Chapter 5
Guardian Sanctum, Hannelore Mountain, Realm of Eldridge
Daya knelt in the pool of sparkling water at the heart of the mountain, letting the warm heat soak into her bones.
She could communicate with the mountain from anywhere, but when she needed extreme clarity, she came to the heart and rid her mind of everything but the spirit of the guardian that was her true essence.
She’d chosen to stay in the pool rather than continue into the small meditation chamber, needing the calming influence of the water more than the solid earth beneath her knees.
Her core purpose as a guardian of Hannelore Mountain was to protect the mountain—its hidden places, its wild inhabitants, its secrets.
She was also meant to guide, but in a realm that banished magic long ago, she was fairly useless in that capacity.
Instead, she saw herself less as a teacher and more as a caretaker.
Preserving the sacred space and the ancient ways for future generations, so that someday a future guardian would have the opportunity to act as wisdom keeper and guide to those with magic.
She’d given her vow as well as her life-force to the mountain when she’d accepted the call to become a guardian, and she would find a way to keep her promise.
Caring for Raiden the past few weeks had turned her inside out.
His presence stirred emotions long buried in her heart, tore at the carefully constructed walls she’d built.
No matter how many times she told herself he wasn’t staying, and she didn’t need him complicating her life, a kernel of longing betrayed her true feelings.
Time passing was bad enough, but the distraction was the real problem. Now that he was recovering from his injuries and being poisoned, she needed to return her focus to where it belonged. She’d been away too long while he’d fought for his life.
Sinking deeper into the water, she let the essence of the mountain flow through her pores, heralding the deeper connection possible in this sacred space.
After years of communicating with the mountain she was honor-bound to protect and care for, the intimate connection was a natural part of her soul. As necessary to her being as air and water. She didn’t know who or what she was without it.
Normally, Hannelore was a huge but peaceful presence inside her, sharing space with her mind and soul. The presence today was like a booming earthquake, roiling deep within the earth and pitching her off-balance.
Opening her consciousness, she connected with the mountain, inviting the looming presence to share its burden with her.
The earth rolled and thundered, wrenching Daya out of her body for a moment.
The bright colors of the mountain and forest whirled through her head in vibrant flashes.
Gold, purple, green, and brown, taking her on a dizzying journey through the wilderness surrounding Hannelore Mountain.
Startled, she pressed her hands deep into the soil at the bottom of the natural spring to stabilize herself and waited for her mind to settle.
What’s wrong? She sent the question not only in words but also in images and emotions.
Black murkiness flooded her mind in answer to her question, like rot destroying a tree from the inside. Darkness. Wrongness.
Unease skittered down her spine. The darkness was a general sensation.
No matter how many different places she imagined as a question, the mountain couldn’t identify where the threat was, just that it was coming.
The entire mountain landscape and the connected valleys and forests flooded her mind in the broadest expanse of images the mountain had ever sent her, interspersed with the sickly root rot.
The feelings seeped into her with nauseous clarity.
The gravity of the message sent fear through her.
How was she to conquer such an encompassing and malicious force?
Show me the darkness. Where do we hunt?
Images of landscape barreled through her mind, a few landmarks standing out clearly—a crystal pool of river water, the distinctive heart-shaped leaves of leopard’s bane, a rock lookout.
Rivers ran throughout the mountain’s territory, but the green and purple Zamyran leopard’s bane only grew in the direction of the Zamyran border.
It was far from a precise location, but it was a direction to start searching.
The opposite direction of where she’d found her wounded warrior, she was relieved to notice.
Raiden was finally well enough to care for himself for days at a time, so she could begin making longer journeys to search for the rock landmark she’d seen.
The mountain rumbled, sparks licking inside her core. She stilled and opened her mind once more.
Not safe. The next guardian approaches.
Shock reverberated through her. She hadn’t expected her successor to appear for at least another century.
The guardian who’d trained her had served for two centuries before she’d arrived.
After mentoring her for a while, Faye had gone to the mountain and accepted the final rite of a guardian, allowing her essence to be returned to the earth.
