21. Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Okay so there was one way to get me to cooperate, I discovered the next morning at breakfast.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said, my mouth hanging wide open.
My father took a bite of food and chewed sedately before responding. “No, Raynella, I believe I was quite clear. It is absolutely necessary for you to be present at the Council events. I had hoped you would do it simply because I asked it of you or better yet out of some semblance of pride for the Diamond Court, but alas this is where we find ourselves.”
“But… but…” I sputtered, words utterly failing me. He was my father. Granted we barely knew each other, and I had no basis for father-daughter relationships, but this just seemed… evil. “You saw what happened when I first arrived. I can’t do crowds of people staring at me. I just can’t.”
“Deylan can assist if you find the emotions overwhelming.”
I glanced over at Dey who wouldn’t meet my eyes. He knew exactly how I felt about that but would never stand up to the king. So much for the damsel in distress mentality. The one time I would actually embrace that patriarchal nonsense, and he just sits on the sidelines.
“It is ultimately your choice, Raynella, but my decision stands firm. If you are so determined to return to the Other Realm once the magic is repaired, then there is little I can do to stop you no matter how saddened I am. However, if you want to leave with enough of my diamonds to improve your station in your world… then you must agree to uphold your royal duties.” As he took in my shocked expression, he added, “I am sorry if this seems harsh or cruel, but I am the king here, and appearances are everything within the royal courts. I would appear weak if I could not make my own daughter attend the necessary functions. I am sorry this upsets you, Raynella, but you have left me with no other options.”
Flashes of staring eyes, whispering mouths, and judging scowls raced through my mind. Dey probably could help, but I just wasn’t comfortable letting him hack my brain for a social function. What if he calmed me too much, and I did or said things that I never would otherwise? I doubted his power had the same precision as a klonopin tablet.
Then I thought back to my tiny apartment in Jersey. The disappointed look on Jenn’s face any time I told her I would be short on rent that month. Could I really return to her empty-handed after being gone for weeks? Would she even believe my story if I had no proof? Our bond was near unbreakable, but even this pushed the limits of sisterhood. It might destroy us, and I couldn’t risk that all this was for nothing.
“Fine,” I said angrily, feeling once more like I had even the illusion of choice ripped away from me. “I’ll do it. I’ll let you parade me around in front of your subjects. But when it’s all done? You will give me all the diamonds I can carry, then I never want to see any of you ever again. You won’t try to find me, and you won’t keep tabs on me. Once I leave, Raynella is dead. Do you understand me?”
It was petty to meet his ultimatum with my own, but I needed to see if the thought of losing me might change his mind. If I was ever going to come back here, ever try to have a real relationship with my father, then I had to know if there was a chance that he would ever put me before his precious crown.
To his credit, I could see the decision was at least difficult. He opened his mouth and closed it multiple times. His eyes flickered to my own then off to the side. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists.
In the end, this was one battle I lost.
“I accept your terms,” he said with a bone deep sigh, his tight features sinking into resignation. “The King’s Council is in five days, and you will make every effort to manifest at least one of your powers before then. After the Council, you will focus on obtaining the rest and restoring the magic to Rivella. Then, and only then, will I allow you to return home with whatever compensation you desire.”
My heart sank that he actually agreed to my idle threat. Once again I let that bitch hope taunt me with something I would never have.
“And if I fail? If I can’t fix the ley lines or whatever?”
He glanced away. “You will not fail,” he said softly. “We will do whatever is necessary to ensure your success.”
I glared at him for a long moment until the sound of something breaking shattered the tense silence.
Across the table, Sin’s hand dripped red and shards of glass littered the table. He snatched a towel and wiped off the blood, the small gashes in his skin closing up within seconds.
Shoving back from the table, he said something to my father in Rivellan then left. I frowned at his retreating form. What exactly did he have to be upset about?
“I take it I can be excused as well?” I asked bitterly.
My father waved a hand at me. “Yes, you may go. Deylan, you will be needed in my office as Apha Solis reaches its peak, so please work with Raynella on manifestation techniques in the meantime.”
Dey nodded and pushed back from the table, gesturing for me to follow him.
I guess I would be the ever obedient little princess and go do whatever the intelligent males in charge told me to do. I tried not to throw up in my mouth. I might be the savior, but in reality I was just a puppet, and they were all pulling my strings.
