer in Dharsa.
She was, instead, at Orest, and a Dark army stretched across
She was, instead, at Orest, and a Dark army stretched across
the land like a blanket of death. Hundreds of thousands.
Millions. Armed and armored, man and monster standing
side by side, their eyes pitiless chasms of malice. At the
head of the army stood the personal guard of the Dark
Queen, thousands of once-Fey warriors, faces scarred, eyes
black and merciless, their once-shining skins now a lurid,
corpse white, utterly devoid of the warm silvery Light that
had once su..used them. They looked the perfect vision of
the unspeakable evil they had become.
The Dark Queen stood in the center of her guard, her
scarlet hair piled high and threaded with ropes of black,
selkahr jewels, her lips bloodred, her eyes death black, her
skin white as milk. Her fell beauty dazzled the senses, an
enthralling illusion that drew men to their deaths and
masked the true horror of her Lightless soul. She was the
Corrupter, the Light Eater, the Consumer of Souls, and in
her wake red ..owers bloomed like a trail of blood.
Selgoroth, the ..ower of death, antithesis of the starry white
Amarynth that bloomed in the steps of Fey women bearing
young. Clusters of poison thorns hid amidst the Selgoroth’s
scarlet petals, and the ..owers’ black hearts exuded a
noxious miasma of decay. Where Selgoroth bloomed, all
other life withered and died.
Before the Dark Army, the last defenders of Light had
assembled. Elves and Fey, shining silver and gold. With
them stood the few mortals who still remained unenslaved
—those who possessed enough immortal blood in their
veins to resist the deadly pull of the Dark Queen’s
veins to resist the deadly pull of the Dark Queen’s
consuming power. The shimmering amber and green and
silvery blue bodies of Danae forest and water sprites.
Aquilines and Shadar. And the last pride of the tairen
—Steli and Sybharukai, Corus, Fahreeta, and Torasul, even
the kitlings, so young their pelts were still plump with the
soft, ..u..y down of their hatching-fur.
The Dark Queen raised her arms and shouted a command
that boomed like thunder across the ..eld. Her army gave
an echoing cry, and the earth trembled as they began to
march.
The Queen spread her arms wide and leapt into the sky,
shifting into a cloud of boiling black mist from which
emerged a nightmarish creature. A tairen, or rather what
should have been a tairen—just as a darrokken should have
been a wolf. Furless, scabrous skin the color of dried blood
stretched across the creature’s massive form. Eyes of
whirling ..ame glared over a snarling muzzle, and black
acid dripped from its razor-sharp fangs.
The monster screamed a challenge, and the tairen leapt
into the sky to answer her.
«Elan, shei’tani. Ve leiliath.» Awaken, beloved. You are
dreaming.
Ellysetta woke in a strange room, lying in a strange bed.
The ..rst gray light of dawn ..ltered in through a large
skylight overhead. Linen sheets were draped over her bare
skin, and a soft linen pillow stu..ed with some fragrant
herb cushioned her head.
herb cushioned her head.
Rain lay spooned against her back, one arm and one leg
thrown possessively over her. His long, lean body radiated
warmth, and one large hand cupped her breast. A broad,
warm hand stroked down her side, smoothing over her
arm, pulling her close. She turned her head to ..nd Rain’s
eyes half-opened, the irises gleaming a soft lavender behind
their thick veil of black lashes.
“Another nightmare?”
“Vision,” she corrected. “I can’t decide which is worse
—seeing the terrible things I could become, or realizing the
visions don’t terrify me like they used to.”
Magic hummed in his ..esh, and as they lay there, skin to
skin, body to body, she realized the faint vibration of her
own magic had altered to match his, forming a subtle
harmonic balance, a completeness she’d never noticed
before. It was as if the energy of his magic ..owed into
hers, and hers ..owed into his in a natural communion.
Even their heartbeats and their breathing had settled into a
synchronous rhythm.
As the haze of sleep faded, memories ..ooded in. The
missiles that had shot Rain from the sky, their race for
escape, the Mages with their sel’dor, death so near… She
rolled over to face Rain and found him awake and
watching her, no sign of injury on him.
“Rain, what happened to us? Your wounds…” She laid
her palms on his chest, sending her senses inward, but if
there was a single grain of sel’dor powder still left in his
there was a single grain of sel’dor powder still left in his
body, she could not ..nd it.
His laid his hands over hers. “Gone, shei’tani. There is a
hearth witch here with strong healing talents. She tended us
both.”
“Where is ‘here’?”
“In the dahl’reisen village in the Verlaine. Do you not
remember? “
“Vaguely.” She recalled only snatches of last night, hazy
images of scarred dahl’reisen, children, and a woman with
white hair. “If we’re in a dahl’reisen village, why don’t I
feel them?”
“There’s a weave around this little house to shield you. A
six-fold weave. They used Azrahn. They must have spun it
when we were unconscious.” That statement ended with a
distinct rumble of unease.
“Are we prisoners? “
“I don’t know. Their intentions are a mystery, but they
claim Gaelen sent them to rescue us from the Eld.”
“Have you tried to reach him to con..rm that?”
“Of course, but the six-fold weave blocked me.” He
smoothed his hands over her hair. “Half of me wants to
burn this village down about their ears. The other half
wants to thank them. All the sel’dor is gone from both of
us. Our steel is not here, but I could break through that sixfold
weave without half trying. They have to know that. I
don’t think they mean us harm.” He gave a short, humorless
laugh. “And I can hardly believe I’m hearing myself say
laugh. “And I can hardly believe I’m hearing myself say
that. But why would they have rescued us from the Eld,
removed the sel’dor in both of us, and healed us?”
“I don’t know.”
A knock sounded on the cabin door and Ellysetta barely
had time to pull the linen sheet up around herself and Rain
before the door opened to admit the white-haired woman
Ellysetta remembered from last night.
She held Rain’s armor and Ellysetta’s leathers in her
arms, and two other village women followed on her heels,
carrying trays of food and drink. The women deposited the
food on a table beside the door, sneaking furtive looks at
Rain and Ellysetta before exiting the room and closing the
door behind them.
The white-haired woman set the armor and leathers
down. “My name is Sheyl. I am the healer who tended you
last night.” She inspected the two of them with a healer’s
critical eye. “You both appear recovered from your injuries.
I hope you slept well.” She looked at Ellysetta. “No
remnant pain?”
Ellysetta shook her head. “None, thank you.”
“Very good.” Sheyl laced her ..ngers together and
regarded them silently for a moment. She seemed to be
..ghting some silent debate within herself. After a moment,
she drew a breath and forced a smile. “Your leathers and
armor have been cleaned and mended. Your weapons will
be returned to you when you leave the village. Farel is
waiting for you now. I will give you time to eat and dress,
waiting for you now. I will give you time to eat and dress,
then take you to him. “
She turned to leave, then stopped again with her hand on
the door latch. “The dahl’reisen were once the Fading
Lands’ greatest warriors. Remember that.” She lifted the
latch and slipped out of the cabin.
“What was that about?” Ellysetta asked, frowning.
“I’m not certain, shei’tani.” He rose from the bed and
began to dress.
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
When the Massan entered the hall where they conducted
their business, they found Kieran vel Solande waiting for
them.
“Kieran,” the Massan leader, Tenn v’En Eilan, greeted
him as the shei’dalin and the other members of the Massan
entered and took their seats. “Your mother told us you had
emerged safely from your ordeal and were returning home.
We are glad to see you well. What can we do for you so
early this morning? “
Kieran had been up half the night, using the new
Warrior’s Path his father had shown him so he could get
news from Orest. The battle was going badly. As for
Ellysetta and Rain, no one was certain as to their fates.
His hands clenched at his sides. He couldn’t believe Tenn
and the others were sitting around the table so calmly.
and the others were sitting around the table so calmly.
“You can tell me what in the gods’ names were you
thinking when you banished the Feyreisen and delivered
his truemate—a shei’dalin and a Tairen Soul—into the
hands of the Eld?”
“Mind your tongue, young warrior,” Tenn warned. “We
did no such thing.”
“Of course you did. What else did you think would
happen when you declared her dahl’reisen and expelled
her from the safety of the Fading Lands? You call
yourselves warriors of honor?” He hawked and spat on the
..oor. “That for your honor.”
“How dare you?” Venarra v’En Eilan, Tenn’s shei’tani,
who’d taken Marissya’s place as the Shei’dalin, jumped to
her feet. “How dare you insult the Massan in such a
manner?”
“How dare you betray our king and put his mate at risk?
” he shot back.
“We put her at risk?” Nurian v’En Soma, Spirit master of
the Massan, gave a short laugh. “Fey, you don’t know what
you’re talking about. It was she who put us at risk.
Shei’Kess showed us the evil she would bring. Death, war,
destruction, the Fading Lands overrun by Dark ones, her
sitting on the ruins of the Tairen Throne.”
“Venarra, Nurian, please.” Tenn held up a hand. “Kieran
is young and passionate, and he shares a bond of friendship
with Rain vel’En Daris because of the years they spent
together at the Academy. He doesn’t understand what it
together at the Academy. He doesn’t understand what it
takes to lead a country, the hard decisions we must make,
all the consequences we must weigh when making those
decisions.”
“Hard decisions?” Kieran laughed.
“Yes, hard decisions,” Tenn reiterated. “Contrary to
whatever your parents or your friends may have led you to
believe, we banished Rain and Ellysetta for one reason
only: because they both willingly and deliberately wove the
forbidden magic.”
“Aiyah, my mother told me,” Kieran said, unimpressed
by the revelation.
“Look at him,” Yulan, the Earth master of the Massan,
said in tones of disbelief. “He knows what they did, and he
doesn’t care.”
“I know they spun Azrahn to save the tairen.”
“And you think that makes it all right.” Tenn shook his
head. “Show me, young Kieran, the passage in the Scroll of
Law where it says spinning the forbidden magic is not
forbidden so long as you do it to save the tairen.” He
waited a moment. “Nei, you can’t, because no such passage
exists. The law is clear. The punishment for weaving
Azrahn is banishment—no matter the reason for the weave.
We acted, because we had to act. We had no choice.”
“Of course you had a choice. You could have done what
was right!”
“We did do what was right.”
“Nei,” Kieran spat. “You did what you thought was safe.
“Nei,” Kieran spat. “You did what you thought was safe.
The vision in Shei’Kess frightened you, so you betrayed our
king and his mate and forsook your oath to protect our
women from harm. I was at Teleon. I saw the Eld
murdering my friends. They weren’t there to defend
themselves against Fey aggression or whatever ridiculous
notion you’ve invented to justify your treachery. The Eld
were there to kill Fey, slaugher Celierians, and capture the
Garreval. You’ve lost sight of who the true enemy is, Tenn.”
“Oh, have I?” Tenn challenged. “The Eld left us in peace
for a thousand years until Rain vel’En Daris went to Celieria
and began stirring up ancient grievances and beating the
drums of war.”
“Did someone strike you a sharp blow to the head while
I was gone?” Kieran exclaimed. “Of course the Eld left us in
peace for the last thousand years! Rain scorched them o..
the face of Eloran! It takes time to recover from a blow like
that.”
Kieran thrust his hands through his hair and turned in an
agitated circle. “I can’t believe you can sit there with a
straight face and try to portray the Eld as peace-loving
innocents who just want to get along. The Eld hate us. They
always have hated us. They want to conquer the world in
the name of Seledorn and they know we’re the only ones
with the power and the will to stop them! Or, at least, we
used to be!”
“Enough!” Tenn rose and held up a silencing hand. “It’s
clear you have strong feelings on the matter, young vel
Solande, but the decision has been made. The Massan will
Solande, but the decision has been made. The Massan will
not commit more precious Fey lives to Rain Tairen Soul’s
senseless war of aggression against the Eld.”
Kieran sti..ed a scream of frustration. Tenn was as
stubborn as an Earth master. He’d made his decision, dug in
his heels, and the gods could lay waste everything around
him before he’d change his position or admit he was
wrong.
So be it. But Kieran had no intention of blindly following
a council who refused to acknowledge obvious truths.
He turned to the Water master of the Massan, who had
always been a level-headed Fey and a warrior his parents
had long called friend. “Loris… I know you don’t agree
with this any more than Eimar did. The Eld attacked us.
They’re the ones who started this war, not Rain. You know
Rain is right to confront them. You know the Fey were
born to ..ght the Dark, not hide and hope it will go away.
Honorable Fey don’t abandon our friends when they need
us most.”
“I said enough,” Tenn growled. The room grew warmer
as the Fire master’s temper ..ared. “Out of deference to
your mother, we let you speak. And out of deference to
her, I will not punish your youthful intemperance or
demand restitution for the insults you have ..ung in our
faces. But this council has work to do, and you have
outstayed your welcome here. You will leave now and put
a leash on that tongue of yours, or you will spend the next
month in bound labor.”
month in bound labor.”
Kieran gave a bitter laugh. “You talk about considering
the consequences of your actions. But did it never occur to
any of you, that by banishing a Mage-Marked Tairen Soul
from the safety of the Fading Lands, you might actually be
instrumental in ushering in the very doom you’re so afraid
of? Nei? Well, consider this. Rain and Ellysetta were shot
down over Eld. They haven’t been heard from since.”
For the ..rst time, he saw the Massan’s rock-headed
certainty waver. The ..rst glimmer of genuine doubt—and
fear—entered their eyes. Nei, they’d never thought beyond
their own shortsighted desire for safety.
“You’d better pray the Eld don’t capture Ellysetta and
..nish what they started,” Kieran said. “Because if they do,
and the Mages gain a Tairen Soul’s power, not even the
Mists will save you.”
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Village
When Sheyl returned, she carried a blindfold in her hands.
“I’m sorry, but I must ask you to put this on,” she told
Ellysetta. “We know of your mate’s Marks,” she said to
forestall Rain’s objections. “We check everyone who enters
this village. The blindfold is a precaution to safeguard the
location of our village. With our shields, even four Marks
should not be enough for the Mage to use her eyes and
ears, but we cannot take the risk.”
“Of course,” Ellysetta said, reaching for the strip of cloth.
“Of course,” Ellysetta said, reaching for the strip of cloth.
“Nei, Rain, it’s all right.” She laid a soothing hand on his
wrist to calm his rising tension. He did not like the
implication that Ellysetta’s mere presence was a threat.
“They are right to protect themselves. For all we know, it
was my eyes that told the Mages where to open their
portals yesterday.”
“It was not.”
“We don’t know that for sure. For the villagers’ sake, I
will gladly cover my eyes. Here. Help me put this on.” She
lifted the folded cloth over her eyes and turned for Rain to
tie the ends together at the back of her head.
“You will want to spin a weave around your mate,
Tairen Soul,” Sheyl said when Ellysetta’s blindfold was
secure. “The cabin’s weave is shielding her now, but she
will lose that protection when she crosses the threshold.
Most of the warriors have gone to a di..erent part of the
village to spare your mate what pain they can,” Sheyl
informed him, “but a goodly number remain. They do not
trust you any more than you trust them.”
I am wrong to allow this. Dahl’reisen should not stand
within a mile of my shei’tani.
Ellysetta put out a searching hand and felt her way down
Rain’s arm to his wrist. He had not sent that thought in
Spirit. It had escaped his mind of its own volition. «Las,
shei’tan. We owe them our lives—and this is their home.
They have far more right to be here than we.» She wove
calm and peace upon him to accompany her words.
calm and peace upon him to accompany her words.
«Weave the shield, and let’s go. Our friends in Orest need
us.»
Shamed by his lapse, Rain reinforced the barriers in his
mind, then snapped the shield weave around Ellysetta with
a burst of magic.
When they stepped across the cabin threshold, the
dahl’reisen’s presence struck Ellysetta, piercing through the
powerful weave Rain had placed around her. Without the
Azrahn, his shield was not half so e..ective as the
dahl’reisen weave around the cabin had been, and he felt
the pain hit her like a blow. He gathered her close and
grasped her hand, feeding her his strength until she drew a
deep breath and nodded.
Sheyl approached, her silvery eyes intent. “There are a
few sensitives among us. Mostly they live outside the
village, where they cannot feel the dahl’reisen so strongly.
If you will permit me, I can summon a villager to add
Azrahn to your weave, Feyreisen. It will help her block the
pain.”
“Nei.” Rain refused before Ellysetta could speak. Gaelen
he trusted to weave Azrahn in Ellysetta’s presence, but
Gaelen was dahl’reisen no more. Then Rain glanced at her
pale and trembling form, and shame ..lled him. “Sieks’ta,
shei’tani. I should not refuse so hastily. Sheyl is right. You
are in pain.”
She gave a wan smile. “So long as you hold my hand, it
is manageable.”
is manageable.”
“Tell me if it gets worse,” Sheyl instructed. “If you will
both follow me. Farel grows impatient when he’s kept
waiting.”
Rain held Ellysetta’s hand and guided her after the
healer. He wished she was not blindfolded. The sight of
this dahl’reisen village in the early-morning light would
have ..lled her with delight. The cabins nestled high in the
trees, vine bridges connecting one tree to another. It
reminded him of Navahele. Everywhere were signs of not
just functionality but artistic beauty. From the intricate,
decorative curling of the vines on every bridge and stair to
the graceful lines of the buildings, with their exquisitely
carved doors and shutters and leaf-covered roofs.
The village seemed at most a part of the forest itself.
“Did the dahl’reisen build all this themselves?” he asked.
Sheyl nodded. “Many of them turn to gentler things to
keep the darkness at bay. Some, like the dahl’reisen who
fashioned these cabins, ..nd peace working with Earth.
Others prefer creating things without any magic at all.”
A woven vine bridge linked the cabin to another larger
cabin nestled in a nearby tree. Sheyl led the way across the
gently swaying bridge, and Rain guided Ellysetta after her,
sending commands in Spirit to guide her feet.
“We are a village of outcasts,” Sheyl continued. “The
mortals among us were either winded as children by the
villages where we were born—or we are descendants of
those who were.”
those who were.”
“Winded?” Rain repeated. “That’s a term I’m not familiar
with.”
Ellysetta answered. “It’s a custom in many of the
northern villages. When babies are born with deformities or
dangerous magic, the villagers take them out to the woods
and leave them for the winds to spirit away—which is just
a pretty way of saying they abandon them to starve or be
eaten by predators. Which is what Mama and Papa thought
had happened to me when they found me abandoned in
Great-wood as a child.”
“Your mother was so afraid of magic. I’m surprised she
would adopt a child she already suspected must have
dangerous powers.”
“Papa told me that when Mama was a little girl living in
Dolan, her baby sister Bessinita was winded for having Fire
magic. Bessie was only two when she was taken o.. to die.
Papa said that was what made Mama take me in. When she
looked at me, she saw her baby sister, and she couldn’t
leave me to die.”
Rain noticed Sheyl frowning at Ellysetta. “Something is
wrong? “
Sheyl’s frown cleared and became a sheepish smile. “I’m
sorry. I was just thinking of all the poor children lost to
such an evil custom.” She bent her head and continued
walking at a brisker pace. “Your mate’s explanation of
winding is correct. The Mage Wars left many scars here in
the north. The remnant magic still lives in the ground,
the north. The remnant magic still lives in the ground,
seeps into our water, our food, our bodies. Most of us born
in the north possess some sort of talent, but usually it’s
something small and unnoticeable—sensitivity to the
emotions of others, a gift for growing things. In some of us,
the magic is stronger, more pronounced. Or, the gift is
something fearful. My mother had a vision in which she
saw the death of a neighbor. She made the mistake of
telling someone. When the neighbor died, my mother was
blamed. She was seven months pregnant, but the villagers
bound her arms and legs and left her in the forest to die.
She was half-dead when Farel rescued her. She died in
childbirth that same day.”
Ellysetta stopped walking. “You remember her death.
You weren’t even born, but you remember it.”
The color left Sheyl’s cheeks. “Your gift is strong,
Feyreisa. I’m usually much better at shielding my thoughts.
Yes, I remember. And I remember that the vision for which
my mother was killed was mine. She saw it because I lived
in her belly.”
“Oh, Sheyl.” Ellysetta reached out blindly to clasp the
other woman’s hands. “You believe you caused her death.
How can you, a healer, still believe that? You were a baby,
an innocent life.”
Tears ..lled Sheyl’s eyes and spilled over. She smiled and
tried to pull her hands away. “I was right. Your gift is
strong, but as I said, you should conserve your strength.”
“She does not realize she’s doing it,” Rain said quietly.
“She does not realize she’s doing it,” Rain said quietly.
“To her, she is merely sharing the love in her heart, as she
has all her life.”
“Doing what?” Ellysetta asked. “What am I doing?”
“Healing, shei’tani. You are healing her. As instinctively
as you read her thoughts a moment ago.”
Ellysetta released the other woman. “I’m sorry. Again.”
“I am not o..ended,” Sheyl answered. “You should not
apologize for being what you are. Which is quite
remarkable, you know. I’ve never met such a strongly gifted
sensitive who could bear to walk within half a mile of this
village, even with our shields.”
“Is that so surprising? You don’t seem to have any
trouble living here among the dahl’reisen, and you have
strong magical talents.”
“I’m not empathic. I sense disease and I see the ..ows of
magic, but I cannot sense thoughts and emotions.” They had
reached a hanging stair that led down towards the forest
..oor below. Sheyl paused. “Before we go down to Farel,
there is someone I would like you both to meet.”
Moving past the stair, she led them through the trees and
across two more vine bridges to a larger building circling
the broad trunk of a massive oak. Entering a small, wedgeshaped
room on the south side of the building, Sheyl
indicated a set of empty rocking chairs in a cozy sitting
area. “Please, have a seat.” She went to the windows and
pulled the curtains closed before walking to a small
connecting door on the eastern wall. “Wait here. I’ll only be
connecting door on the eastern wall. “Wait here. I’ll only be
a moment. The Feyreisa may remove her blindfold.”
Sheyl slipped through the door and returned a few
chimes later with another woman clad in a serviceable
green woolen dress with a tan apron tied around her waist.
The other woman was older, clearly mortal. Her curling
brown hair was streaked with silver and tied back in an
untidy bun, and her bright, inquisitive brown eyes were
crinkled at the corners with deep laugh lines.
“Ellysetta Feyreisa… Rainier Feyreisen… this is the
woman I wanted you to meet. She came to us forty years
ago as a small child… winded near the village of Dolan for
possessing the gift of Fire. We call her Bess… but the name
her parents gave her was Bessinita.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shadowed Path, soothing path,
Choice from pain and sadness.
Aching path, desperate path,
Escape from lonely madness.
Darkened path, forsaken path,
Hide from fear and sorrow.
Lonely path, empty path,
Save me from the ‘morrow.
Dahl’reisen’s Plea,
a song of prayer, by Varian vel Chera
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Village
Ellysetta stared with burning eyes at the sister Mama had
loved and believed long dead. “I… I don’t know what to
say.”
The woman named Bess clasped her hands before her
waist. “Sheyl explained to me about your mother. Clearly, I
must be that Bess your mother loved, but I don’t remember
anything from that life before.”
“Of course, you don’t. You were a baby… a precious
baby who should never have been thrown away because of
baby who should never have been thrown away because of
your gift.” She remembered the sadness in Papa’s eyes
when he’d told her the story and told her how that one
moment, that one loss, had changed Mama’s life forever.
She gulped past the growing knot in her throat. “You
should know that my mother found me in the forest of
Great-wood,” she told Bess. “My birth parents had put a
glamour on me to make me look mortal. So when she
found me, she assumed I’d been winded like you, for some
dreadful, dangerous magic. She knew I was magic—she
feared it more than she feared anything else in the world
—but she took me in anyway and loved me in spite of her
fear. She did that because of you… because she couldn’t
bear the thought of what had happened to you happening
to another child.” Ellysetta blinked back tears. “You don’t
remember her, but she never forgot you. She would want
you to know that. She would want you to know she loved
you very much.”
“She must have been a very special woman,” Bess said
“She was.” Tears welled in her eyes as the memory of her
mother’s death and the horrible ache of her loss punched
deep. The grief was still too fresh—never more than a
memory away. “I loved her very much, and I miss her every
day.”
Bess’s eyes softened with compassion. “I’m sorry for your
loss. All of us here in the village know what it’s like to lose
someone you love.”
“Thank you.” Ellysetta wiped away her tears, but more
just took their place. “I know she’s just a stranger to you,
just took their place. “I know she’s just a stranger to you,
but may I—may I… share her with you?” She held out her
hands, palms up.
Bessinita hesitated, then placed her hands in Ellysetta’s.
Ellysetta’s mouth curved in a trembling smile. “Her name
was Lauriana. She married a man named Sol Baristani—my
papa—a woodcarver and a wonderful man whom she
loved very much. They have two other daughters. Twins
named Lillis and Lorelle…”
Through the touch of their joined hands, she gave Bess
the memories of her mother and their family and the deep
love they had shared. Little scenes of their life that Ellysetta
treasured. Mama laughing over some silly joke. Mama
holding Ellie close… kneeling beside her bed to say
evening devotions. Mama delivering a stern lecture when
the twins got into some sort of mischief, and Papa teasing
her out of a mood with kisses and a pot of tea by the ..re.
Mama could be stern and ..erce, but, like the tairen
defending her kits, that ..erceness was her way of
protecting her young—of protecting Ellie and the twins the
way she hadn’t been able to protect her sister Bess.
When she was done, Bess had tears in her eyes as well,
and a melancholy smile on her face. “Beylah vo. Thank you
for giving me this gift.”
“Nei, it’s you who’ve given me the gift. Sometimes it’s
hard to remember all the good in the world in the face of
so much bad.” Ellysetta stepped back and reached for
Rain’s hand, squeezing tight and letting the vast comfort of
Rain’s hand, squeezing tight and letting the vast comfort of
his love wash away her remnant sorrow. All this time,
Mama’s sister had been alive… saved by the dahl’reisen…
raised by them… loved by them. How could dahl’reisen
walk the Shadowed Path yet still have wrought such
obvious good?
The white-haired hearth witch cleared her throat.
“There’s something else I have to show you and a favor I
must ask of you, before I take you to Farel. Would you
both, please, come this way?” Sheyl walked to the door
Bess had come through. “We are a private people. Our
survival has depended on our discretion and our ability to
keep our existence a secret, but the time for that has
passed.” Sheyl lifted the latch and pulled open the door to
reveal a long, curving room that wound around the giant
tree trunk.
The room was ..lled with children, at least sixty of them,
ranging in age from tiny infants to ..ve-year-olds. A dozen
village women tended the tiniest of their charges, while the
older children gathered in groups supervised by one or two
adults. Noisy, childish chatter and the tiny cries of babies
demanding maternal attention ..lled the air, muted from
the outside world by a privacy weave tied to the room’s
..oor, ceiling, and walls.
“These are our children. And this is our greatest secret.”
“Oh, Rain…” Ellysetta reached for Rain’s hand. «So many
children, shei’tan.»
Rain stood frozen in the doorway and let the noise wash
Rain stood frozen in the doorway and let the noise wash
over him. He’d known there were children. He’d seen a
number of them yesterday when he’d entered the village.
But he hadn’t realized the true enormity of what he’d seen.
He forced himself to breathe as he scanned the room,
seeing the bright glow of Fey magic shining from child
after child. More than half of the children were Fey. Even
before the Mage Wars had left the women of the Fading
Lands barren, it was rare for thirty children to be born in a
village this size in twenty years, let alone four or ..ve.
A chill, too-sweet odor made his hands reach instinctively
for his missing blades and he spun in the half crouch of a
warrior, his eyes scanning the room for the person spinning
the forbidden magic. A woman at the far end of the room
held a spiral of Azrahn in her palm. At her feet, a
semicircle of children held their own, less organized spirals
of the black magic.
Horror sapped all moisture from his mouth. “You teach
them to weave the forbidden magic?”
Sheyl glanced back at the children in question, then
returned her wary gaze to him. “Azrahn is not forbidden
here. I know the Fey believe otherwise. You banish your
strongest warriors if they dare to weave it.” The corner of
her mouth curled up. “Your customs aren’t so di..erent
from the villagers who cast out their children and abandon
them to die. You just wind your children at an older age.”
Rain’s head snapped back as if she’d slapped him. “The
customs are nothing alike. Azrahn is the evil tool of the
Mages.” But even as said it, he remembered Ellysetta saving
Mages.” But even as said it, he remembered Ellysetta saving
the tairen with Azrahn, himself saving her, the warriors and
civilians who would have died without Gaelen’s weaving
Azrahn so Ellysetta could hold dying souls to life, the
countless lives Gaelen had saved by detecting the Mage
claimed hiding among the allies.
“Azrahn is just magic, a mystic like Spirit. Is Fire or Spirit
evil? Nei, though, the manner of their use can be. It is no
di..erent with Azrahn. Which is why we teach our children
from a very early age how to weave their magic—more
importantly, how to control it. The ones with Mage Marks
do not spin it, of course, but the rest of us do.”
“Some of these children are Mage-claimed?” Rain asked
“Marked, not claimed. And, yes, some are. The dahl’reisen
save the ones they can and bring them here, where we can
protect them and give them some semblance of a free life,
safe from the Eld.
“It is Azrahn that lets us o..er them that haven,” she
added. “We spin it in our shield weaves to hide our
presence from the Mages. We use it to detect Mage Marks
and know who is a real danger to us, and who is not. Most
of us here in the village possess at least some ability to spin
the soul magic, and we are not evil.” She gestured to the
room at large. “These children are not evil.”
“Why would Gaelen not tell us about you?” Ellysetta
asked, her stunned gaze roving over all the little faces.
“All of us have sworn a blood-oath never to reveal
information about our village and our children. The Eld
information about our village and our children. The Eld
would slaughter us. The Celierians would burn us out. The
Fey would never accept dahl’reisen back within their
borders, and none who live in this village would ever settle
in a place where our men are not welcome. We are outcast,
and keeping our secrets ensures our safety.”
“Then why show us now?” Ellysetta asked.
Before Sheyl could answer, a childish laugh rang out, and
a tiny voice cried, “Again! Again!” Ellysetta gasped and
clutched Rain’s hand in a tight grip. She stared in disbelief
at the face of a child she’d loved dearly and never thought
to see again. “Rain, that’s Bannon!”
The son of her best friend, Selianne Pyerson, was dressed
like a village child and playing with the other toddlers. She
sent a frantic gaze towards the other end of the room,
where the infants were, searching for another sweet face
dominated by the big blue eyes so like Selianne’s. “And
Cerlissa!” Cerlissa, Selianne’s baby, had grown so much in
the last four months, but the chubby-cheeked infant, sitting
on a rug, playing with blocks, was most de..nitely
Selianne’s daughter.
“You know Bannon and Cerlissa?” Sheyl asked.
“Their mother was my best friend. She died trying to
protect me from the Mages.” After Selianne’s death, when
the Fey found her husband murdered and her Elden mother
hanging from a knotted cord, Gaelen had promised he
would take Selianne’s children to a safe place where they
would be welcomed despite the Mage Mark set upon them
would be welcomed despite the Mage Mark set upon them
by the Mages who’d killed their mother. “Gaelen said he
would take them to a safe place, but he wouldn’t tell us
where.”
“They were taken in by a couple who lost their own
child to a lyrant last year.”
Ellysetta bit her lip. The children were obviously happy
and well tended, but—“Please, may I see them?”
“Of course.” Sheyl signaled, and two of the village
women collected the children and carried them across the
room to Ellysetta.
“Bannon! Cerlissa! Oh, I’m so happy to see you both!”
The baby Cerlissa chewed her ..ngers and laughed in
delight. Bannon, however, regarded Ellysetta with no hint
of recognition in his solemn blue eyes. But of course, she
looked like a stranger to him. He’d only known Ellie, the
woodcarver’s daughter, never Ellysetta, the Fey shei’dalin.
She spun a quick Spirit weave, transforming in an instant
to the plain mortal Ellie Baristani she’d been when they’d
known her. “It’s me, dearling,” she told him. “It’s Auntie
Ellie.” She knelt before him and held out her arms. “Auntie
Ellie, Bannon. Don’t you remember?”
When he still looked confused, she reached into the
pocket of her apron where she’d always kept a little treat
for him when she went to see Selianne. She pretended to
gasp in surprise, “Oh! What do I have here in my pocket?”
Another quick weave spun from her ..ngertips, and she
pulled her hand out to brandish a tiny, painted wooden
pulled her hand out to brandish a tiny, painted wooden
horse just like the ones she used to coax her father into
carving for Bannon.
The little horse and the once-familiar custom of Auntie
Ellie’s magical pocket of treasures sparked a memory. A
tiny smile curved the boy’s lips, revealing a mouthful of
pearly baby teeth. He reached for the horse and fell into
her arms to give her a kiss, and say, “Thank you, Auntie
Ellie,” as he had so many times before.
Her arms closed around him, holding him tight, and she
squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that welled up at
the sound of his sweet voice. “Oh, Bannon.” She cupped
the back of his head in one palm and stroked her ..ngers
through his baby-..ne hair. Holding him again was almost
like having Selianne back. She didn’t want to let him go,
and even when she set him down so she could take Cerlissa
in her arms, she kept stroking Bannon’s back and hair.
She wanted to keep them with her. She wanted to take
them with her now. But they’d been taken in by a couple
who’d lost their own child… and she and Rain were
headed back to war—with no guarantee that either of them
would survive it.
No matter how much she ached to keep Selianne’s
children with her forever, this was where they belonged. So
she held them and smiled her brightest, despite the threat
of burning tears, trying to squeeze months of love into a
handful of chimes.
Watching her, Rain’s heart swelled with a mix of love
Watching her, Rain’s heart swelled with a mix of love
and sorrow. She would be an exceptional mother. Even in
the guise of her mortal self, the joyous warmth of his
shei’tani’s deep capacity for love shone bright as a star. She
deserved children—far more of them than even shei’tanitsa
matepairs ever had. And once she forged the last thread of
their bond to complete their shei’tanitsa union, he would
do everything in his power to see that Amarynth bloomed
eternally in her footsteps.
“Sheyl,” he murmured, as his shei’tani cuddled her
friend’s children. “You said you had a favor to ask of us.”
“I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Tairen Soul.” Sheyl
clasped her hand at her waist. “The world grows more
dangerous every day. War has begun, and it will only get
worse. The dahl’reisen will ..ght to defend the Fading
Lands as they have these many past centuries, and our
village will be left vulnerable. Will you grant safe harbor to
our women and children while our men ..ght the Eld?”
“Aiyah.” There was no hesitation, no other possible
response. “You cannot weave Azrahn within our borders, of
course. And the Mists will not permit the dahl’reisen to
enter, but your women and children—even your men who
are not dahl’reisen—will be welcomed with joy.”
“And will you give me your Fey oath on that—and vow
that we will all be free to leave again—even the children?”
“Of course.”
“Then I have one last secret to show you.”
Sheyl led the way to the back of the nursery and opened a
door to a smaller adjoining room. Several young children
were gathered round a short table, squishing lumps of clay
into shapes with their small ..ngers.
“Muri,” Sheyl called. “Come here, kitling. There are some
people I want you to meet.”
“Sheyl! Sheyl!” One of the children, a chubby toddler
with bright blue eyes and masses of dark ringlets ran
forward, her little arms extended.
A smile softened Sheyl’s face, and she knelt to scoop up
the child. “Hello, dearling.”
“Look what Muri made.” The girl held up a piece of
dough shaped in a lumpy, four-legged mass. “Horsie!”
“That’s lovely, kitling. Your mother will be so proud of
you.” Still holding the child, Sheyl turned to Ellysetta and
Rain. “This is Murialisa.”
“Oooh.” The child stared at Ellysetta. “Bright, pretty lady.
”
“Yes, she is very bright, isn’t she, kitling.”
Rain stared at the little girl in shock. There was no
mistaking the Fey glow in the child’s eyes and the slender
Fey delicacy just revealing itself in her childish features.
“The father… cannot be dahl’reisen?” Girl children were
not born outside the bonds of shei’tanitsa. And yet he was
staring at a child, a girl, in whose veins ran not some mild
form of magic but the shining light of strong Fey blood.
“No,” Sheyl con..rmed. “Muri’s father was born in this
“No,” Sheyl con..rmed. “Muri’s father was born in this
village, but his father before him was dahl’reisen.” She
kissed Murialisa’s round cheek and set her down. “Go back
to your play, kitling.” When the child was once again
industriously molding clay dough into animal shapes, Sheyl
murmured quietly, “Murialisa’s grandfather was killed by
the Mages seventy years ago. Her father truemated eight
years ago with a village woman from the borders of Lord
Barrial’s lands.”
Rain grasped Ellysetta’s hand. “Truemated? The son of a
dahl’reisen truemated with a Celierian?”
“She is not Celierian. Or rather, not as you mean it. She is
not simply a hearth witch, infected by the magic of these
lands. Powerful immortal blood runs in her veins. Fey,
de..nitely, probably Elvish as well. She is very gifted, just
like her shei’tan. Murialisa is their second child. They also
have a seven-year-old son.”
“A truemate lives in this village? Amongst the
dahl’reisen?”
“She is a strong empath, but she has a natural ability to
shield herself, just as the Feyreisa seems to have. She and
her mate live at the edge of the village, where she feels the
pain of the dahl’reisen the least. Murialisa has an even
stronger shielding ability. The dahl’reisen are careful never
to touch her, but she can be around them without any
apparent di..culty.”
“No wonder you protect your secret so vigilantly,” Rain
murmured, unable to tear his eyes from the small,
murmured, unable to tear his eyes from the small,
luminescent girl who had returned to her play. “This child
is a gift beyond price.” He swallowed thickly and met
Sheyl’s eyes. “I will tell the warriors at the Garreval to
expect you.”
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Village
Mortals, half-bloods, and dahl’reisen stood silent as Sheyl
guided Rain Tairen Soul and his blindfolded mate down
the last of the hanging steps to the tended walkways and
gardens on the forest ..oor. Farel and a small army of
dahl’reisen clad in full war steel had gathered beneath the
trees.
As Rain looked around the village in the soft gleam of
morning’s light, he saw what he’d been too weary and
dazed by pain to notice last night—Amarynth, blooming in
profusion along the walkways of the dahl’reisen village.
Even knowing about the little Fey girl Murialisa born to
truemated parents, the sight of the undying ..ower still
struck a deep and profound chord in his soul.
Life bloomed with de..ant joy here in the shadow of lost
souls.
Farel broke away from his companions to approach the
Fey, halting half a tairen length from Ellysetta. A visible
glow of Spirit and Azrahn surrounded him and the other
dahl’reisen.
dahl’reisen.
“We have shielded ourselves to protect the Feyreisa from
our pain,” he told Rain. “I apologize that we cannot make
the shields stronger, but too much Azrahn will reveal our
location to the Eld.”
“I’m ..ne, thank you,” Ellysetta said. «Oh, Rain, they’ve
shielded themselves and still there is so much pain. How
can they bear it without going mad?»
«Most do not, shei’tani. It is one of the reasons they must
be banished from the Fading Lands. No matter what we’ve
seen here today, do not think these men are like the rasa.
They walk the Shadowed Path, and there is very little that
keeps them from plunging into the abyss. As your mate, I
should have sworn honor vengeance against them just for
standing in your presence, but I accepted their help instead.
If I were not already cast out, the Massan would be within
their rights to banish me just for that.»
«But they aren’t evil yet,» Ellysetta protested. «You know
they aren’t. And we owe them our lives.»
«I know.» His gaze strayed again to the starry white
blooms. Nothing about these dahl’reisen ..t what he’d been
raised to believe about them. And nothing made sense.
The warriors of the Fading Lands had clung to their
honor with ..erce devotion, yet their bonded mates were
barren. These dahl’reisen wore the marks of their dishonor
on their faces and spun the forbidden magic without
apology… yet their unbonded mates bore Fey children
capable of truemating, and Amarynth bloomed in their
capable of truemating, and Amarynth bloomed in their
village in abundance.
Everything about this village de..ed the most ancient and
deeply held Fey beliefs and turned the most unshakable
pillars of their civilization completely on their heads. He
didn’t know what to think. It was as if the whole Fey world
was going just as mad as he was.
“Sheyl assures me you and your mate are healed and
rested well enough to travel. My men and I will escort you
out of the forest.”
The sound of Farel’s voice snapped Rain back to
attention. “I appreciate your o..er,” he answered, “but I am
healed enough to Change.”
“That would not be wise. Nothing ..ies over the Verlaine.
The top of every tree is set with poison darts and a
motionsensing spell that targets anything above it. The
allies set up the defense during the Wars to keep the Eld
from spying, and we improved upon it. You wouldn’t get a
half man length above the canopy before you’d be ..lled
with enough lyrant venom to bring down the entire
Fey’Bahren pride.” Farel’s stony expression softened just
slightly. “You were headed for Orest. Gaelen told me to
bring you to him at the northwest corner of the Verlaine,
and so I shall.”
Rain glanced back at Ellysetta. «lt shames me to ask it of
you, shei’tani, but can you bear their presence for another
day?»
She didn’t hesitate. «Of course.»
She didn’t hesitate. «Of course.»
«I’m not sure how well they can hold their shields all
that time,» he warned.
She lifted her chin. «I’ll survive whatever I must.»
He turned back to Farel. “Agreed. But your men must
keep their distance. I mean no insult, but I don’t want them
within two tairen lengths of the Feyreisa.”
Farel nodded. “Kabei. Sheyl will bring your steel.” He
started to turn away, then stopped to add in a low voice,
“And thank you, Rainier vel’En Daris, for allowing us to
serve the Fading Lands with honor once again.” He held
Rain’s gaze steadily. “I know accepting our aid goes against
everything you were ever taught. Truthfully, were I you, I’m
not sure I could have done it. But I give you my oath,
sworn on the soul of the mother I loved, that we will see
you and your mate safely out of the Verlaine and that we
will do you no harm.” He did not wait for
acknowledgment, but pivoted on his heel and strode away,
straight and proud as any Fey.
Rain thought of Gaelen, who had come to Celieria fully
expecting to be slain for approaching his sister but
nonetheless determined to warn the Fey of the Eld army
massing near the Fading Lands and protect his sister from
the growing threat of Eld. Dahl’reisen, the soul lost, were
supposed to be beyond Fey honor, men well on the path to
evil, but he was having trouble reconciling that image with
what he had seen of these dahl’reisen who called
themselves the Brotherhood of Shadows.
themselves the Brotherhood of Shadows.
Sheyl and another woman brought Rain’s and Ellysetta’s
weapons, and as Rain donned his steel, the women helped
Ellysetta into hers.
Still blindfolded, Ellysetta put a hand over one of the
Tairen’s Eye crystals set in her hip belt and summoned a
weave of Earth to detach the crystal and reset it in a
pendant hanging from a gold chain. “It is an ancient custom
of the Fey to leave behind a gift in thanks for kindness
rendered. I would like you to have this, Sheyl, as a token of
my thanks.”
“Nei,” Sheyl demurred. “I know a Soul Quest crystal
when I see one, and I know how precious they are. I cannot
accept such a gift. It is too much.”
“I want you to have it. The crystal belonged to a warrior
named Dajan vel Rhiadi, who sacri..ced his life trying to
save me from a demon sent by the Eld. Please, take it. May
Dajan’s sorreisu’kiyr o..er you the same protection its
owner once o..ered me.”
Sheyl looked to Rain for help. “I am the unbonded mate
of a dahl’reisen. Such a gift is not proper.”
“You are the woman who healed us after your mate
saved our lives,” Rain corrected. “Dajan died in Ellysetta’s
service. His sorreisu’kiyr is hers to bestow. It is a ..tting gift
for the service you and the Brotherhood of Shadows have
done us.”
Sheyl glanced uncertainly at Farel, who looked equally as
perplexed. Finally, she took the pendant from Ellysetta’s
perplexed. Finally, she took the pendant from Ellysetta’s
outstretched hands and placed it around her neck. The
crystal settled between her breasts, close to her heart.
“Thank you. You do me a great honor.”
Ellysetta held out her hands to embrace the other
woman. “Blessings and peace upon you, Sheyl. May the
Light always shine upon your path and keep you from
harm. Tell Bess I look forward to seeing her again soon,
and would you please give this to Bannon and Cerlissa’s
adoptive parents for me?” She spun Earth to form a small
glass globe into which she wove her fondest memories of
Selianne. “When they feel the time is right, I’d like Bannon
and Cerlissa to have this… so they won’t forget their
mother or how much she loved them.”
“Of course.” Sheyl took the globe.
“We should go,” Farel interrupted. “We have a hard day’s
travel ahead of us, and no time to tarry if we’re to meet
Gaelen at the rendezvous point on schedule.”
Rain waved an arm. “Lead the way.”
Farel’s gaze ..icked to the gathered dahl’reisen. A dozen
squads of six warriors each immediately broke into a run
and jogged through the thicket tunnel. “Our spotters,” he
said. “They will travel ahead of us to make sure the way is
clear. Come. Your mate can lose her blindfold once we’re a
few miles away from the village.” He turned and jogged
towards the tunnel himself, leaving Rain and Ellysetta to
follow.
Rain took Ellysetta’s hand and wove Spirit to guide her
Rain took Ellysetta’s hand and wove Spirit to guide her
steps. The remaining dahl’reisen followed after them. Stoic
women stood beside their children, eyes dry and faces pale
as they watched their dahl’reisen loved ones depart.
When the warriors were gone, Sheyl turned to the
remaining villagers. “The Tairen Soul has o..ered us shelter
in the Fading Lands until this war is over. We leave in three
bells. Hurry! And pack only what you can carry without
hardship. It’s a long walk to the Garreval.”
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
“Why do you have to go, Kieran? We just got here.” Lillis
pouted at Kieran, who had joined her for a late breakfast
on the most beautiful terrace she’d ever seen to tell her that
he and Kiel were leaving and that she and Lorelle should
be very good and stay out of trouble while they were gone.
Her excitement over being in the magical city of the Fey
was completely gone now. All she could think was that
Kieran was going away again—and she’d only just got him
back!
“Ellysetta and Rain need all the help they can get, so Kiel
and I are going to go help them. You want us to help them,
right?”
She scowled at the breakfast plate ..lled with delicious
fruits and delicate pastries that almost tasted better than
com..ts. Her shoe scu..ed on the terrace stone beneath her
chair. “Yes,” she admitted.
chair. “Yes,” she admitted.
“That’s why we have to go, ajiana. I’m sorry. I know this
isn’t what you wanted. But I am a warrior of the Fey, and
Rain is my king, and we have to stop the bad people from
hurting others the way they hurt the people of Teleon.”
She picked up a small, slender-tined fork and pushed a
pile of chilled berries around on her plate. “But I’ll be
afraid when you’re gone.” She jabbed her fork into a
plump strawberry.
The admission pierced Kieran’s heart as surely as the
sharp tines of her fork skewered the berry. He leaned over
to press a kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes
against a sting of tears. She’d told him about her time in
the Mists, how he hadn’t been there in the “village” and
how worried she’d been that something had happened to
him. And then she’d woken, broken and in pain, and
terri..ed. And he hadn’t been there again.
And now he was leaving her.
He pulled up a chair and sat beside her, leaning over to
take her hand. “Lillis… ajiana… this is the safest place in
the world for you to be right now. If it weren’t, I promise I
wouldn’t leave you for any reason.”
Lillis stuck the berry in her mouth and chewed, refusing
to look at him.
He sighed and glanced over towards the far corner of the
terrace, where Kiel was receiving an equally chilly response
from Lorelle. «Time to go, kem’jeto,» he spun on a private
weave.
weave.
Pushing away from the table, Kieran stood and walked
over to the open archway that led out to the terrace. Sol
Baristani was standing by the marble column, smoking his
pipe and talking to Kieran’s parents while the children ate
breakfast.
“They’re not happy with us,” Kieran admitted. “I wish we
could stay—at least until they got settled in—but Orest is
under siege, and the allies are outnumbered.”
“They’ll be all right once their mad wears o..,” Sol
assured him. “You two go do what you must. And take care
of yourselves.”
Kieran nodded. “Be well, Master Baristani. Mela. Gepa”
He hugged his parents. His mother was no more pleased
than Lillis to be losing her son again so soon, but she
understood.
He was a warrior of the Fey. His place was with his king,
defending the Fading Lands from harm.
At least he and Kiel wouldn’t be going alone. After
Kieran’s altercation with the Massan, Loris v’En Mahr, the
Water master, had followed Eimar’s example and resigned
his seat, declaring his intention to travel with Kieran and
Kiel to Orest in support of Rain and the allies. He’d put out
the word announcing his decision and inviting all who
shared his concerns to join them. Three thousand more Fey
and more than forty shei’dalins had done so.
Celieria ~ Verlaine Forest
The Mharog Azurel stood at the northern edge of the
Verlaine Forest, draped in a long, hooded, black shroud to
keep the mud-morning sunlight from falling upon his skin.
He and the others who’d once been Champions of Light
were creatures of Darkness now, and sunlight scorched
their ..esh like ..re.
Pale lids descended over nightmarish eyes, and he turned
his head slowly in a half circle to scan the forest for his
prey. Put a shei’dalin within a hundred miles of a Mharog,
and he could ..nd her. A shei’dalin’s Light—the same Light
that in his previous Fey existence had o..ered the promise
of profound love and joy—shone to his Mharog eyes like a
garish sun. And her Light blazed so bright it set the horizon
a..ame. To his surprise, smaller Lights—many of them—lay
in a cluster to the east of the Tairen Soul’s mate.
Hatred and loathing consumed him. Watching Rain
Tairen Soul scream and rend his own ..esh when she died
would be a pleasure he’d savor for centuries.
His eyes snapped open. A hiss rattled from his throat.
“The village is there,” he told his companions. He pointed
to the south, where he’d seen the cluster of smaller Lights.
“The Tairen Soul and his mate are there.”
“If Tairen Soul and his mate have left the village, why
hasn’t he just Changed and ..own away?” Rachuss, one of
the Mharog, asked.
“This wood is ..lthy with traps,” Primage Dur answered.
“This wood is ..lthy with traps,” Primage Dur answered.
“Poison darts shoot down anything that ..ies. If the Tairen
Soul tried to take wing, he’d be dead before he cleared the
top of the trees.”
“Then they’re trapped,” Angramar, another Mharog
growled. “Can we use the Well to reach them?”
Dur shook his head. “We’ve not been successful keeping
chemar in this region,” he said. “The dahl’reisen destroy
them as quickly as we put them in place.”
“We will run them down on foot, then,” Azurel said.
“You Mages, take the soldiers and head for the village.
Chernos”—he nodded his cowled head at another robed
Mharog—“will accompany you so you don’t lose your way.
The rest of us will follow the Tairen Soul and his mate.”
“You know what the High Mage commanded,” the
Primage objected. “You are not to approach the woman
alone.”
“The High Mage commanded me to bring the woman to
him alive, and I will do so,” Azurel countered, his voice as
smooth as iced silk. “But you and your soldiers slow us
down.”
Dur stood his ground. “You go nowhere without us,
Mharog.”
Hidden by his robe’s long sleeves, Azurel’s hands
clenched into ..sts, his long, black ..ngernails digging into
his ..esh. He’d spent a lifetime hating the Mages. Embracing
Darkness hadn’t changed that. It only meant he didn’t kill
them as often.
them as often.
“Very well, then. We split up. Send half your Mages and
soldiers with Chernos. The rest of you, follow us. And keep
up.”
Farel slowed and jogged back towards Rain and Ellysetta.
“The Eld have breached the Verlaine.”
“Mages?” Rain asked.
“Scores of them, all blue-robes. They lead a garrison of
soldiers… They have a Mharog with them. They’re heading
for the village.”
Ellysetta’s cheeks drained of color. “Because of me?” she
asked with dread. She’d removed her blindfold a bell ago.
“Did the Mage use me to ..nd the village?”
“I don’t know. We’ve kept you well shielded and we
blindfolded you. Everything I know about Mage Marks tells
me that should have been enough to protect against four
Marks…”
“But?” Rain prompted.
Farel gave him a shuttered look, the kind warriors gave
one another when the news was grim. “But there’s a second
Eld party heading on an intercept course with us… and
they have ..ve Mharog leading them.”
“We’ve got to go back,” Ellysetta exclaimed. “We’ve got
to help Sheyl and the others.”
“Nei. Getting you to safety comes ..rst. Sheyl understands
that.”
that.”
“But the children! Cerlissa and Bannon!” Rain caught her
when she lunged towards the dahl’reisen leader.
“And if the Eld are somehow tracking you, going back
would lead them straight to the women and children. Right
now, the Eld forces are split. It’s best for all of us if they
stay that way.” Softening his voice, Farel added, “Besides,
Sheyl has already begun the evacuation of the village, and
I’ve summoned reinforcements to guard their retreat. They
will be as safe as I can make them.”
“But—“
Rain squeezed her shoulders. “Farel’s right, Ellysetta.”
«Shei’tani, their women and children are the only Lights
left in these warriors’ lives. If dahl’reisen still retain any
part of their Fey hearts—and gods save them, I’m beginning
to believe these do—staying with us, trying to get you to
safety, when their women and children are in danger must
be almost more torment than they can bear. Do not berate
them for it.» He met the dahl’reisen’s gaze. “Can we make
it out of the Verlaine before the Eld can cut us o..?”
“We need to change course. Head due west… maybe
southwest… force them to come around the northwest
corner. That will buy us a few bells.”
“A few bells are better than none. Lead the way.”
Farel started to turn, then hesitated. “Sheyl told me you
o..ered our women and children sanctuary in the Fading
Lands. Was that at her urging?”
“Aiyah,” Rain admitted softly. “She showed us your
“Aiyah,” Rain admitted softly. “She showed us your
nursery this morning… and the child Murialisa. How could
I refuse her?”
“That’s why she showed you.” Farel’s shoulders sagged.
“She saw this attack coming. She kept it from me because
she wanted to be sure I was away.” He took a deep breath,
and when he looked up again, his features had once more
settled into a stony expression devoid of all emotion.
