17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Ryker
A fter the mating trial, I needed to clear my head. I had to follow that drive within me to get to Kya, and the closest I could get to her was the last place she was before leaving this world.
Theron Traveled me to the Rip, right where Kya had fallen. He remained away from the edge but kept his eyes on me the entire time, like he was concerned I’d do something stupid.
“Will you stop staring? I’m not going to jump in,” I snapped. I could feel his gaze on my back as I stood at the edge, looking down into the endless depth of Odes’ grave.
“You have tried before,” he growled.
True. But because I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I went in. Would I be taken where she is? Or would I simply fall to my death?
“Little gem… Where are you?” I reached for the bond but, just like every other time I had tried, there was nothing.
It was only pissing me off more, so I decided to back-track everywhere she went before she fell, studying the land with a trained eye. I followed the now-sparse trail of the Glaev, tracking it along the beach which was quickly being washed away with the rising tide. Careful of my steps, I continued to follow it north, toward the Atara border at the end of the Rip. But once I got to the very edge of it, there was grass.
Interesting.
“Theron, where did you leave Kya when you brought her here?”
“On the other side of the Rip, in a clearing.”
“On the other side?” I echoed.
“Yes, that is what I just told you.”
“But then you left.” I bent down to inspect the ground.
“We have been over this. Yes,” he said harshly.
“So she had to get her and Malina to this side, right?” I asked.
“I assume. But again, I was not present for the events that occurred here.”
“Damnit, Theron. I know that. I’m just…talking it out, so for five minutes, stop being such a fucking ass.”
He didn’t say anything else, and I resumed studying the once Glaev-infested land.
“Kya did this. She cleared the way from one side of the Rip to the other. And her energy continuously restores, even after she’s left. Just like Voara.” I stood up straight and gazed at the expanse of clear land before me.
“That is how Waalu works. Once it is given form, it will not stop until something just as equally—or more—powerful stops it,” Theron offered. And less harshly this time, though I could hear the annoyance in his voice.
“Atara is healing,” I whispered. I could see the Glaev in the distance and just at the edge of it was a soft, almost indiscernible glow of jade.
My jaw fell open in awe of what Kya was capable of.
My strong and powerful mate.
I nearly smiled to myself, pride filling me and making me stand tall. I could be angry with Kya all I wanted, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t proud of her.
Without thought, my feet carried me forward as I walked, landing lightly on the freshly formed grass. My breath caught, and I swallowed back the ache in my throat. A bittersweet smile tugged at my lips—I was the first person to stand here since its destruction. The Atara Nation, my mate’s Nation, was renewed. And I was going to make sure Kya would see it.
Theron Traveled me straight to Ilrek just outside the city right before dusk. I didn’t waste any time getting to Morah, shifting my wings and flying over the city’s rings to the library. The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I landed, then I bounded up the steps, two at a time, and pushed open the large double doors into the library.
I tried not to think about it, but I couldn’t help the pang of longing for Kya when I entered. My eyes gazed up to the residential level that held her rooms. The memory of staying with her that night almost made me smile, but it quickly fell.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I didn’t want to lose myself and wallow in my grief. I needed to stay on task and motivated.
I made my way up the stairs to the High Scholar’s study. The door was ajar, and I heard voices, but they were too quiet for me to make out the words. I stopped just outside the door and listened.
“…would have done so by now. It’s not your decision to make, and you can’t force it.”
“Maybe this is for the best, Nikan. He’s here to help. We can get her out of this—”
At the mention of “her”, I burst through the doors. Hakoa was standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at Eamon. Eamon and Nikan startled and spun to face me—the latter instinctively wielding a fragment of the stone floor into the air, and aiming it at me.
“Lord Ryker,” Eamon gasped with wide eyes and a hand over his chest. “What are you—”
“ Who are you talking about?” I stomped my way across the room. If they had any information about Kya and had been keeping it from me…
“Wha— Erm, Malina,” Eamon said with a confused look.
I relaxed slightly. “Not Kya?”
“No.” Nikan guided the stone back into its place in the floor with his terbis. “Not Kya.”
My eyes cut to Hakoa.
“Nikan and Eamon were just telling me about the unsettling situation with Malina,” Hakoa explained with a sneer aimed toward Nikan.
Nikan crossed his arms and looked at Hakoa with narrowed eyes. “She’s…going through something. But I’ve got it handled.”
Hakoa opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him with a whisper into his mind, “Later, Hakoa. This is important.”
“So is this. You’re here for your female, I’m here for mine.”
Nikan lifted his head and glanced behind me. “You didn’t bring your brother?” he asked.
“He’s dealing with things back in Oryn. Some of which I need to discuss with Eamon,” I said, giving Eamon a pointed look.
Nikan nodded with understanding, but his eyes flickered with something else. Whatever it was, it wasn’t my concern.
“What can I do for you?” Eamon asked, and gestured for us to sit down.
“I’ll be going,” Nikan excused himself and bowed his head to Eamon then to me, and briefly glared at Hakoa before leaving the study.
Hakoa cleared his throat as I sat down and subtly jutted his head toward the door.
I nodded, conveying we would talk later.
