When I think about it, with the exception of running, I was really clumsy at every sport I joined. Forget basketball in high school. It was much more brutal than that of the summer league I played at the community center. I remember Coach Mills made me a trainer assistant after the first tryouts. And softball? Let’s not even get into that…I didn’t know I was supposed to keep an eye on the ball all the time.
When Sema is done with both arms, she gets on her knees and starts to roll up my pants. “Sema, you don’t have to do that. I can do it, really.” I try to pull my leg from her, but she takes a strong hold of it and starts to rub at my shin and knee where the bruising is deepest. I wait for the pain, but her hands are strong, yet gentle. Again, the sensation of cool air passing through my leg soothes me.
“Never mind about that,” she remarks as she reaches for my other leg. “You can rub this on your thighs and anywhere else you may need it later.”
Alorn leans over to watch Sema as she finishes with my foot, “Huh, not only a skinny chicken but one with hairy legs.”
That did it. I pull from Sema and quickly roll down my pants to cover my legs. “I can’t help it, it’s not like there are razors here.” I say slanting my eyes at him. “And stop looking at my legs.”
“Can’t help it,” he replies. “The whiteness of your skin is like a beacon from a lighthouse. Let me guess, you don’t need a panswa at night, right? You just lift up your pants and bam…instant light.”
“You know,” I say leaning toward him, “I thought you were the gentleman of the group. I guess I was wrong.”
“Damn right you were. That would be Phoris and Tolan, the rest of us are as scandalous as they come.” Alorn folds his arms and tilts back in his chair, grinning broadly. I have the sudden urge to push him over. He raises a brow at me as if reading my thoughts, almost daring me to.
“Whatever,” I say as I roll my sleeves down.
“Why do you say that word?” he asks giving me a curious look.
“What? ‘Whatever’? I don’t know…it’s just something we say, that’s all.”
“So, what does it mean?”
“It means…you know…whatever. Like it doesn’t matter, or who cares, or more like I don’t care kind of a thing.”
“Hmmm,” he answers rubbing his chin.
“What does that mean?” I question.
“What does what mean?” he questions back.
“Hmmm and then rubbing your chin.” I rub my own chin for emphases.
“It means you need to find words to better express yourself. Or don’t say any at all.”
I look at him with my head tilted back, “So…you’re telling me to shut up?”
He looks at me with scrunched shoulders. I study him for a second then say, “Whatever.”
I look up in time to see Sema return with two plates…and no chicken pasta. Instead, there’s scrambled eggs, bacon and toast – a real breakfast. Glancing at her gratefully I ask, “Where do you get all this food from?”
“I did a little stocking up when we were in Pathen,” she answers while placing a plate before Alorn.
“Where’s Pathen?” I ask as I pick up a piece of toast savoring it as I chew.
“That’s what we call the realm of man,” she replies as she hands Alorn a napkin. He takes it and nods his thanks because his mouth’s too full to speak.
“What smells so good?” calls Ziri from the entrance. He puts down a large pack near the door and heads immediately for a seat opposite Alorn. Sema gives him a smile and says, “I’ll make you a plate.”
Ziri leans toward me whispering, “What’s the occasion? Why no chicken pasta?”
“I asked her for something different to eat,” I answer, whispering in return.
He sits back surprised, “That’s it? You just asked and she cooks up something different.”
“Yup. I’m special that way,” I say as I take a bite of eggs.
Ziri laughs, shaking his head. All talking soon seizes as we scarf the best breakfast we’ve had in a long time. Sema puts her fork down and looks over at Ziri. “What news do you have from the Tower?”
I look up at her startled. “Don’t you know? I mean, don’t the two of you communicate telepathically?”
She shakes her head. “Not at this distance.”
“But you were able to teleport us to the path,” I ask confused. Both Ziri and Alorn stop eating. They glance at each other before looking over at me. Alorn straightens, placing his fork down. Ziri continues to eat but at a slower pace.