“What she sees comes true—always—so I am where I’m
supposed to be, as is she. Let’s get you to Gaelen—and we
need to pick up the pace.”
Farel spun a command to the lines of dahl’reisen
bringing up the rear. «Brothers, circle the Feyreisa! Ring of
Protection!»
T h e dahl’reisen burst into action, parting into two
columns to circle around Ellysetta, careful to keep their
distance. They ran as graceful as pronghorns, leaping fallen
trees and dodging low-hung branches with astonishing
speed. Rain and Ellysetta were clumsy tanglefoots by
comparison and had clearly been slowing them down.
Farel glanced back over his shoulder. “What are you
waiting for, Tairen Soul? Let’s run.”
The last of the villagers hurried out through the thicket
tunnel, beneath the watchful eyes of the remaining
dahl’reisen, while Sheyl ran door to door, checking every
room, nook, and stair in the dahl’reisen village to make
sure no one had been forgotten.
sure no one had been forgotten.
Urgency beat at her, accompanied by the sensation of a
heavy weight pressing down upon her. It was like that
sometimes with her second gift. Not a clear vision, but
simply a driving need that hounded her until she heeded its
call. Now was such a time.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was still
here. Someone had not left with the others.
«Sheyl, we must go.»
«A few more chimes. I’m almost done.» She raced across
a vine bridge leading to the last cluster of tree homes in the
village, the ones that hugged the farthest perimeter of the
compound. These were the houses the sensitives
occupied… the homes of Murialisa’s parents and other
couples like them.
The pounding in her veins grew stronger, the weight
pressing on her chest heavier so that her breath came in
shallow gasps. She opened the door of Muri’s house and
ran room to room. The bedrooms were ..lled with signs of
frantic packing: clothes strewn in haphazard piles across
the bed, drawers and wardrobes open, their contents in
disarray. But there were no people, nothing that couldn’t
be lost to the Eld. The true treasures of the house, Muri and
her parents, were gone.
Sheyl ran out the back door and checked three more
homes on the same level of the cluster before bounding
down the hanging stair, making the treads rock wildly. She
leapt to the platform beneath and opened the ..rst door she
leapt to the platform beneath and opened the ..rst door she
came to. That house was empty, as were the second and
third after that.
The fourth house, however…
She burst through the front door, shouting, “Is anyone
here?” Before the echoes of her call died out, she heard the
choked cry, and then she knew.
She headed straight for the bedroom and ..ung open the
door. Carina, whose man had been among those who had
not returned last night from rescuing the Feyreisa, lay in a
muddled pile of sheets that were soaked with sweat,
maternal waters, and blood. Her jaw was clenched, her
hands gripped around the tight, rippling mound of her
unborn child. The child was coming… and it was early by
three months.
Sheyl drew a deep breath and let it out. The urgency and
the crushing weight of fate fell away, replaced with
imperturbable calm and a detached, faintly melancholy
sense of acceptance.
So this was how her death was to be written.
More warriors were on the way. From every corner of
the Verlaine, all blades not manning a scout post were
racing to hold o.. the Eld invaders and buy time for the
villagers to escape. But they would not come in time to
save Sheyl.
She crossed the room to the bedside and took the
frightened, laboring woman’s hand in hers. “Carina.” With a
smile, she caressed the woman’s ..ushed brow. “Don’t
smile, she caressed the woman’s ..ushed brow. “Don’t
worry, dearling. I’m here. I won’t leave you.”
Throughout the morning and well into afternoon, the
dahl’reisen kept up a punishing pace. Light, lithe, they
sped across the densely wooded terrain the creatures of the
forest they had become, their feet barely touching the
ground as they skimmed over mossy rock and tree and
burbling stream, each step ..nding the perfect purchase.
Most Fey warriors—even at their fastest pace—rested
..fteen chimes out of each bell. The dahl’reisen only rested
ten.When at last Farel called a half bell rest, Rain and
Ellysetta collapsed onto the ground, out of breath and
energy. Around them, some dahl’reisen found a mossy
stump or fallen tree to sit on. Others simply folded their
legs and sat where they stood.
Rain and Ellysetta took a seat at the base of a large oak
tree. Farel unclipped a ..ask from his hip belt and tossed it
to them.
“Water from the Heras,” he told them. “It’s the closest
thing to pure faerilas in Celieria. It should help you both.”
Rain thanked him and uncapped the ..ask, taking the
..rst, experimental sip before handing the ..ask to Ellysetta
to drink her ..ll.
As Rain leaned back against the oak and let his gaze
wander, he noted the dahl’reisen nearby pouring a stream
of the faerilas-infused water on their hands before drinking.
of the faerilas-infused water on their hands before drinking.
“What are they doing?” he asked, nodding a chin in their
direction.
Farel glanced over his shoulder. “Testing themselves. The
waters of the Heras burn like acid on the skin of any
creature of the Dark. We require all warriors in the
Brotherhood to pour the water on their hands before
witnesses at least once a day and after every battle. It’s how
we know who has fallen too far into Shadow.”
“What do you do if they have?” Ellysetta asked.
Farel eyed her steadily. “We let the forest have them.”
The scream of a lyrant broke the quiet. Ellysetta
swallowed and looked away.
Farel stood. “It’s time to go.”
Eyes closed, Azurel checked the position of the Feyreisa’s
Light. “We’re losing them,” he said. “I knew you’d slow us
down. They’ll be free of the forest before we can reach
them.” Once they were out of the Verlaine, Rain Tairen
Soul could Change, and all hope of capturing him and his
mate would be lost. “What can we do?” Dur asked.
Azurel considered the options quickly and gauged the
distance to the two targets. “How many chemar do you
have?” The Primage’s brows drew together in a suspicious
frown.
“Why?”
“How many?” A low rattle, like a porgil’s warning before
“How many?” A low rattle, like a porgil’s warning before
it struck, vibrated in the Mharog’s throat.
Dur’s composure slipped, revealing a ..ash of fear before
he caught himself. “Three dozen.”
One pale, imperious hand extended from the cu.. of the
black robe. “Give ten of them to me.”
The Primage hesitated… then, with obvious reluctance,
surrendered his pouch of chemar stones. Azurel spilled a
dozen of the stones on the ground, near a pile of fallen
leaves and twigs. He closed his eyes, drawing an image in
his mind. Green Earth gathered at his call. The leaves
..uttered, then began to spin.
“What are you doing?” Dur demanded.
Twigs rose up in the air. Their thin ends split, and the
frayed ends curled around the spilled chemar like tiny
claws. Brown, dead leaves knit together, ..uttering like
feathers in the weave’s swirling breeze.
“Shortening our trip.”
Farel pushed them hard until sunset. He called a few bell’s
rest for evening meal, which consisted of cold journey
cakes, faerilas, and a few chimes of sleep. As their brothers
rested, dahl’reisen quintets scouted several miles in every
direction.
“Listen.” One of the warriors in the quintet scouting the
rear ..ank lifted his head. “Do you hear that?”
His brothers cocked their heads and listened for half a
His brothers cocked their heads and listened for half a
chime before shaking their heads. “Hear what?” the
dahl’reisen asked.
Then the breeze shifted, blowing towards them, and the
currents of air carried with them a tiny, almost
imperceptible sound. Little pops of sound in a continuous
series. Pop. Pop. Pop.
“That.”
The sound grew louder, coming closer.
“I hear it now,” one of the dahl’reisen said. “Almost like
the sound of an elf’s ..ngerbow ..ring, only hundreds of
them together. But what is—” His voice broke o... His eyes
widened. He turned to the dahl’reisen sitting next to him,
an Air master. “Lirn, get up there.” He pointed towards the
treetops overhead. “Hurry. Tell us what you see.”
Silvery white Air gathered in a powerful burst and
launched the dahl’reisen skyward. Lirn landed on a thick
branch high in a nearby tree, then leapt again, moving with
e..ortless speed until he reached the topmost branches.
The popping sound was much more noticeable up there,
and Lirn turned his head towards the sound… and by the
light of the setting sun saw the dark smudges of a distant
..ock of dark birds winging towards him, no more than a
tairen length above the forest canopy.
Shock froze him in place for a stunned few moments.
They couldn’t be birds. Nothing ..ew over the Verlaine and
lived—and he knew the forest defenses were working.
That’s what the popping sounds were… the constant
That’s what the popping sounds were… the constant
streams of poison darts ..ring at the ..ock of birds.
Yet the birds continued to ..y.
He narrowed his eyes, bringing the distant creatures into
closer focus, and saw the dead leaves ..apping like wings,
prickled with so many darts the thing looked more like a
..ying quillspine than a bird. No wonder the darts had no
e..ect. Poison couldn’t kill a thing already dead.
Lirn’s focus moved lower. Tiny stick legs dangled
beneath the pumping wings of the birdlike creatures… and
clutched in each twiglike claw was a gleaming white stone.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“We’ve got to go. The Eld have found a way to send chemar
into the forest.” Farel’s grim pronouncement brought Rain
and Ellysetta to their feet. He explained quickly about the
birdlike creatures. “They’re still twenty miles out, but
closing fast. The scouts are going to try to destroy them.”
“Can we outrun them?” Rain asked.
“Nei. Even in an open ..eld at our top speed, we’d still
run slower than these creatures ..y. They’ll be upon us
within the bell. I’ve already asked for thirty-six volunteers
to build a Wall of Steel. That should buy us at least some
time.”
“Even thirty-six won’t be enough against ..ve Mharog and
scores of Mages.”
“I know, but when the ..rst Wall falls, we build another,
and another. As many as it takes until you’re clear of the
Verlaine and able to Change.”
“What’s a Wall of Steel?” Ellysetta asked.
Rain supplied the answer. “It is a line of warriors who
will stand and ..ght to the death before allowing a single
enemy to pass. Once they make their Wall, the only way
they’ll leave it is through victory or death.”
“What?” Ellie couldn’t believe she’d heard right. “But
that’s suicide!”
that’s suicide!”
“It is the only option.” Farel didn’t meet Ellysetta’s
horri..ed gaze but instead kept his eyes ..xed steadily on
Rain’s. “I’ve called more dahl’reisen from the borders, but
the closest are still three bells out.”
“We’ve got to go. The Eld have found a way to send
chemar into the forest.” Farel’s grim pronouncement
brought Rain and Ellysetta to their feet. He explained
quickly about the birdlike creatures. “They’re still twenty
miles out, but closing fast. The scouts are going to try to
destroy them.”
“Can we outrun them?” Rain asked.
“Nei. Even in an open ..eld at our top speed, we’d still
run slower than these creatures ..y. They’ll be upon us
within the bell. I’ve already asked for thirty-six volunteers
to build a Wall of Steel. That should buy us at least some
time.”
“Even thirty-six won’t be enough against ..ve Mharog and
scores of Mages.”
“I know, but when the ..rst Wall falls, we build another,
and another. As many as it takes until you’re clear of the
Verlaine and able to Change.”
“What’s a Wall of Steel?” Ellysetta asked.
Rain supplied the answer. “It is a line of warriors who
will stand and ..ght to the death before allowing a single
enemy to pass. Once they make their Wall, the only way
they’ll leave it is through victory or death.”
“What?” Ellie couldn’t believe she’d heard right. “But
“What?” Ellie couldn’t believe she’d heard right. “But
that’s suicide!”
“It is the only option.” Farel didn’t meet Ellysetta’s
horri..ed gaze but instead kept his eyes ..xed steadily on
Rain’s. “I’ve called more dahl’reisen from the borders, but
the closest are still three bells out.”
“No!” Ellysetta stepped directly in front of Farel, forcing
him to look at her. “I will not allow it. Do you hear me?
We all go, or we all stay. But none of you will be left
behind to die. I will not permit it.” Her furious voice rang
out, bringing scores of dahl’reisen heads around in surprise.
Farel bowed. “Your concern is appreciated, kem’falla,
but we who are the Brotherhood of Shadows no longer live
within the glory of the Fading Lands nor answer to her
laws. Though we serve her still, we rule ourselves.”
“Rain…”
“Nei, shei’tani. He is correct. No duty or oath binds him
to your command, nor even mine. Besides, this is an
honorable death.” He met Farel’s gaze. “Choose your men.”
“This is senseless!” she protested. “Let’s at least try to
outrun the Mharog before condemning thirty-six men to
death!”
But Farel was already walking away, calling his warriors
together to ask for volunteers.
Ellysetta spun to confront her mate. “The Fey cannot
a..ord to keep losing its warriors, Rain.”
“These men are already lost, shei’tani, but this is a chance
for some of them to regain their honor.”
for some of them to regain their honor.”
“Scorch honor! Rain, they can bear children—Fey
children. They can bring life back to the Fading Lands.”
“Aiyah, they can bear children, and that is blessing from
the gods. But it is you, shei’tani—not these dahl’reisen
—who are the true hope of the Fading Lands.” When she
made a face and started to turn away, he caught her
shoulders in a ..rm grip and gave her a small shake. “Listen
to me. You are the one the Eye of Truth sent me to ..nd.
You saved the tairen and brought fertility back to the Fey.
Gaelen was right to tell them to protect your life even if it
cost the lives of every man, woman, and child in their
village. And they are right to abide by his command.”
Ellysetta scowled and pulled free to stalk away. All her
life she’d read about the glorious history of the Fey, and
she’d wept over histories that detailed the courageous
deaths of noble Fey heroes who’d given their lives to hold
back the Dark. But it didn’t feel the same when it was her
they were dying for.
She knew she couldn’t stop them. When Fey warriors
were honor-bound on a course of action, they let nothing
stand in their way. Noble, rock-headed idiots. If she didn’t
love them so much for their valor, she’d be tempted to kill
them herself for their stubbornness.
She spun back to glower at Rain, jaw set, arms crossed.
«So be it. But if they can die for me, then I can bless them
before they go.»
Rain couldn’t have looked more surprised if she’d
Rain couldn’t have looked more surprised if she’d
slammed a ..st in his face. «Ellysetta, nei. You know you
cannot touch them.»
Her lips tightened. «They live with their pain day in and
day out, for centuries. Surely I can bear it for a few
moments.»
«You have no concept of how terrible their true pain is.
They’ve been shielding you all this time. You’ve only
sensed a fraction of it.»
«You forget I touched Gaelen.»
«And nearly killed us both,» he reminded her grimly.
«The hurt they carry is too great for any Fey woman to bear
»
She almost faltered then. She remembered the shattering
torment of Gaelen’s lost soul. But then she glanced at the
stoic faces of the dahl’reisen who had su..ered so much,
who had been reviled and outcast by the very people
they’d lost their souls to protect yet still, nobly, strove to
protect them, and determination bloomed anew. «Then
help me bear it. Give me your strength.»
«Shei’tani, I am so close to madness, I doubt I could
withstand you healing a single rasa right now.»
She bit her lip. She remembered what healing the rasa
had done to Rain, how close he’d come to shredding his
mental barriers—and he’d not been in the grip of bond
madness then. She couldn’t do that to him again. But she
couldn’t let the dahl’reisen just walk towards their deaths
and do nothing, either.
and do nothing, either.
«Then I will bless them without laying hands upon them.
Because, one way or another, I will do this. We owe them
that much.»
* * *
Many more than thirty-six dahl’reisen came forward to o..er
their lives for her. So many more that Ellysetta nearly wept
to see it. They looked at her with such determination and
pride. Despite Rain’s assurances, it did not seem right that
so many immortal lives should be sacri..ced for hers.
She made no further attempt to dissuade them except to
refuse the service of any dahl’reisen with a living mate or
child. “No woman will be widowed, no child orphaned, on
my behalf,” she declared. Something in her voice, or
perhaps the light of battle in her eyes, must have convinced
them to heed her word, because two dozen of the
volunteers bowed their heads and stepped back,
withdrawing as she requested.
From those remaining, Farel selected thirty-six tall, ..erce
men, all of whom seemed to grow taller and ..ercer when
Farel chose them. They ringed around him as he gave them
their ..nal commands and farewells. When he was ..nished,
e ach dahl’reisen removed his Soul Quest crystal from
around his neck and handed it to Farel. The gesture pierced
Ellysetta’s heart. She knew, without asking, why they did it:
Warriors heading for certain death would not give the Eld
more Tairen’s Eye to pervert into selkahr.
more Tairen’s Eye to pervert into selkahr.
“Wait,” she commanded when the thirty-six would have
departed. “Is it not customary for shei’dalins to bless Fey
warriors before they head into battle? “
Shock rippled across the dahl’reisens’ faces, and when
she approached them, they fell back, casting alarmed looks
at Farel ..rst, then Rain. Ellysetta halted. She would not
chase these men around like a girl threatening boys with
kisses in a schoolyard. “Rain, tell them.”
With a face carved of pure stone, Rain said, “The
Feyreisa will bless you before you leave.”
T he dahl’reisen stopped in their tracks. Around them,
their brethren murmured amongst themselves with a
mixture of shock, awe, and disapproval.
“Come here, to me,” she ordered.
The warriors shared uncertain glances, then reluctantly
approached her, stopping a man length away and dropping
to one knee.
With Rain at her side, she approached the ..rst warrior.
“For my shei’tan’s sake, I cannot touch you,” she said. “But I
ask that you drop your shields.”
The dahl’reisen lurched back in horror. “Teska, kem’falla,
” he pleaded, “I bear shame enough for choosing the
Shadowed Path instead of the honor of sheisan’dahlein. Do
not blacken my soul further by forcing me to share the evil
in my heart with you. Just speaking the words of the
blessing is enough—and more than I deserve.”
Anger blossomed in her heart. It was an abomination to
Anger blossomed in her heart. It was an abomination to
her that this man was about to die on her behalf, yet still
he thought himself evil and unworthy of a simple kindness.
“What is your name?”
T h e dahl’reisen looked up. His eyes were lavender,
almost the same shade as Rain’s. “Varian, kem’falla.”
“Varian, if there were evil in your heart, you would not
be trying so hard to spare me from it.” She lifted her chin
and glared at them all, her eyes hot with righteous anger.
“You are worthy. All of you are worthy. Never doubt it.”
Fierce anger burned inside her at the thought of these
proud, brave men ..ghting and su..ering for their people,
only to receive banishment and a life of torment as their
reward. And even then they continued to defend the very
people who had rejected them.
She would not reject them. She would not allow them to
..inch from her in shame. She could not stop them from
their course, but she would not allow them to face their
deaths believing themselves unloved and unworthy.
Ellie reached out and placed her hands on either side of
Varian’s face. She did not touch him, but even so his pain
and despair screamed up her nerves, radiating from his
unshielded body in palpable waves. She gave a choked cry.
The agony of his soul was intense, like putting her hand on
a hot griddle and willing it to stay there as the ..esh seared
away. But when Varian started to raise his shields again,
she barked “Do not!” and spun a ..erce web of Spirit to
stop him. She had fought and won the battle to save the
stop him. She had fought and won the battle to save the
tairen kitlings. She would ..ght and win this battle, too.
Rain’s hands gripped her shoulders. Love and strength
poured into her. «Weave your blessing, shei’tani. I am with
you.»
At his touch, peace settled over her raging emotions and
muted the dahl’reisen’s despair. She closed her eyes,
gathering her emotions and summoning the shining golden
magic of her shei’dalin’s love. Fierce love. Unwavering
acceptance. Belonging. Family. Ellysetta wove those
emotions and memories into her thoughts and sent them
arrowing into the mind of the warrior whose face she held
between her hovering palms.
“You honor me, Varian. May the gods watch over you
and keep you safe. Go with my blessing and my love, and
come back to me if you can.” Instead of delivering the
traditional shei’dalin’s kiss to his brow, she poured upon
him a small, radiant burst of her essence, absorbing his
terrible sorrow and returning love in its stead.
When she released him, he bent his head and clumsily
reformed his shields. Though his dahl’reisen eyes, incapable
of tears, remained dry, his shoulders quaked with the force
of his emotions. He fumbled with his Fey’cha belts, pulling
free one of the many black-handled daggers. Both his hands
and his voice shook as he sliced his palm and let six drops
of blood fall upon the small blade and spoke the vow of
blood-swearing. “I know a dahl’reisen has no right to this
honor,” he declared, staring up at Rain, “but I do ask that
this pledge be witnessed.”
this pledge be witnessed.”
“Witnessed,” Rain agreed. He glanced at Farel. “The bond
requires a second.”
“I do not understand you at all, Tairen Soul,” the
dahl’reisen general muttered, his expression wavering
between disapproval and disbelief. Then he turned to
Varian and barked, “Witnessed. And may the gods have
mercy on all our blighted souls.”
Varian’s blade ..ashed brie..y, sealing the bond, and he
held it out to Ellysetta, hilt ..rst.
She took the Fey’cha and Rain spun a quick Earth weave
to add Varian’s steel alongside the other lu’tan steel woven
into her studded scarlet leathers. “Do you have family in
the Fading Lands, Varian?”
Startled, the dahl’reisen looked to Rain as if for guidance
before answering, “Aiyah, kem’falla. I have two younger
brothers—at least I did when the Wars ended.”
“And your parents? “
“They died in the Wars.”
“What are you brothers’ names?”
“I am dahl’reisen. I do not speak their names.”
“Then weave them to me in Spirit. Your brothers should
know that dahl’reisen or not, you remain, in your heart, a
warrior of honor and a champion of Light. I want their
names so that I may tell them.”
After a ..nal, brief hesitation, Varian gave her the names
on a wispy thread of Spirit, whispering them as if he
on a wispy thread of Spirit, whispering them as if he
feared dread repercussions for speaking them even in his
mind. «They are Silvannis and Moren vel Chera, of Lissilin.
»
«Beylah vo, Varian vel Chera.»
Rain’s hand touched the small of her back. «Well done,
shei’tani.»
She took a deep breath and exhaled the remnant pain
from standing so close to an unshielded dahl’reisen. «You
were right about his pain. I don’t think I could have borne
it without you.»
With Rain at her side, Ellysetta repeated her blessing for
each of the remaining warriors. One by one, they hunched
over, sobbing as her shei’dalin’s love tore through the
numb, emotionless barrier that blanketed their dahl’reisen
souls. One by one, they bloodswore themselves to her and
gave her the names of any family who’d still been living
when they left the Fading Lands.
And when they rose to their feet, one by one they
retrieved their Soul Quest crystals from Farel and presented
them to Ellysetta.
She did not immediately accept the pro..ered crystals. All
she could think of was the Fey custom of giving a
shei’dalin the crystals of the warriors who died on her
behalf. Though she had blessed them, though she knew she
could not stop them, she was still horri..ed that they would
sacri..ce themselves to save her.
«Ellysetta,» Rain’s Spirit voice whispered in her mind.
«Ellysetta,» Rain’s Spirit voice whispered in her mind.
«Look in their faces. Look in their eyes. You have given
them back their honor and their hope. This is not a
sacri..ce to them. This is their salvation.»
Ellysetta looked at her newest lu’tan and realized that
Rain was right. The dahl’reisens’ eyes—normally so
shadowed and grim—seemed lighter, all but glittering with
eagerness. These were not innocent boys, rushing o.. to
their ..rst battle with false expectations of glory and
heroism. These were battle-hardened warriors who knew
the bitter truth about what they were about to face. And
still they embraced their fate willingly, even joyfully.
She held out her hand and accepted their sorreisu’kiyr. “I
will hold these for you until your return.”
The lu’tan stepped back. One of them wove Earth, and
their leathers changed colors from black to vivid ..ame, the
chest blazoned with a golden tairen rampant whose green
eyes glowed with a magical light.
As one, they cried, “Miora felah ti’Feyreisa!“
Before the last echoes of their cheer faded, a familiar, icy
tingle ran up Ellysetta’s spine. Her knees went weak, and
she had to clutch Rain’s arm to keep from falling. “Rain—”
Her voice broke o.. on a groan as a blanket of agonizing
foulness engulfed her.
“What’s wrong?” Farel asked.
Rain turned a grim gaze in his direction. “Not all the
chemar were destroyed. The Well is open. The Mharog are
here.” «Shei’tani, can you run?»
here.” «Shei’tani, can you run?»
She inhaled, trying to breathe through the sick agony
twisting in her belly. The dahl’reisen were shielded. The
Mharog were not, and the cloying horror of them was
worse than anything she’d ever felt before. “I’ll manage,”
she rasped. “Let’s go.”
Farel gestured, and the dahl’reisen began to run.
The thirty-six who had volunteered for death ran in the
opposite direction, the joy in their eyes replaced by lethal
determination.
“What’s this?” Primage Dur squinted at the glow of magic
in the forest before them. Twelve shining warriors in red
leather stood interspaced between a line of gnarled trees,
blocking the advance of the Eld. “Who are they?”
“Dahl’reisen,” Azurel hissed.
“Are they… singing? “
“It is a Fey warriors’ song called ‘Ten Thousand Swords.’”
The Mharog spat on the ground. “No dahl’reisen sings that
song.”
But singing they were. What had the Feyreisen’s mate
done that dahl’reisen would sing with all the ..erce pride
and joy of the Fey?
They continued to sing even as the glow of their magic
began to coalesce into thick, powerful ropes. Fire, Earth,
Air, Water, Spirit… and then Azrahn. “They use Azrahn
freely.” Even at this distance, the sweet chill of the
freely.” Even at this distance, the sweet chill of the
forbidden mystic made the back of his teeth ache and his
own power rise in response. “One of them, at least, is a
master of it. Or close enough so it makes little di..erence.”
“Foolish, foolish Fey. Do they not learn?” The Primage
sneered, closed his eyes, and sent a whip of Azrahn
arrowing across the distance to Mark the fools who wove
Azrahn in the presence of a Mage. A moment later, his
sneer faded. His brow furrowed. His Mark had found no
target. “What’s this?” The Mage spun Azrahn again, and
again the dahl’reisen eluded his claiming. “They’ve
somehow shielded themselves against my Marks.”
“Just as well.” Azurel closed his ..sts around hilts of the
long, black-bladed knives at his waist that had replaced the
curved meicha scimitars he’d once worn. He smiled with
eager bloodlust. “I prefer to wet my blades in a ..ght.”
Beside him, the other Mharog growled deep in their
throat, and Azurel could sense they were as eager as he to
spill the blood of these dahl’reisen who sang as if they
were still Fey. The song, once so beloved, seemed a symbol
of all that the Mharog had lost, all that they now reviled.
Without warning, the Eld soldiers behind them gave
choked gasps and crumpled. Even as they fell, a red Fey’cha
glanced o.. Azurel’s own, ever-present shields and sliced
the unprotected hand of the Eld captain standing beside
him. The captain’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of
his bleeding hand. His ..ngers spasmed. Then his arm began
to shake as the tairen venom spread rapidly through his
veins. Within moments he was gasping for air and clutching
veins. Within moments he was gasping for air and clutching
at his throat as a white froth bubbled at the corners of his
mouth. The poison reached his brain, and he dropped to
the ground, stone dead, eyes staring.
Azurel nudged the body aside with one foot and scanned
the trees around them. Another barrage of Fey’cha
ricocheted o.. the Mages’ hastily erected shields, followed
by a concussive blast as a twelve-fold weave from the ..rst
group of dahl’reisen slammed into the forward shields.
“These twelve are not alone. Have your archers clear our
..anks.” Azurel directed the attention of the Mages to the
dense forest on either side of them. He could sense nothing,
but dahl’reisen weren’t fools enough to send a mere twelve
blades against ..ve Mharog and so many Mages.
Dur snapped the command on a whip of Azrahn.
«Archers, ..re. Rain sel’dor on our ..anks!»
The air turned black with ..ying arrows. Azurel watched
closely, looking for the telltale energy ..ares of sel’dor
hitting Fey shields. He would be very surprised if the
dahl’reisen’s admittedly impressive invisibility weaves
could completely hide shields strong enough to block
sel’dor.
«One in the large ..reoak there, another near that tumble
of rocks. Two more in the trees to our left. Earth, on my
command. Shake them out of the trees. Now!»
Green Earth arced outward from two of the Mharog, with
Azurel directing rippling ..ows of it both to his left and his
right. The ground bucked and heaved. The tumbled pile of
right. The ground bucked and heaved. The tumbled pile of
boulders shuddered, massive rocks shifting and falling, and
the dahl’reisen taking cover there gave a sharp cry, quickly
silenced. Nearby, the large oak that sheltered the second
dahl’reisen shook wildly from the force of the powerful
quake. With a mighty groan, the tree toppled, and as the
dahl’reisen in the branches tumbled to the ground, two of
the Mharog broke his shields with a six-fold weave, and
Dur followed with a blast of Mage Fire that sliced the
warrior in half.
The line of trees to the right shivered but stood ..rm
beneath the attack of the two Mharog as a masterful
counteractive weave of Earth dispelled the rippling force.
The Eld bowmen released another hail of barbed arrows
while Mages peppered the woods with globes of bluewhite
Mage Fire. Beneath the Mharogs’ feet, the earth gave
a sudden, heaving lurch that knocked them o..-balance.
A shout rose from the back of the infantry formation, and
Azurel turned to see the Eld soldiers falling upon
themselves, teeth bared in feral snarls as they sliced and
hacked at one another. A heavy black-and-lavender weave
lay over the Eld like a shroud. He tracked the weave back
to its source—more dahl’reisen hidden by their admittedly
impressive invisibility weaves—and ..ung a blistering
combination of Fire, Air, and Azrahn at them, but that blast
exploded harmlessly against another six-fold shield.
From the front, another brutal, twelve-fold hammer
cracked the forward shields. An intense Spirit and Azrahn
weave shot through the breech, plowing into two Mages,
weave shot through the breech, plowing into two Mages,
who suddenly turned and began to throw Mage Fire at their
own brothers—incinerating half a dozen Mages and enough
of Azurel’s shields to crisp his hair and singe the side of his
face before his own red Fey’cha dispatched them.
Azurel touched his scorched ..esh. His eyes narrowed.
“Time for you Mages to earn your jewels, Dur,” Azurel
snarled to the Mage. “Take out the Spirit masters before all
your soldiers slaughter themselves and your weak-minded
Mages kill the rest of us. And send something with a kick,
not your easily diverted little ..reballs. The ones spinning
Spirit are directing most of their energy into the illusion
weaves, but the others are shielding them. The Mharog will
take care of the blades in front.”
Dur nodded grimly. “Mages!” Blue-white Mage Fire
gathered in Mage hands, a glowing ball that grew larger
and brighter, illuminating the concentration and strain on
the Mage’s face as he fed power into it. The massive
..reballs shot out of the Mages’ hands straight at the Spirit
master. The Mharog spun a four-fold weave to box in the
Spirit master so he couldn’t leap clear of the Mage Fire’s
path.
Trapped, the dahl’reisen dropped his invisibility weave.
He faced, un..inching, the approaching ..re and screamed
de..ance into its consuming maw, “Miora felah ti’Feyreisa! “
The Mage Fire plowed into him and ..ared with a
thunderous boom. When it dissipated, the dahl’reisen Spirit
master was gone. Without his energy to sustain it, his
master was gone. Without his energy to sustain it, his
weave dissolved, and the Eld soldiers under its control
came to their senses, shaking themselves and looking about
in shock.
Dur took out the other Spirit masters in the same
manner, and after that the air ..lled with ..ying Fey’cha,
Mage Fire, arrows, and magic. The remaining dahl’reisen
fell after a brief but intense battle.
The last to die was a lavender-eyed dahl’reisen. He lay
mortally wounded, the lower half of his body in ruins. As
Azurel approached, the fallen man gave a bloody,
triumphant smile and plunged a red Fey’cha into his own
chest.
“Miora felah ti’Feyreisa,” he whispered as his body
spasmed. A moment later, his eyes went blank, and his
head lolled to one side. The smile remained on his face
even in death.
Azurel knelt beside the corpse. Azrahn came to his call,
whirling in his palm as he tried to summon the dead man’s
soul.
But for the ..rst time in his ..ve hundred years of being
Mharog, something blocked him.
Frowning, he fed more energy into his Azrahn weave,
trying to force the dahl’reisen’s soul to answer his call.
Still, it did not come.
Instead, a great blinding light rushed up at him. Furious,
de..ant love, so hot it made the ice of his soul crack and
shudder. In sudden, breathless terror, he ripped apart his
shudder. In sudden, breathless terror, he ripped apart his
Azrahn weave and threw himself back away from the
dahl’reisen‘s corpse.
“What’s the matter?” Dur asked.
Azurel bit back a sharp curse and rose to his feet. “His
soul is bound. It cannot be summoned.”
“What do you mean ‘bound’? Bound to what?”
“To her, you idiot. His soul is bound to her. Bloodsworn.
”
Azurel stalked to the next closest dahl’reisen corpse.
Steeling himself to confront the white light, he tried to
summon the second dahl’reisen’s soul. It, too, de..ed his
call. As did the next, and the next, and the next. “They’re
all bloodsworn. Every scorching one of them. That’s why
you could not Mark them when they wove Azrahn.”
Azurel’s ..sts clenched, and his teeth ground together.
“Never would I have believed Rainier vel’En Daris would
allow dahl’reisen to bloodswear themselves to his truemate.
”
Dur eyed him skeptically. “The Mages bind the souls of
all their followers, but those souls can still be summoned
after death.”
“Bloodswearing is di..erent. It is more like shei’tanitsa
than your soul-binding. They have willingly tied their souls
to hers, dedicated themselves to serve only her in life and
in death. It is a compact that cannot be broken or
perverted.” Through a combination of Magecraft, Feraz
black magic, and Merellian demon sorcery, the High Mage
black magic, and Merellian demon sorcery, the High Mage
had managed to tie a tairen’s soul to Shannisorran v’En
Celay’s but never had he succeeded in calling v’En Celay’s
soul to his service. Nor had he ever have been able to claim
a bloodsworn soul. “Step aside and let me try.”
Azurel’s eyes narrowed, but he stepped back and allowed
the prideful Primage to approach the dahl’reisen’s corpse.
He watched as Dur summoned Azrahn and called to the
dead man’s soul, watched him feed more power into his
summons, and almost smiled as the Mage swore and threw
himself away from the body.
“What was that?” Dur gasped.
“That was Rain Tairen Soul’s mate—or rather, the power
of her bloodsworn bond. It defends the souls in her
keeping.” “It felt like… love.”
Azurel’s lips curled. “Of course. Love is the greatest
power of a shei’dalin. With it, she could break you
completely. Every evil you have ever worked, she could
force you to relive through the eyes of those who loved
your victims. You would shred your own ..esh from your
bones in self-loathing.”
“I never believed the stories were true.”
“Now you know di..erently.” Few of the Mages who’d
earned their blue robes after the Wars had ever seen a
shei’dalin at work. Most had only ever known those broken
creatures captured by the Mages, bound with sel’dor, and
tortured to insanity. And so they thought shei’dalins were
weak and insigni..cant. They forgot that the truemate bond
weak and insigni..cant. They forgot that the truemate bond
did not form between uneven halves. The truemate of a
powerful Fey Lord would have her own power, vastly
di..erent but nonetheless equal in strength to her mate’s.
Azurel called Fire to incinerate the dahl’reisen dead.
“There were only thirty-six dahl’reisen. This ambush was
not meant to stop us, only slow us down.” He held out a
hand. “Give me more chemar.”
This time, Dur didn’t hesitate before handing over
another ten stones. Azurel dumped them on the ground. A
chime later, another ..ock of deadwood birds winged
skyward, chemar clutched in their talons.
Tears blinded Ellysetta, but she ran without slowing.
The ones who’d gone to hold back the Mharog were
dead. She’d felt each one of them as they perished, Varian
the last. They’d died not in fear, but in joy.
She’d felt that, too.
Rain ran close at her side. His soul sang to hers with love
and pride, and he wrapped her in supporting weaves,
feeding her his strength as they ran.
The bloodsworn dahl’reisen had slain scores of Eld
soldiers, more than a dozen of the Mages, and even one
Mharog. Still, she wept. They had been strangers to her
until today, yet each had willingly died to prevent her from
falling into Mage hands. She wept because somewhere
—either in this world or the next—there were mothers and
fathers and sisters and brothers who had loved them. She
fathers and sisters and brothers who had loved them. She
wept because those men had not died as strangers but as
her friends. In giving her blessing and accepting their oaths
in return, she had taken a little bit of each warrior into
herself, and it lived there still. It always would.
The dahl’reisen around her sang a warrior’s lament on
weaves of Spirit.
She answered with her own, an elegy Celierian women
sang when their men returned from war not in glory but in
caskets. She wept as she sang. It was a song meant for
weeping.
«Enough, shei’tani,» Rain said, when the last note died
away. «You will have us all on our knees if you do not
stop.»
Surprised by Rain’s remark, she wiped her eyes and
turned to ..nd tears streaming down his own face. The
dahl’reisen ringed closest around them were white-faced,
their eyes dark with the torment of tears they could not
shed.
«You wove your sorrow as you sang.»
«Sieks’ta.»
«Nei, do not apologize. It is good to mourn them. They
died with honor, as Fey should die.»
«I would mourn them even if they did not.»
«Aiyah, but it is better that they are deserving of your
tears. And it will ease their families’ sorrow to know they
died with honor. If we survive this war and are allowed to
return to the Fading Lands, I will accompany you to visit
return to the Fading Lands, I will accompany you to visit
the families of the ones who died today.»
She nodded. «Do you think Varian and the others bought
us enough time?»
Rain met her gaze, his eyes bleak. He shook his head.
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Village
8th day of Seledos
Outside the bedroom window of the dahl’reisen house
perched high in the treetops, the skies over the Verlaine
had lightened with the ..rst blush of the coming dawn.
Sheyl smoothed a damp cloth over Carina’s forehead,
brushing back tangles of sweat-darkened hair and weaving
what relief she could to ease the woman’s pain. She’d tried
for bells yesterday to keep the child from coming, but the
birth would not be stopped. Sheyl wasn’t sure she was a
powerful enough healer to keep either mother or child
alive—the child was coming months too soon, and the
labor was not an easy one. Throughout the night, she’d
spun healing weaves on the child in the womb, hoping to
mature its lungs and heart enough that it could breathe on
its own after birth. Sheyl knew her own death would come
today, but she hoped to spare Carina and her child.
“Arin…” Carina whimpered, calling once more for the
dead father of her child. “I want Arin…”
“I know, dearling. I know. Shh. Save your strength for
“I know, dearling. I know. Shh. Save your strength for
yourself and your baby. That’s what he would want.” She
moved down to the foot of the bed to check the baby’s
progress.
“The child is coming. I can see the baby’s head. Push
now, Carina.”
The woman’s teeth clenched, a strangled cry rising in her
throat as she strained to push the child from her womb. A
few chimes later, Carina’s son greeted the world with his
..rst, weak squall. Sheyl handed the child into his mother’s
arms then swiftly went to work delivering the afterbirth
and spinning a healing weave to seal o.. ruptured blood
vessels that threatened to hemorrhage Carina’s life away.
The door to the chamber opened. One of the warriors
who’d stayed behind to guard Sheyl and Carina poked his
head in. “The Eld are here. We’ve got to go.”
“She still too weak. She’ll die if we move her.”
“She’ll die if we don’t.” He pushed into the room and
bent to scoop Carina up from the blood-soaked sheets. “I’ll
carry her. You run. Now.”
The barked command left Sheyl little desire to argue. She
ran.O utside the bedroom, away from the privacy weave the
dahl’reisen had spun to silence Carina’s labor cries, the
cacophony of war was deafening. Mage Fire had shattered
the village shields and now bombarded the village without
pause. Felled trees toppled like slain giants, crashing down
upon one another. Fire burned all around, its orange ..ames
upon one another. Fire burned all around, its orange ..ames
devouring the autumn bracken on the forest ..oor, licking
hungrily at the trunks of trees, climbing the vine ladders
and hanging stairs with ferocious speed.
This was her vision—the death and destruction she’d
seen. The world seemed to slow as she turned her head to
the left, looking for the death strike she knew was coming.
She saw the Mage archers break through the thicket wall,
arrows nocked, bowstrings taut. She saw the gloved ..ngers
release, and the black, barbed arrows ..y like deadly,
soaring birds. One of the dahl’reisen shouted and spun a
..ery wind to intercept the arrows’ ..ight, but he was too
late.
The arrow slammed into her breast with enough force to
propel her backward. She lay on the ground, staring up,
breathless and dazed, as the top of a nearby tree crashed
down upon her.
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
“Why did Kieran and Kiel have to leave again? I’m worried,
Lorelle. I’ve got a bad feeling. Like maybe we’ll never see
them again.”
Lillis frowned as she rolled the small jingle ball across
the beautifully woven carpet in the center of the evenmore-
beautiful bedroom she and Lorelle had been assigned
in the Fey palace. The twin golden bells tied to the pretty
white stone at the center of the mesh ball chimed merrily
white stone at the center of the mesh ball chimed merrily
as the ball rolled. The same man who had given Lillis and
Lorelle their kittens had also given them the jingle balls.
Though most had been crushed by their fall on the
mountain, this one had miraculously survived.
Snowfoot, her kitten, pounced on the ball and batted it
between his small paws with pure, kittenish delight, and
while normally that would make Lillis laugh and want to
cuddle her adorable pet, at the moment she barely even
noticed the kitten’s antics. Her mind was somewhere else.
Somewhere troubling.
Lorelle scowled. “Honestly, Lillis, what’s wrong with
you? We’re here in a beautiful, Fey-tale palace, in a
beautiful, Fey-tale room. Papa’s here, and happier than I’ve
seen him in ages—did you see that workshop Lord Dax had
set up for him? When this war is over, Ellie and Rain and
Kieran and Kiel and Bel and everybody are going to come
home, and we’ll all be happier than ever.”
“I’m just worried, that’s all.”
Lorelle jumped up. “Well, don’t be! Kiel and Kieran are
going to be ..ne. They are!” She stamped a foot for
emphasis. She stalked over to the arched doorway leading
to the balcony outside their room and stood beside the
sheer drape billowing gently in the breeze. Her arms
crossed over her thin chest. “We’re all going to be ..ne,” she
insisted again, as if to convince herself as much as Lillis.
A knock on the door made them both turn.
“Come in,” Lillis called.
“Come in,” Lillis called.
The crystal doorknob turned, and the door pushed
inward. A beautiful Fey lady—was there any other kind?
—stood on the threshold. She had lovely long, black hair
hanging in ringlets down her back, and the prettiest eyes
Lillis had ever seen, deep blue-green and as bright as gems.
She looked like she’d stepped from the pages of a Fey tale,
clad in a gown of ..owing green fabric embroidered with
tiny golden leaves, ..owers, and birds.
“Hello,” Lillis greeted. “Who are you?”
“My name is Tealah. I was—am—a friend of your sister,
the Feyreisa.”
With a spurt of sudden eagerness, Lillis clambered to her
feet. “You know Ellie?”
“Ellie.” For a moment Tealah looked confused. “Ah, you
mean Ellysetta Feyreisa. Aiyah. We spent many bells
together when she was here. I am the Keeper of the Hall of
Scrolls, and she liked to read very much.” Slender black
brows arched in inquiry. “Do you girls like to read, too?”
“I do.” Lillis cast a despairing glance over her shoulder at
her twin. “Lorelle prefers to play Pirates and Damsels.”
“That’s not true.” Lorelle uncrossed her arms to put her
hands on her hips. “I like to read. I just don’t like to read
all those mushy lovey-lovey stories you like.”
“She likes reading about sword ..ghts,” Lillis said with a
sigh. “And about all the battles in the Mage Wars. As long
as there’s blood and violence, and someone dies, she’s
happy.”
happy.”
“I see.” With a smile that suddenly looked a little
nervous, Tealah said, “Well, I thought perhaps you might
like to spend some time with me today at the Hall of
Scrolls. I’m sure we can ..nd something to… ah… entertain
both of you.”
Lillis snatched up Snowfoot, and a ..ailing paw sent the
jingle-ball rolling. “Can we bring our kittens?”
Tealah looked from Lillis to Lorelle, who had bent to
pick up Pounce. The twins both smiled as sweet and
innocent as young Lightmaidens and made their eyes very
large and pleading.
“I… I suppose so.” Tealah nodded. “Aiyah, why not?”
Twin smiles beamed bright as the Great Sun. Clutching
their kittens to their chests, the girls skipped out of their
bedroom, out of the palace, and down the hillside as
Tealah led the way to the Hall of Scrolls.
In their bedroom, the small jingle ball with its white
stone came to rest out of sight beneath a large chest of
drawers.
Celieria ~ Verlaine Forest
“We’re surrounded.” Farel delivered the news without a
hint of emotion. They’d been on the run all night and into
the morning. Several more Walls of Steel had stood—and
perished—but the Mages and Mharog kept coming.
perished—but the Mages and Mharog kept coming.
Rain’s arms tightened around Ellysetta. She’d sensed the
opening of the Well half a bell ago, and Farel’s scouts had
traced the sickly sweet odor of Azrahn back to four portals
ringing their current position. “So we make our stand
here,” Rain said.
“Nei. We’re only thirty miles from the forest’s edge. The
reinforcements I sent for are attempting to ..ank the Eld
blocking our path. Our best hope is to push forward.” His
..ngers closed around the hilts of his meicha in a tight grip.
“Sieks’ta. I thought traveling through the Verlaine was the
safest route, but it seems I’ve only endangered your lives by
slowing our escape.”
“You owe us no apology,” Ellysetta said. “If not for you,
we’d already either be dead or prisoners of the High Mage.
”
“I spoke with the reinforcements I sent to the village. The
Eld beat them there by half a bell, but the Brotherhood was
able to rout them. The Mharog and a dozen Mages escaped
—I expect they’ll join the others here shortly—but the rest
perished. The dahl’reisen have already Fired the village and
gone to escort the women and children safely to the
Garreval.”
Something about Farel’s expression made her stomach
clench with dread. “But everyone got out safely before the
Eld arrived… didn’t they?”
“Almost everyone. A woman and her newborn son
perished, along with ten of the dahl’reisen who stayed
perished, along with ten of the dahl’reisen who stayed
behind to protect her while she gave birth. Sheyl was
wounded.”
“Is she going to be all right?”
“Aiyah. The warriors found her unconscious and trapped
beneath a fallen tree, but once they were able to free her
and revive her, she was able to heal herself. She’s running
with them now to catch the others up.”
Ellysetta watched him closely. “You don’t look happy at
the news.”
“I’m happy she’s alive—especially as that gives me the
chance to wring her neck when I see her again.” His lips
compressed in a thin line, and a hint of anger lit his eyes.
“She admitted to me she’d seen her death. The night you
came to our village, she told me she’d had a vision of me
escorting you both out of the Verlaine, but that was a lie.
The only vision she saw was of her own death, and she sent
me away with you because she didn’t want me to die trying
to protect her from a death she knew couldn’t be stopped.”
“But she’s alive,” Ellysetta pointed out. “So clearly her
vision was wrong.”
“Her visions are never wrong. She was supposed to die,
just as she saw.” Farel straightened and met her gaze full
on. “But you changed that. You gave her a gift—a
sorreisu’kiyr pendant. It stopped the arrow meant for her
heart. You changed her fate, Feyreisa. You saved her life, in
a way no one but the gods could have done, and for that I
owe you a debt I can never repay.”
owe you a debt I can never repay.”
“I will not hear any more talk of debts owed,” Ellysetta
said. “You saved our lives. Any possible debt has already
been paid in kind.”
“Nei, we rescued you from Eld for Gaelen, for all the
times he sacri..ced for us. My debt to you still stands.” He
shifted his gaze to Rain. “I have spoken with the dahl’reisen
and told them how your mate saved Sheyl. Many of them
have been thinking about Varian and the others. About
how like Fey they looked when they left. They died with
joy—and with more honor than a dahl’reisen has a right to
expect.”
“They died with the honor of a lu’tan,” Rain corrected.
“No matter what Dark choices they may have made in the
past, today they chose sheisan’dahlein.”
Farel’s ..ngers plucked one of his Fey’cha from its sheath,
and he bent his head to polish a nonexistent spot on the
gleaming steel. “We are also prepared to die for the
Feyreisa today, but we want…” He broke o.., cleared his
throat, and rephrased. “That is to say, my brothers and I
would humbly ask…”
Rain cut him o... “You wish to bloodswear yourselves to
Ellysetta.”
The dahl’reisen leader looked up, making a visible e..ort
to meet and hold Rain’s gaze. “I know that you have no
reason to o..er us a salvation we do not deserve… and in
all honesty, I must tell you we intend to weave Azrahn in
her defense.”
her defense.”
“Aiyah.”
Farel continued in a rush. “Six-fold weaves are much
more e..ective than ..ve, and we could do more to defend
her with them if we were free to weave Azrahn without
fear of Mage Marks.”
“Aiyah.”
“Bloodsworn to a shei’dalin as bright as the Feyreisa, we
might even—” Farel broke o.., blinking in shock at Rain’s
swift, unequivocal assent. “Aiyah? You mean… you agree?”
“Aiyah.” Rain covered Ellysetta’s hand with his and
threaded his ..ngers through hers. “I agree it is the best
solution.”
“I—” Farel’s mouth opened and closed. “Just like that?”
Rain gave a weary smile. “Just like that.”
The last few bells, with the torment of the dahl’reisen
and the foul presence of the Mharog beating at Ellysetta,
forcing her to divert more of her energy to shield herself,
he’d begun to feel the e..ects of the bond madness more
strongly. His thoughts were becoming cloudy and confused.
Rage simmered just below the paper-thin surface of his
control, and he knew that open battle with Mages and
Mharog would quickly shred what semblance of sanity he
still retained. When that happened, Ellysetta would need as
many protectors as she could get—including ones willing
and able to slay him.
Even if he did survive this battle, he had no illusions
about surviving the war. Without him, all hope of erasing
about surviving the war. Without him, all hope of erasing
Ellysetta’s Mage Marks through shei’tanitsa would be lost,
and the Massan would never let her return to the Fading
Lands. These dahl’reisen, so unafraid of spinning Azrahn,
were no strangers to protecting those Marked by the Mages.
Perhaps, after his death, they would be able to ..nd a way
to free her of her Marks as he had not.
It was a risk. A scorching triple tairen-sized risk. If
Ellysetta did fall to the Dark, a bloodsworn army of
dahl’reisen would make her even more dangerous. But,
then, Hawks-heart had already said if Ellysetta fell to the
Dark, all Light in the world would fall with her. Whether
she went with the dahl’reisen at her side or without them,
the end result would be the same.
“Gather your men. She will not bless them—I don’t think
either of us could survive her blessing four hundred
dahl’reisen—but they can swear their bonds, and I will
stand witness.”
“I—” Farel closed his gaping mouth and snapped into a
deep bow. “Beylah vo, Feyreisen. For my men and I, I
thank you.” Farel started to leave, then turned back. “I
almost forgot. Sheyl gave me a message for you, Feyreisa.
She had another vision while she lay trapped beneath that
tree. A vision about you. She said to tell you that when all
seems lost, let love, not fear, be your guide.”
Ellysetta looked surprised. “Hawksheart said almost the
exact same thing to me when we were leaving Navahele.”
“I would say it was coincidence,” Rain answered,
“I would say it was coincidence,” Rain answered,
frowning, “but when it comes to Elves and their portents,
there’s no such thing.”
“At least the message sounds more hopeful than
ominous,” Farel said. “I hope it serves you well.” And with
that, he gave a ..nal bow and strode away to gather his
men.
The bloodswearing went quickly. With the enemy
approaching, there was no time for pomp or ceremony.
The dahl’reisen knelt in groups, and in unison each group
of warriors swore on their life’s blood and black Fey’cha
steel to protect and defend Ellysetta Feyreisa in this life and
the death that followed. Farel was among the last to pledge
his bond.
When they were done, the pile of steel at Ellysetta’s feet
was too large to even contemplate weaving into her
leathers. Instead, dahl’reisen Earth masters gathered and
spun her leathers and bloodsworn blades into a gleaming,
more feminine steel replica of Rain’s golden armor,
complete with its own full complement of blades and a
scarlet-plumed helm.
The dahl’reisen formed a circular Wall of Steel twelve
dahl’reisen deep around Rain and Ellysetta. Earth magic
pulsed with sudden energy, and black leathers ..ashed to
vivid scarlet, emblazoned with a golden tairen rampant
with green eyes. The shout rang up from hundreds of
dahl’reisen throats, a joyful, de..ant cry: “Miora felah
ti’Feyreisa!“
ti’Feyreisa!“
And they began to sing.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
What will emerge from this paused emptiness?
What emotions will spark? Which hopes ignite
And burst like ..re weaves from nothingness
A ..erce blooming in the desperate night.
Quick bursting light, souls reaching in the dark
Where love can take form, unfurl wings, be born
And burn like the stars, silver, spare and stark
Or fail to ..y, crash, lie bloody and torn
Lie broken, forlorn, or take wing, ..y free
Explode in to life, with Tairen roar
Rending the air. Rending her. Rending me.
To leave us gasping, stunned, searching for more
Forged, anvilled, hammered, tempered, together,
True mated. Loved. Forever. Forever.
Shei’tanitsa Sonnet, by Ellysetta Feyreisa
Two bells and twenty hard-won miles later, the dahl’reisen
were no longer singing. The grim battle for survival left
little breath for anything beyond shallow gasps to ..ll
straining lungs as magic and blades ..lled the air, and the
forest Verlaine ripped apart at its roots.
The Wall of Steel had lost many of its men, and the
The Wall of Steel had lost many of its men, and the
Brotherhood used the bodies of the fallen as cover for the
living. The dahl’reisen forming the Wall rotated
continuously. Every few chimes, the outer layer of warriors
moved back to the center of the ring to rest while the next
row of brothers took their places on the outer line. As
dahl’reisen died, the ring wall shrank in upon itself, always
keeping twelve warriors deep.
