Chapter 65
RAINE
Roark came and talked to me. Explained what Aisling told them. He knew I’d heard everything. He said the ball doesn’t mean a thing. They’re going to wait the six months. But there’s the loud ticking of a countdown clock in the back of my brain. And there’s a void growing between us.
Kieren and Evander took Aisling back to Crest Wing without me getting to meet her, and they haven’t come back.
I can’t keep on avoiding Roark, telling him through closed doors I need some space.
I have to have the hard talk, I know. That’s why I’ve come out to grab my own food.
Yes, I’ve got a stack of notebooks and endless lists of things I want to accomplish with the collection before my time is up.
But I was kind of hoping I’d run into one of the guys.
There’s a loud rumbling behind the curtain. The curtain I’m not supposed to open––yes, they let me stare into its inky darkness during the ceremony, but it’s not like they’ve kept the curtain open since. Kieren even reminded me I shouldn’t look behind the curtain. But it’s vibrating.
I’ve been sneaking around, just getting my job done. I have to have space from the guys. I’m causing problems for them, and I need time to think about it. But where is everyone? I haven’t been sequestered away for that long.
“Hello?” I spin around the dragon’s eye foyer.
There’s no one here. I jog toward the dining room and shout toward the kitchen.
“The portal . . . I mean, the Thessari is moving. It’s active—like on.
” I shout, but no one emerges from the kitchen.
I peek around the corner of the butler’s pantry, but nothing.
“Hey?” I run back to the foyer and bang on the office door.
But there’s no answer. I even turn the knob, but it’s locked.
They leave their hoard unlocked but not their office?
Right. I’m back out into the foyer, watching the curtain blow. There’s a thump.
“Hello?” I’ve seen enough horror movies to know I should be running right now.
But I don’t. My feet are glued to the floor.
But the curtain is pushed out. There’s something behind it.
I take a slow step forward. There’s something flapping about behind the curtain, and it flutters backward at the Thessari.
On the floor, there’s a rock. A rock. With twine tied around it, holding a piece of thick parchment.
I look around and yell, “Hello?” one more time. I pick up the dark rock. For a grapefruit-sized rock, it’s remarkably heavy, with sharp edges. I untie the string and remove the parchment.
Raine,
Leopold is keeping Roark busy. I want to meet you. Throw the rock back if it’s safe for me to travel through.
Yours in sisterly love,
Aisling
I stare at the rock and then the note.
It’s a heavy rock. Did she think this through? I don’t have a pitching arm, but if I throw this, who knows what I’ll hit?
I set my notebooks down, pull out a pen, and prepare to write. But the pen hovers over the page. I want to write that it’s safe. Because I think talking to Aisling will give me clarity. But I don’t want her to get in trouble. So instead, I write:
Won’t you get in trouble coming here?
Yours in friendship,
Raine
I step with care behind the curtain. The last thing I want is to be sucked into the void.
I’m tearing pages out of my notebook to use as a less dangerous weight when a smaller rock hits me in the chest. “Ow.” I quickly tie the note to the roll of paper and toss it through.
The blackness swallows it up. It’s the weirdest thing.
I have the urge to touch it, but then I sometimes have an urge to lean over high places too.
I pull my shoulders back and wait. And wait.
I duck under the curtain and scramble around, looking for the rock that hit me in the chest. Then there’s a larger thud behind the curtain.
“Hello?” I call.
“You didn’t open the curtain.” Aisling’s fighting with the drapes—at least, I hope it’s Aisling. “It’s you!” She charges at me and hugs me around the waist. “Wow, you’re tall for a human.” She pulls back, her blue eyes glowing.
“Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.”
“Your brother isn’t going to be happy you’re here.”
“I know. But I hiked up to the Thessari. It’s not normally done, that’s why they didn’t notice.”
“I see.”
She grabs my hand. “I can’t believe it; they’ve finally found you.”
“I haven’t had the lightning yet. I might not.”
“You will.” She’s beaming at me.
But I can’t help thinking I need to find Roark. She shouldn’t have come here on her own. They made a big deal about taking her home.
