Still moving cautiously, he retraced his steps and returned to her side of the border. Before she could ask any questions, he shook his head, took her arm, and walked halfway back to the lane that led to the Den.
“Why are you having so much trouble staying in balance?” he asked. “That’s the second time you slipped since we crossed over from Aurora. Do you need to go back to the Island in the Mist—or stay away from the dark landscapes?”
She considered the question, then shook her head. “I’ll be all right. What happened when you crossed the border?”
Sebastian studied her as best he could in starlight. “I could hear some of the men talking. Couldn’t see them, couldn’t see a fire or their camp, but I could hear them.”
“How did they sound?”
“Excited. Impressed by the way you came to their land. Hopeful that this time the connection will hold and they can be a part of the world again. And a couple of them were scared about what Morragen would say when they told her a woman slipped past them and went to the Den.”
“A woman called Allone?”
Sebastian nodded. “She returned before dawn and seemed pleased about something. Maybe an incubus gave her a tumble.”
I doubt that would have pleased her. But destroying someone else’s life certainly would.
“Is this because of me and Morragen snapping at each other yesterday when we were waiting for you?”
“You’re not the dissonance that disrupted the border,” she said.
“But someone is?”
“Oh yes. Someone is.” She studied the stone triangles. “Conflicting heart wishes, not only between separate people but within Morragen Medusah a Zephyra.” How much courage do you have? Will you sacrifice your daughter for your people?
Nothing she wanted to do about that border, since the Den was safer if Tryad couldn’t cross over, so she started walking back to the lane.
“What is your impression of our guests?” she asked.
“Which ones?” Sebastian countered. “Danyal is solid. He’s intrigued by the Den, but he could have just as easily ended up stumbling into Aurora, and the result would be the same—he’s looking to change, and you, Aunt Nadia, and Michael are the ones who can show him different possibilities. Probably you and Michael. I gather Danyal is more like you two than like Auntie.”
“I agree with that. Go on.”
“Kobrah has seen some dark places. She wouldn’t find the Den on her own, though. Too carnal for her.”
“She wouldn’t find Aurora on her own either,” Glorianna said. “The currents of Light are too strong to resonate with her as she is now. The fact that she’s working at the Asylum is a measure of where her heart is.”
“Didn’t get much of a feel for Morragen Medusah a Zephyra, except that I’d like all her visits to be short ones,” Sebastian said. “But her daughters?” He blew out a breath. “Zeela could settle into the Den without a second thought. She’s tough and physical—and probably knows more about men and sex than the other two combined. Sholeh reminds me of Lynnea when she first came to the Den—a little stunned, but determined to grab at a chance to have an adventure before someone takes away that chance.”
“She’s also physically more fragile than the other two,” Glorianna said. “Which makes me wonder if all the Tryad have one weaker sibling.”
“You think there’s truth in that story Yoshani and Michael patched together last night?”
“Something to think about. So we’re down to Zhahar.”
“Doesn’t fit in the Den.”
“Where else doesn’t she fit?” Glorianna asked softly. But that wasn’t a question either of them could answer. At least, not yet.
A demon cycle gave them a ride to the stationary bridge that led to Aurora. When they crossed over, they found Lee and Michael waiting for them outside Sebastian’s cottage.
Glorianna glanced at the rolled blanket at Michael’s feet but didn’t ask about it.
“Lee might have an access point to Vision,” Michael said, “but we weren’t sure where to set it up to test that possibility.”
“Vision will have to wait,” Glorianna said as she stepped in front of Lee. “What were you and Zhahar arguing about at Mother’s house?”
“It’s private,” he replied.
There was a snap of temper in his voice, but under that snap was hurt.
“It may be personal,” she countered, “but it’s no longer private. Lee, the border between the Den and Tryadnea has faded to the point where no one can cross over.”
He reached up and pulled off the dark glasses. “What are you talking about? That border was solid.”
“Yes, it was solid. Now it’s acting like the White Isle did when we first tried to approach. Sebastian could hear the men talking but couldn’t see them, couldn’t actually cross over.”
“But Tryadnea is your landscape,” Lee protested.
“I think there’s a power struggle going on in Tryadnea that we aren’t privy to, so maybe not everyone wants Tryadnea to be one of my landscapes,” Glorianna said. “Maybe there are some who want that land to remain barren. What I do know is that Zhahar is at the center of this.”
“Zhahar wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her homeland,” Lee said. “And she certainly wouldn’t want to strip her people of the first chance they’ve had in years of making a solid connection to another part of the world.”
“She’s the tool, Lee,” she said softly.
He swore quietly but with considerable heat. Then he removed the soft-brimmed hat and scrubbed one hand over his head. “Zhahar has decided that she doesn’t have feelings for me, isn’t going to have feelings for me, that it was all a moment’s madness between a Handler and an inmate, with the romantic notions all on my side.” He shrugged.
She didn’t need to see the hurt in his eyes; she felt it in his heart.
“Do you believe that?” Michael asked.
“Lee, what would happen if Tryadnea broke away from the Den and went adrift again?” Glorianna asked. “What would happen if you made a one-shot bridge that got Morragen back home and Zhahar didn’t go back?”