At the center of the Wall of Steel, protected by a dome
formed from multiple dense, impenetrable thirty-six-fold
weaves, Ellysetta healed what wounds she could with each
rotation of the Wall. At her side, Rain performed all tasks
that required laying hands on the dahl’reisen—digging
shrapnel from wounds, setting bones, holding ..esh together
—leaving Ellysetta to spin her healing weaves. The pain of
so many dahl’reisen, crowded so close, coupled with the
bludgeoning evil of the Mharog, had long since overloaded
Ellysetta’s senses. She was operating now in a numb fog.
Healing whatever wound the dahl’reisen put before her,
moving when they told her to move, collapsing to her
knees when they told her to stop.
Mage Fire pounded the dome with relentless fury until
the sky overhead was a blue-white storm, but still
—miraculously—those shields held.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
“Orest is taken, Most High. The generals await your
“Orest is taken, Most High. The generals await your
command.” Primage Vargus bowed low.
Vadim barely heard him. His attention was focused
intently on the glowing map of Celieria where the myriad
tiny white lights indicating clusters of chemar shone moved
through the Verlaine Forest. He zoomed in, tracing the
progress of Dur and the Mharog as they pursued the Tairen
Soul and his mate. Regrettably, the attack on the dahl’reisen
village had been routed several bells ago.
“Master Maur?” Vargus prompted.
The High Mage held up a hand for silence as he scrolled
the view north, illuminating the bright collection of light
now sparkling in the Celierian city of Orest, and farther
north to Crystal Lake and the abandoned Fey city of
Dunelan, where a few bright dots were slowly making their
way around the lake. Finally, he scrolled the map west,
across the dark, unlit countryside of northern Fading Lands,
the Feyls, and the southern reaches of the Pale, where
another four pinpoints of light had nearly reached the
thinnest stretch of the Feyls due north of Dharsa.
Everything would soon be in place. He waved, and the
glowing tracker map winked out.
“Tell them to secure the city and prepare for the next
phase of our attack.”
Celieria ~ Verlaine Forest
“Enough with this… siege,” Azurel hissed to the Primage
Dur. “We’re no closer to capturing the Tairen Soul’s mate
than we were two bells ago. Time for new tactics.”
Dur scowled. “And just what do you propose? We’ve
tried everything we can to get through those shields.
Nothing has worked!”
“There is a saying in the Fading Lands… sometimes it’s
better to send a mouse than a tairen.”
Dur rolled his eyes. “In plain Elden, if you please.”
“We don’t need to get through their shields. Only this
does.” He held up a sel’dor-tipped arrow that he’d
modi..ed to hold a chemar in its shaft. “Surely we can
weaken their shields enough to get a single arrow through.”
Dur arched a brow. “How good is your aim?”
Within a few chimes, the Primages ramped up their
bombardment of the Fey shields, pummeling them
mercilessly, while six of the Mages combined their powers
and focused a bombardment of highly concentrated Mage
Fire on a single handspan of the Fey shield.
It took a while, but the small area thinned. And when it
did, Azurel and his companions let ..y.
One of the arrows broke upon the already-regenerating
shields, but two of the sel’dor-tipped missiles sliced
through, into the center of the protective dome.
Ellysetta’s legs went weak as the all-too-familiar sensation
Ellysetta’s legs went weak as the all-too-familiar sensation
of ice spiders shuddered up her spine.
“Rain!” she cried, falling to one knee. “Portal!”
Rain spun, red Fey’cha in his hands. His eyes ..amed
tairen-bright, pupils disappearing as his beast rose in
response to the threat to his mate. Three Mharog leapt out
of the portal and dove towards Rain.
“Fey! Ti’Feyreisa! Ti’Feyreisen!“
In desperation, Ellysetta tore one of the bloodsworn
blades from her belts, slicing her palm deep. Blood welled
in a swift, scarlet ..ow, and she smeared it over the shining
surface of her bloodsworn-steel-forged armor to summon
her lu’tan.
“Kem’lu’tan! Ku’vallar! Ku’vallar!” Help me!
A second portal opened behind her. She only had the
briefest warning before an icy hand closed around her
wrist.
“Neiiii!” The shriek of terror and denial ripped from her
throat as a Mharog’s black blade with its red Fey’cha hilt
slammed into the side of Rain’s neck.
Rain’s vision clouded, and his red Fey’cha fell from
abruptly nerveless ..ngers as the combination of tairen
venom and the corruption of the Mharog’s poison blade
spread through him. His legs folded, and he dropped
heavily to his knees. One hand reached for the hilt of the
blade protruding from his neck, then fell away as he
blade protruding from his neck, then fell away as he
toppled to the ground.
He lay on his side, struggling for breath and watching
helplessly as Ellysetta shrieked in a Primage’s grip and
fought his e..orts to drag her into the Well. Rough hands
grabbed him by the neck and clawed ..ngers closed around
his jaw, squeezing hard. The foul decay of a rotting soul
poured into Rain’s mind. Festering memories of a once
bright Fey life, destroyed by the deliberate betrayal of an
unfeeling commander. Destroyed by him—by Rain.
“She will die in torment, Tairen Soul,” an icy voice
hissed. “Think of that as you burn forever in the Seventh
Hell, and know that Maron vel Dunne has had his
vengeance.”
Rain looked into the hate-maddened eyes of the Mharog
without the slightest ..icker of recognition. His mouth
formed the soundless question.
Who?
The Mharog’s face contorted and he gave a high-pitched
shriek. Dark steel ..ashed as he yanked his meicha from its
sheath and held it over Rain’s head like an executioner’s
axe.
Before the blade could descend, a Fey warrior
surrounded entirely by a glow of golden light reached
Ellysetta’s side. He slashed at the Mage with blades that
gleamed like sunlight. The Primage staggered back away
from Ellysetta, a look of shock on his face, bloody stumps
where his hands had been and a ribbon of red slashed
where his hands had been and a ribbon of red slashed
across his throat. Demons howled out of the Well,
surrounding the Mage in a cyclone of shrieking shadow.
Freed, Ellysetta lunged, Fey’cha drawn, towards the
Mharog standing over Rain.
Nei… nei, shei’tani. Do not! Rain tried to shout the
warning, but none of the muscles in his throat were
working. He couldn’t speak.
Sensing Ellysetta’s presence, the Mharog turned, swift as a
snake, but too late to save himself. Her blade plunged into
the Mharog’s heart just as another blade, this one blazing
like the sun, took o.. the creature’s head. The Mharog’s
decapitated body remained standing for several, long
moments, showering Ellysetta and Rain with a fountain of
icy black blood. Then the legs collapsed, and the body
toppled to the ground. Ellysetta crumpled, too.
She was screaming as if her body were burning from the
inside out, as if her skin was being ripped from her bones.
The other two Mharog gave shocked grunts and
crumpled to the ground. Someone knelt over Rain, bathing
him in warm, golden light. A hand turned him on his side,
reaching for the pouch at the back of his hip belt where he
kept the cloth-wrapped Shadar horn gifted to him by Galad
Hawks-heart.
“You must live, Feyreisen,” a voice commanded.
As Rain’s vision dimmed, and his breath strangled in his
throat, he wanted to tell them not to bother. Ellysetta’s face
was frozen in a rictus of pain, her eyes as dark as dead
was frozen in a rictus of pain, her eyes as dark as dead
stars. The sight shattered his heart, leaving hope a dead
thing in his breast.
Shei’tani… shei’tani… nei…
Death wasn’t peaceful.
It was full of shouts and clanging steel, the roars of
tairen, and searing heat like the ..re of the gods… images
..ashing for barest instants before his eyes, lights, shadows,
familiar faces, a whirl of trees and stars overhead… smells,
like the aroma of a camp..re burning in a chilly winter
night and the odor of something noxious that made him
gag and retch.
Hands held him down. Pinned him as he fought and
Raged against them. He shouted obscenities, epithets,
cursed them and their o..spring to eternity burning in the
Seventh Hell.
Then silence fell over him like a heavy blanket, and
death became a still, black sea into which he sank with an
exhausted sigh.
Celieria City ~ The Royal Palace
As he had every night since receiving news of Prince
Dorian’s demise, Kolis Manza slipped into the king’s
bedchamber by way of the servant stairs that opened to the
king’s dressing room.
king’s dressing room.
Master Maur was growing impatient to have Celieria
..rmly under Mage control. He’d sent a special envoy with
an o..er to end all hostilities if Annoura agreed to
terminate the Fey-Celierian alliance and send what was left
of her armies against the dahl’reisen, who had been hiding
in the Verlaine Forest and using it as a base to attack Eld
and murder Celierians along the border who opposed
them. Despite a ..rm push or two from Kolis, Annoura had
as yet refused to agree, and it now fell to Kolis to ensure
she woke in a more malleable frame of mind.
He stood in the darkened dressing chamber until he
heard Annoura settle into bed, then waited for her
breathing to assume the steady rhythm of sleep before he
slipped into the room and padded silently across the ..oor
to her side.
He blew a pu.. of somulus powder in her face even
though he doubted it was necessary. Annoura wanted to
believe. She wanted to think Dorian had really returned to
her, that it was truly he holding her in his arms each night,
making love to her.
He began to spin the Spirit weave of Dorian, returning to
his love, but as he reached for the tie of her nightgown and
sent the ..rst, faint pulse of masked Azrahn into her body,
he froze. His nostrils ..ared, and in a sudden motion, he
snatched the wavy-edged sel’dor dagger from the sheath at
his waist and plunged it into Annoura’s chest.
The queen’s expression didn’t change, and her breathing
continued uninterrupted. But the area of her chest around
continued uninterrupted. But the area of her chest around
Kolis’s dagger spat small showers of lavender sparks.
“I told you a Spirit weave wouldn’t fool him for long.”
The voice came from an empty part of the room. Kolis
leapt to his feet, Mage Fire blooming in his hands just as
..ve-fold weaves and several red Fey’cha ..ew from the
empty room around him. His Mage Fire dissolved, and he
staggered as the blades sank into his chest.
Five Fey and a mortal materialized inside the room.
“You!” he exclaimed, staring in disbelief at the mortal’s
face. “But you’re…” His words slurred as the tairen venom
raced through his body. His eyes rolled back and his body
collapsed.
Prince Dorian—the new King Dorian XI—eyed the
twitching corpse coldly. “Dead?” he ..nished. “So they tell
me.” He ..icked a glance at the Fey. “Get this piece of
krekk out of my palace.”
Leaving the Fey to dispose of the body, Dorian exited his
father’s bedchamber and strode down the hallway to a
warded room where Gaspare Fellows and the dahl’reisen
sent by Dorian’s father were watching over his unconscious
mother, the queen.
The dahl’reisen looked up when he entered. The spiral
of shadowy Azrahn in his palm winked out, and he
nodded. “It worked, Your Majesty. The Marks are gone.”
Dorian closed his eyes and bowed his head in weary
relief and murmured a brief prayer of thanks that at least
he’d been able to save one person he loved. He sat on the
he’d been able to save one person he loved. He sat on the
edge of the bed beside his mother and took her hand as the
dahl’reisen removed the weave keeping her unconscious.
His mother’s lashes ..uttered, then slowly lifted. Her
delicate silver brows drew together in hazy confusion when
she saw him. “Dori?”
Tears sprang to his eyes. “Yes.” He pressed a kiss to her
hand. “It’s me.”
“You’re alive!” She sat up, ..inging her arms around him.
“Thank the gods. They said your ship went down.”
“It did, Mama. The Danae saved me. The Tairen Soul’s
trip to Elvia brought us the allies we needed to defeat the
enemy at Great Bay.”
“Oh, Dori!” Abruptly, tears ..lled Annoura’s eyes, and her
features twisted with a mix of elation and grief. “Dori… oh,
Dori, he’s gone. He’s gone.”
“I know, Mama.” Dorian put his face against his mother’s
neck as he hadn’t done since childhood. They both wept,
mourning the loss of the husband and father who’d been
the center of their lives.
Eld ~ Boura Fell 9th day of Seledos
Damn them! Damn them! Damn them for their
incompetence!
Vadim Maur snatched the silverglass mirror o.. his
Vadim Maur snatched the silverglass mirror o.. his
bedchamber wall and smashed it against the stone. It
exploded with a satisfying crash, sending shards and
splinters of glass ..ying in all directions. He grabbed the
carved chaise in the corner of the room and slammed it
into the wall until it broke into kindling. The small private
desk and chair su..ered a similar fate a few chimes later.
Vadim stood in the center of the wreckage, panting with
exertion and trembling with rage.
Did he have to do everything by himself?
Kolis Manza was dead. Prince Dorian—the new king
—was not. Annoura and the unborn child who were to
have been Vadim’s power in Celieria were lost to him. And
working in league with the dahl’reisen, the new King
Dorian had instantly begun a purge of not only his court
but the entire city. Centuries of planning and careful
cultivation were unraveling with increasing speed.
And to top it all o.., Ellysetta Baristani had escaped
capture. Again.
Of all the bitter disappointments—of all the gross
ineptitudes—that was the worst.
His Mages had failed him. All of them. Nour had failed.
Manza had failed. Keldo had failed. Dur and the Mharog
had failed. Every Primage and Sulimage he’d entrusted to
bring his great plan to fruition had failed.
“Damn them!” If they weren’t already dead, he’d kill
them himself for their bungling.
Throughout history, High Mages of Eld had held their
Throughout history, High Mages of Eld had held their
Dark throne through a combination of strength, cunning,
and ruthlessness. But no amount of cunning or strength
could disguise the string of failures that had dogged his
footsteps from the moment he’d ..xed his eye upon
Ellysetta Baristani. Or keep the whispers already circulating
in the Mage Halls from gaining strength and credence.
Primages who had been waiting for him to falter would
seize upon the survival of Prince Dorian, the loss of
Celieria’s throne, and not one but two failed attempts to
capture the Tairen Soul and his mate as proof that Vadim
Maur no longer enjoyed Seledorn’s Dark favor.
He needed a decisive victory—fast. And this time he had
no intention of sending a lesser Mage to bungle the job. He
would oversee the next stage of this battle himself.
Vadim released the privacy wards sealing his room and
summoned a trusted umagi to clean up the mess while he
returned to the war room. Vargus and the other Primages
were still there, several of them talking in quiet whispers.
They fell silent when he entered. Vargus watched him with
trepidation, the others with carefully constructed blankness.
“Vargus, pack your bags. You and I will be heading to
Boura Dor tomorrow to oversee the next phase of our
attack from there. And Garok?” Vadim turned to the
Primage he suspected of leading the rumblings against him
in the Mage Council. “You, Fursk, and Mahl are coming
too.” He named the other two Primages who were most
loyal to Garok. “I have an important job in need of your
great talents.”
great talents.”
To his credit, Primage Garok’s expression never changed.
“Of course, Most High.” He executed a smooth bow. “It is
our honor to serve.”
Vadim hid his satisfaction behind a cold mask. When he
achieved his great victory, he would be on hand to take the
credit. His greatest detractors, unfortunately, would either
perish as heroes supporting their Mage or die as
incompetent fools, depending on the outcome of their
battles.
When cunning and strength were not enough for a High
Mage to hold his throne, it was time for ruthlessness. In
particular, the swift and decisive elimination of all who
opposed him.
Celieria City ~ The Royal Palace
Annoura, Dowager Queen of Celieria, sat alone on a stone
bench in the private palace garden that had been Dorian’s
favorite. Winter had come, and the trees had all lost their
leaves weeks ago. It seemed ..tting, somehow, to be here
now, alone in a barren winter garden.
A sealed letter lay in her lap. Her name was written on
the front in a familiar script. Dorian had sent the letter to
Dori, in Great Bay, before his death. The ink was a bit
smudged from seawater. When Dori’s ship went down, the
letter was tucked in an oilskin pouch strapped to his waist.
Her son had come very close to dying. If not for the Danae
Her son had come very close to dying. If not for the Danae
water spirits who had rescued him from his sinking ship,
he would have drowned at the bottom of Great Bay.
The Danae had saved him, and he had returned to
Celieria City with Gaspare Fellows, a dahl’reisen from
Cannevar Barrial’s land, and the Fey, to save her. After all
she’d done, after all her hatred and accusations, the Fey and
a dahl’reisen had still come to save her. That was a
humbling realization. But not nearly so humbling as the
realization that her Favorite, Ser Vale, had been a Mage,
one who’d nearly claimed her soul.
She had harbored, in her innermost circle, an Elden Mage
who had planned the execution of her entire family in
order to claim her soul and rule Celieria through her and
the royal son she carried in her womb.
She ran the pads of her ..ngers across the folded
parchment of Dorian’s last letter to her. She was afraid to
crack the seal, afraid what harsh truths might lie inside, but
eventually, she mustered the courage. The blue wax broke
in two. She unfolded the parchment and began to read.
My Dearest Annoura,
I hope this letter ..nds you well. The battle has not yet
begun. We wait in growing tension and dread, which I
suspect is the enemy’s intent. But the waiting is a boon as
well, for it has left me with much time to think.
There is a saying here along the borders: A man never
sees more clearly than when he looks death in the eye. As
I sit here in this cold, dark castle, on yet another cold,
dark night, waiting for war, I know it is true, for I see
more clearly than I have in a long time.
I have thought a great deal about the di..culties that
have beset our kingdom, and this war that has sprung
upon us with so little warning. I have my suspicions,
which I have written in a letter to our son and asked him
to share with you. I will not dwell on those suspicions
here. This is not a communication from a king to his
queen, but a letter from a man to his wife.
When a Fey warrior meets the woman who completes
him, his soul’s truemate, he knows in an instant. And in
that instant, whether she will have him or no, he binds
himself to her, heart and soul with the words “Ver reisa
ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tani,” which means “Your soul
calls out. Mine answers, beloved.” And he spends the
days of their courtship—the rest of his life, if necessary
—proving himself worthy of the magni..cent gift of her
love.
I know how those Fey feel, my darling. That was how I
felt the ..rst moment I met you. How I still feel, today.
I pray the gods will see me safely through the coming
war, but should I perish, I do not want my last words to
you to be those bitter sounds we exchanged at the North
Gate. I would, instead, leave you with the truth I
discovered that day in Capellas so many years ago. The
truth that even now gives me courage to face whatever
comes. That truth is this…
I love you, Annoura. I will love you forever, my good
and valiant queen, my beloved wife, my soul’s eternal
and truest mate. Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tani.
Yours eternally,
Dorian
The parchment ..uttered to the dead winter grass.
Dorian’s wife pulled her knees up close to her chest like a
child, covered her face with her hands, and let the harsh,
broken sobs of loss and despair shake through her body.
Celieria ~ Edge of Verlaine Forest
9th day of Seledos
Rain woke to ..nd himself lying on a cot beneath the fabric
dome of a tent whose walls billowed gently in the winter
wind. His head was on ..re. Every muscle and bone in his
body ached. He lifted his left arm and frowned at the sight
of the spiraling Shadar horn strapped to his forearm, its
pointed tip buried in the vein at his elbow.
What the ..ames? He reached for the ties cinching the
horn to his arm.
“Don’t touch that.” The familiar voice rang with cool
command.
Rain turned his head to frown at the white-haired Sheyl,
who was standing beside a table on the far side of the tent.
who was standing beside a table on the far side of the tent.
“It’s the only thing holding you to sanity.”
He blinked at her in confusion. “What do you mean? And
what are you doing here? “
“I am here because Farel called me when you were
struck by a Mharog blade. We used the Shadar horn to
draw the poison from your blood, but when we tried to
remove the horn, you nearly killed the dahl’reisen helping
me tend you. Farel says the bond madness is upon you
—and that it hasn’t just begun.”
His mind was still so fuzzy, her words only half
registered. “It began over a month ago. Not long after the
..rst battle for Orest.” He put a hand to his head and
massaged the ache at his temples. “Ellysetta has been
helping me keep my barriers strong.”
Ellysetta.
He sat up so quickly his head spun. «Shei’tani!» He sent
the call along their bond threads, but received no answer.
She was still alive—he wouldn’t be if she weren’t—but
something was preventing him from reaching her. His
imagination ..ooded with all number of horrifying
possibilities.
“Where is Ellysetta? What happened to her?”
Sheyl regarded him with a mix of compassion and regret.
“She slew the Mharog. But in doing so, she took his poison
—his Darkness—into herself and nearly extinguished her
Light in the process. We had you together at ..rst, but even
unconscious, she kept trying to weave all her strength to
unconscious, she kept trying to weave all her strength to
you. We had to separate you in order to keep her alive.”
Rain ..ung the coverlet aside and swung his legs over the
edge of the cot. “I must go to her.”
Sheyl started towards him. “Wait. You’re still not in any
shape to—“
His head snapped around, and he shot her a glare so
..erce she clamped her mouth shut and didn’t say another
word as he pushed himself to his feet.
As he rose, the bulky horn knocked against his body,
shifting in its straps, and the tip started to pull out of his
arm. Instantly, voices in his head began to scream and the
heat of unfettered Rage rose so fast he thought the top of
his head would explode. He shoved the horn back deep
into his arm and drew a shuddering breath when the
madness faded.
“Let me do that.” Sheyl crossed the remaining distance
between them and strapped the Shadar horn securely back
in place. “There’s no need to rush to her side. The
shei’dalins are with her. They’ve been working through the
night to hold her to the Light.”
His head reared back. “Shei’dalins? There are shei’dalins
here—near the dahl’reisen?”
“They came through the Garreval with warriors of the
Fey. But do not fear. Once the Fey drew near, Farel and the
dahl’reisen headed north to set up a separate camp to
avoid causing trouble. They shielded their camp, and so far,
t h e shei’dalins have shown no sign of sensing their
t h e shei’dalins have shown no sign of sensing their
presence.”
“Help me get dressed, then take me to Ellysetta.”
Sheyl sighed but acceded to his demands. Since there was
no possibility of ..tting his war armor over the Shadar horn,
she helped him into a pair of black leather breeches and
pulled a soft, loose-..tting, linen tunic over his head.
When she was done, Sheyl walked to the entrance of the
tent and held the ..aps open. “Come on, then. I’ll take you
to your mate.” Her lips twisted in wry grimace. “Now that I
think about it, you’ll probably do more with one touch to
bring her back to us than a full day of shei’dalin healing
has managed.”
Outside, a small city of tents had sprung up in what
appeared to be a large clearing in the Verlaine Forest. The
ground and the perimeter of the trees were black with
char. A light drizzle fell from a dark, overcast sky, and the
smell of scorched wood and earth hung heavy in the damp
air. Skinned deer and small game were roasting over
camp..res.
“How long was I out?” Rain asked as they walked.
“All night and most of the day.”
A loud, roar rumbled across the sky, and Rain looked up.
“The tairen are here?”
“Three of them,” Sheyl con..rmed. “They came with the
Fey from Kreppes and burned a path through the forest to
Fey from Kreppes and burned a path through the forest to
reach you. Farel says they arrived only a chime or two after
you fell. They burned out the rest of the Eld. No one
wanted to risk moving you or the Feyreisa, so the
dahl’reisen and your Fey just set up camp around you.”
His Fey. He could just imagine how well things must
have gone when Bel, Tajik, and Gil set eyes on a small
army of dahl’reisen. Clearly, the Brotherhood’s service to
Ellysetta had prevented—or at least delayed—the usual
lethal vengeance Fey law demanded for any dahl’reisen
who came within a mile of a shei’dalin, but Rain wasn’t
looking forward to the justi..able tongue-lashing he was
sure Bel, Tajik, and the others had in store for him,
especially when they found out he’d let the dahl’reisen
bloodswear themselves to Ellysetta.
The hearth witch led him through a maze of Fey tents to
the far side of the encampment.
“She is there.” Sheyl pointed.
Even without the glow of powerful shields around it, a
single glance would have told him which tent held
Ellysetta, because stretched out on her belly, wings tucked
against her sides, Steli-chakai had her whole body curled
around the tent like a mother tairen protecting her nest of
unhatched kits. Her tail had completed the circle around
the tent, and the tip of it rose and fell in a rhythmic motion
near Steli’s shoulder.
“I will take my leave of you here,” Sheyl said. “There are
dahl’reisen in need of healing and I promised Farel I would
dahl’reisen in need of healing and I promised Farel I would
come as soon as you woke. When your mate is recovered,
Farel would like you to meet with him at the dahl’reisen
camp. There are others who wish to serve, if you will
allow it.”
The driving need to reach Ellysetta pounded at him like
hammers, but Rain paused long enough to nod his assent. “I
will meet with him, and thank you both for all that you
have done to help us. Ellysetta and I are in your debt.”
“You o..ered sanctuary to our families. All debts are
already paid in full.” Sheyl laid a hand on his arm. “Go to
your mate. May the gods hold you both to the Light.”
“Beylah vo,” Rain said, and bolted for the tent without a
single backward glance.
The great white tairen had ripped the stakes from the
ground on one side of the tent and poked her head beneath
the heavy fabric walls to keep a concerned maternal eye on
Ellysetta. A mournful, crooning tairen song hummed in her
throat.
As Rain neared, Steli’s crooning stopped, and her tail
stilled. The white tairen withdrew her head from beneath
the tent ..ap and great blue, pupilless eyes turned upon
him, whirling with distress.
«Ellysetta-kitling does not wake. Steli sings, but she does
not hear.»
Rain laid a hand on the tairen’s furred cheek. «I will sing,
too, Steli-chakai. Perhaps, between the two of us, we can
rouse her.»
rouse her.»
The white tairen rumbled her assent and lifted her head
so Rain could enter.
Inside the tent, six shei’dalins and the ..ve warriors of
Ellysetta’s primary quintet stood huddled around a table in
the center of the space. They parted as Rain approached,
revealing Ellysetta’s motionless form.
The sight of her stopped him in his tracks. He’d never
seen her so close to death. Her natural, Fey luminescence
had drained away, leaving her skin a pallid gray-white.
Against it, her wealth of ..ame-colored curls seemed lurid,
almost garishly bright. Dark rings shadowed the skin
beneath her eyes, and her lips had taken on a bloodless
blue tinge.
“Shei’tani,” he whispered, and he moved without
conscious thought, crossing the remaining distance between
them to take her hand in his. Her ..ngers lay cold and limp
in his palm. He pressed them to his face, his lips, as if mere
contact and desperate love could breathe warmth back into
her ..esh. On the threads of their bond, sent with a
warming wave of his own essence, he called, «Ke sha taris,
Ellysetta. Ke sha eva vo.» I am here. I am with you.
Ellysetta gave no response.
He glanced up at the shei’dalins and Fey crowded
around. “She is alive.” He said it almost as a challenge, as if
daring them to contradict him.
“Barely, I’m afraid. And only because we will not let her
“Barely, I’m afraid. And only because we will not let her
go.” The shei’dalin closest to him threw back her veil.
Rain found himself staring into the sympathetic face of
Jisera v’En Arran, the dainty but indomitable truemate of
the Massan’s Air master, Eimar v’En Arran. “Jisera falla, you
should not be here,” he chided. “What is your shei’tan
thinking? “
Jisera arched a slender blue-black brow. “What every
right-minded Fey in the Fading Lands should be thinking,
kem’Feyreisen. That if we lose this war, there’s no hope for
any of us. So it’s best to go out ..ghting for what we know
is right.” Her dark brown eyes were usually soft as a doe’s,
but at the moment, they glittered like polished stones. As
tiny and slight as she was, and despite her deeply empathic
nature, like that of all the strongest shei’dalins, Jisera v’En
Arran had a spine of steel.
As quickly as possible, she caught him up. “More
shei’dalins will be coming—they stayed behind to see those
villagers you sent to the Garreval safely through the Mists.
Those children… so many children.…” Her throat moved
on a convulsive swallow. “Some of them looked Fey. There
was a little girl…” Her eyes grew moist, and she blinked
rapidly. “I commanded the warriors at Chatok and Chakai
to let them through and told them if Tenn objected he
could just come to Orest and discuss it.”
Rain bowed his head, humbled by her bravery and
unswerving support. “Beylah vo, kem’falla, and thank you
for everything you’ve done for my shei’tani.”
for everything you’ve done for my shei’tani.”
“Aiyah, well, don’t thank me for that until she comes
back to us.”
The mere suggestion of any other outcome sparked an
instant, involuntary swell of fear and Rage. The Shadar
horn went hot against his arm, and as the horn released is
potent Elvish magic, he could swear he felt Ellysetta’s
..ngers twitch in his palm.
“Call to her, Rain,” Jisera urged. “You share the strongest
bond. Perhaps she will respond better to you than she has
to the rest of us.”
Rain nodded and leaned closer to Ellysetta. Closing his
eyes, he began to call to her along the threads of their
bond. Behind him, her head once more poking in under the
side of the tent, her blue eyes whirling and glowing like
stars, Steli added her voice to his.
Three bells later, Rain’s hope was beginning to falter. In
addition to the calls of a shei’tan to his mate, the calls of
Ellysetta’s lu’tan, and the calls of the shei’dalin, he and Steli
had tried every tairen song they could think of. Rain’s song.
Steli’s song. Pride song, kin song, mate song, mother song.
Nothing had worked. Nothing had roused even the slightest
response.
“Do not lose hope,” Jisera said. “The Feyreisa is stronger
than any shei’dalin I’ve ever known. To kill a Mharog.” She
shook her head. The top layer of her hair was plaited in a
net of tiny black braids, joined together with tiny gold and
net of tiny black braids, joined together with tiny gold and
crystal beads that shimmered in the candlelight. “No other
shei’dalin could have survived it.”
“She is a Tairen Soul,” Rain said, his eyes closed, his head
resting on Ellysetta’s hip.
“With a heart as bright and as strong as the sun,” Tajik
added in low voice. “In that respect, she is much like
my—” His voice broke o.. abruptly, and Rain opened his
eyes in time to see him glance at Gil, who casually shifted
to take the heel of his boot o.. Tajik’s toe.
The seven of them—Ellysetta, Rain, and all ..ve warriors
of her primary quintet—had sworn a Fey oath to Galad
Hawksheart not to reveal the truths they’d discovered in
Elvia. And though they would each willingly have
foresworn their oaths and broken their honor in order to
rally the Fey and rescue Shan and Elfeya, the urgency of
this war had stopped them. Hawksheart’s secret remained
unspoken, and their Fey oaths remained intact.
“Like your what, Tajik?” Jisera asked.
Tajik cast a de..ant glower at Gil and completed his
remark, “Like my sister. The Feyreisa’s courage and
strength remind me of my sister, Elfeya.”
Rain saw Gil’s tense shoulder relax. Tajik both told the
truth and yet honored his oath to Hawksheart. Fey loved
passionately, and mourned deeply, even centuries after the
loss of a loved one, so Jisera would not think it odd in the
least that Tajik’s sister remained in his thoughts.
She reached out to grasp Tajik’s hand. Golden light
She reached out to grasp Tajik’s hand. Golden light
glowed about their clasped hands and her eyes took on an
amber glow as she wove peace on Tajik. “I never knew
Elfeya-falla, but if she was anything like the Feyreisa, then
she was very special indeed.”
More special than Jisera knew. More special than any of
them had suspected before Hawksheart’s revelations.
Rain wondered bitterly what Tenn v’En Eilan, the leader
of the Massan, would do when he found out that Ellysetta,
the woman Tenn had reviled and cast out of the protection
of the Fading Lands, was the daughter of the greatest
warrior and most renowned shei’dalin born in the last ..fty
thousand years—perhaps longer. Rain’s Rage ..ared at the
memory of Tenn’s betrayal and the way he’d intentionally
laid a trap to catch Ellysetta weaving Azrahn so he could
banish her. He’d known about her Mage Marks, known
what terrible danger she’d be in outside the safety of the
Faering Mists. And still, Tenn had done it.
The Shadar horn burned as it drained the heat from
Rain’s veins and dulled the sharp edge of his Rage.
In his hand, Ellysetta’s ..ngers twitched again.
Rain stared at the slender ..ngers with sudden suspicion.
Her hand was motionless once more, but he had not
imagined the small ..inch.
“The Shadar horn consumed the poison of the Mharog
blade that struck me, correct?” he asked.
“Aiyah,” Jisera con..rmed. “So the hearth witch, Sheyl,
informed me.”
informed me.”
“Then is it not possible the horn’s magic could cure what
ails Ellysetta as well?”
Jisera frowned at him. It didn’t take a Spirit weave to
know what he was thinking—or to see how those thoughts
alarmed her. “The horn is the only thing keeping you from
madness.”
“So cut it in half. Use half for me, half for Ellysetta.”
“We don’t know that half a horn is any use at all.”
“We don’t know that it isn’t,” he countered. “Hawksheart
gave the Shadar horn to me for a reason. I doubt that
reason was so I could live to go mad when Ellysetta dies. If
Ellysetta doesn’t recover, I’m dead anyway. This, at least,
gives us a chance.”
Jisera crossed her arms. Slight and sweet though she
appeared, she was also stubborn as a rock. And she’d never
been one to take unnecessary risks—especially when it
came to the safety of the lives in her care. “It’s too
dangerous, Rain.”
He sighed and ran his good hand through his hair.
“Jisera, war is here, and I’m the Tairen Soul. If I don’t ..ght,
the Eld will win. I can’t ..ght with this strapped to my
arm.” Rain gestured to the bulky horn strapped to his arm.
“And I can’t ..ght with my mate hovering on the cusp of
death. You’re going to have to graft the Shadar horn to my
bones anyways. So why not start by grafting just half and
giving the rest to Ellysetta?”
“Even if we tried that, there’s no guarantee the horn will
“Even if we tried that, there’s no guarantee the horn will
help her.”
“It better, because we’ve tried everything else.”
Jisera set her jaw. Then after a look at the other
shei’dalins—and, Rain suspected, a private word with them
—Eimar’s mate gave a curt nod. “Bas’ka. We’ll need a table.
And you’ll need to agree to be strapped down and
rendered unconscious. I don’t want you Raging on us while
we’re trying to do this.”
“Agreed,” Rain accepted. He signaled to Ellysetta’s
quintet. Rijonn wove a second table, complete with metal
restraining straps. When he was done, Rain got on, lay
down, and let Bel and the others strap him in. “Beylah vo,”
he said as Jisera and the shei’dalins gathered around him.
“Don’t thank me unless this works.” Her eyes turned
amber and began to glow.
Ellysetta lay trapped in a sea of black ice. She couldn’t
move, couldn’t feel, couldn’t speak, and yet every part of
her being was writhing in agony, burning from a ..re she
could not quench, screaming until her throat was raw and
her ears were ringing.
Rain was dead. She’d seen the red Fey’cha pierce his
throat. She’d plunged her own blade into the rotting heart
of the Mharog in wild fury. Only she hadn’t died as she’d
expected. Instead, the undiluted evil of the Mharog had
seized her and pumped its foul corruption into her soul.
The howling torment of every life destroyed by the Mharog
The howling torment of every life destroyed by the Mharog
bombarded her senses, as did the Mharog’s ..endish
pleasure each time he’d drained a soul of its Light.
Hatred, malevolence, the unquenchable lust for pain and
destruction: the Dark emotions feasted on her Light. They
ate away at her shei’dalin mercy, her compassion and
gentleness, her hope, dissolving layer after layer of civility
and restraint until they reached the dangerous, equally Dark
monster that lived at the core of Ellysetta’s soul.
And when the foul malignancy of the Mharog touched
that, the beast roared to life. A vast, Raging Darkness that
dwarfed the Mharog’s by magnitudes. Her Darkness. Every
bit as powerful and potently evil as her Light was good.
In terror, she’d done the only thing she could. She raised
barriers around her mind and forti..ed them with a
containing weave that mimicked the binding spell Galad
Hawks-heart had once used on her. The weave used the
beast’s magic against it, so that the more it Raged, the
stronger its bonds became.
And there Ellysetta lay in torment, locked inside her
mind with the horror that lived in her soul.
Ellysetta. A voice called her name—Rain’s voice, infused
with the vibrant notes of tairen song. The sound sliced
through the deafening roars of the beast and her own
endless screams.
In the icy darkness of her self-imposed prison, the notes
of his song didn’t just glimmer—they blazed bright as the
Great Sun.
Great Sun.
Come back to me, shei’tani.
Shei’tani. Her battered mind latched onto the word like a
talisman. Rain? Is that you? Hesitant, afraid this might be
some trick of the Mharog, she reached for his Light… then
wept as it enveloped her in ..erce, familiar ..ows of heat
and strength.
Ke sha taris, kem’reisa. Ke sha eva vo.
His Light burned through the layers of dark ice and
fanned the dim, nearly extinguished ..ickers of her own
Light back to ..ery brightness. With a roar of cold rage, the
beast retreated into his lair, and the powerful weaves of
her self-imposed prison faded.
Ellysetta’s eyes opened, and Rain was there, his face pale,
his expression taut with worry, but whole and unharmed.
Alive. Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he
dragged her into his arms, kissed her soundly, then clutched
her so tightly to his chest she could hardly move.
“Beylah sallan,” he whispered against her skin. “I thought
I’d lost you when you stabbed that Mharog, shei’tani. Don’t
ever scare me like that again.” Fine tremors shivered
through his entire body and the hands stroking her hair
were trembling.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she told him in a broken voice.
“You nearly did.”
“I don’t understand.” She squirmed in his arms, needing
to see his face, touch him to ensure he was real. “You died.
I saw that Mharog kill you. He drove his red Fey’cha into
I saw that Mharog kill you. He drove his red Fey’cha into
your throat.” For a moment she wondered if she’d dreamed
that, but when she reached up to touch the spot where the
Mharog blade had pierced his throat, she discovered that
Rain’s previously unblemished Fey skin now bore a faint,
vertical scar, proof of his near-death encounter with the
Mharog. “How is this possible?”
“Aiyah, well…” Rain grimaced. “Much as I hate to admit
it, I’m in Hawksheart’s debt. That Shadar horn he gave me
saved my life—and yours.”
Ellysetta pressed her lips against the faint scar and
whispered a prayer of thanks. “Bright Lord bless him.”
Someone cleared a throat. Ellysetta glanced around and
blushed to discover she and Rain were not alone. They
were lying on a raised table in the center of a tent. Her
quintet and six veiled shei’dalins were gathered around
them. “My friends… thank you. Gaelen…” She reached for
his hands. «You and your dahl’reisen friends saved our
lives, kem’maresk. There aren’t words enough to thank you.
»
Another throat cleared—well, rumbled impatiently was
more like it—and Ellysetta’s attention shifted to the side of
the tent, where one entire fabric wall had been ripped free
of its mooring stakes. The unmoored side of the tent lay
draped like a rumpled scarf across a very large white tairen
head.
“Steli!” Ellysetta swung her legs over the edge of the
table, ignoring the protesting voices that told her she was
table, ignoring the protesting voices that told her she was
too weak and needed to rest. She was weak. Her knees
started to give way as soon as she stood. But Rain was there
to catch her, and with his arm around her waist to hold her
steady, she crossed the ..oor to Steli. She leaned against the
strong, furred jaw, closing her eyes against a sudden swell
of tears.
“I am so glad to see you, my pride-mother,” she
whispered in a choked voice.
«Steli’s heart sings to see you safe, kitling. Steli was…»
Steli gave up Fey words for tairen speech with which she
spun an image of a tairen mother, crying mournfully over
the body of a listless kitling. «Ellysetta-kitling must not give
Steli such sadness again.»
“I promise I will try not to.”
Steli nudged Ellysetta back a step, gave her a maternal
lick, then scolded, «Ellysetta-kitling must not set fang or
claw on Mharog. Mharog not good prey. Good only for
burning.»
She gave a rueful laugh. “I’ve learned my lesson,
Steli-chakai. Believe me.”
“All right, that’s enough now,” Jisera pronounced. “The
Feyreisa and Feyreisen both just woke up. I need to do
some tests before I can be sure everything went as well as
planned. That means the rest of you need to clear o... Now,
please.” The tiny Fey woman gave everyone, including
Steli, a stern look. The quintet quickly decided they could
guard Ellysetta from outside the tent as well as from within.
guard Ellysetta from outside the tent as well as from within.
Steli, however, lifted the edge of one lip and growled
irritably.
«It’s all right, Steli-chakai,» Ellysetta soothed. «I’ll be ..ne.
»
Steli sni..ed and declared, «Steli-chakai will go hunt.
Bring back tasty meat for Ellysetta-kitling.» With one more
growling glare for Jisera, Steli yanked her head out of the
tent and ..ounced o...
For the next full bell, Jisera ran both Rain and Ellysetta
through a battery of tests, checking their physical recovery,
their bodies’ reactions to the Shadar horn, their ability to
call and weave magic, Rain’s ability to control his bond
madness. By the time Jisera pronounced them well enough
to leave shei’dalin care, night had fallen and the slivered
crescents of Eloran’s two moons were high in the sky.
Four of Ellysetta’s quintet gathered round Ellysetta as she
and Rain walked the now-barren campground. Gaelen,
however, was nowhere to be seen.
«I’m here,» Gaelen announced on the quintet’s private
Spirit weave when Ellysetta asked where he was. «Just
invisible. None of the dahl’reisen know that Ellysetta
restored my soul, and if they see me, the secret will be out.
»
«I thought you trusted your Brotherhood friends,» Bel
said, frowning.
«I trusted them to save Rain and Ellysetta because I had
«I trusted them to save Rain and Ellysetta because I had
no choice. But I wouldn’t have turned to them at all if
they’d known she could restore their souls.»
Rain started to remind Gaelen that Farel was bloodsworn
and was therefore incapable of harming Ellysetta, but he
swallowed the words before they left his mouth. He hadn’t
yet revealed that he’d let dahl’reisen swear their
lute’asheiva bonds to his truemate.
“We received some good news from Dharsa.”
Rain arched a brow. He couldn’t think what it could be,
unless Tenn v’En Eilan had suddenly come to his senses.
“Let’s hear it. I could use some good news.”
“Kieran and Kiel are alive, as are the Feyreisa’s family
and two of the shei’dalins we feared lost at Teleon. Kieran
and Kiel escorted them all safely to Dharsa before heading
to Sohta and the Veil with Loris and another three
thousand Fey.”
Ellysetta stopped walking. “They’re alive? They’re safe?
All of them?”
“Aiyah” Bel con..rmed. “All of them. Lillis, Lorelle, and
your father.”
Her chin trembled. She turned quickly, pressing her face
into Rain’s throat and wrapping her arms around his waist.
He felt her whispering an inaudible prayer of thanks,
and tightened his own arms around her waist before
grinning at Bel. “That isn’t just good news, kem’maresk.
That’s the best news we’ve had in months.”
That’s the best news we’ve had in months.”
“I thought you would be pleased.” Bel smiled fondly at
Ellysetta. “We also received word from Celieria City. It
seems Hawksheart kept his word to speak with the Danae
and convince them to help us. Dorian’s ship went down,
but the Danae’s nyatheri, the Water spirits, saved him from
drowning and helped sink the enemy ships.”
“That’s something at least.”
“Unfortunately, the news gets less pleasant after that.
Prince Dorian—King Dorian—returned to Celieria City last
night to catch a Mage in the act of Marking Queen
Annoura.”
Ellysetta lifted her head. Her ..ngers clenched around
Rain’s. “Is she all right?”
“She’s safe and so is her baby. The Marks disappeared
when the Mage was killed trying to escape.”
“Who was it?” Rain asked.
“The Queen’s Favorite, Ser Vale, but it seems he wasn’t
the only one. The old King Dorian apparently sent some of
Lord Barrial’s dahl’reisen down to Great Bay to help his
son. And the new King Dorian ordered those dahl’reisen to
check everyone in the palace. Dorian’s Spirit master tells
me they’ve already found at least ..fty Mage-claimed among
the courtiers and palace servants, and that doesn’t include
any of the Mage-claimed who lost their Marks when Vale
died. Now the entire city is on lock-down. No one gets in
or out until they’ve been checked for Mage Marks by Lord
Barrial’s dahl’reisen.” Bel regarded his friend and king.
Barrial’s dahl’reisen.” Bel regarded his friend and king.
“You were right, Rain. The entire city had been in..ltrated,
and gods only know how long it’s been going on.”
Rain nodded in weary acceptance. He should have been
glad for both the vindication of his suspicions and the
unmasking of Eld’s servants in Celieria, but he wished he’d
been wrong. Not for the sake of the greedy fools who sold
their souls in exchange for wealth and power, but for the
ones, like Ellysetta and her friend Selianne, who’d been
Marked against their will.
“And Orest?” he asked. “What news from our friends
there?”
“Not good.”
Bel’s expression went grim. “Orest fell last night. Lord
Teleos was nearly slain, but the Fey got him through the
Veil and to the shei’dalins in time for healing. The Fey
managed to evacuate the upper city and part of Maiden’s
Gate, but the rest…” He shook his head. “All told, we lost
at least two thousand Fey and another ..ve thousand
Celierians—along with two of the tairen.”
“And the Eld?”
“Six of the dragons went down. We estimate we took out
two companies of Elden soldiers and about two hundred
Mages.”
“Four thousand men and two hundred Mages. And we
lost seven thousand?”
Bel nodded. “Polwyr and his men opened portals all over
the city. The fezaros came riding through with that potion
the city. The fezaros came riding through with that potion
of theirs again, and the Fey were so busy fending o..
demons, Mages, and darrokken and evacuating everyone
they could through the Veil, they didn’t realize what was
happening until it was too late.”
Seven thousand lost. Seven thousand. When the allies
didn’t have two thousand to spare.
Farel’s four hundred bloodsworn dahl’reisen had just
become even more valuable to Rain than before. To him
and the Fey.
He shared a troubled gaze with Ellysetta. He wasn’t sure
how well her quintet would take the news about the
dahl’reisen lu’tan—especially Gil and Tajik. He didn’t even
want to think about the reaction of the other Fey. The ones
who’d broken with Tenn and the Massan to support him
might well reconsider their decision when they found out
what he’d done.
«You know we have to tell them about Farel and his
men,» Ellysetta said on a private weave.
«I know, and we will,» Rain replied. Just as soon as he
could muster the courage to do so.
The conversation was not going to be a pleasant one.
“You let dahl’reisen bloodswear themselves to your
shei’tani? Have you lost your mind?”
Rain and Ellysetta both winced at Eimar v’En Arran’s
outrage. He was taking the news much worse than
outrage. He was taking the news much worse than
Ellysetta’s quintet had done earlier.
Once the lu’tan got past their initial shock, they had
appreciated the bene..t of ensuring that the dahl’reisen
would not harm Ellysetta and could not fall farther into
Shadow. Just to be sure, however, Rain had sent Gaelen
and the rest of Ellysetta’s primary quintet on ahead, to
meet with Farel and determine if the lute’ashieva bonds
would indeed hold strong against the temptation of a
restored soul.
“The dahl’reisen saved our lives,” Ellysetta told Eimar.
“Many of them sacri..ced themselves so Rain and I could
escape the Eld. They aren’t the honorless rultsharts you
believe them to be.”
“They walk the Shadowed Path!” Eimar exclaimed. “They
chose it!”
“They didn’t choose it!” Ellysetta retorted. “At least not
the way you mean. They simply chose not to die. They
su..ered so much in defense of the Fading Lands, they lost
the ability to feel anything but pain and anguish. And even
then, they chose to stay alive, to su..er unimaginable
torment so they could defend the very people who reviled
them.”
“Bah!” Eimar shook his head, making the crystal bells in
his hair chime. “They had an honorable choice
—sheisan’dahlein—and they did not take it.”
“Rain and I had a choice as well—to weave Azrahn or let
the tairen die. Did we choose wrong, too? “
the tairen die. Did we choose wrong, too? “
The Air master scowled. “That was di..erent.”
“Not according to Tenn and the rest of the Massan,” she
reminded him.
“Those villagers you met on your way from the Garreval
—those are the families of these dahl’reisen,” Rain said.
“Among them is a Celierian-born woman who truemated
the son of a dahl’reisen. Truemated, Eimar. And they have
children—including a daughter who possesses Fey gifts.”
The ..rst appearance of doubt eclipsed the outrage on Eimar’s
face. “That’s impossible.”
“So I always believed, but I was wrong. We Fey have
clung to our honor, and our women are barren. These
dahl’reisen have clung to their lives, despite their dishonor,
and their women bear young—even young capable of
truemating. We need to know why, Eimar.”
“You don’t need to let them bloodswear to the Feyreisa
to ..gure that out.”
“Nei, I don’t,” Rain agreed. “But we’re also in a war, and
we’re short on blades. The dahl’reisen leader, Farel, has
asked to meet with me and Ellysetta this afternoon. With
the shei’dalins and the other Fey here, Farel and his men
aren’t sure how best to honor their lute’asheiva bonds. They
will not come near the other fellanas, but they cannot go
far from Ellysetta. Farel also tells me there are other
dahl’reisen who wish to bloodswear themselves to Ellysetta
and ..ght openly for the Fading Lands once more.”
Eimar spread his hands. “What do you want from me?”
Eimar spread his hands. “What do you want from me?”
“I sent Ellysetta’s quintet on ahead to meet with Farel
and observe the other dahl’reisen who wish to bloodswear
to my mate. If, after their evaluation, her chakor has no
objections, Ellysetta and I will travel to the dahl’reisen
camp to accept the other bonds. I want you to come with
us. I want you to see these dahl’reisen for yourself, then tell
me whether or not you can ..ght alongside them.”
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Camp
Sti.. wariness infused the warriors of Ellysetta’s primary
quintet as six dahl’reisen stepped out of the forest and into
the open ..elds of Celieria. Bel, Tajik, Rijonn, and Gil
watched the scarred Fey with undisguised distrust, while
the dahl’reisen returned their gazes with de..ance mingled
with faint hints of shame.
“Which one of you is Farel?” Bel asked.
“I am,” said the dahl’reisen with dark brown hair and a
scar that curved across his neck and up his cheek.
Gaelen had shown Bel an image of Farel before they left
camp. The dahl’reisen who had stepped forward was
indeed the one shown in Gaelen’s weave. “I am Belliard vel
Jelani, Chatokkai of the Fading Lands.”
“I know who you are, Belliard vel Jelani.”
Bel’s brows arched. “We have met?”
“Nei. A friend showed me your image once.”
“Nei. A friend showed me your image once.”
“I didn’t know dahl’reisen had friends,” Gil said in a cold
voice.
Farel gave a bark of humorless laughter. “And here I
thought, as bloodsworn defenders of the Feyreisa, we might
meet in peace.”
“This is peace,” Tajik said in a cold voice. “You’re
standing before us, and we’re letting you live.”
“A mercy most apprecia…” Farel’s sardonic reply hung
in midword as Gaelen released his invisibility weave and
appeared at Bel’s side. “… ted.” The last syllable of the
word dropped from Farel’s mouth into a stunned silence.
Farel swallowed. “General.”
“I’ve asked you repeatedly to call me Gaelen.”
Farel’s face went blank as he looked at Gaelen
surrounded by the other Fey. “You are… with them? But
you are—” His voice broke o...
Bel saw the dahl’reisen’s eyes narrow as he scanned
Gaelen’s face, then saw those same eyes go wide in sudden,
shocked understanding.
“Your scar… it’s gone!”
“Aiyah,” Gaelen con..rmed.
“And… the rest? “
“Gone as well. My sister Marissya says my soul is an
unsullied as an infant’s.”
Farel’s throat moved on another heavy swallow. “But
how is such a thing possi—” He looked up, his eyes ..lled
how is such a thing possi—” He looked up, his eyes ..lled
with certainty. “The Feyreisa.”
“Aiyah,” Gaelen answered. “Which is why, my friend, I
must ask if there are any of you—either those who have
already sworn their bonds, or those who wish to—who
might break it if they discovered she can do this?” He
pointed to his unscarred face.
With Steli and the other two tairen ..ying overhead, Rain,
Ellysetta, Eimar, and the Fey lu’tan ran north along the
edge of the Verlaine towards the dahl’reisen camp.
Bel and Gaelen had sent word of their ..ndings earlier in
t h e dahl’reisen camp. There had been a handful of
questionable dahl’reisen among Farel’s assemblage, but
Gaelen assured Rain they had been dealt with. Rain didn’t
ask how, and Gaelen didn’t volunteer any more
information, except to say there was no chance they might
harm Ellysetta or the Fey, now or in the future.
A mile before they reached the camp, Xisanna and Perhal
..ew ahead to make certain all was well, while Steli landed
and stalked protectively behind her adopted kitling, ready
to scorch the ..rst threat that reared its head.
Farel and Ellysetta’s primary quintet were waiting to
greet them at the curve of the last hill. The moment the Fey
rounded the last hill and stepped foot on the ..eld where
the dahl’reisen had gathered, they froze in their tracks.
“I don’t believe it,” Eimar whispered.
“I had no idea there could be so many,” Ellysetta
“I had no idea there could be so many,” Ellysetta
breathed.
“Nor did I,” Rain said in a hoarse voice. He swallowed to
moisten his dry throat and gazed across the vale with
stunned eyes. Stretched out before them, more than a mile
in every direction, were row after row of tents. An entire
army—a very, very large army—was camped at the edge of
the Verlaine Forest.
Not just a few hundred. Not even the few thousand Rain
had suspected there were.
Tens of thousands.
“So tell me, Farel,” he rasped, “exactly how many blades
do you count in the Brotherhood of Shadows?”
Beside him, Farel smiled. It was the ..rst genuine smile
Rain had ever seen on the dahl’reisen’s face. The warrior
cast a proud gaze over his assembled brothers.
“Dahl’reisen? Thirty thousand. Sons of dahl’reisen? Another
forty.”
Rain almost choked on his own tongue. Gods save him.
Seventy thousand.
Seventy thousand.
Twice the number of all the Fey still living.
Rain’s stunned gaze traveled across the seemingly endless
sea of warriors, the outcast sons of his homeland. And he
saw the pride on their scarred faces, the renewed light of
hope shining from eyes that had been dark with shadow for
centuries.
centuries.