“That’s different,” answers Sema. “When we traveled to the pathway that night, we did it together. You got us there as much as I did, you just didn’t know it. I took a chance that with your will we could travel the distance.”
“My will,” I say quietly. I look at Alorn and Ziri asking, “If it’s my will that can make things happen for me, why all the physical training?” Before Alorn can answer, I quickly add, “I know what you said earlier. I need to defend myself, but if that’s the case, why not just teach me how to fight? I know some basics,” to this Ziri rolls his eyes and Alorn patiently sighs. “Okay, maybe not your basics, but still…what’s with the hardcore training? I mean, if I’m going to be queen, then I’ll have guards around me all the time, right?”
It’s Sema who answers me, “Learning how to defend yourself physically is only a part of it, Lily. The other is to be strong enough to wield the energy around you and hold it against nonphysical attacks. If you are too weak to manipulate the energy then you have already lost the battle.”
“Nonphysical attacks?” I ask puzzled.
“Demlok,” says Alorn, reminding me of the black nothingness that froze me in fear each time I faced it. Message loud and clear.
“Maybe it was a bad idea to let her rest for the day,” says Alorn peering at Ziri.
Ziri nods. “Uh-huh.”
I shake my head rushing in, “No, no, no. I’m good…really, I get it. Train hard, get fit and shave legs. Got it.”
Ziri pulls back from his plate and leans out to take a look at my legs, which are now covered. He looks up at me and gives me an arched look. I sigh, going back to my breakfast, saying under my breath, “Whatever.”
~ * ~
Chapter Twenty
~ Tharin ~
Every night for the past week I’ve come to Lily’s room, hoping she would meet me in the drift state. I didn’t visit her the night of the battle and after seeing Kalis for the first time since our return. I had to make sure that Julia was taken cared of. I knew by the looks she gave me that if she actually could get away with killing me she would have done so. I remember as we approached the gates how she looked behind her as if planning a last-minute attempt to run back to the doorway to Pathen. Tolan waited for us at the gates, but refused to look at Julia. I caught the pain on her face when he ignored her, which confused me even more.
Once the gates opened, however, Julia was lost to the sight of the city of the Oak Clan.
The city sits on an island in the middle of the Gastah Lake with her own defenses hidden within her depths protecting the clan. One of them is Jarhan, the water serpent raised by the Manui. Their numbers thrived in the thousands once and they fought by the sides of the Manui during the Great War. Now, Jarhan is the last of her kind. There was talk a few centuries ago that another water serpent existed near the Jōmon Sugi Clan, but the rumors were never proven true. So, Jarhan lives within her waters vigilant and alone.
Despite the rain, the city looked as if it were floating above the lake due to the panswas hovering above. The evening was still young, but every window seemed to be lit. The outer rim of the island is surrounded by oak trees of every species from the realm of Pathen and Velesi, a few even from Eirrell. In their haphazard setting, they looked like ambassadors of oak trees mingling at a get-together, their shapes, sizes and colors representing their species. Within the circle of trees the city of the Oak Clan rises above them; tall thick oaks that end with lush oak hoods
two stories high. In the center of these a giant trees towers the Oak Tower.
It is four times larger in diameter than the two levels surrounding its trunk. Like a huge umbrella, its branches reached out and extend past the island’s edge to encompass it entirely under its protection. Within its lush canopy smaller panswas twinkle throughout its massive canopy.
The Tower is the heart of Velesi and the center of its power. The energy is most prevalent here and the source of the realms existence. This is also where the Alliance meets. The Alliance is the high council that consists of the kings from the clans, the Ancients and my father.
We move forward on the bridge ready to cover the half-mile distance to the city gates. The bridge’s width spans at least the distance of four freeway lanes. From the gates you can see how the giant oaks surround the outer perimeters of the lake like silent sentinels. They stand tall and close together, keeping whatever beyond it out. Until tonight, the giant trees seemed like a safe haven, but now with the Kufftai gone, they seem dark and sinister.