“I see that look on your face. I don’t even know you yet, but I know what you’re thinking without being able to probe your mind.
You’re worried about how I’ll get home. The Thessaris are fine.
There’s no way they’re going to link to the wrong one.
That’s just a bunch of fairy tales they tell dragonets at night to keep them from wandering off on their own. ”
“Connect to the wrong portal?”
“You know— Oh wait, you don’t. There are five clans, and each has a portal. But over the last twenty years or so, they haven’t had as much power. And there’s a theory that, with the Firested one collapsed, they’ll start connecting to the wrong places.”
“Holy crap, Aisling. Why did you come through, then? What if you don’t get home?
We need to go find Roark.” I’m about to grab her wrist, like I’m dragging one of my younger cousins away from the dock at my grandmother’s house when they couldn’t swim.
But I stop myself. She’s not twelve. She’s college age. It’s hard to tell with shifters.
Instead, she grabs my wrist. “No, please. I had to meet you, and I knew they wouldn’t let me. I’m not a dragonet. I’m a bit impulsive, I suppose. But . . .” Her blue eyes blink up at me. Shoot. I’m about to cave to her puppy eyes when I snap out of it.
“I want you safe.”
“I’ll be safe.”
“You say that you believe I’m their mate. How angry will they be with me when they learn that I didn’t tell them you came here?”
She glances down. “Furious. Maybe we can find a witch who can erase their memory or yours. Then you wouldn’t know I’d come.”
“They can do that?”
“Sure.”
“I’m afraid I don’t happen to know the neighborhood witch.”
“Right, that would be a problem.” Her head cocks to the side. “Leopold!” She scampers around me, her robes flowing behind her.
“Princess Aisling.” Leopold smiles.
“Thank you for taking care of Roark.”
“You’re very welcome. Did you have a nice chat?”
“We did. But Raine is worried about me getting home safely.”
“That she should be. But I believe I can help.”
I can’t help but cock my head at Leo.
“I’m not a Crest Wing dragon, and I can’t open the Thessari, but I can steady it.”
“Ancestrals, they’re more powerful than the strongest fae.” Aisling gives Leopold another hug. And his cheeks are bright red.
“I wouldn’t go that far, Your Grace.”
“Well, I would.” Aisling beams up at him.
“I’ll be back when you are ready to go.” He gives her a pointed look down his long nose, and it’s evident to at least me that he means soon.
“I can’t wait for you to have the lightning. Which, no pressure, you need to do, like, soon, okay?” She gives me another hug. “You smell really good. Weird. You smell like the dahl of Ruino.”
“The doll of runno?”
“No, it’s a valley. Super pretty place. It’s where all the lunathera used to grow in the past. I mean, there’s some there now or I wouldn’t know the scent.
I love that place.” She sighs. “I should go. I just really wanted to meet you. Don’t listen to my parents.
I don’t and you shouldn’t either. But don’t worry about me.
I can handle whatever happens when I get back home. ”
Aisling nods at Leo, who’s standing in the hallway. He comes to the side of the portal.
She pricks the middle of her palm and places her hand on the stone. “You would think they could have come up with another way to open this darn thing by now.”
I nod. There’s a pit in the bottom of my stomach. She’s such a vibrant young girl. More na?ve than I am. Or ever was. Kieren has every right to want to protect her. Reckless doesn’t even begin to describe her. She steps toward the darkness.
“Be careful,” I say.
“Of course. I don’t want to go too fast, or I’ll fall off the cliff on the other side. Having wings would be so much more useful.” She steps into the void, and it shuts behind her. Leaving me blinking at Leo.
Fall off the cliff on the other side?
“I should tell Roark,” I say.
He cocks his head to the side. “Perhaps.” He closes his eyes and opens them again. “She is home safe. Perhaps you could wait. For Aisling’s sake?”
“Okay.” I give him a slow nod and pick up my notebooks. There’s a twist in my stomach that this will come back to bite me in the ass.
Leo disappears down the corridor. I turn to look for the stones, but they’re gone.