Crown of Crystal Flame (41 page)

“I promise I will try not to.”

Steli nudged Ellysetta back a step, gave her a maternal lick, then scolded,
«Ellysetta-kitling must not set fang or claw on Mharog. Mharog not good prey. Good only for burning.»

She gave a rueful laugh. “I’ve learned my lesson, Steli-
chakai.
Believe me.”

“All right, that’s enough now,” Jisera pronounced. “The Feyreisa and Feyreisen both just woke up. I need to do some tests before I can be sure everything went as well as planned. That means the rest of you need to clear off. Now, please.” The tiny Fey woman gave everyone, including Steli, a stern look. The quintet quickly decided they could guard Ellysetta from outside the tent as well as from within. Steli, however, lifted the edge of one lip and growled irritably.

«It’s all right, Steli-chakai,»
Ellysetta soothed.
«I’ll be fine.»

Steli sniffed and declared,
«Steli-chakai will go hunt. Bring back tasty meat for Ellysetta-kitling.»
With one more growling glare for Jisera, Steli yanked her head out of the tent and flounced off.

For the next full bell, Jisera ran both Rain and Ellysetta through a battery of tests, checking their physical recovery, their bodies’ reactions to the Shadar horn, their ability to call and weave magic, Rain’s ability to control his bond madness. By the time Jisera pronounced them well enough to leave
shei’dalin
care, night had fallen and the slivered crescents of Eloran’s two moons were high in the sky.

Four of Ellysetta’s quintet gathered round Ellysetta as she and Rain walked the now-barren campground. Gaelen, however, was nowhere to be seen.

«I’m here,»
Gaelen announced on the quintet’s private Spirit weave when Ellysetta asked where he was.
«Just invisible. None of the dahl’reisen know that Ellysetta restored my soul, and if they see me, the secret will be out.»

«I thought you trusted your Brotherhood friends,»
Bel said, frowning.

«I trusted them to save Rain and Ellysetta because I had no choice. But I wouldn’t have turned to them at all if they’d known she could restore their souls.»

Rain started to remind Gaelen that Farel was bloodsworn and was therefore incapable of harming Ellysetta, but he swallowed the words before they left his mouth. He hadn’t yet revealed that he’d let
dahl’reisen
swear their
lute’asheiva
bonds to his truemate.

“We received some good news from Dharsa.”

Rain arched a brow. He couldn’t think what it could be, unless Tenn v’En Eilan had suddenly come to his senses. “Let’s hear it. I could use some good news.”

“Kieran and Kiel are alive, as are the Feyreisa’s family and two of the
shei’dalins
we feared lost at Teleon. Kieran and Kiel escorted them all safely to Dharsa before heading to Sohta and the Veil with Loris and another three thousand Fey.”

Ellysetta stopped walking. “They’re alive? They’re safe?

All of them?”

“Aiyah”
Bel confirmed. “All of them. Lillis, Lorelle, and your father.”

Her chin trembled. She turned quickly, pressing her face into Rain’s throat and wrapping her arms around his waist.

He felt her whispering an inaudible prayer of thanks, and tightened his own arms around her waist before grinning at Bel. “That isn’t just good news,
kem’maresk.
That’s the best news we’ve had in months.”

“I thought you would be pleased.” Bel smiled fondly at Ellysetta. “We also received word from Celieria City. It seems Hawksheart kept his word to speak with the Danae and convince them to help us. Dorian’s ship went down, but the Danae’s
nyatheri,
the Water spirits, saved him from drowning and helped sink the enemy ships.”

“That’s something at least.”

“Unfortunately, the news gets less pleasant after that. Prince Dorian—King Dorian—returned to Celieria City last night to catch a Mage in the act of Marking Queen Annoura.”

Ellysetta lifted her head. Her fingers clenched around Rain’s. “Is she all right?”

“She’s safe and so is her baby. The Marks disappeared when the Mage was killed trying to escape.”

“Who was it?” Rain asked.

