59. Chapter 59
CHAPTER 59
Dynalya
A fter dinner, Dyna wandered away from the camp toward the cascades. Raiden had shown her the ruins earlier and now she wanted to investigate the sacred waters that so happened to cure impotence. She stopped by the edge of the embankment and kneeled to gaze at her reflection on the surface. Except brown curls fell around her face and eyes from another time looked back at her.
Dyna’s pulse pounded in her ears as she recalled the dream she had last night. She had found herself in a familiar forest, before a Hyalus tree. Its leaves glowed in the evening like twinkling stars.
“Allow me this and I will grant you anything,” the pleading words slipped from her mouth that didn’t seem to belong to her. “Whatever wealth or favor, I’ll do it.”
She spoke to a man with his back to her. He was dressed in white robes, his pearlescent white wings catching the light. Gold-spun blond hair fluttered around his face in the evening wind as he stood silent.
“Then what do you want from me?” she asked him desperately.
He turned and her heartbeat raced at the sight of Cassiel. The Celestial had his face and yet she knew he was not the same Cassiel she knew. His blue eyes softened. “You already know the answer … lev sheli .”
Dyna had woken from the dream with her heart pounding. It circled in her mind all day. What did it mean? She was so tired of these confusion dreams and her unanswered questions.
Whatever sleep she gained had been minimal and frustrating. She had little to say to anyone and she avoided looking at Cassiel completely.
Groaning, Dyna splashed her face with cool water, and like magic, it soothed her headache, banishing it away. Well, that interesting. She removed a glass vial from her satchel and dunk it into the pool. Drawing it out, she held it up to inspect it.
The true color was difficult to distinguish. The water appeared pink, but that was either due to the twilight or another organic matter like the dynalya petals floating in the pool. Whether what they say about the Melodyam Falls was true or not, studying new remedies always helped clear her mind.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about last night, her new dream, and all the ones that had taken over her life. Every night, she was either of falling to her death or stumbling upon another reality. None of it made sense. When would they stop? Dyna was afraid to sleep lest she be plagued with more nightmares she didn’t understand.
But maybe she wasn’t simply dreaming anymore.
You already know the answer … dream walker .”
Exhaling sharply, Dyna thought back to her other strange dream in the White Woods. Did Leoake know something? If she could say anything about that dastardly Druid, he always knew something.
She tucked away the vial in her satchel and thought of the scroll he had left her with. The rolled-up parchment landed in Dyna’s hand. Pulling it out, she briefly ran her fingers over the large green leaf gilded veins of gold that was used as a protective sleeve around the scroll. She unrolled it and studied the faded illustration of his mysterious key.
How ironic that it was also the key to her freedom.
The geas faintly throbbed as if in agreement. Dyna pressed against her ribs. It was a beautiful key, archaic in its intricate design with a winding bow, made of brass. Whereas keys were now made of iron. That alone told her this one was very old.
Whatever lock the key belonged to, it had to be connected to Mount Ida.
“What do you have there?”
Dyna jumped up at the sound of Raiden’s voice. He had been standing over her shoulder, frowning at the parchment. She quickly rolled it up and tucked it away.
“My lord, ah, it is nothing really.” Dyna flushed at her lie. Guilt filled her chest because frankly she had been keeping this from the Norrlen family.
How could Dyna explain the key was part of the reason why Rawn was taken in the first place? Leoake had planned it that way, knowing her actions would bring about a series of events no one could stop. Now she had more than one reason to go to Red Highland.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said, changing the subject. “What happened?”
“These ruins were once a grand civilization in the Vale. It was lost during the first war that split the kingdom in two.”
Oh…that only made her mood bleak.
Raiden canted his head as he searched her face, clearly as perceptive as his father. Dyna held her breath. “How are you, my lady?”
“Me?”
“You seem troubled — or tired,” he quickly amended. “Well, of course you are, with the constant rain and long travel. I, well, we haven’t had a moment alone since …” Raiden ducked his head, and the tips of his pointed ears turned pink. “I have been meaning to beg your pardon.”
Ah, now that she thought of it, it did seem as though Raiden had wanted to speak to her last night. It must have been difficult with so many ears listening.
“Oh, do you mean your declaration to court me?” Dyna raised her brows. “I admit, I was taken aback.”
“Forgive me, I could not help myself.” Raiden worked his jaw. “You flinch every instance Cassiel calls you his wife.”
She did?
Well, it hardly surprised her. The very reminder of who they used to be was constant pressure against an invisible wound.
Dyna brushed the hair out of her face, looking away. “There is a past between us, I suppose. But?—”
“Before you say this is between you and him, I am well aware I have no right to intervene. Nonetheless, I wish to continue the pretense of being your suitor.”
Dyna stared at him. “Why?”
“Because he hurt you.” A sharpness entered Raiden’s tone, and his hands curled into fists. “He hurt you when he abandoned you and he hurts you more so when he is near, that much is clear. I hear how much your heart races in fear that he will hurt you again.” He loosened his fists and folded his arms behind his back. “It is against my honor to stand by while a lady is in need, most importantly one who is my guest.”
