41. CHILDREN OF VIOLENCE
Chapter forty-one
CHILDREN OF VIOLENCE
Ornella
W e reached Rian’s tent, and Sage swept back the hanging beads for me to pass into the anteroom. The bustle of the camp outside faded thanks to the silencing ward as we moved toward the entrance into the main room.
Inside, I saw Carrick was sitting on the floor at the low table in front of Rian’s couch with a female human sitting across from him. They appeared to be playing a game while Rian watched them, sitting on the couch behind the woman with a faint smile on his face.
I could tell right away why Carrick was so concerned about this woman. She was gaunt in a white-and-blue dress with long, loose sleeves and a low-cut, V-shaped bodice that exposed her bony chest. One of her eyes was swollen shut, her lower lip was split, her nose was crooked from being broken, and her face and neck were littered in cuts and bruises. Her shoulder-length hair was a unique colour, mostly frizzy waves of dark curls, but there were streaks of red beneath.
She struggled to move the game pieces with her thin and crooked fingers, some of which were missing nails. Her knuckles were raw and cracked, and there were burn scars on her palms as if she’d grabbed something hot.
Before I could step fully into the room, Sage abruptly began wrapping something silky and light around me, jolting me to a sudden halt. I turned in surprise while he finished adjusting the scarf over my neck and shoulders. He had obviously snagged it from Rian’s things in the anteroom because it smelled of the Autumn Prince. My anam clearly enjoyed wrapping me up in the scent of another male even less than I did, but he was determined to cover my hickeys. He did not want Nuala to see them, and while I knew he was right to worry, it still irked me after our conversation about Orlaith’s shame.
“Sage, they are not—”
“We can talk about it after,” he interrupted me firmly before nodding for me to continue inside. I sighed loudly in protest, but I turned to lead the way into the tent.
Rian was the first to lift his head, those emerald eyes zeroing in on his scarf instantly. He tilted his head as if in confusion, but then the bastard grinned knowingly at me. I had no doubt he knew his cousin’s habits well enough to understand immediately what was under the scarf.
“Oh,” said the fire witch softly, drawing my attention to her as she looked over at me with just one amber eye. “You are blood of the earth,” she noted with a foreign inflection of Sìth Gaeilge that I immediately recognized. Her voice was so flat and devoid of emotion that it was mildly unsettling, but she sounded so much like Amira.
“This is Ornella. She’s a dryad and a powerful healer,” Rian told her.
“She is a daughter of Danu and an exile who finally found the home she has long sought in a Light Wraith,” said Nuala as her good eye drifted to Sage.
Seers were said to be strange creatures with one eye in reality and the other in the Tithriall, so I tried not to be alarmed or annoyed at her for blurting out my business.
“Yes,” I told her because she still seemed to be waiting for me to respond.
“And you are like me. A child of violence.”
I forced myself not to react and merely looked at her. At her swollen eye. Her split lip. And her crooked nose. How many times had I looked into a mirror and seen my own mangled face reflected back?
Perhaps I even still looked like her on the inside.
“Yes. But I did not let them win. And one day, I will bring them as much pain and suffering as they saw fit to inflict upon me,” I assured her.
Nuala smiled slightly, and Carrick raised his brows in surprise at her, so I knew it was probably the first time she had shown such emotion since coming to Autumn.
“Then we will be sisters in our wrath,” Nuala told me, and I was not sure why, but her words felt heavy as if they carried the weight of prophecy. As if she had spoken this fate into existence. As if there was so much more to her than just the frail body before me.
“I had hoped you would be able to heal her, and Sage has indicated that you are willing to try,” admitted Rian. He looked pleased as if my first interaction with Nuala had gone as he had hoped.
“I am not sure I can make her completely new tonight, but she will certainly be more comfortable,” I told him.
“I do not want to erase all of the scars,” she broke in. “Please,” she added with a deferential glance at Rian who merely nodded in agreement.
“I believe her mouth pains her the most. That must be the priority. It makes it difficult for her to eat anything,” Rian said while I came to sit on the couch near him and behind Nuala who swivelled to face me. “And her feet.”
I glanced down and saw that the witch undoubtedly had been a victim of fungal infection. Rian and Carrick would have already treated her with medicine, but her raw skin would still be painful which would be impacting her mobility.
“And my eyes,” the witch blurted again. “I cannot bear the brightness of flames long enough to See anything.”
“I will do as much as I can. But this will be painful. Some of your bones will need to be reset into their proper place if they are to heal,” I admitted.
