19. Tempest
19
TEMPEST
I scooped a bunch of power from my well and blasted it out of me, flinging it at Delaine.
She shuddered. Eyes wide, she reeled back from me, her arms lifting.
The scalded feeling went away, and I could move.
Before she could find a way to retaliate, the outer door opened, and Reyla drifted into the room. She moved over to stand beside me, though I doubted Delaine would care if a drained Nullen witnessed her revenge.
“What’s going on out there?” Brenna called out. “I do hope you’re all getting along. I’ll be very displeased if you’re not.”
“Everything’s fine,” I said in a breezy voice. “Delaine and I were merely having a discussion.”
“Remember, I’m toying with you,” Delaine said with a smirk. “When I’m ready to act, beware.” She ripped Brenna’s gown from my hands and took it to the closet .
I limped over to the sofa, more shaken from the encounter than I wanted to admit. Delaine was not as powerful as Ivenrail or Vexxion. She couldn’t be.
But if I couldn’t best Delaine, there was no way I’d be able to kill Ivenrail. I needed to train harder and push myself every single moment I had to make sure I was prepared, because I didn’t have much time left.
Reyla sunk down onto the sofa beside me. She lifted my hand and linked our fingers together before dropping them onto her thigh.
My throat choked off with pain. Was my friend finding her way back again? Surely her well of power would slowly replenish, and she’d be the Reyla I remembered once more.
Delaine sauntered out of the closet and over to the bathing room door, poking her head inside the room. “How are you doing my queen? Can I get you a glass of wine? A snack? Anything?”
“Send in Tempest.”
With a huff, Delaine stepped back from the door and glared at me.
Releasing Reyla’s hand, I rose and walked toward the bathing area with Drask riding on my shoulder. I stopped beside Delaine. “Marscapoles may appear sweet and innocent, but they can be quite vicious. While I may appear as fluffy and powerless as them, remember, I also have teeth.” I gouged out with my power again, but instead of flinging it at her without purpose, I made it slice down her arm like I wielded my favorite blade. Blood welled in the thick wound .
She gasped and flung herself away from me, clutching her arm while her blood dripped onto the floor.
“I believe Delaine needs a healer,” I called out. “She did something foolish, and cut herself. Shall I send for a healer, my queen?”
“What have you done, Delaine?” Brenna growled. “Yes, Tempest, please send for a healer. Thank you for thinking of your friend.”
Ha ha. She would never be my friend.
Without prompting, Reyla rose and drifted to the door. She opened it and spoke to the guard about summoning someone to take care of Delaine’s wound.
Delaine slumped on the sofa I’d just vacated.
As I stepped inside the bathing area to help Brenna, I swore Reyla snickered.
The next morning, with only four days left until the wedding, we once again attended to Brenna’s needs, helping her dress and fixing her hair. We adorned her with jewels worth enough coin to feed an aerie full of dragons for a month.
Before Brenna left to have breakfast with the king, she turned our way. “After tidying my rooms, I’d like you to return well before dinner to help me dress, just as you did yesterday. However, as a treat, you three shall dine with us tonight.” A sweet smile spread across her face. “You’d enjoy that dining with the king and I, won’t you? ”
Her words were a statement, not a question.
“Yes.” Delaine pretty much jumped around with excitement. She must’ve dined with the king before, which told me she was behaving in this way to impress Brenna.
I forced a smile and nodded while Reyla stared at the floor.
Brenna left, and we remained behind to tidy her room.
Delaine said nothing about me cutting her with magic the day before. I was surprised she still wore a bandage. Didn’t the fae heal faster than Nullens? She also didn’t seek revenge, but I knew she was only waiting for the right moment to act.
Reyla, sadly, wouldn’t speak even when I quizzed her. She dutifully helped with the queen and her possessions, but if she wasn’t given specific directions, I’d catch her staring blankly at the wall. I began to wonder if I’d imagined her speaking yesterday, let alone taking my hand and holding it.
Once we’d finished, Delaine flitted from the room.
I took Reyla’s limp arm and dragged her up to my suite, where I made her sit on a sofa in the living area and dropped down beside her.
Drask soared over to his perch by the window, where he paid more attention to us than whatever might be going on outside.
Ember’s Shadow lay on the low table in front of the sofa, and I dropped it onto Reyla’s lap. “This is yours. Vexxion brought it all the way from the cabin we shared at the Claiming.”
Her hands remained at her sides, and she stared at the unlit fireplace.
“I’m going to help you, Reyla. I’m learning magic. You were right. We Nullens have power. I’m going to learn the spell that’ll bring you back to the surface.”
Wait . . .
Closing my eyes, I pictured my well. I scooped up a handful of my power and, opening my eyes, I siphoned it delicately into Reyla.
She shuddered.
I sucked in a breath, watching her for multiple heartbeats while she continued to stare forward.
I cast the spell again. Another time. I kept sending my power at her, hoping some would sink into her skin, that I could refill her well or give her enough to bring back the friend I adored.
Finally, when my body was limp and the level of my well had dropped down so far, I couldn’t reach to scoop up any more power, I stopped.
“I’m not giving up,” I whispered, turning her face toward mine gently. “You’re in there, and I’m going to fix this. I miss you so much. I miss talking with you, hugging you. I miss how you used to cheer me up when I felt sad, how you’d tease me about guys. I miss sharing everything with you. I’m greedy. I have Vexxion, and I love him, but I want you, too, Reyla. I’m going to make it happen.”
