20. ELOWAN
Some fly freely above neutral waters. That was what the secret message Lady Ollette had slipped Elowan while they were in the Sleeping Rabbit. There were rebels and sympathisers in Seaspun Bay – the court of neutral waters. Thankfully, Elowan had a friend who owed her a favour.
Together in silence, Elowan, Zala and Regin looked up at one of the giant glass towers that housed hundreds if not thousands of Seaspun Bay citizens. Upon the bay was the central business district while underneath the sea, lay the Sea Court where elitist courtesans peered down their noses at lesser Fae. The towers, some shaped like spiralling seashells, was where all the fun happened.
The sand had clung to their boots and the fresh smell of sea spray clung to their noses. The late-night Faery sky sparkled brightly above and for the first time in a long time, Elowan felt at one with the land. Up there, in one of the towers, was a connection that could mean more allies for the rebellion.
“Should we split up?” Elowan asked as she looked up the seashell tower.
“Remember the last time we split up?” Zala mused.
“Which one Z . . . which one,” Elowan trailed off as she stepped into the main entrance of the glass tower before them. Zala and Regin followed suit. They were all dressed in their plain fighting leathers. Dismissible. Inconspicuous.
“Do you remember where you’re going?” Regin asked.
“Like the back of my hand.”
Seventy-five sets of stairs later.
“Oh gods, when is this going to end?” Elowan groaned.
“Elowan love, you’re the one leading us,” Regin said, with a hand braced against Ellie’s lower back.
“You’d think the sea-Fae would have an efficient method to navigate their towers,” the wraith pointed out.
Elowan took in a deep breath before soldiering on. Just two more flights of stairs. Two more. “They do, however I’m not sure how we’d fare swimming up seventy-seven levels of water without breathing devices.”
“Perhaps we should have prepared better. There were breathing devices being sold on the shore,” Regin added.
“Not helpful, my love. Plus, we want to limit the contact we have here, just in case. We could purchase breathing devices like any sane land-Fae would but the stairs are notoriously empty.”
Finally, they reached the seventy-seventh floor.
“Here we are.” Elowan let out a heavy sigh as she turned the seashell doorknob. The heavy glass door slid open to a hallway. The echoes of laughter, the sounds of singing and dancing tumbled into the hallway of glass. Water filled between the walls masking most of it, but nevertheless, the joys the sea-Fae experienced spilled through.
Elowan moved quickly down the hall, hoping no one would catch them on the way to her friend’s place. She turned the corner and almost crashed into a young sea-Fae with scaley skin and her crustacean-looking sea-Fae friend. “Apologies,” Elowan said firmly, not making eye contact. She didn’t need to turn around to see that the couple were watching them march down the hall.
Elowan slowed her pace until she could feel when the couple had turned the corner. She counted the doors.
One.
Two.
Three.
She stopped in front of the fourth, painted in a light teal with gold-flecked swirls. “I’d take a step back if I were you two.” Elowan knocked on the door. A secret knock made just for her.
A second passed before light footsteps sounded on the other side. The door jangled as the knob turned. The door opened and like a tsunami, a team of children swarmed for her, cheering, jumping and hugging her across the middle. They had the combined might of a fully grown Fae male.
“You gremlins have grown so much!” Elowan shouted above the clamour and touched the foreheads of each child with the back of her hand – a way of greeting a friend among the common sea-Fae. She looked up to see the sea-female with long dark hair and dark-filled eyes that stood in the doorway with arms wide open. Beneath her arms were fin-like webs that shimmered with each movement, pulsing with happiness and delight. Sea-Fae wore their emotions on their skin.
“My Ellie!” the sea-female shouted with glee.
“Keeci! It’s been an eternity.” Elowan sighed, embracing a childhood friend she was long overdue to visit. The last time she saw Keeci, her children were only starting to crawl but now they bounded around the place like rabbits in the fields of Soxis. And they remembered her. That was the beauty of Fae memories. They were deeply tied to emotions, splendidly vivid and equally as sharp.
“I brought company. Hope you don’t mind,” Elowan pointed to Regin and Zala who peeked into the doorway.
“No of course, you are most welcome in.” Keeci waved them in with a slender arm. She closed the door behind them. Keeci moved to embrace Elowan again, brushing a hand on her forehead as they parted. Elowan did the same. Smiling. Feeling the warmth and belonging in their greeting.