So soon?
It is necessary.
It was on the tip of her tongue—verbal and mental—to ask why a new guardian was necessary. Was she not enough any longer? Had her lapse in attention with Raiden brought on the need for someone new? Fighting the turmoil rising inside her, she stood and exited the pool.
Trust was essential to her role. She’d trusted the mountain her entire time as guardian and wouldn’t stop now.
She placed a hand against the glinting stone at the center of the cavern.
We’ll eliminate the darkness, she vowed.
Dressing quickly, she grabbed her cloak and bag from the entry chamber and exited to the valley.
Color sparkled across the meadow in the early morning sun, making the patches of grass and flowers shimmer brightly.
The gentle flow of water took over her senses.
In the absolute quiet, she could hear the faint rush of the waterfalls.
What would she do when forced to give up this world?
She’d known nothing else. Wasn’t ready to be done with this life yet.
The heavy beat of wings pulled her away from her thoughts and back to her responsibilities. Ereven took off from his perch and circled her in greeting.
We hunt?
We hunt, she confirmed. We must find the darkness before the next guardian can rise.
From the protection of the tree line, Daya watched as Raiden worked with her horse.
Clicking to Melody, he drove her around the makeshift ring, watching closely for her signals.
Doing groundwork with the horse was one of the few things he could do without full use of his arm, and, better yet, he enjoyed it.
The poison that had ravaged him for weeks had stolen much of his strength and mobility. She could see he was still moving stiffly. His leg had benefited from the time confined to bed. Though he still limped, she wasn’t worried about his ability to move around in her absence.
He was still reticent to work with his weapons, but he seemed to have no problem attempting hard labor around her homestead or working with animals, spending time with both Melody and Neka.
Ember reported that his bond with the owlcat continued to strengthen, and he often talked to her during the long hours Daya was away. He’d even agreed to start strengthening his good arm by training with her bows, but he hadn’t gone near his metal weapons since they’d arrived.
Turning his back, Raiden walked away from Melody and waited for her to follow. She did so immediately, coming up close to him and nudging his back. A smile broke out on his face as he rubbed her muzzle and murmured to her.
Ignoring the soft flutter that took flight inside her, Daya strode forward.
“Done for the morning?” she asked.
“Yes.” He grinned. “Are you ready to take me out hunting with you?”
“Can you hit my mark with the long bow yet?”
Raiden laughed and shook his head.
They both knew he needed several more months of healing his bad arm before he could manage to hit the center mark repeatedly. She’d been impressed at his insistence that he needed to be equally skilled with both sides.
The conversation had jostled his mind, and he’d shared with her that that was how he’d been trained with all of his weapons.
He’d also remembered bits and pieces about his mentor, a fierce warrior woman he looked up to.
He absently reached for the missing pendant around his neck whenever he talked about the woman.
Trailing behind him, Daya followed Melody and Raiden as they walked slowly to the barn. She tried to ignore the enticing scent of woods and sweet citrus that she’d come to associate with Raiden.
His scent hadn’t changed much since she found him, telling her that whatever he did, he spent a lot of time riding in the woods. She’d have guessed that anyway, with his firm confidence that his horse was missing him somewhere.
Watching him interact with Melody, she believed it. The animal wasn’t just a means of travel to him. He genuinely enjoyed working with her. She felt a pinch of guilt that she’d be taking his companion away with her for several days and leaving him alone, but there was nothing for it.
Lost inside her head, she nearly ran into him when he stopped just outside the barn. Amused green eyes told her he’d noticed her distraction.
Raiden dipped his head close to her ear, lingering to allow his breath to tease the nape of her neck. “Another day then, anaiah.”
Heart stuttering, Daya tensed as she always did when he used the endearment.
His sensual teasing and deep laughter tugged the most at her lonely heart, and he used them as the weapons they were.
He’d stayed firm in his belief that he was free to engage romantically.
She believed him, which made her refusal that much harder to give each time he referred to her as his saving grace with the resonant tone of a lover.