Chapter 11
SERIS
I paid for the consequences of my actions even before I was conscious.
I woke to a headache that felt like an arrow was lodged in my temple, and my mouth tasted as if I had been chewing on a ball of sand soaked in alcohol.
My own breath made my stomach churn. Sunlight filtered through the shutters; each beam another arrow aimed at my eyes.
I groaned and turned my face into the pillow, reminded of Daemon by the faint trace of his scent still lingering there.
Memories crashed into my aching head. If someone saw me right now, they would think I was still drunk from how red I turned. My hand reaching for his. The kiss. Gods, the kiss. His embrace. The pleasure. The desire I felt from him when he gave in.
I sat up a bit too fast in panic. The room tilted sideways and my stomach lurched. I stumbled toward the sink and vomited. It was as far as I could make it. Heat flooded my face despite the throbbing pain in my head.
What was I thinking?
To be honest, I don’t think I was thinking at all.
I had simply acted on my urges. My mind replayed the memories like a movie I couldn’t look away from.
With my hands gripping the sink to keep myself upright, I let the scene play.
The only comfort was the ending. Daemon had enough self-control to stop both of us.
I was glad, but the anxiety and tangled emotions didn’t fade.
Daemon had a point. Do I feel this way about him because of the soul bond? Was it the alcohol? The alcohol was easy to dismiss. I had felt this pull toward him since the night at the watchtower. It was as if I orbited him like a moon around its planet.
Before I could spiral further, I heard footsteps.
They were nearly silent, but my pounding head made me sensitive to every movement around me. The steps stopped. Someone was waiting in the living space.
By now, most of the dinner and wine from last night had gone down the drain. I turned on the water and rinsed the rest away. Then I brushed my teeth and washed my face.
I moved carefully toward the wardrobe and pulled out a set of clothes. Changing made my stomach churn with every movement. Considering how much I had eaten the night before, I wasn’t surprised I hadn’t thrown everything up yet. My hands shook as I fastened the laces of the dress.
I forced myself to move, pushing open the door on legs that felt unfamiliar. I held my breath, bracing myself to face Daemon.
Luckily, it was Lyralei.
“Good morning, child,” she said, her voice carrying its usual musical cadence. “How do you feel?”
“Like I drowned in wine last night.” I slowly sank into the seat across from her.
Lyralei covered her mouth as she giggled. She rose and walked to the kitchen, returning with a glass of fresh water. She placed it in front of me and took her seat again.
I took careful sips, afraid that more liquid would send me running back to the sink. When my throat no longer felt like sandpaper, I let my head fall against the couch. My neck bent awkwardly to the side, but I didn’t have the energy to move it.
The sight earned another round of amusement from Lyralei.
“The more I see you, the more you remind me of your mother,” she said warmly. “Lyanna couldn’t handle her alcohol either. This brings back memories of our youth.”
If I had the strength, I would have asked her more about my mother. But at the moment, all I could manage was existing and breathing.
“Here,” Lyralei continued. “Let me make you the same meal I used to prepare for your mother after a night of drinking.”
“Yes, please.” I didn’t care what it was. I just wanted to feel like I wasn’t about to die anymore.
“Daemon is at the infirmary, by the way. His team has come to and are doing much better now.”
Despite the pain, relief washed over me like a warm bath on a cold night.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” With that, Lyralei was out the door.
After she left, my eyelids grew heavy once more.
When I woke again, Lyralei was in the kitchen wearing a beige apron. A pot on the stove was steaming, filling the lodge with moisture and a delicious aroma. Lyralei lifted a ladle and tasted the soup. She nodded to herself with quiet contentment.
As she walked over to the sink to place the ladle inside, she noticed I was awake.
“Good. Just in time. The food’s ready. Come sit.”
Making more sounds than a seventy-year-old retired farmer while getting up, I made my way toward the dining table in the kitchen. I plopped down in the chair, and Lyralei set a bowl of stew in front of me.
“It’s rabbit stew with fresh vegetables from the garden.”