Dyna didn’t know what to say. Raiden wanted to help her because he felt indebted, but it was also more than that.
She canted her head. “Is this because of your mother? Because you believe her also abandoned?”
He opened his mouth to respond then closed it with a resigned sigh.
Dyna nodded. “You have shared with me what it was like to watch her suffer because she was alone. How you must have hated not having the power to protect her.”
Raiden looked back at the camp in the distance. “When you brought us the news of my father’s capture, that was the first time I saw her break. Yet she didn’t allow me to comfort her. She sent me away, so she may weep in private. Now the veil of the perfect princess is back in place, for the court watches.” He scoffed faintly but she heard the resentment behind it. “She suffers still but does so in silence.”
His mother sat beneath a velvet canopy, speaking with Eldred and Camsen with a polite smile. Gone were the tears in the carriage or any sign of distress. Sensing his stare, she met her son’s gaze and her face brightened.
Seeing her struggles, and how she faced it with such kindness, Dyna learned the definition of grace. “The reason she hides the vulnerable part of herself is not because of the court, but because of you. A mother’s instinct is to protect her child before herself.”
Raiden sighed dejectedly and his shoulder’s slumped. “I am an awful son, aren’t I?”
She gave him a small smile and they walked along the pool. “No, I wouldn’t say so.”
“As for my offer?”
“I appreciate it, my lord, but Cassiel is not someone to challenge.”
He hummed thoughtfully. “Due to his abilities, you mean. I have come to wonder how it is he wields such power. Those blue flames, the might behind them is…”
“Catastrophic.” Dyna remembered clearly the destruction of Cassiel power when he defended the Estate. He was much stronger now. “Seraph fire is a detrimental force. It burns though anything.”
“Except for the metal used in the wine cellar,” Raiden reminded her.
Dyna kept to herself that she was also immune to it somehow. “Skath metal is the only kind that can withstand Seraph fire.”
“And no other Celestial possesses this power? Or is it only because he is the High King?”
Dyna bit her lip, frowning. “The past kings did not wield Seraph fire. Except there was one long ago. The first High King...
King Kāhssiel.
The name reverberated through her mind, and she felt her heart shake. The sense that she had forgotten something important came over her.
At the familiar flutter in her chest, Dyna looked up at the cloudy sky. They watched Cassiel slip out of the clouds like a drop of black ink. He was hundreds of miles above them but felt his gaze on her as well.
“He’s dangerous.”
“So am I,” Raiden said.
Dyna smiled bemusedly. It was a rather bold statement and not one she had much confidence in. Not because she doubted Raiden’s abilities, but because she knew how powerful Cassiel was.
He nodded for her to follow him, and they walked further west. Still within sight of the camp but far enough away from the ruins and cascades.
“Pick a one.” Raiden motioned to a cluster of tall boulders.
Curious, Dyna raised her brows. “Hmm, the one in the center.”
With a soft incantation in elvish, a teal glow filled the forest as Raiden conjured a bow made of pure magic. Dyna’s mouth parted with a soft gasp. A glowing arrow formed at his fingers next. He drew it back with perfect form and aimed at the bolder. The enchanted arrow zipped away and shattered the boulder into pieces.
“Oh, dear gods,” Dyna laughed. “That was remarkable! Can you…”
She trailed off when Raiden took her chin, his fingers gentle as he had her look into his bright eyes. “I am not a soldier like my father but believe me when I tell you I can protect you from him.”
Dyna stilled beneath his stare and her face warmed. She was flattered but the way he was looking at her made her nervous. “Well, let us hope it does not come to that.” Clearing her throat, she backed up a step. “Could you teach me?”
Raiden chuckled. “It may be a little different for you, but it all begins with Essence.” The bow vanished with a flick of his fingers. “You must create the image of the bow first. I believe mages call these impressions, correct?”
Dyna nodded. Lucenna had already taught her that spell. She was teaching her invisibility now.
“This will be much the same, except it is now called conjuring, for we are to make the impression corporeal. To do so, you must feed it tangible energy. While I draw from the energies of nature around us, you would use your life-force.” Raiden positioned his arms and spoke the elvish incantation. The tug of power he drew from the air prickled against her skin. His hands shone with teal light as a bow formed between them.
It filled her with giddy excitement, and she bounced on her toes. “That’s simply magnificent.”
“Now you try.”
Dyna positioned her hands as he did and called upon her Essence. Her body as well as her Essence channels were exhausted. Pulling on her magic briefly gave her veins ache, but her power was strong. Essence instantly surfaced at Dyna’s call and her hands blazed green. The bow formed as she had pictured it in her mind. Made of pure magic but solid in her hands.
“Now the arrow,” Raiden instructed. Once she conjured it, he moved to stand behind her and gently positioned her arms. “Focus on the target. Keep your elbow tight and relax your grip.”
“Like this?” Dyna asked innocently, doing as instructed. Only because she knew Cassiel was watching.