The apartment was exactly as she last remembered it. Family portraits framed and lined every inch of available glass wall. Toys were strewn haphazardly across the floor. Unlike houses in other courts of Faery, Seaspun Bay had only towers consisting of small circular apartments. Unless you had money pouring from your nostrils, the most you could get with your wage was a concentric circle-shaped apartment with four small coves. Each cove was a separate room of sorts, but in the middle, connecting all coves was the dining room. A place for family to meet and eat.
“This is Regin—”
“Your soulmate. I could smell the stench of love from down the hallway,” Keeci smiled, moving to Regin. The sea-female brushed her hand on Regin’s forehead and said, “Welcome to my home, Regin.”
Regin bowed his head and with the politeness that Elowan was first met with, he said, “Ma’am.”
Keeci moved to Zala. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Shadow Wraith.”
Zala nodded.
Keeci then turned to Elowan. “Do I need to send my children to bed for this?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Very well.” Keeci knelt to the floor where her three children had clung themselves to Elowan’s legs like barnacles. “Children. Mama needs you to go to bed, okay?”
All three, with the same dark hair and dark-filled eyes, simultaneously pouted. “Yes, Mama.” They moved to give their mother a hug. Keeci rubbed the back of her hand across their foreheads.
Elowan watched as they glided to a cove tucked away on the other side of the apartment.
“They’re good children, Keeci,” Elowan’s voice went soft with appreciation.
“I know. They’re mine.” Keeci laughed, beckoning her guests to sit at the dining table. Elowan, Zala and Regin obliged. The sound of glass gliding against glass made Elowan’s ears twitch. They all took a seat at the round glass table.
“So, let’s hear it, shall we?” Keeci nodded to the group. With a wave of her hand, a small stream of mana-willed water came dancing around the table. Along with it, several drinking glasses that graciously flowed through the stream, landed before each of them. With a wave of her other hand, she motioned toward the glass ceiling where several kegs were installed. Down on a flowing stream came alcoholic refreshments that filled everyone’s cups. They all took a sip. Keeci, however, took a large gulp.
“Lady Ollette sent us,” Elowan said quietly.
Keeci blinked at the name but said nothing else. Another wave of her hand brought down the sweet liquor sea-Fae loved to drink, filling her cup entirely. She downed the whole thing.
It was all Elowan needed to see. “Is there a way we could get a covert audience with your uncle?”
“Am I right in assuming you’d like to discuss his loyalties in the filthy war that wretched blood witch managed to conjure?” Keeci bared her sharp sea-Fae teeth.
“I understand that Seaspun Bay is neutral territory, but a side needs to be taken. We’re on the brink of war. If we could just get an audien—”
“It’s too late,” Keeci said with finality.
Elowan didn’t like that tone one bit. “What do you mean it’s too late?” Elowan almost threw her chair back but Regin’s warm hand upon her thigh eased the fire that burned in her chest.
“The barbaric heathen you call Kaine.” Keeci poured herself another cup, filling everyone else’s up, too.
Zala took a swig of her liquor and with a coolness, encouraged Keeci. “Tell us everything.”
“He waltzed into the grand hall earlier today to see my uncle.”
“Tell me Zavis denied him an audience and sent him on his way?”
Silence.
An anger so vile found its way to Elowan’s throat. The only thing stopping it from catapulting out was the white-knuckled hand that currently gripped Camrine’s short spear – a reminder to keep her wits about her.
“Seaspun Bay stands with the blood throne.”
Elowan, Zala and Regin simultaneously expelled their favourite expletives.
“We need an audience with your uncle now, Keeci. Please do me this one favour,” Elowan begged.
“Ellie, it’s too late. He’s already promised in blood,and he’s offered marriage to one of his daughters as a security.”
“But his daughters are his most prized possessions, are they not? Maybe we can stop the ceremony?” The panic in Elowan’s voice was on full show.
“You are too late. They finished the ceremony about an hour ago. News has already reached all the seas.” Keeci waved a hand, conjuring an image of a news bulletin, sharing an image of Zavis’s daughter, embracing a sullen-faced Kaine before the Salsus Sanctum.
Shit.