“I am accustomed to pain. At least this pain will be fleeting and purposeful,” Nuala dismissed my concern.
“Alright. Then I shall start with your mouth,” I told her as I sat forward to reach for her face.
I was shocked when Rian abruptly grabbed my wrist, moving so quickly that I hadn’t even felt him flinch on the couch next to me.
“Apologies, Ornella, but I must ask you not to touch Nuala without my permission,” he advised me, remaining calm in spite of the tightness of his grip.
“Rian!” growled Carrick who seemed to have leapt in front of Sage who had advanced and was now bristling.
I recalled what Carrick said about Rian’s relationship with the witch and understood immediately.
“It’s okay. He made a promise,” I stated confidently, glancing down at Nuala who was observing us all with a reserved curiosity. “But it will help me heal her if you will permit me to touch her,” I insisted calmly to Rian.
He looked impressed that I had deduced his reasons, and it seemed to put him at ease. He released me in favour of beckoning for Nuala who rose to come to him without hesitation and settled on the couch between us.
“She is going to need to touch you,” he told her with a gentle but firm voice that made even me feel confident he was in control of the situation. And I could definitely see how it would be deeply reassuring for someone like her who was so fresh out of a traumatic situation.
“I am not afraid of her,” Nuala told him with her eye trained on me.
“Please leave us,” he commanded Sage and Carrick, both of whom were reluctant.
“It’s alright. This is going to hurt her, and she does not need an audience for it,” I explained quickly to Sage.
I could tell that my anam understood, so although he did not want to leave me alone, he nodded his agreement. With a final look of warning that I knew was a reminder not to overdo it, he turned for the tent entrance.
“I will be right outside,” he told me.
I waited until he and his father had gone before turning to Rian who had reached into the pocket of his pants.
“I know that you are limited with what you can do for her when parts of Nuala are missing or damaged beyond any hope of repair,” acknowledged Rian as he extracted something from his pocket. “But Aodhan was talented at the art of aistriú , and I suspect that you may surpass him,” Rian told me as he revealed a cneasú tin.
Aistriú was a kind of transformative blood magic that was favoured among my people, so I knew what would be in the cneasú tin before Rian opened it for me.
Fresh human remains for me to harness magic from and use to restore Nuala.
It was a dark and cruel magic, but I did not hesitate to reach for the tin and emptied the remains into my palm. Their essence of fire magic, the essence of a fire witch, wafted up to me.
“Where did you get these?” I asked him as I used my thumb to pop the cork out of the vial of human blood.
“From someone who deserved their fate,” Rian advised me with a shrug as I dumped the blood over the other remains in my hand.
“Alright. Ready?” I asked, and he nodded.
I reached for Nuala again with my free hand. I was sure to make my touch on her jaw as light as I could when my magic began to flow into her to chart her injuries.
I fought a cringe as the information began to flow back to me, an overview of her disfigured body. The blatant cruelty was beyond anything that I had ever experienced. Careful and deliberate torment and hateful mutilation.
I instantly flushed out the last of her infection and gave her a health boost to correct her nutritional deficiencies. She could not feel me do this, but I sensed her perking up as her damaged organs were healed and began to function as intended.
“Brace yourself,” I warned them both before I turned my attention to her mouth. She was missing many teeth, but luckily for her, the Autumn Prince had acquired what I would need to restore them for her.
Nuala hissed and flinched as I began to heal her gums. All of her teeth were either rotted or severely damaged after decades of neglect. I might have moved some of the healthier ones into more ideal positions to salvage them, but why bother? The ones in my hand were healthy and white and clearly well cared for.
Her teeth began popping out of her mouth to land in her lap which made Nuala whimper in disgust.
“Gently,” Rian warned me sharply.
He had said Aodhan used the magic, so he would have known what it would entail. He would have expected the cruel and visceral realities of what I had to do, but he still could not seem to help becoming defensive of the witch.
“It is not gentle work,” I responded without taking my focus off of Nuala who put her hand on his arm to assure him wordlessly that she was alright.
Once her gums were healed and her teeth were out of the way, the real work began. I focused on the teeth in my hand to begin channelling them and felt them collapse into drops of water in my palm as I transformed them to suit my needs. Performing this sort of magic was not a natural use of elemental power, and it usually left a taint upon the Tithriall when witches used it. However, Seelie fey were uniquely qualified for it since water magic was healing, and I could return the magic unscathed to the Tithriall.
Nuala hissed again as new teeth began spearing up out of her freshly healed gums. Healthy and perfect.