He shook his head. “I’d make a one-shot bridge for her too. I wouldn’t leave her stranded here, Glorianna. I’m churned up right now, but I’m not that selfish.”
“No,” she said with a smile. “You’re not. But if Zhahar didn’t go back?”
“She doesn’t like it here.”
“This isn’t the only place, Lee.”
“When you’re cut off from your own people, you can pick and choose the customs you want to keep.” Michael said. “Is that what you’re thinking?”
Glorianna nodded. “And you can get away from a kind of heart poison that lives inside too many of your people.” She looked at her brother. “The heart has no secrets, Bridge. Zhahar can lie to her mother. She can lie to you. She can even lie to herself. But she can’t lie to a Guide of the Heart, not when she’s standing in my landscapes. The romantic notions aren’t all on your side. I don’t know if that helps or hurts, but I can tell you that much.” And Zhahar will have to tell you the rest—if she chooses.
“What am I supposed to do?” Lee asked.
“Same thing we’ve always done—fix what we can and hope it’s enough.”
Michael picked up the rolled blanket. “Then let’s see what we can do with these.”
Opportunities and choices, Glorianna thought as the four of them walked back to Nadia’s house. It took courage to follow the heart.
It was time to find out who had that courage.
Chapter 26
As they walked to Nadia’s house, Lee’s thoughts were racing fast and hard. He understood the danger of conflicting heart wishes. Ephemera manifested the heart, for good or ill. It didn’t distinguish between a wish that would benefit people from a wish that would do harm. And while the Landscapers could keep the world from manifesting every idle wish that came from the hearts of all the people, even they couldn’t sto
p a true heart wish—or prevent all the changes that heart wish would create.
If there was anyone who could minimize the damage being done right now, it was Glorianna Belladonna. But first, he had his own fences to mend. Since he was walking beside Sebastian, that was a good place to start.
“I’m sorry about the bird.”
Sebastian shook his head and smiled. “Bop would have learned about butter sooner or later.”
Maybe. “It will give you practice spelling out words.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Just what I need. The bird teaching the baby to spell.”
Lee grinned, but the grin faded when they reached the gate in the wall. He lengthened his stride to reach Glorianna before she walked into the house. “Can we talk before we all talk?”
She studied him, then looked at Michael. Nodding, the Magician carried the blanket into the house.
“I know you have to tell them the border is unstable,” he said.
“Yes, I do,” she agreed.
“Could you brush over why it’s unstable?” He wished he could see better, wished he could read whatever was in her face.
Finally, she asked, “Why?”
He didn’t try to dissemble or evade. Not with her. “Opportunities and choices. Zhahar and her sisters were one of six Tryad who went into the city of Vision to anchor Tryadnea to another place. The other five failed, and I think the discovery of what they were was a big reason they failed.”
“And gave Vision’s citizens someone to blame for the bad things that were happening,” Glorianna said. Then she tipped her head. “Lee? How did anyone know the Tryad were Tryad? I had the impression they were very careful to keep their nature a secret.”
“Zhahar was revealed fairly quickly.”
“By a Shaman and a Bridge. Unless they changed aspects in front of someone, who else besides someone like you or Danyal would sense the difference?”
He thought about that and understood where she was going. “Someone told on them. Someone pointed out the stranger and whispered in the right ear.”
“Someone with enough bitterness in her heart to want the rest of the Tryad to suffer.”
Lee pulled off the hat. “Guardians and Guides, Glorianna. How are we supposed to prove that to anyone?”
“We can’t. And it’s not our place to try. The Tryad have to choose whom to follow. We can’t make that choice for them.”
No, they couldn’t make that choice. But that didn’t mean there weren’t choices they could make.
He brushed his fingertips down Glorianna’s arm. “One heart can change a landscape. As a Guide, you know that.”
“Yes, I do. So be careful what opportunities you create and what choices you make, brother.” She tugged him toward the kitchen door.
“What does that mean?”
“That means you would be smart to get as much help as you can.”
“With what?”
“How do the Tryad have sex?”
Lee groaned. “Not really something I can ask.”
“I agree. But the answer will have a significant impact on the choices that are made. So let Teaser ask. He’s bursting to find out, so let him do it.”
“You think Zhahar is going to talk to Teaser?”
“No, I think Sholeh will talk to Teaser and tell him a whole lot about Tryad customs and traditions and history that will be helpful in understanding these people. All things Teaser wants to know about, since he looks at the Tryad and sees lots of potential new lovers.”
“Daylight,” Lee muttered.
“Zeela, on the other hand, will tell him the mechanics of Tryad sex, either for her own self-interest or because she’ll realize he’s going to pass the information on to you. Either way, you’ll know if that door is closed to you.”
He huffed out a breath. A year ago, Sebastian would have been a better choice to find out about the Tryad. Now he would still listen intently, but not to be a lover in dreams or flesh. Now he would consider whether Tryad sexual preferences would cause any trouble in the Den.
“How did Sebastian go from being the hot badass women drool over to being the prissy prig who enforces the rules?” he asked.