“They all wish to serve the Fading Lands,” Bel said. “All
thirty thousand dahl’reisen have asked to bloodswear
themselves to Ellysetta, and ..ght on her behalf to regain
some part of their honor as you allowed Farel and his men
to do. Their sons have o..ered their bonds as well.”
“I will accept dahl’reisen bonds,” Ellysetta said, “but not
the bond of any Fey who still has a chance to ..nd his
truemate.”
“Some might argue that sons of dahl’reisen are not Fey,
Ellysetta.” “They’re Fey enough.”
Bel smiled. “As I was saying, even the young ones are
good ..ghters. The dahl’reisen have taught them well.”
Eimar couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Bel? You
truly approve of this? You trust these dahl’reisen?”
Bel shrugged. “Two nights ago, I would have called Rain
a fool for allowing dahl’reisen to bloodswear to the
Feyreisa. But today… well, today, he and the Feyreisa are
alive because of them… and I”—he lifted his hands in a
dazed gesture—“I learned that I have a nephew. My brother
Ben, didn’t die in the Wars as I thought. He joined the
Brotherhood of Shadows and mated a Celierian woman.
They had a son before he died ..ghting the Mages.”
Bel turned his head towards the dahl’reisen horde, where
a young, unscarred warrior stood talking with his brothers.
As if sensing Bel’s gaze, the warrior glanced up. Apart from
a brief, darting glance from Rain to Bel and back, no
expression crossed the young warrior’s face, but he put a
expression crossed the young warrior’s face, but he put a
hand over his chest and bowed slightly in a Fey gesture of
welcome and acknowledgment.
“His name is Beren.” A faint, melancholy smile curved
the corner of Bel’s mouth. “He has Ben’s eyes.”
“Bel… kem’jeto.” Rain was at a loss for words. He
remembered Benevar vel Jelani, Bel’s older brother, and
how Bel had idolized him. The pain of his loss had honed
Bel to a razor-sharp blade, and he’d become a deadly terror
on the battle..elds throughout the remaining months of the
Mage Wars. “My sorrows for your brother, but mioralas for
his son.” Rain clapped a hand on Bel’s shoulder. “With joy,
I celebrate this new warrior of the Jelani line.”
“Beylah vo.” A brief silence fell between them, then Bel
admitted in a low voice, “You know, Rain, if I’d known
Ben was still alive… I think perhaps I would have traded
my own honor to be with him… to spend the years with
him.”
“Perhaps that’s why he never let you know.”
Bel, the most honorable Fey Rain knew, nodded sadly. “I
wish he had though, Rain.” He met his best friend’s gaze. “I
really wish he had.”
Rain looked out across the seemingly endless sea of
warriors, the outcast sons of his homeland. Many of them
banished for weaving Azrahn—the same crime for which he
and Ellysetta had been banished, a crime he was beginning
to think wasn’t half so evil as he’d been raised to believe.
And instead of looking upon them with revulsion and
And instead of looking upon them with revulsion and
dread—instead of seeing their scars and reviling them for
their dishonor and the threat of Shadow that hovered over
their bleak lives—he saw Fey. Warriors, brothers, friends.
Fey whom someone like Bel had once known and loved.
And for the ..rst time, he accepted the possibility that
here, in the most unlikely place and from the most unlikely
quarter, he had just found the allies he’d been looking for.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Encampment
Ellysetta thought bloodswearing thirty thousand souls
would have taken much longer than it did, but Farel and
her quintet had already decided how to handle it. They
divided the dahl’reisen into blocks of ..ve hundred and
each block swore their oaths simultaneously. Ellysetta’s
existing lu’tan stood amongst the groups to ensure that
every dahl’reisen made a proper and complete oath.
What to do with the massive pile of thirty thousand
bloodsworn Fey’cha became a subject of heated debate, but
in the end, both Fey and dahl’reisen lu’tan agreed to weave
a new suit of armor for Ellysetta, this time using only a
small button of metal from each bloodsworn blade. The
remaining, unused portions of the Fey’chas were buried in
the Verlaine, under a thirty-six fold protective weave, to be
retrieved and taken to a place of honor and safekeeping
after the threat of war had passed.
To say that Ellysetta and her quintet were happy with the
decision to bloodswear the dahl’reisen was stretching the
truth, but as Tajik said with a sigh as they prepared to
leave, “War is a strange thing, kem’jitanessa. I’ve seen bitter
enemies ..ghting side by side, because they hate the thing
enemies ..ghting side by side, because they hate the thing
they’re ..ghting more than they hate each other. Sometimes,
you have to take your allies where you ..nd them and hope
for the best.”
She laid a hand on his arm. She knew how di..cult it
was for him to overcome a lifetime of revulsion for the
warriors who walked the Shadowed Path, but he had not
been among them. He had not spent time with them as she
had, nor seen the love and vulnerability in their eyes when
they were safe in the circle of their families, nor felt their
shame at having fallen from the honorable path of the Fey
warrior.
“They saved my life, kem’melajeto,” she told him gently.
“They saved Rain’s life too.” She looked at the assembly of
dahl’reisen, the scarred faces ..lled with purpose and
determination rather than shame, and at the larger
gathering of their sons and grandsons, ..ne, ..erce young
warriors who’d never learned that they were suppose to
revile the scarred, soul-shadowed Fey instead of love and
honor them. “I think they may just save us all.”
Watching her, Tajik shook his head, a peculiar half-smile
on his face.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You just looked very Elvish just then. And very like your
mother.” He glanced back at the dahl’reisen camp. “I hope
you’re right, Ellysetta. I hope they do save us. But I’ll settle
for just knowing this wasn’t the biggest mistake we’ve ever
made.”
Celieria ~ Allied Encampment by the Verlaine
With ..fteen bells of hard travel lying between the Fey
army and Orest, Rain and his generals had agreed to spend
one ..nal night camped beside the Verlaine and set out
before sunrise.
As he and Ellysetta retired to their magic-warded tent for
the night, Rain shed his steel and spun his war armor to the
stand in the corner. His bones warmed as the Shadar horn
added its power to his weave.
The tiny boost to the magic made Rain go still.
He closed his eyes, ..ngers curling in loose ..sts. Earlier
this evening, he’d spun that same weave without the Shadar
horn supplementing his control. His condition was deteriorating—
and much more rapidly than he’d hoped. How long
did he have? Days? Bells? Did he even want to know when
there was nothing he could do about it?
He blew out the candle lamp. His elongated pupils
reacted to the loss of light instantly, lengthening and
widening, adapting like a cat’s to the tent’s dark interior.
That much of him, at least, still worked as it should.
Naked, his skin glowing silver in the dark, he glided on
silent feet towards the sleeping pallet. Ellysetta pulled back
the coverlet and when he crawled in beside her and lay
down, she scooted closer, snuggling against him and putting
a hand over his heart. The instant her skin touched his, the
a hand over his heart. The instant her skin touched his, the
tension in his body began to fade. Her love and concern
washed over him, enveloping him in a haven of peace and
comfort. With just her touch, she calmed the crying
madness in his soul and ..lled the cold, empty places inside
him with light and warmth.
His arms closed around her, holding her tight. “I was
afraid I’d lost you,” he confessed in a low voice. “When I
saw you slay that Mharog.” Even the memory of it made
him shudder.
She pressed her face against his throat. “I thought I’d lost
you, too. It didn’t matter what happened to me then.” Her
voice became nearly inaudible as she added, “Or so I
thought.”
He brushed her soft, curling hair back o.. her forehead,
stroking the smooth satiny skin. “What do you mean?”
Her teeth worried her lower lip in a moment of
indecision. “I never really knew what true Darkness was
until I stabbed that Mharog. As vile and depraved and
malevolent as the Mage is, comparing him to the Mharog is
like comparing a deep Shadow to a world utterly without
the smallest glimmer of light. I’ve never felt anything so
unrelentingly, consumingly evil.”
She pulled back to look up at him, and her eyes were
bleak with remembered horror. “I felt his soul, Rain—or
rather the void that exists where his soul once did. It’s a
bottomless, Light-eating abyss. His only pleasure comes
extinguishing the Light of others in the most brutal ways
extinguishing the Light of others in the most brutal ways
possible, because Light, in all its forms, has become
anathema to him.”
Skin to skin, he could feel her distress as if it were his
own. She was genuinely terri..ed. “Put it from your mind,
shei’tani.”
“I can’t, Rain. That’s the problem.” Her brows drew
together. “For the ..rst time, I truly understand what will
happen if I fall to Darkness. I won’t become the Mage. I’ll
become Mharog… and I’ll consume every last spark of
Light in this world. That’s what Lord Galad was trying to
tell us.”
“Nei, shei’tani, you won’t. I won’t let that happen.” He
took her shoulders in a ..rm grip and stared into her eyes as
if his own, fervent insistence had the power to convince
her. “I promise you, so long as I live, I will not let you fall.”
Her arms twined about his neck, and her slender body
surged against his, seeking shelter. He knew she didn’t
believe him—if the gods willed she should fall, she would
—but for both their sakes, she was as willing to pretend
that hope was enough. That together, they could hold the
Darkness at bay, no matter how powerful its call.
When the bright sweetness of her essence began ..owing
into him, he caught her hand in his. “Nei,” he said, though
he savored the stirring pleasure of her sel..ess gift. “Keep
your strength for yourself, shei’tani.”
“But you are weary.” She pressed kisses against his
throat, and where her lips touched, more bright golden
throat, and where her lips touched, more bright golden
warmth ..ooded his skin.
“I will be ..ne.”
“Aiyah, you will.” She agreed in a throaty voice. Her lips
curved against his neck. “I will see to it.” Another heady
rush of sweetness shot through his veins.
He should have refused her. She’d already given him
more strength than she had to spare. But if tomorrow’s
dawn was to be their last together, he wanted sweet
memories to take with him beyond the Veil.
His hands stroked the soft coils of her ..ery hair then
down her satiny skin to cup one small, perfect breast.
“Fellana, I am yours. Do with me what you will.” And he
surrendered to her lips, her hands, her love, letting her
pour herself into him as he poured himself into her. The
richness of his tairen song rose in his throat and he sang the
shining, wordless notes on weaves of Spirit, wrapping them
in wild beauty as she wrapped them both in the vast, deep
power of her love.
Later, much later, when she slept in boneless exhaustion
by his side, he lay awake, staring at the ceiling of their tent
as it rippled in the breeze o.. the mountains.
He’d never been a Fey who spent much time in prayer.
Before the Wars, he’d never truly appreciated the many
blessings of his life, and afterwards, he’d held a bitter
grudge against the gods and their whims. But now, on the
eve of a battle that, despite his encouraging words,
promised almost certain death for them all, Rain closed his
promised almost certain death for them all, Rain closed his
eyes and, before he let sleep claim him, sent up a simple,
but fervent prayer.
Please, gods, grant me time enough to ..nish this. Time
enough to make her safe.
Eld ~ Boura Dor
“Master Maur!” Primage Kron, commander of Boura Dor,
rushed to greet the purple-robed High Mage of Eld.
“Welcome to Boura Dor, Most High. It is an honor beyond
measure to have you join us.”
Vadim threw back his hood and cast a cold silver gaze
around the central command room deep in the heart of the
subterranean fortress.
“Yes, well, some tasks are too important to leave to
underlings. Vargus,” he turned to the elderly Primage who
had accompanied him from Boura Fell. “Set up the tracker.
”
“Most High.” Primage Vargus bowed and moved towards
the central table to weave the spell that would allow the
Mages to track and activate the chemar.
“Kron, has your team reached Crystal Lake?”
“A few bells ago, Most High. There were scouts in
Dunelan, but the dahl’reisen helped us eliminate them.
Quietly, of course, though I doubt it will be long before
their brothers raise the alarm.”
their brothers raise the alarm.”
“Good. Order them to begin. And send reinforcements
with bowcannon. Once the Fey realize what we’ve done,
they’ll send Earth and Water masters to repair the damage,
possibly escorted by tairen. Then I’d appreciate the use of
your spell room.”
The Primage hesitated only a brief instant before he bent
at the waist in a low bow. “Of course, Most High.” He
turned to one of his own Primages. “Ogran, send the
command to our Mages at Crystal Lake. Tell them to begin,
and to report back when it’s done.” Turning back to Vadim,
Kron gestured towards the door. “If you will follow me,
Most High, I will escort you personally to my spell room
and release the wards so you may make use of it.”
The Rhakis Mountains ~ Crystal Lake
Standing alone in the center of a clearing on the side of the
mountain peak, a blue-robed Primage opened his Azrahnblackened
eyes. He turned and picked his way down a
narrow, rocky mountain path, to the group of two hundred
Sulimages waiting below.
“We have our orders. It’s time to begin.”
The red-robed journeyman Mages turned to face the
soaring mountain that formed the western shore of Crystal
Lake. Blue-white Mage Fire gathered in their palms. One
after another, in a deliberate, rhythmic pattern, they began
bombarding the mountainside. Rock and stone
bombarding the mountainside. Rock and stone
disappeared, eradicated from time and space by the ..ery
globes of Elden magic.
Beginning on the western slope of the mountain and
working quickly towards the east, they carved a deep
channel into the rock, creating a chasm where none had
existed before.
As the Mage-made gorge neared the shores of Crystal
Lake, and the remaining earth and stone holding back the
lake grew thin, water began to seep out. The moisture
increased to ..owing rivulets, then spurting leaks as rock
and stone shifted, then cracked beneath the strain.
A ..nal blast of Mage Fire ..nished it o... Chill and crisp,
the water of the high mountain lake burst through the
compromised rock and gushed into the newly-formed
gorge. White and foaming and moving rapidly, a new river
rushed away towards the west, emptying Crystal Lake with
impressive speed.
As the surface of the lake dropped, the ..ow of Sourcefed
waterfalls that fed the Heras River slowed to a trickle.
Within a bell, they had dried up altogether.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
When Melliandra learned that Vadim Maur had left Boura
Fell to prosecute his war, she knew her time had come. She
hurried down to the umagi dens to retrieve the length of
hurried down to the umagi dens to retrieve the length of
knotted rope and the black canvas bag she’d stolen from
the guard halls and hidden in a rock-covered cubby hole in
the rat tunnels. She stripped o.. her ragged tunic and tied
the canvas bag to her torso, securing it by winding the
length of rope repeatedly around her body. Once that was
done, she slipped the tunic back over her head and
pocketed a small, sharpened knife and the ring of keys
she’d painstakingly carved from discarded bits of metal.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she slipped back
into the umagi den and made her way up a series of
stairways until she reached the corridor directly above the
High Mage’s private apartments. There, she made her way
to the door to the refuse shaft and ducked into the closest
abandoned room to unwind her rope and canvas bag. She
tied a looped knot on one end of the rope, tightened it as
best she could, slung the canvas bag over her back, the
coiled rope over her arm, and cracked open the door to
peer out into the hallway.
When the coast was clear, she darted out of the room,
opened the refuse shaft door, and clambered inside. She
hooked the looped end of her rope on the sel’dor stake
she’d driven into the rock last week, then took a breath,
grabbed the rope, and began lowering herself down the
slimy, muckcoated walls of the refuse shaft. Her bare toes
slipped on the ooze-covered rock. Only her tight grip on
the knotted rope kept her from tumbling helplessly down
the deep, dark shaft to the darrokken pit below.
Overhead, light streamed in as someone two ..oors above
Overhead, light streamed in as someone two ..oors above
opened the doors covering the refuse shaft. Melliandra
..attened herself against the wall just as a stream of garbage
and the Dark Lord knew what else came raining down. A
rotting lump of something landed on her shoulder, gagging
her with its foul stench.
Her skin broke out in a clammy sweat. She turned her
head abruptly as her stomach threatened to erupt and
breathed rapidly through her mouth. Shadow take her!
Whatever the putrid lump was, it reeked! Worse, she could
feel the wriggle of maggots and rotworms moving inside
the gelatinous blob.
She gave her shoulder a violent twitch and felt the lump
dislodge and roll down her back. The refuse doors
overhead closed again, and the shaft fell into darkness once
more.
A soft, blindly seeking mouth nudged the skin near her
ear.With a choked cry, Melliandra lost her battle with her
stomach and nearly lost her hold on the rope. Only quick
thinking and desperation saved her. She twisted one arm
and one leg around the rope and dangled there, retching
helplessly while her free hand slapped at the tiny maggots
and rotworms writhing in her hair.
So much for bravado. It seemed this umagi was little
braver than any other squeamish squeal of a girl when it
came to some things.
When her stomach had emptied and she was as sure as
When her stomach had emptied and she was as sure as
she could be that no other crawlies remained in her hair,
she put both hands back on the rope and continued inching
her way down the refuse shaft to the door that led to
Vadim Maur’s private incinerator and spell room.
Upon reaching the door, she muttered a brief curse.
She’d been hoping the Mage would forget to ward the
refuse-shaft door before he left, but no such luck. He might
be inhabiting a less powerful body now, but Vadim Maur
was too careful a Mage to leave even something as
insigni..cant as a refuse chute unprotected against intrusion.
Ah, well. She’d hoped to be in a less precarious position
for her ..rst attempt to weave magic, but since when had
the gods ever done her a kindness? If this was where she
had to prove herself, so be it.
Carefully, using a combination of the detailed
instructions Lord Death had so painstakingly planted in her
mind and the sensations she’d gleaned from the High
Mage’s mind, she summoned her magic. She’d intended to
call only the smallest tendril, but instead her power came
in a rush, ..ooding her body with sudden, electric sensation.
Cool and sweet, intensely pleasurable. She closed her eyes
on a wave of euphoria so great she nearly lost her balance
and toppled from the slippery ledge.
The wards around the refuse-shaft door lit up, bright as
..ame in the darkness. Startled both by the brightness and
her own intense power, she released her magic and
crouched there, trembling, waiting for any hint that Vadim
Maur had detected her activity.
Maur had detected her activity.
One long moment passed, then another and another. A
full chime she waited, but nothing happened. She wasn’t
sure if Vadim Maur was still in the Well of Souls, if his
distance from Boura Fell blinded him, or if her ability to
hide her thoughts had become so strong she could now
hide her magic as well, but whatever the reason, she
couldn’t sense him. The usual weight of his dark
omniscience was absent. There was no prying invasion of
her mind, no evil snap of his hated voice jabbing into her
brain demanding to know what she was about. There was
only silence and solitude, the comforting aloneness of her
mind.
She drew a deep breath and tried to calm her racing
heart. If the High Mage had not sensed that unchecked ..are
of power, she might just be able to pull this o.., after all.
“You can do this, Melliandra. You must do this.”
She ..xed a picture of Shia in her mind, focused on the
ice blue eyes, rimmed in dark cobalt. Shia’s eyes stayed
bright and steady as Shia’s face faded, replaced by a
younger, more masculine version of Shia. A child’s face. A
boy. Shia’s son. Watching Melliandra with unblinking
intensity. He was depending on her.
She summoned her magic once more.
This time, she braced herself for the rush of pleasure,
clinging to her rope and panting as sensation crashed over
her in waves. Was this what the Mages felt when they
worked their spells? No wonder magic was everything to
worked their spells? No wonder magic was everything to
them!
The wards on the refuse door went bright again. She
stared hard at the pattern, matching it thread by thread to
the same one she’d seen through Vadim Maur’s eyes the last
time he’d released the ward on the refuse shaft door.
Nothing had changed, thank the Dark Lord.
Whispering, “You’d better not have betrayed me, Fey,”
she closed her eyes and released the ..rst of the weaves
Lord Death had planted inside her mind. Magic swelled.
Swallowing her fear and distrust, she surrendered control of
her body—and her magic—to the Fey’s implanted
instruction.
Her eyes ..ew open. She watched with intense
concentration as the magic inside her rose, shaped itself,
merged with the glowing threads of the ward and began to
unravel it. She examined every sensation in minutest detail,
every muscle that tensed, every nerve that tingled, every
thought and breath and tiniest movement. And she
painstakingly ..led those observations away in the secret
compartment in her mind so that she could take them out
later for study.
Once she escaped Boura Fell, there would be no Lord
Death to teach her magic; so until that day of freedom
dawned, she was determined to learn all she could from
every possible source, Mage or Fey. Shia’s son possessed
powerful magic, and she would not let him face the world
as defenseless as she had been all her life.
as defenseless as she had been all her life.
At last, the threads of the ward fell apart and
disintegrated. She reached into her pocket for the dull knife
she’d stolen from the kitchen. With a little maneuvering,
she slipped it through the tiny crack between door and
stone wall and released the latch.
The hallway leading to Vadim Maur’s spell room was
pitch-black, but as Melliandra set her feet (carefully wiped
clean of the muck from the refuse-pit walls) upon the stone
..oor and took her ..rst step, the hall sconces sparked to
life. She gasped and leapt back into the opening to the
refuse shaft, fearing discovery, only to frown as the sconces
dimmed almost instantly.
She waited a few moments, then cautiously lowered
herself back into the hall. The sconces relit. She jumped
again, instinctively, but soon realized the lights must be
spelled to activate based on motion in the tiny space. She
took a few cautious steps, ears straining for possible signs
of discovery. When none came, relief loosened the tension
in her shoulders, and she began to move with more
con..dence, examining her surroundings with swift,
searching eyes.
A curling stair led up into the darkness of Vadim Maur’s
personal chambers. Using the directions she’d gathered
from eavesdropping in Vadim Maur’s mind, she made her
way to the warded treasure rooms where he kept his most
valuable magical implements. The next of Lord Death’s
unwarding weaves opened the treasure-room door, and
chamber’s ceiling sconces lit up as Melliandra slipped
chamber’s ceiling sconces lit up as Melliandra slipped
inside.
The walls were covered from ..oor to ceiling with shelves
and drawers, all ..lled to the brim. Chests and cases were
piled high against the far wall and stacked around and
beneath a table in the center of the room. Her mind
boggled at the sight of so many weapons, jewels, books
and scrolls, cauldrons, chalices, and crystal ..agons ..lled
with who knew what.
Melliandra took another breath and stepped forward.
Time to get to work.
Eld ~ Boura Dor
Vadim Maur stood in the doorway of Primage Kron’s
personal spell room and looked around in approval at the
small, tidy space. The spotless mosaic tiles lining the ..oor,
ceiling, and walls gleamed in the candlelight. A beaten
copper basin rested on the central spell altar, and fresh
water poured into a small stone basin against one wall. The
distinctive, cleansing scents of lemonroot and shadowsage
perfumed the air of the closed space. Like all serious
students of magic, Kron took extraordinary care in tending
to his spell room.
“This will do,” Vadim said. He glanced at the Primage.
“Leave me.”
Kron bowed and backed out of the room. “If you require
Kron bowed and backed out of the room. “If you require
anything at all, the bell outside the spell room will
summon my most trusted umagi.”
Vadim waited for the spell-room door to close before he
allowed the sneer to lift the corner of his lip. As if the High
Mage of Eld would ever be foolish enough to use an umagi
loyal to another Mage to assist him with a spell. Kron knew
that of course, which meant the o..er had been more
courtesy than genuine.
Vadim picked up the copper basin, ..lled it with fresh
water from the wall fountain, then reached into his robe
pocket to retrieve a small, chilled vial of blood. He shook
the vial vigorously before uncapping it and pouring half
the contents into the basin.
As the blood mingled with the water, Vadim thrust his
hands, each ..nger covered with rings of power, into the
mixture. His eyes closed and he invoked his seeking spell
to amplify the power of his call. In his old body, he could
have reached his target without aid, but he hadn’t been in
this body long enough to know the full extent of its
capabilities and its limitations. He had no intention of
spending a critical bell or two trying to locate his distant
contact only to discover he couldn’t manage it without an
amplifying spell.
The power of the spell enveloped him, and he focused
his mind into a single, sharp arrow of concentration. The
rest of the world fell away. His consciousness shot up on
waves of Azrahn, spiraling up through the spell room’s
exhaust pipe into the world above, then racing west
exhaust pipe into the world above, then racing west
towards the Lysande Ocean.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
Locating Lord Death’s things was simpler than Melliandra
had expected. Between the blood call she’d gleaned from
the High Mage and the weave Lord Shan provided, she
could feel the presence of his belongings tugging at her, as
if they were lodestones and she were steel. Accessing them,
however, proved more di..cult than she’d hoped.
She’d known the High Mage warded his greatest treasures
with multiple wards. What she hadn’t anticipated was that
no two objects in his treasure room could be accessed
exactly the same way. Each chest, each case, had its own
special combination of warding spells, several layers deep.
It took her a full bell of painstakingly trying to piece
together the proper combination of unraveling weaves
before she managed to open the large trunk containing
Lord Death’s blades and leather weapons belts. She stu..ed
the blades and harnesses in her canvas bag, along with two
daggers the length of her forearm for herself—after all,
who knew what dangers lurked in the world above?
When it came to unlocking the case containing what she
hoped was Lord Death’s crystal, however, she ran into
trouble. The ..rst six wards she managed to identify from
her memories and unravel using Lord Death’s Spirit-weave
commands. The seventh set her back on her heels. She’d
commands. The seventh set her back on her heels. She’d
never seen this particular pattern before. And that meant,
Lord Death had given her no spell to unweave it.
“Dark Lord take it!” she hissed. The High Mage must
have changed the ..nal ward before leaving Boura Fell. The
threads before her were more complex, more tightly
woven, than any she’d encountered yet. She had no idea
where to even begin taking this one apart, and, according
to Lord Death, one wrong move would kill her.
These wards are deadly. If you unweave them
incorrectly, the magic will turn upon you and you’ll die an
agonizing death.
Melliandra glared at the glowing threads of confounding
magic. She hadn’t come this far to fail. Without that crystal,
Lord Death said he couldn’t defeat the High Mage. She
wasn’t entirely sure she believed him, but she couldn’t take
the risk.
She needed that crystal now.
If she left without it, there was no guarantee she’d ever
have a second chance to get it. Worse, the Mage Halls were
rife with rumors about the new fortress being constructed
above ground and the speculation that the High Mage
intended to make that his new palace. If he moved, he
would no doubt also move his most prized prisoners and
the most promising o..spring of his breeding program as
well. Both Lord Death and Shia’s son would be taken away
to a place she could not go.
She would lose everything. Her chance to kill the Mage.
She would lose everything. Her chance to kill the Mage.
Her chance to save Shia’s son. Her one chance at freedom.
Melliandra gripped the table so hard her knuckles turned
white. No. No, she would not fail. She would get Lord
Death’s crystal, or she would die trying.
All wards can be undone. All it takes is patience, magic,
and enough time to map out the solution and implement it.
Lord Shan’s words echoed in her mind as she cleared a
spot on the table, sat down, and began to examine the
seventh and ..nal deadly ward keeping her from the key to
her freedom. She’d paid very close attention as Lord
Death’s Spirit weaves had guided her through the releasing
of all the previous wards. She’d especially noted how her
body felt as the Spirit weave commanded her to summon
and wield her magic. If she could ..gure out this pattern,
she might—just might—be able to unravel this one on her
own.
The Pale ~ North Slopes of the Feyls
Pale, thin, windburned, three of the soldiers of Eld who
had set out last autumn on a mission assigned by the High
Mage of Eld trudged through the deep snow blanketing the
northern slopes of the volcanic Feyls mountains. Only three
of the original party of twenty remained. Four had been
buried under an avalanche of snow only a few days past.
One had fallen while climbing a cli.. face. Two more had
fallen ill and been left behind. Three had been separated
fallen ill and been left behind. Three had been separated
from the rest and died in a snowstorm. The rest had died in
a series of unfortunate accidents. Neither the frozen ice
wastes of the Pale nor the northern slopes of the Feyls
were hospitable to outsiders.
But three had nearly reached their destination, and for
what Master Maur required, even one survivor was enough.
The three stood halfway up the mountain at the base of
the shifting, iridescent radiance of the Faering Mists. Snow
covered the ground, and their breath made clouds of mist
that coated their bearded faces with ..ne layers of ice
crystals.
One of the three knelt to build and light a ..re in a small,
rocky hollow that o..ered at least some protection from the
wind howling through the tall peaks. As he did so, a dark,
pervasive consciousness pressed down upon him. His
muscles froze. His lungs contracted, forcing him to breathe
in short pants.
The paralysis lasted for only a moment, but that was long
enough for his mind to be ripped open and thoroughly
plundered. His head lifted of its own volition, turned
slowly to scan his surroundings. He caught sight of his two
companions and realized the same commanding power had
gripped them.
«Your location will do. Set the chemar in a secure place
where the portal can open without interference. The ..rst
Mages will arrive in four bells.»
The crouching Elden soldier acknowledged the order.
The crouching Elden soldier acknowledged the order.
«Understood, Master Maur. It will be as you command.»
Eld ~ Boura Fell
The air in the treasure room had grown sti..ing. Sweat
trickled down the sides of Melliandra’s face as with
painstaking care, she slipped that last threads of the
seventh magic ward free.
Relief overwhelmed her, and she buried her face in her
hands. Shaky breaths shuddered in and out of her lungs as a
series of ..ne tremors shuddered through the muscles she’d
kept locked into place for who knew how many bells
while she unraveled the weave.
When her body stopped shaking and her racing heart
slowed back to a normal beat, she reached for the brass
latch on the case. Half expecting poison darts to shoot out
the moment she pressed the release catch, she moved to
one side and held her breath again until the catch popped
open with nothing more dire than a snick of sound.
The case opened, revealing drawer after velvet-lined
drawer of jewels. Rings. Pendants. Jewelled cu..s and
armbands. Torques and ropes of shining crystals.
She had no concept of riches. No umagi born and raised
in a Boura did. But the gleam and sparkle of the chest’s
contents dazzled her eyes, and the hum of power that rose
up from the jewels roused a spark of avarice in her heart.
up from the jewels roused a spark of avarice in her heart.
These glittering baubles were, if not the source of Vadim
Maur’s power, at least the tools he used to amplify it. Her
..ngers itched to gather them up, to take them all with her.
Surely something so powerful would come in handy one
day.
She reached for a large, faceted blue crystal that she
could almost swear was calling her name, but before she
could touch the glittering gem, the memory of Lord Death’s
stern lecture sounded in her mind. You do not know what
you will ..nd in this room. There will be objects of great
power, including many objects of terrible Darkness, things
that can consume the souls of the unwary. Touch nothing
except what you know belongs to me.
She’d already broken her word by taking the two daggers
for herself. But those blades had not vibrated with magical
energy as these jewels did. They had not called to her in
seductive voices, begging her to take them.
Her hands curled into ..sts, tucking her wayward ..ngers
tight against her palms.
Get the crystal you came for, Melliandra, then close the
chest, she told herself sternly. Quickly before you do
something stupid.
The scold helped. She tried her best to ignore the call of
the blue crystal while she peered through the drawers,
looking for the stone Lord Death had drawn in her mind.
She found it and many more like it in the third drawer.
Dark red cabochon crystals, most gleaming with rainbowed
Dark red cabochon crystals, most gleaming with rainbowed
lights.
To verify which stone belonged to Lord Death, she
invoked a ..nal Spirit weave, one that ..lled the air with a
song of intense, exotic beauty. One of the largest of the
crystals in the drawer suddenly ..ared with a whirling burst
of brightness deep in its center. That was it. That was the
one she’d come for.
She snatched Lord Death’s crystal from the velvet, then
shoved the all the drawers back into place and slammed
the chest doors closed. She didn’t even breathe until the
latch clicked back into place and the seductive call of what
lay inside the case fell silent. As swiftly as possible,
reversing the actions she’d taken to unravel Vadim Maur’s
protective weaves, she restored the wards around the case.
Then, and only then, did she let herself cup the gleaming
crystal in her palms, release the song weave once more to
make the lights inside the stone shine and dance, and crow
in silent victory.
She’d done it. She’d done it!
Eld ~ Boura Dor
With his communications in the spell room complete,
Vadim Maur returned to Boura Dor’s command center. The
three adversaries he’d brought with him from Boura Fell
were gathered in the corner, talking quietly amongst
themselves. He called them over.
themselves. He called them over.
“Primage Rutan has gathered an assembly of Mages by
the Well of Souls. I want you three to go with them. I have
decided that you, Garok, should take command, with Rutan
reporting to you. This mission is vital and should be led by
the most experienced and powerful Primages available.
Rutan will give you the details when you join him.”
The Primages bowed and murmured. “As you command,
Most High.”
Vadim watched them depart with satisfaction. Once
Garok learned what the mission was, he his cronies would
pursue victory with every bit of might and determination
they possessed, because a triumphant return from where
they were headed would earn each of them the greatest
jewels they’d ever fastened to their sashes—and a standing
in the Mage Council that would catapult them into direct
line for Eld’s Dark throne. Unfortunately for them, Rutan
and a score of his most trusted Mages—all of whom Vadim
had personally raised to the blue—had orders to ensure
that Primages Garok, Fursk, and Mahl did not return from
this mission alive.
Almost smiling, Vadim turned back to the table in the
center of the room. “Ah, Vargus, you’ve got that tracker up.
Excellent.”
The tracker was on a wide view, showing the Feyls, the
Rhakis, and more than half of the Fading Lands. A pinpoint
of light in the center of what should have been total
darkness made his brows snap together. He lunged for the
tracker, spinning the command to zoom in on that small
tracker, spinning the command to zoom in on that small
..icker of light. When it did, he nearly screamed in
triumph.
His hand closed around Vargus’s neck, and he bent low
to hiss his commands in the startled Primage’s ear. “Contact
Boura Fell. Get me every dahl’reisen in our service, all of
my Black Guard, and every available Primage from Fell,
Maur, Gorin, Kovis, and Loc. I want two thousand at least.”
Vargus cleared his throat. “Most of the Primages are
already here, Master Maur, as you commanded them to be.
There aren’t two thousand Primages left in the Bouras.”
“Then get me all you can. I’ll take Primages and
Sulimages—even yellow-robes if that’s all there is. Pull
every Mage o.. the Heras from Odol to Kovis. This is more
important than protecting against anything that might come
up the river. And get me that Celierian brute of mine…
Brodson. I want them all here before twelve bells
tomorrow, armed and ready for battle.”
He straightened and spun on his heel. “Kron, I’ll need
that spell room of yours again.”
A bell later, Vadim’s consciousness was once more
soaring through the night on threads of Azrahn, only this
time it headed south, into Celieria.
Celieria ~ Allied Encampment
Ellysetta dreamed again of a ruined building and a secret,
Ellysetta dreamed again of a ruined building and a secret,
windowless room housing the dark mirror that began to
glow silver-blue like Lord Hawksheart’s mirror pool in
Elvia when she approached. As the phosphorescent surface
began to swirl, the face of the stranger who somehow
seemed so familiar appeared in the mirror’s depths. Blond
hair billowed gently around the stern, Fey-beautiful
masculine face.
She lifted her hands. Magic swirled around her ..ngertips
in a bright glow, threads of gold and black weaving in a
pattern she’d never seen before. The eyes of the man in the
mirror went bright. He began to speak, but she couldn’t
hear the words.
Suddenly, a dark shadow enveloped her and the world
went dark. When she could see again, the scenes from vivid
and familiar nightmares raced before her eyes. Herself,
bound by heavy chains and clad in a green, boat-necked
gown, standing beside a cowled Mage. Her sisters, Lillis and
Lorelle, trapped in a pit and screaming for her to help
them as a pack of snarling darrokken closed in for the kill.
And then, the most terrifying scene ever to haunt her
nightmares: Rain, chained to a wall, as a knife drove deep
into his chest. Rain, his dying eyes ..xed upon her, as a
sword severed his head. Lillis and Lorelle, their eyes black
as night, dancing in the shower of his blood.
Ellysetta’s eyes ..ew open, and she came awake with a
gasp. She sat up and lifted her hands, expecting to see them
covered in Rain’s blood. Instead, she saw the spotless white
linen of her nightgown with its soft lace cu..s. With a
linen of her nightgown with its soft lace cu..s. With a
shuddering gasp, she buried her face in her hands. She
wasn’t in some dark Mage fortress. Her sisters weren’t
Mage-claimed and Rain wasn’t dead.
A dream, she told herself. It was only a dream.
But when she reached for Rain, needing to verify his
safety, her searching hand encountered only cold, empty
space.
Alarmed, she spun a swift Fire weave to light a candle
lamp. The soft glow of light blossomed, revealing the
rumpled pile of furs where Rain had been sleeping and the
barren rack where he kept his steel at night. His war armor
was missing—and so was he. «Rain? Where are you?»
Even before she ..nished the worried call, the tent ..aps
parted and he ducked inside, glowing silver and gold in his
war steel. “Forgive me, shei’tani,” he apologized. “I didn’t
mean to alarm you. I was just outside, trying to let you
sleep as long as I could.”
Relief that he was here, and unharmed, left her drained.
“It’s time?”
“Aiyah. The rest of the camp is already packed.”
Ellysetta ruthlessly banished the remnant terror from her
nightmare. They were riding to war. She wouldn’t add her
fears on Rain’s already overburdened shoulders. She rose
without hesitation and spun her own armor and steel into
place. “Then let’s go, shei’tan.”
In less than a handful of chimes, her lu’tan spun the bulk
of the tent and its furnishings back to the elements, and
of the tent and its furnishings back to the elements, and
condensed the rest into small, lightweight parcels for easy
transport.
And then the Fey army began its march towards Orest
and war.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Tairen roar a battle call
As warriors gather one and all.
Face the foe that now steps forward
With Fey’cha red and glinting sword.
To save the magic Fey of lore
Answer now the call to war.
Call to War, by Tevan Fire Eyes, Tairen Soul
Celieria ~ One hundred miles south of Orest
10th day of Seledos
At midday, as the Fey army halted to rest and eat, Rain and
the commanders of allied forces gathered in a magicwarded
tent several miles east of the main militia. Fearful
of the Mage using her eyes to spy upon the allies, Ellysetta
remained behind with the other shei’dalins.
When Rain introduced Farel and his men to the other
commanders, the air in the tent became decidedly chilly.
The cool reception was not unexpected. Deeply ingrained
Fey beliefs would not change in the blink of an eye, and
thanks to the Mages’ relentless subversions and the
dahl’reisen’s own murderous actions along the borders, the
dahl’reisen’s own murderous actions along the borders, the
Celierians were no more eager to welcome dahl’reisen
among their ranks than their immortal neighbors.
“I understand your reluctance to trust the dahl’reisen,”
Rain told them. “A week ago, I shared it. But I have since
learned that the dahl’reisen who form the Brotherhood of
Shadows are not so honorless, nor so irredeemably soullost,
as I have always believed their kind to be. They saved
Ellysetta and me not once, but twice, without any thought
for their own safety or even their own survival.”
He swept a hard gaze across the gathered commanders.
“That is not, however, the reason I have welcomed them.
Simply put, we need them. Our numbers are few while our
enemy’s are great. We cannot win this ..ght without them.”
He turned to Bel. “Bel, show them what we are up against.”
Lavender Spirit sparked in Bel’s eyes, setting them aglow
as he raised his hands and began to weave. The Fey scouts
dispatched earlier in the day from the allied camp had sent
back images of Orest and its surroundings, and Bel had
pieced the images together to create a large, threedimensional
map of Orest.
The city was crawling with Eld, Feraz, and what looked
like Sorrelian and Imrhi mercenaries. Hundreds of
thousands of them. Throughout Upper and Lower Orest,
and lining the north shore of the Heras, batteries of
bowcannon were trained on the Faering Mists and the
surrounding areas, their barbed missiles glinting evilly in
the sunlight.
the sunlight.
As the faces of the commanders grew grim, Rain
continued, “These last few days have taught me that as
much as I value Fey honor and customs, there is something
I value more. That something is the safety and survival of
the people I love. If protecting my kingdom, my people,
and my mate from Elden evil means I must accept aid from
unconventional quarters, then so I shall. Farel and his
warriors have bloodsworn themselves to Ellysetta. They
wish to ..ght in defense of the Fading Lands and its allies
like the Fey warriors they once were, and I shall allow it.
And should they perish in that ..ght, I shall honor their
sacri..ce no less than I honor the sacri..ce of any other
warrior of this alliance.”
He gave them a moment for that to sink in, then said, “If
there are those among you who do not feel as I do—if you
cannot, for whatever reason, allow yourself to ..ght in the
same army that welcomes these dahl’reisen—then you may
leave now. Return to whatever place it is you call home
and go with my blessing and my thanks for your service.
And I will pray to the gods that you spend the rest of your
days in peace and that the evil those of us who remain are
about to face will never ..nd its way to your doorstep.”
He looked from one grim face to the next, hoping to
impress upon them both the depth of his sincerity and his
belief that this was not just the right course to take, but the
only course. “The dahl’reisen and I will excuse ourselves for
ten chimes so that you may discuss your concerns openly
amongst yourself and make your decision. If you choose to
amongst yourself and make your decision. If you choose to
leave, do so before we return. Those who remain, I expect
your full commitment and support to all members of this
alliance, regardless of what personal feelings you may
harbor.”
Rain made his way to the tent entrance and held the ..ap
aside for Farel and his lieutenants to pass through. With a
last nod to the Fey and Celierian commanders, he ducked
through the opening and let the tent ..aps fall back into
place.
When Rain returned, he was pleased to see everyone had
chosen to stay, though he suspected Bel and Lord Barrial
may have had some hand in convincing the others.
“The army is large, by anyone’s estimation,” Rain said as
the commanders examined Bel’s three-dimensional weave
of Orest, “but with the dahl’reisen joining us, the Eld are
not as insurmountable a force as they would otherwise
have been.”
Cann Barrial arched a brow. “No, they just outnumber us
at least ten-to-one and have the advantage of holding both
high ground and forti..ed defenses.”
“Mei sorro.” Rain gave a wan smile in acknowledgement
of the verbal hit. “But before the dahl’reisen joined us, we
were expecting the odds to be forty-to-one or higher, so
ten-to-one is actually good news.” He turned to the map.
“We still have our work cut out for us. They’ve bulked up
the bowcannon batteries here and here and here.” He
the bowcannon batteries here and here and here.” He
pointed to the cli..s circling Upper Orest, the city walls of
Lower Orest, and Maiden’s Gate, the forti..ed series of
battlements that stairstepped up the mountainside from
Lower to Upper Orest. “These are tairen killers and they
need to go.”
“Do we really need to waste lives storming a welldefended
city?” Commander Bonn asked. “They can’t go
west into the Mists, and the spray from Kiyera’s Veil is
poison to them. Why not just pen them in and wait.”
Farel shook his head. “Penning them in won’t work. The
Mages can use the Well to come and go at will. And as for
Kiyera’s Veil, the Mages have already dammed the Source
that feeds it to take the Heras out of play. The northern
falls are dry and the river levels have been dropping all
day.”
Guilt stabbed Rain. He was the one who’d made the call
not to send warriors to Dunelan. “Sha vel’mei. I should
have sent troops to protect the Source before leaving for
Elvia, but I thought we could dispatch warriors from Orest
if there was trouble.”
Bel shook his head. “Don’t berate yourself, Rain. It was
the right decision at the time. We thought the Army of
Darkness would strike at Kreppes. Any of us would have
done the same.”
“Speaking of the Army of Darkness, is anyone besides me
still waiting to see it?” Gaelen looked up from the table,
where he’d been scanning the three-dimensional Spirit
where he’d been scanning the three-dimensional Spirit
weave with intensity. “I mean, clearly this isn’t it.” He
gestured to the Spirit weave of Orest.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a ragged band,” Eimar replied
with an arched brow. “There’s easily half a million blades
in the city.”
“Aiyah,” Gaelen agreed, “but this Mage spent decades
—possibly centuries—planning for this war, laying the
groundwork, in..ltrating the north, doing everything
possible to drive a wedge between Celieria and the Fading
Lands. Do you honestly believe half a million troops was
the most he could come up with? We cobbled together
close to a hundred thousand in just a few months.”
“Maybe there is no Army of Darkness,” Cann suggested.
“Maybe it was just deliberate misinformation leaked to
divide our forces and scatter our armies across the continent
and make us easier to defeat. If this Mage truly does
command such overwhelming numbers, why would he not
have unleashed them at Kreppes or Great Bay? It would
have ensured an Elden victory. With the King’s Army
destroyed, they could have swept through the whole of
Celieria in a matter of months.”
“I agree,” Gaelen said.
“One thing my centuries in the Brotherhood taught me
was never to underestimate this Mage. He plays to win. He
doesn’t blu.. and he always has backups for his backups. It
would be a mistake for us to believe his Army of Darkness
doesn’t exist just because we haven’t seen it yet.”
doesn’t exist just because we haven’t seen it yet.”
“I think Kreppes and Great Bay were the diversions, and
the Fading Lands has been the target all along,” Rain said.
“Think about it. We were holding Orest and keeping the
Eld at bay until we captured that Mage and learned about
this supposed Army of Darkness. Once we were lured into
leaving Orest and dividing our forces, King Dorian was
murdered by Sebourne. Prince Dorian nearly drowned
when his ship went down in Great Bay. Our forces were
winnowed. The Eld took Orest. And Annoura was left
surrounded by Mage-claimed courtiers, and would have
been claimed herself by the Mage masquerading as her
Favorite.” Rain spread his hands. “My guess is the Eld never
intended to take Celieria by force. They’ve always intended
to conquer it from within, then use it as a base to launch on
the Fading Lands.”
“What about Mists?” Eimar interjected. “No invader who
ever went into the Mists has ever come out again.”
Rain shrugged. “Maybe they’ve found a way through it
using the Well. Maybe they’ve learned how to circumvent
its magic. Maybe they have some weapon or magic we
haven’t seen yet.” He’d already contacted Sybharukai and
asked her to recall half a dozen of the tairen from Orest
and have them scout the perimeters of the Faering Mists for
any suspicious activity. “All I know is, if they want Orest
this badly, we can’t let them keep it.”
“Which brings us back to where we started,” Bel said.
“Aiyah. And our ..rst priority is to take out those
bowcannon batteries. Both here on the wall”—Rain pointed
bowcannon batteries. Both here on the wall”—Rain pointed
to the image of Maiden’s Gate—“and here across the river
in Eld.”
“The dahl’reisen will take the cannon across the river.”
Farel grinned with dark humor. “We’re used to raiding
beneath Mage noses.”
“Bas’ka. Then, Cann and Commander Bonn, I’ll need you
and your best cannoneers and siege masters marching with
the Fey here and here. The Fey will give you cover, while
you give the Eld hell.”
“With pleasure,” Cann said.
“What about siege weapons?” Bonn asked. “We left
everything behind.”
“Rijonn and the Earth masters will weave them for us
like they did at Kreppes.”
“And if there really is an Army of Darkness?” Gaelen
asked.
Rain ..xed a grim look upon him. “Dai tabor, Fey, bas
desrali lor bas tirei.” Then, Fey, we die where we stand.
Celieria ~ Orest
The Great Sun was just beginning to set, turning the Faering
Mists into a sea of ..ame, as the armies of Light crested the
last hill overlooking Orest and the Heras River valley. Steli,
Xisanna, and Perahl, who had been running with the allies
rather than ..ying above them to avoid giving away their
rather than ..ying above them to avoid giving away their
position, drew to a halt behind Rain and Ellysetta and
crouched there, growling low in their chests at the sight
laid out before them. As Rain and his generals had seen
earlier today in Bel’s weaves, the city was overrun. Instead
of the bright colors of Celieria and House Teleon, the
purple ..ags and pennants of Eld now snapped in the
breeze from the battered ramparts of Lower and Upper
Orest. Instead of the colored tabards and shining silver
armor of Fey and Celierian defenders, black armored Eld
swarmed the city like a colony of ants. Smoke billowed up
from the charred remnants of buildings throughout the city.
Fey and Celierian corpses, impaled on pikes, surrounded
the walls of Lower Orest, serving both as a macabre victory
boast and a grim warning to would-be patriots who might
think to recapture the city for Celieria.
But it was on the gatherings of great, gleaming black
dragons that Rain’s gaze became ..xed. Like ..ocks of
colossal vultures, they perched on the half-eaten bodies of
fallen tairen, toothy snouts ripped the remaining chunks of
..esh and hide from bloody bones with ravening savagery.
Wings ..apped and hisses, roars, and blasts of ..ame
erupted as the dragons fought over their terrible feast.
Ellysetta reached for Rain’s hand. Her ..ngers curled
around his, squeezing tight. “Who?”
“Barsul and Storus. They were the youngest of Cahlah’s
kits before this last hatching.”
She gave a fanning waving and murmured a prayer for
the tairens’ souls. “We will avenge them, shei’tan.”
the tairens’ souls. “We will avenge them, shei’tan.”
“May the gods will it should be so. I have marked their
locations. After this battle, the tairen will take what is left
of their remains back to Fey’Bahren for their Fire Song, so
their songs will not be entirely lost to the pride.”
Rain dragged his gaze from the tairen remains and
scanned the lines of the allied troops. The dahl’reisen had
circled around to the east, leaving the Fey and Celierians to
advance from the south. As they had for the battle of
Kreppes, hundreds of Earth masters had spent all afternoon
constructing trebuchets, siege towers, and bowcannon of
their own to aid in the reconquest of Orest.
As Farel had pointed out earlier, normal siege tactics of
blockading the city and waiting for starvation and thirst and
the Mists to take their toll would not work. The best hope
of victory was to drive the enemy troops out of the city
walls and onto the ..eld. While Mages might be able to
protect themselves against Fey attacks, on an open ..eld,
the rest of their army would ..nd even ten-to-one odds
against an army of Fey swordsmasters to be a statistical
disadvantage.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be easy to convince the
Eld they should surrender their forti..ed mountain
stronghold and confront the Fey on an open ..eld. The only
way Rain knew how to do it was to make Orest more
hazard than haven—starting with taking out those
bowcannon batteries and the dragons so the tairen could
have free reign of the sky.
“He’s here.”
“He’s here.”
“Who?” Rain frowned at Ellysetta. A strange stillness had
settled over her, and her shadowed gaze was ..xed on a
point north of Orest.
“The Mage.” She clasped her arms across her chest. “I can
feel him. He’s come to witness his victory.”
The Shadar horn in Rain’s veins went hot as Rage rose,
swift and violent. Instinct moved him closer to her side,
blocking her body protectively with his as he followed her
gaze north. His eyes narrowed and he adjusted their focus
to bring the distant shores of Eld into closer view. A purple
canopy had been erected behind the lines of bowcannon,
and dozens of blue-robed Primages were milling about
beneath it, but if the High Mage was among them, Rain
could not see him.
“It will not be his victory, but ours,” he assured Ellysetta.
With visible e..ort, she turned away from Eld. “May the
gods will it should be so.”
His heart ached at how pale she looked beneath her
forced calm. She was so afraid, but so determined not to
show it, so determined to be brave for his sake. He lifted a
hand, brushing back the wayward curls from her face in
what he hoped would not be the last of their small
intimacies. “I love you, Ellysetta Baristani.”
Her mouth trembled, and her beautiful eyes glimmered
with a sudden sheen of tears. She blinked them back
quickly. “And I love you, Rain.” The tears she would not
shed made her voice sound low and throaty so that it
shed made her voice sound low and throaty so that it
purred across his skin like velvet. “I always have. I always
will.”
“Rain.” Bel gave an apologetic look as he interrupted.
“Forgive me, but the troops are in position.”
Rain nodded. He threaded his ..ngers through Ellysetta’s
and lifted her hands for a kiss. “I have to go now, shei’tani.”
“I know.” They had said their good-byes before, during
their last few chimes of rest before the ..nal push to the
battle..eld, but even so, she caught his face in her hands
and pulled him down for a last kiss farewell. «Come back
safe to me, shei’tan.»
He caught her tight against him and poured his heart, his
soul, his life’s essence into that kiss. Trembling, aching, he
whispered, “Ver reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tani.” He
held out an arm to Bel and the rest of Ellysetta’s quintet.
“Guard her well, kem’jetos.” The quintet and three hundred
of her lu’tan would stay behind to guard Ellysetta and the
other shei’dalins in the healing tents.
Then, regretfully but purposefully, the Fey who was
Rain, the shei’tan of Ellysetta, folded back into the privacy
of his soul. And it was Rainier vel’En Daris, Feyreisen, King
of the Fading Lands, Defender of the Fey, who stepped
forward to stand before the assembled army of Light and
called them one last time to war.
Aloud and on weaves of powerful Spirit which he spun
and ..ung out upon the whole the assembled armies, he
called, “My friends… today, we are not Fey, Celierian, or
called, “My friends… today, we are not Fey, Celierian, or
dahl’reisen, but brothers, united and strong, each of us
honorable and worthy warriors of Light. We are the steel
no enemy can shatter. We are the magic no Dark power can
defeat. We are the rock upon which evil breaks like waves.
We are warriors of honor, champions of Light.” He pulled
one of his seyani swords from its scabbard and raised the
blade high, letting sunlight gleam on the long blade of
golden steel.
“To victory my brothers!” he cried. “And to life!”
“To victory and life!” came their answering cry.
Rain raised his golden war horn and blew the call to
battle. Across the ..elds of Orest, other horns, Fey,
Celierian, and dahl’reisen alike, blew answering blasts, and
the army of Light began to march.
Remembering the speed and distance of the bowcannon
that had shot him down over Eld, Rain ordered Steli,
Xisanna, and Perahl to stay behind near the healing tents.
“When it is time, pride-kin, you will strike, but you
cannot ..y against Orest now—not with so many
bowcannon trained on the sky. The danger will be great
enough when I call upon you.” Grumbling, the tairen
acquiesced.
With only Rain ..ying overhead, the armies of Light
advanced upon occupied Orest. He ..ew back and forth,
scorching the ..eld before them to destroy any chemar
scattered upon the ground. Their advance was slow, but
scattered upon the ground. Their advance was slow, but
unhindered, which made him nervous. He expected the
dragons to attack. The allies’ own bowcannon were aimed
skyward, ready to ..re, for just such an event, but instead,
the great, scaled creatures retreated from the ..eld, winging
away to perch like reptilian vultures on the walls of Orest.