“Eyes next,” I warned her as I shifted my hand higher to rest on her left temple.
Using the eye that once had perfect vision in my hand, I strengthened her sight and then healed all the bruising and swelling in her face. She winced, but then both of her eyes opened, and I was astonished by the mismatching colours of them. One was crystalline blue while the other was the same striking amber as Amira’s orbs were.
One eye in reality and one in the Tithriall.
“Deep breath now,” I advised her, and then rebroke her nose with my magic the instant that her lungs were filled which made her cry out in pain.
Rian uttered a warning growl at me when her blood erupted down her face, but I ignored him, staying focused on using the cartilage in the ear from my palm. Nuala was strong, especially for a human, and she was not nearly as dramatic as I expected while I reshaped her nose.
Deciding to give her a break from the pain, I used the short strands of shiny, black hair in my hand to nourish her frayed curls so they fell in soft and luscious waves. The magic also thickened and beautified the rest of her body hair, including her lashes and brows. I healed the rest of her shallow cuts and bruises, which was little more than a tingle for her, before shifting my free hand down to indicate her deformed fingers.
“This is going to hurt too,” I warned her.
“Do it,” she growled, still trembling from the pain I’d already inflicted, blood leaking from her nostrils, but she was determined to endure more. “Leave the burn scars.”
“Very well,” I agreed, impressed with her as I quickly removed my belt with just one hand. “You better bite this. We don’t want to ruin those pretty new teeth,” I pointed out as I held my belt up to her mouth. Nuala clenched her teeth down on the leather without complaint as I looked to Rian over her shoulder. “You should hold her,” I advised, and he nodded as he carefully wrapped an arm around her to pin her against his chest. I thought Nuala might react to being restrained, the gods knew that I would have in her position, but she seemed content to let him hold her.
“I am sorry,” he whispered to her just before I rebroke all of her fingers at once with my magic. It seemed better just to get it fucking over with.
But she screamed so loudly that it almost broke my concentration on straightening and reconstructing all of her bones, joints, and tendons. On regrowing her nails. Her nipples and genitals had been mutilated, so I used the tongue in my hand to restore them to complete perfection. There was not much magic left to be harnessed from the remains, but I was able to use the remainder of them to seal cracks and chips in her bones. I replaced chunks of flesh that had been cut off her, and the last of the remains dissolved into water and dripped through my fingers.
I had not meant to heal her almost entirely, but I could not allow that poor female to go one more day as she was. And besides, using aistriú magic had made it so much easier than using so much of my own energy. By the time I was done with her, Nuala was healed and whole again for perhaps the first time in decades. She had only to gain back some weight and strengthen her frail body.
“Sorry about your nose. And your dress,” I muttered with a wince as I took my belt from between her teeth. The blue gown was ruined anyways, so I reached down to the hem and tore a strip off of it.
Predictably, the Autumn Prince glowered.
“Oh, just relax, Rian, it is only us here, and she already said she is not afraid of me,” I insisted as I manifested fresh water in my hands. It dampened the strip of her dress so I could use it to clean her bloody face.
“It is alright,” said Nuala, her voice still a little nasally from the clots of blood in her nose. “It hurt but…”
Rian loosened his arm from around her so she could reach up to touch her face, her teeth, and her hair in utter disbelief. Then she looked down at her delicate looking hands that were perfect besides the burn scars she insisted I should not heal. She flexed her long, slender fingers easily and tears formed in her mismatching eyes.
“The pain is all gone now,” she whispered, raising her eyes to me with a look of such utter gratitude that I had to fight the urge to put space between us.
“Is there fire?” she asked Rian, turning to look at him beseechingly, and his irritation with me was all forgotten. This witch had been here just one day, and I was pretty sure she already had him wrapped around her finger.
I wondered if maybe we were concerned for the wrong person when it came to… whatever was between them.
The Autumn Prince cupped his hands and formed a ball of fire the same way I had formed water.
Nuala reached for him, jerking the flames so close to her face that I worried she would singe her eyebrows off. But my concerns for my hard work faded immediately when her eyes both went suddenly milky white...
“ Once their usefulness to me expires, I will bring a swift and brutal retribution down upon them ,” Nuala said, her voice distorted and unnaturally deep.
I recognized the words immediately as the ones that Rian had spoken in Aes Rurrinn, and a shiver erupted down my spine. She really was a Seer. She had seen what was probably on his mind which was how he would deal with the Fuath threat.
Rian was staring down at her in a mixture of awe and triumph as a slow smile teased his mouth.
“How, Nuala?” he asked her softly.
