Eternal Promise (Between Worlds Book 3) (11 page)

When I reached the exit, I paused and nodded a thanks to whoever was helping guide me through. Then I walked out into the open air. The sun was heading toward the horizon and after being in that cave, my eyes blinked a million times to get used to the brightness. Kallan, Drake, and Dain were sitting on the ground. They all jumped up.

“Rylie!” Kallan called, gathering me in his arms and plastering kisses all over my face.

I laughed and kissed him back. “Has it been a long time?”

“Six hours. Did you get the stone?” Kallan asked.

I reached in the satchel and dug out the stone. Holding it in my hand, I asked, “Now what?”

“We need to take it to Shaylee. She can make it into what we need.”

My feet were throbbing. “Any chance we can rest a little before we go?”

“I’m sure Morian would love to see you,” Kallan suggested.

I thought of the blonde-haired Cyclops that ran the bed-and-breakfast place we had stopped at when searching for Oren. “That sounds good.”

He interlaced his fingers with mine and we began walking. My tired, achy feet felt every step. Dain questioned me non-stop on what was in the cave and how I got through. It must be hard being a miner and not being able to get in that cave. When we reached his village, he kissed my hand and bid me farewell. Kallan, Drake, and I continued on to Morian’s Hideaway.

I recognized the stone cottage with a roof made of grass as soon as I saw it. Kallan knocked on the door. It swung open fairly quickly and there stood Morian. Her face lit up when she saw us. “Kallan! Oleander! Come in.”

She gave us both hugs as we passed by her. Drake stuck out his hand. “I’m Drake.”

The one milky-white eye in the center of her forehead shifted to look at Drake. “A light faery being second in command to a dark. Something I thought I’d never see. Fabulous.” Morian’s full lips smiled with approval.

“Do you have two rooms available?” Kallan asked.

“I do. In fact, the room you two were in last time you were here is free. Would you like it?”

Kallan looked over at me and I nodded. “That would be perfect.”

“Dinner first?” she asked.

“You read my mind,” I answered with a smile.

“Go sit down in the dining room.”

Morian served the three of us a big delicious dinner and then we found our way to room three. I smiled as we ducked under the doorway. The large four-poster bed was still covered with the patchwork quilt just as I remembered.

“Aren’t others going to talk if we’re here together?” I asked.

Kallan brushed a strand of my hair out of my face. “Morian is discreet.” He plopped down on the bed. “Come, let me rub your feet.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I lay on the bed opposite of him and he massaged my feet with a special oil that would help them heal.

“So why do we have wings if we can’t fly?” I asked a question that held my curiosity.

Kallan answered, “Our wings are an extension of our feelings. The way both of ours flutter when we see each other or kiss…it’s how we tell someone is attracted to us. Sometimes they flutter when we’re scared. I don’t know why we can’t fly, but it’s never bothered me.”

He turned around and held my face between his hands. The warmth of his breath caressed my lips and then our lips met. He kissed me and pulled away. Breathing hard, I lifted my eyes to his and our mouths met again. Our lips danced back and forth for a while before our heads collapsed on the pillows.

I lay next to him, our eyes locked until we fell asleep.

The next morning, the three of us set out after breakfast. “Who is Shaylee?” I asked.

“A light faery with the ability to manipulate crystals,” Drake answered.

“What does that mean? She does something to the stone?”

Drake explained, “Yes. She will shape it and spell it with magick.”

I fell quiet and thought about the cave and why I kept getting these weird feelings while the boys chatted about council duties and rugby.

I was thankful when Kallan pointed to a large tree and said, “That tree is part of the border to the light land. The village is only twenty minutes farther.” My legs were aching again. They had enough walking to last a lifetime.

When we passed the tree, something stopped me.

“What’s wrong, Rylie?” Concern flashed in Kallan’s eyes.

“This is light land?”

Kallan looked around. “Yes.”

“Why aren’t the flowers humming like usual?”