No doubt their masters preferred to draw the tairen closer
to Orest and the batteries of deadly bowcannon perched on
the ramparts before they struck.
The allies were halfway across the ..eld when the ..rst of
the black Shadows appeared amongst them.
“Demons!” someone cried.
Fey magic burst forth in powerful, ..ve-fold weaves,
shielding the Celierians and plunging into the dark shades
of the dead. There were hundreds of them. Thousands.
Orest had been conquered, and more than one night had
fallen upon the bodies of the Mage-slain, giving the Mages
ample time to call and bind the souls of the corpses left
littering the ..eld. They appeared amidst the allies, demons
of Celierians and Fey, whose slightest touch would drain all
Light and life from their victims.
Rain wheeled and dove towards the army, preparing to
Change, when the ..rst of the dragons leapt from the
ramparts of Orest and headed his way. Six others followed
on its tail. So that was the plan. Distract his own
cannoneers with demons, then attack Rain undeterred by
allied cannon ..re.
It was a good plan, but neither Fey nor Tairen Souls
It was a good plan, but neither Fey nor Tairen Souls
were so easy to outwit. Rain soared back up, skyward,
spewing ..ame and roaring a challenge.
«Cannoneers!» he cried. «Look to the skies. Fey, protect
the cannons. Air masters! Give those beasts a taste of
trouble!»
Howling winds swept across the skies, bu..eting the
dragons and slinging them across the sky. Rain gave a grim,
chu..ng laugh and dove after the ..rst of the scaled
monsters. The beast saw him coming and trumpeted a
challenge, spewing its green-tinged, acid ..ame. Rain
dissolved into the Change, letting both ..ame and dragon
pass through him, then re-formed behind the beast and
ripped its back raw with razored claws and breathed tairen
..re into the unprotected ..esh. As the dragon shrieked and
plummeted from the sky, Rain roared in victory and dove
after the next.
Standing aboveground, shielded from the sun’s glare by a
purple canopy, Vadim Maur had come to watch his great
victory unfold with his own eyes. When the Fey had
advanced across the ..eld, he’d ordered the dragons back to
Orest to draw them closer before releasing the demons and
a handful of dragons to thin their ranks.
Now it was time to make them earn each man-length of
progress.
“Vargus, tell the Mages to counter the winds! Kron, are
the cannoneers ready with Grule’s special bolts?”
the cannoneers ready with Grule’s special bolts?”
“Ready, Master Maur!”
“Then ..re at will, Kron. Take the Tairen Soul out of the
sky.”
* * *
«Rain! Watch your ..ank! Incoming from the west and
north!»
Rain saw the shadows in the sky, streaking towards him.
Bowcannon bolts, six of them, ..ying much faster than a
bowcannon bolt should—just as they had when they’d shot
him from the sky. But the Eld didn’t have the element of
surprise this time. He pumped his wings and soared high
into the sky, well above the bolts’ trajectories.
«Beware, Feyreisen! The scorching things are following
you!»
What? He glanced back over his shoulder, and sure
enough, the six bolts had changed their ..ight to mirror his
and were still coming strong—straight at him. Rain rolled
left, putting on a burst of magic-powered speed. The bolts
rolled after him, still gaining. He dove for the battle..eld.
The bolts dove too. With each passing moment, the
distance between then decreased. Left, right, up, down,
Rain zigged and zagged across the sky, trying to shake the
..aming things o.. his tail, but they would not be shaken.
He tried burning them out of the sky, wheeling around to
face them, ..aming them as they raced towards him, then
Changing at the last possible instant. The bolts raced
Changing at the last possible instant. The bolts raced
through his mist, unharmed by his ..ame, but the instant he
re-formed, they looped back around to come after him.
Krekk. The Eld must have warded the missiles to make
them resistant to his ..ame. He spied a dragon swooping
down upon the Fey, and his tairen mouth curled up, baring
fangs. Time for a little game of dodge-tairen.
He dove for one of the dragons, spewing ..re. Two of its
brethren saw his attack and dove after him, coming at him
from two sides. Fangs and claws ripped and shredded,
wings tangled. Acid ..re and tairen ..ame spewed in ..ery
maelstrom. And then, as the ..ve bowcannon bolts zoomed
close, Rain Changed. The bolts passed harmlessly through
his mist and slammed into the three dragons, driving them
out of the sky and pinning them to the ground. Rain landed
in Fey form beside them, drained of magic and breathing
hard. He ..nished the three dragons o.. with red Fey’cha.
«Rain!» Ellysetta’s warning shriek sounded in his mind.
He looked up to see the sixth dragon diving in for the
kill.
“I’m all right. I’m ..ne.” Rain caught Ellysetta’s hands in his.
Though the sixth dragon had given him a good scorching,
Steli had swooped in to snatch him from harm’s way. She’d
jabbed the reptile in the eye with her tail spike in passing,
and left his twitching body for Xisanna and Perahl to ..nish
o... Thanks to a bell of intensive healing by Ellysetta, he
was ..t enough to ..ght and determined to return to battle.
was ..t enough to ..ght and determined to return to battle.
“I have to get back.”
With the help of Air masters and a few well-timed
barrages of Fey bowcannon ..re, the allies had kept the
remaining dragons at bay. The demons were gone and the
allied army was once more on the move, but as they drew
closer to the walls of Orest, they would need him in the air,
providing what defense he could.
Ellysetta closed her eyes. He felt her struggle against her
shei’tanitsa need to keep him safe. He knew what it cost
her to say, “I know, kem’san,” and let him go. She was
strong. Much stronger than most truemated fellanas. Much
stronger, and far more courageous, than she ever gave
herself credit. It was much easier to ..y into danger yourself
than to watch the one you love do so.
“Rain. Ellysetta.” Bel rushed into the healing tent. “Come
quick. You’ll both want to see this.”
Curious, they both followed him out of the tent, only to
stop in surprise as Bel gestured to the south. There, just
cresting the next line of hills to the south, a large army
approached. Rain estimated at least thirty thousand troops,
all with gleaming bows and quivers across their backs.
Their armor shone with rich copper hues in the morning
light, and a lustrous golden glow enveloped them, as if
they carried sunlight in their skin.
That glow—and their distinctive cavalry, some winged
and others graced with a single spiraling horn—identi..ed
the newcomers even before Rain discerned the distinctive
the newcomers even before Rain discerned the distinctive
leaf-shaped scales of their armor and the delicate, tapering
points of their even-more-distinctive ears.
Despite Galad Hawksheart’s numerous refusals, the Elves
had come at last to join the war.
“Welcome,” Rain said when the leaders of the Elvian army
halted before him. “I am glad beyond words that Lord
Hawksheart changed his mind after all.”
The Elvian commander, a tall, broad-shouldered Elf with
waist-length hair the color of sunset and rich sapphire eyes
regarded Rain with the disconcerting intensity of his kind.
“We do not come at Lord Galad’s bidding,” he replied in a
low, lyrical voice. “The Lord of Valorian commands the
Elves of Deep Woods. We answer to the Lady.”
“You are from Silverwood,” Ellysetta said.
The commander’s bright gaze ..xed instantly on her, and
the power of his gaze made the breath leave her lungs.
“And you are Ellysetta Erimea. I have heard tales of your
brightness, but they do you no justice.” To her surprise, the
Elf commander clasped a ..st to his breastplate and
dropped to one knee before her. “Blessings of the day upon
you, Ellysetta Erimea. It is our honor to serve the Winter
Star.” He bowed low, over his knee, murmuring something
in Elvish that she did not understand, but the thousands of
Elves behind him suddenly followed his lead, each
dropping to a knee and bowing low before her.
“It is I who am honored, my lord commander.” The
“It is I who am honored, my lord commander.” The
welcome of these Elves shocked her, and the near
reverence with which they regarded her left her unsettled
and embarrassed. “Please, rise, and be welcome.”
“I am called Tamsin Greywing, my lady,” the Elf said as
he stood, “general of the armies of west Elvia.” He turned
to the two elves beside him, one a broad-shouldered,
chestnuthaired male with the un..inching yellow eyes of a
wolf, the other a stunningly beautiful Elf maiden. “This is
my second in command, Gavin Fenwolf, and this is—” He
glanced back at Ellysetta and his voice trailed o...
“You may call me Commander Silverleaf,” the Elf
maiden ..nished for him. Her voice was pure music, sweet
as a song played by crystalline bells, but her face, with its
piercing silver-grey eyes, possessed a composed, almost
stern quality despite her great beauty. Masses of pale gold
hair hung down her back in a multi-ply plait as thick as
Ellysetta’s arm. “I lead the Aquiline riders.”
“We bring you greetings from our queen, Illona Brighthand,”
General Greywing continued. “The Elves of
Silverwood extend our hand of friendship and o..er you
our strength in this battle against the enemies of Light.”
Across the river, on the shores of Eld, Vadim Maur noted
the arrival of the Elvish army. His lips compressed in a
hard line.
So, the Feraz hadn’t been keeping Hawksheart occupied
after all. He would have a word or two for Fezai Madia the
after all. He would have a word or two for Fezai Madia the
next time he saw the arrogant witch.
Turning to Vargus, he barked his next command.
“Release the revenants.”
Sound rumbled across the scorched plains outside Lower
Orest. The ground beneath the allies’ feet began to shake.
Ellysetta looked down in surprise. “Is it an earthquake,
‘Jonn?”
The giant Earth master’s dark eyes glowed green as he
sent his great magic plunging into the ground below. A
moment later, he shook his head. “Nei, not the earth.
Something inside it.”
“Something like what?” Rain asked Before Rijonn could
answer, a cry sounded down the line.
“Look!”
Rain and Ellysetta turned. Something was pouring out of
the ground near the south gate of Lower Orest. From a
distance, it looked almost like a swarm of termites
bubbling up from a disturbed nest. “What is that?” Ellysetta
asked.
Beside her, the Elf commanders muttered something in
their native tongue.
Rain’s expression went grim. “Revenants? What the Seven
Hells are revenants? “
General Greywing’s eyes went dark. “Black magic. Very
old, very deadly black magic. The world hasn’t seen their
old, very deadly black magic. The world hasn’t seen their
like in at least ninety thousand years.” He glanced at
Commander Silverleaf and said, “The knowledge was lost.
How did this Mage ..nd the spell?”
“It doesn’t matter, Tam.” She turned piercing gray eyes
on Rain. “Get your people out of there, Feyreisen. This is
not an enemy Celierians can kill, and Fey will ..nd it
di..cult.” Authority snapped in her voice. “Swords are
useless—worse than useless—as is most magic.”
Rain gave the command without question, then scowled
at Silverleaf. “If swords and magic are useless, how the
Hells are we supposed to kill them?”
“Elvish Light arrows. Tairen ..re. Hundred-fold weaves
—though more than hundred-fold is better. Other weaves
have little e..ect. Whatever you do, don’t slice o.. even the
smallest bit of the revenants’ ..esh. They multiply when
split.”
“Lovely,” Gaelen muttered.
Beside him, Bel’s eyes went hazy as he spun the warnings
to the allies. Dozens more holes in the ground had opened
up, and revenants were pouring out into the sunlight. The
Celierians were running for their lives back to the allied
encampment, while the Fey brought up the rear and spun
shields to slow the revenants’ advance.
“Bas’ka, you heard her,” Rain commanded. “Swords and
magic are useless. Kaiven chakor, get Ellysetta and the
shei’dalins to safety.”
“Bayas,” Commander Silverleaf countermanded. “That
“Bayas,” Commander Silverleaf countermanded. “That
you must not do, Tairen Soul. The Feyreisa must ..ght at
your side.”
Rain’s brows slammed together. “What? Are you mad?”
He glanced from Greywing to Commander Silverleaf. “Who
the scorching Hells are you, Elf? And don’t give me that
‘You may call me, Silverleaf’ krekk. Obviously you are not
Greywing’s subordinate.”
“I am a seer of the Elves, Tairen Soul, and I have come to
advise you on behalf of Elvia’s queen, Illona Brighthand. If
you send the Feyreisa away, you will perish and she will
fall to Darkness. Your only hope to survive this battle is to
stay together and ..ght as one. You hold each other to the
Light.”
“Are you saying if we ..ght together, we will survive this
battle?”
The Elf hesitated. “Bayas. I cannot say that. There is risk.
But if you send her from you, risk becomes certainty. You
will die; she will fall.”
Rain stared hard at the Elf commander, trying to read
those impenetrable gray eyes, but as with most Elves,
looking into her eyes was like staring down a bottomless
well. They gave away nothing.
“Rain, let’s go.” Ellysetta’s hand brushed his. “You heard
her. Tairen ..re is one of the few weapons we have against
this army.” «It’s time for trust, not doubt, shei’tan. The Elves
are right. We’re stronger together than apart. You know it
as well as I.»
as well as I.»
He wanted to refuse. The danger to them both was very
real. He’d just almost died himself. But already, the entire
..eld around Lower Orest was blanketed with foul, maggotcolored
monsters. There were easily two hundred thousand
of them, and thousands more scrambled out of their
boreholes with each passing chime. Behind the allied lines,
the earth shifted and bulged upward as a new line of holes
erupted and began spewing revenants to cut o.. the allies’
retreat.
Rain spun to face Ellysetta’s primary quintet. “You ..ve
organize the hundred-fold weaves. Let’s kill as many of
those creatures as we can, starting with those.” He jerked a
hand towards the line of revenants threatening the allies’
rear ..ank.
“The Aquiline riders will assist you,” Commander Silverleaf
said.
“I’m counting on it.” Rain leapt into the sky and
Changed. Ellysetta’s quintet ..ung her skyward on a weave
of Air, and she slid e..ortlessly into the saddle strapped to
the back of Rain’s neck, her dahl’reisen-forged armor
shining in the sunlight.
As Rain wheeled around to head back towards the ..eld
of revenants and prepared to ..re, he heard Greywing cry,
“Elves! Take aim!”
The Elvian general didn’t look up to watch Rain’s
approach, but just before Rain ..ew past, he cried, “Fire!”
The Elves loosed their Light arrows, and the sky before
The Elves loosed their Light arrows, and the sky before
Rain and Ellysetta lit up with blinding brightness.
Rain, the tairen, and the Aquiline riders ..ew through the
wake of the Light storm. They burst from the brightness
with tairen ..re and arrows blazing to incinerate the
monsters threatening the allies’ retreat.
Fire consumed long tracts of revenants in red-orange ..ame.
As they burned, they emitted a grating, high-pitched screech
that rattled Ellysetta’s bones. She shielded her ears against
the noise but kept her eyes open and scanning the sky.
Bowcannon bolts turned the sky dark, ..ying from Orest
and across the river. She spun whirling cyclones of Air and
Fire to stop them, but the missiles were too plentiful for
her weaves alone.
«Gil!» she cried. «You and the Air masters keep those
bowcannon bolts o.. of us.» Instantly two dozen cyclones
sprang up around the tairen and Aquilines, catching the
bolts midair and leaving the tairen and Elves free to rain
..re and Light arrows down upon the revenant masses.
The Mages clearly didn’t like that much, because the rest
of the dragon ..ock took wing from the peaks surrounding
Upper Orest. They screamed, the sound like great trumpets
blaring. Long, serpentine necks ended in wedge-shaped
heads with snouts ..lled with sharp, curved teeth. They
..apped their massive wings and soared over the ..elds of
Orest on a direct course with the tairen and the Aquiline
riders. With them was a female dragon nearly twice the size
riders. With them was a female dragon nearly twice the size
of the rest. Clearly, she was the pack’s queen, for when she
bugled a command, the others obeyed.
«Dragons, Rain. Coming from our left, o.. the Rhakis.»
«I see them. Silverleaf, you deal with the revenants. The
tairen will take the dragons.»
Commander Silverleaf raised her bow in
acknowledgement, and the Aquiline riders spiraled down.
Elvish bows sang and Light arrows zipped towards the
ground in streamers of golden light, as if the sky were
raining sunshine. Each revenant pierced by the golden
arrows went bright and exploded in a cloud of black dust.
Above the fray, Rain’s wings spread wide and pumped to
gain loft. Steli, Xisanna, and Perahl raced ahead in a V
formation as, with a deafening roar, four more tairen burst
from the Faering Mists south of the healing tents. Fahreeta,
Torasul, and two younger pride mates sped north across
open Celierian land to join their pride-kin above the
battle..eld.
The dragons rocketed towards the pride, fangs bared,
razor sharp claws extended. Great cats and dragons
slammed into one another in the sky, fangs and claws
slashing, tails whipping as they tumbled through the air. As
the ground zoomed up to meet them, they broke apart.
Both tairen and dragons were soaked with their own blood,
still neither gave quarter. They simply ..ew back to a
higher altitude and reengaged.
The tairen belched boiling clouds of ..ame, but the
The tairen belched boiling clouds of ..ame, but the
dragon queen heeled back and ..apped her great wings.
Magic swirled in the air, and a brutal gust of wind blew the
tairen’s ..re back upon them. The monster dove below the
pride and rolled onto her back beneath them. The dragon
queen opened her own venomous maw and spewed
searing jets of green, concentrated acid-..ame.
On Rain’s back, Ellysetta cried out in horror as the
monster’s corrosive spew sliced through the tairen like
Mage Fire, scything limbs from bodies. Maimed and
mortally wounded, Fahreeta and the two younger tairen
fell from the sky in a shower of blood and smoking gore.
The queen screamed in victory and shot out on a burst of
speed only to circle around for a second pass. Fire boiled
from Torasul’s muzzle in a searing orange cloud as he dove
to the aid of his fallen mate.
Steli roared and burst through the concealing cloud of
smoke above. With her white ears laid back against her
skull, razored claws extended, she stooped towards the
dragon queen. The foul beast glanced up too late to dodge
Steli’s attack, and the pair clashed in midair, claws and
fangs ripping and rending, wings and tails tangling in a
savage battle for survival and supremacy. They plummeted
towards the earth, roaring and screaming as each fought to
rip out the other’s throat and claw open the other’s belly.
They crashed into the ground with the force of a meteor.
Debris exploded upward into the sky, then showered down
in a hail of dirt and shattered rock, radiating out from the
great crater where the two creatures lay in a limp tangle of
great crater where the two creatures lay in a limp tangle of
limbs.
Steli had taken the brunt of the fall. Wings and back
broken, she lay in the pit, struggling for breath. The dragon
queen hadn’t fared much better, but she could still move.
She dragged the heavy weight of her body towards Steli
and lifted herself up on trembling forelegs over the white
tairen’s shattered form. The monster opened her maw,
yellowed fangs dripping green poison as she prepared to
deliver the death-bite. Steli’s pupilless blue eyes, their
..erce glow dimmed with pain, gazed up, un..inching,
de..ance mixed with the grim acceptance of defeat.
“Get away from her, you monstrous petchka!”
Ellysetta’s furious shout heralded a searing jet of tairen
..ame that enveloped the dragon’s head just before she
struck.
The queen reared back, roaring. Ellysetta leapt from
Rain’s back, riding a column of Air down to Steli’s side and
peppering the dragon queen’s head and neck with Fey’cha
as she went.
Rain’s curved tairen claws sank into the tough,
superheated hide of the dragon queen’s back, and with a
mighty pump of his powerful wings, he hauled the foul
creature into the air. Curving tairen fangs snapped at the
dragon’s neck but the long, serpentine neck writhed and
twisted, eluding him. The dragon hissed and struggled,
spewing acid ..ame. He rocketed skyward in a rapid,
magic-powered ascent, carrying the queen far above the
magic-powered ascent, carrying the queen far above the
earth, to a part of the sky where the air grew thin and so
cold a drop of water would freeze in an instant.
The abrupt change in altitude and temperature acted like
ice shot on the dragon’s hide. Steaming scales cracked,
ripping ..ssures down into the vulnerable ..esh beneath.
The queen shrieked in agony as the icy cold of the high
atmosphere seared her.
At last, Rain managed to sink his fangs into the dragon’s
long neck. The touch blistered his muzzle and tongue, but
he held on with grim determination and pumped venom
into her veins until the creature went limp.
With a roar, he released her.
The dragon plummeted earthward. Limbs limp, dead
wings ..uttered like pennants tied to a falling rock as down
the body of the great beast fell. She landed on the
battlements of Orest with a mighty crash, shearing the
whole of Maiden’s Gate o.. the side of the mountain and
taking four full batteries of bowcannon and thousands of
Eld troops with it.
With a scream of triumph and vengeance, Rain followed
close behind her, tairen ..re boiling from his muzzle to
scorch the remaining bowcannons.
* * *
Ellysetta laid a hand on Steli’s broken body and ..ooded her
with a wave of healing and strength to ease the great cat’s
labored breathing. From beneath half-closed lids, the cat’s
labored breathing. From beneath half-closed lids, the cat’s
dimming eyes regarded Ellysetta with mute su..ering. The
dragon had struck a mortal blow. Steli’s body was shattered
and losing blood rapidly. What wasn’t pouring out through
the gaping holes ripped into her hide was ..ooding her
lungs and chest cavity. Steli was dying.
Howling, shrieking with savage bloodlust, the revenants
were closing in. They had already reached the edges of the
crater. Ellysetta stared up in horror at their round maws,
..lled with row upon row of needle-sharp teeth, that
gnashed and bubbled with frothy green slime. They moved
with shocking speed, their clawed hands and feet gouging
into rock and dirt for traction. The monsters would be
upon them before she managed to do more than stop the
worst of Steli’s internal bleeding.
«Rain!» she cried. «Help us.» “Hang on, Steli,” she
begged. She’d cut her ..ngers throwing Fey’cha at the
dragon queen, and she wiped the blood o.. on her armored
leg before holding her hands over Steli and summoning her
healing magic. Please, gods, please, she prayed in silence as
she sent her consciousness and healing Light into her
beloved pride-mother.
A golden light gleamed at the corner of her eye. Ellysetta
turned, expecting to ..nd one of the Elves, only to gasp at
the sight of a Fey warrior, gleaming bright as the sun. But it
was the sight of the warrior’s radiant, unearthly beautiful
face that left Ellysetta stunned.
“Varian?” It was him. The dahl’reisen—one of the ..rst
thirty-six who’d sacri..ced his life for her in the Verlaine.
thirty-six who’d sacri..ced his life for her in the Verlaine.
She’d felt him die, heard the song in his soul as he passed
through the Veil. And yet, here he stood, impossibly
beautiful, unscarred, unburdened by the shame that had
weighed so heavy upon him. His skin shone like the sun,
and eyes were ..lled with such boundless love and serenity
she wanted to weep with joy.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “How can you be
here? “
“None shall harm you while in life or death I have
power to prevent it,” he said, and his voice tolled like a
great bell, resonant and pure. “This I did swear with my
own life’s blood, in Fire and Air and Earth and Water, in
Spirit and in Azrahn.” He drew his sword. The blade blazed
with a radiance so bright Ellysetta had to cover her eyes.
“Summon the others, kem’falla. Touch your blood to the
bloodsworn steel. Quickly.”
Rising to her feet, Ellysetta pulled a Fey’cha from the
harness across her chest and sliced her palm deep. Pain
stung for a brief, sharp instant, then blood welled, bright
red and plentiful. She coated both hands and smeared them
across her armor’s shining steel.
All around her, bubbles of strange mist appeared like
clouds of sunlight, golden bright and radiant. The clouds
expanded until they became a ring of light surrounding
Ellysetta and Steli that coalesced into the forms of a
hundred shining Fey warriors, former rasa and dahl’reisen
lu’tan, standing side by side, each clad in golden armor that
gleamed like the sun.
gleamed like the sun.
“Heal her, kem’falla,” he urged. “We will keep you safe.”
Varian raised his sword high overhead. “For love and for
Light!” he cried. “Miora felah ti’Feyreisa! ”
The ring of Light Warriors echoed his cry, and together,
they plunged towards the oncoming revenants. Their
swords sliced through the unholy throng, and unlike steel
which merely split the hideous creatures and left them to
regenerate into twice the threat, the Light Warriors’ swords,
like the arrows of the Elves, turned the revenants to clouds
of harmless black dust.
Steli gave a panting whimper of pain, and Ellysetta tore
her gaze from the Light Warriors and set to work healing
her pride-mother. Rain arrived a few chimes later, heralded
by clouds of boiling ..ame that incinerated the revenants
around the crater’s rim.
«Beylah sallan, shei’tani,» he sang. «I was worried I
wouldn’t reach you before the revenants did.»
“You almost didn’t,” she told him. “Varian and the others
kept them at bay.”
«Varian who? What others?»
She looked up from her healing. There was no one in the
crater but herself, Rain, and Steli. Varian and the Light
Warriors were gone.
After healing Steli’s shattered bones and organs, Rain ..ew
Ellysetta to tend the other injured tairen. The dragons were
dead, but the two youngest tairen had perished with them,
dead, but the two youngest tairen had perished with them,
and Fahreeta had lost a wing to the dragon queen’s ..ame.
The rest of the pride managed to lift her wounded body
and ..y it to safety. With his mate wounded, Torasul’s
..erce, protective instincts were on full display. He would
let none of the Fey or shei’dalins approach Fahreeta,
leaving Ellysetta to weave a new wing for Fahreeta on her
own. With Rain’s help, she managed, but when she was
done, they were both near-staggering from exhaustion.
As she and he paused to eat and regain their strength,
Ellysetta sliced her hand and rubbed it against her armored
thigh and tried to summon Varian again. An army of Light
Warriors would be a huge asset to the allies. But none of
the Light Warriors answered her call, though to her
embarrassment, several of her lu’tan came running.
“Sieks’ta,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to call you. I
was trying to reach someone else.”
Commander Silverleaf, who had taken a brief respite
from the sky to rest her Aquiline and heal the wounds that
marred his white hide, watched Ellysetta. “They do not
come because you are not in peril,” she said.
Ellysetta looked up in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
“The spirits of your lu’tan. The ones who have passed
beyond the Veil. They are not your army, to ..ght on your
command. They bound themselves to you in love, by their
own free will, not to kill for you, but to defend you from
harm.”
“So they won’t come when I call, but if I walked out into
“So they won’t come when I call, but if I walked out into
a pack of revenants, they would?”
“If you put yourself in peril, they would come, and they
would extinguish their own Light to defend yours.” The Elf
woman’s eyes were steady and unwavering, giving away
nothing. “Is that what you will do?”
“That would be a perversion of their gift, wouldn’t it? To
force them to ..ght, when all they swore was to defend?”
Silverleaf remained silent, and that seemed answer
enough.
“I will not abuse the great gift they entrusted to me.”
The Elf neither commended Ellysetta nor condemned
her. She simply turned and walked back to her Aquiline,
but Ellysetta had the feeling she had just passed a very
important test.
Rain and Ellysetta took to the skies once more, and the
battle continued well into the night.
To the north, the dahl’reisen’s attempts to take out the
bowcannon across the river were unsuccessful. The Eld had
strewn the ground around them with sel’dor dust, which
sparked like mad against the dahl’reisen invisibility
weaves, making them instantly detectable. Between
demons, Mages, and darrokken, the warriors were
slaughtered in a few brutal, bloody chimes of battle.
Earth masters tried to seal the boreholes by turning soil
to stone, but the corrosive ..esh of the revenants still ate
through. The bodies of Elf, Fey, dahl’reisen, Aquilines.
Shadar, and tairen littered the ..eld, coated in thick layers
Shadar, and tairen littered the ..eld, coated in thick layers
of black dust from the destroyed revenants.
The allies were exhausted. Bells of nonstop battle, with
little rest or food, and no faerilas to rejuvenate ..agging
magical energies, had beaten them down.
And still, the revenants came.
The Pale ~ North Slopes of the Feyls
The slivered crescents of the Mother and Daughter moons
rode low in the night sky over the Feyls. Moonrise had
brought with it a surge in power for the Mages who had
been bombarding the Faering Mists with Mage Fire since
their arrival the previous night, and as the night deepened,
that surge increased.
Three thousand Mages now stood on the peaks of the
Feyls, oblivious to the ice and snow around them. Great,
blazing blue-white globes, some the size of tairen, ..ew
through the air, exploding with concussive force against the
shifting rainbowed radiance of the Mists. With each blow,
the Mists ..ared bright.
“Keep ..ring!” Primage Garok shouted over the roar of
exploding magic.
Around him, the other Mages continued the barrage, each
drawing deep upon his well of magic. Several pooled their
power to amass larger globes and send them ..ying into the
Mists.
Mists.
The magical curtain shuddered beneath the assault, its
clouds undulating in frantic waves, bending inward where
the concentrated barrage hit hardest.
“Mahl! Rutan! Concentrate!” He spun to address a group
of Mages working together to combine their ..ows of magic
into a single, enormous globe of Mage Fire. “Fursk! Keep
those Mages channeling power! Make that Fire as big as
you can!”
Pale faces strained. Sweat broke out on pallid brows and
trickled down the sides of ashen faces. The globe of Mage
Fire centered between the thirty-six Primages expanded,
growing larger and larger, until they could barely hold it
aloft. Shouting with exertion, they heaved the massive
sphere towards the Mists, straight into the center of the
barrage.
Magic exploded, bolts of searing blue-white light
shooting out like cracks of lightning.
For one, shocking, shuddering instant, the Mists thinned,
and a small hole appeared at the center of the thinned
area. Primage Garok had a clear view straight through the
Mists to the snow-capped Feyls on the other side. The
edges of the hole ..uttered like a tattered sail pierced by a
great sword. Then sparks of magic sputtered, and cloudy,
rainbow-lit wisps of mist surged inward to ..ll the empty
space, the tendrils reaching for each other like desperate
hands reaching across a chasm. The tiny hole in the Mists
sealed.
sealed.
But it had existed.
“It’s working!” Garok crowed. “We need more power.
Mahl, Rutan, you and your Mages add your Fire to Fursk’s!”
Seventy-two more Mages joined the circle. The globe of
Fire trebled in size. Garok called more Mages to join the
others. The ring of magic wielders expanded to one
hundred eight, one hundred forty-four, one-eighty. Then at
last, the magic number, twelve hundred ninety-six. Thirtysix
groups of thirty-six.
The globe of Mage Fire at their center was like nothing
Garok had ever seen—or ever even read about in his
centuries of existence. As big as a mountain, and nearly as
large, hovering over the thirteen hundred Mages like some
great, glowing god-sphere.
“Now!” he cried. “Now! Let it ..y!”
The Mages bellowed a communal roar and heaved the
massive sphere towards the Faering Mists. The Mage Fire
sailed up the mountain towards the shimmering curtain.
Brilliant, enormous, deadly, the Fire skimmed across the
ground, catching the remnants of already battered trees and
winking them from existence, leaving a trail of barrenness
in its wake.
The massive globe of Fire plowed into the Faering Mists.
Energy erupted like an exploding star. The ..ash of blinding
light made Mages scream and cover their eyes. Then came
the boom, a roaring wave of sound like the thunder of the
gods, and just behind it, a blasting jet of air and magic and
gods, and just behind it, a blasting jet of air and magic and
pulverized dirt that knocked the Mages to the ground and
sent half a score of them ..ying to their deaths o.. the side
of the mountain, their dwindling shrieks muted by the
deafening roar as the Faering Mists rippled and shook, and
split in two.
Celieria ~ Orest
A ..ash of light illuminated the western horizon. All heads
turned on the battle..eld of Orest as the clouds of Mist
riding the top of the Rhakis Mountains suddenly ..ared
with wild, riotous jets of color.
“What’s happening?” someone cried.
The mountain shivered. Celierians closest to the steep
slopes screamed and ran for cover as rocks and debris
tumbled down towards Upper Orest.
Then the unthinkable happened.
With one last blinding blaze of light, the magical,
rainbowlit clouds that hugged the mountaintops collapsed
inward upon themselves.
The great and magical barrier of the Faering Mists fell.
“The Mists are down!” someone shouted. “Gods save us,
they’ve brought down the Mists!”
For the ..rst time in one thousand years, the Fading Lands
lay open and vulnerable to the outside world.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Pale ~ North Slopes of the Feyls
Garok hadn’t been certain what to expect, but the complete
destruction of the Mists was more than he’d dreamed
possible. Triumph ..lled him with exultation.
“They’re down!” one of the other Primages whispered.
The whisper grew quickly to a racous, celebratory hurrah.
“The Mists are down!”
Garok wasn’t a Mage to waste time on selfcongratulation.
Getting through the Mists was only the ..rst
step. Reaching Dharsa, the core of the hated Fey homeland,
was his goal. He’d been suspicious when Maur assigned
him this mission, but he intended to make the most of it.
When he returned to Eld in triumph as the Mage who’d
brought down the Faering Mists and conquered Dharsa,
even those Primages still hesitant to turn from Maur would
look at him with new eyes.
“Archers to the fore!” he commanded. He paced across
the rubble-strewn ground as the archers hurried to step
forward. “Take aim! Fire!”
Bowstrings twanged in unison. Mages summoned the
wind as a dark rain of sel’dor arrows, each modi..ed to
hold a chemar in the shaft, soared up the mountainside and
hold a chemar in the shaft, soared up the mountainside and
across the now unprotected peak, disappearing on the
opposite side.
Before the last arrow disappeared from view, Garok
opened the Well of Souls and the Eld leapt in. The portal
closed quickly on the heels of the last man. Within the
darkness a fresh array of glowing blue lights lit the Well
—the dozens of chemar that had found their targets lay
before them, mere steps away.
“Primages, you know what to do.” The Eld split into a
dozen groups, each racing for a di..erent spot of blue light
inside the Well. They opened the portals using the chemar,
and the instant the portals opened, archers ..red more
arrows through, while the Mages spun magic to carry the
missiles much farther and faster than bowstring alone could
have managed.
And so it went. Portals opened. Archers ..red. On to the
next portal. As they crossed the last line of the snowy
volcanic peaks, a roar greeted one of the opening portals
and a jet of ..ame lit up the interior of the Well, burning
an entire company of Mages to ash.
The tairen had come to defend their territory. But the
chemar were too many and the tairen too few. The Eld
advanced with swift purpose towards the heart of the
Fading Lands, the shining city on the hills.
Dharsa.
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
“The Mists are down! The Mages are coming.” Marissya
clutched the slight swell of her unborn child as she
delivered the news to the Massan. “Sybharukai says they are
using the Well to move across the Plains of Corunn. She
doesn’t know their numbers, but they’re moving too fast, in
too many directions. There aren’t enough of the tairen to
stop them. We must ward the city, quickly before it’s too
late.”
“Down?” Yulan regarded her in disbelief. “The Mists
can’t be down!”
To his credit, Tenn didn’t waste time doubting her word
or hesitating in indecision. «Fey, to arms! Defend the city!
The Eld have broken through the Mists.» To Marissya, he
said, “You and Dax take the fellanas and the truemates to
the Hall of Truth and Healing. Prepare to defend yourselves
in case the Eld break through.”
“What about you and Venarra and the rest of the
Massan?”
Tenn’s expression turned grim. “When we banished Rain,
his duties fell to us. That includes the duty of defending the
Fading Lands. Go. Quickly. Venarra, gather the shei’dalins.
Nuri, Yulan, come with me.”
The Fading Lands ~ Pass of Revan Oreth
“They did it.” Kieran stared at the jagged, snow-capped
peaks of the Rhakis mountains, visible now for the ..rst
time in a millennium. “Those scorching Elden rultsharts did
it, Kiel. They brought down the Mists.”
«Fey!» The cry rang out across the new Warrior’s Path.
«Into the pass! Defend the Fading Lands!»
Stone-faced and ..re-eyed, Fey warriors shouted, “Miora
felah ti’Feyreisen! Miora felah ti’Feyreisa!” and ran into the
narrow, rocky pass of Revan Oreth. Kiel and Kieran ran
with them.
The pass was many miles long, but as the Fey
approached the last third of the trail through the mountains
they heard the sound of rocks and pebbles tumbling down
the mountainside, accompanied by a strange, clattering that
echoed in the canyon, like the hard mandibles of millions
of stone-shell beetles clicking madly.
«Fey! Weaves at the ready! Steel is useless. Hundred-fold
weaves, or straight Earth and Fire only. Cutting them in
half only grows two of them, so have a care. Light be with
you, my brothers!»
The clattering noise grew louder, until it was nearly
deafening. The Fey rounded a sharp curve in the pass, and
the sight that awaited them made Kieran’s blood freeze in
his veins.
Coming towards them at an astonishing pace and in
numbers the likes of which he’d never seen, were creatures.
Thousands upon tens of thousands of creatures with
Thousands upon tens of thousands of creatures with
grayish-white bodies and bald, eyeless heads. They looked
vaguely and grotesquely manlike, and entirely terrifying. As
they neared, he could see the wet shine of their sluglike
skins, the round, needle-..lled holes of their green foaming
mouths, the razor-sharp spines of their grasping, clawed
hands and feet.
That was the clicking noise. The sounds of those clawed
hands and feet scrabbling across rock with their darting
speed. Some ran upright along the narrow path, but most
raced on the sides of the mountain, covering the sheer cli..
faces of the gorge like a monstrous swarm of beetles.
The ..rst lines of Fey tried to stand their ground, spinning
hundredfold weaves, ..lling the pass with blazing magic.
But the revenants were too many. For each one they
destroyed, ten more were there to take its place. The
revenants reached the Fey lines and began leaping o.. the
mountainside into the thick of the Fey.
Screams broke out as needle-..lled mouths and acid skin
ripped and dissolved shining Fey ..esh.
“Earth masters! Bring down the mountains!”
Earth masters combined their weaves, tearing the sides of
the mountain down and sending avalanches into the pass,
burying the revenants beneath countless tons of broken
rock.
For a chime, the Fey began to breathe easier. But then
came the sound of shifting rock. The rubble moved. Clawed
hands reached up from the shattered stone into the open
hands reached up from the shattered stone into the open
air.
“Fey! Retreat! Retreat!”
Celieria ~ Orest
Rain soared across the sky, banking rapidly from left to
right, soaring and diving. Another of those scorching
Rainseeking bowcannon bolts was on his tail. How many of
the ..aming things did the Eld have?
Below him, Fey dead littered a battle..eld crawling with
revenants.
«Shei’tani, how’s your aim with a Fey’cha?» «Getting
better by the chime.»
He curled back his lip and gave a growling chu.. of
tairen laughter. «That’s what I wanted to hear. If I ..y low
enough, do you think you can grab some of those Fey’cha
harnesses with a weave?» «I know one way to ..nd out.»
He chu..ed again and blew smoke. Flying with her in
battle had shown him an entirely di..erent side of his
shei’tani. Gone was the frightened, nightmare-stricken girl,
gone too was the strong and powerful shei’dalin healer. In
their place was a ..erce Fey warrior—one with a good eye
for strategy, unhesitating courage, and a deadpan sense of
humor that would put Gillandaris vel Jendahr to shame.
«Then let’s ..nd out. And weave a shield around your
hands in case the red Fey’cha slip their sheaths. There may
hands in case the red Fey’cha slip their sheaths. There may
be Shadar horn in your bones now, but I don’t want to put
it to the test.»
He felt the brief burst of magic.
«Done,» she said. «Let’s go.»
He dove. Behind him, the bowcannon bolt followed suit.
His wings spread wide and they soared low over the
revenants. Fire boiled from his muzzle, incinerating a wide
swath of the hideous creatures. Bright, blazing weaves shot
out to his left and right, aiming just beyond the perimeter
of his ..re, and a collection of Fey’cha harnesses lifted up
into the air.
«Got them.»
«All right. Then here’s what we’re going to do.» He sang
her the images of what he had in mind in tairen speech.
«Can you manage that?» «I think so. Let’s give it a try.»
Rain put on a burst of speed and soared up, heading
straight for Orest. A frenzy of bowcannon bolts launched
from the ramparts, but he ..amed the incoming, rolled and
dived to avoid those that survived his ..ame and kept to his
heading. On his back, Ellysetta ..ung out spinning weaves
of Air and Fire to clear a path. As they crossed the walls of
Lower Orest, Rain veered sharply left then wheeled around
back to the right and came in nearly parallel to the
mountains.
On the ramparts of Upper Orest, the bowcannon were
loaded, bowstrings cranked into ..ring position. Just before
the sheer mountain cli.. gave way to the stone ramparts of
the sheer mountain cli.. gave way to the stone ramparts of
the upper city, Rain put on a burst of speed and said,
«Now, shei’tani.»
Ellysetta launched from his back in an Air-powered leap.
She shot up into the air, her own forward motion and
magic carrying her over the tops of the cannoneers and
Mages gathered on the ramparts. Red Fey’cha spit from her
..ngertips in a hail of death. Below her, Rain engulfed the
battery in a boiling jet of tairen ..ame, consuming cannon
and cannoneers alike. He Changed into Mist at the last
chime so the bolt that had been following him plowed into
the open portal to the Well of Souls, taking half a dozen
screaming Mages and Eld with it. He changed back into
tairen form in time for Ellysetta to land securely in the
saddle. His wings angled sharply and they shot up in a near
vertical climb, soaring past the falls of Orest, leaving
smoldering ..res and corpses in their wake.
They burst into the open sky over the Rhakis. In the
distance, no longer hidden by the Mists, he could see the
pass of Revan Oreth, where hundreds of thousands of
revenants covered the canyon walls like insects.
The Eld hadn’t brought bowcannon to the pass yet, so
Rain took a few chimes to send a sea of boiling ..ame
racing through the canyon. High pitched shrieks from
burning revenants ..lled the air. Beyond the ..re, Fey
warriors cheered and raised their blades into the air. The
echoing cries of “Miora felah, ti’Feyreisen! Miora felah,
ti’Feyreisa!” followed him and Ellysetta as they banked
around the column of steam rising from the ..rst volcano of
around the column of steam rising from the ..rst volcano of
the Feyls and returned to the battle..eld of Orest.
They burst from the pass over Upper Orest and dove
back into the missile-..lled skies.
«Rijonn, Tajik,» Rain called as he swooped down for
another stra..ng run. «Gather the Earth and Fire masters. I
have a plan.»
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
The sound of running and alarmed voices woke Lillis. That
and a strange, icy cold that made shivers race down her
spine. She sat up in bed, suddenly frightened. “Lorelle?”
“Lorelle’s not here anymore.”
A shadow lunged at her from the darkness. She opened
her mouth to scream, but something stung her chest. Her
head went dizzy and the world went black.
Den Brodson threw Lillis over one thick shoulder and
headed into the Well, following the Black Guard who was
already carrying Lorelle back to Boura Fell.
Behind him, before the portal to Lillis and Lorelle’s room
closed, the ..rst screams broke the peaceful silence of the
night as the others who’d come with Den to Dharsa opened
more portals and an army of Mages, dahl’reisen, and Eld
rushed into the Shining City.
Celieria ~ Orest
Bel snarled and hammered the revenants with powerful
weaves of magic, all the while wishing he were slicing
them to oozy green bits instead. Fey were used to ..ghting
without magic. The Eld’s fondness for sel’dor made certain
of that. Warriors were far less accustomed to ..ghting
without their steel. And despite the Elves’ warning, he had
to struggle to keep from reaching for his.
The foul stench of the revenants ..lled the air, making his
eyes water and his stomach heave with each gagging
breath. He was a master of all magics save Earth, which he
could not weave at all, but his strength in all the other
branches was exceptional. Even though his most powerful
branch of magic, Spirit, was useless against these creatures,
Bel was not.
He reached deep into the source of his power, drew it up
into his body until his cells burned and light crackled
around him in a glowing nimbus. He wove the vibrant
threads into thick, sizzling ropes of power—Spirit, Fire,
Air, Water—and fed those ropes into massive hundredtwenty-
..ve-fold weaves that he and his brothers slammed
into the endless wall of revenants.
The monstrous creatures shrieked their ear-splitting
wails. Many of them dissolved, but more still came.
«Well done, kem’jeto,» Gaelen complimented after a
particularly ..erce assault. Gil and Gaelen fought nearby,
particularly ..erce assault. Gil and Gaelen fought nearby,
along with a grim-eyed Lord Barrial, who had enough Elfblood
in him to make use of the Light arrows he’d
retrieved from fallen Elves, and enough Fey blood to spin a
decent weave or two of his own.
Tamsin Greywing was mounted on the back of a Shadar
and ..ring Light arrows as fast as he could. No matter how
many he ..red, his quiver never ran dry. As Bel watched, a
revenant leaped toward Greywing, but the Elf cried
something in Elvish and his mount reared up to impale the
..ying revenant on its spiraling silver horn. The creature
exploded, enveloping Greywing and the Shadar in a foul,
but harmless cloud of black dust. The Elf coughed and spat,
patted the Shadar’s shining neck in approval, then began
..ring o.. Light arrows again.
To the northeast of Bel’s position, Azrahn surrounded Farel
and his dahl’reisen in a shadowy cloud that glowed dark
red in the night. Instead of twenty-..ve quintets spinning
hundred-twenty-..ve fold weaves, thirty-six chamas—groups
of six dahl’reisen spinning six-fold weaves—combined their
power into massive two-hundred-sixteen fold weaves that
pounded the revenants like steely ..sts.
Where the Fey’s weave took out a dozen revenants in a
single blow, the dahl’reisen’s weave dusted a full score. But
even that was not enough. For each revenant they
destroyed, four more erupted from the ground to take its
place.
place.
Fey weaves and Elvish arrows set the air over the
battle..eld aglow, yet still the revenants advanced, pushing
the allies back handspan by handspan.
Bel swore as more boreholes burst open and even greater
numbers of the revenants boiled out of the earth. The
supply of the thrice-scorched things was ja..ng limitless. In
unison, as if directed by some inaudible voice, the back
lines of the creatures scrambled over the front and began
leaping through the air to land in the midst of the allied
lines. Where they landed, screams erupted as razor-sharp
claws sliced skin down to bone and acid slime dissolved
..esh on contact.
«Retreat!» Bel cried. «Retreat!»
They scrambled back, dragging the wounded with them.
Bel slammed vortexes of Air and Fire at the creatures to
buy his brothers time, and sent a private spirit weave
arrowing across the battle..eld. «If you’re going to do
something, Rain, now’s the time!»
«Damn it, ‘Jonn, Taj, are you ready yet?» Rain snapped the
question across a private weave to the two warriors of
Ellysetta’s quintet. «We’re getting slaughtered here! I don’t
know how much longer we’ll be able to hold out.»
«Ready, Rain!» came the dual responses.
«Then tell them to go! Now!»
«Order given, Feyreisen.»
«Order given, Feyreisen.»
The ground began to shake and rumble. In Upper Orest,
rocks broke o.. the surrounding peaks and tumbled down
into the city. Rain saw buildings sway, and Eld Mages
stagger as the ground beneath their feet became unstable.
The earth cracked. Steam vents opened in Upper Orest.
Mages fell back in fear and began to ..ee as the rumbling of
the earth grew more violent and the steam erupting from
the vents grew hotter. With a sudden, deafening roar, the
entire city of Upper Orest exploded into the sky. Black
clouds of smoke and ash billowed upward and fountains of
glowing orange molten rock shot into the air and began
pouring down the mountainside into Lower Orest.
How do you get an enemy out of a forti..ed mountain
haven?
You had Earth and Fire masters turn the mountain into
an active volcano.
«They did it!» Ellysetta cried. «They really did it!»
His triumph and hers didn’t last long. Barely a chime
later, the cries rang out on the Warrior’s Path.
«Dharsa is under attack! They’re in the city! Fey! To
arms! Dharsa is under attack! They’re in the palace!»
«Rain!» Shocked into sudden sobriety, Ellysetta dug her
..ngers into the fur at the back of his neck. «My family.»
Rain instantly sent a Spirit weave racing across the
distance to Dharsa. «Marissya… Dax… get Ellysetta’s family
to safety.»
And then, several long chimes later, Rain’s wings faltered
And then, several long chimes later, Rain’s wings faltered
and she felt sorrow and concern well up inside him. Even
before he spoke, she knew he’d received a private weave,
and she knew the news wasn’t good. Inside her chest,
Ellysetta’s heart turned to stone.
«Shei’tani… » Rain hesitated. «I’m sorry, beloved. Your
father is safe, but your sisters are gone. Dax says a portal
was opened in their room. They’ve been taken.»
“No.” She said. Her lips felt numb. Her whole body had
lost all feeling. All she could think of was the dream, that
horrible, hateful dream of Lillis and Lorelle, their eyes
black as pitch, dancing in a shower of blood. And she
knew, just as Sheyl knew when she had a vision, that her
dream would come true «Ellysetta.» Rain turned his head as
he ..ew. “No.” She said again, louder.
«Ellysetta, we will get them back. I promise you,
shei’tani. As soon as this is over, as soon as we’ve defeated
this army, we’ll ..nd out where he’s taken them and we’ll
get them back.»
“NO!” This time she screamed it. The sound ripped from
her throat like a tairen’s roar. Rage blasted up from that
place deep inside, the cold, Lightless place where the beast
lived. Ice enveloped her. Hatred consumed her. She wanted
these Eld and their foul creatures dead. She wanted this
battle to stop.
She wanted her family back.
Now.
Her body began to shake.
On the battle..eld, lu’tan and Fey cried out as their magic
spun out of their control. One moment, they were spinning
..erce weaves to hold back the revenants, the next moment
the shining ..ows of their magic headed skyward, sucked
away by a power greater than their own.
Standing between the retreating forces and the revenant
hordes, Bel, Gaelen, and Gil all looked up towards the sky,
knowing instantly what was happening.
“Ellysetta,” Bel whispered.
Half a tairen-length away, Gaelen saw in shock that even
the ..ows of Elvish and Elden magic were pouring into her.
“Bel, Gaelen,” Gil called, “we have no magic and those
revenants are still coming. I suggest we run, kem’jetos.”
Dragging their gazes away from Ellysetta, they ran.
Hissing, the revenants followed.
The magic didn’t burn inside Ellysetta, it froze. Her whole
body felt encased in a block of ice.
«Shei’tani?» She heard Rain’s call, but it came as if from
a great distance.
These Mages liked death? Murder? Destruction? Well she
would give them a taste of their own evil ways.
Her hands shot out, ..ngers splayed. Concentrated magic
roared down her arms, setting her palms ablaze. She knew
the weave. She’d seen it often enough. Fled from it often
the weave. She’d seen it often enough. Fled from it often
enough.
Power coalesced, blazing blue-white between her palms.
She poured it forth, not in a great globe of power like the
Mages did, but in a continuous, boiling jet, like tairen ..re.
Mage Fire spewed from Ellysetta’s hands, and spilled
across the battle..eld from the walls of Orest to the allied
lines in the east. It consumed revenants and the enemy
forces ..eeing the lava-ribboned volcano that had been
Orest and gouged deep furrows into the earth.
«Shei’tani, nei.»
The tairen beneath her tried to bank, to turn her away,
but she seized him with her power and forced him to her
will. He ..ew where she bid him.
A voice was screaming in her head. Whether hers or his,
she didn’t know, and she didn’t care. She wrapped herself
in a weave of silence and kept pouring her wrathful river
of Mage Fire upon the Elden army.
Vadim Maur watched the blazing, blue-white ..re
consuming everything in its path. Even the mass destruction
of his great army couldn’t stop the pride and savage
satisfaction that surged through him at the sight.
“You wonderful, magni..cent girl,” he breathed. And with
a crow of delight, using the bonds that already connected
their souls as a conduit to keep her from absorbing his
magic, he sent a concentrated weave of Azrahn stabbing
into her soul.
into her soul.
He expected her to scream and ..inch back as she had
every time before, but instead a great force like nothing
he’d ever felt suddenly ..xed its gaze upon him. Power
ripped through him. Her power. Purest Azrahn of a
magnitude he never knew could exist. It plundered him,
assaulted him, peeled him down to the smallest particle of
a single cell, then put him back together again in the blink
of an eye.
And even as his weave forged its ..fth Mark upon her
soul, her own weave stabbed him through to his core and
seared every layer of his body and soul, leaving not just a
Mark, but a smoldering brand.
His knees went weak. His bowels turned to water. She
had Marked him. She had Marked him.
Vadim Maur grabbed the tent pole for support. Her
power ripped from him the way a female tairen might
retract her tail spike from the still-twitching body of her
prey, but he knew she wasn’t done. He could still feel her
eye upon him, dread and merciless. He felt her gather her
power for another strike and for the ..rst time in centuries,
he whispered, “Gods, help me.”
His savior came from as unlikely a source as the one he’d
called upon.
An Elf streaked across the sky on a white Aquiline
charger. Light blazed from the Elf’s upraised hand, and the
beam fell upon Ellysetta Baristani like a shaft of
concentrated sunlight. Now Ellysetta reared back in the way
concentrated sunlight. Now Ellysetta reared back in the way
she hadn’t done when Vadim Marked her, and the terrible
force of her power turned away from the Mage, freeing
him to sink helplessly to his knees.
“Master Maur! Master Maur, look!”
He lifted his head, gasping weakly for breath, and
muttered a curse at the sight that greeted him. Sailing up
the Heras, with nyatheri leaping through the black waters
like silver-blue mermaids, came an Elvian armada, dozens
of ships, silver sails ..lled with the air of a self-propelling
wind, carrying thousands more Elves to join the battle. The
trees on both shores bowed and danced in the ships’ wakes
as the dryatheri, the Danae tree spirits, aboard the Elvish
vessels awakened the forests to their call.
Screams rose from the Elden shores as tree branches
wound around Eld like serpents, crushing bones to powder,
and large tree trunks opened up to swallow men whole.
Soldiers drowned where they stood as seductive sirens rose
from river’s edge, enveloped them in an entrancing
embrace, and took their lips in a kiss that ..lled their lungs
with water. Others mindlessly followed the beckoning calls
of beautiful mermaids and plunged into the Heras where
nyatheri wrapped them in water vines and dragged them to
the bottom of the river.
Vadim wanted to scream with rage. How could the day
of his long-planned triumph have gone so horribly wrong?