She was unblinking, her face eerily still as her milky eyes darted back and forth as if she really were seeing something in the flames.
“A magic that is not yours shall become a part of you to give you what you need.”
Her brows furrowed suddenly, and then she blinked, her eyes returning to their natural colours with a look of confusion and disappointment.
“Are you alright?” I asked her.
“My Sight must still be a little strained. It is as if there is a blinding white light,” she explained and lifted a hand to her temple as if she had a headache. She looked up at Rian, hopeful at first and then proud when she saw how pleased he was with her nonetheless.
“Are you ready to meet the rest of the Wild Hunt?” Rian asked her. Nuala nodded eagerly with a bright smile that transformed her gaunt face into something that was almost beautiful as she turned back to me.
“Thank you—” she began to say before she hesitated. “Oh. You do not like being thanked. There has never been anyone for you to thank,” she divined seamlessly.
“Alright, first things first, it would be better not to go around just saying everyone’s private feelings out loud! That is a good way to piss people off quickly,” I advised her a little sharply before I caught myself. Then I drew in a breath and inclined my head in an acknowledgement of what she had said. “But you are not wrong.”
“You will both have a safe home with the Wild Hunt, and you will each have your vengeance,” declared Rian as he rose from the couch. I watched as he walked over to the table where he kept his wine. “It is a promise.”
I was starting to understand the loyalty Rian seemed to effortlessly command. Despite the fact he was evidently always on the verge of cataclysmic destruction, there was a confident authority about him that was very reassuring. But he was also clearly a gifted strategist and empathetic leader who genuinely cared . He took his responsibility to those he commanded very seriously.
Sage and Carrick returned, distracting me from my thoughts, and I assumed Rian must have sent for all the riders once Nuala agreed to meet them.
Both males stopped short at the sight of the witch on the couch next to me, and then Sage looked at me with a mixture of concern and anger. But he could tell I hadn’t exhausted my magic, and I knew he was confused how that was possible after I had clearly healed her so much.
“I used—” I began to explain, but then Ciaran came stalking into the tent, and I had the feeling it was probably better that he did not know what kind of magic I’d used. Ciaran disapproved of me in general, and I knew this was the kind of thing he might use as ammo against me.
Once more, I wished I could speak into Sage’s mind.
Ciaran spared me a single disdainful glance before his eyes landed on Nuala sitting beside me. I could tell that he was taken aback by her gaunt appearance, and I could understand why Rian had waited to introduce her until after she was healed. I did not think Ciaran could have contained his reaction if he’d seen her before, and Nuala did not deserve to be gawked at like that.
He stopped beside Sage, crossing his arms as he eyed the witch. His face was carefully devoid of any emotion, so I knew he recalled our leader’s firm command not to direct any of his ire at Nuala.
Nuala was looking right back at him, her head tilted, and I knew she was reading him the way she read me.
“You are filled with fear of me and Ornella. You worry for the integrity of the Wild Hunt when you feel that we undermine your brotherhood,” she stated.
“What did I just tell you about not saying everyone’s private feelings out loud?” I whisper-hissed at her.
Ciaran’s jaw hung open, too shocked to even be angry right away before he looked at Rian with indignation as if he expected the Autumn Prince to do something.
“You will risk becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to be guided by your fear,” continued Nuala, heedless of my warning. “It will tear wider the chasms you already feel opening between you and your brothers. But their love is unconditional and not a finite resource for which you must fight. It will change and expand to encompass new heights as your family grows in many unexpected ways. Fear and distrust is the true bane of the Wild Hunt,” Nuala finished sternly.
There was complete and utter silence, her merciless words shocking but also uplifting. And a mean part of me wanted to use the opportunity to mock Ciaran, but the reality was that he was like me. Afraid to be alone and devalued in favour of someone or something else.
Sage was standing next to Ciaran and was the first to move, de-escalating the situation in his sweet and gentle way by clamping a hand on Ciaran’s shoulder.
“I did not know that was how you felt. I am sorry.”
“It is not… She is not…” Ciaran sputtered, but then he fell silent, his face a brittle mask of stoicism that was cracking all over. I almost felt bad for him. I had already become a victim of Nuala’s invasive clairvoyance, but at least my secrets had all been spilled in relative privacy.
“It is better to be open and honest about these things, lest they begin to poison us,” said Darragh, who must have quietly entered the tent while Nuala was speaking. The demidragon clasped Ciaran’s other shoulder tightly on his way to stand in front of me and Nuala. He nodded to me before his silver eyes began to appraise the witch.
