Shadowstorm (Sorcery and Science Book 6) (33 page)

“But why do they want to return? What in our world could they possibly want badly enough to wait centuries for?” Ariella asked.

“I don’t know. But I have a feeling it has to do with Elitia.” King River’s eyes drifted up in thought, then shifted to Davin. “As soon as we’re done here, I need you to come with me to see Legacy. She might know something about what the Xenens are after. And if she doesn’t, she might be able to find us someone who does. Perhaps another Prior or one of the older Elitions. There are still a few alive who were around back when the Xenens were last here.”

Like Silas. But Silas wasn’t there. He was trapped on the Xenen world, surrounded by enemies. He was in danger. But then again, if the Xenens came back, so were they all.

“How do we stop the Xenens from returning?” she asked.

King River’s fingers tapped out a steady rhythm atop the backrest of his chair. “I’m not sure that we can.” Tap. Tap. “They have spent centuries putting the pieces into place.” His face hardened with resolve. Tap-tap. Tap. “But we will certainly try. I need to check out the portal…” Tap-tap-tap-tap. His fingers were racing. “We need to stick together. Elitia needs to be unified. Only together can we hope to stand against them.”

“You want the people of Pegasus to return,” said Davin.

“Yes. That was… Well, what happened with Pegasus was my own mistake, and I still live with the guilt. That’s the thing about making the choice you know in your heart is wrong, Davin. It stays with you forever. The key is to not let it drag you under—to instead let it serve as a reminder to listen to your heart from then on out.” King River blinked away the tears pooling in his eyes. He extended a hand to each of them, his eyes settling on Ariella’s ring for a second before he pulled them to their feet. “I see you’ve figured that out.”

“Finally,” Davin added, taking Ariella’s other hand.

The three of them stood in a circle, hands linked. Magic flowed around them, sliding and crashing like ocean waves. Ariella closed her eyes and breathed it in.

King River turned to her. “You’ve given us an advantage: knowledge. The Xenens don’t know we’re on to them.”

“And the Selpe and Avan experiments?” Davin asked.

“Jason is taking care of them.”

“And Terra,” said Ariella.

“Good.” King River dropped their hands. “The experiments were likely started due to Xenen influence, but I don’t believe the Selpes or Avans know that.”

“They’re being manipulated,” Davin agreed.

“That doesn’t make them any less dangerous,” his father said. “But let me worry about that.” He smiled at them. “Let’s speak for a moment of more pleasant things. When is the wedding?”
 

“Why?” Davin asked, looking at his father with suspicion.

“There’s no need for that look, Davin. I was merely curious.”

“You are never ‘merely curious’. You
always
have an ulterior motive. It’s in your nature.”

So much for father and son seeing eye-to-eye. Well, it was probably unrealistic to expect them to not clash over anything, especially after spending years at odds with each other.

“Very well.” King River sighed. “The fact stands that the Avans tried to abduct you. Again. It stands to reason that they’ve found a way around the little workaround I drew up last summer. We knew it was only a matter of time before they did. The world is not safe. Elitia is not safe. If something happens to me, you’re the only one who can take my place. You must keep Elitia unified. At all costs.”

From the way he was talking, it was as though he could see his own impending doom hiding around the next corner.

“You’re still here,” said Davin. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“If only I shared your optimism,” King River said. “But I can’t afford to plan as though everything will just turn out. There are bigger things at play. Bigger than any of us. The king and queen of Zephyr are right. We have to look out for Elitia first.”

“You…you know about my parents’ proposal?” Ariella stuttered.

He set his hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t be a very good high king of Elitia if I didn’t know what the kingdom rulers were up to.”

“No,” Davin said. “I promised Ariella that this was between me and her. I won’t allow our relationship to be part of some political play.”

King River sighed. “Davin, you’re going to do it anyway. You might as well marry sooner rather than later—and ensure the future stability of Elitia along with it.”

“I said no.”

“Do be reasonable.”

“No.”

“Surely you see the danger in waiting.”

“I see the danger in breaking my word to my future wife.”

“She understands. She’s not as hard-headed as you.”

“I’m hard-headed? You’re the one who—”

“Stop.” Ariella stepped between them before Davin lost his temper and took a swing at his father.

King River smiled graciously and stepped back. Davin, on the other hand, glared at him over Ariella’s shoulder.

“Davin,” she said. “Is this really only about what you promised me?”

His eyes shifted from his father to her. “What do you mean?”

“Do you only want to wait because you told me this isn’t about what anyone else wanted? Or do you want to wait because you regret asking me to marry you?”

He leaned in close, his breath sliding across her skin as he spoke. “The only regret I have is that I didn’t ask you sooner. If it were up to me, I’d have married you already.”

She kissed him once, slowly, then pulled back. “We’ll do it,” she told King River.

He nodded.

“On one condition,” she added as Davin’s arms wrapped around her from behind. A spark of energy zapped her skin as his lips brushed across her collarbone.

“Of course.”

“I want Terra to be there,” she told King River. “She is to have safe passage to and from Laelia for the duration of the wedding.”

A smile spread across his lips. “I think that can be arranged.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

~
Love is in the Air ~

527AX February 12, Eclipse

IT WAS JUST after dawn, and Lana sat with Everett under a lit torch on the Eclipse temple’s terrace. As she sipped her tea, peppermint sweetened with honey, her eyes swept across the central square. There was little activity to be seen this time of year. The dusty roads were sprinkled lightly with last night’s snowfall. Below this layer, the dirt had mixed with melted snow, a consequence of the warm afternoons they’d been enjoying over the past week. Most of Eclipse was drowning in an oozing goop that most resembled thick, melted fudge with a topping of powdered sugar. It was no wonder that few of its residents had lately emerged from their snug cabins.