Two-thirds of his magni..cent army was destroyed. The
dragons were dead. Orest was an active volcano. The Elves
and Danae had arrived in force. And Vadim’s Mage-Marked
and Danae had arrived in force. And Vadim’s Mage-Marked
future vessel had just made him soil himself.
But even as he gnashed his teeth in fury, cool reason was
already taking over.
No Eld became High Mage without the courage to take a
risk. But neither did he stay High Mage without learning to
di..erentiate between risk and foolishness. And this High
Mage knew the value of a strategic retreat.
All was not lost. Ellysetta Baristani still bore his Marks,
he now had her sisters as well as her parents. When she
came for them, he would be waiting. She only needed one
more Mark. Just one, and then she and all her magni..cent,
unprecedented power would be his. And the world would
tremble before his immortal greatness.
“Kron, sound the alarm. Evacuate Boura Dor. Everyone
into the Well. We’re retreating to Boura Fell.”
Behind the Fey lines, protected by warriors who could call
their magic once more, Rain knelt on the ground, holding
Ellysetta in his arms.
The Elvian Commander who had called herself Silverleaf
knelt beside him. The palm of her right hand no
longer blazed sun-bright with the magic she had poured
into Ellysetta, but Rain now knew who she was. A Seer of
Elvia, just as she’d claimed. Elves truly didn’t lie, after all.
But she was also Elvia’s queen, Illona Brighthand, the Lady
of Silvermist, sister to Galad Hawksheart.
“Why would you hide who you were?” he asked.
“Why would you hide who you were?” he asked.
Illona glanced up. “Does it matter?”
He grimaced. Why did Elves do half the things they did?
“I suppose not. But will you at least tell me what happened
back there, with Ellysetta?”
The Elf made a soft, regretful sound. “Your mate just
faced a truth many of us are lucky never to know. She
found out just what she was capable of.”
His hackles rose immediately. “You will not tell me she
is evil,” he interrupted. Even though she had seized his
body and controlled him like a puppet on strings, he
would not—could not—think the worst. “She is not. She is
bright and shining.”
“Very bright,” the Elf agreed. “But as capable as she is of
good, if she falls to Darkness, she will be equally capable
of evil. You do her no favor by refusing to acknowledge
that. Especially after today, when she had a glimpse of
what she could become.”
Ellysetta stirred in Rain’s arms. Her eyes were still closed
as she murmured, “I told you there was evil in me. I told
you it was winning.”
“Bayas, it is not unless you will it so.” Illona laid her
namesake hand on Ellysetta’s hair. “Look at me, Ellysetta
Erimea.” When Ellysetta opened her eyes, the Elf
continued, her voice brisk and stern, “I came here—I
brought my Elves to your aid—because I did not want to
see you fall. Was my faith in you misplaced? Will you give
in so easily?”
in so easily?”
“Easily?” Rain jumped to her defense. “You don’t know
what she’s been through.”
“I do know,” Illona corrected in a sharp voice. “I am
Elfkind, and I have watched, just as my brother has done. I
know exactly what she has su..ered and for how long. But
the Dark cannot claim what Light does not surrender.”
“She has surrendered nothing. She has fought more
bravely than most, su..ered torments few can even imagine,
and still her heart is kind, her soul bright and shining.”
Rain bent his head and pressed his lips against Ellysetta’s
hair. “We are together, Ellysetta. We are unharmed. No
matter what happened today, we are still together. We still
hold to the Light, and we always will.”
“Will we?” Ellysetta’s hand curled around his wrist. “I
Marked the High Mage.”
His mouth went dry. “You what?”
“After he Marked me, I Marked him back. It’s a bit like
forging a truemate bond, except with none of the love.”
She looked up at him, and there was such weary
acceptance in her eyes, such increasing despair, it made
him want to weep.
“Apparently, I’m not just a shei’dalin and a Tairen Soul, I’m
also a Mage.”
Rain moistened his lips and looked up at the Elf queen.
“Is she? A Mage?” He couldn’t believe he was practically
begging an Elf for answers, but when it came to helping
and protecting Ellysetta, he was discovering there wasn’t a
and protecting Ellysetta, he was discovering there wasn’t a
whole lot he wouldn’t do.
“If she chooses to be, anio. She has the power to become
one. But just because you can wield magic like a Mage,
Ellysetta, that doesn’t mean you must.” The Elf queen sat
back on her heels. “That is the other reason I came to you
—to give you a truth my brother was unwilling to share. He
has tried for many years to deny it, but the fact is that no
one—not even Galad, with all his skill and power—can See
with certainty the outcome of your Song. He cannot
because you are a force rarely born to a world, something
we Elves call leinah thaniel, the Song that sings all Songs,
the Mirror that shows all Mirrors, the Change that changes
everything.”
“What does that mean?” Rain was so tired of Elvish
mysticism. He just wanted answers, plain and simple.
“It means your mate holds within herself a divine spark,
the power to do the unexpected, to change her Song and
the Songs of others, just as she has already done many
times.” The Elf turned her gaze upon Ellysetta. “It means
there is no ‘meant to be’ for you. There is only ‘choose to
be.’ So choose wisely, Ellysetta Erimea. Much depends on
it.”
Illona Brighthand stood. “You know, in your heart, what
is right. You proved that to me earlier today when you
would not force the spirits of your lu’tan to your service.
Trust in yourself—and know that the right path is rarely
the easiest.” She looked west and her eyes took on a deep,
mysterious shimmer. “You both should go. The Fey need
mysterious shimmer. “You both should go. The Fey need
you in Dharsa.”
“What about Orest?” Rain asked.
“The Eld are retreating. Your mate killed most of the
revenants and my brother’s Elves have arrived with the
Danae. We will help your friends here to end this battle.
Dharsa is where you are now needed most.”
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
11th day of Seledos
Spurred by Illona, Rain and Ellysetta ..ew as fast as wings
and magic could carry them. With the Mists down, they
soared, unimpeded, over the Rhakis mountains, ..ying over
the pass of Revan Oreth and giving the remaining revenants
there a good scorching before continuing onward across the
eastern desert and the Plains of Corunn.
They arrived with the dawn at the Shining City of the
Fey. But instead of the raging battle they were expecting,
they found the aftermath of one.
The jewel of the Fading Lands lay in ruins. Dharsa’s
buildings were shattered and smoking, their pristine white
stones charred black. Scorched, lea..ess orchards dotted
burned hillsides. Instead of jasmine and honeyblossom, the
city smelled of smoke and death.
As they ..ew towards the palace, they could see Fey
dragging the bodies of the dead invaders into a pile while
dragging the bodies of the dead invaders into a pile while
six tairen took turns ..aming the corpses to harmless ash.
Elsewhere, other Fey carried their fallen brothers and sisters
to the gardens, where quintets had gathered to send the
bodies back to the elements.
“I don’t understand,” Ellysetta said as she and Rain
landed in the tairen’s courtyard near the Hall of Tairen and
he Changed back into Fey form. “I thought the Elf queen
said we were needed here.”
“You are needed here.” Marissya and Dax stepped into
the courtyard. Sol Baristani and, to Ellysetta’s surprise, the
Elf Fanor Farsight followed close on their heels. “The
Fading Lands will always need its Tairen Souls. And with
the Mists down, we need you now more than ever.”
“Papa.” Bypassing the others, Ellysetta headed straight for
her father and melted in his arms. She breathed the beloved
aroma of his pipe smoke and was instantly transported
back to the days of her childhood, when she lived
surrounded by her family and secure in the warmth of her
parents’ love. Tears gathered and she let them fall. “We
will get them back, Papa. I promise you. Rain and I will
..nd a way.”
“I know you will.” His hands patted her back. “For now,
I’m just glad to see you safe, Ellie-girl.” He pulled back and
smiled through his own teary eyes.
With an arm around her father’s waist, Ellysetta turned to
watch Rain greet Fanor Farsight, the Deep Woods Elf.
“Farsight. I did not expect to see you here after Hawks“
Farsight. I did not expect to see you here after Hawksheart
said he could not help us.”
One of Fanor’s brows arched slightly. “Lord Galad said
he could not join your battle against the High Mage. He
never said he would not aid the Fey in Dharsa.”
“They arrived in time to help the tairen rout the Mages,”
Dax said. “Unfortunately, the city had already been
breached. Dahl’reisen, Black Guard, and a host of Mages got
through. We lost hundreds, but it would have been
thousands without the warriors who stayed behind as Tenn
commanded. They kept the Eld at bay until the tairen and
Elves arrived. Nurian and Yulan were killed in the ..ghting,
and their mates passed into the Veil with them. Tenn
nearly perished as well, but Marissya and Venarra managed
to keep him alive. He’s in the Hall of Truth and Healing
now, helping his mate look after the wounded.”
“He knew we were coming?” Rain asked.
“Aiyah.”
“And he did not call for armed Fey to defend the Fading
Lands against its dahl’reisen king?”
“You are dahl’reisen no longer. Sybharukai spoke to him
herself. She told him the Fey’Bahren pride had chosen the
next leader of the Fading Lands and that it was not him.
She also told him that his brother, Johr Feyreisen, had
already singled you out to be trained for leadership so that
you might one day ascend the throne.”
“I never knew that.” Rain shook his head in wonder. “So
that convinced him? Learning that his brother had been
that convinced him? Learning that his brother had been
considering me for the throne?”
Dax snorted. “I think the kicker was when Sybharukai
told him that the tairen would drive from the Fading Lands
any people who reviled or threatened you or Ellysetta.”
His brows shot up. “She said that?”
“Ai-yah,” Dax con..rmed with grinning emphasis. “You
should have seen Tenn’s face when she bared her fangs and
growled, ‘Tairen defend the pride.’ I swear, he near wet
himself.”
“Dax,” Marissya chided, “you should not take such delight
in that. Tenn has served this kingdom well for centuries.”
“I agree that he did—right up until he decided to banish
its king and queen, at which time, in my opinion, he
earned himself a hard beating with a dull blade.
Sybharukai let him o.. easy.”
“I must thank her for coming to our defense,” Rain said.
“But it is time to repair the damage this war has wrought
—both on the city and among ourselves. There is much to
be mended, on all sides.”
They spent all day doing just that, mending buildings and
mending bridges with the Fey. Their ..rst stop was the Hall
of Truth and Healing, where Rain and Ellysetta met with
Tenn and Venarra. The meeting was sti.. and formal, but it
passed without bloodshed or name calling. For a ..rst step,
that was enough.
that was enough.
They worked throughout the day, but with every wall
they reconstructed, every weeping Fey they consoled, every
sti.., cold-eyed warrior whose suspicions they allayed,
Ellysetta realized that simply rescuing her sisters and
parents from Eld wasn’t going to be enough. This Mage had
to be stopped, and according to the Elves, she was the only
one who could. Even if it cost her life.
Perhaps that was the real reason Illona Brighthand had
sent them here. Not because Dharsa needed them, but
because she needed Dharsa and the reminder that even
though the war was over, her own battle was not yet done.
Because Ellysetta needed a day without war to remember
why it was necessary… and what she was ..ghting for.
“You said that when we defeated the Army of Darkness,
we would go to Eld to save my parents,” Ellysetta reminded
Rain as the afternoon drew to a close and the sun began to
set. “That time has come. I don’t want my sisters, or my
parents, to spend one more night than necessary in Eld
hands. And I’m going with you.”
“Shei’tani.… You know I would give you the stars from
the heavens if you asked it of me, but this…” Shadows
turned lavender eyes to brooding violet. “Our bond is not
complete. You bear ..ve Mage Marks.”
“If we don’t ..nd a way to defeat him, I may someday
bear six.” She framed his face in her hands. “I have to do
this, Rain. It’s what I was born for.” The chime she said the
words aloud, she knew they were true. “We are Tairen
Souls, shei’tan, you and I both. We are Defenders not just of
Souls, shei’tan, you and I both. We are Defenders not just of
the Fey but of the Light, including the Light that shines in
good people everywhere—in my sisters and my parents, in
Celierians… in the poor people of Eld who never had a
choice for any life but servitude and Darkness. This High
Mage must be stopped. Not just defeated and left in peace
to grow strong again, but vanquished. That is our purpose.
That is why we were born.”
“We should consult Shei’Kess. Perhaps it will—“
“Nei.” She shook her head and gave a sad smile. “The
Eye can show us nothing we don’t already know. It’s what
we feel here—” she tapped ..rst her chest, then his, “—that
matters. You heard the Elf queen. I am leinah thaniel.
There are no fates I cannot change, but this fate is one I
cannot change without you. You are my strength, Rain. You
are the courage I’ve always lacked.”
He gave a choked laugh, and tears glittered in his eyes.
“If I am your courage, then why does this idea of yours
leave me so frightened?”
Her heart contracted, and she smiled at him, softly,
through brimming eyes. “Because it is frightening, kem’san.
Because it’s dangerous, risky, the odds so stacked against us
it’s unlikely anyone could do this thing and live. And that’s
why a Tairen Soul was born to do it—why we were born to
do this.” She pressed her lips to his. “When a feyreisen
..nds his wings, he knows he was born to die protecting
others. That is why we must go.”
He drew her closer, nestling her in his arms and leaning
He drew her closer, nestling her in his arms and leaning
his head against hers. “When did you get so wise, Ellysetta
kem’reisa?”
Celieria ~ Orest
12th day of Seledos
Rain and Ellysetta spent half the night in Dharsa, the other
half in Fey’Bahren with the pride and the kitlings, who had
grown a great deal in the last two months. In the morning,
they ..ew back to Orest to meet with the lu’tan and devise a
plan to rescue Ellysetta’s family and kill the High Mage of
Eld.
Farel’s men had captured a wounded Mage and a handful
of Eld soldiers, all of whom they held in a bubble of thirtysix
fold weaves. A little Truthspeaking and the threat of
being eaten alive by a tairen had encouraged the soldiers to
talk. They told their captors about Vadim Maur’s main
fortress where all magic-gifted prisoners were taken after
their capture, and about how each Boura—each
underground fortress of the Eld—contained a gateway to
the Well of Souls that was kept open all the time.
The plan was to have one of the dahl’reisen open a
portal and bring one of the Eld soldiers along to lead the
Fey through the Well to wherever Ellysetta’s parents and
sisters were being held. They would invade the Boura using
the dahl’reisen invisibility weaves, free all the prisoners,
and use Ellysetta’s connection to the High Mage to locate
and use Ellysetta’s connection to the High Mage to locate
and kill him while they were there.
The “plan” had holes large enough to ..y a tairen through
—nei, an entire pride of tairen—but Rain couldn’t come up
with anything better. So with a bit of instruction from the
captured Mage, Farel successfully opened the portal to the
Well of Souls. And into the Well, they went: Rain, Ellysetta,
her quintet, a hundred lu’tan, and the Elden soldier as their
guide.
The inside of the Well was an unpleasant place, dark and
cold, full of whispers and distant shrieks and swirling pools
of shadowy mist that the Eld advised them to avoid if they
valued their lives. How he knew where to go, Ellysetta
didn’t know, but later, it would occur to her that was a
question she should have asked and gotten answered.
Because when they reached the gateway into Boura Fell,
which appeared as a glowing red circle within the Well,
their arrival did not come as the surprise they had
intended. No sooner had they donned their invisibility
weaves and slipped through the gateway into a large room,
than the gateway closed behind them. A barrage of tiny
darts and a burst of pale blue gas ..lled the air.
Ellysetta’s vision blurred, and the world tilted crazily. She
and all the Fey fell, unconscious, to the stone ..oor.
Eld ~ Boura Fell
Ellysetta woke to the sickly sweet smell of rotting fruit and
the taste of misery in her mouth. Her bones ached. Her
..esh throbbed.
She could hear the moans of tortured creatures, feel the
despair sapping her soul. This was a place without hope,
without Light, and she knew she’d fallen into one of the
Seven Hells.
Her muscles clenched, shuddering as the sting of a
thousand icy knives stabbed into her soul. She swallowed,
then coughed.
Sel’dor cloaked her in bitter, burning pain. A collar of
enslavement about her neck, manacles about her wrists and
ankles.
Her lashes ..uttered as she forced her eyes open.
Expecting darkness, she was surprised to ..nd herself in the
center of a well-appointed room. Beautifully furnished
—deceptively so, because beneath the silken surface, she
could feel the acid burn of sel’dor.
She turned her head, her gaze moving instinctively
towards the corner of the room where a shrouded ..gure
stood in the shadows. As the ..gure approached her, the
formless shroud became rich purple Mage robes draped
around a tall frame.
The Mage threw back his cowl, and Ellysetta frowned in
confusion at the stranger standing by her bedside. She had
expected the High Mage, the architect of her nightmares,
with his cloud of white hair framing a face that seemed
with his cloud of white hair framing a face that seemed
both ancient and ageless. But this Mage was young and ..t
and… handsome. That seemed so wrong. Evil shouldn’t
wear a pleasing face.
Only the cold, silver eyes seemed familiar. That and the
cruelty curled at the corner of his mouth.
Then he spoke, and though the sound of the voice was as
unfamiliar as his face, the smug, conscienceless evil that
resonated in every word was all too familiar. Whatever face
he wore, whatever voice he used, this was the High Mage
of Eld, the dark evil presence that had pursued and
tormented her all her life.
“Welcome, my dear, to Boura Fell.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN
“You’ve led me quite a chase for many years, but all that is
at an end. You shall not escape me again.” The Mage’s
expression was cool, his tone almost pleasant, but there
was no mistaking the Darkness that shadowed his every
word.
Ellysetta sat up with e..ort. The weight of her sel’dor
bindings was so heavy she could barely move. She lifted
her hands to the collar and brushed the backs of her ..ngers
against the dozens of burning rings that pierced the lobes
of her ears. Another half dozen armbands, lined with
hundreds of sharp teeth, circled both arms with ropes of
pain, and around her ankles, heavy manacles clamped
tight, their sharp spikes driving into her bones.
The Mage watched her with cold eyes. “I don’t usually
take such precautions with my female guests, but
experience has taught me not to underestimate you.”
She licked her dry lips. “I know what you want. You will
not have it. I’ll die before I surrender my soul to you.”
The edge of his mouth lifted in a sneer. “Such brave
words. The Fey are always brave at ..rst. But even the
greatest among them has a weakness, and you, my dear,
have many.” He snapped his ..ngers, and two burly guards
stepped forward. They hauled her unceremoniously up,
releasing her manacles from the chains that had bound her
releasing her manacles from the chains that had bound her
to the bed and setting her on her feet.
«Rain!» She tried to call him on their private path, but
her body suddenly convulsed in agony. A scream ripped
from her throat, and she dropped to the ground. She lay
there, shuddering and gasping for breath as she waited for
the pain to recede.
“They all try that, too,” the Mage informed her. “I don’t
advise it. I’ve bound you in more sel’dor than any other
guest of mine has ever borne.”
When the worst of the pain had passed, and she could
move again, Ellysetta lifted her head and glared at him.
“What have you done with Rain?” He wasn’t dead. He
couldn’t be dead. She’d know if he were—wouldn’t she?
“Oh, he’s here, never fear. And you shall see him, I
promise. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to it. But ..rst
things ..rst.” He glanced at the guards and all pretense of
civility—gloating or otherwise—dropped away. Silver eyes
glittered with cold command. “Bring her.”
The guards hauled Ellysetta to her feet by her chains and
shoved her after the High Mage of Eld.
When the news ..rst reached the umagi dens about the
Fey captured trying to invade Boura Fell, a communal
groan went up. The skrants knew what new prisoners
meant: more mouths to feed, more bodies to dispose of,
more torture chambers to scrub clean of blood, vomit, and
the various other by-products of the Mage’s favorite
the various other by-products of the Mage’s favorite
pastime.
Only recently released from the punishment detail she’d
earned for missing two whole work shifts while stealing
Lord Death’s weapons and crystal, Melliandra had a
di..erent reaction: a gut-churning mix of excitement and
terror.
Her time had come.
Unfortunately, the circumstances of that time were
riskier than she’d ever imagined they could be. The same
gossip who brought them the rumors about invaders also
brought news that Lord Death and his mate had been
moved to the observation chambers for the High Mage’s
entertainment. He would be under heavy guard, and he
would be constantly tortured, then healed, then tortured
again. If she thought for one moment that she would get
another chance to kill the High Mage, she wouldn’t even
think about approaching Lord Death now. She would have
waited until Lord Shan was back in his cell, manacled but
otherwise unrestrained in his barbed cage.
Time, however, was a luxury she didn’t have. The other
whispers in the Mage Halls were too rampant to be
disbelieved. Among Vadim Maur’s new guests were the
Tairen Soul and his mate. If Vadim Maur managed to claim
a Tairen Soul’s power, nothing and no one would ever be
able to defeat him again.
That meant she needed to free Lord Shan without delay.
No matter how high the risk.
As the Mage led Ellysetta down the corridor, they passed a
large, dark mirror hanging on one wall. The sight of her
re..ection made Ellysetta stumble. Everything about the
re..ection shining in the mirror’s dark surface came straight
from one of her nightmares: herself, garbed in a boatnecked
green gown, hair unbound and spilling about her
shoulders, sel’dor bands clamped around throat, wrists, and
ankles, walking in the company of a purple-robed Mage.
Fresh dread curled in her belly. She remembered the
dream. Remembered what had happened in it.
Lillis and Lorelle.
She almost tried to reach for them, but the shredding
agony of the sel’dor bonds reacting to her magic was too
fresh in her mind.
The corridor wound around, and they reached a set of
carved stone steps that curled downward into the bowels of
the earth. The guards pushed her after the High Mage, and
together, the four of them descended several ..ights, passing
two sconce-lit landings that led o.. to other levels of the
subterranean fortress.
They exited the stairs on the third level and walked
down another series of corridors to an observation room.
She could see di..erent cells through the windows on either
side of the room. Through the murky glass on the right, she
saw a dark-haired Fey warrior being strapped down to a
table. For an instant, she feared the warrior might be Rain,
but when the Fey was pushed down onto his back for the
but when the Fey was pushed down onto his back for the
..nal bindings, she saw his face.
Not Rain’s face, but not unfamiliar either. A face from
her dreams. Her hands splayed instinctively against the
glass in a gesture of horror and concern.
“I see you recognize my longtime guest.” The Mage took
pleasure in her torment.
She wanted to say she’d never seen him before, but the
lie stuck in her throat. She clamped her lips together and
glared.
“The great Shannisorran v’En Celay, Lord Death. A
legendary warrior of the Fey. Your father.”
Despite her e..ort to show no emotion, her chin
trembled.
“And here.” The Mage walked to the opposite wall,
where another viewing window looked into a di..erent cell.
A red-haired woman, her body covered in cuts and bruises
and healing burns, was bound to a table just like the one in
the other room. “Your mother, the beauteous Elfeya, though
as you can see, she recently displeased me and was
punished for it.”
Ellysetta clenched her jaw and closed her ..ngers into
tight ..sts to hide the trembling of her hands. She knew
what was coming. Her stomach churned with nausea at the
prospect.
She turned away from the Fey parents she’d never
known. They were, in most respects, utter strangers to her,
but they’d su..ered unspeakable torments to keep her from
but they’d su..ered unspeakable torments to keep her from
sharing their fate.
And she, in her desperation and misguided belief that
she could outwit a master manipulator, had walked straight
into Vadim Maur’s trap.
“A thousand years you’ve held them,” she told him
bitterly. “A thousand years, you’ve tortured them without
mercy. But they never gave in. Do you think I don’t know
that? Do you think I don’t know they’d rather die than see
me surrender my soul to save them?”
“Die?” Vadim Maur exclaimed. “Oh, they won’t die. Not
yet, at least. Not for a very, very long time.” Several large,
burly men entered the rooms where Shan and Elfeya lay
waiting. “As I’ve learned over these last thousand years,
Lord Death and his mate are quite strong. What I haven’t
yet learned is how strong you are.” He leaned forward and
spoke into a pipe that fed into both rooms. “You may
begin.”
Moments later, the screams began.
Melliandra hauled her black canvas bag out of its hiding
spot, using the rope that held it suspended along the
interior wall of the refuse pit. The days in the pit had not
been kind, and the canvas had absorbed a rank collection
of smells and stains. She tossed the bag into her cart and, at
the ..rst empty chamber she found, she snatched the bag
and ducked inside. Quickly, she emptied Lord Shan’s
belongings from the black bag. The two long straps of
belongings from the black bag. The two long straps of
daggers, she strung across her shoulders, and she tied the
empty sword sheaths to her chest. The swords themselves,
she transferred to a clean, canvas laundry sack and tucked
behind a crate in the corner of the room. Using sheaths
she’d stolen from the Mage Halls, she strapped the two
daggers she’d stolen for herself to her legs—one on her
right calf, the other on the opposite thigh—and strapped
two sheathed red Fey’cha to her forearms, with their hilts
just reaching her wrists. The oversized sleeves of the tunic
she’d ..lched from the laundry speci..cally for this purpose
draped down over her hands and hid the Fey’cha and Lord
Shan’s weapons nicely.
Done, she tossed the empty black bag back in the refuse
cart. After ..nishing emptying all the remaining refuse bins
on the level, she emptied the cart and returned it to its
closet, then stepped into the pulley-driven kitchen lift.
She rode the lift down to the kitchens. No one noticed
her in the ..urry of activity.
“I’m impressed by your ability to remain such an
uninvolved observer in the face of such agony.” Genuine
appreciation colored the Mage’s voice. “No other shei’dalin
has ever witnessed such torment without begging for it to
stop.”
Ellysetta spat a mouthful of blood. She’d wanted to beg.
She’d wanted it so bad, she’d bit a hole through the inside
of her cheek to keep from it. The screams of her parents
of her cheek to keep from it. The screams of her parents
still echoed in her head. They’d known she was there. And
even as their guts were being ripped from their bodies,
they were shouting for her not to give in, to be strong.
Telling her to be strong. Her. When she was the reason
they were being tortured.
When she was the one upon whom the Mage had yet to
lay the ..rst unkind ..nger.
“I think there must be more Darkness in you than you
want to admit,” Maur continued. “It’s doubtless one of the
gifts you gained when I engineered your birth. You should
thank me, Ellysetta, because without that gift, you’d be just
another of those useless Fey females, as helpless as a rose
without thorns. Instead, you’re strong, powerful. More like
me than you care to admit.”
She gave him a baleful glare and remained silent. She
wanted to tell him he was a liar, but she couldn’t. No
matter how vile his claims, they contained at least a grain
of truth. She was di..erent from other Fey women. She
could kill without destroying herself. Not only that, she
could enjoy it. She remembered Kreppes, and the grim
satisfaction, the barbarous thrill, of gutting her enemy,
hearing his scream, feeling the hot spew of his blood upon
her ..esh. There had to be something in her, some hardness,
some Darkness, some bit of evil that spawned such a
dreadful trait and such macabre joy.
One thing was certain. That core of Darkness hiding
inside her must never be released—not for her parents’
inside her must never be released—not for her parents’
sake. Not for anyone else’s sake either.
“If you think your stoicism has saved them even a
moment of pain, think again,” Maur said, misinterpreting
her continued silence. “They will su..er for a long, long
time for their part in keeping you away from me all these
years.” He leaned back to the pipe leading to both rooms,
and said, “Summon the healer. When she’s done, begin
again.”
He nodded to the guards holding Ellysetta’s chains and
turned towards the exit. A hard shove from behind sent
Ellysetta stumbling after him. They went down four more
levels, until they reached the bottom of Boura Fell. A long,
dark corridor, narrower than the ones above, stretched into
the shadows in both directions. Vadim Maur turned right
and led the way to the very end of the corridor. There, next
to a shuttered opening that reeked of refuse, a dark, narrow
tunnel curved o.. to the left. The Mage took a torch from a
stand bolted to the wall and lit it on one of the sconce
lights.
As he led Ellysetta and her guards into the tunnel, the
damp, narrow, black walls closed in around them. A
terrible rotting smell made her shudder. The place smelled
like death.
“Perhaps for ancient Fey you’ve never known, who long
ago accepted their fate, you can stay strong,” the High Mage
said as they walked. The tunnel twisted back around to the
right, and the awful stench grew stronger. “But what about
someone you love more dearly? Someone more fragile,
someone you love more dearly? Someone more fragile,
more helpless? I think you will ..nd it much more di..cult
to let them su..er.”
The tunnel opened up to a gaping black maw of a
chamber. A black stone promontory, railed with twisting
vines of sel’dor, extended out over the abyss. The air was
cold and dank, thick with the odor of putrefaction.
The Mage raised his torch to a shallow gutter overhead.
Light ..ared as whatever the gutter contained caught ..re,
and ..ame raced along the gutter’s path, into the blackness.
The gaping maw was a dark pit, and even before the ..re
concluded its circuit and fully illuminated the ..oor of the
pit half a tairen length below, Ellysetta knew what was
coming. She’d seen it before, in her nightmares.
She gripped the sel’dor railing, uncaring of the hot burn
of the hated metal on her ..esh. Her sisters sat huddled
together in the midst of the dark, stinking pit, tethered by
chains in the center of a nest of bones and other rotting
scraps. The sudden brightness of the ..ames made them
look up, shielding their eyes with their hands.
She wanted to scream the twins’ names. She wanted to
throw herself on her knees and beg the High Mage for
mercy, just as she had in her dream. She dared do neither.
She knew why he’d brought her, knew that no matter what
she did, Lillis and Lorelle were doomed. If she refused to
accept a sixth Mark, Lillis and Lorelle would die. If she did
accept the Mark, Vadim Maur would own her soul; and he
would use her to enslave her sisters. They would become
those Azrahn-eyed imps of Darkness from her nightmares,
those Azrahn-eyed imps of Darkness from her nightmares,
their souls bound to evil.
Oh, gods, gods. Why have you done this? They are
innocent. They are children!
She didn’t think she had the strength to stand ..rm. Her
sisters were the children she’d loved and cared for all her
life, twin beacons of Light in a life full of fear and selfdoubt.
“Will you not call to them, Ellysetta?” the Mage prodded.
“Will you not tell them everything will be all right? I know
you feel their fear.”
She closed her eyes, trying to shut him out. Aiyah, she
sensed their fear. It burned worse than the sel’dor that
pierced her ..esh. She could not even spin a simple Spirit
weave to whisper of her love and beg their forgiveness for
bringing them into such danger.
“You were so brave, watching your parents su..er so
nobly on your behalf. But will you be so brave now,
watching your sisters eaten alive? Hearing their shrieks of
pain and terror?”
Ellysetta’s head whipped around, her jaw going lax.
Eaten alive?
The Mage leaned over the railing and raised his voice.
“Your sister Ellysetta is here, little ones. Beg her to save
you. She can, you know. All she has to do is give me what I
want, and you will be released from the pit.”
The rumbling screech of metal echoed in the pit as
unseen gates opened.
unseen gates opened.
Then came the scrabble of claws against stone… and the
bloodcurdling howls of the darrokken.
“The High Mage sent me with food for the prisoner.”
Melliandra clutched the handle of the food cart in both
hands.
The guard standing beside the door examined her with
cold eyes. “I received no such order,” he declared, and his
meaty ..ngers tightened around the spiked sta.. in his grip.
“The healer just left, but the High Mage usually saves food
until the prisoners are returned to their cells.”
Melliandra kept her expression blank and unemotional.
“The High Mage is entertaining a special guest. He wants
these two strong enough to survive a long time.” When the
guard still showed no sign of stepping aside, she added,
“Or I can return to the kitchens and inform my mistress that
you kept me from ful..lling the Great One’s commands. I’m
sure he will understand why his orders were overridden.”
As she expected, just the hint of an ill report to the High
Mage was enough to give the guard pause. His brows
furrowed and he poked the tip of his sta.. in the direction
of her cart.
“Lift the cloth on that tray.”
Melliandra obeyed, revealing two bowls of fatted
porridge, a pitcher of water, and a hammered-metal goblet.
Simple fare. Nothing out of the ordinary for a prisoner.
After a brief inspection, the guard grunted and stepped
After a brief inspection, the guard grunted and stepped
aside. “Go on then, but be quick about it.”
She murmured an assent and pushed the cart through the
doorway.
Lord Shan, silent and still as the dead, lay strapped to the
table at the center of the room. Pools of blood glistened on
the dark stone ..oor and still dripped from the table, but
Melliandra could see no obvious wounds. The healer had
done her job well.
Vadim Maur’s new torture master stood beside a table set
with a variety of knives, hooks, and vises. Tools of the
torturer’s trade. He was sharpening his curved
disemboweling knife. At the sight of Melliandra, he
scowled. “What do you want? The healer has come and
gone. Get out.”
“Master Maur commanded me to feed the prisoner,” she
said. “He wants him kept strong, to make him last longer.”
After some grumbling about interruptions, the new
torture master set down his implements and moved aside.
Melliandra pushed her cart towards the table. She ..icked
a quick, searching glance around the room, noting the three
guards who stood in the corners of the stone chamber,
barbed sel’dor pikesta..s in hand. Four armed men. Worse
than she’d hoped for.
“He can’t eat like that.” She gestured to the sel’dor straps
that kept the Fey immobilized on the table. “He needs his
hands to feed himself.”
The torture master snorted. “I know what happened to
The torture master snorted. “I know what happened to
Goram, and I’ve heard all the tales about how Lord Death
can gut a man with his little ..nger. Feed him yourself.
Because he stays where he lies, bound and strapped.”
Melliandra ground her teeth. There was no way even
Lord Death could defeat four armed men while restrained
so securely he could barely move a ..nger.
“I’m not putting my ..ngers in his mouth. He’d bite them
o.. for sure! Just one hand,” she pressed. “Surely between
the four of you, you could skewer him if he so much as
twitches.” When they still didn’t budge, she o..ered a bribe
few umagi could resist. “I’ll bring you all hot stew from the
Mage Hall kitchens for a week.”
That did the trick. With a muttered oath, the torture
master unhooked a ring of keys from his belt and tossed
them to one of the guards. “Left arm only. The rest of you,
look sharp. If he moves, spit him like a roast pig.” He
narrowed his eyes at Melliandra. “I like extra meat in my
stew. Don’t forget.”
“Won’t,” she vowed.
Two of the guards held the barbed points of their pikes
pressed against the Fey’s throat while the third unlocked
the restraining straps at his left wrist and elbow and
jumped back. Melliandra watched their twitchy
nervousness with a curious mix of satisfaction and
trepidation. They feared him so much. She only hoped
Lord Death’s abilities lived up to his reputation.
The Fey ..exed his arm with slow deliberation, curling
The Fey ..exed his arm with slow deliberation, curling
and uncurling his ..ngers to return circulation, rotating his
wrist, elbow, and shoulder. All the while, his slitted green
gaze made careful note of the guards’ reactions and the
shifts in their location.
“Enough,” the torture master declared. “Feed him and be
done with it.”
With a curt bob of her head, Melliandra took one of the
bowls and approached the table. She held the congealing
porridge close enough that he could scoop it into his mouth
with his ..ngers. She knew the moment he touched the
crystal she’d put at the bottom of the bowl. With casual
deliberation, his eyes met hers. She glanced down at her
right arm, where the cu.. of her ragged sleeve gaped
beneath her skinny wrist, and lifted her hand just enough to
show him the redhandled blade sheathed at her wrist. His
breath caught for an instant, the response so faint she only
noticed because she was looking for a reaction. He’d seen
the distinctive name mark etched into the pommel. His
crystal, his blades. He’d nearly killed the High Mage last
time, even without them. This time, she prayed whatever
extra power his own weapons provided would give him
the edge he needed to succeed.
Lord Shan stu..ed the last of his porridge in his mouth,
then pretended to cough, as if he’d swallowed some of the
food the wrong way.
Torn between suspicion and alarm—the High Mage
would de..nitely not be pleased if his prized prisoner
escaped him by choking to death—the torture master took
escaped him by choking to death—the torture master took
a step towards him.
Lord Shan moved so fast his hand was a blur. One
moment he was gasping for breath, the next, a red-handled
dagger quivered in the torture master’s chest, one guard
collapsed across Lord Shan’s body, his mouth working
soundlessly as blood gushed from the gaping hole in his
throat, and the pike he’d been pointing at Lord Shan was
buried in the eyeball of the second guard. The third guard
died on the point of a second red-handled dagger gripped
in Melliandra’s ..st.
The thud of falling bodies and the clatter of the pikes
against the stone ..oor brought the guard outside the door
running in to investigate. He died before he took his second
step into the room, the dagger from the torture master’s
chest buried hilt deep in the newcomer’s throat.
Melliandra leapt across the room to drag the fallen guard
inside and close the door. “Well, I guess you really can gut
a man with your little ..nger.”
He ..ashed her a look so ..at and cold and full of death,
she knew he’d earned every awed and terri..ed word ever
spoken about him.
“That is the least of what I can do.”
“Lillis! Lorelle!” Ellysetta’s magic gathered, twisted into
agony as it battered helplessly against sel’dor bonds. The
scream ripped from her throat. “Noooo!”
The twins’ terror beat at her. “Ellie! Ellie, help us!”
The twins’ terror beat at her. “Ellie! Ellie, help us!”
“Stop it! Please, stop this!”
The High Mage stood unmoved by her tearful plea. “You
know how to stop it. The choice is entirely yours.”
Her ..ngers clutched the railing, yanking at it with
enough force to rattle the metal bars in their anchor holds.
Another magic rose. Cold and sweet, untouched by the
painful bane of sel’dor. She dared not grasp it, not even to
save her sisters. To save them now, with that magic, was to
doom them to a worse fate than death.
But as the sounds of the darrokken grew closer and the
screams of her sisters more frantic, Ellysetta knew she could
not just stand there and let them die either. She was not
some helpless victim. She was a Tairen Soul, a champion
of Light, a defender of the innocent. She was the daughter
of Shannisorran v’En Celay, Lord Death, the greatest Fey
warrior ever born. What would her father do? What would
Rain do?
They would ..ght.
And if they couldn’t ..ght with magic, they would ..nd
some other way.
In a move so fast she shocked even herself, Ellysetta
lunged backward and struck out with both hands, using her
sel’dor manacles to deliver crushing blows to the
windpipes of the guards holding her chains. They doubled
over in pain, gasping for air, and dropped her chains. She
caught the trailing ends with a quick ..ip of her arms and
spun towards the High Mage.
spun towards the High Mage.
His hands were raised. Something stung her on the chest
and neck. She managed two more rushing steps in his
direction before the world went black.
Using the keys to the table restraints Melliandra found on
the body of the dead torture master, she freed Lord Shan
from his bonds. Once she was done, he took his dark red
crystal in one hand and clenched his jaw brie..y as green
magic glowed around his ..st. When he opened his hand,
his crystal was set in a silvery chain, which he fastened
around his neck.
“My mate? Elfeya?”
“In the next room. To the right of this one. Here.” She
tugged the tunic over her head to reveal the cache of
gleaming Fey steel daggers set in their leather sheaths and
harness straps slung across her chest. “You’ll want these.”
Quickly, she pulled the belts free and handed them over.
He was o.. the table, reaching for the weapons. “My
swords?”
“I had to leave them hidden. They were too bulky. But I
brought you the sheaths. Wait!” She grabbed the blue robes
she’d stolen from the Mage Halls, but he was already out
the door, dagger belts slung crisscrossed over his naked
chest, sword belts in hand.
She ran after him and nearly tripped over the body of a
guard who must have come from the adjacent room to
investigate. Melliandra muttered a curse, dragged the dead
investigate. Melliandra muttered a curse, dragged the dead
guard inside the torture chamber with the others, and
thanked the Dark Lord that this part of Boura Fell wasn’t
frequented as much as others. The idiot Fey was going to
ruin everything if he left a trail of corpses in his wake. The
alarm would sound, and he’d never get near the High
Mage.
She ran into the other chamber, intending to upbraid him
for his carelessness, only to stop in her tracks. Lord Death
had slaughtered the remaining Eld with an impressively
tidy ..nesse. Three bodies lay crumpled on the ground, a
single, neat little wound in each guard’s chest or throat the
only sign of violence. That wasn’t what robbed her limbs of
the ability to move. It was the sight of Lord Death and his
mate—or, rather, it was the look on Lord Death’s face as he
helped his mate from the restraining table and ran shaking
hands over her hair, and the radiant glow on her face as she
gazed up at him… as if simply standing in each other’s
presence had ..ung open the gates of some unimaginable
paradise and enveloped them both in a world of warmth
and joy. That look struck Melliandra like a hard blow, and
her eyes began to burn like they had the time the ..ue in
the umagi den got blocked and ..lled the room with smoke.
She averted her eyes and cleared her throat to ease its
aching tightness.
“You promised you would kill the High Mage.” She
interrupted in a raspy voice, as much to break them apart
as to remind Lord Death of his vow. “You agreed that if I
freed you, you would kill him.”
freed you, you would kill him.”
Lord Death lifted his mate’s hands to his mouth, but
when he turned to Melliandra she was relieved to see that
his expression was once more cold and dangerous. “So I
did.”
Releasing his hand, Lord Death’s mate went to the nearby
table laid out with the torturer’s implements. She took a
pair of stubby metal clippers the torture masters used to
cut through ..ngers and toes and began snipping away the
sel’dor hoops piercing her ears. Metal clinked against stone
as she pulled each hoop free and tossed it to the ground.
“Well? Will you honor your promise?” Melliandra
insisted.
“I honor all my oaths.” Lord Death knelt beside one of
the fallen guards and laid a hand on his leather armor.
Green light began to glow around his hands and spun out
to encompass the fallen guard. The guard’s armor
disappeared and re-formed on Lord Death’s body as sleek,
dark leather the color of spilled blood. He spoke a word
and the swords she’d left hidden in that empty room
materialized in their sheaths. His crystal gleamed like a
dark prism on his chest. He rose to his full height—looking
every bit the deadly Fey warrior of legend—and went to
his mate, who had ..nished with the hoops at her ears and
was slowly peeling back the metal bands around her upper
arms, freeing herself from the hundreds of sharp,
needlelike teeth sunk into her ..esh. His hands gripped her
bare shoulders, and he touched his mouth to her temple.
Her eyes closed, and she leaned back against him but only
Her eyes closed, and she leaned back against him but only
for a moment. When her eyes opened again, her expression
was as cold and resolute as his.
“Vadim Maur has our daughter,” Lord Death said. He met
Melliandra’s eyes. “He dies today, or we do.”
When Ellysetta woke again, she was lying on a stone ..oor.
Her head was pounding, and just opening her eyes seemed
too monumental a task. She shifted, trying to lift a hand to
her head. Chains rattled and dragged across stone.
“That did not go at all the way you dreamed, did it?”
Despite the e..ort involved, Ellysetta forced her eyes
open. She was lying in a dark room. A single lamp,
suspended over her head, cast a circle of light around her.
Vadim Maur sat on a stool at the perimeter of the light’s
circle, watching her with his cold silver eyes.
“It seemed like such a perfect plan. The dream was so
vivid and you feared it so greatly, I thought you actually
might succumb.” He shook his head. “This next part,
however, might still do the trick. Lorelle, my pet, give us a
little light, will you? “
“What?” Ellysetta sat up straight.
Confusion and dawning horror her as a sweet, voice
replied, “Yes, Master Maur,” and a ..icker of Fire lit a pair
of candle lamps held in the hands of Lillis and Lorelle.
The twins stood behind Vadim Maur, dressed neatly in
black velvet gowns, their curls brushed and tied back in
black velvet gowns, their curls brushed and tied back in
black bows. Their eyes were pure black to match, and
sparkling with dark red lights.
“Nei,” Ellysetta choked. Oh, gods! Not this. Not her
sweet, beautiful, innocent sisters. “Lillis. Lorelle. Nei.”
“You know,” the Mage said conversationally, “it came as
quite a surprise to discover that your Celierian sisters both
possess strong magical gifts, including quite a signi..cant
talent in Azrahn. It certainly made them easier to claim
—once my new torture master persuaded them to accept
the ..rst Mark. Of course, their magic doesn’t hold a candle
to yours, but they’ll be quite useful, nonetheless.” His cold
silver eyes watched her closely. “Gifted female breeders are
not as easy to come by as you might think.”
She lunged for him, teeth bared, no thought in her mind
but to rip him into bloody bits with her bare hands. Her
chains were no longer held by guards. They were bolted to
the stone ..oor, with no give. The collar around her throat
ran out of slack ..rst. Momentum made her ..y o.. her feet.
She landed hard on her back, choking for breath and
tugging to loosen the collar around her neck that
threatened to strangle her.
“There isn’t a Hell hot enough for you,” she snarled when
she could speak. “You’d best kill me now, because if you
don’t, I swear by all the gods you will die by my hand.”
He laughed with genuine humor. “I worked centuries
creating you and expended countless resources getting you
back. Are you really so foolish as to think I would throw all
back. Are you really so foolish as to think I would throw all
that away by killing you?” He shook his head. “No, I won’t
kill you, Ellysetta.” He gestured to the guard behind her,
who immediately grabbed her head in a viselike grip. The
Mage stepped closer, ran a hand down one side of her face
in a disturbingly gentle caress. “You know what I want. You
can surrender now, without pain, or you and everyone you
love will su..er until you do. And when I say su..er, I mean
you and your loved ones will crawl on your knees and beg
me for death. But I won’t give it to you, Ellysetta. I intend
to keep you alive for a very, very long time.”
She jerked her head back to avoid the poison of his
touch and tried to snap at him with her teeth, but the
guards held her too tight. In the end, words were her only
weapon. “My parents survived a thousand years of your
torture. All I have to do is to survive long enough for you to
make a mistake. And when you do, I will destroy you.”
“You forget one thing, my dear.” He ran a thumb across
her lower lip. “For every one of those thousand years, your
parents had each other. You, however, are all alone. Or
soon will be.” On that cryptic note, he turned, and said
politely, “Lorelle, my sweet, give us more light.”
Lorelle’s Fire magic spun out, and half a dozen sconces
along the walls ..ared to light.
Ellysetta’s heart slammed against her chest.
On the other side of the room, his naked body heavily
manacled and chained to the wall, was Rain. A stocky brute
of a fellow stood beside him, next to a table loaded with
of a fellow stood beside him, next to a table loaded with
torturers’ implements, and as the brute stepped into the
light, Ellysetta’s jaw dropped.
“Den Brodson?”
“Hello, Ellie.”
Ellysetta stared in disbelief at Den Brodson, the son of a
Celierian butcher who had, at one time, been Ellysetta’s
(wholly despised) betrothed. The months had not treated
him kindly. He was a young man, but his hair, greasy and
unkempt, was now liberally streaked with gray, and there
were deep grooves along the sides of his mouth and bags
under his blue eyes. His ruddy complexion had faded to a
sickly olive gray. His stocky build had softened to doughy
..eshiness.
“Oh, Den… what have you done?” There was only one
reason he would be here. He had sold his soul to the
Mages. She shook her head in horror. As much as she’d
always despised him, Ellysetta wouldn’t wish Mageclaiming
on her worst enemy.
“Young Brodson has been surprisingly useful for a mortal
peasant,” the High Mage informed her. “If not for him, my
chemar might never have found their way to Teleon—and
on to Dharsa. And he was quite adept at ..nding your sisters
in Dharsa and bringing them back to me.”
“You monstrous bogrot,” she breathed. He’d always been
a hateful bullyboy, but she’d never realized he could be
such a ..end.
“You were supposed to be mine, Ellie Baristani!” he spat.
“You were supposed to be mine, Ellie Baristani!” he spat.
“You bore my Mark! Your family signed the papers! You
were mine!”
“I was never yours, Den,” she shot back, “and I never
would have been! How could you think I would ever give
the smallest part of myself to a foul Shadow snake like
you?”
Blue eyes, surrounded by stubby black lashes, narrowed
with sudden, glittering malice. “Well, you won’t be the
Tairen Soul’s either, Ellie Baristani. At least not for much
longer.” He looked to the High Mage. “Master?”
Vadim Maur nodded. “You may begin, umagi.”
“Wait,” Melliandra said as Lord Shan started for the door.
“You’ve been here a thousand years, but you don’t know
Boura Fell. If you stumble around blindly, you’ll just get
yourself killed or captured again.”
“Do you know where he’s got our daughter?”
“I know where he’s got the Tairen Soul—I heard rumors
in the kitchens. If he’s still there, your daughter will most
likely be nearby. If she’s not, I know of a few other places
to check.”
“Then tell me quickly,” Shan said.
Melliandra started to tell him but then stopped. There
was too much he needed to know—and he needed all of it
to ensure his best chances of success.
“That will take too long. It’s better if I show you.” It took
“That will take too long. It’s better if I show you.” It took
a lot for her to make that o..er. All her life, she’d lived in a
body that was not her own, possessed a mind that was
invaded at will. She’d been abused, both physically and
mentally, again and again. As one who had spent her life
powerless, she never willingly gave of herself without
expecting some personal bene..t in return. And she
de..nitely never deliberately made herself vulnerable—not
to anyone. Until now.
She lifted his hands to her face and opened her mind,
o..ering him access to the part of her mind not even Vadim
Maur could enter. “The information you need is here in my
mind. Take it.” When he didn’t immediately take her up on
her o..er, she snapped, “Quickly, before I change my mind.
”
He gave her a deep, searching glance, then nodded and
said, “Beylah vo, ajiana.” The way he said it felt almost like
a kiss pressed against her cheek. “And forgive me, this may
be uncomfortable.”
She gasped softly as Lord Death dove into her mind.
She suspected he was being as gentle as he could, but she
could feel him inside her head, briskly ri..ing through her
thoughts, siphoning o.. the information he needed. Her
heart thumped painfully in her chest, and her breathing
turned ragged, fearing that he would look beyond the
thoughts she’d pushed to the front of her mind to the other
thoughts… the thoughts of Shia and her son. But he did not
trespass. He took only what he needed and no more. Then
her mind was her own once more.
her mind was her own once more.
“This will do,” he said. “This will more than do. You
have a good eye.”
The compliment made her ..ush with pleasure. “Go,” she
ordered brusquely, to hide her reaction. “You don’t have
much time.”
“Then come with us,” Shan said. “We’ll see you to safety
once we kill the Mage.”
“I can’t. I’ve got things of my own to tend to.”
Shan nodded in understanding. “Good luck, kaidina,” he
said. “I know you think the Fey would kill you, but you
will always ..nd welcome in the House of Celay.”
The woman, his mate, reached for Melliandra’s hands.
“Miora felah, ajiana. Blessings of the Fey upon you, child,
and may the gods grant you more joy than you ever
thought possible.”
The soft words were accompanied by a rush of warmth
so strong, and a feeling of such… such… Melliandra had no
words to describe it. The closest she could compare it to
was the dizzying pleasure when she’d called her magic that
time in the refuse shaft. It was like freedom and Shia’s
smile and sunlight and blue skies all wrapped up in a
single moment that made her want to laugh and cry all at
once. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around
herself to hold the feeling to her for as long as she could.
When she opened her eyes again, Lord Death and his
mate were gone.
Chained to the walls of a lightless cell in the bowels of
Boura Fell, Bel, Gaelen, and the rest of Ellysetta’s quintet
awaited their turn in the torture masters’ untender care.
Since waking from their drugged sleep, gods knew how
many bells ago, the screams of their blade brothers had not
stopped. Those screams had been growing steadily louder,
as the torture masters of Eld worked their way down the
line of new prisoners.
A few chimes ago, however, the screams had fallen
mysteriously silent.
“Do you think the torture masters have tired themselves
out?” Gaelen pondered with black humor.
“More likely, we’re next, and they’ve just gone to
sharpen their blades,” Tajik said.
Locked up in the room with them, Farel gave a grunting
laugh of amusement. “Could be. They’ve been using them
enough.”
“You know,” Gil announced, “as rescues go, I have to say,
this one pretty much scorches rultshart turds.”
About a man length from the source of Gil’s voice came
Rijonn’s rumbling agreement. “Tairen turds.”
“I told you,” Gaelen said, “I had backups. I don’t know
what happened to them.”
A metallic scraping sound came from the direction of the
door, and they all fell silent. The scraping sound was
followed by the distinctive click of the latch lifting free.
The door swung inward, and a sliver of light—the ..rst in
The door swung inward, and a sliver of light—the ..rst in
bells—spilled into the cell, widening rapidly as the door
opened more fully. Two armored silhouettes stood in the
doorway.
“Well, aren’t you a sorry sight,” a familiar Fey voice
drawled.
“Kieran?” Gaelen sat up straight. There wasn’t much in
life that could surprise him, but the appearance of Kieran
vel Solande in the heart of Boura Fell de..nitely did. “What
are you doing here? “
“Apparently, uncle, I’m saving you from a very nasty
demise, though gods know, I’m sure it won’t take me long
to regret it.”
Gaelen grinned, too pleased to take o..ense at his
nephew’s cheek.
“Well, it took you long enough,” Bel groused, holding up
his hands as Kiel ran over with a key to unlock his sel’dor
manacles. “I was starting to get worried.”
Gaelen turned on Bel in disbelief. “You knew they were
coming? “
Bel arched a brow. “You think the High Mage is the only
one who plans backups for his backups?” Rijonn laughed,
slow and deep.
Bel jumped to his feet, rubbing his wrists where the
sel’dor piercings had chafed. “All right, kem’jetos. First we
save Rain and Ellysetta, then we kick some Elden ass.”
* * *
«This way, shei’tani.»
Shrouded in blue Primage robes and guided by the
information Shan had retrieved from the umagi girl’s mind,
Shan and Elfeya made their way as quickly as they dared
through the dark maze of Boura Fell. From the observation
chambers, they had ascended several levels and crossed a
wide common area ..lled with scores of Mages in green,
red, and Primage blue. Though it cost Shan a great deal to
keep his steel sheathed, they navigated that lyrant nest
without incident and slipped down a hallway to the more
private area they were in now. As they approached the
intersection of two wide corridors, their steps slowed.
«The girl’s map says there will be guards up ahead,»
Shan said. «At least six of them.»
