Chapter 14 #2
I blow out a breath through pursed lips.
“First of all, ew, I sincerely hope Benji was not your mate,” I grimace at having to say the word.
“Benji was alive when last I saw him, bleeding a crazy amount from his chest, yes, but still alive! Second, she will have to return sometime and the longer you are here the higher chance you will get caught and hurt. What if you get taken as leverage to get to me? I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen to you, Mar!
” I plead, only noticing now that more fae and creatures have joined us at the fire and are intently listening to our conversation.
“We will protect her!” a gnome calls out and is met with calls of agreement from various fae around the fire.
An older looking fae woman with cat eyes and a swishing, grey tabby tail interjects, “she is never on the front lines anyway. Our more skilled and senior members stage the coups.” She leans in to see me around Oleander’s shoulder.
“What coup? How can a ragtag band of fae do anything against a king that supposedly has accumulated a massive following?”
A fae male that has white stripes in his hair pipes up from across the fire, “we have been freeing our enslaved family members if you must know!” I cringe at my blunder.
Of course they are, just as the gromlins said, the Elemental fae are taking slaves.
“Ok, well now we are reunited so we can just return to the human realm, correct? There is no reason for us to be here anymore, we can just forget all about this place and go back to… normal,” I say, but as I say it, it feels wrong.
Easthelm never felt right to me and the thrill of my escape from Pyralis’ estate is the most alive I have ever felt, but looking around at all of these fae fighting for their families leaves me thinking of mine with more than a twinge of guilt.
What would I even be going back to? Mom and Dad should be enough, family should always be enough, right? I already know my answer. I left a perfectly fine relationship with Benji because of my answer.
Oleander studies her hands for a moment before looking at me, “Nuria, I am afraid it is not that simple. Our spies inside the Palace have told us The King has been calling in the Seers to aid him in opening The Gates. There is some word of a prophecy he has discovered in the ancient tomes within the Palace that is the key to reversing the curse. He means to infiltrate the human realm. We don’t know why he wanted you but for some reason you are integral to this.
From what we have been told, he does not have any Etherealists in his army so we assume that is why he seeks you.
The ability to bend the minds of one’s foes is formidable and feared.
They were once greatly respected amongst the Houses.
The Seers can feel the tethers of the Ether, although vaguely and loosely, as they are of the same Elemental house.
They would have been able to tell whether an Etherealist heir lives.
We cannot let you try to return, you would surely be caught.
There may already be traps in place for you,” Oleander explains, looking apologetically at Marissa and I. Does that mean we are stuck here?
My fists clench, nails digging into my skin.
“I don’t even know what an Etherealist can do!
What, my random visions and the little blips I get into other people’s minds is really something that is valued?
I can’t meld minds. It just seems useless and confusing to me!
” I throw my hands up in frustration, “I thought The King was not aware of my arrival into this realm? It was all Pyralis’ doing was it not?
How could he know I am here? And what is this prophecy?
” I ask and receive Oleander’s same sympathetic look from before. Annoying.
“Someone tipped him off, likely someone that my father employs. It makes sense that The King would have planted a spy at the residence of the only head of an Elemental house that didn’t deny him when he overthrew The Owl.”
I wonder who that spy might be, doing an inventory of all the faces I saw in my time at the estate. How would they have known who I am?
Oleander continues, “as for the prophecy, this remains hidden even from our most adept spies. The King has supposedly been shutting himself in his study and requesting only the presence of the Seers.”
I remember the lords mentioning something about that at the dinner, I recall whilst chewing the inside of my cheek.
I wonder if my mother was the only one before my birth who mastered the ether, other than the Seers.“Why are there so few Etherealists if they were so respected, as you said?”
“The Owl had lineage in the House of Ether. After he died, no one from the House of Ether would swear fealty to The Wolf. So he hunted them all down in his rage. I suppose he is regretting that now if he indeed needs your gifts for some purpose.” Oleander shrugs, looking at me with weary eyes.
