Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3)

  He didn’t add that Kineus wasn’t exactly running on all thrusters. Owyn had already pointed out that sane people didn’t travel by sea.

  “Maybe we should consider a different route,” Kyr hedged, her gaze on the distant roiling water. “If we made ourselves known at the Vawn border, the guards would have to obey my orders as the Ascendant. Maybe they could smuggle us in somehow.”

  “They will probably be influenced not to listen to you,” Owyn said, though he seemed to share her reluctance about approaching Kineus’ cottage.

  “We can read the minds of anyone not under Vycor’s influence,” she reminded him. “We could make a point of approaching only those Mynders.”

  Ty considered this. He may have been an outlaw for supposedly killing Kyr, but she was still alive, and he was now the Faire-Amanti. Maybe she was right. Maybe they should be more straightforward rather than risking their lives on the sea.

  “What about Sem?” Owyn asked, done with playing devil’s advocate. “Vycor will kill him when he finds out we’re approaching.”

  Frowning, Ty said, “I think Vycor will use Sem as leverage to get what he wants. Killing him would cost him more than he’d gain.”

  “This is my son’s life you’re talking about,” Owyn snapped. Apprehension thrummed beneath the surface of his harsh tone. “Are you one hundred percent certain of that?”

  Ty exchanged a look with Kyr. He considered how he had miscalculated about Vycor more than once…costing Kyr her life. She nodded as she shared the thoughts and feelings he conveyed.

  “We can’t risk it,” he said at last. “We have no more time. No matter how challenging it might be, we have to move forward with the plan to travel by sea.”

  Chapter 32

  It was nice to be so in sync with Kyr. She had reached the same conclusion as he had and didn’t offer another word of objection as they approached Kineus’ cottage. Ty appreciated the reassurance that her agreement brought him.

  He tried not to think about the fact that they would be risking three lives—four, he reminded himself as he considered their baby—in an effort to save one.

  Kyr walked behind him so he could block the brisk wind sweeping up from the sea. She wore a thick cloak that she kept tugging down to protect her face. He knew she was freezing. Not for the first time, he silently cursed the fate that had put them both in this position. Why couldn’t they have been fated to live a nice quiet, simple life?

  How boring would that be? she thought, trying to lighten his mood.

  He didn’t feel any better, but he appreciated the attempt. A few steps later, they reached the small front porch leading to the door. Ty silently indicated that Kyr and Owyn stay back while he knocked. They obeyed, but Owyn gave him a warning look.

  Thought within the cottage shifted from normalcy to alertness as Ty’s considerable size caused the porch floorboards to creak in protest. His knock was carried away by the wind, but he knew it had resonated inside the cottage solidly enough.

  A moment later, the door swung open. Ty met the gaze of the male who opened the door and recognized him as KineusDane. The older male was still a tall brute, Ty observed, even if there was more silver within his long, dark hair and scruffy beard than there used to be. Deep crevices lined his face, but his russet brown eyes burned with the intensity of someone half his age. His dark glower slowly eased into a look of surprise and then outright cheer when he recognized who stood on his porch.

  “Well, if it isn’t the Dem-Shyr of Alametria,” he boomed with a wide grin. “Please, come in. Come in!”

  It took Ty all of two seconds to scan Kineus’ mind and discover why the usually ornery male was so desperately happy to see him. Vycor had placed a bounty on Ty’s head, one large enough that Kineus and his family could eat for at least a year without having to risk their lives every day.

  The thought should have worried Ty or pissed him off. Instead, it made him pity Kineus.

  A whisper of sound caught Ty’s attention. He realized Kyr had climbed onto the porch and now stood at his elbow. She cast back her cloak hood, allowing her dark hair to tumble free. The wind lifted some of the curling tendrils and the edge of her cloak, creating an arresting picture as her star-blue eyes met Kineus’ wide gaze.

  “Ra’jah TaeDane and I will double any bounty issued by the palace,” she declared in a calm, authoritative voice. “If you’re wise, KineusDane, you’ll take nothing offered by Advisor Vycor. You’re likely to pay for it with your life…as I did.”