The plucky little umagi girl had given Shan more than a
simple map of the fortress and the path to the place Vadim
Maur was holding their daughter. She’d given him all the
details about all the rooms and wards and guard postings
along the way, and identi..ed spots where they would have
to exercise extreme caution to avoid being caught.
«Let me check,» Elfeya replied, and with a skill unaltered
by centuries of con..nement, she sent her empathic senses
whispering out ahead of them. The tendrils of awareness
curved around the blind corners and streamed, undetected,
down the hallways, pale threads of invisible golden light,
imperceptible to all but the strongest of senses. Swiftly, she
veri..ed the location and number of the guards.
veri..ed the location and number of the guards.
«Four to the left, two to the right,» she con..rmed.
«I’ll have to take them all,» he replied grimly. «If even
one of them raises the alarm, we won’t make it.» Their
path lay to the left, up a ..ight of stairs to a heavily
guarded, private level of the fortress restricted solely to
Vadim Maur and a select few Primages.
A ..ash of awareness made Elfeya’s senses tingle. «Someone’s
coming!» The tingle darkened to discomfort, then
outright pain. Her breath seized in her throat as she
recognized the feeling. «Dahl’reisen, Shan.»
«Quickly,» he said, «into this room.» He turned abruptly
towards a door on the left and reached for the sel’dor
handle. The door was locked but unwarded. Ignoring the
sear of pain, Shan sent his senses into the keyhole,
examined the locking mechanism, then pulled a black
Fey’cha from his harness. A quick weave of Earth drew the
Fey’cha’s tip into a shape that would release the lock.
He thrust the key-blade into the lock and turned just as
Elfeya cried, «He’s here.»
The door opened. He thrust Elfeya inside and glanced
over his shoulder as he followed her inside. The corridor
was empty. But Elfeya’s pain was real. Shan had long ago
learned to trust his mate’s senses, even above his own. The
dahl’reisen was there. Fey eyes could not see him, but he
was there.
As the door swung closed, Shan’s own warrior senses
..ared to abrupt life, as certain and infallible as Elfeya’s
..ared to abrupt life, as certain and infallible as Elfeya’s
empathy. He dodged left just as a red Fey’cha whirred past
the spot his head had been.
The door shut. Another blade thunked deep into the
sel’dor-braced wood. The ..rst red blade, which had sunk
into the far wall of the room, disappeared as the
dahl’reisen spoke his return word.
«Scorch it. We must have given ourselves away.» Shan
shed his Primage robes and reached for his black Fey’cha as
he scanned the room for a position of safety and attack.
There was a table in the center of the room. Elfeya was
already racing to take shelter behind it before he spun the
weave to ..ip it on its side.
Shan went high, racing up the wall and launching across
the ceiling on an Air-powered leap, just as the door
opened. His senses merged with Elfeya’s, and he used her
empathy to pinpoint the enemy he could not see. Black
Fey’cha ..ew with unerring aim and blurring speed. The
dahl’reisen grunted. Shan dropped to the ..oor, as magic
spun from Elfeya’s ..ngertips, wrapping the still-invisible
dahl’reisen tight in bands of power.
Shan thrust his hands into the center of Elfeya’s net, and
sparks ..ew where his sel’dor bands touched the
dahl’reisen’s invisibility weave. He caught a brief glimpse
of a pale scarred face and a mouth opening—no doubt to
shout the alarm. His ..ngers closed around the dahl’reisen’s
throat, squeezing tight and cutting o.. his cry.
“I can’t kill you, dahl’reisen rultshart,” he hissed, “but I
“I can’t kill you, dahl’reisen rultshart,” he hissed, “but I
can make you wish I would.”
“That would be a shame, kem’chatok, since he came to
save you.”
Shan’s spine went straight as a board, and he spun
around, Fey’cha ..ying from their sheaths into his hands.
“Vel Serranis,” he snarled, and he let ..y his blades.

CHAPTER TWENTY
Come ..y with me my love
Spread your wings with glee
Into the skies above
Together we will ..y free
Come ..y with me my mate
The one that ..lls my heart
Together passion we will sate
And never will we part
Flight of the Tairen Lovers,
a poem by Rainier v’En Daris, Tairen Soul
Shan’s most infamous chadin dodged and de..ected with a
skill that would do any chatok proud, but he still didn’t
manage to escape all of Shan’s blades. One Fey’cha caught
him in the shoulder and one in the back of the right thigh
as he spun away, before a cry on the vel Celay family path
brought Shan up short.
«Parei, Shan! Parei! Gaelen and Farel are friends.»
“Tajik?” Elfeya rose from behind the overturned table,
whispering her brother’s name.
«Elfeya, get down!» Fearing a trap, Shan thrust the
dahl’reisen away from him and backed towards his mate,
dahl’reisen away from him and backed towards his mate,
blades drawn. He’d never betrayed the vel Celay family
path—at least not that he remembered—and he didn’t
think Elfeya had either. But after a thousand years of
torture, anything was possible.
And yet, there he was, Tajik vel Sibboreh, Elfeya’s
youngest brother, appearing inside the room as he shed his
invisibility weave. He looked older—much harder and
world-worn—than Shan remembered him, but he was still,
unmistakably Tajik. Blue-eyed, ..re-haired, and staring at
his sister like she was the sun and he was a man who’d
spent a lifetime in darkness.
Elfeya’s empathic senses could never have been fooled by
an imposter posing as her brother, so when she abandoned
all caution and ran around the table to throw herself into
Tajik’s arms, Shan knew his eyes must be seeing true.
“Tajik!” Wrapping her arms around her brother’s neck,
Elfeya wept and laughed in a show of joy too great to be
contained. “You are here. It’s really you.”
Tajik’s arms tightened around her. “I thought you were
dead,” he told her. “I would have ripped Eld apart to ..nd
you if I’d known you were still alive. Sieks’ta. Forgive me
for not coming sooner. I didn’t know. I came as soon as I
could.”
“Las, las, kem’jeto. Ssh.” She stroked his hair and kissed
him, then drew back to cup his face between her hands.
“There is nothing to forgive. I am here, and you are here,
and we are together once more. Today, the gods are kind,
and we are together once more. Today, the gods are kind,
and my heart is full of joy.”
“I don’t understand.” Shan looked around the room in
confusion. He was beginning to think the madness that had
haunted him all these centuries had taken fresh root in his
brain. Three more Fey had appeared inside the room. Two
of them were very distinctive Fey he recognized and
remembered. Like Tajik and vel Serranis, Gillandaris vel
Sendar and Rijonn vel Ahriman had been his chadins at the
Warriors’ Academy in Tehlas. The third warrior, a Fey with
black hair and cobalt eyes, he did not know. Nor did he
recognize the two young, unshadowed warriors shrouded in
Mage robes who slipped in after the others and closed the
door behind them.
After spending the last thousand years in solitary
con..nement, the sudden appearance of so many Fey—and
so many familiar faces—left Shan feeling overwhelmed.
And the fact that these Fey could all be standing there,
without a shred of concern for the dahl’reisen among them,
confused and stunned him. He shook his head, trying to still
all the thoughts and questions whirling about in his mind,
and ..xed his gaze on Gaelen vel Serranis.
“You were dahl’reisen,” he said bluntly. “Why aren’t you
still? And why are Fey warriors keeping company with
dahl’reisen?”
A ghost of a smile played about Gaelen’s mouth. “You
always were direct, kem’chatok.” He gestured to the
Fey’cha still embedded in his shoulder and thigh. “Do you
mind?”
mind?”
Shan spoke his return word, and the blades he’d sunk
into both Gaelen and the dahl’reisen returned to their
sheaths.
“Ve ku’jian vallar, Gaelen,” Elfeya said. Allow me to help
you. Withdrawing gently from her brother’s embrace, she
crossed the room to vel Serranis’s side and laid glowing
hands upon his wounds.
“Beylah vo, Elfeya-falla,” Gaelen said, as the torn blood
vessels and ..esh knit back together.
Elfeya glanced uncertainly at the dahl’reisen, who had
already spun an Earth weave to staunch his wounds and
seal the torn ..esh until his body’s natural healing
properties could repair the damage.
The dahl’reisen cleared his throat, and said, “I’ll go scout
the rest of the hall. Forgive me, ki’falla’sheisan, for causing
you pain.” He bowed to her with grave respect before
cloaking himself in the best invisibility weave Shan had
ever seen. The chamber door opened and closed to mark
his departure.
When he was gone, Shan ordered Gaelen to spin a
privacy weave on the room and ..xed a stern eye on the
remaining warriors. “All right, Fey,” he declared in a voice
that had commanded armies and snapped countless unruly
chadins to order. “I want answers. How is it that Gaelen vel
Serranis is dahl’reisen no more… and why are Fey warriors
keeping company with a Shadowed blade?”
Explanations tumbled out from several of them at once.
Explanations tumbled out from several of them at once.
Time was short, so Shan just let his mind process the
overlapping voices, separating and interpreting the
individual inputs instantly in his mind—much the way he
processed the overload of chaotic information on a
battle..eld.
“So let me get this straight,” he said when they were
done. “Our daughter restored vel Serranis’s soul. Her mate
has allowed dahl’reisen to bloodswear themselves to her.
And you ..ve”—he gestured to all but the two youngest
Fey—“are her bloodsworn quintet, who accompanied her
to Boura Fell to rescue Elfeya and me and our daughter’s
young Celierian sisters. Is that correct? “
Heads nodded, but he could see the four who knew him
growing wary at his calm tone. It was a good thing he’d
insisted on a privacy weave around the room.
“Then I have only two other questions for you ..ne
warriors of the Fey.” Shan straightened to his full height,
squared his shoulders and drew a deep breath that
expanded his chest. “What the scorching ..ames of the
Seven Hells do you think you were doing letting her come
here? “ he roared. “And how the ..aming Hells is it that
you’re standing here, still breathing, while my daughter
—the woman you swore your souls to protect with your
lives—is in the hands of Vadim Maur, the evilest ja..ng son
of an Elden rultshart ever to be born?”
“That last part’s not their fault,” said the young, brownhaired
Fey named Kieran. “The Eld knocked them out
when they arrived. The High Mage must have used his
when they arrived. The High Mage must have used his
connection to Ellysetta to—“
Shan pierced him with a glare as sharp as a blade. “The
questions, vel Solande, were rhetorical.”
Kieran snapped his mouth shut.
Shan turned his focus back to his daughter’s quintet. “If
we survive this, each one of you ..ve owes me a year’s time
on the training ..eld. I suggest you come prepared for pain.
”
Expelling an agitated breath, Shan pivoted on his heel
and forced himself to channel his anger, focusing it into
grim determination. “For now, however, the only thing that
matters is getting our daughter out of this place. Elfeya, can
you stand the dahl’reisen’s presence a while longer?”
“Aiyah. The dahl’reisen’s pain was terrible, but bearable.
I think the old saying is true: That which does not kill you,
does makes you stronger.” She met Shan’s eyes in a
moment of communion. «I could not have stood in his
presence before these centuries in Boura Fell. But now, I
think I could even heal him if he were in need.»
He nodded. He and pain were old friends. And one of
that old friend’s harshest but truest lessons was that
su..ering bred strength.
“All right,” he said. “Did you Fey have a plan, or should
we adjust ours?”
The seven warriors shared silent looks amongst
themselves.
“Lord Shan,” Gaelen said, “you and Elfeya-falla should
“Lord Shan,” Gaelen said, “you and Elfeya-falla should
get to safety. There is a gateway to the Well of Souls on the
level above this one, and it’s under Fey control. Go there,
and get out of this place. We will ..nd Ellysetta and Rain
and bring them home.”
Shan exchanged a look with Elfeya. Both their
expressions turned to stone. “If you think we are leaving
this place without our daughter, vel Serranis,” Shan said,
“you are greatly mistaken. We have a good idea of where
she’s being kept. We know all the possible routes we could
take and how many guards and wards to expect along the
way. You can come with us if you like, but we are going to
get our child.” Shan’s voice dropped to a lethal growl. “And
just so we’re clear, the High Mage is mine to kill.”
“Well,” Gil said, slapping his hands on his thighs, “I’m
glad that’s settled. Can we get on with the slaughter?”
“Look how your mate is su..ering, Ellysetta.” Vadim Maur
crouched beside her and grabbed her hair, forcing her to
head in Rain’s direction. “Look at him!” he barked.
His icy voiced throbbed with compulsion, and no matter
how hard she tried to defy him and keep her eyes averted,
she could not.
Rain was displayed, spread-eagled, on a wooden form
shaped like two overlapping crescent moons, his body held
in place by a series of sel’dor stakes that Den Brodson had
hammered through his limbs with grim relish. Every
handspan of his once-shining white skin bore signs of
handspan of his once-shining white skin bore signs of
brutal abuse. Strips of ..esh ..ayed from his bones. Blistered
black char where red-hot brands had scorched deep.
Countless sel’dor barbs jabbed into his skin and left to
fester. Bones broken. Fingers severed.
She’d felt each moment of Rain’s torment, each scream,
each breathless gasp of stunning pain, just as he’d felt each
moment of her helpless horror.
She’d tried to stay strong. She knew her presence—her
empathic sharing of his pain—was as deliberate a part of
his torture as Den’s foul deeds. But she had not been able to
stop herself from screaming any more than Rain had. She’d
not been able to stop herself from weeping, from begging.
Through it all, Rain had been there in her mind, telling
her to stay strong, to be brave, not to give in. As if she, not
he, were the one whose body was being shattered and
maimed.
“You are a monster,” she told Vadim Maur.
“I am a Mage,” he countered. “And you can end this
anytime you like. You know how. I will get what I want,
one way or another. But how many of your loved ones die
before that happens—how long they must writhe in agony
—is entirely up to you.”
Her breath caught on a hiccuping sob.
“I ask you again, Ellysetta Baristani: Accept my Mark.”
He gripped her head between his icy hands, and the
oppressive weight of his Dark magic closed around her,
trapping her, squeezing her soul in a vise.
trapping her, squeezing her soul in a vise.
“If you refuse me, your mate will die. When I am done
with him, I will put his body on display in the Mage Halls
and I will leave it there to rot. The great Rain Tairen Soul,
Worldscorcher, Destroyer of Eld, food for maggots and
rotworms.” Then his voice softened, became kind. “But if
you submit to me, I will let you heal him. He will live. You
can be with him. You can hold him in your arms. Take him
into your body.”
The pressure of his will receded. Her mind ..lled with
feelings of warmth and love. She could almost smell the
fresh bloom of spring on the air, the intoxicating scent of
Rain’s skin. She could almost feel his hands stroking across
her body, hear her gasp as pleasure washed over her in
waves.
Just as she began to reach for the sweet seduction of the
dream, the Mage snatched it away. “But you can have that
only when you give me what I want.”
«Nei, shei’tani.» Rain’s voice whispered on a ragged
thread of Spirit. «Never. You mustn’t. Not for me…not for
anyone…» Each syllable throbbed with pain.
“Every word you speak is a lie, Mage,” she rasped.
“You’ll never let him live. And even if you did, he’d rather
die than see me surrender my soul.”
“Perhaps, but can you bear to watch it? Can you let him
die?” The Mage barked a command to Den, “Do it.”
“Nei!” Ellysetta screamed as Den pulled Rain’s head back
and slashed a blade across his throat. Rain’s blood
and slashed a blade across his throat. Rain’s blood
fountained in a scarlet mist.
On the pretext of serving food, Melliandra entered the level
where Vadim Maur kept the magically gifted female
prisoners he used in his breeding program. If Lord Death
was successful, the High Mage would soon be dead.
Melliandra intended to wait for that moment here, close to
the warded corridor that led to the nursery where the Mage
kept his program’s most promising o..spring.
Moving as slowly as possible, she pushed her kitchen cart
from cell to cell, opening them with the key the captain of
the guard on this level had given to her. He was supposed
to walk with her from room to room and watch her as she
fed the female prisoners, but she always snuck him a treat
from the kitchens and left him to eat it while she made her
rounds.
When she reached the cell of the black-eyed shei’dalin
she’d dragged with her weeks ago to save the life of Lord
Death’s mate, her nerves were strung tight. The anxiety
must have made her careless, because the shei’dalin
stopped her at the door. “Sha de dai?“
“Is it time?” Melliandra repeated. “Time for what?”
“Dai ve heber eva bebahs.” She signed the words as she
spoke them, poking a ..nger at Melliandra, rocking her
arms in front of her body as if cradling a baby in arms,
then walking her ..ngers. She looked intently at Melliandra,
and said, “Ke am.” I know.
and said, “Ke am.” I know.
Melliandra felt her heart drop into her stomach. The
shei’dalin knew what she was planning. Somehow,
Melliandra had given her secret away. She cursed silently
and berated herself for the questions she’d asked the other
women—questions about how to tend babies. This
shei’dalin must have overheard and realized what she was
planning.
Determined to brazen it out, Melliandra snorted and said,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turned away
and reached for the door handle.
T h e shei’dalin caught Melliandra’s arm. “Teska. Ve
ku’jian valir eva vo.” She pressed her lips together and
tried broken Elden. “You… me… go… eva bebahs.” She
rocked her cradled arms again.
“Are you saying you want me to take you with me?”
“Aiyah!“
Melliandra held up her hands. “No. I’m not going
anywhere, but even if I were, I wouldn’t take you with me.
No. No!” She pushed the shei’dalin’s hand o.. her arm.
“You’re mistaken. Wrong. Neida. Do you understand? Ve
sha neida.”
“Teska!” Though it must have hurt her terribly, the
shei’dalin spun a Spirit weave showing Melliandra with a
screaming baby, a sick baby, a hungry baby. Melliandra all
alone, weeping beside a small mound of dirt. “Ke sha
shei’dalin. Ke shaverr vo’vallaren.” I’m a shei’dalin. I can
help you.
help you.
The images horri..ed Melliandra as much as the idea of
having a healer to help with Shia’s son appealed, but she
wouldn’t be swayed. “No,” she said again. “I’m not going
anywhere. I’m not taking you anywhere.” She turned to
leave. She had to get out of here.
“Wera!” Wait. “Teska, wera.”
The desperation in the shei’dalin’s voice made
Melliandra stop. The black-eyed shei’dalin had been
battered and raped for weeks on end, and never sounded so
frantic as she did now.
Against her better judgment, Melliandra stood by the
door and watched the shei’dalin kneel beside her bed. She
lifted the edge of the pallet and reached inside a slit cut
into the bottom of the pallet cover. A moment later she
pulled out a small, bruised ..ower… actually, it was the
whole ..ower plant: stem, leaves, roots as well as the
distinctive, six-petaled bell-shaped star..owers.
“De sha Amarynth. Ve am Amarynth?”
“Yes,” Melliandra said, staring at the ..ower. “I know
Amarynth.” She lifted her gaze to the shei’dalin with
dawning comprehension “Are you telling me you’re going
to have a baby?”
“Aiyah.” The woman’s expression crumpled, and for a
moment Melliandra thought she would break into tears, but
this Fey woman was made of sterner stu... She shook o..
the emotion and reached for Melliandra’s hand again.
“Teska. Ve bos’jian valir eva vo. Ku te kem’behba.” She laid
“Teska. Ve bos’jian valir eva vo. Ku te kem’behba.” She laid
a palm on her still-..at belly.
Melliandra closed her eyes. If there was one thing she
understood, it was the driving need to free an innocent
baby from this dark place. “All right. All right, you can
come.” She thrust her chin out. “But the chime you fall
behind, I leave you. Understand?”
The woman nodded, the black tangles of her hair falling
across her face. Tears glistened in her dark eyes. “Beylah
vo. Beylah vo. Sallan’meilissis a vo.”
“Yes, yes. I get it. You’re grateful. Now, stay here and
don’t say anything to anyone. I’ll come get you when it’s
time.” Melliandra turned back to the door. She’d been in
here so long, any watching guard would get suspicious.
“Ke sha Nicolene,” the shei’dalin said in a rush as
Melliandra reached for the handle. The shei’dalin pressed
her palm to her chest. “Nicolene. Ke sha Nicolene.”
“Your name is Nicolene.” She nodded and pointed to
Nicolene to indicate she understood.
“Te ve?” Nicolene asked. “Arast sha ver mana?” What is
your name?
Since the day Shia had gifted a worthless umagi with a
name, that umagi had never shared that name with another.
Until now.
“I am Melliandra.”
Ellysetta lunged towards Rain, shrieking and writhing like a
Ellysetta lunged towards Rain, shrieking and writhing like a
mad thing when her chains yanked her back. Her hands
clawed at the air. Her eyes ..amed as her tairen rose, deadly
..erce and furious.
She would kill Den and the Mage. She would shred them.
She would snap their bones and rip their still-living ..esh
from their bodies while they screamed and begged for
mercy.
Power gathered in a wild, savage rush—only to slam her
to the stone ..oor as her sel’dor bonds turned the fullness of
her Rage back against her. She lay there, dazed, lungs
wheezing, muscles convulsing as she struggled to stay
conscious.
The spray of Rain’s blood fell upon the faces of the
twins, and to her horror the pair of them opened their
mouths to catch the droplets on their tongues. Their frozen,
doll-like expressions changed. Blood-reddened lips curled
into macabre smiles.
Black-eyed and laughing in delight, the twins began to
dance in the shower of Rain’s blood just like the vision
from the most frightening dream she’d ever had. Only now
she knew it wasn’t their own evil that drove them. It was
the Mage’s. He was controlling them like human puppets,
watching her with his cold, merciless eyes as he did.
Rain’s glazing eyes met hers. His lips moved. Though
Den’s knife had cut clear to Rain’s spine, severing his
windpipe and making speech impossible, she read the
words on Rain’s lips. Ke vo san, shei’tani.
words on Rain’s lips. Ke vo san, shei’tani.
“Shei’tan,” she rasped in a broken whisper. “Stay with
me. Stay with me, Rain!”
She watched in horror as the light in Rain’s eyes began to
dim, and with it dimmed the silver luminescence of his
skin. With each drop of blood that ..owed from his throat,
more and more of his Light faded. His lashes ..uttered
closed.
Forgive me, shei’tani. I have failed you. The words
brushed across her mind, a whisper of regret sighed on the
faltering threads of their bond.
His hands, the hands that had caressed her a thousand
times, so broad, so strong, twitched weakly, then went
limp. His head fell forward onto his chest, and the long,
straight strands of his silky black hair hung down over his
face like a shroud.
“Nei, Rain. Nei! Stay with me, shei’tan!” Tears ..ooded
her eyes, blurring her vision. “Sterr eva ku!”
But she had fought enough death to recognize it. His soul
had slipped from his ..esh and was beginning its descent
into the Well. When he reached the Veil and passed
through it, no shei’dalin in the world would be able to heal
him. Not even her.
“Rain!” The scream ripped from her throat.
The Mage would not save him. Rain was more useful to
him dead than alive, because without Rain, it was only a
matter of time before she succumbed to the Mage’s sixth
Mark.
Mark.
But if she spun Azrahn to hold Rain’s soul to the Light,
the Mage would simply Mark her now.
Either way, the Mage would own her, body and soul.
And she would become the monster of Elvish prophecy.
Ellysetta Erimea, Seledorn’s Dark Star, the Light Eater,
Corrupter of Worlds.
“Can you let him die?” the Mage had asked.
As Rain’s soul fell deeper and deeper into the Well, and
the threads of their incomplete truemate bond stretched
thin, Ellysetta had her answer. No matter what fates lay in
the balance, no matter the cost to her soul or all the souls
in the world, when it came to Rain’s life, she was as
vulnerable as every other truemate who’d ever come before
her. Rain was her shei’tan, and she could not let him die.
Spurred by Fey instinct, the desperate, driving need to
save her mate, Ellysetta spun the only magic her sel’dor
bonds would let her weave and plunged into the Well of
Souls.
«Rain!» Riding an icy wave of pure Azrahn, she dove
after his fading Light.
“Hurry,” Shan urged as the dahl’reisen Farel spun Azrahn to
unravel the next layer of the wards securing the chamber
against intrusion.
Demonstrating a coordinated precision even Shan had to
admire, the bloodsworn dahl’reisen and Fey warriors made
quick work of dispatching the Elden guards and securing
quick work of dispatching the Elden guards and securing
the level without raising an alarm. While the dahl’reisen
and Shan worked to unravel the wards on this chamber
—the only one that had been warded and under heavy
guard—the other warriors checked the remaining rooms.
“Nothing,” Gaelen announced as they returned. “If they’re
here, they’re de..nitely in this room.”
«Better hurry,» Kiel called from his lookout post near the
stairs. «I hear shouting. I think our secret is out.»
Swift as a serpent, the High Mage struck. The cold
corruption of his magic pierced Ellysetta’s soul, its claws
sinking deep. His triumph lashed at her mind as his power
..ooded through her body. His penetrating evil began eating
like acid at the truemate threads tying her soul to Rain’s.
Chained to the stone ..oor of Boura Fell, Ellysetta’s body
thrashed. A howling roar—the cry of a dying tairen
—ripped from her throat. Her back arched, and her body
went sti.. as the ..rst bond thread connecting her to Rain
sundered.
“Got it!” Farel crowed. The wards securing the door fell
apart.
The chamber door shattered. An explosion of wood and
metal shrapnel ..ew to the opposite side of the room as the
Fey burst through. They took in the scene at a single glance:
Rain, gutted, garroted, and hanging from the twin crescents
Rain, gutted, garroted, and hanging from the twin crescents
like some macabre trophy, Ellysetta prone on the ..oor
with the High Mage crouched over her, Lillis and Lorelle
o.. to one side, and a stocky human standing by a table of
bloody torture instruments.
Kieran went left after the human. Kiel went right to get
the girls, using his body to shield Elfeya as she raced
towards Rain. The rest of them dove for Vadim Maur.
Maur’s eyes were pits of darkness. A dark aura
surrounded him and around the hand pressed over
Ellysetta’s heart.
“Maur!” Shan cried. “Get away from my daughter!”
Magic and Fey’cha ..ew as Shan, Farel, and the quintet
attacked. The Mage didn’t even have time to react before
Shan’s red Fey’cha plowed hilt deep into his chest. Six
more followed an instant later, and Shan’s meicha sliced
Maur’s head from his body.
On the far end of the room, Kieran exclaimed “You!” in
surprise as he recognized the blood-spattered human
responsible for Rain’s torture.
Den Brodson grabbed a pair of bloody knives and raised
them threateningly.
Kieran’s eyes narrowed. A cold, killing rage iced over his
Fey heart, sealing his compassion behind a thick layer of
frost.
“Little sausage, you’ve made your last mistake.” In the
blink of an eye, four black Fey’cha ..ew through the air,
sinking into Brodson’s body with enough force to send him
sinking into Brodson’s body with enough force to send him
careening back into the wall. A ..fth buried hilt deep in his
crotch. Kieran leapt across the distance and grabbed the
screaming Celierian by the throat.
“That was for the Feyreisa. This is for Rain.” He drove
another black Fey’cha into Brodson’s belly and ripped it
upwards, gutting him like a slaughtered pig. “And this…
this is for Lillis and Lorelle, you stinking pile of pig krekk.”
H is meicha swung, metal sparking as it scraped against
stone, and Den Brodson’s head ..ew from his shoulders.
“Maybe I shouldn’t admit it, but that felt scorching good!”
Kieran turned to see how his blade brothers had fared, and
his satisfaction over dispatching Brodson to the Seventh
Hell turned to dust. “Krekk.”
Shannisorran v’En Celay held Ellysetta cradled against his
chest, her body limp, her head draped over his arm. Her
eyes were open but sightless. They had turned completely
black, looking like pits of endless darkness in the stark
whiteness of her face.
Gaelen knelt beside her. A spiral of Azrahn twirled in his
palm, but no shadow darkened the ..esh over Ellysetta’s
heart.
“I don’t understand,” Gaelen said. “We killed the Mage.
Her Marks are gone, just as the Elves said they would be.
She should be free.”
“Mages incarnate their souls into other bodies.” Shan
smoothed a hand over his daughter’s hair and looked up at
the lu’tan ringed around him. “He must have transferred
the lu’tan ringed around him. “He must have transferred
some part of his soul into hers before he died. That part of
him is inside her now, ..ghting for dominance. Elfeya says
her Light is failing.”
“What can we do?”
“Call to her. Help her hold to the Light. I’m going to give
what strength I can to Rain. If anyone can help her, he can.
”
* * *
Darkness surrounded Ellysetta like a su..ocating blanket.
The aching emptiness where Rain’s Light had lived inside
her was now a drowning abyss.
She could hear voices calling her name in the distance,
but the words did not penetrate the thick fog of despair.
She’d failed. She’d failed Rain. She’d failed her sisters. Her
parents. Steli. The pride. She’d failed the world.
“You thought we were so di..erent, you and I, but you
felt the Darkness awaken inside you. You tasted its power.
You liked it.” Twined around her, like a serpent wrapped
around its prey, the dark sentience of Vadim Maur taunted
her.
She wanted to block his voice from her mind, but she
could not. She wanted to deny his vile claims, but gods
help her, she could not do that either. He was right. There
was Darkness inside her. She’d been ..ghting to hide it, to
deny its existence all her life, but it was there. Not just the
power to enslave, to destroy, to dominate, but the desire to
power to enslave, to destroy, to dominate, but the desire to
do so. Control—the godlike power to shape the world, and
everyone in it, even against their will—that was the true,
irresistible seduction of Azrahn.
The Mage drew upon her fears, her moments of rage and
savagery, showing them to her, forcing her to relive them.
Reminding her of the terrible things she was capable of
doing—of the things she had done. Despair swamped her.
He was right.
«Nei, shei’tani,» Rain’s voice sounded in the Well, much
stronger than it had before. «Do not listen to him. You are
bright and shining. What you do, you do for love, to protect
the ones you love. That is not evil. And you are loved in
return, so very much. Can’t you hear them all calling? Can’t
you feel their love? They know who you are. They know
what you can do. And they love you, as I do.»
The mu..ed voices became clearer. She heard her
parents, calling to her. Her quintet. Kieran and Kiel.
Lorelle. Lillis was sobbing, and crying, «Mama said let love
be your guide, Ellie, not fear. Love, Ellie, not fear! All
magic comes from the gods.»
«Listen to them, shei’tani. Fight for them, for yourself.
Fight for me. Live for me, beloved. I thought my soul was
darkened beyond redemption, but you proved to me that
was not so. Let me do the same for you. Ver reisa ku’chae.
Kem surah, shei’tani. Remember what the Elf queen said.
You are leinah thaniel. You choose your fate. Choose me,
shei’tani. Love me enough to let go of your fear.»
shei’tani. Love me enough to let go of your fear.»
Once before, in Elvia, as she lay in Rain’s arms, she’d had
the strange feeling that Rain—even unarmed and unarmored—
was her living shield against the Dark. Not her
lu’tan, not Hawksheart’s Sentinel blooms, not Rain’s steel or
even the devastating power of his tairen ..ame. Rain,
himself.
Now she realized how right she’d been. He was her
armor. He was her Light. Just as she was his. With him by
her side, his soul joined with hers, no force in the heavens
or the earth or even the darkest depths of the Seven Hells
was stronger. With him, through him, she was the being the
Elves called her: Erimea, Hope’s Light, the power that
shone brightest when Darkness reached its peak.
The High Mage of Eld might have made her what she
was, but that did not mean she had to ful..ll his purpose.
Desperately, she reached for every ounce of power she
could summon—not just from the vast Source that welled
inside her, but from every loved one, every lu’tan, every
person with whom she shared a connection. She channeled
that power, not through the body chained in the physical
world but through her soul deep within the Well.
There was Darkness in her. She could not deny it. But
there was Darkness in Rain, too, and it didn’t make him
evil. It didn’t make him less worthy of love. All magic
comes from the gods.
She let the Light ..ll her and released her fear. For Rain’s
sake, she forced herself to face everything in her own soul,
sake, she forced herself to face everything in her own soul,
the gentleness of the shei’dalin, the savagery of the tairen,
the Light and the Darkness. She confronted it, accepted it.
And then she threw open her soul to Rain and let him in
without shame, without reservation, without fear. «I do
choose you, shei’tan. In this life and every life to come. Ver
reisa ku’chae. Kem surah, shei’tan.»
And the blazing strength that was Rain and his love,
..lled her, tearing through the shadows of her fear. She
heard the shrill cry as the darkness that was Vadim Maur
lost its grip on her soul.
The broken bond renewed, and with it came a new
thread, stronger than all the rest, a bond thread forged of
Azrahn and shei’dalin’s love, strength and gentleness,
plaited tight together, blazing with power and strength.
Their joined souls, Light and Dark, soared out of the
Well, and in the heart of Boura Fell, their bodies lit up like
candle lamps. Their friends and family stepped back as the
light grew brighter and brighter, su..using them with more
power than even a Fey body could contain. Their eyes
opened, blazing like stars.
«Go, friends. Free the others. Go quickly.»
A golden gray mist surrounded Rain and Ellysetta both,
enveloping their bodies in magic, saturating their skin, their
breath, their bones… ..lling them until the vast magic
already brimming in every cell of their bodies over..owed
and merged. Their forms dissolved on an explosion of pain
and bliss. Together, the powerful force that was Rain and
and bliss. Together, the powerful force that was Rain and
the brilliant energy that was Ellysetta Changed.
What emerged from the transforming mist, however, was
not two tairen but one. A creature of pure Light, as
blinding as the Great Sun.
The great tairen’s roar was a thunderclap that rocked the
whole of Boura Fell.
“Hear us, Mages of Eld!” it cried, and its voice was male
and female, tairen and Fey, Rain and Ellysetta, inextricably
and forever intertwined, singing a Song so bright the notes
illuminated the darkest corners of Boura Fell. “For all those
defenseless before your evil, we have come. We are Wrath,
the Rage of the living. We are Vengeance, the fury of the
dead. We are the Light that will stand forever against your
Darkness!” Blazing tairen wings spread wide. “We are
Freedom, the hammer that breaks all chains!”
The creature’s massive head drew back, jaws agape as
..re like the bursting of a giant star spewed from its throat.
Rivers of Light swirled around the tairen, spinning faster
and faster as the tairen grew ever brighter. The Light
expanded in a ..ery ball, searing the darkness of Boura Fell,
burning away the millennia of pain and evil and anguish.
Sel’dor melted. Walls and ..oors turned to brittle char and
blew away in the hot, ..ery wind of the Light tairen’s
breath.
Scores of Mages tried to rally a defense, casting Mage
Fire and rapid spells at the blazing tairen, but their Fire
and their magic and then their bodies dissolved into the
and their magic and then their bodies dissolved into the
consuming expanse of Light.
In the middle levels of Boura Fell, the walls trembled.
Choking dust ..lled the hallways, and chunks of raw sel’dor
ore fell from the rapidly disintegrating ceilings as Ellysetta’s
rescuers raced through the bottommost corridors, breaking
down cell doors and herding released prisoners towards the
Fey waiting to usher them towards the exit through the
Well of Souls.
A section of the roof caved in over Gaelen’s head, and
only Bel’s diving lunge saved the former dahl’reisen from
being ..attened like a journeycake.
“You’re welcome.” Bel grinned, gave Gaelen’s lean cheek
a slap and hopped to his feet. “We’ve got to ..nd those
women and go, kem’jeto,” he added as he extended a
helping hand to his friend. “This place is coming down
around our ears.”
“Guess we’d best hurry then.”
Bel signaled to the Fey behind them. “You six, take that
hallway down there.” He pointed several tairen lengths
down the hall, where a shadowy corridor headed o.. from
the one they were in. “The rest of you come with Gaelen
and me to clear the end of this corridor.”
Gaelen was already running towards the end of the hall,
leaping chunks of debris like a pronghorn bounding over
fallen trees in the forest. “If we’re not back in ten chimes,
go on without us,” he called over his shoulder.
go on without us,” he called over his shoulder.
“Ten more chimes, and we’ll none of us make it out
alive,” Bel muttered when he caught up with Gaelen.
White teeth ..ashed a sel’dor-dust-coated face. “Care to
make a wager on that?”
Bel laughed in spite of himself. “Ninnywit.” They had
reached the o..shooting hallway. A glance down the
sconcelit corridor revealed only two doors. “You take those.
I’ll take the doors on the right and work my way back
around to you.”
Gaelen sped down the corridor. The ..rst door was
heavily warded, but one at the end of the short hallway
was not. If there had ever been any guards, they had
already ..ed their posts. He ..ung open the unwarded door
and stopped dead in his tracks, shocked by the bright,
sunlit beauty of the room. An unexpected paradise in the
heart of darkness. More astounding still was the group of
weeping, naked women huddled beneath the rocking “sun”
suspended from the ceiling painted to look like a sky
overhead. The ground beneath his feet was carpeted with
small, fragrant white ..owers, the blooms’ six starry petals
shaped like tender bells. Most of the ..owers had been
crushed by booted feet, but they were still fragrant and still
valiantly, stubbornly, clinging to life.
Amarynth. The Fey ..ower of life, which bloomed only in
the steps of a Fey woman carrying an unborn child.
Amarynth. An abundance of it, blooming here in this evil
place.
place.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of two blue-robed
Primages and several umagi trying to force dozens of
women into an open portal to the Well of Souls.
«Fey!» he cried on the path the warriors had forged
amongst themselves. «Ti’Gaelen! There are fellanas here!»
Red Fey’cha ..ew in a lightning-swift strike. The umagi
dropped like stones, freeing the women who ran, weeping,
towards the knot of fellow captives.
Mage Fire blasted towards him. He dodged to one side,
..inging up a swift ..ve-fold weave to meet the lethal Fire
and launching half a dozen more Fey’cha in rapid
succession. One Primage caught a glancing blow on his
upper arm. A look of dismay ..ashed across his face. A
moment later, convulsions racked his body and he
collapsed, dead before he hit the ..oor. The other Mage
shot more Mage Fire Gaelen’s way and made a threatening
move towards the women, but when he saw the
reinforcements running into the chamber, he spun around
and leapt into the Well of Souls instead. The doorway
closed behind him, and Gaelen’s last volley of Fey’cha spun
harmlessly through the now-empty stretch of air to bury
themselves in the trunks of a small grove of trees.
The warriors gathered around the women, Earth masters
spinning swiftly to cover them in warm robes. There were
thirty or more women in the strange chamber, mostly
Celierians, but a dozen or more bore a visible glow of
magic in their skins. At least half of the women—including
most of the luminous ones—were with child.
most of the luminous ones—were with child.
Two women, in particular, made the Fey send up prayers
of thanks to the gods, while the dahl’reisen among them
backed swiftly away. Shei’dalins, pale and dull-eyed,
shackled in sel’dor. Two of the three who’d been captured
at the battle of Teleon in the fall.
“Nicolene-falla,” one of them murmured as Gaelen
wrapped a cloak around her shoulders. “They took her.”
“Into the Well?” Gaelen asked quickly. Nicolene vol Oros
was one of the Fading Lands’ most powerful healers,
captured along with these two shei’dalins, in the battle of
Teleon.
“Nei, away somewhere else in this place. She would not
obey, even to save herself, and they took her away. What
they did to her…” The shei’dalin’s voice trailed o.. and her
pale face went even paler. “We felt her pain.”
«Vel Jelani!» Gaelen relayed the information quickly.
«Nicolene vol Oros is here in this fortress.»
«Understood. I haven’t found her yet.»
“What about Lady Darramon?” Gaelen asked the
shei’dalins. The fragile Great Lady Basha Darramon had
been captured with these women at Teleon.
The shei’dalin shook her head. “Dead.”
The ceiling overhead cracked. A massive chunk of rock
plummeted from the roof of the cavern and landed in the
small lake at the chamber’s center with a great splash.
Beams of light, far brighter than the false sun that had lit
the room, shone through the gaping hole overhead.
the room, shone through the gaping hole overhead.
Gaelen covered his eyes and looked up, near blinded by
the brightness. The hole in the ceiling widened as the
sel’dor ore simply… disintegrated and ..oated up, towards
the light. “Kem’falla,” he breathed. He could feel her
presence, taste her brightness with every shortened breath.
She was the Light. She and Rain. And they were… glorious.
Their power pulsed in the air, showered his every cell
with dazzling brightness and searing, electric heat. He could
feel himself being pulled towards that brightness, wanting
to join with it, to surrender up his essence, to be Unmade
and transformed, as they had been.
The ceiling overhead dissolved. The blazing tairen bent
its mighty head, and from the great, blinding suns of its
eyes, a shaft of searing light fell upon him. «Go, ajian. Go
now to the Well.»
Command and comprehension ..lled him with equal
measure, and his body moved without conscious thought,
backing away from the Light, backing towards the Fey and
the women they’d come to rescue.
Rain and Ellysetta were glorious, all right. Glorious and
unstoppable. What they had begun, they would not—could
not—halt.
«Bel, we’re out of time. We have to go.» He turned to the
dahl’reisen, who had retreated towards the door. “Go help
General vel Jelani. Fellanas or not, grab every woman you
..nd and get her out of here.” On the path forged between
all the warriors who’d come on this mission, Gaelen cried,
all the warriors who’d come on this mission, Gaelen cried,
«Time to leave, kem’jetos! Head for the Well now!»
* * *
The power of the great Light tairen had grown to ..ll four
levels of Boura Fell. Tendrils of light spun clockwise
around the glowing mass of its center like the whirling silk
scarves of Feraz veil dancers. As Mages died and the umagi
bound by them were freed, the brilliant notes of the Light
tairen’s Song directed the innocent to the Well of Souls.
Those who had willingly embraced the Dark and gorged
their souls on evil, however, did not hear the shining notes
of the tairen’s Song; all they heard was a deafening roar as
Light consumed Darkness.
Everywhere the tairen’s Light touched, mass dissolved.
Steel, sel’dor, rock, wood, Mages, and servants of the Dark:
everything and everyone who did not ..ee before the
growing brightness burned away as the Light touched them.
Glowing sparks—the remnants of their existence—..oated
up, some small, sparkling white globes, like fairy ..ies
rising from an evening glade, but most were darker red
sparks, like the embers that rose on the heat of a bon..re.
The sparks ..oated towards the mass of energy that was
Rain and Ellysetta, joining their Light, feeding it. Just as
Ellysetta could siphon the energy of those around her and
channel it through herself, now she and Rain together
absorbed all the evil that was Boura Fell, Unmaking the
Darkness and channeling its power into Light.
Darkness and channeling its power into Light.
Their brightness grew brighter. Layer after layer of Boura
Fell disintegrated, consumed by their ..ery radiance.
The Fey ran through the crumbling corridors of the
dissolving Eld fortress, guiding the captive women towards
the promise of freedom. The stairwell leading to the level
housing the open Gateway to the Well was still intact, and
they leaped up the stairs by threes and fours, Air masters
helping those who could not manage the stairs themselves.
Gaelen was the last to leave the chamber where the
women had been held. Parts of the ceiling of this level
were disintegrating. Walls were crumbling. The second
door in the short corridor—the one he had not checked
because it was closed and warded—now lay in the center
of the hallway amid a pile of rubble. As he ran by, a noise
made his heart rise up in his throat. A tiny cry. The squall
of an infant.
All but a handful of warriors had already left. Only the
dahl’reisen remained, deliberately hanging back to spare
empathic Fey women the pain of their presence.
“Farel!” Gaelen called. “With me!” He pivoted sharply
and dove for the hole where the door had been. The
opening led to a hallway. Its ceiling—much lower than the
cavernous garden room where they’d discovered the
women—was still intact, though not for much longer.
The squall of a child sounded again, followed by anxious
shushing and soothing murmurs. A woman. Speaking the
shushing and soothing murmurs. A woman. Speaking the
Elden tongue, telling the child to be quiet, hissing at
someone else, “Hurry! Before someone comes!” Gaelen
exchanged the red Fey’cha in his hand for black. Fey did
not kill women, not if they had any other choice, but he
would be spitted and scorched before he let any Eld
—woman or not—run o.. with an innocent child.
He glanced back to see the hard glitter in Farel’s eyes…
and the white-knuckled ..ngers clenched around a black
Fey’cha.
Together, they ran in swift silence down the corridor.
The infant lay in a sling around Melliandra’s chest, his
brilliant blue eyes watching her with solemn calm as she
tied the ..nal knot in the sling holding another baby
strapped to the shei’dalin Nicolene’s chest. The pair of
them each carried two infants strapped in crisscrossing
slings across their chests. The four infants were the youngest
of the children from the High Mage’s secret nursery, all
blue-eyed, all young enough to be Shia’s child. Which child
had actually been born to the gentle, loving woman who’d
given Melliandra her name, Melliandra didn’t exactly
know.
It didn’t matter. To her, they were all Shia’s child, and
she was determined to save them.
An explosion rocked the nursery. A ..ne shower of grit
rained down from the ceiling. Time was running out. The
battle that had killed the High Mage was still raging—and
battle that had killed the High Mage was still raging—and
drawing closer.
Melliandra tried not to look at the other children in the
nursery as she and Nicolene gathered their bags of supplies
and prepared to depart with their precious burdens.
Four infants. They could save only four. Twenty more
children of varying ages lay in cradles or stood clutching
the bars of their cribs. She and Nicolene had agreed they
would take only as many babies as they could comfortably
carry, but one child in particular—a little girl with a cap of
wavy brown hair and solemn eyes—made Melliandra ache
to change that plan. That child didn’t cry or reach for them,
as some of the others did. She just stood in her crib, small,
baby-plump hands holding the rails, watching them with
those unblinking blue eyes—not the pale brilliant blue
Shia’s eyes had been but a deeper, richer blue, like the sky
Melliandra imagined each night in her dreams. Blue sky
eyes, the color of freedom.
She couldn’t take her, of course. The toddler was too old,
too heavy. They couldn’t carry the infants and her as well.
And if they let her walk, she would slow them down so
much, recapture would be all but certain.
Melliandra hardened her heart. She’d known she couldn’t
save them all. Save as many as she could but leave the rest:
That was the plan. It was a good plan, but she hadn’t
known how hard it would be. Leaving these children here
to die—or worse, to live as slaves of the Mages—hurt more
than any wound ever had. The children—their eyes so old
in faces so young—deserved so much better.
in faces so young—deserved so much better.
“I’m sorry,” she told them. “I’m so sorry.”
As if they understood, several of the children began to
cry. The sound alarmed Melliandra. This place had been
one of the High Mage’s most closely guarded secrets. Boura
Fell might be falling down around their ears, but other
Mages, seeking power of their own, would want to take his
treasures for themselves. The crying would lead those
Mages straight to them.
“Ssh,” she whispered. “Hush, babies. Hush.”
“Las, ajianas, las,” Nicolene of the Fey soothed.
“We need to go,” Melliandra said. “Now.” Before the
crying brought someone to investigate.
A whi.. of an unfamiliar scent raised the hairs on the
back of Melliandra’s neck. She froze, falling silent. Ears
strained. There, beneath the squall of the children, she
heard it: a whisper of sound, footsteps in the hall leading
to this room.
Someone was coming.
She grabbed the shei’dalin’s wrist in a steely grip, but the
other woman had already sensed something, too. Nicolene
pressed a hand to her heart, her face pale as milk. The girl
child began to whimper.
“Dahl’reisen,” the Fey breathed.
The dread in the woman’s eyes told Melliandra all she
needed to know. Whoever was approaching was foe, not
friend. A threat to their plans of escape. She jerked her
head towards the door at the back of the room, the High
head towards the door at the back of the room, the High
Mage’s secret escape route the shei’dalin had pulled from
the umagi attendant’s mind.
They had nearly reached the door when two men
rounded the corner. Clad in black leather, and bristling
with weapons, the men gripped unsheathed blades in their
hands. Melliandra recognized the look in their icy eyes: the
promise of death.
Before Melliandra could act, Nicolene gave a cry and
..ung out her hands. Green sparks shot from her ..ngertips.
The room rocked and shuddered, and the ground beneath
the two men gave way. “Gana!” she barked. Run!
Shock kept Melliandra frozen in place. She’d heard the
umagi whisper about Nicolene’s ..erceness, but she’d
thought the Mages had raped and beaten it out of her.
Nicolene scowled. “Va!” she commanded. Go! And with a
slash of her hand, an invisible force shoved Melliandra
towards the escape route. “Dai ema!” Now!
“Kem’falla, parei!” The men’s magic had stopped their
fall. They soared up, out of the hole in the ground. “Bas
shabei mareskia. Bas veli ku’evarir.” Mareskia was the
word for friends. We are friends. We’ve come to rescue you.
“Fossia!” Nicolene screamed. “Dahl’reisen fossia!” Lies!
Dahl’reisen lies! She ..ung her hands towards the ceiling.
More bright green magic shot from her ..ngers, plunging
into the rock above the dahl’reisen. With a shriek, she
yanked, and the ceiling came down on their heads.
Nicolene screamed and fell to her knees as if the ceiling
Nicolene screamed and fell to her knees as if the ceiling
had fallen on her as well as the warriors, but she managed
to pull herself back to her feet and stumble towards
Melliandra.
“Sal ne shabei desrali, to ke war desral,” she cried,
waving her hands in a frantic gesture.
Melliandra didn’t catch half the words, but it was
something about the dahl’reisen not being dead.
Sure enough, the pile of rubble was already shifting,
starting to bulge upwards as the buried dahl’reisen fought
their way to the surface. Instinct kicked in. Melliandra
bolted for the High Mage’s emergency exit, pausing only
when the shei’dalin snatched the little solemn-eyed girl
from her crib and shoved her into Melliandra’s hands.
“What are you doing? We agreed—“
“Seya veli eva bos! Ke nei suya heberi eva dahl’reisen.”
Melliandra’s mind ..lled with an image of the baby
screaming in torment in the hands of dahl’reisen. The
vision winked out. The shei’dalin’s jaw set, and she glared
at Melliandra, daring her to object.
“All right!” Melliandra capitulated with a show of ill
grace, even though she was secretly glad not to abandon the
child with eyes the color of freedom. “Now, let’s go! Veli!
And stay out of my mind, do you hear? “
Together, they raced into the narrow tunnel the High
Mage had built as his secret escape route. Nicolene pulled
the walls and ceiling down behind them as they went.
The last thing Melliandra saw before the cave-in blocked
The last thing Melliandra saw before the cave-in blocked
the path to the nursery was one of the dahl’reisen rising
from the rubble, his eyes pinned on her. In that one
moment, as their gazes clashed, a bolt of recognition shot
through Melliandra, stabbing straight through to her heart.
His eyes. He had pale, brilliant ice blue eyes, ringed by
cobalt. Just like the woman who had given Melliandra her
name and her ..rst taste of kindness and love.
Shia’s eyes.
Gaelen spat an oath and lunged towards the rubble-..lled
ruins of the caved-in passageway. Green Earth blazed in his
hands as he began to form the weaves to clear the passage,
but before he could release his weaves, another section of
the ceiling caved in. He had to leap to one side to avoid
being buried again.
Farel started to clear the fresh pile of rubble, but Gaelen
waved him o... Bits of the ceiling overhead were already
starting to crumble and ..oat upwards.
“Leave it,” he said. “We’re out of time. Wherever
Nicolene-falla has gone, she’ll have to look after herself
until we can come back for her. We’ve got to get these
children to safety.” He called for more of his men and
reached for one of the toddlers standing in the cribs.
“Sieks’ta, General,” Farel said as the others arrived and
they began handing o.. children. “It’s my fault she ran. If I
hadn’t been with you—“
Gaelen shook his head. “Nei, the fault is mine. I should
Gaelen shook his head. “Nei, the fault is mine. I should
have considered there might be a fellana inside.” He
clapped Farel on the shoulder and handed him a small,
unsmiling boy with dark brown eyes. “Quickly,
kem’maresk. We need to go.” The room was very bright
now, forested with shafts of light shining through the
disintegrating ceiling overhead. He snatched the last child
from the crib beside him and followed Farel and the others
down the crumbling corridor.
At the opening to the short hallway, Gaelen paused for a
..nal look back at the blocked passage where the girl
accompanying Nicolene vol Oros had stood. Who was she?
Not Fey or Elvish. Not Celierian, either, with that milky
white skin that had clearly never seen the sun. And those
eyes. Huge silver coins, framed by sooty lashes. They
unsettled him in a way he could not explain.
With a rumbling crack the rest of the nursery ceiling
dissolved. Blinding light ..lled the room. Gaelen ..ung up a
hand to shield his eyes.
“General!”
Farel’s shout spurred him to action. Whoever or whatever
Nicolene vol Oros’s disconcerting companion might be
made no di..erence now. Gaelen spun on his heel, hunched
his body to protect the child in his arms from falling debris,
and raced after his fellow lu’tan.
The dahl’reisen guarding the gateway to the Well of Souls
began herding all the rescued captives and refugees into the
began herding all the rescued captives and refugees into the
portal. “Into the Well!” they cried. “Everyone into the Well
now!”
“But the wounded,” one of the shei’dalins exclaimed.
“Seal what you can’t heal! We’re out of time! Go! Go!
Go!”
Vadim Maur’s escape tunnel led up and away from Boura
Fell. Melliandra and Nicolene ran as quickly as they could,
the shei’dalin pausing every few seconds to bring down the
ceiling behind them. Each time they came to a fork in the
tunnel, Melliandra and Nicolene followed whichever path
led up, towards the surface of Eld. Up was where the sky
was. Up was where the Mages were least likely to be. And
so, up they went.
At last they arrived, out of breath, legs burning from the
uphill run, at a winding stair that led to a closed door.
Melliandra turned the knob and carefully pushed the door
slightly ajar.
She braced herself for a ..ood of bright white light
coming from the burning ball called the Great Sun that
traveled across the sky. Sunlight, Shia had called it. But
there was no burning ball of light. And the roof of the
world—the thing Shia called the sky—was not the bright,
beautiful blue Shia had described. It was black and
scattered with tiny silver ..ecks—like sel’dor ore sprinkled
with tiny crystals of mirror stone.