I picked up the spoon that had been placed before me even before my eyes were fully open and drank a spoonful of the broth. It was delicious, and I felt my stomach settle within a few minutes.
Despite eating so much the night before, I finished the stew and then a second bowl. By the time I was done, my headache had eased and my stomach had calmed down. Now that my mind could form full sentences again, I had questions to ask.
“Are they really going to be alright?”
Lyralei was storing the soup in individual containers, leaving the lids slightly ajar so the stew could cool.
“Yes. They’ll be fine. Zephyr’s wounds were severe, but our healers are more skilled than any you’ll find outside Vaelthorne.
Your friend Kane somehow needed almost no medical attention despite having a back full of arrowheads.
He’s been helping the village chop down trees and make firewood since this morning.
He said he gets antsy if he doesn’t move.
Kael, on the other hand, only had surface-level wounds.
I heard he took on two units by himself.
To come out mostly unscathed is impressive.
He was mostly just fatigued and suffering from blood loss more than anything else.
You have some capable companions, Seris. ”
“I should go check on them anyway.”
“No.” Lyralei’s voice shifted in tone.
The word cut through my rambling with gentle finality.
I looked up. Her eyes never left the containers.
“We have something more important to do. I understand these people were hurt while protecting you and that it’s how you got here, but if you truly want to help them, you must learn how to control your powers.”
The reminder of the monumental task ahead of me made me flinch.
“They’ll heal without you standing guard. Rest assured, they’re in good hands. Daemon is with them as well.”
Lyralei changed the subject. “How are you feeling now?”
“Much better. Thank you so much.”
“Good. Then come. We have much ground to cover.”
My legs steadied as I followed her out of the guest house and toward Vaelthorne’s woods. Morning washed over the village. Fae moved through the streets, tending their gardens and going about their routines. Children darted between busy adults, causing chaos as they should.
As we walked through the streets, Fae greeted us left and right. Finally, we left the village and reached the treeline. Here, the trees grew closer together. The air tasted different, alive and pulsing with magic.
“These woods respond to the Veil the same way the Nightwood does,” Lyralei said as she led me down a path into a massive clearing in the middle of the forest.
“Why? I don’t understand. I’ve been to many forests while running from the Crown. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“To understand why these forests carry magic, you have to understand what the Veil is.” Lyralei paused, choosing her words carefully.
“The magic you possess doesn’t draw power from the elements found in this realm, like Zephyr’s wind magic, for example.
The Veil isn’t something you can command in the traditional sense.
The Veil is the very fabric of reality itself.
It’s the membrane that separates dimensions and keeps them distinct.
Without it, the dimensions would collapse into one. ”
I thought of the ritual chamber. The way my power had felt like tearing reality itself.
“That’s why the king wanted to use me as a weapon.”
“Partially.” Lyralei settled onto one of the stones with fluid grace. “But King Aeron understood only a fraction of what you are. He saw potential for destruction. He never grasped the other half and failed to see the grand scope of the consequences.”
“Which is?”
“He doesn’t fully realize he’s being influenced by an entity from a different dimension.
Unlike a dimension like Thalynward, which grew these forests, the King’s malice is born from a place called the Void.
An entity we call the Devourer sleeps inside the throne, poisoning the Thorne bloodline.
” She gestured for me to sit across from her.
“The Veil is not an element like fire or water. It is not something you command or control in the traditional sense. It is the fabric of reality itself, the boundary that keeps dimensions separate and distinct.”
I lowered myself onto the moss-cushioned stone, my pulse quickening. “You also mentioned other dimensions yesterday. Other worlds beyond our own.”
“Many worlds.” Lyralei’s eyes held knowledge I couldn’t hope to fathom.
“Some are similar to ours. This forest and the Nightwood were created from a dimension we call Thalynward. We haven’t explored it as extensively as the Void, but we do know that nature rules supreme there.
The trees and life in the Nightwood are born from energy from Thalynward. ”
“And the Void?” The word tightened my jaw as it came out. “You said that’s where the… Devourer came from.”
Lyralei’s expression shifted. Not fear exactly, but something close to it, respect for a danger that couldn’t be taken lightly.