74. Chapter 74
CHAPTER 74
Dynalya
D yna marched out of the war room as her mind raced to form a plan and dissect all the new information she’d learned. The key was the center to it all. She had a sinking feeling they were being moved by the Druids invisible hand like pieces of a game only he understood.
Her Guardians walked with her, silent, and ready, awaiting her command. She looked to Cassiel as they came to a stop at a concourse of her hallway and the stairs that led to his chambers.
“Pack your belongings if you haven’t already and prepare whatever you need for tomorrow,” Dyna told them. “I want to be ready to leave tonight as soon as that gateway is open. Lucenna, can your invisibility spell can cover them?”
She nodded. “I will make sure it does.”
“How will we cross unnoticed?” Zev crossed his arms. “Their hearing is as good as mine.”
“I will speak with Eldred,” Klyde said. “He wasn’t too keen on the king’s plan. I think I can convince him to help us for House Norrlen’s sake.”
Dyna nodded. “Make it happen. We must hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”
Her Guardians moved on to do as she asked, leaving her alone with Cassiel.
“I hope you won’t attempt to dissuade my decision,” Dyna told him. “I am going to Red Highland to bring Lord Norrlen home — including his son.”
Cassiel crossed his arms behind his back as he looked over her face, his gaze falling on her short hair pensively. He looked sad. “I have long learned that when you set your mind to something, I cannot stop you.”
She almost smirked, relieved they could at least settle on that. “Cassiel, about last night?—”
“Let’s not speak about it now. Other matters are more important, but I do intend to continue that conversation when this is over.”
Dyna nodded mutely and he gave her a small smile. She almost told him that she had admired how he dealt with Leif but thought better of it. “I must find Raiden,” she said instead. “He’ll be apprehensive. I must tell him we won’t let the marriage happen.”
“Agreed. Come see me when you are finished.” Then Cassiel took the stairs to the next floor with Yelrakel, their wings moving like graceful veils of gray and black.
Dyna watched him go a moment but didn’t allow herself to think about what she needed to say to him.
“What will you have me do, my lady,” Sowmya asked her.
“Keep an eye on the delegations’ movements. Should anything change, report any findings to me.”
Sowmya bowed her head and marched on.
Dyna hurried down the hall. Before seeking out Raiden, she needed to do something first. But when Dyna reached her bedroom, she found Tavin closing the door. He froze when he saw her.
“Tavin?” She frowned. “What were you doing in my room?”
Tavin flushed and lowered his head, “I’m sorry. I was searching for more of the salve you gave Klyde. My back was left bruised from the throttling I got in the flood.” He turned and lifted his shirt. Large, dark purple and yellow bruises had flowered all over his back and she gasped. “It looks worse than it is. But if Klyde knew, he would only send me home.” He gave her a sheepish grimace. “Please don’t tell him.”
Dyna could sympathize with that. She knew what it was like when others coddled her too much.
She patted his arm. “I won’t tell him. I’m out of the salve but I’ll ask the castle healer to send for some.”
“Thank you.” He turned to go.
“Wait. You mentioned wanting to write letters to your mother. How would you like to use the water mirror when I return? I am sure Edyth would be relieved to see you’re all right.”
He blinked at her. “Oh … that would be grand.” He hugged her abruptly. “Thank you!”
“Of course,” she laughed in surprised.
Tavin pulled back with a timid grin and ran off. Well, she didn’t expect an embrace, but it was better than having the boy point a crossbow at her.
Stepping into her room, Dyna quickly packed up her belongings into her satchel and changed into her fae armor. Once her weapons were strapped in place, she sat on the bed to slip on her boots as she thought of the Gateway. Elf magic, they said.
It requires the power level of a Magi Master to open it…
Lumina surfaced in Dyna’s mind. A pretty Magi Master who was too soft and sweet to be a Raider. But Tarn had contracted her …
And it came to Dyna suddenly.
The clear memory of a corded bracelet of white stones wrapped daintily around Lumina’s wrist.
Dyna’s heart began to pound, and goosebumps broke out on her skin. Please don’t let it be…
Swallowing, she reached inside her satchel and summoned the water mirror. It landed in her palm, still wet from its last use. Dyna yanked it out. She snatched the carafe on her nightstand, dumped the water inside, then tossed salt in next. Her breathing grew heavier as she stirred the water with her finger and watched the surface ripple.
The water fogged a moment then cleared with the image of runes burned on a tent wall. His back was to her as he poured a cup of wine.