“You look much better, my lady,” he admitted with his usual apathetic smile that betrayed no emotion.
“Thank you. And you need not fear from me either, Guardian. Although I may become an unwilling source of contention for a short time, rest assured, I will ultimately bring you what you truly need,” she advised him.
Darragh’s brows furrowed and his mouth tightened as he glanced at Rian in uncertainty.
“He did not tell me of your fears. I overheard them,” she assured the dragon who had the good grace to look chagrined before he inclined his head as if in apology.
“You already bloodied the dress I acquired for you?”
“That was my fault. I had to break her nose in order to fix it properly,” I told the dragon whose brows condensed in further sympathy for Nuala. He had obviously seen her before I healed her, and maybe when Rian first brought her back as well. There was suddenly a great deal more emotion than I’d ever seen in his eyes although it was hard to decide what it meant.
But the witch merely smiled as she reached up to run all her fingers down either side of the straightened bridge of her nose. “It hurt all the time before,” she revealed. “Now it finally feels right.”
“You had to break her nose?” verified Ciaran. He did not sound judgemental so I opted to answer him nicely.
“I did not have another choice. I had to break many of her bones to heal them. Including just about everything in both of her hands,” I admitted over my shoulder.
He did not respond, but I was now intent on observing Darragh who seemed captivated by the witch.
“Thank you for the dress. It is the prettiest thing I have ever worn,” Nuala told him as if she knew he needed a bit of reassurance. As if she knew whatever internal struggle was making him look at her like she was a ghost.
And the strangest thing happened. Darragh had been kind enough, although he seemed apathetic in general, but I could almost see the ice thawing in his eyes when Nuala smiled at him. He inclined his head, and then he walked around us to take up a position right behind her as if he had just decided to become her personal guardian.
“Now you have all met Nuala,” said Rian as he also walked over to take up position next to Darragh behind me and Nuala. He leaned over the couch with his palms braced wide apart on the wooden rail. “I have heard all of your concerns regarding the two newest additions to our inner ranks, and I have given it all much careful thought. My verdict is that Ornella was chosen to join us and has proven herself both valuable and amenable. I will hear no more objections to her taking her place in the Wild Hunt, and furthermore, she must be initiated soon . Our ranks cannot remain divided and uncoordinated much longer.”
He raised his brows sternly at me when I looked up at him in surprise. Once I nodded, Rian looked to Ciaran who also nodded in reluctant understanding.
“Good. As for Nuala, she has also proven herself to be both valuable and amenable. I anticipate some discontent when we introduce her to our war council. But the close relationships that you have all built with our captains will be instrumental in mediating. You will all set the tone for how she and Ornella are both received. Remember it.”
There was quiet as the riders gave a nod of agreement, and I noticed Carrick smiling at Rian. Pleased with him.
“We are the Wild Hunt,” the Autumn Prince continued. “Our ranks change, but our mission never does. And our enemies have been making dangerous moves whilst we have been preoccupied with infighting and the Fuath.”
“You have news?” guessed Sage in concern.
“Our spies in the Spring Court indicate King Riordan may be looking for King Balor,” Rian informed us.
“He is looking for allies,” I deduced, and Rian inclined his head in confirmation that this is what he suspected. “We need to talk to him quickly and explain about the Rot before he makes any moves against us,” I urged him.
“I want you to write a note warning him that we are coming for negotiations so he does not attempt to kill us on sight. We will go just as soon as our people are made safe from the Fuath,” Rian reassured me. “We have been looking for the Spring King for years. It is unlikely that King Riordan will find him first,” he added to the others.
“You want to force him to abdicate to a younger and stronger monarch,” I recalled. “Is that even possible for a fey king or queen to pass on their power?”
“The monarchs would want you to believe otherwise, but it is,” insisted Rian. “They claim it was the death of the Summer Queen which caused their decline. But I have read accounts from before that time which claimed they were already diminishing. It is my belief that their power should have been passed on long ago, the way that griffin royals pass on their power to keep it strong and pure,” Rian explained. “But the fey held onto their power for far too long, and now it is stagnant.”
“Changing the ruler might not help,” I pointed out.
“No, but the chance that it may make all the difference should be worth sacrificing their titles,” Rian insisted.
I could not disagree with him. “You told them?”
“I did, and they refused. And since I am the only one who can make them atone for their egotism, they further disgrace themselves by hiding from me,” he admitted.
“What will you do to them?” I could not help asking, but it was Nuala who answered.
“Consume them,” she said softly.