Come on, Rain, let's go dance for the nice people.
Dey held open the ornate diamond door, and a huge smile spread across my face as I entered the Sylvarium. It was just as wondrous as the first time I’d seen it. The crescia all flitted about, chittering softly, and two of them promptly landed in my hair. I laughed as they nuzzled my scalp.
Making my way further into the dazzling space, I appreciated how the glow from the early morning sun cascaded through the glass walls, giving everything within an ethereal glimmer.
I settled onto one of the benches in the center of the room and closed my eyes, enjoying the smell of flowers and the rhythmic beating of tiny wings all around me.
“Look,” I said, refusing to open my eyes just yet. “I’m not stupid. I know you grew up in this world and that you were raised to believe that humans are somehow less than. But being taught something as a child doesn’t make it okay to continue the belief as an adult. Not when you should be able to think for yourself.”
“Princess—” he began, but I stopped him.
“Tell me the truth, Dey,” I said, finally opening my eyes. “For once, ignore what you were taught and just think for yourself. If this all was just a huge mistake, and I ended up being nothing more than completely human… would you still care about me?”
He didn’t have to say a word because the answer was written all over his face.
“That’s what I thought. So how about we just focus on the task at hand, and in a few weeks you’ll never have to see me again.”
“I do not want you to leave though,” he protested. “I am sorry, Rain, I…”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said hastily, not wanting to hear anymore. “I wanted a lot of things in life that I’m never going to get, so right now I just want to focus on this.”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to ignore that sore spot in my heart. Dey was never going to be the guy for me, and all of this just made it so much easier to resist the attraction. He might not be as bad as the people in Civi Adasa that violently attacked me, but I was fairly certain he wouldn’t have stopped it either if I was any other human.
“So, why did you bring me here? Not that I’m complaining, it’s beautiful, but what does this have to do with awakening my magic?”
He looked like he wanted to say something more, but my body language must have told him it was a lost cause.
“There are a few different ways to awaken a Vitaean’s power,” he started. “Manifestation typically occurs between eighteen and twenty years of age, and—”
“Has anyone ever not manifested?” I interrupted.
“No, Princess,” Dey said, a bit shocked at the idea. “Our ability to access magic is a defining characteristic of who we are. Nothing short of forcing a Vitaean to live their entire life cut off from the Source could prevent manifestation.”
“So, like me?” I asked dryly.
“Yes, like you. That must have been torture.” He tried to lay a comforting hand on my thigh, but I brushed it off.
“No, Dey, it really wasn’t. You can’t miss something you never even knew about.” I huffed out an annoyed sigh. “Can we please get back on topic. What do I need to do to jumpstart this whole magic thing?”
“Yes, right, apologies,” he stammered. “Since many families of lesser status rely on magic for their income, elemental casters are very desirable for a number of occupations and it behooves them to gain access as soon as possible. It also gives the families more time to plan should their offspring’s magic prove to be less… in demand.”
“Yeah, heaven forbid your kid turned out to be just a lowly healer,” I said sarcastically, hating the clinical way Dey spoke about people’s lives.
“You are correct. Healers are less desirable given that most in Civi Adasa have their own healing power,” Dey replied, clearly missing the sarcasm. “Yet it can still be a useful skill to those living in Civi Obsura.”
I hadn’t seen any of the town outside the high wall, but it was becoming apparent they basically considered it the slums. The place where they hid those with lesser magic so they wouldn’t taint their perfect society. He had the gall to think this world was better than mine when in reality they were both fucked up.
“There are three circumstances that have been shown to be helpful in the past,” Dey continued, oblivious of my frustration. “There is no guarantee any of these will work, but there has been enough recorded success to warrant an attempt. The first is extreme emotional and physical distress. Young Rivellans who suffer a truly traumatic event often manifest their power as a result.”
“Well almost dying yesterday was pretty fucking traumatic and nothing happened,” I replied.
Of course my broken brain chose that moment to flash back to a different night, years ago, when I’d been just a na?ve teenager. I quickly stuffed that memory back into the recesses of my mind, though, refusing to go there just yet. “What are the other two?” I asked. Anything would be better than going back to that night.
“The second one I do not think you would be interested in entertaining. At least not anymore.”
