Dwellers of Darkness (19 page)

Torin stared at me, his breath growing shallow. His arms and legs twitched restlessly. “Are you saying this because of
Dragen?” Both his eyes and words challenged me to answer, but he didn’t give me the opportunity. “You may think you care for him, but he is a Dark Dweller, Ember, a soulless killer. He cannot love anyone. I will not let you get hurt by something like him. He is playing you and will get bored eventually and leave you.”

Ouch.

“You have no say in the matter. This is my choice.”

Something flared in his eyes, and he turned abruptly, his fist smashing into a tree. Rage tore through his hand into the bark, shredding some of the top layer of the wood. I stumbled back in surprise, not ready for his sudden outburst. “Gods, Ember. How can you not see the truth? How can you not see what he really is?”

My mouth opened and shut, no words forming on my tongue.

“I love you. I am the one who was meant for you.” His knuckles bled and dripped down his hand, falling into the soft dirt. “We are supposed to be together; even the gods put us together. We render each other whole.”

I always hated that sentiment. Other people do not make us whole. You are whole without having someone else. The person only added to your awesomeness.

“No one makes me whole.” I grumbled, but he didn’t seem to hear me. “Torin, you deserve more. Someone who truly loves you and you love back. We are not minions of these gods. Our lives are our own to decide, and we control our fate, not them.” I could feel my words were hitting a wall. He did not receive anything I said. “You should be with who you want. Both of us should. I love you, but I am not in love with you, and I don’t think you are either. Not really.”

His limped to me and placed his body to mine. “You are wrong, Ember. I am in love with you.” He cupped my cheek. He was angry, but his touch was soft. “I will always love you. I will let you discover how wrong Eli is for you. And when he leaves you... and he will, I will be there. Because in the end it is you and me.” His blue eyes were intense, his focus on my lips. I was sure he was going to try and kiss me. Instead he dropped his hand with a sigh, swung around, and headed back for the cabin. I let him walk away. My heart twisted with conflict. The bond tugged at me wanting me to go after him. The other part knew it was only because I didn’t want to hurt him, not because I was in love with him.

“When you’re upset, you mumble to yourself. Voices fighting in your head again?” Eli’s voice radiated from behind me. Hearing his rumbl
ing tone was like a trigger. I swung around. My heart leaped at his gorgeous, chiseled face with the scar cutting through the stubble on his jaw—so dear to me now.

“How long have you been there?”

Disregarding my question, he strode to me. His body aligned to mine. “You know the difference between him and me? I wouldn’t let you find out I was wrong for you.” His words were husky and low.

“Would you respect my wishes?” My voice matched his husky tone. He seized my face with both of his hands. My breath hitched. “Even if I demanded you to leave me alone?”

He pressed even closer, his gaze dipping to my lips. “Hell, no.” He closed any gap left between us and kissed me so deeply my whole body felt it.

It wasn’t until after dinner I got a chance to be alone with my mom. She was on the porch in the rocking chair, using the last of the evening light to read.

“Fae don’t have last names so how did we get Brycin?” I blurted, getting right to the point.

Mom looked up from her book, her gaze curious.

“Eli told me there was a Dae, one who killed his family, whose name was Brycin. I know it can’t be a coincidence.”

She gently closed the book on her lap. “No, you’re right. It is not by happenstance. Brycin was the person who helped us escape to this realm without Aneira being able to track us. She helped many Fae flee Aneira’s control. A Fae’s version of the Underground Railroad you might say. You were a newborn at the time. She got you a birth certificate and all the necessary documentations so we wouldn’t be questioned by anyone.”

Now the mistakes on my birth certificate made more sense, and why my mom didn’t have any pictures of me as a newborn. We’d been on the run.

“One of the busiest Fae doors is the one in Sedona, Arizona. The magic there is so dense it is hard to traffic. She snuck us out and had someone waiting to take us far away from Aneira’s watchful eyes. Brycin was an incredible person. Strong, passionate, smart. You remind me a lot of her.” Mom paused, and her voice cracked with emotion. “Unfortunately, helping us led to her demise. She was caught by the Queen and killed because she aided you and me. I heard Aneira tortured her, but she never told her anything.” Lily looked away blinking back the tears. “I wanted to honor her. You and I would not be here without her.”