Muddy streets and chilly winds had not deterred Everett from venturing out, however—not when he had a chance to see Lana. Every morning since his return to Eclipse, they’d met at the same table for tea and ginger cookies. Those quiet minutes alone with her were nice, even though the weather was not.

“Your friends are settling in nicely,” Lana said, then sipped from her teacup. “Marin is working with Silver. And Leonidas is giving shooting lessons. His classes are very popular with some of the ladies.”

“You mean,
he
is popular with some of the ladies,” Everett said, tapping his boots against the table leg to displace the glazed shell of hardened mud. “Let me guess. Aura and Harmony?”

“Yes, they are especially eager to learn. They’re calling him Agent Suave.”

“Traitors.” Everett rolled his eyes. “How quickly sexy pirates go out of style in favor of suave spies.”

Tea shot out of Lana’s mouth, spraying his shirt. “I’m so sorry, Everett.” She patted down his chest with a cloth napkin. “I don’t know what came over me.” She patted harder, which only helped the tea soak through his shirt faster.

He wasn’t about to tell her that. “It’s all right. I’ll go change it later.”

“I don’t usually do such things.”

“No, you don’t. Usually, you’re so proper.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

He caught her hands before she could draw them away, pressing them to his chest. “No. I like proper Lana. She always fills teacups to the same exact level.”

“Now, I
know
you’re making fun of me.”

“Just teasing.” He leaned in closer to her.

Her eyes flitted up, meeting his. “Teasing, you say?”

Her hand stroked through his hair, drawing him in closer. Answering her unspoken call to kiss her, he moved in and—

“Hello.”

Lana drew away from him and looked up at Terra, who was standing beside their table.

“Hello, Terra. Please join us.” she said with a genuine smile.

As Terra sat down beside them, Everett resisted the urge to make a face at her. She had an uncanny talent for interrupting him whenever he and Lana were having a moment.

“How are you?” Lana asked, pouring her a cup of tea.

Terra took a sip from her cup, then licked her lips. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“And Jason?”

Terra and Jason had returned a few weeks ago, but Everett hadn’t seen the assassin since Lear.

“Brooding, as usual,” Terra said. “Though he calls it ‘working’. He’s gone. He left soon after we got back here, off to check out the experiments, no doubt. Without me.”

“You know the trails and portals of Elitia better than anyone,” Everett said. “He should have involved you.”

“He should have. He said he would.” She frowned. “But he didn’t.”

“How ever did you pass the days of travel from Lear back to Eclipse?” he asked.

“In silence. Except for those rare moments we discussed the experiments.”

“So he’s giving you the old silent treatment?”

“Yes. Pretty much,” Terra said. “He’s upset that I ran off to help you. When Lana told us that you discovered this was all happening because of the Xenens
and
that they were trying to return, his mood escalated to near-rage.”

“How could you tell? Jason’s angry face isn’t much different from his usual face,” Everett said.

“The exploding furniture was a dead giveaway,” Terra said as Lana nodded.

Wow. “You two realize that Jason is the scariest person I’ve ever met,” he told them.

They sighed in unison.

“What happened next?”

“He managed to get a handle on his rage before things got too out of hand. Not before destroying most of the furniture in the living room, though,” Lana said, frowning.

“Whose living room?”

“His.”

Ha, served him right.

“Then after Lana left, he told me he’d changed his mind. It was too dangerous for me to come with him,” said Terra.

“He’s a master at that. Changing his mind.”

“Yeah,” Terra agreed, snorting. “Then I told him he already admitted he needed my help, so there was no backing out. If the Xenens are coming back anyway, then none of us are safe. We have to work fast to tear down everything they’re building up to pave the way for their return.”

“And what did our assassin have to say to that very logical argument?”

“Well…” She bit her lip.

“More exploding furniture?”

“Yeah, but not from mind blasts. Things may have come to blows.”

Lana’s teacup clinked against her saucer.

“I don’t think there’s a single piece of furniture left intact in his entire house.”

“Terra,” Everett said seriously. “You two need to work out this tension brewing between you—before he blows up the whole town.”

She sighed. “I know. But Jason is…well, he’s Jason. It’s not exactly easy to talk to him. Especially when he’s blocking me.”

“Then don’t talk to him,” he said. “I’ve told you this before, and I’ll say it again. The best way to cure what’s ailing him is to just sleep with him.”

For the second time in half an hour, tea shot out of Lana’s mouth and sprayed Everett’s shirt.

“I’m so sor—”

“Never mind that,” he said with a grin. He took the napkin off the table, patting it against his shirt. “I had to change already anyway.”

Terra cleared her throat. “Well, much as I appreciate your, uh, advice, Everett, that’s not why I’ve come here.” She slid a pale lilac envelope out of her jacket. “Love is in the air.”

It was an odd observation, at least from her. She still didn’t seem to get why Jason was acting the way he was. Most guys sent flowers and chocolate to show their affection. Jason Chanz blew up furniture.

“You know Ariella, so I thought you might like to know that she’s getting married,” Terra said.

“I know.”

“To my brother.”

“I know.”

Terra stared at him for a moment, as though she’d read something in his face. Maybe that he was mighty pissed off with Davin Storm right now.

“Everett, is there something you want to get off your chest?”

“No.”

“Ok,” she said slowly. “Ariella and Davin invited me to their wedding. They wrote that King River can ensure my safe passage to and from Laelia,” she said, flipping the envelope between her fingers. “The invitation was waiting on my table when I came back home last night. I wonder how it got there.”

“You think it’s fake? A Selpe trick to trap you?” Everett asked.

“No. I know it’s real. I just wonder… We thought Eclipse was completely separate. We thought no one knew how to get here.” She looked at Lana, holding up the envelope. “But this made it to me here.”