There was a slight blush to his cheeks, and my lips popped open into a small 'o' as I realized what he was referring to. “You’re talking about…”
“Yes, Rain. Intercourse has actually been proven the most effective of the three. So if you were planning to forgive me at any point in the near future…”
“I’m not,” I interjected, cutting off his train of thought. If he'd told me that bit of info twenty-four hours ago, I probably would have been naked and riding him at a gallop if it meant I might get home faster. Now, however, when I searched for that small flare of heat low in my abdomen that I felt every time I thought of Dey naked… there was nothing there. No heat, no desire. Just sadness that he wasn’t the person I thought he was.
I cleared my throat, banishing the flash of melancholy. “So what is the third one?”
“As you know, most Vitaeans bond with a crescia after they manifest. While there are many unbonded crescia in the wild, residents of Civi Adasa are usually invited here to see if any of these will bond with them after they manifest. Waiting for a wild crescia could mean waiting years, if ever.”
“So the people in Civi Obsura, do they get invited here?” I don't know why I asked. I already knew the answer.
He at least looked a little ashamed as he replied. “No, Princess. Only the best families of Civi Adasa have that privilege.”
“Color me shocked.” I sighed. “So if I need to manifest my power first, then why am I here? This seems like an after thing, not a before thing.”
“I was getting to that point. On occasion, spending time with the crescia can be beneficial. They sense your potential and are drawn to it as I mentioned before. It has also been theorized that they give off a pheromone that the magic inside you reacts to, rising to the surface to seek out your bonded.”
I glanced around, noticing that nearly every crescia in the room had moved closer to us at some point. Most lingered in the branches just above where we sat.
“Okay, so basically I just hang out here? Wait to see if anything happens?”
“Yes, that is about the extent of it,” he said, standing up. “I am due in King Verren’s study shortly. I will let Sin know that you are in here so he may fetch you when he is ready for your training.”
Dey headed for the exit but paused before leaving. “I do hope that we can be friends again, Princess,” he said solemnly. “It would mean a great deal to me.”
I lifted my head to respond, but the door had already closed behind him.
Could we be friends? He wasn’t evil, I knew that much. He wasn’t even as much of a jerk as Sin was. Yet every time I looked at him I heard those same words over and over again: ‘humans are little more than savages.’ I honestly didn’t know if I could be his friend.
“He feels very sad.”
“Holy shit!” I yelped, jumping up and scattering a cloud of crescia. I searched the room for the source of the voice even though it had felt like an echo inside my brain.
“I apologize. This is the only way I can speak to you. Please do not be upset.”
The voice rolled through my head again, and I managed to contain my scream. The voice sounded innocent—not childlike but soft and feminine—though it was still the most unsettling experience I had here so far.
“If you don’t want me to be upset, then why won’t you show yourself? ” I demanded, brushing aside the hanging vines to my right.
The leaves behind me rustled, and I whipped around to see a girl with ginger curls tentatively emerge. It took me a second to register where I had seen her before. She was the only one at dinner who had been openly smiling at me.
“I remember you,” I said when she cautiously approached. Slight of frame and barely over five feet tall, she moved almost as if afraid that she would startle me . Her lavender short-sleeve dress showed off the tattoos swirling up the entire length of her arms, but they were different than the others I had seen, more delicate, with swirls that were more thin and spread out.
“My Ramentum are different because both of my powers are mental based. I can both push my thoughts in as well as pull another’s thoughts out. I am still a secunnario, though only just.” She kept her face completely neutral as she spoke inside my head.
“Okay, first, can you please stop doing that? The mind speaking thing is creepy. Second, how are you speaking English?”
She cocked her head to the side. “You have questions, but they are jumbled inside your head. You must focus if you want answers, Princess.”
She took a seat on the bench I had previously vacated, and I wondered if she even could talk out loud.
“I am able to speak aloud, but it would be in Rivellan. To be honest, I prefer this method of communication. Right now I am connecting my mind to yours and projecting my thoughts and intentions. Your mind is interpreting those thoughts in English. Perhaps it would be helpful to think of it like I am sharing a very detailed image with you along with the emotions that accompany it.”
I nodded, settling onto the bench beside her. “So, when I speak English like this, you don’t understand me?”
The girl traced her finger in the dust on the bench, drawing a stick figure. “I hear the words, ” she replied, “ but they have no meaning. Your thoughts, however, I can pull from inside your head. At least when you are thinking clearly. Your mind is… very busy.”
