Chapter 38
Aella
The wormruts had adapted nicely. I’d been in a rush a couple of days ago when we brought them back, so I couldn’t give them the level of care I usually did for new plants.
The soil here was rich, though, and they seemed to like it.
With Darrow and the others helping, we’d managed to space them out near all the carnivorous plants and in areas where I thought I might put more in the future.
With luck, by spring, there would be plenty of worms to help feed the crunchertrap and other varieties.
Rynn had offered to join me in the garden today.
I gave her the task of clearing weeds from an area I hadn’t reached yet.
She tackled it with surprising energy. The twelve-year-old had flourished since arriving in Darynia.
Making friends with the princess’ daughter, Hadrien, had helped.
Our uncle wouldn’t let her associate with anyone below her station, leaving her with no friends at Ivory Castle.
She groaned as she pulled a two-foot-tall weed from the ground. “Aella.”
“Yes.”
“My birthday is coming soon,” she said hesitantly.
Uh oh, a kid never acted like that when talking about their birthday unless they wanted something they shouldn’t have. I knew from experience. Still, she’d been through so much and taken on a lot of responsibility with the healing magic that I had to listen to her.
“What do you want, Rynn?” I asked, yanking out a few small weeds.
“Well.” She started and stopped a few times. “When you go to get the Naforya fountain, I want to go with you.”
I was so stunned, laughter burst from me. It took a moment to respond. “No. It will be too dangerous.”
“Exactly! You’ll need a healer with you, and I can help,” she argued. I was surprised by the determination in her blue eyes.
I’d told her a little bit about the plan, but not all the details. “The planet where we’re going is supposed to have dangerous dragons that eat people, and who knows what else. It’s not worth the risk.”
“But when am I ever going to get a chance to visit another world again?” she asked.
She wouldn’t, but that wasn’t the point. “You can’t defend yourself.”
“The Andalagar taught me a few things, and Meilani has been showing Hadrien and me how to use knives since we got here. I swear I’ll keep practicing every day until it’s time to go.”
Hagon’s wife had taken over the girls’ care, so the princess and I could focus on the war and other critical tasks since she wanted to stay out of that.
Still, I felt guilty that I couldn’t do more with Rynn.
She was under my guardianship now, yet I could rarely spend time with her.
Whenever she wasn’t at her lessons or performing healer duties, I invited her to the garden for some bonding time.
It seemed to relax her almost as much as it did me.
“Have you been keeping up with your studies?” I asked, lifting a brow.
She nodded. “Our tutor has us spend over half the day in the library. I’m learning more here than I did at Ivory Castle. The last two days, we’ve been studying the differences between the Seelie and Unseelie.”
“Oh.” I lifted a brow. For some reason, I never got those lessons growing up, but I’d found books on the topic in Porrine and studied them.
She nodded. “I thought all magic users pulled power from their surrounding environment like we do, but the Unseelie are totally different.”
Though I knew what she meant, I wanted to hear the version they’d taught her. “How so?”
“They steal their power from other races and can’t draw from nature like us.” Rynn’s face twisted in distaste. “Some feed on strong emotions, others take life forces, and there are even Unseelie who drink people’s blood to get magic.” She grimaced, clearly finding that gross.
“Which is why we’re better off staying on Paxia and never returning there,” I said, then added. “Did they tell you there are a rare few of them that even feed off the death of others?”
The more frightened she was of them, the less likely she’d ever want to go near them.
Rynn shook her head. “We have been studying a different kind each day and haven’t got to that one yet, but that’s awful.”
The tutor took the girls for three hours in the morning and two more in the afternoon, four days a week.
They covered math, science, literature, basic magic skills, and history.
The one who taught them was an older fairy who’d married an elf here in Veronna long ago and had been living in Darynia for over a century.
Teaching children was a passion of hers. I’d sat in on a couple of lessons just to be sure she was a good fit, and now I wished I’d had her growing up. She made learning both challenging and fun. For two other days a week, as well as when desperately needed, Rynn practiced her healing magic.
