Chapter 12
This isn't the way to our parents' grave.
Rhyel grumbled to his wolf who was darting through the forest to the Keep on the wall.
We're not going to their graves. We have to speak to them in the beyond, and Cori's kin must guide us.
His wolf growled, running through the gates, passing the bowing guards and up the steps to the lookout. Rhyel gasped and wheezed as his wolf shifted without warning, leaving him sprawled out on the stone slabs, shaking from the sudden transformation.
Was that necessary?
He seethed at his smug wolf.
"My Lord, are you alright?" Cori said, popping up from her perch beside the wall. "What are you doing here?"
"My wolf and Sune sent me here to see you," he said, dragging himself from the ground. "I'm on a quest."
"A quest?" Cori frowned. "And who's Sune?"
"Lady Sana's Tsidian moth."
Cori's green eyes grew wide as she dragged a hand through her short blonde locks. "Dear me," she breathed. "I never thought this would happen again."
"What do you mean, again?"
Cori smiled, sliding her hand to his shoulder. "Come with me, my Lord. We have a long trek to my family's compound. I'll explain it on the way," she said, turning to the guards standing watch along the wall. "Samir, you're in charge until I return."
"Yes, captain," the guard said, bowing his head. "Safe travels, my Lord."
"Thank you," he said, following Cori inside the keep. "I know you said you'll explain on the way, but can you tell me why Sune seems to think my wolf and I are incapable of accepting Sana? She's only been here a day and I've done nothing but be kind to her."
Cori shook her head as she handed him a bag of supplies. "It's not about being kind," she said, sliding a satchel over her shoulder. "Tsidian moths require complete loyalty from their chosen's partner. You agreed to Lady Sana being your wife, right?"
"I did, and I have no intention of backing out of it. I will be loyal to her."
"Mm." Cori nodded. "But you also yearn for your true mate too."
"I don't see how that's a problem." Rhyel frowned. "Everyone knows the blessing of a true mate died with my father. My soul will never have a match."
Cori raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you continue to hope for it?"
"I..." Rhyel sighed, sliding a hand over his heart. "I don't know."
"Come on," Cori said, sliding her hand to his arm. "You need to speak to your parents, and my Bapi will guide you."
It was evening by the time Rhyel and Cori made it to her family's compound beyond the wall, deep in the mountains of the blackwood forest. Cori was still being vague about this quest he was meant to go on.
She'd only told him that it was a common trek for partners of the Tsidian's chosen and that his father went on the same quest when a moth chose his mother.
"Why didn't he tell me anything about this?"
Cori shrugged. "It's not something you needed to know."
"But my parents were true mates. Why would he have to prove his loyalty to her when my mother was his Luna?"
"Again, I don't know all the details of it, but I'm sure my Bapi will explain what you need to know," she said as they walked up to a wooden cabin tucked away on the side of the mountain.
The door burst open and a short, portly man with long gray hair and pointed fae ears stood in the doorway with his arms wide and a bright smile on his ruddy face. "My Coriana! It's been so long!"
"Bapi!" Cori exclaimed, running into his open arms. "You look well."
"I am and how's Zena?"
"She's good. She's training the new Lady of Darcanos, which is why we've come to you. Lady Sana has been chosen by a moth," Cori said, turning to Rhyel. "Lord Rhyel, I'd like you to meet my Bapi, Obadiah."
"It's nice to meet you, Obadiah," Rhyel said, bowing his head.
"No need to bow to me, my Lord, but oh my," Cori's father said, stepping away from her to grasp Rhyel's hands. "A mighty Tsidian has chosen your Lady. His presence is strong on you."
"Forgive me, but I don't understand any of this."
Obadiah's golden brown eyes glimmered with joy.
"Not to worry. Your father said the same thing when he and his wolf were sent to me," he said, wrapping his arm around Rhyel's waist. "Come.
I will explain everything and send you on the journey to speak to your parents. I'm sure they're waiting for you."
Rhyel ducked inside the quiet, cozy cabin behind Cori and Obadiah. An elderly fae with short gray hair sat in a rocking chair, knitting by the fireplace in the small living room.
She looked up at them, and a smile tugged at her lips. "Lord Rhyel, I was wondering if you'd be following in your father's footsteps," she said, setting her knitting needles down as she stood. "I'm Cori's Mati, Yaena."
Rhyel bowed his head to her. "It's nice to meet you, Yaena."
"You as well. I'm sure you have many questions," she said, looking around him at Cori. "Thank you for bringing the young Lord to us, but we'll take it from here. You may go back to your post on the wall."
"Yes, Mati."
"Coriana," Yaena said, sliding her hands to her daughter's cheeks. "You make us proud every day." Yaena kissed her forehead. "Give our love to Zena."