  With every word she issued, Kineus’ complexion grayed more and more. Ty recognized the signs of shock in the male’s thoughts and expression, and worried for a moment that he might pass out. Fortunately, Owyn had moved up to stand on Kyr’s other side. He could help catch Kineus if the male fell.

  “All we seek are a few moments of your time, good sir,” Kyr continued, giving Kineus a pointed look. “Preferably indoors, if you’re up to the company.”

  “Kineus,” came a female’s voice from inside the cottage. “What are you…?”

  She trailed off. The wind couldn’t quite mask her gasp as she stood on her toes to peer over Kineus’ shoulder. Her blue eyes narrowed in distress. She brought a hand up to shield them.

  “Great Yen-Ki,” she breathed. “The Faire-Amanti.”

  The reverent way she spoke snapped Kineus out of his daze. He bent at the waist. For a brief moment, Ty thought he was about to be sick. Then he realized Kineus was bowing.

  “My apologies, Ra’jah,” he said. “Ma’jah.”

  The female pushed her way up next to Kineus. Judging by the silver in her red hair and the lines around her dark blue eyes, she was Kineus’ amanti. A quick scan of her mind confirmed it and told Ty that her name was Isa.

  “Please come inside,” Isa invited with a deep curtsy. “Allow us to shelter you for the night. The temperature will only continue to drop.”

  “Thank you,” Kyr said through lips that Ty realized were turning blue with cold.

  He moved forward with her, nearly plowing into Kineus in his haste to get Kyr into the beckoning warmth of the small cottage. Behind him, he heard Owyn introduce himself to their host and hostess. Ty knew that it had been rude of him not to introduce his uncle himself, but he had more pressing things on his mind.

  Instinct had him conducting a thorough look around the cottage as he led Kyr closer to the fireplace against the far left-hand wall. There were two rooms and a single water closet, he noted. A small cooking fire with a miniscule dish cabinet beside it comprised the cooking area. Something smelling faintly like the sea bubbled in a pot over the fire. A table made of sea wood stood next to the cabinet. Ty imagined it was used for both food prep and dining. A single, neatly made cot was pressed against the wall near the doorway leading to what Ty assumed was a bedroom. A single couch and one rocking chair faced the fireplace.

  In the rocking chair sat a male with long brown hair pulled back with a hair tie and a beard that was better maintained than Kineus’. His dark brown eyes were intent on Kyr’s face as Ty escorted her to the couch so she could sit and warm herself by the fire. Ty determined through his thoughts that the male’s name was Yori and he was Kineus’ son.

  He also picked up Yori’s notable interest in Kyr.

  “Yori, is it?” Ty asked, drawing the other male’s gaze to his.

  “Yes.”

  When Yori didn’t say anything else, his father issued a loud clearing of his throat. Yori’s eyes lifted to the ceiling, but he pushed himself to his feet and bowed.

  “Welcome to our incredibly humble home, Ra’jah TaeDane,” he said in a surprisingly sincere-sounding voice. “I can only imagine the circumstances that must have brought you here.”

  “It’s a tale we’d all like to hear,” Kineus added non-too-subtly.

  “Of course,” Ty said.

  At the same time, Isa said, “It can wait until I serve supper. There’s enough for everyone.”

  “Let me help you with that,” Kineus offered,
clearly anxious to move things long.

  Ty noticed Kineus’ limp as the large male maneuvered around the dining table. He picked up a painful twinge in the male’s thoughts accompanied by the brief memory of a large sea creature with ravenous maws rearing up and sinking its teeth into his thigh. Kyr sucked in a sharp breath, making Ty remove himself from Kineus’ thoughts.

  I’m sorry, he conveyed, touching her shoulder from his place behind the couch.

  Neither of them bothered to hide their concern over the fact that the sea held things more deadly than just the churning waves.

  Before long, they were all gathered around the small table. Ty made sure that Owyn sat on Kyr’s other side. He didn’t like how Yori continued to stare at her, not that he could blame the other male. Kyr was beautiful, and Ty imagined there weren’t many females out here. Still, he wanted to shield Kyr every time Yori looked at her. He sent more than one glare across the table.