Lighting the way are tall slender panswa trees that attached themselves to the bridge from underneath, connected to the island in a tangled web of roots. The bulbs of natural lights hang from its branches that are intertwined from one tree to the next creating a natural intricate lattice. Julia strains to look all around her and past Phoris’ big shoulders, taking in everything. It pleases me to watch Julia’s face light up upon seeing our city for the first time. I notice Tolan, despite trying not to care, casts hooded glances her way. Try as he might, he can’t help himself from giving a small smile at her reaction.
We make our way across the bridge and approach the green amazonite causeway where my father’s guards waits to escort us to the tower. We lead the horses into the wide stables off the entrance to the city and finally out of the rain. Phoris helps Julia down and again I catch her staring at Tolan, a fleeting look of pain on her face. I shake my head. For as long as I live, I will never understand the workings of a woman’s mind.
Dismissing her, Tolan and the others, I move farther in to dismount. After helping Kalis off, I walk away toward Cili and Ka. Ka looks as if he fell asleep against Cili’s back during our ride and the poor warrior isn’t sure how to dismount without disrupting the old elf. I have no problem whatsoever. I grab Ka by the arm and pull him off the horse unceremoniously. As suspected, Ka lands on his feet nimbly, blinking as if just waking from a deep sleep. I give him a hard look and he grins back at me with a mischievous smile.
“You go and see my father. I have something I need to take care of.” I turn to leave, but Ka stops me.
“No, you must tell Thilthen about what’s going on here,” he replies firmly.
I shake my head at him. “Don’t pretend you don’t know the king personally, old man. I don’t really need to let him in on what’s going on. I suspect you’ve already done that. What the two of you are up to, I don’t know. But I’ve done what you’ve asked me so far and that ends here. I’ll speak with Father later, but right now I have another matter to see to.”
I walk away, not waiting for a response. I head over toward Julia who is now cloakless and standing alone with a blanket around her. Aware of my approach, she watches me carefully. When I reach her I take her by the wrist without a word and make our way to Kalis. She follows without resisting, only stopping when I do before the captain of the guards. Kalis has her back toward us as she releases the men for the night. I didn’t miss how Tolan stops what he’s doing to watch, arms folded, waiting to see what I’m up to. Kalis turns to face me with a smile, but her smile disappears when she sees Julia beside me.
“Until we are ready to take Julia home, she will be your charge. You will train her in the ways of Sidhe, to defend and protect the royal family.” I turn to Julia, who stares up at me with anger and disbelief. “As long as you are here, you will work for room and board. As far as I know, you have no other skills but fighting. Kalis will train you with the guards. We will head back to your realm in about three weeks.” I turn back to Kalis, “You will see that she has a room on our floor, near Tolan and me. She’s not to be mistreated, or you and your men will have to deal with me.” I turn to Julia and as an afterthought I turn back to Kalis, “But you will not show her any favors either. She trains as the men do.”
“You can’t keep me here, Tharin,” threatens Julia through clenched teeth. “And I won’t train with her.”
I look down at her and I know she is angry and frightened, but it is the only way I know how to help her. Without something to keep her mind off Lily, I fear she would withdraw to a point where we would be unable to reach her. Julia doesn’t respond to pity from others, especially if she feels she’s a charity case. She needs to feel that she at least has control over with her own body, to put it through a training regimen that she controls the results of. We can train her, but it will be her choice on how much she puts into it.
Julia responds to authority, a remnant of her former life with her stepfather and stepbrother. I say with enough authority edge to my voice, “You will do as I say, Julia. Until we take you back, you have nowhere else to go. If you don’t want to train with Kalis, I will have you train with Tolan.” Julia backs down, giving me a look of uncertainty and betrayal, as I knew she would. It only takes her a second, however, to get her nerve back. She pulls from my hold and stares off into the distance, giving me a curt nod. I look at Kalis and find her staring at me, seething with anger. I lock gazes with her and finally place a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Do this for me.”