Kallan shook his head. “Flowers don’t hum for me.”

Drake scanned the area we’re in. “She’s right. Something’s off.”

“Can you tell what?” Kallan asked.

“No. It looks normal. It just feels off,” Drake echoed.

“You should talk to Lorella when we’re done with Shaylee,” Kallan suggested as we walked into the village area.

A bunch of wooden shacks made up the marketplace. Drake led us to one decorated with hanging crystals. Inside, a girl about our age sat fiddling with a rock. She looked up at us and jumped to her feet when she saw me. “Welcome. I’m Shaylee. What can I do for you?”

“Are you able to make mind communication rings?” Kallan asked.

“With the right gem.”

I took the rock out of my satchel and handed it over to Shaylee. Her brown eyes widened in surprise as she took the rock and studied it. “Yes. This will do just fine. It has lots of good properties. It’ll take me a few hours.”

“That’s fine. We’ll be back by dusk.” He took my hand and led me out of the hut. “We need to find your aunt.”

Lorella didn’t live far from Azura. Drake actually lived next door to her. “I’m going to go get cleaned up while you talk to your family,” Drake said and went inside his house.

Lorella opened the door before we reached it. “Oleander, Kallan. It’s a pleasure to see you. You have questions.”

“Yes.”

“Come in.” She moved to the side to allow us to pass. Violet and Nessa were playing a game on the floor. “Nessa, will you get your Aunt Azura for me please.”

Nessa nodded and ran off.

“Let’s sit at the table and I’ll see what I can see,” she said with a smile. The three of us sat at her kitchen table. She took both my hand and Kallan’s and closed her eyes. I heard the door open behind us. Azura joined us at the table, but didn’t interrupt. After another minute or two, Lorella let go. “I see darkness coming,” she said with a frown.

“What’s going on?” Azura asked.

“Rylie’s been sensing something’s off,” Kallan said quickly.

“I’ve felt these…ripples…or the ground shakes, like something is happening. It just feels like something’s off, but I don’t know what.”

“Kallan, have you ever gone into details about what makes an Aurorian different?” Azura asked.

Kallan shook his head. “I don’t really know. My father would’ve, but we never talked about specifics. Just that an Aurorian is more powerful.”

There was obviously something she hadn’t told me yet. “Tell me what I need to know.”

Azura leaned forward. “All faeries are connected to nature and are able to control the earth. Helping trees grow, healing the ground, things like that. An Aurorian’s powers go further. You can influence, control, and heal not only the earth, but the elements of nature as well.”

My eyes widened. I thought about the cave and being able to move the air. “I can do all that myself?”

“Yes.”

“Can you elaborate?” I asked.

“You can manipulate and communicate with nature. You can survive in any natural environment. I’m not saying it would be pleasant, but you’d survive. You can create, but you cannot become. You’ve already discovered how you can control trees growing and healing the ground when it’s been destroyed, but you can also control the tides of the ocean, create fire, cause a mudslide, even crush someone with air.” Azura gave great details.

I sat back in my chair trying to wrap my head around what she was saying. “Aurorians are connected to the faery realm, they are essential to the balance of life. So, if you’re saying that you’re getting little feelings that something is off, then something is. Nature is trying to tell you something’s wrong.”

Chapter Thirteen

L
orella placed a glass of water on the table in front of me and I gulped down half of it, and then asked, “What could be wrong?”

We all looked at Lorella, hoping she had an answer. “I could only see darkness. I interpret this as something evil is coming. Do you have these feelings anywhere specific?”

I thought about it. By the waterfalls, the stream, the night we spent in the dwarf village and again before we go to the marketplace. “I’m not sure…maybe by the borders to different lands?”

“Could something be happening to them?” a voice from behind asked. Violet walked up to the table. I had forgotten that she and Nessa were here when we walked in.

“Could the borders fall down?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” Azura answered, looking at Lorella, who shrugged.

“Do you know how the Aurorian put them up?”

