Chapter Twenty-One #2
summoning Azrahn in truth, I’m hoping my five-fold weaves will keep the High Mage from Marking you, as they did the first
day you met the Eye.”
On the way to Fey’Bahren—even before Bel’s outraged call—they’d both agreed neither would actually weave the forbidden magic during the training.
Instead, Gaelen would use Spirit to show her how to summon and spin the Azrahn weaves, and she would spin Spirit back to show she understood.
The solution not only protected her from receiving another Mage Mark while she learned to spin the weaves the Eye had shown her, it also shielded Gaelen from the Massan’s wrath in the event they discovered what she and Gaelen were up to.
She wanted to know the weaves, to know that she could spin them, before she revealed her plans to Rain. They would decide
what to do next together, because she was through making decisions for him. Especially such dangerous ones as this.
“No protection in the world will be enough when you spin the weaves for real,” Gaelen reminded her again. “You bear the High
Mage’s Marks. You’ll be weaving Azrahn long enough for him to sense it and gain access to your soul. He’ll Mark you again.
There’s no avoiding it. You do realize that.”
She nodded grimly. She knew. The Eye had shown her what would happen. “This is the kitlings’ only chance. The healing weaves
aren’t enough.”
His ice-blue eyes met hers for one piercing moment; then he nodded. “Bas’ka, then have a seat and open your mind to me. My Spirit weaves need to feel as close to the reality of summoning and weaving
Azrahn as possible, which means I need control of your thoughts and senses.”
Drawing a deep breath, Ellysetta sat down on the hard, rocky surface of Su Reisu and tore down the strong barriers that encircled
her mind. “I am ready. Show me the weaves.”
Gaelen sat before her, legs crossed, his hands covering hers in skin-to-skin contact. Spirit gathered and swirled around him
in lavender flows. The weave enveloped her, and with a silent whoosh, Gaelen’s magic sank into her skin, and his consciousness
joined her own in a way she’d never trusted the shei’dalins enough to allow.
?Azrahn exists in us all,? he whispered in her mind. ?It is the soul magic, the Unmaker, the source and the destruction of all life’s essence. It is a power far greater than the
Fey allow themselves to wield. It is not, as the Fey believe, inherently evil, but it is beyond a doubt the most dangerous
magic there is.?
?I understand,? she assured him.
?Then let us begin.?
Celieria ~ Orest
Rain stood on the battlements of Upper Orest, looking northward across the falls of Maiden’s Gate and the Heras River into
Eld. A grayish haze hung over the dark-forested land of his enemies. The cooler months of fall always covered Eld in rain
and mist, but the sight still made him uneasy. The last time he’d seen Eld, it had been shrouded in a similar gray haze, only
weather hadn’t been to blame. The fires of Koderas—the great sel’dor forge of the Eld—had belched smoke into the air day and night as the Eld war machine churned out weapons and armor for its
soldiers and allies.
He sniffed the air. The breeze carried no hint of smoke, but he still couldn’t shake the sense of unease. His tairen instincts
were roused. He could feel its claws unsheathing inside him, digging deep in preparation for attack.
?Ellysetta . . . ? He spun her name on a thread of Spirit. They’d spoken last night, but he needed to hear her voice again.
When she didn’t answer, he frowned and called her on their bond threads, but she still didn’t respond. Growing concerned,
Rain sent a private weave to Bel. ?Bel? I cannot reach Ellysetta.?
There was a silence. Then, ?Ellysetta’s in Fey’Bahren, Rain.?
Hope flickered in Rain’s breast. ?She has found a way to save the kits??
There was another silence, longer this time. ?She thinks she has.?
Rain closed his eyes in relief. It was the best news he’d heard in days. ?Thank the gods. What is it? Some long-forgotten healing weave? How did she find it?? Bel’s third long silence made Rain frown. ?Bel?? he prodded.
The Fading Lands ~ The Feyls
Rain raced across the peaks of the Feyls like a dark comet streaking against the twilight sky. He flew parallel to the northern section of the Faering Mists, careful to avoid dipping even a wing tip into the radiant cloud of magic.