“Yes.” Raiden shifted the position of her fingers then her legs. He moved closer, his mouth near her ear as they both looked out at the second boulder. “Now draw and release with your next breath.”
She released and the arrow flew. It hit the target, shattering the boulder.
“Well, I’d say you’re a natural.” Raiden arched a brow. “Have you trained in archery before? I made assumptions like a fool again, haven’t I?”
Dyna’s laughter faded when her chest thrummed, signaling Cassiel’s approach. Her heart began to pound. Raiden must have heard it, because his smile faded too.
Straightening, he looked up at the sky then at her again. He said nothing more but held out his hand.
When the young lord first offered to court her under guise, she hadn’t truly considered it. Even now, the idea seemed so silly. He was right. Her past with Cassiel had nothing to do with him, but she found herself taking Raiden’s hand anyway.
The woosh of Cassiel’s wings fluttered as he landed a few feet away from them. His wet hair fell in messy waves around his flushed face. His eyes were careful as he took in their linked hands then he focused on her, completely ignoring Raiden.
“May I have a word?”
“As you can see, we are preoccupied,” Raiden replied unceremoniously. With familiar ease, he placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
A muscle flexed in Cassiel’s jaw. His expression remained neutral, though his wings snapped open and closed, betraying his agitation. “Forgive me, but I am not speaking to you.” His sharp gaze met Raiden’s. “Lordling.”
Raiden laughed drily. “Well, I am speaking to you, fledgling.”
Dyna felt a potent charge of power in the air.
And it came from both.
Flames wove through Cassiel’s fingers like live eels as magic lifted off Raiden’s silhouette.
“If you wish to fight me, then let us do so further away from the falls. I will not have you destroy more of my land.”
The Elite Guards were watching, Lady Aerina’s hand on Camsen’s arm as if to stop him. Her friends were watching worriedly, too.
“Stop,” Dyna hissed sharply to Cassiel.
His Seraph fire immediately extinguished. “I am not here to fight.”
“Why?” A cool smirk played on Raiden’s lips. “Afraid you would lose? Or that you would lose her to me? Rather late for that.”
Cassiel smiled but nothing about it was kind. A menacing blue light spiraled in his eyes, making them eerily glow. “You truly are determined to find a patron for your funeral.”
The air grew heavy with stifling heat and magic crackled violently on her skin.
A bracelet of runes formed around Raiden’s wrists as he positioned himself in front of her. “You may be king where you’re from, but you have no power here, Soaraway.”
Cassiel laughed shortly as he rubbed his jaw. “For someone who scorns those who attempt to court your mother while she is yet married, you have the gall to pursue my wife.”
Raiden’s expression hardened. “Stop calling her that.”
“Until our annulment is finalized, she is very much my wife.”
“That word holds no value anymore. I know it and she knows it. So tell me, which will be more difficult for you to accept? Letting go of something so beautiful, or watching me take her from you?”
Cassiel’s eyes glowed like blue torch fires in the night. “Be very careful what you say next. They may be the last words you ever speak.”
“Should I take that as a threat?”
“Continue to irritate me, and it will be.”
“All right, that is enough.” Dyna stepped in between them. To Raiden she said, “Would you give us a moment?”
He frowned at her questioningly.
“Please.”
Raiden hesitated to leave, but eventually nodded. “Shall I stay nearby?”
She shook her head. “No need.”
He reluctantly walked back to camp, glancing back every so often.
When he was far enough away, Dyna glared at Cassiel. “Really, Cassiel? You would threaten Rawn’s only son? In front of his mother no less.”
He sighed and shut his eyes. “I have been more than cordial yet he?—”
Dyna waved away the subject. “Well? What do you want?”
She didn’t care to hear any more of his pleadings for forgiveness.
Cassiel shifted on his feet, hesitation lining his features. “I … I’m worried about you. I know you don’t wish to hear from me, but using magic may not be wise right now…”
“I beg your pardon?” Dyna hissed through her teeth. Essence crackled around her fist. “You stole my magic from me and now you want to determine when I use it?”
Letting out a groan, Cassiel raked a hand through his hair. “I meant to say you’re tired, Dyna. And your Essence is low. I can feel it. Perhaps resting is best before you faint again.”
“Gods, you are the last person who should tell me what is best for me.” Dyna stormed away toward camp.
“Lucenna mentioned you are having nightmares.”
She halted with her back to him. “That hardly concerns you, Cassiel.”
“Well, I am concerned. They must be unbearable … if you find the need to rely on Witch’s Brew to stop them.”
Anger surged in Dyna’s lungs, and she scowled up at the trees. “What else has Sowmya told you?”
Because no one else knew about her taking Witch’s Brew other than Zev, and her cousin would never share that with him.
Cassiel ignored the question. “Are you taking it again?”
“Whether I am or not is no business of yours.”
“Have your nightmares of the Shadow returned?” he pressed.
“No, Cassiel. I am not dreaming of the Shadow again. It so happens the dark is no longer my greatest fear.” Conjuring a blade of magic, Dyna faced him. “You are.”