Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (28 page)

She woke up the next morning with her face swollen from all the tears she had shed. She slowly got into a bath and quickly told Noelle, who always showed up in the morning, that she was going to skip breakfast that morning.

"Are you OK?" Noelle asked, as Syney stared at herself in her vanity mirror.

Syney pulled her robe closer to her body and nodded.

Noelle looked at her skeptically. Syney didn't blame her. She wouldn't have believed herself either. She tried to push everything she was feeling under the surface, but it wouldn't go. She kept playing the whole thing over and over in her head. None of it made any sense to her.

Noelle let it drop and even brought Syney a tray of food for lunch. She didn't ask if Syney was OK again and seemed to accept the fact that she wasn't. Noelle stayed the whole day, reading on one of the couches while Syney sat across from her, staring out onto the balcony.

"You have a lesson with Helen soon. Do you want me to cancel it?"

Syney looked over to her and shook her head. "No, I need to get out of here. That might be a good distraction."

Noelle nodded and looked back down at her book.

Syney sighed. Then a thought came to her. Helen knew a lot about the Village and the Great Races. Maybe she would know what had happened last night. But how the hell would Syney ask that without revealing the fact that she had been pretty intimate with someone? With her luck Helen would think it was Brian. Syney stared absently at Noelle and her book—her romance book.

"Hey, is that a romance book from the Human Realm?"

Noelle looked up at her and shook her head. "It's by a pretty famous Magic User writer. She wrote a ton of them."

Syney smiled and jumped up. "Thank you so much! See you at dinner?"

Noelle nodded and gave her a confused look.

Syney smiled and headed out to the library. Once the lesson began, she sat almost jumping out of her skin as Helen explained a few things about the Daemons. Finally Helen told Syney to read some chapters in a large volume. Syney flipped to the chapter and eyed Helen.

"So, I was, um, reading this book Noelle had. It was a romance, and it had this scene in it that I didn't quite get," Syney said, trying her best to soundnonchalant.

Helen laughed. "I honestly don't get many romance novels."

"Right, yeah, me either. But this was kinda interesting." Syney glanced around to make sure no one was near them and dropped her voice. "There were these two characters who were...well, you know...and then she put her hand on his chest, and suddenly it was glowing."

Helen nodded. "With sparks and heat, right?"

"Yes," she exclaimed. She glanced around again. "Do you know what that is?"

"It's called 'amator.' But it's only something for romance novels, so don't get excited," Helen said. "It's the legend of soul mates. Supposedly when two people who are...soul mates, destined for each other, and everything....are intimate, the woman magically burns her brand on the man's chest."

"Burns
? That's got to be painful."

Helen nodded. "Yup, but in the novels it's always...erotic, I guess."

"So what is the brand?"

"It's the house symbol of the woman, with her initial beside it."

Syney nodded slowly. So number one, Hunter had been in pain. She couldn't imagine what a burning by magic felt like, but it couldn't be pleasant. And number two...this wasn't something a Protector should have with his charge, no matter how he feels. Hunter always had been distant from her. That must have been his way of steering clear, as it were. But what if he wasn't her Protector?

"What's the policy on intermarrying?"

Helen looked at her oddly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, can a Magic User marry, let's say, a Shifter? If they weren't at war and stuff?"

"It's a crime, punishable by death," Helen said flatly.

"Really? That's kinda harsh, isn't it?"

Helen nodded. "It's believed that marrying outside of your race is an abomination. There's something in the Magic User laws about maintaining the purity of the race."

Syney felt disgusted. This wasn't something she wanted to hear—not only because of her feelings for a certain Lycin, but the elitist attitude of her own people was appalling.

"Not a fan, I see," Helen said quietly.

Syney sighed. "It's just... I'm not used to that kind of thinking."

"I get it. But in the long run, all the pairings in the Village are chosen by Venus and Cupid, the god and goddess of love, and they never have called for a pairing between two races."

Syney understood the religious part of it, but it still didn't sit right. She shook off the thought and tried to concentrate on the book in front of her. But of course her mind wandered to Hunter. It sounded like the amator wasn't something seen in the real world, but it had almost happened to her the night before, and with someone she could die for being with. No wonder Hunter had freaked. Even if he didn't know what it was, he must have realized it would lead to no good. She smiled. Then again, on the bright side, at least she knew she shouldn't fight her feelings. He was her soul mate after all.

Syney met Noelle at their usual table for dinner. Syney was suddenly very hungry. Brooding and sulking all day really had worked up her appetite. She had eaten through half of her plate before she realized Hunter was in the room and sitting at a different table. She looked over at him as he ate silently, even though he was surrounded by other Lycins.

"Did you two fight?"

Syney pulled her attention back to Noelle. "What?"

"You and Hunter? Did you fight last night?"

"No." Syney looked back at him.

"If you want to talk or anything, I'm...good at keep secrets."

"Who's keeping secrets?" Gabe asked, sliding next to Syney.

Noelle stiffened. "No one."

Gabe cocked an eyebrow at her and stole some food off Syney's plate. "OK, Princess, where did the big bad wolf take you last night?"

"To his mother's. They were having a festival party thing," Syney said, not taking her eyes off Hunter.

Gabe narrowed his eyes at her then followed her gaze. He slowly leaned toward Syney and whispered in her ear, "Was it good for you?"