Overwhelming sadness swirled in me for a woman I didn’t know. She was a fellow Dae, someone like me, and she was killed protecting and assisting her kind. Conflicted versions of both Eli’s and Mom’s accounts rumbled unhappily together. I felt empathy for Eli’s tragic story, but I knew Brycin had only been protecting her own clan. Carrying her name filled me with honor and pride. She was someone I wanted to know more about. The fact she died for me just made one more person who had.

“Why... why would she risk her life for me?”

“She thought the cause was worth it. She was trying to start a revolt against Aneira.” Mom’s fingers absently caressed the book cover. “Plus, you were a special case.”

“Why? Because I was a Dae, too?”

“Partly.” Mom looked away, not meeting my eyes. “You are destined for great things, Ember.”

“You also believe the prophecy is about me?”

With a despondent nod of her head, she signed. “I had hoped it wasn’t you. Part of me thought if I took you out of our old world, it would go away.”

“But it’s such a vague oracle. How do you know it’s me they are talking about?” Even as I said it, the truth scuttled in my bones.

Mom’s head turned to me, her orange-brown eyes burrowed into mine. “Because it is.”

The railing caught me as I leaned back into it. I also felt it was me. I kept hoping someone would tell me otherwise.

“Can I ask you something?” Her face looked so unhappy. “I was wondering if you had checked on Mark. Do you know how he is doing?”

I looked down at my shoes. It had been a while. After what happened in Monterey, I found it difficult. The disaster pushed the raven incident to the far corners of my mind. Now I was questioning if it even happened. “I need to again.” Instantly my eyes welled up. “God, I miss him.”

“So do
I.”

My gaze lifted to hers. “I understand why you couldn’t
dreamwalk while in the dungeon, but why haven’t you since? You could see him yourself.”

Her teeth tugged on her bottom lip, grief washed over her expression. “I am the one to blame for what happened to him. I was too selfish to live without him and dragged him into this. If I really loved him, I should have walked away.”

“You haven’t dreamwalked or dreamscaped with me before, have you?”

She stared at me for a bit before shaking her head, “No. Why do you ask?”

I pulled the bit of fabric out of my pocket. Lily’s eyes widened as she leaned forward seeing what was in my hand. “I only found this recently. Long after I got my tattoo.”

“Your baby blanket,” she muttered to herself, rubbing the material between her fingers.

“Torin told me I acquired my ability to dreamwalk from my mother.”

“You did,” she concurred.

“Then why didn’t you ever try to dreamwalk or dreamscape with me? To let me know you were okay?”

“I couldn’t.”

I rubbed my head. “A couple nights after I thought you died, and again just the other night, I had a dream. A woman appeared to me. I never saw her face, but I knew it was you. I could feel so much love coming from her. She dropped a necklace in my hand, telling me it was who I was, and it would protect me. It became the symbol I had tattooed on my back, the same one I found on the blanket. If this was merely a dream, how would I know about this symbol?”

Mom’s eyes glistened with tears. “You are incredibly powerful and so is your bloodline. I was a fool for trying to keep you from discovering who you really were. I should have known no matter what it would find you.”

We both stayed silent before she stood and walked to me. Her arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tight. I loved her hugs; they had always made me feel safe, protected, and so completely loved. “Do you know how much I love you? You are my world. There is nothing more powerful than a mother’s love. Whatever happened in the past or whatever the future holds, will you remember this for me? There isn’t anything in this world or the other I wouldn’t do or give up for you.”

I nodded.

“I love you,
my
girl. So much.” She touched my cheek and the swung around, taking off down the steps and into the dusky forest.

That night, Eli slept soundly beside me. With the revelations so raw for the both of us, we did nothing more than sleep next to each other. His hand was always in contact with me, making sure I was there and safe. Being back in Eli’s arms soothed me. It gave me the strength of heart to dreamwalk again. Guilt and fear had kept me away from my loved ones for too long. I needed to know they were all right.