“The Queen’s Favorite, Ser Vale, but it seems he wasn’t the only one. The old King Dorian apparently sent some of Lord Barrial’s
dahl’reisen
down to Great Bay to help his son. And the new King Dorian ordered those
dahl’reisen
to check everyone in the palace. Dorian’s Spirit master tells me they’ve already found at least fifty Mage-claimed among the courtiers and palace servants, and that doesn’t include any of the Mage-claimed who lost their Marks when Vale died. Now the entire city is on lock-down. No one gets in or out until they’ve been checked for Mage Marks by Lord Barrial’s
dahl’reisen.”
Bel regarded his friend and king. “You were right, Rain. The entire city had been infiltrated, and gods only know how long it’s been going on.”

Rain nodded in weary acceptance. He should have been glad for both the vindication of his suspicions and the unmasking of Eld’s servants in Celieria, but he wished he’d been wrong. Not for the sake of the greedy fools who sold their souls in exchange for wealth and power, but for the ones, like Ellysetta and her friend Selianne, who’d been Marked against their will.

“And Orest?” he asked. “What news from our friends there?”

“Not good.”

Bel’s expression went grim. “Orest fell last night. Lord Teleos was nearly slain, but the Fey got him through the Veil and to the
shei’dalins
in time for healing. The Fey managed to evacuate the upper city and part of Maiden’s Gate, but the rest…” He shook his head. “All told, we lost at least two thousand Fey and another five thousand Celierians—along with two of the tairen.”

“And the Eld?”

“Six of the dragons went down. We estimate we took out two companies of Elden soldiers and about two hundred Mages.”

“Four thousand men and two hundred Mages. And we lost seven thousand?”

Bel nodded. “Polwyr and his men opened portals all over the city. The
fezaros
came riding through with that potion of theirs again, and the Fey were so busy fending off demons, Mages, and
darrokken
and evacuating everyone they could through the Veil, they didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.”

Seven thousand lost. Seven
thousand.
When the allies didn’t have two thousand to spare.

Farel’s four hundred bloodsworn
dahl’reisen
had just become even more valuable to Rain than before. To him and the Fey.

He shared a troubled gaze with Ellysetta. He wasn’t sure how well her quintet would take the news about the
dahl’reisen lu’tan
—especially Gil and Tajik. He didn’t even want to think about the reaction of the other Fey. The ones who’d broken with Tenn and the Massan to support him might well reconsider their decision when they found out what he’d done.

«You know we have to tell them about Farel and his men,»
Ellysetta said on a private weave.

«I know, and we will,»
Rain replied. Just as soon as he could muster the courage to do so.

The conversation was not going to be a pleasant one.

“You let
dahl’reisen
bloodswear themselves to your
shei’tani?
Have you lost your mind?”

Rain and Ellysetta both winced at Eimar v’En Arran’s outrage. He was taking the news much worse than Ellysetta’s quintet had done earlier.

Once the
lu’tan
got past their initial shock, they had appreciated the benefit of ensuring that the
dahl’reisen
would not harm Ellysetta and could not fall farther into Shadow. Just to be sure, however, Rain had sent Gaelen and the rest of Ellysetta’s primary quintet on ahead, to meet with Farel and determine if the
lute’ashieva
bonds would indeed hold strong against the temptation of a restored soul.

“The
dahl’reisen
saved our lives,” Ellysetta told Eimar. “Many of them sacrificed themselves so Rain and I could escape the Eld. They aren’t the honorless
rultsharts
you believe them to be.”

“They walk the Shadowed Path!” Eimar exclaimed. “They chose it!”

“They didn’t choose it!” Ellysetta retorted. “At least not the way you mean. They simply chose not to die. They suffered so much in defense of the Fading Lands, they lost the ability to feel anything but pain and anguish. And even then, they chose to stay alive, to suffer unimaginable torment so they could defend the very people who reviled them.”

“Bah!” Eimar shook his head, making the crystal bells in his hair chime. “They had an honorable choice—
sheisan’dahlein
—and they did not take it.”

“Rain and I had a choice as well—to weave Azrahn or let the tairen die. Did
we
choose wrong, too? “

The Air master scowled. “That was different.”

“Not according to Tenn and the rest of the Massan,” she reminded him.

“Those villagers you met on your way from the Garreval—those are the families of these
dahl’reisen,”
Rain said. “Among them is a Celierian-born woman who truemated the son of a
dahl’reisen.
Truemated, Eimar. And they have children—including a daughter who possesses Fey gifts.”

The first appearance of doubt eclipsed the outrage on Ei-mar’s face. “That’s impossible.”