Melliandra’s hand began to shake, and her stomach did
Melliandra’s hand began to shake, and her stomach did
..ips inside her belly.
“Arast sha neida?” What’s wrong?
The sound of the shei’dalin Nicolene’s voice made
Melliandra jump. “Neitha,” she answered brusquely.
Nothing. Maybe this was just another big room, like the
garden room, and they were still inside Boura Fell. But
when she forced herself to shove open the door and saw
the immensity of the alien landscape stretched out before
her, she knew the truth.
This—this dark place—was the world. Tall, soaring
spires of things Shia had called trees surrounded the
doorway, but something was wrong with them. Half of the
trees were gray, barren bones, like the skeletons of trees. At
her feet, what should have been the soft, slender blades of
the ground cover called grass were brown, brittle stalks that
crackled when she poked them with a tentative toe.
This world above was dead. And cold—as cold as when
Mages spun their dark magic. Despair swamped her. Where
was the warm, bright, green-and-blue world Shia had sung
of? Had the Mages destroyed it?
She turned to Nicolene. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This was a
mistake. This is not what she told me it would be. The sun
is gone. The world is dead. I think the Mages killed it.” To
Melliandra’s horror, tears sprang to her eyes, and her voice
cracked. She hugged Shia’s son to her chest. What were they
going to do now?
Nicolene smiled, but there was such compassion in her
Nicolene smiled, but there was such compassion in her
eyes, Melliandra couldn’t take o..ense. “Nei, kaishena,” the
shei’dalin soothed. “Nei desrali. Nei Magia. De sha eilissei.”
Not dead. Not Mages. It is eilissei.
“I don’t know ‘eilissei.’ “
“Sa Dol liath.” Nicolene tilted her head to one side with
her hands beneath her cheek and pretended to sleep.
“Cordai Sa Dol liath, de sha eilissei.”
The Great Sun is sleeping, she’d said. When the Great Sun
sleeps, it is eilissei. Melliandra hadn’t known that the Great
Sun needed to sleep, but a little of her tension faded away.
Although the world was so di..erent than Shia had
described, it was clear Nicolene was not alarmed—not by
the dead trees nor the dark nor the coldness of this place.
“Bas arrisi atha legan.” Green Earth spun in powerful
waves that sent tingles across Melliandra’s skin, and the
tattered threadbare rags of her clothes thickened to dense,
warm fabric, so plush she could barely feel the cold.
Something equally warm encased her bare feet and ankles.
Shoes. The ..rst she’d ever worn. When the green weave
faded, all seven of them, Melliandra, Nicolene, the four
babies, and the little girl, were bundled warmly against the
cold.
T he shei’dalin gave a gentle push. “Va, kaishena. Nei
siad.” Go, young one. Don’t be afraid.
With Shia’s child and one other cradled against her chest
and a little girl with eyes the color of a not-eilissei sky
clinging tight to her hand, Melliandra Maureva, descendant
clinging tight to her hand, Melliandra Maureva, descendant
and slave of the High Mage of Eld, drew a shaky breath
and took her ..rst, hesitant step into freedom.
As Nicolene and Melliandra began their trek towards the
Mandolay Mountains in the north and the refugees from
Boura Fell made their way through the Well of Souls, the
ground over Boura Fell began to shift and bulge. It rose
upward, slowly swelling into a large dome of earth and
rock and toppling forest.
Then, abruptly, the dome burst, and a brilliant tower of
white light shot into the sky.
All across Eld, the tattered remnants of Vadim Maur’s
great Army of Darkness turned in surprise as the sky over
the dark forests of Eld ..ared ultrabright. Hundreds of miles
away, on the battlements of Orest, and all along the mighty
Heras River and the northern provinces of Celieria, the
world fell into awed silence. All activity ceased. Fey,
Celierian, and Elvish faces alike turned to the north.
The tower of light burned for a full chime, turning
darkest night to brilliant day, before it collapsed in upon
itself with a soundless boom that shook the core Eld. In the
wake of that brightness, a great, glowing light shot up and
streaked westward across the Elden sky.
From a distance, the streak of light looked like a giant
shooting star racing across the night sky. But for years to
come, those close enough to see what lay at the heart of the
brightness would speak of a magni..cent tairen made
brightness would speak of a magni..cent tairen made
completely of light that ..ew across the skies of Eld. It
dipped down and breathed the ..re of the gods upon
Koderas and Boura Maur, turning both into smoking craters,
before continuing westward to disappear high in the Rhakis
mountains. What became of that Light tairen, none could
say, but soon after its disappearance into the Rhakis, the
waters of the Heras once more ran rich with the magical
power of faerilas.
And in the place that had been Boura Fell, where the
Light tairen ..rst appeared, what remained was a great
monument of shining crystal, shaped like a enormous, sixpointed
crown—a beacon of Light in the dark heart of Eld.
And within the haven of the crystal crown’s radiant golden
white light, no Darkness would ever again endure.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Blazing radiance to the Plains of Corunn
Fly high, ..ame strong; roar far, reign long
Feyreisa, Feyreisen; magic and might
Two Souls, side by side, in tairen ..ight
Majestic Flight,
a poem by Belliard vel Jelani of the Fey
19th day of Seledos
The Fading Lands ~ Wingshadow,
Shellabah of the Daris Line
Purple silk caressed creamy marble columns, ..uttering on a
gentle breeze redolent with the aromas of burning ..reoak
and cinnabar. Outside, a light snow blanketed the northern
..elds of the Fading Lands, but within the magic-warmed
luxury of Rain’s palatial shellabah, the only chill came
from the cone of packed snow melting down Ellysetta’s
naked stomach.
She closed her eyes and stretched like a cat as the heat of
Rain’s tongue followed the path of the ice, drowning in
sensation as Rain’s lips and hands slid across her skin,
sensation as Rain’s lips and hands slid across her skin,
stroking, caressing, worshipping with humbling reverence.
There was nothing like this feeling, this wholeness. This
completeness. His mind and hers, one. He touched her, and
she felt the caress with both her senses and his. An overload
of emotion, of sensation. A harmonic that built upon itself
again and again with each shift of his silken skin, each ..ex
of corded muscle, each warm breath and stir of ..esh.
Her hands tightened, ..ngers digging into the hard blades
of his shoulders, holding him close.
He lifted his head, burning lavender eyes gleaming
through a tangle of silky black hair. His mouth curved, and
he held her gaze as he licked and kissed his way down her
body.
She was him, all burning stone and heady desire, on ..re
with want, dizzy with the sweet aroma of her scent and the
taste of her ..esh on his tongue. She knew what he saw,
what he felt, when he held her, when he kissed and
caressed her.
She arched her back, thrusting her breasts upwards,
glorying in the hot rush that consumed him at the sight.
Everything about her gave him pleasure. Her helpless
abandon to his tender assault made the blood pound in his
veins and the tairen in his soul roar with possession and
triumph.
«Aiyah, fellana, you do make me roar.» He was touching
her, skin to skin, and their bond was at last complete. Her
thoughts were as open and accessible to him as her
thoughts were as open and accessible to him as her
emotions had been, as her body was now. There was no
part of her he did not know as well as he knew himself.
No Shadow, no Light, no thought, or hope that he could
not share.
Once, that would have alarmed her. To be so… naked.
So utterly vulnerable, even to him. Now, it ..lled her with
joy, a warm, radiant happiness like a sun shining forever in
her soul.
She smiled into his eyes, loving him with a completeness
she’d never dreamed possible. There was no part of her
that did not belong to him, no part of him that did not
belong to her. They were now one soul, shared between
two bodies. One soul existing in a state of grace so perfect,
so complete, it was as close to feeling the hand of the gods
as a living creature could experience.
Her ..ngers traced the smooth, proud lines of his face and
neck, caressed the breadth of his shoulders, marveling at
the softness of the Fey skin that covered such indomitable
strength. “You are my strength, shei’tan.”
“And so I will be for all eternity, Ellysetta shei’tani.” He
caught her hand and pressed a smiling kiss into her palm.
The tip of his tongue touched her skin in a small, catlike
lick. The glow kindling in his eyes turned the tiny, feline
caress into an erotic promise. “Wilt thou join thy beloved,
shei’tani?”
Her lips curved, lashes lowering in a simmering look.
“Always, shei’tan.”
“Always, shei’tan.”
His mouth touched hers, and heat bloomed in
instantaneous response. She arched against him, purring in
her throat as his hands smoothed down the sides of her
body and tracked trails of ..re and longing in their wake.
“Mrowr?”
A rush of cold air swept into the protected warmth of
the shellabah. Ellysetta’s eyes ..ashed open, as a familiar
voice sang, «No, no, kitling. When the Feyreisa and
Feyreisen are mating they like ‘privacy.’ You must knock
before entering their lair.»
She and Rain groaned together and turned towards the
purple silk drapes—one of which now sported the face of
an inquisitive tairen kitling poking through at the bottom.
“Mrowr?” Hallah said again, twitching her black ears.
«Knocking! Knocking!» three kitling voices chimed with
delighted exuberance. Hallah squawked as the silk drape
over her head ripped from its moorings and three kitlings
tumbled into the shellabah on top of her. Fuzzy and
adorable, their wings still sporting downy fur, Letah,
Sharrah, and Miauren clambered to their feet, and
promptly lost all interest in Steli’s lessons about knocking
in favor of chasing the pretty, ..uttery purple thing now
tangled in their wings and tails.
Watching them, Steli purred in maternal contentment
then told Ellysetta and Rain, “Steli is teaching the kitlings to
do knocking.”
“So we see,” Rain said drily. “Thank you so much,
“So we see,” Rain said drily. “Thank you so much,
Stelichakai”
Steli snickered, twitched her nose, then gave a great,
feline yawn and ..uttered her wings. «Hunting tomorrow.»
“Somewhere other than here, I hope.” Ellysetta sat up,
spinning a gown to cover herself.
«Hunting?» The kitlings stopped chasing the silk drape
and perked up. «Pouncing!»
Pouncing was apparently a lesson Steli had already
taught, because all four kitlings immediately began
hunkering down, growling in their throat, then leaping at
one another, crying. «Pounce! Pounce! Pounce!»
Ellysetta squealed and leaped out of the way as Sharra
came tumbling past, crashing into the chaise and sending it
skittering across the shellabah’s warmed marble ..oors.
«Very good pouncing, kitlings,» Steli purred in approval.
«But be careful of the pride-kin. In this form, they break.»
«Sorry, sorry,» Sharra mumbled, then she growled and
threw herself on her siblings again.
As Ellysetta laughed and rolled her eyes, a second
interruption ended any hope of shooing out the tairen and
returning to the peace and privacy she and Rain had been
enjoying since returning to the Fading Lands.
A private Spirit weave arrived from Dharsa. «Rain?
Ellysetta?»
«Marissya?» Rain answered instantly, all humor wiped
away by concern. Marissya would not have intruded except
away by concern. Marissya would not have intruded except
for good reason. «What is it? What’s wrong?»
«Neitha,» she assured him. «Nothing is wrong. But we
have found something in the Hall of Scrolls. I think you
both should come.»
The Fading Lands ~ Dharsa
The Hall of Scrolls had been badly damaged in the attack
on Dharsa, but its Keeper, Tealah vol Jianas, had insisted
that all homes and the palace be restored before the Fey
diverted any of their e..orts to repairing the Hall.
Consequently, it was only now, a full week after the battle,
that the rubble was cleared. And in doing so, the Fey had
uncovered a secret stair that had been hidden behind a
thick, solid wall of stone.
At the sight of the broken rock and the gaping, jagged
edges of the dark hole that led down below the Hall, the
hairs on the back of Ellysetta’s neck stood up. Her hand
reached for Rain’s.
“There is a mirror down there,” she said. “Like the
Mirrors of Inquiry here in the Hall.” All but a few of those
Mirrors now lay smashed and shattered in the rubble.
Marissya looked at her in surprise. “Aiyah, there is a
mirror. But how did you know? “
“I have seen it before. In my dreams.” She released Rain’s
hand and ducked into the jagged doorway, summoning a
hand and ducked into the jagged doorway, summoning a
ball of Fire to light her way. The stair curved down into a
small, windowless stone chamber beneath the Hall of
Scrolls, and there, in the center of the room, just like her
dreams, sat the dark, oval mirror perched on a stone
column.
As she approached it, the mirror began to glow a
phosphorescent blue, and a face appeared in the center of
the glowing light. Blond hair billowed gently around the
stern, Fey-beautiful masculine face from her dreams. Green
eyes shone like stars. The mouth opened, and a voice
spoke, deep and resonant.
“I am the Mirror of Knowledge. I wait for the one
foretold to restore all that was lost.”
“That’s all it’s been saying since we found it,” Marissya
said. “We’ve asked it every question we could think of, it
won’t tell us who the one foretold is, what it will restore,
or how to restore it.”
Ellysetta remembered her last dream of the mirror, the
intricate weave of shei’dalin’s love and Azrahn that had
spun from her hand. “I think I know.” She glanced at Rain.
“I think I am the one foretold, and I think this is the key.”
She showed the others the weave in Spirit. She no longer
feared Azrahn—with her soul now joined to Rain’s,
Darkness would never again threaten her—but she didn’t
want to just impulsively start spinning.
He nodded. He knew every dream she’d ever had as
intimately as she did. “Go ahead, shei’tani. Though
intimately as she did. “Go ahead, shei’tani. Though
perhaps, to be safe, the other fellanas should leave the
room?”
“Are you joking?” Tealah sputtered. “This room has been
hiding beneath the Hall of Scrolls for who knows how
long. Whatever happens, I’m not going to miss it.”
Marissya didn’t want to leave, but as she carried the only
other Tairen Soul in the Fading Lands beside Ellysetta and
Rain, she chose caution over curiosity.
When she was gone, Rain and Ellysetta wove protective
weaves around the stone chamber and then Ellysetta spun
the weave from her dream. Azrahn and shei’dalin’s love
poured from her ..ngertips, looping and twining in a
perfect reproduction of the weave from her dream. The
blue glow behind the mirror’s face began to swirl and
brighten, and the mirror man’s eyes ..ashed with sudden
green sparks that ..ew out of the glass.
Rain shoved Ellysetta and Tealah behind him. Magic
..ared to life in his hands, but the green sparks had already
stopped and begun to swirl in a cone of light that became
the ..gure of a Fey king standing tall and proud before
them in the golden war armor of the Fey. He had gold-shot
chestnut hair and eyes like burning ..ame. When he spoke,
his voice shimmered with gold and silver sparkles, like
tairen speech. “I am Tevan, called Fire Eyes, born of the
Fey king Sevander and his queen Fellana the Bright, Lady
of Light, she who was once tairen and makai of the
Fey’Bahren pride.”
Fey’Bahren pride.”
“Oh. My. Gods.” Tealah covered her mouth with her
hands, her eyes huge as saucers. “He was real. The legend is
true.”
“I o..er greeting to the one who was foretold, the
daughter of my line—the line of Fellana the Bright—who
carries within her the magic of Fey and Elfkind, tairen and
Mage. May the memories I once erased from the world to
save it, now be yours to use for the good of all, in keeping
with the will of the gods. May the Light always shine on
your Path, daughter of Fellana, and may you be as bright a
beacon for our people as she who gave me life.”
“Rain,” Ellysetta breathed, reaching for his hand.
“I know,” he murmured, equally as dazed.
The image of Tevan disappeared, and the face in the
mirror began to speak. “I am the Mirror of Knowledge,
created by command of the Fey King Tevan Fire Eyes, to
hold all knowledge that was removed from the world so
that it could one day be restored.”
Much later, as night descended over Dharsa, and the Mother
and Daughter moons rose to add their brightness to that of
the winter star called Erimea, Rain and Ellysetta gathered in
the palace with Ellysetta’s parents, her quintet, and the
members of the new Massan to share the incredible secrets
revealed by the Mirror of Knowledge. Water master, Loris
v’En Mahr, had accepted the role as the leader of the
Massan. Eimar remained as its Air master, while Dax joined
Massan. Eimar remained as its Air master, while Dax joined
as the new Earth master. Bel and Tajik had agreed to stand
as acting Spirit and Fire masters, until Rain decided which
Fey Lord should replace Tenn and the deceased Spirit
master, Nurian.
“The Time Before Memory was the time when Fey used
Azrahn freely,” Ellysetta told them. “According to the
Mirror of Knowledge, the Fey did not come with the prides
to this world. Only the Elves did. When Lissallukai
breathed her magic across the Bay of Flames, a tribe of
mortals living by the bay were the ..rst to swim in its
waters and they were transformed by her great magic, just
as the legend claimed. Only because they were the ..rst,
their gift was the greatest—that gift was the six branches of
Fey magic, the power over the four elements and the two
mystics. Those mortals became the Fey.”
Ellysetta hid a smile as several of her quintet shifted in
discomfort. Though far from mortal now, the ancestral link
didn’t sit well with them. These Fey had much to learn.
Mortals might not be magical, but they had their own
special gifts, and she intended to see the friendship
between Fey and Celieria blossom once more.
“Of those six branches of magic, the greatest was the gift
of Azrahn, the soul magic,” Rain added, “which has both a
Light and a Dark side to it. The Light side, the Fey have
spun without fear since the Time Before Memory—it is the
power we know as shei’dalin’s love.”
Now it was Marissya’s turn to ..inch in surprise.
Now it was Marissya’s turn to ..inch in surprise.
“The Dark side,” Rain continued, “what we know as
Azrahn, is very powerful in its own right, but also
dangerous. It is a force of destruction and force, rather than
healing and peace. Together in its wholeness, Azreisenan,
the soul magic, is the true source of our power… of our
immortality, of our fertility, of our magic. And in giving the
Fey power over the Dark side of Azrahn, as well as the
Light, the gods gave the Fey a gift they never gave the Elves
—freedom. Freedom to choose our path. But that gift is
also our test.”
“All great gifts come with a great price,” Bel murmured.
“Aiyah,” Ellysetta agreed, “and the price of the greatest
gift ever given to the Fey—the gift of Azrahn—is the
temptation of the Dark Path. No Elf will ever fall to
Darkness. They are incapable of it, because the gods never
gifted them with the fullness of Azrahn. But the Fey can,
because we can choose to wield our magic for good or evil.
”
“If Azrahn is such a boon to the Fey,” Tajik interrupted,
“why would it be outlawed and why would its use be
wiped from the memory of the world? “
“Because in Sevander’s time—and Tevan’s own—many of
the Fey began seeking ever greater and greater power
—especially those who were strongest in Azrahn, including
Sevander’s uncle. They began to focus exclusively on the
Darkest powers of Azrahn. They became the Mages.
Sevander’s uncle was, in fact, the Mage who transformed
Fellana into a Fey.”
Fellana into a Fey.”
“And then used the tairen’s power he’d gotten from her
to wage war against the Fey,” Dax said.
Rain nodded. “And his descendants continued his work,
raising an even greater army. A force the like of which the
world had never seen.”
“The Army of Darkness,” Gil said.
“Aiyah,” Rain agreed. “And it was as devastating a force
as the legends portray—much worse than the revenant
army this Mage put together. It was so devastating in fact,
that after he defeated it, Tevan Fire Eyes and his tairen and
Elvish advisors decided the Fey were not ready for the great
and dangerous power of Azrahn. With their help, he wiped
all knowledge of its use from the world. In doing so, he
robbed the Mages of all the secrets of their Dark magic and
created the Time Before Memory.”
“He and his advisors thought that by outlawing the use of
the Dark side of Azrahn, they would spare the Fey the
greatest temptation of the Dark Path,” Ellysetta concluded.
“And they did. The world entered a time of great peace
—the golden years of the First Age. But over the millennia,
the Mages began rebuilding their lost knowledge. And as
generation after generation of Fey banished their most
powerful masters of Azrahn for weaving it, the Fey
unknowingly drained their own bloodlines of the magic
most essential to their survival.” She glanced at Gaelen.
“That’s why the dahl’reisen thrive while the Fey wither.
Because so many of them are still powerful masters of
Azrahn—and because between the High Mage’s breeding
Azrahn—and because between the High Mage’s breeding
e..orts and the remnant magic of the Mage Wars, the Light
and Dark sides of Azrahn were being combined again.”
“So are you saying the dahl’reisen are the real key to
returning fertility to the Fey?” Eimar asked, looking
troubled at the thought. He had fought with dahl’reisen as
his allies, and approved their bloodswearing to Ellysetta,
but cozying up to warriors who’d chosen the Shadowed
Path still did not sit well with him.
“Nei, not the dahl’reisen,” Rain corrected. “Azrahn.
Azrahn is the key—and the connection between the tairen
and the Fey, not only because our magic sprang from
Lissalukai’s great ..re, but because every Tairen Soul
starting with Tevan Fire Eyes are the descendants of
Fellana, who was the last of Lissallukai’s bloodline. That’s
why our fates are so closely entwined. The Tairen Souls
keep Lissallukai’s blood—and, with it, her greatest magic
—alive and strong. And Ellysetta, who combines Fey,
tairen, Elvish, and even Mage powers, is the most powerful
master of Azrahn born since Lissallukai herself. It is
Ellysetta—both through the children we will bear, and
every child conceived as a result of her fertility weaves
—who will return the fullness of Azrahn back to the tairen
and the Fey.”
Ellysetta curled her ..ngers around his and smiled. One
day in their lifetime, they would see the skies over the
Fading Lands once more ..lled with tairen and hear the
streets of Dharsa ring with the laughter of Fey children. Her
children—their children—would be powerful Tairen Souls,
children—their children—would be powerful Tairen Souls,
just as they were, raised in love amid the Fey and the
pride. And that was reward enough to make the great price
of her gifts worthwhile.
“The Elf king of Tevan’s time Saw what would happen,”
Rain concluded, “including the fact that Ellysetta would be
born to bring the fullness of Azrahn back to the tairen and
the Fey. So upon his advice, Tevan ordered the creation of
the Mirror of Knowledge and the Elf king told his
descendants to watch for her birth.”
“You really were born to save us,” Marissya said.
“And so she has.” Rain raised a glass of chilled faerilas.
“To the treasures of the past, my friends, and to the joys of
a bright future.”
27th day of Seledos
Rain stood on the balustraded terrace just outside the
ballroom of the Dharsa’s newly restored royal palace and
looked out at the gleaming gold-and-white beauty of
Dharsa nestled in the forested hills. He closed his eyes and
inhaled the aroma of jasmine and honeyblossom and the
sweet, intoxicating fragrance of Amarynth that wafted on
the cool evening breeze.
For a thousand years, the world behind the Faering Mists
had been his prison. Now, at last, the Fading Lands was
home once more, and for the ..rst time in centuries
home once more, and for the ..rst time in centuries
—perhaps for the ..rst time in his entire life—he was truly
at peace.
His quest to save the tairen and the Fey was complete.
He had found the woman Shei’Kess had sent him to ..nd,
and together they had saved the tairen and the Fey and
brought the promise of life back to the Fading Lands.
Rain drew in his breath again, and a slow smile curved
his lips as a new scent, familiar and beloved, danced across
his senses like a warm caress. Turning, he held out his
hand.
As it always had—and as Rain knew it always would
—his heart leapt at the sight of her. She was a vision in
white and silver and stunning ..ame.
Her white silk gown—overlaid with Elvian lace and
studded with tiny diamonds like morning dewdrops caught
in a spider’s ..ne web—whispered across the marble terrace
stones as she crossed to his side. Rajahl vel’En Daris’s crystal
gleamed at her wrist, while Rain’s crystal hung from a
platinum chain around her neck. Her hair tumbled about
her shoulders and down to her waist like a cloud of tairen
..re.
Her ..ngers slid across the back of Rain’s wrist, but he
turned his hand to thread his ..ngers through hers and hold
her hand the way Celierians—and now he, as well
—preferred.
His thumb brushed across hers in a tiny caress, and he
smiled into Ellysetta’s bright Fey eyes. “Beylah vo, shei’tani.
smiled into Ellysetta’s bright Fey eyes. “Beylah vo, shei’tani.
”
She tilted her head to one side. “For what?”
“For… everything.” The Eye of Truth had sent him to
Ellysetta to ..nd the salvation of his peoples. But in her, he
had also found the salvation of his own soul.
He had longed for death until she renewed his ..erce
desire for life. She had smashed countless Fey traditions
and taboos, and forced him to rethink everything he
believed of the world as she forged her own, unique path
with quiet but relentless courage. He had thought all
dahl’reisen were beyond redemption, yet she had restored
Gaelen’s soul and won the bloodsworn loyalty of the
Brotherhood of Shadows and brought the gift of their
powerful magic and fertility back to the Fey. He had
thought Azrahn was evil, yet even before the Mirror of
Knowledge had revealed its secrets, she had proven the
forbidden magic could be just as powerful a force for good.
She’d made the world beautiful and wondrous once
more, as it hadn’t been for him since he was a boy. She
made him believe the Fey would again become the great,
shining Light they had once been to this world. A beacon of
hope and freedom and strength that would forever stand
fast against the Dark.
She smiled at his thoughts and shook her head. “You give
me too much credit. Most of that is not my doing.”
“And there you are wrong. Without you, shei’tani, none
of this would have been possible.” He waved his hand to
of this would have been possible.” He waved his hand to
indicate the rebuilt beauty of Dharsa with its fully restored
Hall of Scrolls and the crowds gathering at the foot of
Dharsa’s central mount. Fey, Elves, Celierian friends and
dignitaries, all standing side by side in the heart of the city,
garbed in splendorous raiment as they attended Rain and
Ellysetta’s truemating celebration and the coronation of the
Fading Lands’ new queen.
“He is right,” Marissya said, as she and Dax joined them
on the terrace. Like dozens of other mates of the Fey, the
pair were garbed in the verdant green-and-white hues they
would both wear until the birth of their child. The heady
scent of Amarynth perfumed the air around them,
blooming in abundance from every bower and garden in
Dharsa. “You have changed our world.”
“I never meant to.”
Marissya smiled. “The gods weave as the gods will,
Feyreisa.”
The breeze blew a wayward curl against Ellysetta’s
cheek. Rain reached out to brush it back out of her face.
“Where are your parents?”
“With Tajik and Papa, keeping Lillis and Lorelle out of
trouble until the ceremonies begin. Papa has been regaling
them with stories of my childhood.” She laughed, but a
sheen of tears glimmered in her eyes. Despite her
overwhelming joy at freeing her Fey parents, he knew she
still sorely missed her adoptive mother. Today’s bonding
ceremony would be the second time Ellysetta and Rain had
ceremony would be the second time Ellysetta and Rain had
celebrated the joining of their lives. Mama’s absence, and
the absence of other dear friends lost to the evil of the Eld,
was a somber Harmony to the now-joyous verse of her
Song.
Happiness was hers, but as with all great gifts of the Fey,
that happiness had come at a steep price.
“I think Lauriana would have liked Shan and Elfeya,”
Rain said.
Ellysetta nodded, as she thumbed away her tears. “Aiyah.
I know she would. And I know they would have liked her,
too.”
“How could we not?” A warm, vibrant voice replied.
“She is the woman who kept our daughter safe and guided
and loved her in our stead.”
Rain and Ellysetta both turned to the open archway
leading from the ballroom as Shan, Elfeya, Sol Baristani,
and the twins stepped outside to join them.
Smiling, Elfeya v’En Celay approached to embrace her
daughter and her daughter’s mate. Ellysetta’s birth mother
looked every inch the powerful shei’dalin she was, in a
gown of stunning scarlet and gold with her truemate’s
sorreisu’kiyr set in a golden torque at her throat. Her Light
was nearly as bright as Ellysetta’s, setting her skin aglow so
that she shone like a star. She resembled her daughter in so
many ways—the ..ery hair, the gentleness, the steely will
that lay beneath her vast compassion and empathic gifts. It
was that steel that had enabled her to survive her thousand
was that steel that had enabled her to survive her thousand
years of torment. That steel that had made her the
indomitable truemate of the legendary warrior standing at
her side.
Rain held out his hand to clasp the forearm of
Shannisorran v’En Celay, the warrior once known as Lord
Death. He ..inched slightly at the acid burn of the sel’dor
bands lining the thick golden cu..s at Shan’s wrists. Shan
might be free from the High Mage, but he was not free of
the man’s dread gifts. The tairen’s soul Vadim Maur had
tied to Shan’s was with him still—and just as wild and
savage as it had been during his captivity in Boura Fell.
He wouldn’t allow Elfeya or Ellysetta to risk themselves
trying to undo what the Mage had done, and he wouldn’t
risk the Fey by giving the beast its freedom, so he had
willingly bound himself in sel’dor. To his mate’s objections,
he had replied, “Pain is life, kem’san. I accepted that long
ago. We are together, and we are free. That is joy enough
for me.”
The Fey Lord’s face was carved from stone, but his
granite jaw softened, and the hard glitter of his green eyes
warmed when he turned his attention to the daughter he’d
su..ered decades of torture to protect. “Blessings of the day,
ajiana. Miora felah to you and your mate. May Shadow
always fall short of your Path and your days be ..lled with
joy.”
Ellysetta embraced him. “Beylah vo…Gepa.”
His arms clutched her close. “You do us proud,
His arms clutched her close. “You do us proud,
kem’nessa.” He bent his head to her ear, and added in a
hoarse whisper, “You were worth every moment.”
The tears she’d been ..ghting squeezed out between her
lashes. When her father released her, she begged again,
“Won’t you change your mind and stay with us here in
Dharsa?”
Shan smiled and shook his head. “Nei, child. Tehlas is
our home. It is where we belong.”
Rain had asked Shan and Elfeya to take Tenn and
Venarra’s place on the governing council, but they had
declined. After their centuries of con..nement, the bustle of
Dharsa unsettled them—and disturbed the tairen tied to
Shan’s soul. They both believed the solitude of their nowabandoned
home city would suit them much better and
grant them both the time they needed. Time to live
together in peace, without pressure or restraint. Time to
walk the silvery beaches of Tairen’s Bay, or turn their faces
up to the sun, or lie on the rooftop of their old home at
night and make love beneath the stars. Time to heal and to
learn what it was to be free once more.
“But you will visit us, of course,” Elfeya said. “You and
your mate… and your papa and sisters, of course.” She sent
a fond glance at the twins, who both already bore smudges
of dirt on their pristine white gowns. The two girls had
captivated Shan and Elfeya with their laughter and
mischievous antics, and most of their time since returning
to Dharsa had been spent in the company of the twins,
watching over them and spoiling them as they had not had
watching over them and spoiling them as they had not had
the chance to watch and spoil their own child. Elfeya lifted
her hands to spin a quick weave. The smudges vanished
and the slightly askew bouquets of Amarynth nestled in the
twins’ mink brown curls straightened neatly. “And perhaps
one day, their mates as well, hmm?” she added, as Kieran
and Kiel joined the group on the terrace.
Rain’s brows drew together. Elfeya was looking at Kieran
and Kiel when she spoke, and there was a very Elvish look
in her eyes.
Before he could comment, Bel appeared in the arched
doorway and signaled to him. Rain nodded an
acknowledgment. “Kabei. Our ..nal guests have arrived.
With them is someone I think you and your daughters will
want to meet, Master Baristani.”
They turned their attention to the arched doorway just as
Gaelen and Rijonn ushered in two dozen of the women and
children from the dahl’reisen village and Farel’s whitehaired,
silver-eyed hearth witch.
“Sheyl.” With a happy smile, Ellysetta greeted the
woman who had helped save their lives and enveloped her
in a warm hug. “Meiveli ti’Dharsa. Welcome to Dharsa.
Welcome to the Fading Lands.”
“Thank you.” Sheyl nodded at Rain. “Thank both of you
for your kindness and generosity in o..ering us shelter and a
new home. Farel sends his greetings and bids you both
much joy.”
Despite the lingering concerns of some Fey, Rain had
Despite the lingering concerns of some Fey, Rain had
granted safe harbor in the Fading Lands to the refugees
from the Verlaine Forest—including every dahl’reisen who
had sworn a lute’asheiva bond to Ellysetta. As few as the
Fey had become, there was more than room enough for the
dahl’reisen lu’tan to live in one of the abandoned Fey cities
without in..icting their pain upon the vulnerably empathic
women of the Fey.
Farel and most of his men had refused. Even without the
Mists to bar their return, they would not step foot in the
Fading Lands while they still bore their dahl’reisen scars.
They chose instead to settle in Orest and Dunelan, to serve
as the guardians of the Fading Lands they had always been.
Many of the villagers had refused as well—like Sheyl, who
would not leave her chosen mate and several nondahl’reisen
men who preferred to ..ght alongside their
friends, fathers, and brothers. The rest had made the
woodland city of Elverial their home, though there was talk
of resettling in Lissilin. Thanks to Tealah’s tireless e..orts to
recover all the lost knowledge retained in the Mirror of
Memory, Rain and Ellysetta now knew how to restore
magic to the dead Source there. Life would bloom in the
desert again.
“Sha vel’mei, Sheyl,” Ellysetta said. “Though I do wish for
both your sakes that Farel had accepted Rain’s invitation. I
would gladly restore his soul, Sheyl.”
“We both thank you, but he could never accept the pain
it would cause you. Despite what some Fey may still think,
he is too honorable a Fey to ever let you su..er on his
he is too honorable a Fey to ever let you su..er on his
behalf.” Sheyl forced a smile. “Enough sad talk. This is a
day of joy. And there is someone who would like to meet
your father and sisters.” She gestured, and the woman
standing in the shadows of the archway stepped out onto
the terrace.
Lillis’s eyes widened brie..y, but then a slow smile
spread across her young face. “Your name is Bess.” She
walked across the terrace and hugged the aunt she’d never
met as if they were old friends. “Hello, I’m Lillis. Mama
loved you very much, and so will I. I’m so very glad you’ve
come.”
Ellysetta tilted her head to eye her young sister in
amazement. “How did you know that, Lillis?”
But all Lillis would say was, “Mama told me.” Shock
gave way to warm welcome as the other Baristanis stepped
forward to greet Lauriana’s long-lost sister.
A handful of chimes later, a distant roar rumbled through
the air and a triumphant, welcoming cheer rose up from
the gathered crowds of Fey. Silhouetted against the
deepening twilight of the eastern skies, the Fey’Bahren
pride soared across the sky towards Dharsa. The whole
pride had come—including the kitlings who had only
recently learned to ..y and were now gamboling across the
sky like rambunctious kittens.
Now, at last, everyone was here. Now, at last, Dharsa
could celebrate Ellysetta’s coronation and the ..rst
shei’tanitsa bonding ceremony to be held in over a
shei’tanitsa bonding ceremony to be held in over a
thousand years.
In the golden Hall of Tairen, tairen, friends and family and
countrymen had gathered. Spirit masters positioned around
the great hall began to weave as Ellysetta began her slow
march down the center of the hall towards the dais, where
Rain, Loris v’En Mahr, and two gleaming tairen thrones
awaited. The Spirit masters spun detailed images of each
moment out to several locations in the sky over Dharsa, so
that all the gathered throngs could watch the ceremonies
Steli, blue eyes whirling with pride, stood behind the
throne that would be Ellysetta’s. Sybharukai lent the
support of the tairen by standing behind Rain’s throne. The
four tairen kitlings sat with the rest of the pride o.. to one
side, wide-eyed and taking everything in. Their long tails
curled in front of them, and the tips ..icked with interest as
they looked around. An occasional furtive glance at
Sybharukai made them straighten up and quit ..dgeting.
Over her white, diamond-encrusted gown, Ellysetta had
donned a long silver cape woven from the bloodsworn
blades of her lu ‘tan. The cape trailed a full tairen length
behind her, its gleaming length sewn with the thousands of
Soul Quest crystals of the warriors who had fallen in her
service. As she passed Shei’Kess, the great oracle began to
glow with soft radiance, as if acknowledging and
welcoming her.
Dorian XI, garbed in resplendent Celierian blue, nodded
Dorian XI, garbed in resplendent Celierian blue, nodded
as she passed. Next to him stood Illona Brighthand, and
though Galad Hawksheart had been invited to attend, he
had sent Fanor Farsight to represent the Deep Woods elves
in his stead. Queen Annoura, who had gone into seclusion
to await the birth of her child, had not come. But Gaspare
Fellows, his eyes damp with happy tears, stood proudly
beside his king. Lord Teleos, Ellysetta’s distant cousin, stood
beside Shan and Elfeya.
Tenn and Venarra had come as well. No longer serving
on the Massan, they remained reluctant to embrace the
many changes that Ellysetta, Rain, and now the Mirror of
Knowledge had brought about, but Ellysetta was
determined to put the past to rest. They had feared
Ellysetta’s power, just as she had. And as Illona Brighthand
had pointed out, without Tenn’s stubborn refusal to join
the war, there would not have been enough warriors in
Dharsa to repel the Elden invasion. The gods had woven as
they would, and Ellysetta chose to make the best of it.
She smiled at her family, her quintet, Kieran and Kiel, the
other familiar, now-dear faces of those gathered here. And
as she swore her oath and accepted the responsibilities of
becoming Ellysetta Feyreisa, Queen and Defender of the
Fading Lands, she imagined that Mama and the many
beloved friends who had perished were watching her, too,
and smiling with approval.
Nalia, Loris’s shei’tani, carried Ellysetta’s crown, and Rain
placed it on her head. A six-pointed crown of platinum,
topped with six clear crystals from Lissalukai’s kiyr. As the
topped with six clear crystals from Lissalukai’s kiyr. As the
crown touched her head, the crystals began to glow, circling
her head in an aura of radiant light.
Finally, before the assemblage, Rain and Ellysetta,
truemates and Tairen Souls of the Fey, pledged the fullness
of their immortal lives to one another. With great dignity,
Loris v’En Mahr, the newly instated leader of the Massan,
called forth Tealah, the Keeper of the Hall of Scrolls, who
delivered to him a large and ornately wrought golden
scroll.
“By the grace and Light of the gods, Rainier vel’En Daris,
son of Rajahl and Kiaria vel’En Daris, and Ellysetta
Baristani vol Celay, daughter of Shannisorran and Elfeya
v’En Celay, adopted daughter of Sol and Lauriana Baristani
of Celieria, have joined their souls as one in shei’tanitsa.
Henceforth and forevermore shall they be known as Rainier
and Ellysetta v’En Daris, truemates of the Fey, Feyreisen
and Feyreisa of the Fading Lands. So let it be written in the
Scroll of Life. May your Light always shine, and joy be your
constant companion.” Magic ..ashed at the bottom of the
scroll, and the words Loris had just spoken appeared in
gleaming golden letters.
When Rain and Ellysetta turned to the crowd, cheers
arose in a great, joyous roar. “Mioralas! Rainier v’En Daris!
Ellysetta v’En Daris! Feyreisa! Feyreisen! Miora felah ti’vos!”
Air masters spun and showers of fragrant petals rained
down in the Hall and across the city as Fey voices rose in
joyous song. Outside, the tairen leapt into the air and
circled the city, roaring and ..lling the sky with celebratory
circled the city, roaring and ..lling the sky with celebratory
..ame.
The city’s celebration continued into the night, Fey and
Elves and Celierians dancing and singing and feasting
together as they had not done in a thousand years. As the
star the elves called Erimea rose into the night sky, the
tairen gathered on the golden rooftops of the restored
palace crowning Dharsa’s central mount.
«It is time, Ellysetta,» Steli called.
Rain turned and held out his hand to his truemate. “Are
you ready, shei’tani?”
Ellysetta took his hand. “Aiyah.” Rich, vibrant music
played in her mind: the pride song of the tairen. An
answering song rose up within her, ..lling her soul with
soaring joy. Her steps quickened as she and Rain ran up the
hill to the courtyard outside the Hall of Tairen, where the
pride was waiting. The kitlings were perched on the golden
eaves, while the adults had alighted on the grassy expanse
of the courtyard and formed a loose circle.
“This is a great honor, you know,” Rain whispered, as
they entered. “By bringing the pride here, rather than
having you to come to Su’Reisu, Sybharukai acknowledges
you a queen and makai in your own right.”
Steli hu..ed and nudged Ellysetta with her head. «You are
all surprises, kitling.»
Ellysetta laughed ruefully and rubbed the great cat’s silky
white jaw. “To myself also, Steli.” A tingling spread
through her limbs.
through her limbs.
A growl rumbled in Sybharukai’s throat, and her tail
lashed at Steli’s haunches.
«Sybharukai-makai says time to sing, not talk. Go, kitling.
Find your wings so we can ..y and hunt together.» Steli
pressed her furry white nose to Ellysetta’s back and nudged
her into the center of the tairen ring.
«We hear your song, Ellysetta-Azreisa.» Sybharukai
opened her mouth and deposited three very large crystals
on the ground near Ellysetta’s feet. One was a clear,
colorless crystal that shone with a bright, silvery white
glow, as if the light of a star had been captured in stone.
The second was a deep, dark red sparkling with a
kaleidoscope of rainbowed lights. And the third, though
obviously Tairen’s Eye, didn’t shine with the inner radiance
of normal crystals. It was dark, lifeless, looking more like
selkahr than Tairen’s Eye.
“Sybharukai?” Rain frowned. “What is the meaning of
this? Where is her Soul Quest crystal?”
«Those are her crystals, Rainier-Eras. She does not sing
one song but many. She sings the song of all the prides, but
the strongest of them are the songs of Reikaia, one of
Cahlah’s kitlings stolen in the egg, the song of Fellana,
mother of the ..rst Tairen Soul, and the song of Lissallukai,
Light of the Gods, makai of all the prides and the ..rst
tairen who sang magic into this world. That is the Old
Magic we smelled in her.» Sybharukai’s great, pupilless
eyes ..xed on Ellysetta. «Take them, kitling. Make them
yours. Join them, as you have joined us all.»
yours. Join them, as you have joined us all.»
Ellysetta reached down and scooped up the dark crystal.
It ..lled one palm entirely, and at her touch, it warmed
with sudden heat. Images ..ashed through her
consciousness, familiar images from the dreams of ..re and
blood she’d had so often, only this time she wasn’t afraid.
This time she understood. They weren’t all evil Mage-sent
dreams. Many were the cries of tairen whose souls were
tied to her own, the memories of their own battles against
Darkness and their own memories of grief and rage and
loss.
Unlike the rest of the highly empathic Fey women, she
was not helpless to defend herself against the evil of others.
She was a Tairen Soul, a queen, a young makai of the
prides. And though she’d been born to Fey parents and a
stolen tairen’s soul had been grafted to her own by the
High Mage of Eld, she was something much more than the
sum of her parts, and something much more than Vadim
Maur had ever intended.
Ellysetta picked up the other two crystals: the starry
crystal of Lissallukai and deep red crystal of Fellana. Each
began to shimmer and swirl at her touch, the essences of
the long-dead tairen recognizing the part of themselves that
had been born to live again in her.
Just like them, she was a creature of Light and Shadow,
capable of giving life or death, of creating or destroying.
She was the living embodiment of the greatest magic of all:
Azrahn, the soul magic, in its devastating entirety: the
golden shei’dalins’ love wielded by the strongest Fey
golden shei’dalins’ love wielded by the strongest Fey
women, and the shadowy power of destruction and control
wielded by the Mages and spun by those warriors of the
Fey who dared to use it. The Maker and the Unmaker. The
Healer and the Destroyer.
She was the will of the gods made ..esh, a living Tairen’s
Eye crystal sent to restore balance and strength to the Fey
by bringing back into their world the powerful magic their
ancestors had surrendered: Azrahn, the double-edged
sword. The magic from which all other magic sprang,
which was both the greatest gift and the greatest curse the
gods had given to the Fey. In Azrahn lay the power of the
divine, and the gods’ eternal test of the worthiness of the
Fey… for only a soul dedicated to Light could resist the
lure of Azrahn’s Darkest and most powerful secrets.
Ellysetta cupped the three Soul Quest crystals in her
hands and closed her eyes. Power gathered in her belly. She
knew what to do—not by instinct, as so many of her
greatest weaves had been in the past, but thanks to the vast
repository of knowledge stored in the Mirror of Knowledge
and the pride memory it had returned to her.
She closed her eyes and focused the power. «Shei’tan,
will you help me?»
«You need never ask.» Instantly, his power joined her
own.
She reached for more, and it came freely, from every soul
that shared a connection with hers. Bel, Gaelen, her lu’tan,
Dax and Marissya, Kieran, Kiel, the twins, Aunt Bessinita,
Dax and Marissya, Kieran, Kiel, the twins, Aunt Bessinita,
the tairen, the astonishing well of power that belong to her
Fey parents, Shan and Elfeya, and ..nally, the power of
every soul, living or dead, whose Light shared a bond with
her own. Their power poured into her, and she absorbed it
into herself without hesitation or fear, concentrating the
magic of their Light inside her until her skin began to glow
bright as a star. She gathered their power until she could
hold no more, and the electric burn danced across her skin
like ..re.
Then she began to spin. Not Earth, nor Water, nor Air,
nor Fire. Not Spirit either.
She spun Azrahn—pure, unfettered, powerful Azrahn
—woven in an intricate pattern of Light and Dark. A weave
of Making and Unmaking, of Destruction and Healing.
A weave of magic and creation.
As the magic gathered and swirled around her hands, she
cried, “I am Lissallukai, Light of the Gods, against whom no
Darkness shall endure. I am Fellana, bringer of life,
motherkin of all feyreisen. I am Reikaia, the tairen whose
death gave another soul life. I am Ellysetta-Azreisa, Tairen
Soul of the Fey, and I sing the Song of the living and the
dead. I sing the Song of Souls.”
Ellysetta’s eyes ..ew open, blazing with the intensity of
her magic. In her hands, the three crystals—stones that no
other power but tairen ..re could destroy—dissolved, then
re-formed as a single solid jewel, a shining cabochon of
deep ruby Tairen’s Eye ..lled with starry white drops that
deep ruby Tairen’s Eye ..lled with starry white drops that
looked like clusters of Amarynth blossoms.
Light gathered in the heart of the crystal, not some dim
glow, but a dazzling radiance. Within moments, the crystal
blazed like the sun, sending beacons of light radiating
outward in all directions.
The song of Ellysetta’s soul grew louder, insistent, almost
frantic. She could feel the wind on her face, brisk and icy as
if she were soaring through the high reaches of the sky.
Urgency and longing drew her tight, setting her muscles
trembling with anticipation.
Sybharukai settled a radiant eye upon her. «And now,
Ellysetta-Azreisa, will you let your tairen at last ..nd her
wings?»
“Aiyah,” Ellysetta agreed. Her ..ngers closed around the
newly forged Soul Quest crystal. She brought it tight against
her chest, holding it to her as if she could embrace
Lissallukai and Fellana and the infant tairen whose soul
had been stolen and tied to hers. “Aiyah,” she said again.
Her chin lifted, and she held Sybharukai’s whirling gaze.
“Help me set her free. Show me how to let her ..y.”
«Rainier-Eras,» Sybharukai commanded, «join us to sing
your mate through her First Change.»
A rush of magic washed over Ellysetta as Rain’s body
took its other form. Her heart pounded like a bass drum
against her chest as the black tairen completed the circle of
great cats ringed around her. The tairen sat back on their
haunches, and with a great rustle, their wings spread wide,
haunches, and with a great rustle, their wings spread wide,
blocking out all sight of the world. Even the kitlings joined
their elders, stretching their much smaller wings as far as
they would go.
A low, rumbling purr began. Softly at ..rst, then growing
louder as the ..rst, clear, crystalline notes of the song
pealed in Ellysetta’s mind.
It wove around her in intricate plaits, the notes
shimmering red, blue, white, green, lavender, and black.
Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Spirit, and Azrahn, that muchmaligned
magic so essential to them all. Azrahn, the soul
magic, the Shadow and the Light, the Maker and the
Unmaker. The song showed her the pattern and urged her
to embrace the magic of the Change.
The notes saturated her senses, wrapping her tight in
glorious ..ows, invading her ..esh and setting her body
a..ame. Pleasure so intense it could scarce be borne ..ooded
her body and unmade her. She ..ung her head back and
cried out, a cry of joy and surprise that deepened to a
sound no mankind, human or Fey, called their own.
With a roar, Ellysetta found her tairen form.
Fur sprouted where ..esh had been. Her limbs grew long,
and her ..ngers curved into lethal claws. Fangs lengthened
in her mouth. Wings unfurled, their undersides shining gold
in the fading light of day.
Ellysetta took an experimental step in her new,
unfamiliar body. She felt the earth beneath the pads of her
feet, claws sinking into dirt and rock. And then, because she
feet, claws sinking into dirt and rock. And then, because she
could, she rose on her hind legs and breathed ..re into the
sky, laughing at the hot rush and searing taste of it.
«Shei’tani.»
Her great head swung round to meet her mate’s glowing
pupilless tairen gaze. She saw herself in his mind, sleek
and powerful, with fur the color of cinnamon and ..ames,
eyes whirling with bright rainbowed radiance of Tairen’s
Eye crystal that was even now calming to vivid, crystalline
green. Ellysetta breathed deep, marveling at the acuteness
of her senses. Scent, taste, sight, sound: All were clearer
now, sharper, and visible radiant ..ows of magic overlay
everything, giving the world a constant, shifting glow.
Tairen song—her song—hummed through her veins,
resonating in every cell. Not separate songs as once they
had been, but one song: the bright, ..erce blaze of tairen
forever and inextricably tied with the deep, cool well of
feminine Fey power. And through the wholeness of her
song, tied in bonds that would last all eternity, every part
of Ellysetta’s soul was joined with the majesty, the honor,
the ..erce strength and the limitless, everlasting love of
Rainier-Eras, Tairen Soul, King of the Fey.
«Will you dance the skies with me, beloved?» he asked.
«Yes! Yes! Let us ..y!» her tairen half cried with sudden
eagerness.
Rain poured images into her mind, directing her new
tairen body in the age-old intricacies of tairen ..ight. She
gave herself over to him without reservation, and her body
gave herself over to him without reservation, and her body
processed and followed his instructions without conscious
thought.
She crouched, great muscles bunching in her hind legs,
magic gathering, then sprang. Her wings shot out, fully
extended, and Air swept up to ..ll them, snapping the
membranes taut. She pumped her wings, gaining loft and
speed, propelling her tairen body higher and faster until
the air grew brisk and cold, and the ground raced far, far
beneath her.
«Rain!»
«I am here, beloved.»
And he was. He always would be.
Together, Rain and Ellysetta, truemates and Tairen Souls
of the Fading Lands, raced across the sky, their mighty
wings spread wide.

Acknowledgements
The publication of this book brings to a close the dream
I have pursued for over a decade. I ..rst met Rain and Ellie
in 1999 in between contract jobs as an IVR programmer
and B2B marketing specialist. Their story consumed me. I
fell in love with them, their friends, their world. I’m so glad
you did too.
Thanks to my wonderful family—my husband, Kevin; my
daughters, Ileah and Rhiannon; and my son, Aidan—for
supporting me and all the long hours of writing and
writerly stu... Special thanks to my mother, Lynda Richter,
and my sister, Dr. Lisa Richter, for the tireless hours of
reading half-baked manuscripts and helping me make them
better, and to all the CP’s over the years who’ve had a hand
in making Rain and Ellie’s story the best it could be,
especially my star..sh pals: Christine Feehan, Kathie
Firzla.., Diana Peterfreund, Betina Krahn, Sheila English,
Carla Hughes, and Sharon Stone. Thanks to my dad, the
incomparable Ray Richter, for being my web guru all these
years. A very special thanks to my agent, Michelle
Grajkowski, and my former editor, Alicia Condon, because
four years ago, you both took a chance on an unpublished
writer and a monster manuscript no one else in publishing
would touch. Last but not least, thanks to my new editor,
Tessa Woodward, and my new publisher, Avon Books. I
look forward to what I hope will be a long and fruitful
relationship.


By C. L. Wilson
CROWN OF CRYSTAL FLAME
QUEEN OF SONG AND SOULS
KING OF SWORD AND SKY
LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOWS
LORD OF THE FADING LANDS

Crown of Crystal Flame
Rain knew loss. He knew what it was to wish for death.
Ellysetta traced a pattern across the skin of his chest. She
ran a hand down his torso, ..ngertips stroking the silkysmooth
skin. All she had to do was touch him to set her
world to rights. “Rain…”
“Aiyah?”
“About what you said earlier to Dorian. The bit about my
leaving if the battle grows grim.”
He caught her hand, stilled it. “I’ve already commanded
your quintet to take you to safety when the time comes.”
She rolled away and propped herself up on one elbow
so she could see his face.
“Lord Hawksheart said we should stay together,” she
reminded him. “‘Do not leave your mate’s side,’ he said.
‘You hold each other to the Light,’ he said. And he said we
could only defeat the Darkness together.”
“He said many things. Most of which I don’t trust.”
“The safest place for me is at your side. Whatever
happens, we face it together.”
His eyes closed and he nodded. “Doreh shabeila de.” So
shall it be.

Copyright
This is a work of ..ction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the author’s imagination or are used ..ctitiously and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
AVON BOOKS
An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, New York 10022-5299
Copyright © 2010 by C. L. Wilson
Map by C. L. Wilson
“Eternal Song” copyright © 2010 by Arabella Hancock
“Shadow’s Eyes” copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Huizar
“My Shei’tan” copyright © 2010 by Janet Reeves
“Tairen’s Chant to His Beloved” copyright © 2010 by Ashley Denman
“Dahl’reisen’s Lament” copyright © 2010 by Rebekah Lyness
“Dahl’reisen’s Plea” copyright © 2010 by Ashley Denman
“Shei’tanitsa Sonnet” copyright © 2010 by Helen Thompson
“Call to War” copyright © 2010 by Colleen Billiot
“Flight of the Tairen Lovers” copyright © 2010 by Phyllis Bright
“Majestic Flight” copyright © 2010 by Janet Reeves
ISBN 978-0-06-201896-0
www.avonromance.com
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HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com