He rushed out of the study to catch up with Nikan.
Eamon sat across from me with his hands clasped in his lap, patiently waiting for me to speak. There was a lot to catch him up on and I didn’t know what Malina or Nikan had told him.
“There are several things I need to inform you of, and I will also need a favor. First, and most importantly, Kya is alive.”
Eamon’s neutral expression became one of pity. “Lord Ryker, I know you hold out hope but…Kya fell. She’s gone. What you’re feeling—”
“Stop.” My cold voice boomed in the room. “She is alive. I know it. I haven’t gone mad and I don’t have the time to explain my bond. This isn’t a false hope, it’s a fact .”
The look in his wary eyes told me he still didn’t believe me.
Fine. He didn’t have to.
“I need to show you something. Come with me.”
Eamon didn’t hesitate to follow me up the stairs to the top of Morah, until eventually we were on the ledge that Kya had shown me.
“What… I didn’t even know this was here,” Eamon breathed.
“And you still don’t.” I gave him a firm look as we stepped to the edge.
“But how did it get here?” he asked with astonishment.
“It’s not my story to tell.”
“Then why did you show me?”
“This isn’t what I wanted to show you. It’s just the easiest place for him to meet us. ”
Eamon tilted his head to the side. “Who?”
“Theron,” I called.
Theron appeared in the air directly in front of us, his massive body moving up and down with each beat of his leathery wings, my cloak lifting from the chilled gusts of air. His chest rumbled and he lowered his head until the slits in his red eyes were level with mine.
I could smell fear pouring from Eamon, but I ignored it and placed my hand on his shoulder as I touched Theron’s snout just above his protruding teeth. Then we left and appeared in a field. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, scenting the fresh grass that filled my senses.
Eamon coughed back a gag, covering his mouth and clenching his stomach through his beige shirt.
“In all my years, I never thought I’d ever transport with a Spirit.” He finished his coughing fit and stood fully. His eyes widened when he spotted the Rip behind me. “Where are we?”
The side of my mouth lifted.
“Atara,” I said quietly. I raised my head slightly, gesturing to the soft jade glow at the edge of the Glaev behind him.
“Atara? That’s imposs—” He stopped when he turned around and saw the Glaev being eaten away.
His jaw dropped as he gazed at the plague that had terrorized the continent for decades transforming into life once again. He stepped forward, and I followed until he stopped at the edge and bent down to inspect the wondrous magic.
“That’s Waalu—Kya’s energy magic from her Spirit. It counteracts the dark magic, wielded by Daegel, that makes the Glaev,” I said.
“Worthy in so many ways…” he whispered to himself as he continued to marvel.
Indeed.
“Eamon.” He looked up at me. “I need your help. ”
He stood and faced me, giving me his full attention.
“Our mating trial was conducted in Bhara today, and the panel granted approval of our mating—but only because they think she’s dead. If the other Worthy find out Atara is healing—”
“They’ll want to claim it,” he finished.
“Exactly.”
Eamon nodded slowly. “So, what do you need me to do? I certainly can’t stop them. We’re a neutral Nation run by councils,” he huffed a humorous chuckle and shrugged.
“And you are the High Scholar.”
His brows bunched in confusion.
“You’re part of the Council of Scholars, which means you hold the highest influence over the laws and how information is distributed among the Nations.” He nodded as I continued, “I need you to stifle any rumors about Atara and help me keep people away from it until Kya comes back to defend it. No one rational will touch a Nation that has a Worthy to protect it. Especially one mated with another Worthy of a bordering Nation.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his graying hair. “Let’s say Kya is alive.”
She is.
“I can withhold information for as long as possible but I can’t do it indefinitely. They will discover it eventually, and there’s no proof, aside from your claim, that she isn’t dead—let alone that she will come back. And this,” he gestured to the land, “doesn’t prove it either. You can’t protect it forever.”
I won’t need to.
“I know you’re a male of facts and evidence of truth. But just this once, I need you to have faith. Kya is alive. She’s lost in another realm, and I will get her back.” I stepped closer to him. “I’m not asking the High Scholar of Morah. I’m asking the male who is like a father to my wife.” I pulled up my sleeve to reveal the marriage band around my wrist.
His eyes softened, and his shoulders lowered. “For Kya.”
“Yes. For Kya.”
Eamon nodded. “I’ll do what I can to divert any information about Atara. And I can issue a prohibition from the area—say it’s unstable or something.”
If Eamon could control the flow of information, we could keep any rumors at bay for the time being. Hopefully. I planned to go back to Voara and give the order to keep away from the Ataran border. And any who did go near it would be strictly instructed to hold their tongue about anything they saw.
There wasn’t anything I could do about Dusan. Thankfully, most Dusanian citizens had moved away from the border since the destruction of Atara, and it had remained mostly uninhabited with the exception of travelers making their way north through Riyah.
And again, Eamon was the High Scholar—one of the most influential fae on the continent. And he just so happened to be the closest thing to a father Kya has had. He would help her. He’d want to do everything he could to keep a war from ensuing between the Nations.
“What else do you need from me?” he asked.
“I just need time.”