"I will. Thank you, Mati," Cori said, kissing her mother's cheek before she turned to her Rhyel. "Good luck, my Lord. May your quest show you what you need to be loyal to Lady Sana."
"Thank you, Cori." Rhyel nodded. "Safe travels."
"Bapi," Cori said, hugging him tight. "Take care of yourself."
"I will, my little warrior," Obadiah said, kissing her head. "Now go on. You've done well bringing Rhyel to us."
Cori nodded, patting Rhyel's shoulder one last time before she left the cabin, and a wave of anxiety washed over Rhyel as he looked between Obadiah and Yaena, unsure of what to expect from this meeting.
Obadiah smiled as he took Yaena's hand. "It's been forty years since we last guided the Alpha of Darcanos through a quest."
"Yes," Yaena said, with tears glistening in her brown eyes. "We thought your mother and father were the last to receive such a blessing from the ancient ones."
Rhyel shook his head. "My parents never spoke of the moth being a blessing for both of them."
"It wasn't something for them to tell you," Obadiah said, gesturing for Rhyel to follow him through the cabin. "This blessing you've been given is only revealed if it needs to be. My kin have always been the guardians of the Tsidian moths."
"Yes, the fae are descendants of Taraknor, the very first moth who blessed us with our wings and our gifts," Yaena said, slipping a golden key from a hook beside the wood-burning stove. "And we have always been the ones to guide the partners of the chosen on their quest for loyalty."
"Tell us about your betrothed," Obadiah said, taking the key from Yaena and unlocking the stone door beside the stove. "What gifts does she have?"
"That's the thing. She wasn't born with any."
"Oh my," Yaena said, holding up her hand as a flame burst from her fingertips before she stepped through the door into the darkened cavern. "That is peculiar. Tsidian moths don't normally choose a being without any gifts."
"I know, which is why I don't understand any of this," Rhyel said, ducking under the arched door behind Obadiah and Yaena. "But Sune is already very protective of her."
"It's good that her moth is protective of her," Obadiah said. "And you may understand why Sune has chosen a being with no gifts on your quest."
Rhyel frowned, looking around the cavern and the glowing pool of milky blue water. "What is this place?"
"This is the cavern of Taraknor," Yaena said, waving her hand as the flame in her palm floated away from her and ignited the scones on the wall around the glowing pool.
"These waters are infused with the remnants of Taraknor's soul and allow you to travel into the beyond to find your truth and your purpose. "
Rhyel crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought I came here to speak to my parents."
"You did," Obadiah said, grunting as he closed the stone door with a soft, solitary thud that echoed off the jagged walls of the hollowed space. "They are part of your quest."
"Come, my Lord," Yaena said, kneeling on a dusty woven blanket on the ground. "We must prepare you for your journey."
"Is...my journey in there?" Rhyel said, pointing to the pool.
"Yes," she said, waving her hand over the blanket as three small bowls appeared before her filled with black powder, a shimmering white liquid and smoking herbs that smelled of pine and sage. "Your quest is in your mind, your heart, and your soul."
"And you won't be needing your cloak, your leathers or your weapons," Obadiah said, patting his back. "You may lose all of that."
Rhyel eyed the gently rippling water and took a deep breath as he slowly removed his cloak and armor. "My father went through this too?"
"He did, and he was just as skeptical as you," Yaena said, chuckling softly. "Although he was sure of Lady Aloysia when he came to us, but you don't seem so sure of Lady Sana."
"Because I'm not," he said, setting his cloak and leathers beside the blanket before he sat in front of Yaena in his black underpants. "I accept her as the Lady of Darcanos, but I didn't choose her and she's not my true mate."
"Mm, I see," Obadiah murmured, taking a small cup from inside his robe pocket and dipping it into the milky waters. "This quest may be difficult for you."
"Nonsense," Yaena huffed. "Lord Rhyel is the Alpha of Darcanos," she said, placing her hand over his heart. "The wolf in you knows where your loyalties lie, and having a true mate has nothing to do with this."
"No," Obadiah said, sitting beside Yaena as he sat the cup near the shimmering liquid. "But it will surely take you time to accept this gift without a true mate."
"Then we shall make sure our ritual is strong enough to give Lord Rhyel the time he needs to accept it."
"What if I can't?"
We will, brother. Sune won't let us come back if we don't, and our people need us to return.
Yaena smiled, patting his chest. "You can. It's just a matter of how long it will take you," she said, sitting back and picking up the bowl of black powder. "Are you ready my Lord?"
"Yes." He nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'll do anything for my people and if I must go on this quest to get back to them, then I will do it."
"Good," Obadiah said, rubbing his hands together as his brown eyes glowed in a golden hue. "Then let us begin."