  His thoughts were turned as they all started eating and he and Kyr shared some of the details that had brought them there. Kineus and Isa wore grave expressions as they learned what was happening at the palace. It was clear through their reactions that they hadn’t known half of what Ty and Kyr told them.

  Yori, although equally unaware of the dire events occurring around the planet, was more interested in Kyr. He even had the gall to wink at her, which nearly made Ty growl at him. Kyr’s humor over the situation was the only thing that kept him quiet.

  “So we need someone to get us to the palace,” Ty concluded a while later. “Kineus, you’re the first person I thought of when this idea came to me. I remember how valiantly you sailed the Savyaan. Will you help us?”

  Wearing a frown, Kineus shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t. This damn leg has me out of commission.” Gradually, his expression eased into a smile. “Good thing I passed along everything I know about seafaring to my son.”

  Ty supposed he couldn’t sneer in the face of any offer of help, but he sincerely wanted to. His jaw clenched when he looked at Yori and found him smiling at Kyr and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  This was their only hope to get them to the palace?

  “I’d be happy to take you to the Vawn megai,” Yori said, his eyes finally moving to Ty’s. The amusement Ty saw there told him that Yori had known all along that he was pushing his buttons. So he didn’t bother to react when Yori ended his offer with an innuendo. “Fear not, Ma’jah. The Advisor will never see us coming.”

  Chapter 33

  As Kyr edged towards consciousness the next morning, she felt a presence in her mind that had eluded her for days. It was faint, but she recognized it immediately.

  Sem—thank Yen-Ki!

  Kyr?

  Sem! Stay with me. You’ve been drugged. You must be starting to surface.

  Drug?

  Yes, a V’larian drug. I know that’s what it is because Troi used it on me.

  She felt the anger that touched on his nebulous thoughts over the news that his brother had harmed her. She didn’t want to stress him out, but she realized that the anger helped clarify his thoughts.

  Troi was influenced by Vycor, she told him. Your father, Ty, and I are on our way to you. We need to know where you are.

  Palace.

  She wanted to mentally shake him, driven by the need to get information from him before he was drugged again. I know. Are you in the palace prison?

  No.

  Then where?

  Chamber.

  Fear, pain, and anger flowed through their tenuous connection. Kyr knew that he’d been dosed again.

  Don’t worry, Sem. We’ll be there soon.

  She wasn’t sure if the thought got through before he went back under, but she hoped it did.

  When their connection fully faded, she opened her eyes and blinked to clear the sleep from them. A single tear leaked from her eye along her temple. Pain for her friend—her cousin—gripped her heart, making her lips tremble.

  Her gaze finally focused on a mural of a seascape painted on the ceiling. Confusion briefly reigned as she tried to remember where she was.

  Kineus. Isa. Yori.

  Right.

  She pushed herself into a sitting position and remembered Isa insisting that she and Ty use the bed that she and Kineus usually shared. Nothing Kyr had said could sway them, and since she sensed how much it meant to them to offer their hospitality to the Ascendant and Faire-Amanti, Kyr and Ty had finally acquiesced. Ty was no longer in the room, however.

  Edging off the bed, she paced and allowed her fury towards Vycor to fire through her. She knew the unhealthy anger was a waste of her time and energy. Normally, she was able to suppress it with thoughts of how she and Ty would defeat him. Now, after confirming that Sem was being mistreated like she had been, every bit of impotent rage surfaced.

  Every doubt. Every fear.

  The door opened, admitting Ty. She didn’t even hesitate, walking straight to him and allowing him to draw her into a comforting hug. He had picked up her conversation with Sem. She knew it had rocked him. His hand ran along her hair in a soothing gesture.

  We’re going after him, love, he thought. The ship has been readied.

  Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “Good,” she said out loud. “I won’t take long getting ready.”

  A renewed sense of purpose drove her through the menial tasks of seeing to her personal needs and eating a quick meal of toast with jam. Ty talked to Owyn while she did, filling him in on the connection with Sem. The relief that they both felt from Owyn helped Kyr store the last of her anger, and soon enough, she stood with both men and Yori on the deck of the ship that would take them to the palace.