The Mists had challenged him again when he’d flown through over the Veil, but this time he’d been in no mood to stand for
their torment. After a brief, unpleasant few chimes, he’d answered the challenge the way any aggravated tairen would: with
a blast of tairen fire. The spirits in the Mists had gone silent then. Perhaps because they’d realized that if they’d tried
to stop him, he would have scorched them out of existence. Whether a single Tairen Soul could destroy the Faering Mists was
not at all certain, but if they’d continued to stand in his way, he would have found out.
Screaming ropes of Spirit shot out ahead of him, calling to Ellysetta on their private path. When she did not answer, he nearly
set the threads of their bond afire with his furious shout. ?Ellysetta! By the gods, you will answer me now!?
At last, she did, and her voice sounded hesitant. Startled. ?Rain, beloved, what is it??
Fire exploded from his muzzle. ?You are weaving Azrahn? You would do that to us? To me??
Shock rippled across their bond. And guilt. ?How did you kn—? Her voice broke off. ?Bel.?
He didn’t bother to confirm it. ?You will stop this madness immediately! I’m coming to Fey’Bahren. If Gaelen is still there when I arrive, I will kill him.?
?Rain! Wait! It’s not what you think. I’m not weaving Azrahn. I wouldn’t do that to you. I learned my lesson at Chakai. What
choices we make, we make together, shei’tan. Please, you’ve got to believe me. I’m only—?
Whatever else she had to say was lost when he cut the connection of their bond threads. He powered the energy of his Rage
into his flight, and he raced across the sky faster than he ever had before.
It was full night when he reached Fey’Bahren, and the campfire on Su Reisu shone like a beacon in the night, illuminating the slender figure of Ellysetta and the tall, dark warrior in her company.
Vel Serranis.
Rain’s wings tucked in tight. He put on a last, powerful burst of speed and shot towards the ground like a meteor.
Ellysetta must have sensed both his presence and his intent, because she leapt in front of vel Serranis and flung her arms
out protectively. “Rain, wait!”
He didn’t slow a bit. He simply Changed. The rainbow mist of his magic swept over Ellysetta and Gaelen like a hard wind and
gathered together into his Fey body behind them. He hit the ground in a tucked roll and came up in attack stance, teeth bared
and snarling.
“Rain!” Ellysetta cried again. “It’s not what you think!”
He shoved her back with a puff of Air and bound her in place with a five-fold weave. To Gaelen, he growled, “Defend yourself,”
just before his fist shot out, plowing into the underside of Gaelen’s jaw. Vel Serranis went flying. Rain leapt on him and
began pummeling.
The fight didn’t last long. Rain had not spent those weeks of training under Gaelen’s tutelage without learning a great deal
about how the other Fey fought and how best to defeat him. And Gaelen, cocky rultshart though he was, knew he had it coming. When vel Serranis was groaning and breathless and his pretty face was sufficiently
bruised and bloodied, Rain shoved him aside, got to his feet, and released Ellysetta from his weave.
“We weren’t weaving Azrahn, Rain,” Ellysetta protested. “We only used Spirit. I wouldn’t make a choice so grave without you.”
“I know.” He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of one hand.
“I realized the truth not long after we spoke. You asked me to believe you. Once I shook off the worst of my Rage, I realized you were right. I did need to believe you, to trust that you would never intentionally bring us to harm. Then I realized what Bel believed had to be wrong. That there had to be some other explanation.”
Her jaw dropped. “Then why . . . ?” She gestured to Gaelen, who had rolled into a sitting position and was massaging his dislocated
jaw.
“Because he deserved it.” Rain nudged Gaelen’s thigh with the toe of his boot. “You need to accept the laws of this pride,
vel Serranis. You may be her lu’tan, but I am her mate. Endanger her again—even by her command—and you will answer to me.”
Gaelen held his gaze for a long moment, then laughed, spat a mouthful of blood, and nodded. “Accepted.”
“Kabei.” Rain turned his complete attention back to Ellysetta. “And now, shei’tani, you can explain to me just what in the jaffing fires of the Seven Hells you were thinking?”
She flinched at the bottled fury that turned each word into a whip of flame, but she stood her ground. “I know how to save
the tairen, Rain, but I have to weave Azrahn to do it.”