Kalis looks away, but I feel her relax. I knew I injured her deeply by treating her as if she were just one of the men to be ordered about. Worse, I had ordered her to put Julia on the same floor as Tolan and me. No one is allowed on the Oak Tower private floors but the royal family, and it’s been a sore spot for Kalis. It was always expected that if there would be a non-royal to have a room on the private floors, it would be Kalis. I also know that Kalis believed it wouldn’t just be any room – it would be mine…sharing it with me as my queen. When Lily is finally here, Kalis will have to accept her station as captain of the guards to the future king and queen of the Oak Clan. I also know that her anger comes mostly from being placed in charge of the Little Princess’ friend.
After a moment and taking a deep breath, Kalis steps up to Julia and waits. When Julia finally looks at her, anger flares in her eyes. Kalis stares back at her unfazed by Julia’s temper. She puts her hand out for Julia to take hold of, but Julia remains unmoved. Kalis drops her hand and gives Julia a small smile. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she shares sympathetically. “I lost someone I loved very much recently, so I understand your pain. I can’t take it away, but perhaps through training I can help ease it a bit.”
I’m surprised by Kalis’ mention of losing someone close. Perhaps a distant kin I wasn’t aware of. I turn to see the hardness in Julia’s face soften. She looks down at her feet and for a moment all is quiet. When Julia finally looks up at Kalis, the anger in her eyes is replaced by loss and sorrow. She lifts her hand slowly for Kalis to take, and the Sidhe warrior grabs on, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kalis turns to lead Julia toward the tower and Julia gives a brief glance back at Tolan.
I hear him approach from behind and Tolan steps up beside me, “Thank you, Tharin.”
I shake my head still looking after them, “I don’t know if it’ll help, but at least she’ll be protected until the Seating.”
Tolan turns to me with a concerned look, “Is he in danger?”
“I don’t think so, but let’s not take that chance.” He calms down, nodding as he watches Julia disappear with Kalis.
Tolan and I entered the war room to find Ka and our father with their heads close together whispering softly. They stopped when they realized we stood at the door. Father rose quickly, coming forward to greet us. He hugged us tightly as he’s done since we were boys. Despite his being known as one of the most powerful kings in Velesi, Father worried each time we wen
t away, even more so after E’leiana’s death.
When Ziri left the first time, Father withdrew from all of us for a week to deal with losing his youngest son just when he was coming into his own. When Ziri left several months ago, Father seemed to age with worry over his youngest son’s departure. Seeing him and Ka together when we walked in, I knew then that father had been keeping secrets from us. The knowledge of that fact doesn’t sit well with me and my awareness of it feels heavy on my chest.
Of all of us, Alorn resembles my father the most. In looks, physique and manner. Only in the last few years with E’leiana’s passing as he mellowed in his ways. Alorn’s mother is Thilthen’s only sister and eldest of the siblings. By right, she should be queen, but she declined choosing instead to marry a commoner. It didn’t matter; my father loves his sister and her husband of choice without prejudice. Phoris is the son of his brother Madeas, the Summoner of the clan and third eldest. Mellis is the son of Colsea, Grand Greaneth of the Oak Clan and youngest brother to the king. We five have literally grown up together – each quietly shaped and formed into our current roles. My cousins were raised alongside Tolan, Ziri and me like brothers.
“Where are Alorn, Phoris and Mellis?” he asks looking behind us.
“Phoris and Mellis will be by to see you, Father. Alorn is with Ziri, keeping Lily safe. It will be a bit longer before you’ll see him,” I replied looking him over. In the short time we’ve been gone, he seems to have aged even more. Where there were no greys before, sprinkles of it appear throughout his hair. Although physically he has the frame of a young warrior, his shoulders seemed a bit slouched and he’s lost weight. The burden of what is happening within his realm has bowed my father, and the need to expose this Eathos grows anxiously within me. As if seeing the assessment of him in my eyes, he gives me a knowing smile and turns to make his way back to Ka.
“Very well. Come join us, I’ve order some food and drink to be brought up.” He returns to his seat at the head of the table. Ka ignores us as he bends over an open book that looks like a diary. In the middle of the large table sits a white sphere the size of a bowling ball.