  It was larger than she had imagined, and reminded her a bit of Earth ships from the age of pirates and privateers. The biggest difference was the sails. Rather than being crafted of canvas, these sails were made of a flexible pearlescent material called ulysian. They caught the sunlight and glimmered like dreams.

  “You’ll be safer below deck,” Ty told her as Yori and Owyn worked the mechanism that lowered the ship from its dock down to a reasonably calm inlet.

  Her mind conjured up an image of an aggressive sea creature barreling into the ship’s underbelly and snatching her in its razor-sharp claws. That was quickly replaced with the image of the ship overturning in the turbulent waves and the below deck filling with water.

  “Okay, fine,” he relented with a sigh. “But you must be secured up here.”

  “Deal.”

  He led her to one of the few seats along the deck’s railing. Kyr reasoned that the seats were there for use while fishing. A couple of long poles ran along the deck at the feet of the chairs. She also spotted nets and a harpoon, something she wouldn’t hesitate to grab and use if anything so much as thought of rising out of the water.

  Ty smiled over the fierce thought as he used the harness attached to the seat to secure her to it. She watched him to make sure she could release herself if needed.

  You’ll be fine, he assured her.

  She’d be better if he secured himself, too, but they both knew he and Owyn had to help control the sails. Yori had explained the night before that the ship was manageable with one to two people as long as it remained close to the cove they called home. Once they ventured out into more foreign waters, two wouldn’t be enough. Yori would have to remain at the helm the entire time. Ty would have to listen to Yori’s thoughts to know what he and Owyn had to do with the sails to keep the vessel afloat.

  Kyr prayed for all of them.

  Kineus and Isa waved from the top of the cliff as Yori steered the ship out of the inlet and into the rough seas. Kyr knew they prayed just as hard as she did.

  The voyage was ten times worse than Kyr feared. At first, she couldn’t wait to get away from the threatening face of the cliffs. She just knew that the ship was going to get blown into the rocks. By the time they reached the open sea, however, she would have traded her left arm to be back by the cliffs.


  Fog crept in from the unseen horizon, offering low visibility in any direction. Waves rose, towering and seething, looming with the promise of swamping them and dragging them into the abyss. Every time, Yori maneuvered the ship along the waves to evade the worst of the deluge, resulting in sprays of frigid water dousing the deck. Gales of wind whipped the sails, threatening to rip them to shreds. The ship rose up towards the pink sky, only to plummet like a bird diving for prey. Kyr quickly lost the breakfast she had eaten and ended up clutching a bucket in terrified misery.

  At one point, Ty reached for a sail just as Yori jerked the ship to avoid another wave. Kyr ‘s scream was lost in the wind as Ty flipped over the side towards the sea.

  Before she could unharness herself, Ty spiraled back up and onto the deck. His arm had been safely secured to a rope, as Yori had instructed. The fright had Kyr trembling even more severely than the water that soaked her.

  The sun had reached its peak and long since started its plunge back into the sea by the time they reached the jagged cliffs leading up to the Vawn palace. Kyr had struggled to follow the sun’s progress through the continued fog, and had failed to appreciate the blanket of misty cover until just that moment. They were surely invisible to anyone who might be keeping watch from the palace high above.

  She released herself from her safety harness as Yori positioned them as close to the cliffs as he could without losing control. Ty lifted a heavy grappling hook attached to a form of bow. Between rolling waves, he took aim at the cliff face and shot the hook. None of them heard the clink of the hook finding purchase, but Ty seemed satisfied by the amount of tension he could put on the rope while it still held.

  “Let’s get this done,” he said, holding an arm out for her.

  She was so anxious to get off of the hellacious ship that the idea of jumping from it and swinging over the deadly sea to the lethal-looking rocks made her want to bounce with anticipation.

  “Thank you, Yori,” she called over the wind as she grabbed onto Ty. “We’ll make sure you and your family are properly rewarded.”