Elowan raked her hands across her face, attempting to calm any shred of thought that was raging at the image of Kaine. The court known for its neutrality had finally chosen a side for the first time in centuries, and it was Kaine who beat them to it. Their former captain. Their former friend and brother. It felt like Elowan was living out a fever-dream and that everything she knew had been turned upside down or inside out.
Seaspun Bay was the rebellion’s last bet. They were out of options.
The combined power of Soxis, Wrenntia and Fyllera and a few Elite – their mana, their soldiers, their weapons – measured just over three-quarters of what Queen Calliea already possessed in her arsenal. Now with the strength of Seaspun Bay and their resources, not to mention the message it would send the entire Faery realm, the deplorable queen tripled her power. This wasn’t even taking into account the unknown power that Terr was feeding into the equation.
The rebel ship was already sinking, and the war hadn’t even started yet.
“The news we received today, of Fyllera succumbing to the blight, has spooked him, Ellie. Summeira, who has publicly promised their allegiance to the blood throne remains free from the claws of what plagues the lands of Faery.”
“A pure coincidence, surely?” Elowan argued.
“But not to a scared male, Ellie. Faery has never opened itself to the maws of the Shadow Realm in all the time it has existed. Until now. The game has changed, and the odds are not in our favour.” Keeci looked to each and every one of them with sadness in her eyes. Her plump lips upturned, and the slits of her nose flared with anger.
Elowan looked to her childhood friend. “And where do you stand?”
“I’ll wage my war until that witch kicks down my own front door. She has done nothing for us – the sea-Fae that barely have two clams to rub together. All she cares for are her riches. Her power. And by the mother of Faery, do not get me started on the promised children.” Keeci snarled, her sharp, poison-coated fins flaring with every bitten word.
Elowan looked to Regin and then to Zala who was deep in thought. Her piercing blue eyes were glazed over, no doubt calculating their next best course of action.
“I never took you as someone who’d back down. Good to see things never change. Though with Seaspun Bay spoken for, it’s probably best we return to Fyllera and help where we can.”
Keeci eyes had glazed over too. Her scales on her skin, calming, and shining to an almost steady beat. She was thinking.
“What is it, Keeci?” Elowan asked.
“There’s hope still.” Her voice was just a whisper.
“Where?”
Keeci turned and flitted to her bedroom. The crinkling sounds of rustling paper echoed back to them. Within seconds, she was back.
She slammed a map, worn and dog-eared, upon the table. “In the Western Wastes.” She circled a scaled finger around the empty, unmarked territory, west of Summeira. “A small beacon by comparison”—she gestured all around her, to Seaspun Bay—“but a strong one if it’s still alive.”
Keeci swiftly folded up the map and handed it to Elowan.
Thankful, Elowan pocketed it.
“We’ll take the chance.” Taking a chance was better than suffering the slow death of inaction. “Who do I contact once I get there?”
“They’ll approach you. You’ll need to pass through the Resting Ruins. That’s how they’ll know.” Keeci looked apologetic.
Elowan’s soul almost left her body at the words but before it flew up to the Godlands, she shot a proverbial arrow through it and dragged it back into place. “We can’t just portal straight to them?”
Keeci shook her head. “It’s a magic that goes beyond our means. Only the people that can withstand the Resting Ruins can pass.”
Zala, with her impeccable timing, said rather frankly, “That’s a suicide mission.”
It was the perfect way to put it. For in the Resting Ruins lay the hundreds and thousands of Faery souls. Souls that had died and were deemed unworthy of ascending to the Elysian Fields but not wicked enough to descend into the depths of the Shadow Realm. No, these were the souls with unfinished business. Souls of the weary and the tortured who had no choice but to stay in Faery in a hellish state of limbo.
The thought sent a chill down Elowan’s spine.
Keeci took Zala and Elowan’s hand in each of hers. “You are two strong female warriors, blessed by the gods with the gift of bearing an element. If any being were destined, if not built, to withstand the trials of the Resting Ruins, it is you two. I feel it as I feel the water that courses through my veins.”
Elowan’s mana stirred, agreeing with Keeci.
Elowan looked to Regin who sat still. His brows furrowed in thought. “She’s right,” he said. “I’ll return home to Fyllera. I’ll be of more help there.”