“Sebastian is still hot, women still drool when he walks by, and enforcing his own rules is hardly being a prissy prig,” Glorianna said primly as she opened the kitchen door. “And since you look enough alike, if you wore your pants tighter, women would drool over you too.”
He choked. She laughed and walked into the house, leaving him sputtering.
Danyal watched everyone gather around the kitchen table. Storms and bright water. Heat lightning. Thorn trees and breathtaking Light. He couldn’t get a feel for the other people crowding into the room. Their hearts were all submerged by the intensity of feeling in Sholeh Zeela a Zhahar, Sebastian, and Glorianna Belladonna.
Tension tightened his muscles, making his burned shoulder and hip ache as he began to understand that only specific people were being given a place at the table. Zhahar and Morragen sat beside each other, with Nadia on Zhahar’s left. Sebastian and Glorianna sat across from them, with Lee on Glorianna’s right. Michael sat at one end of the table, and he had been given the seat at the other end. Yoshani, Teaser, Kobrah, Caitlin Marie, Lynnea, Jeb, the Apothecary, and the Knife filled up the kitchen.
“There’s a problem,” Glorianna said. “The border between Tryadnea and the Den has faded to the point where no one can cross over.”
“You said it was stable,” Morragen said. “I’m here, away from my people, because you said it was stable.”
“It was. Tryadnea is still connected to the Den, but it can’t be reached by using that border. At least one person made a heart wish so powerful it broke down a border between two compatible landscapes held by the same Landscaper. Held by me.”
Morragen stared at Zhahar. “You would condemn our people in order to be with a man?”
“My son isn’t just some man,” Nadia warned, leaning on the table to see past Zhahar, who stared back at her mother, looking shocked and pale.
“I didn’t!” Zhahar said. “How could you think I would do that? I didn’t wish…” She glanced at Lee and didn’t continue.
Yes, you did, Danyal thought. But you had no reason to think your wishing could change anything. And yet Zhahar sounded sincere. Then he looked at Michael, who was watching her closely. Whatever the Magician was hearing in the heart music surprised him.
“Zhahar,” Lee said gently, “heart wishes can change a landscape, but this disruption of the border isn’t permanent. It can be fixed.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Zhahar cried.
A moment later, Zeela came into view, pushing the chair back as she stood up and glared at Morragen. “Zhahar didn’t make the heart wish to break Tryadnea away from the Den. I did.”
Morragen also stood. “Why would you condemn our people?”
“Why not?” Zeela snapped. “It’s not going to make any difference. No matter what we do or how hard we try, the connection will break in a few months, and nothing will have changed. We’ll be adrift again, feeling more bitter because we failed again, and you won’t be able to stop it any more than your mothers could.”
“That’s enough!” Morragen shouted.
“Our connection to the Den is going to break sooner or later, so why not let it break now? Then Zhahar will have a chance to love someone, which is more than you ever had. Do you think we were too young to understand the fights between you and the grandmothers? ‘Give him your body if you must do the base act, but never give him your heart.’”
Zephyra came into view for a moment, tears in her eyes. “Stop this. Zeela, please stop this.” She faded as Morragen appeared again.
“No, I won’t stop this!” Zeela shouted. Her hands clenched into fists as she faced her mother’s warrior aspect. “You three have already decided you don’t like the connection to the Den. You’re never going to like any of them because they’re one-faced. We could see it in your eyes la
st night. The disappointment that this place isn’t whatever it is you search for.”
Wondering what he had missed last night, Danyal glanced at the other people around the table, then at Yoshani—and realized he hadn’t missed anything. Which meant Zeela’s accusations might have been valid in the past but had no basis in the current truth. But he saw the way Glorianna, Lee, and Michael were studying her so intently, so he focused on her heart-core—and sat back, shocked.
Coating Zeela’s stormy core was a bog full of poisoned air.
Michael gave him a “Do you feel it?” look. When he tipped his head in a subtle nod, the Magician returned his attention back to Zeela.
“We want to build a life here, so we’re staying,” Zeela shouted. “You can go back to Tryadnea and drift away again.”
Morragen again. “How dare you!”
Zeela bared her teeth. “I dare because I’m a warrior, my sisters’ protector. Like you, Morragen.”
“And your own heart will break when you understand that it’s the part of your sisters you can’t protect.”
“At least one of us will try!”
“That’s enough,” Morragen and Medusah said coldly.
“The two of you can still silence Zhahar and Sholeh and bend them to your will,” Zeela said just as coldly. “But not me. Not anymore. I wish—”
Glorianna, Nadia, Michael, Lee, and Sebastian jumped to their feet and shouted, “No!”
Shaken, Danyal watched the other people in the room. Even the people who hadn’t reacted so vigorously seemed to be holding their breaths.
Glorianna stared at Morragen and Zeela, her green eyes filled with fury. “Ephemera, hear me. This storm is fierce but changes nothing.”
Within moments, the sky darkened and thunder rumbled loud enough to rattle the windows. Moments after that, rain pounded the ground.
“I left the cottage’s windows open!” Lynnea wailed before she, Caitlin, and Jeb hurried to shut the windows in the rest of the house, while Teaser and the Knife shut the kitchen’s windows and door.