She said nothing.
But her left hand twitched.
When she stood, the book dropped to the floor with a thud, opening to reveal the pages. She stepped over it and drifted across the room .
I scrambled off the sofa and caught up with her at the door, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Come back to me, Reyla. Please.”
She wrenched away, opened the door, and stepped out into the hall, slamming the panel in my face.
“She’s there,” I whispered, my eyes smarting with tears. “She has to be there.”
Drask cawed in what I swore was agreement.
Returning to the sofa, I lifted the book and tossed it onto the cushions beside me. Drask flew over and landed on the book, his claws raking the cover.
“Don’t damage it,” I said softly, lifting him off and placing him on my shoulder. “Reyla’s coming back to us, and she’ll want to finish it. You know she’ll complain if you’ve torn it.”
I tsked at the marks, rubbing them, but they’d marred the leather.
“I should go to the stables,” I told Drask. “Brenna won’t need me for hours.”
He watched me, tilting his head this way and that.
“I’m sure there’s more dragon poop in need of shoveling,” I added. I’d grab something to eat in the kitchen as I passed. I’d heard the cooks kept bread, meat, and cheese available for staff.
I tossed the book onto the table, and it opened again, revealing the pages. My gaze was snagged, and I leaned forward to read.
“Fuck,” I cried out, straightening and lifting the book to clutch it against my chest. “Fuck!”
Drask squawked and fluttered his wings .
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked him.
He cawed and looked quite disgruntled.
“Yeah, alright, you tried to, but I scolded you instead.”
This wasn’t a romance novel about a Nullen and a fae lord broken apart by tragic fate.
The book had fallen open to Chapter Twenty, entitled, Bonding with Dragons.
I flipped to the table of contents, running my finger down the various subjects discussed in the book.
Most, like Deadly Plants of the Plains and How to Avoid Them , I ignored. A few others caught my eye.
Liege Bone Coins. I needed to read that one soon.
Fae Mate Bonds. Since I wasn’t fae, I’d hold that one for last.
The Power of Nullens. Intriguing. Would I learn more about our abilities with magic and the initial treaty?
The Blade of Alessa. I’d read about the lost blade . . . somewhere. Maybe Vexxion had mentioned it.
I was snagged by Nullen Redemption , and flipped to the page, gaping at the introduction that discussed how Nullens had once provided balance—though this section didn’t discuss how—and how, when they fled faerie, that balance was lost.
A quick scan of The Power of Nullens reiterated the rules. Only collared Nullens would be allowed beyond the veil into faerie. Those who were not collared at the Claiming would remain within their own boundaries. Any Nullen collared and claimed would have their dormant power awakened and must allow whoever claimed them—or one of their blood—to take this power as needed through Access. After that, they would work as servants even if they couldn’t generate more power to drain.
And the last detail in this chapter: the fae were only allowed to collar one Nullen at a time but could claim another if the Nullen suffered an unfortunate demise. What a delightful way of phrasing that, as if the Nullen would die of old age rather than a quick slash across the throat with a knife.
One detail, though it was vaguely worded, mentioned the spell that would be triggered if any fae disobeyed the rules set forth in the treaty. Why hadn’t Ivenrail triggered the spell when he started taking power from whoever he pleased?
Another tidbit Nullen Redemption shared was that the balance needed to be maintained or the fae realm would be lost. That even those Nullens with no power at all were needed to center that balance, whatever “center” meant. I’d grown up being told Nullens had no power at all, but since meeting Vexxion and coming here, I’d learned we did have power. Yet this book suggested there were completely powerless Nullens as well. How could anyone tell the difference?
Vexxion said that the fae used a spell to suppress us, but the spell must only be needed for those of us who had power.
Nullens with power. I was missing something, though I couldn’t figure out what.
“Hmm.” I stared toward the empty fireplace. “I wonder what sort of balance my people provided and how it can be maintained.”
Shaking my head, I returned to the book, skimming the chapter again but not finding any more clues. I flipped forward to the section about the Blade of Alessa. The chapter discussed how some believed the blade had been forged by trolls ages ago while others thought the blade came into existence all on its own. Magic? The chapter didn’t speculate further about how the sword was created. It indicated the sword was lost but if found, it could fulfill the will of the cursed heart—whatever that meant.
A weapon isn’t always the right choice in a time of great need, the last part of the chapter said. All it takes is the will of a true hero.
The information was so vague, the chapter could’ve been written by Vexxion.
I flipped to Bonding with Dragons and started to read. Most of the chapter discussed the history of dragons I already knew from my lessons at the fortress. Long ago, someone came across an egg and rather than destroy it—dragons were feared back then—the person cared for it until it hatched. They raised the dragon, and the first rider was born. Others, envious of the first rider’s skill with beasts, did the same. Eventually, training dragons became a part of the everyday culture for both Nullens and the fae.
“Where’s the bonding part?” I asked, greatly intrigued. I continued reading. And read some more, only getting up to stretch before sinking back onto the sofa.
Drask got bored and left, soaring out through the open window to go hunting. With luck, he wouldn’t bring back another ghastly trinket.
I was still reading an hour later when Vexxion entered the suite and came over to stand behind me. Bending close, he slid my hair to the side and kissed across my nape .
My bones melted, and it was all I could do to focus on the page I was reading.
“You’re an incredible distraction,” I said.
“A welcome one?” he rasped.
“Always.” I closed the book and dropped it onto the cushions.
Then I flitted us to the bed.