“Now, you must be patient. We will be reunited soon enough.” Tarn paused and turned around to face her. He canted his head, then a cool smile rose to his mouth, sending shivers down her back. “Maiden.”
Dyna dropped the mirror with a scream. It hit the ground, splattering water everywhere. Its glow faded away.
She ran for the door and crashed into Halder. It took her a second to recognize the head Norrlen Guard.
“My Lady!” He steadied her. “Pardon me. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I must go!”
“Wait, I have a message for you from Lord Raiden.” Halder reached in his pocket and handed her a folded letter sealed with a dab of wax containing the Norrlen sigil.
“Thank you.” Dyna snatched it and ran for the stairs to the next floor.
She needed to tell someone Tarn was alive, and the first person was instinctively Cassiel. Her boots clacked sharply on the stone floor, her heart in her throat. She reached Cassiel’s floor and sprinted for his room, bursting through the doors.
The chambers were dark inside. The windows faced the west, away from any morning sun and the sky was gray with the coming of rain.
Dyna walked in hurriedly, calling for him. “Cassiel?”
But there came no response, and his Valkyrie were gone. Where was he? She needed him.
The fragments of their brittle bond shook in her chest at her hesitant tug.
Cassiel?
Dyna felt a presence rush in from behind her. She whipped out a knife and spun. Steel clashed as she caught the blade coming for her throat. It was a pureblooded male celestial Not one she recognized at all.
He sneered. “I was waiting to get you alone … Sheli.”
The statement rocked Dyna to her bones. That distraction was all he needed to knock the weapon out of her hands. He raised the knife, but it never came down.
The Celestial’s eyes widened. His face went red, veins bulging in his face as he grunting as if straining against a force holding him in place. Seraph fire bloomed from his chest like a flower. It spread out, consuming him in a bouquet of blue flames. Within seconds, the Celestial dissolved into ash, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the rug.
Dyna’s heart pounded wildly. From the dark, appeared blue eyes glowing with flame.
Cassiel came forward and she flinched back. “Dyna… it’s all right.”
“You killed him...”
“I did.”
“He was another assassin…he-he tried to…” She was babbling, her spinning mind trying to clear after nearly dying. “He came for me?”
“Yes.”
“How-how could you…?” Dyna made herself take a breath. “He deserved a trial. At the very least a questioning. We don’t do this…”
Even as the words tumbled out of her mouth, she wasn’t sure if there was another choice. The Celestial wouldn’t have hesitated. He was inches from her. Ready to take her life.
Dyna couldn’t stop shaking. “He called me Sheli … why did he call me that? Why did my body grow cold when I heard that name?”
The fire faded from Cassiel’s eyes, and he grew guarded. “You misheard him. I am sorry. He had delivered a message on behalf of Gadriel, and I didn’t realize he was still?—”
“No!” She snapped sharply. “I heard him clearly. No more lies, Cassiel. Tell me the truth . Why did he call me Sheli?”
“Because that is your name,” Yelrakel replied. They booth snapped their heads to her standing at the threshold, Sowmya behind her. “Sheli was who you were … in your first life.”
Dyna’s breath caught and her satchel slipped from her fingers. “What…?”
“General, you are dismissed,” Cassiel barked. “Close the door.”
“No.” Dyna stumbled forward. “I am not finished speaking to her.”
“Yelrakel,” Cassiel growled.
“She stays!” Dyna shouted at him, silencing him. Swallowing, she said to the Valkyrie, “I command you to tell your queen what your king cannot.”
Cassiel shut his eyes.
She moved past him, fixing her hard gaze on Yelrakel.
The General bowed her head. “Your Majesty … you are the reincarnation of Sheli, the first High Queen of Hilos. Mate of Kāhssiel.”
Her legs wobbled and Cassiel caught her arm.
The first High Queen…
Now she finally realized why the title of princess never felt like it belonged to her.
“You were the first True Bonded mates among our people at a time when it was not fully understood,” Yelrakel continued. “Our kind fell to this world to serve mankind as a penance to Elyōn . They saw your union as impure and when you fell with child, it served as to turn the tide against Kāhssiel’s reign. His generals could only remove him by removing you first.”
Dyna stumbled back a step, holding her stomach. Nausea churned through her, and she was afraid she may spew on the rug.
“Dyna, sit down.” Cassiel tried to lead her to a chair, but she pushed him off.
“How did I die?” she asked him.
He struggled to say it, so she looked to Yelrakel again. Her heart was pounding, the room growing colder and smaller. The general expression grew grave. Dyna knew the answer before she said it.
“You were thrown off a cliff … and fell to your death.”