“Only through stories,” Nessa said. “The tale says she split a stone in half to separate the light and the dark.”

I sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I have no clue what any of that means.”

“It’s okay,” Kallan said softly. “We’ll figure it out.”

We talked about possibilities until dusk and then headed back to the marketplace. In her shop, Shaylee handed us the rings. I examined mine before slipping it on my finger. I couldn’t believe it was the same stone. Before it had been just a big round rock, but now it was a beautiful blue-white stone embraced in a rich cave of detailed sterling silver in twisted rope and fleur-de-lis designs. Once on my finger, there was a weird vibration feeling running through my hand. “How does it work?”

“You just talk to each other in your minds,” Shaylee answered.

And suddenly I had no idea what to say. I had no doubt my cheeks had turned pink and then I heard Kallan’s voice…in my head!
You think we’ll ever talk out loud again if we can talk to each other like this?

I laughed.
We better or people are going to think we’re crazy.

“I take it that it’s working,” Shaylee said.

“Yes. Thank you. What do we owe you?” I asked.

“Nothing. For you, it’s free of charge.”

Aurorian perk,
Kallan said.

I smiled. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

Her eyes lit up. “Well…there’s the dark faery with black and blue wings. I’d love to meet him.”

Do you know who she’s talking about?
I asked Kallan.

“Tiern,” he said out loud.

“We’ll introduce you,” I told her.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

We walked hand in hand around town. Everyone’s eyes were on us.
They’re all watching us.

They’re still in awe of you.

I’m nothing special.

You are. Azura just told you that.

It felt like she was talking about someone else.

We headed back toward my human home. I needed to get some things done there, but I had a feeling I’d be thinking about everything I had just learned about the faery realm.

This is kinda cool,
I said to Kallan.

Kinda? Such a silly slang word.

You don’t have to be so formal.

It’s language. Slang ruins it.

The house came into view. Kallan walked me up to the back deck where I found my shoes waiting for me. I picked them up, but didn’t put them on. “What are you going to do?”

“I want to do some research on what Azura told you. See if I can find out more information about what Aurorians can do.”

“Think we can mind speak if we’re each in different realms?”

“I don’t know.”

“Guess we’ll find out.”

“I’ll miss you,” he murmured, inching closer to me.

“Me too. Wish you could just stay with me.”

“I’d love to, but I have some work I need to do.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Hmmm. I wanted to question him more, but I had a feeling it was a surprise and I didn’t want to pressure him.

Kallan wrapped his arms around my waist, tugged me close, and pressed his lips against mine. He leaned back, but I hung on. “I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.” I reached for his neck and pulled his mouth to mine, needing more, needing him.

Kallan walked me backwards until my back hit the side of the house. My foot hit a plant on the deck, sending it clattering over. He broke the kiss and said,
Quick, go invisible.

I willed myself invisible seconds before the light came on and my parents threw open the back door.

“What was that?” Mom asked.

Dad stepped outside and looked around. He bent down and set the vase upright. “Animal must have knocked it over.”

They went back in the house and closed the door. I could faintly hear the TV start up again. I erupted into soft giggles and let myself be visible again.

Kallan appeared in front of me. He didn’t say anything; instead he kissed me so deep it took the breath right out of me.
Mian mo chroí.

I love you.
I pressed my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I should go.” I sighed, not wanting to be apart from him.

“Goodnight, my love.” He kissed my forehead.

“Goodnight.”

I walked inside. “I’m home!” I called, making my way through the house. I found my parents in the living room watching TV. I plopped down next to my mom on the couch.

“You’re home earlier than we expected,” Mom said with a smile.

“I wanted to do some homework and there’s something I wanted to run by you.”

Dad squinted his eyes. “What is it?”

“What? No welcome home, honey? How was your time in the great world of the fey?”

Dad scoffed. “Was it everything you dreamed and more?”

Laughing, I replied, “Yes. It was beautiful. I had a great time. Thanks for letting me go.”