She kept her eyes focused on her doodles, and I wondered if it was for my own comfort since her vacant staring had unsettled me. “Okay you’re kind of freaking me out here. Does this mean you can just read my mind anytime?” If she could, I doubted she would like what she found. My brain was not a happy place.
She added a second figure to her drawing. “Only when you are projecting. If you do not want me to hear you, you need only wish it so.”
“But you said earlier that Dey was sad. How did you pick that up?”
“He was projecting, he just didn’t realize it. When a Vitaean is experiencing strong emotions, I can pick up on them with little effort. The message is not detailed or clear, but I can sense what they are feeling. Deylan was feeling a great deal of sadness as he left you.”
I didn’t want to know that he was suffering so much because of me when it wouldn't change anything. He still hated humans.
“So what’s your name? I can’t just keep thinking of you as the red-headed female.”
She smiled. “My name is Josira. You may call me Jo, if you wish.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jo. It’s been all testosterone since I arrived, and not a single one of them has any concept of proper footwear.” I gestured to my chucks that looked wildly out of place against the black breeches and oversized pale yellow tunic. “They tried to give me boots with a two inch heel. Like I’m going to walk around all day in uncomfortable shoes. Hard pass.”
I glanced down at Jo’s feet. Peeking out from under her dress were a pair of the slim, feminine boots much like the ones Dey had offered me.
She giggled at the embarrassment on my face. “You become used to them over time. Perhaps we can go shopping and find you better ones?”
I scuffed my shoe in the dirt. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I kind of almost died last time I went into town.”
She frowned. “Yes, we all heard about that. Perhaps another time then. After you have been introduced at the King’s Council.”
I really didn’t need any reminders about that. I was still uneasy about mingling with the people who tried to kill me yesterday. Knowing that I was the king’s daughter didn’t change the hatred that lived in these people’s hearts.
“You should give them a chance,” Jo said. “ People only know what they are taught. It takes someone new with new ideas to help them grow and evolve. You could be that person.”
I sighed. “Honestly, I’m not going to be here long enough to try and change the Rivellans. I told my father I’d separate the ley lines, then I’m going home. I’m not the kind of person who changes the world, Jo. I’m just trying to survive as best I can.”
She scrutinized me for an uncomfortable amount of time before the cool breeze of her words flowed into my mind. “It does not matter what I think you are capable of. You must choose on your own to be more than what life has offered to you. I can feel what is in your heart, Raynella. You want to be more.”
“Call me Rain,” I said, not wanting to even address the rest of what she said. People around here really needed to stop thinking so highly of me.
Beside me, Jo stiffened. “You have company coming.”
Sure enough Sin barreled through the door seconds later. He scanned the room, and once his eyes came to rest on me, made a beeline in my direction.
“There you are,” he barked out. “Dey said you’d be in here. I gotta say that—” He faltered when Jo brushed aside a cluster of hanging ivy, making her presence known.
I rolled my eyes at his abrasive entrance. “Hello, Sin. Nice to see you too. I hope you had a lovely morning. I’m sure you’ve met Jo.”
“Yes,” he gritted out. “I have.”
He didn’t elaborate, but I heard Jo’s voice back inside my head. “I must go, Rain. Sin needs you. Will I see you at dinner this evening?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I said, as she stood to leave. “And thanks for the offer to go shopping. I hope we get the chance to go someday.”
She gave me a wink and exited through the diamond doors.
I glanced back to the bench, to her drawing. I scanned the two crude yet obviously female stick figures holding hands, one with long hair and one with short curls, and smiled.
Turning back to Sin, I said, “Okay, let's go train. Any chance you’re planning to help me this time? Not just laugh at how weak I am?”
He smirked. “What can I say? The truth hurts. You are weak, and nothing I do will change that.” He spun on his heels and headed out of the Sylvarium leaving me behind.
I quickly untangled the two crescia that had been lounging in my hair, ignoring their sad keening chirps as I placed them on the bench, and tried to reign in my anger at Sin’s barb. Though I wasn’t sure why it even mattered to me if he thought I was useless. Sin and I were never going to be friends so why bother trying.
That thought still didn’t stop me from chasing after him, though, determined to set the record straight.