I decided to drive home the topic of the Unseelie. “They’re encouraging the dark elves to attack, so Paxia dies faster. That way, we have no choice except to go back to Faelaria,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s why we need to get the fountain back as soon as possible.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean if we had to return there, they’ll use us to feed their powers?”
“They’ll certainly try,” I said.
“Who are they feeding from now?” she asked, brows knitting.
I yanked at some weeds. “From what I understand, there are some humans who’ve lived there for ages, and I think some other mortal races. We’ve been away from Faelaria for so long that I’m not sure what it’s like now.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but a sebeska arriving stopped her. The messenger bird landed on the ground in front of me and dropped a small scroll. I opened it, recognizing Sariyah’s handwriting right away. Our last correspondence was a week ago, so I was excited to finally hear from her.
I scanned the contents, chest tightening with each line I read.
Rynn gave me a concerned look. “What does it say?”
“Her father and many of his troops left Tradain again about five days ago, but she hasn’t heard from them since.
That’s not the worst part. Dark elves have taken over the village with Ulmar’s consent.
” Though he was a lord now, I refused to call him that.
“So far, it isn’t a large contingent, but she expects more coming soon. ”
Rynn’s eyes rounded. “He’s really just letting them do whatever they want in Therress?”
“It appears that way.” We’d seen Ulmar’s wife and the Karganoth soldiers at Ivory Castle, but giving them Tradain was unthinkable. “Sariyah says that so far the Karganoth soldiers have left her alone, only targeting those who actively resist, but she’s worried.”
I hated that there was nothing I could do. It was a relief that the dark elves weren’t harming my friend, but I wondered why. Was it because they had Kaius, the fallen king’s brother? He was Sariyah’s grandfather after all.
Hopefully, Darrow would return soon to confirm it.
After we’d had some very rough sex this morning that left me sore, I’d sent him to a portal near the prison and hadn’t heard anything back yet.
While I couldn’t sense most emotions from great distances, I would know if he was seriously injured or in extreme danger through our bond. It had been blessedly quiet.
“We should get Sariyah out of there,” Rynn suggested.
I pulled at a weed. “The Andalagar think bringing her to the chief’s territory will make them a bigger target for Karganoth.
I tried to convince Sariyah to go to the southern tribal area, but she wasn’t interested because she barely remembers her extended family there.
I even suggested in one of my missives that she should consider Alavaar, but you know she won’t ever go back there. ”
It would have been the perfect solution, like it was for Tadeus, but she was too terrified of the druid land.
The first time I took her when we were eighteen, a newly feral dragon came along and attacked us.
She was severely injured and nearly lost an arm.
I’d used my wind power to push it back until a slayer showed up to kill the massive creature.
It was rare for that to happen, but poor Sariyah had the bad luck of it being her first impression of them.
“That’s understandable, but she can’t come here, either?” Rynn asked, worrying her bottom lip.
I sighed. “When I brought up the subject with Dare, he’d said that she wouldn’t be allowed to come to Veronna.
Not with her being the Therressian commander's daughter. They don’t care that she’s my best friend and means a lot to me.
As long as she’s not in immediate danger, it’s hard to make an argument to bring her here anyway.
Believe me, I’ve tried, but Lord Gannon barely trusts me being here. ”
Also, safely retrieving her would be difficult. I pulled off the chicken trick once, but it helped that I had a very unusual one and a lot of luck. We’d have to go in there with force the next time, especially since the dark elves had taken over the place.
Veronna would have to reassign forces who were already stretched thin with trying to keep Karganoth at bay here and in Juvarn. I understood, but I still hated it. What if something happened to her because I hadn’t gotten her out of there sooner? Too many times that thought had run through my mind.
“I’m sorry, Aella.” Rynn gave me a sympathetic look. “If they’ve left her alone so far, that’s a good sign, right?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
At least, I hoped that was the case.