Syney shooed his face away and gave him a disgusted look. "You have no idea what you're talking about, so shut your mouth."

"Hmm, but his mind is full of some interesting images."

"Leave her alone," Noelle said sternly.

Gabe turned to her. "I'm just teasing."

"No, you're needling, and you need to stop."

"Since when do you stand up for Syney so fiercely?"

"Since now."

"Stop bickering, you two," Syney said, looking back at Hunter. She was surprised to be staring into his brown eyes. She didn't know what to do, how to
tell him that she got it. So she settled on a smile. He dropped his gaze quickly. She was going to need a plan, and a good one. In the meantime she wanted to make sure he knew she was still there. Filled with determination, she got up and marched over to where he was sitting. She shot the rest of the table a smile—not that any of them looked up—before leaning forward and whispering in Hunter's ear, "I forgive you, but you should know that I'm not giving up."

He looked at her, not smiling or even showing any other emotion, and stood up. "That's a waste of time," he said. And then he was gone, stalking off out of the room.

Syney stared after him. It maybe was a waste, but it was her time to kill, and all she wanted to do was waste it with him.

Gabe

There were several parts of the palace that weren't used at all. Generations ago each royal Magic User house had his or her own wing. Gabe knew the Blocadrian wing would still be empty. Most were scared to even acknowledge that the line had existed, and the real history of the line hadn't been told. It made Gabe sick at times. They had been a great line, all strong and open minded. He shook away the thoughts that were creeping up and walked down the deserted hall, trying not to make too much noise. He headed to the last room in the hall and slowly pushed open the door. He was alone; his companion still hadn't made his way here yet, which was odd. He hadn't called this meeting, and usually whoever did was the first to arrive. He looked around the room. All of the furniture was still there, covered with dusty sheets. He ran a finger along one of the couches; almost an inch of dust came up on his finger. There were people living on the streets in the Village—Magic Users and Lycins—and yet here were hallways upon hallways of completely empty rooms. But there were more important things to worry about.

He heard the door being pushed open and slid behind the bed. Peeking out, he saw the large frame of a Lycin, poised for battle. All Lycins looked as if they could kill you in an instant, always at attention. Gabe looked him over, his blond hair long and to his shoulders but pulled back into a ponytail. It was Raine, Princess Cass's Protector.

Gabe stood. "You're late."

Raine relaxed a little and shrugged. "I ran into Leaf. I had to seem as if I wasn't in a rush to get to a secret meeting with a Vampire."

"I don't like him. He takes his job too seriously."

"He's a Lycin," Raine said, as if that were the only explanation needed.

Gabe rolled his eyes. Lycins were all the same with their pride and honor. "What did you need? I told you, the less contact the better. Did you get the spell yet?"

Raine's face turned grim. "I don't think we can get to it."

"At the last report, you said Cass got into the secured section."

"She did, just not into all of the books. The queen won't let her into the books we need."

"Then Cass needs to get in herself."

"You don't think I thought of that? She was giving up on the spells, couldn't get them to work. I had to push her, send her some of my life force to get it to work."

Gabe ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. "I thought you said she was a sure bet for this, that her inner power was strong."

"It is. She has the natural ability of the Crystallianna line, something they haven't had in years. She has the power—she just hasn't tapped it yet," Raine said forcefully.

Gabe narrowed his eyes. Raine cared for Cass, not as Hunter did for Syney, but it was just as strong. He shouldn't push the wolf, he knew, but he needed that spell. "What do you think we need to do?"

Raine breathed deeply and turned away. "She needs to tap into her power. The only way to do that is to put her in a situation where she
needs
to use it."

Gabe agreed and had even thought of it, but it was her Protector who needed to suggest it. "What did you have in mind?"

Raine shrugged and looked back at him. "Planning is your expertise."

Gabe thought for a moment. He could put her in danger, but that was no guarantee. Magic Users were often stubborn but not as much so as their power. Plus they had relied on their Lycin Protectors for so long that personal harm would always fall on their Protectors. "We could put someone she cares about at risk."

"Like who? I can't get Ember on board—he's a Lycin purist—so Helen isn't an option. And she really isn't close to anyone else."

"What about Syney?"

Raine shook his head. "She's what this is all about. If you really put her in danger and don't have control over the situation, everything will be lost."

Gabe smiled. "I always have everything under control."

Raine rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. Which is why you have no problem with Hunter and Syney being together. Or was that part of the plan?"

Gabe kept his face neutral. Of course it hadn't been part of his plan, but every time he had tried to stop it—going as far as getting a gorgeous royal prince to court her—nothing had worked, and the two kept pushing themselves closer together, even if Hunter was trying everything he could to push himself further away. "This is all about Cass and getting to that damn spell right now, OK?"

Raine nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her, in case she gets to it on her own, but you might want to think of something to push her along."

Gabe nodded, and Raine quickly slipped out of the room. Gabe stayed for a moment longer, eyeing the small wooden crib near the bed. There was nothing Gabe wanted more than to make things right again, and there was no one he needed more than Syney. He closed his eyes, wanting to go to the lake just for a moment, but he didn't. He needed to be focused, and Faye always took that away from him. He opened his eyes and headed out of the room and back to the big picture.

Helen