I relaxed into the pillow, my eyes closing. In this
dreamwalk I wanted to head for Mark and Ryan first.

Surprise rushed through me when I saw Ryan sitting up in bed. Castien sat by his side; Mark stood looking out the barred window.

Impulse took me to Ryan’s bedside. Damn. It is so good to see Ryan conscious again.

The glow around him had become even more vibrant. His cheeks were flushed pink, and his skin was back to his normal color.

“What you are saying is Ryan is stuck here?” Mark asked. His tone hinted anger, a quality I had heard quite a bit growing up.

“Fae food saved his life. He was dying,” Castien shot back.

“Yes, but now he can never leave here. Never go home.” Mark turned facing the two boys.

“I can never see my family again? Never even step foot on Earth again?” Ryan’s color drained to pale again.

“You could, but being on Earth would eventually kill you. You can never eat human food again. Your body has changed. It’s not exactly human, but it’s not Fae either. Humans adapt differently than we do. We can go to both realms with no problems. We once lived there so our bodies can embrace either. Humans cannot travel between worlds. Now that you have a bit of Fae magic in you, your body will reject Earth. Trust me on this. The theory has been tested thoroughly over the years. All humans have died.” Castien leaned to grab Ryan’s hand. “I do not want the same fate for you.”

I could see Ryan’s head bob nervously as he looked at Castien’s hand on his. I recalled Ryan saying he had experienced “silent” crushes on boys at school. Only one returned his feelings—behind closed doors. But in front of everyone, the boy made it clear they weren’t even friends. He made fun of Ryan, calling him a fag.

The boy had promptly flown across the room and hit the gym wall. Everyone claimed they saw me push him, when in actuality I didn’t even touch him. Not with my hands anyway. Now I know my mind powers had done all the work for me.

Fae were not raised to think this way. Gender was not an issue. They liked who they liked and had no qualms about it.

“I’ve always wanted to be Tinker Bell. Can I get a wand at least?” Ryan teased, but the trembling underneath his words showed his true fear.

Castien squeezed his hand. “There are two times when Earth and the Otherworld come together
... our realms collide. Those times you can visit Earth. Otherwise, you will have to live here... permanently.”

“Here?” Ryan sat up straighter. “I will have to be prisoner the rest of my life?”

Castien’s dark hair fluttered back and forth as he shook his head. “No. I will get you out of here. I have a place where you will be safe. It is in the Dark Fae side, and it is not much, but it is secure.”

Ryan gulped. “You will live there, too?”

“Yes.”

Full understanding of what Castien was offering sunk in and showed on Ryan’s features: bewilderment, fear, and happiness. He cleared his throat. “You said there were two times I could visit Earth?”

“They are Samhain, which humans call Halloween, and Beltaine, which is in May. Those are the only times you can safely visit. If you go any other time, your body will react to the difference and start to fail. But you cannot eat human food even when our realms come together.”

Ryan brows crunched together as he processed Castien’s words. “So I would live in the Otherworld permanently, with you?”

Castien nodded, a shy, nervous smile tugged at his lips.

Mark broke the budding feelings which were filling the space between Castien and Ryan. “Castien, I can’t tell you how thankful I am for what you’ve done for Ryan
... for me. It is weird to say that when I am a prisoner. But this is reality not some sweet fairytale where everyone lives happily ever after.”

“I understand your concern,” Castien said.

“Ryan, you are like my son. I love you, and I want you to fully understand everything that is happening. I realize you don’t really have a choice, but all this won’t be as easy as you think.”

Ryan pulled free of Castien’s hand and stood up. Since the Fae food had completely dissolved into his body, he had grown stronger. Even though he had lost some weight, he still was the same round-faced teddy bear I loved. But now there was a power, a confidence, in him that was different. He didn’t say a word as he crossed to Mark, wrapping his arms around Mark’s tall, lean frame. Mark hugged him back. Ryan’s father had never accepted Ryan. He had ignored who Ryan truly was, always hoping his son was just going through a phase. Over the years, Mark had grown into more of a father figure than Ryan’s real dad.