“So I always believed, but I was wrong. We Fey have clung to our honor, and our women are barren. These
dahl’reisen
have clung to their lives, despite their dishonor, and their women bear young—even young capable of truemating. We need to know why, Eimar.”

“You don’t need to let them bloodswear to the Feyreisa to figure that out.”

“Nei,
I don’t,” Rain agreed. “But we’re also in a war, and we’re short on blades. The
dahl’reisen
leader, Farel, has asked to meet with me and Ellysetta this afternoon. With the
shei’dalins
and the other Fey here, Farel and his men aren’t sure how best to honor their
lute’asheiva
bonds. They will not come near the other
fellanas,
but they cannot go far from Ellysetta. Farel also tells me there are other
dahl’reisen
who wish to bloodswear themselves to Ellysetta and fight openly for the Fading Lands once more.”

Eimar spread his hands. “What do you want from me?”

“I sent Ellysetta’s quintet on ahead to meet with Farel and observe the other
dahl’reisen
who wish to bloodswear to my mate. If, after their evaluation, her
chakor
has no objections, Ellysetta and I will travel to the
dahl’reisen
camp to accept the other bonds. I want you to come with us. I want you to see these
dahl’reisen
for yourself, then tell me whether or not you can fight alongside them.”

Celieria ~ Dahl’reisen Camp

Stiff wariness infused the warriors of Ellysetta’s primary quintet as six
dahl’reisen
stepped out of the forest and into the open fields of Celieria. Bel, Tajik, Rijonn, and Gil watched the scarred Fey with undisguised distrust, while the
dahl’reisen
returned their gazes with defiance mingled with faint hints of shame.

“Which one of you is Farel?” Bel asked.

“I am,” said the
dahl’reisen
with dark brown hair and a scar that curved across his neck and up his cheek.

Gaelen had shown Bel an image of Farel before they left camp. The
dahl’reisen
who had stepped forward was indeed the one shown in Gaelen’s weave. “I am Belliard vel Jelani, Chatokkai of the Fading Lands.”

“I know who you are, Belliard vel Jelani.”

Bel’s brows arched. “We have met?”

“Nei.
A friend showed me your image once.”

“I didn’t know
dahl’reisen
had friends,” Gil said in a cold voice.

Farel gave a bark of humorless laughter. “And here I thought, as bloodsworn defenders of the Feyreisa, we might meet in peace.”

“This
is
peace,” Tajik said in a cold voice. “You’re standing before us, and we’re letting you live.”

“A mercy most apprecia…” Farel’s sardonic reply hung in midword as Gaelen released his invisibility weave and appeared at Bel’s side. “… ted.” The last syllable of the word dropped from Farel’s mouth into a stunned silence. Farel swallowed. “General.”

“I’ve asked you repeatedly to call me Gaelen.”

Farel’s face went blank as he looked at Gaelen surrounded by the other Fey. “You are…
with
them? But you are—” His voice broke off.

Bel saw the
dahl’reisen’s
eyes narrow as he scanned Gaelen’s face, then saw those same eyes go wide in sudden, shocked understanding.

“Your scar… it’s gone!”

“Aiyah,”
Gaelen confirmed.

“And… the rest? “

“Gone as well. My sister Marissya says my soul is an unsullied as an infant’s.”

Farel’s throat moved on another heavy swallow. “But how is such a thing possi—” He looked up, his eyes filled with certainty. “The Feyreisa.”

“Aiyah,”
Gaelen answered. “Which is why, my friend, I must ask if there are any of you—either those who have already sworn their bonds, or those who wish to—who might break it if they discovered she can do this?” He pointed to his unscarred face.

With Steli and the other two tairen flying overhead, Rain, Ellysetta, Eimar, and the Fey
lu’tan
ran north along the edge of the Verlaine towards the
dahl’reisen
camp.

Bel and Gaelen had sent word of their findings earlier in the
dahl’reisen
camp. There had been a handful of questionable
dahl’reisen
among Farel’s assemblage, but Gaelen assured Rain they had been dealt with. Rain didn’t ask how, and Gaelen didn’t volunteer any more information, except to say there was no chance they might harm Ellysetta or the Fey, now or in the future.

A mile before they reached the camp, Xisanna and Perhal flew ahead to make certain all was well, while Steli landed and stalked protectively behind her adopted kitling, ready to scorch the first threat that reared its head.