Elowan nodded. She squeezed her soulmate’s thigh underneath the table. He understood. She could tell. Where they were headed, they needed to pack light and because he lacked any element-wielding mana, he would be a liability. His skills would be beneficial elsewhere; in this case, helping the people of Fyllera and establishing what connections he could there. Elowan turned back to her friend, her eyes now shining with a shimmer of hope.
“You can take my gliders. I’ve little to no use for them since having the children,” Keeci insisted.
A glider. Elowan hadn’t ridden one in an age. The last time she piloted the kite-like craft was with Cam. They were tumbling and turning in the sky along the edge of Mors Gorge on a mission for Queen Calliea. Cam vomited twice and Elowan swore she could still see and smell the splatters of spew across the glider’s wings. A small smile pulled at the sides of Elowan’s lips. She missed him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, just don’t get caught.” Keeci stood to embrace all three of them, brushing each with a kind hand upon their foreheads.
Friends.
Allies.
“Tell the children that I miss and love them,” Elowan said quietly.
“Tell them yourself when you see them after this debacle.” Keeci ushered them to the balcony that overlooked Seaspun Bay. “The gliders should be in fighting condition.”
Elowan stepped out onto the balcony. The sea breeze caressed her skin with delight. Way above on the seventy-seventh floor, their problems in Faery, outstretched ahead of them, seemed so insignificant. Below, the lights – green, blue and purple – that illuminated up each tower of Seaspun Bay mingled in a carousel of colour. The train tracks that divided the two islands of the bay sat idle. Haunting even.
The train tracks that connected their world to Sotera. There were no humans spilling through the fabric between two realms now. Queen Calliea made sure of it by destroying the siphon train made decades ago. Perhaps the last symbol of symbiosis between realms if it ever even existed.
Elowan took a moment to soak it all in. One last moment of calm.
The sounds of Zala, pulling the buckles of a glider’s harness, launched her back into reality. Elowan turned from where she stood admiring the sights and sounds of Seaspun Bay and faced Keeci, her childhood friend. With a sadness stuck in her throat, Elowan said, “Thank you. You’ve been a true friend and ally.”
This favour needed no words. Elowan took a hold of her friend’s wrist, pulled her mana from the depths of her stomach and broke off a tiny piece. She willed it into the essence of her friend’s mana for safe keeping. A favour and a piece of her power.
“Thank you, my oldest friend. Stay strong.” Keeci braced her hands on Elowan’s arms.
“May the gods guide you,” Elowan said with a bittersweet smile.
“To where we are all destined to be.” Keeci’s eyes were intense. Determined.
The slight change to Faery’s old saying sparked hope in Elowan’s heart. She was right. It was no longer an I, but a we. They needed to start thinking like a unit, a well-oiled machine with various moving parts if they wanted to win this war.
Zala threw Elowan a glider harness. She quickly strapped it on, pulling the buckles and levers to best suit her body’s measurements. Gliders, hewn into the shape of a kite with the skin of a water draekin were imbued with mana – to not only glide through the wind of Seaspun Bay but through its waters. It was an efficient mode of travel and if Elowan pulled her mana right, they’d travel undetected.
Elowan moved up to Regin who was already fastened into his own glider. He turned and her heart squeezed when his light-purple eyes landed on hers. They always had that effect on her. She leaned in to kiss him deeply and whispered just for them to hear, “Stay safe, my love. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
She wasn’t too worried. Whether it was alive in Faery or dead in the Elysian Fields, she would be seeing him soon. That was her only guarantee in life.
“I’ll be seeing you soon. You have my heart. Remember that.” Regin smiled as he squeezed her hand. With a nod, he took two steps back from the balcony’s ledge, checked the glass frame of his glider and jumped into the air. The glider shot him into the sky on an arc and within a few milliseconds became invisible, headed straight to Fyllera.
Elowan turned to join Zala, who had clipped herself onto the glider already. She followed suit, clipping the two large straps to the wire frame that fixed the wings of the glider out straight.
“Ready Z?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Side by side, they took two synchronised steps back from the balcony and ran to the ledge, pushing themselves off the floor, launching them both into the air with a WOOSH. Elowan took a second to turn back to Keeci.
Keeci held a hand to her heart as she watched the two glide into the air.
The sparkles of mana washed over the glider, then over Elowan and Zala. Together they would soar to the lip of Mor’s Gorge where the Resting Ruins of the Western Wastes awaited them.