Marissa gives my shoulder a squeeze as I am sure she sees the hurt flit across my face.
I can’t help the sinking feeling in my gut at knowing that I don’t have any living relatives in this realm because of this bastard of a king.
Was this fate the thing that my mother was running from? Durga warned her not to let me enter this realm… is that why? I mindlessly grab for my mother’s necklace. A habit I’ve recently formed whenever I think of her.
Wait a second…
“You said this crest belonged to the royal house? It was my mother’s.” I pull the necklace out from under my dress to show them.
“I never said that to you…” Oleander’s eyes widen, “you must have read my thoughts.” She shakes her head, observing me carefully.
“This proves she was of the House of Ether but it does not narrow down her direct lineage. Just as this clasp shows I am of the House of Fire. Although, that gem in the centre is rather peculiar…” She leans in a bit closer. Great, another dead end.
“So what are Marissa and I supposed to do about it? It doesn’t sound like you have enough information about what my purpose in all of this is… unless you’re hiding something, again. We can’t just hide out here forever,” I say, my annoyance at all of this is starting to get to me. Why us?
The conversation I overheard the lords having at Pyralis’ estate chimes in my mind, “wait didn’t you mention that The Wolf King kicked the owl guy off the throne because he was ignoring the warning signs that the land was sick?”
“He murdered our beloved King!” one of the fae calls out.
“Right, sorry…” I cringe, “well, I overheard these lords talking at Pyralis’ estate about droughts and strange fogs possibly causing crops to fail on the Continent.
Similar climate events are happening back home.
What if The Wolf is right? What if he just wants to open The Gates so the fae can help the humans fix what they have done?
Ask Embrys, he was there!” I cross my arms, a smug little smile spreading across my face, feeling like I just solved everyone’s problems.
Oleander shakes her head and rolls her eyes.“Nuria, I am not hiding anything,” she says while looking me straight in the eye, go on look for yourself, she challenges me to scan her memories which I’m not even sure is something I can do on demand, or at all, so I scoff and break eye contact.
Oleander grunts then continues, “do you really think he would want to play nice with a race he sees as beneath him?” Her eyes dart to Marissa then back to me.
“His first order as King was to create hierarchy and classes based on our magic!” Oleander stands, raising her voice so all the rebels can hear as she scans the room, looking like a mighty leader about to give a call to arms.
“He sanctioned the creatures-of-fae to be slaves, he has forsaken The Divine Mother! Even the creatures have magic to some degree. What do you think he will do to the magicless humans? Come on girl, use your brain.” She taps the side of her head, looking back down at me, “this is not an action of peace. It is an action of war and we must rise in the defense of the oppressed!” She finishes her speech by looking out to all those that have gathered and the group hoots and hollers in agreement, Marissa joining in the action by pumping her fist in the air, causing me to do a double take.
I look around the room and can see so many different types of creatures all fighting for their families’ freedom and my heart sinks at my selfish desires to just bury my head in the sand.
Oleander’s reasoning means that my parents are at risk of succumbing to the wrath of this king as well if he figures out how to get those gates down, but I feel lost about how on Earth I could be of use.
What is it about my powers as an Etherealist that is so special? Surely there are other people out there like me. I crumple from my dread.
As the cave succumbs to the revving up of the rebels in their excitement about Oleander’s speech, I notice Fenrick is returning from wherever they are keeping Embrys and leans in to whisper something in Oleander’s ear.
She nods and looks down at me. “He has requested to see you, Nuria. Refuses to speak to anyone else… Well, he requested I join but I might just let him flounder a bit longer,” she says, winking at Fenrick, at which a sly, foxy grin spreads across his face.
Fenrick waves for me to follow him and I look back at Marissa who is now dancing around the fire with some gnomes, a drink in hand.
Are they giving my little sister alcohol too?
I will have a word with Oleander later about some conditions that need to be met if we are to stay here.
Not getting Marissa drunk will be high on that list.