Arranged (21 page)

Adalia cleared her throat, pointed to a small boat and smiled, quickly snapping Qwinn and Alison out of their strange trance. Acting as if he hadn't just been staring deeply into her soul, Qwinn scooped her up in his arms and headed for the boat, not saying a word. Alison eyed the boat wearily, though she could swim, she didn't know what kind of beasts inhabited the water. The glowing fish were beautiful, but in a body of water this large, there was no doubt larger beasts beneath the surface. She tried to relax herself, but her mind was creating ridiculous pictures of huge sea monsters. What if they were taking her out to sacrifice her to this strange beast to appease its hunger?

Almost as if sensing her tension, Qwinn held her a little tighter. A wave of calm rushed over her and she took a deep breath. The logical part of her mind finally parted through the ridiculousness and began to speak up. She knew that if there was a sea creature, they would not be putting themselves in harm's way.

Adalia held the boat while Qwinn stepped in, setting Alison on one of the benches. Everyone climbed in and he cast off the rocky shore. The small boat rocked dangerously as Adalia adjusted her seating, it made Alison nervous, then the boat settled. After a few swift rows from Qwinn, Alison calmed down enough to have a look around.

The lake was very large and surrounded by glowing plants. Even some of the seaweed seemed to glow. "Was all of this down here when you came?"

Adalia and Qwinn looked at each other, deciding who should answer.

"Not everything. We made a few…changes," Adalia answered.

Alison looked at her expectantly and Qwinn took over. "When we came, it was only one cavern. There was hardly enough room for us to move around, let alone build a civilization. So we expanded the cavern."

"How?" she asked; completely invested in the conversation now.

"We dug a lot, but mostly we had the help of strong magic."

She frowned slightly. "Magic?" Her tone was doubtful.

Adalia jumped in now, excitement in her eyes. It was hard not to catch it; she was a contagious woman. "Yes. All Vidarian's have magic in their blood, all the way back through time. Now, depending on who your mate is, will tell how strong your magic is."

Qwinn cleared his throat and continued rowing, but gave his sister a look.

"What do you mean?" She asked, now even more interested because Qwinn didn't want her to know.

Adalia was quiet for a moment as she thought of how to answer. "Magic is passed on through the blood streams. Some bloods taint the magic while others strengthen it."

"How do you know what will taint and what wont?"

"Races."

Alison pondered over this. "So Vidarian would be the best to mate with?" she asked carefully.

"Actually, no," Qwinn answered. "Since Vidarian's have magic in their blood, if both parents are Vidarian, their magic taints each other's and the child is born with very weak magic. But if a Vidarian mates with another race, Vidarian magic takes over the weaker blood and the child is born powerful."

"Do you have powers?" Alison asked in wonder.

Qwinn grew uncomfortably quiet. "A few," he answered shortly; however, he didn't meet her eyes. Instead, he stared hard at the water surrounding them. Alison had been so consumed in their conversation that she hadn't realized they had drifted to nearly the middle of the large lake.

"Enough about that," Adalia said, fighting the awkward silence that was growing. She dipped her finger gracefully into the water and Alison stared in horror as the glowing fish gathered around it, touching it with their mouths. Adalia smiled and flicked her finger, causing all of them to scatter.

"You're brave," Alison said. Some of the fish looked large enough to take her finger off.

"They do not harm anyone. Try it."

Alison shook her head, but before she knew it, Adalia had a gentle yet firm grip on her wrist and began guiding it to the water's surface. Alison bit her lip as her finger dipped into the cool water. The fish came once again, touching her finger with their mouths. None of them bit her. Adalia released her wrist and smiled as the fish continued to swarm playfully.

A large one came, it was flat and bright red with yellow eyes. It looked slick to the touch, so Alison brushed her finger against it.

"Alison, no!" Qwinn yelled.

Then suddenly her hand was jerked underwater by a strong force. The other fish swam away quickly, but Alison was still in shock. Qwinn grabbed her wrist and dragged it back to the surface. The red fish had a strong hold on her. It wiggled as Qwinn lifted it out of the water and grabbed it by its gills. Immediately the fish released Alison as it whined in pain.

As soon as she was free, Qwinn threw the fish back into the water. Adalia grabbed Alison's hand and studied it. The fish's teeth broke through her skin in a harsh looking ring. Alison's mind finally registered the blood and immediately she started to feel the pain. She hissed through her teeth as she pulled her hand back, cradling it in her lap. A sharp stinging was quickly beginning to race from her bite, up her arm.

"They are gentle…they never bite," Adalia offered lamely.

Qwinn was beside Alison in a heartbeat. "They bite if they feel threatened," he said gruffly. "Bo'gress' don't like to be touched."

Alison held her arm limply against her as she fought back tears.

QWINN GRABBED HER ARM GENTLY AND studied the bite for himself. As soon as her eyes met his, they brimmed with tears. He quickly went to work. It was important that he get the Bo'gress' poison out of her arm before it damaged any more. He sucked in a deep breath to relax himself and closed his eyes. Immediately, a vision of Alison's torn skin came into his mind's eye. He concentrated on clotting the blood, then repairing the broken veins and damaged nerves, then repairing the skin until every fiber lay as it should.

He heard her soft gasp and allowed himself to open his eyes. The soft blue glow from his magic touch faded to reveal healed skin. Alison stared at her hand in astonishment. "How…how did you do that?" she breathed.

"I told you I had a few powers," he said with a smile.

She turned her hand over and held it up, as if she'd never seen it before. "Amazing."

Qwinn couldn't help but feel proud of himself as he began to row the boat again. Adalia remained quiet; however, watched Qwinn thoughtfully. He ignored her gaze as he moved their boat away from all the fish and to less dense waters.

Alison finally placed her hands in her lap, subconsciously rubbing her fingers over the place where the bite had once been as she looked out over the water. He had noticed she didn't bother to hide herself as much as she had when she first tried on the dress he had chosen. He was glad, because she truly was beautiful. He didn't want her to hide from him.

"What is that?" she asked suddenly, pointing toward the ceiling of the cavern.

"Lake Alimbra as you call it on the surface," Adalia offered.

"That's the lake?" Alison asked; staring wide eyed at the bubble on the ceiling. It was dark, but she could almost see the movement of water.

"That is only a section of it. When we were expanding the cavern, we drew too close to the lakebed. One day, the water broke through the thin layer of crust and threatened to drown us all," she said, her eyes alight with storytelling.

"What did you do?" Alison asked.

Qwinn cut in. "The elders gathered their magic and created that shield. It is impossible to break through. Now we have light during the day, but not enough to harm us."

"Sunlight hurts you?" she gasped, not able to imagine what it would be like to have to avoid all light.

"Only direct sunlight," Adalia said, winning her place back in the storyteller's seat. "Our eyes are made for the night. The light will make us blind."

Alison's brows rose. "No wonder I only see you at night."

Adalia smiled. "On the surface, we had to wear special eye coverings when we were out during the day."

"So living down here is sort of perfect for you…"

They were both quiet for a moment.

"Sometimes, when the night on the surface is clear, you can see the stars," Qwinn said, pointing up. Alison lifted her eyes once more to the strange opening, but he knew her human eyes couldn't see as far as theirs.

"Do you ever travel to the surface?" she asked, clasping her hands nervously.

He didn't like her question. "Rarely," Qwinn said with a tone that ended all conversation on that matter. He didn't want to discuss the surface because he needed her to accept living down here with him.

Alison tucked her hands in her lap and sighed. Qwinn stared out over the water angrily.

"Perhaps we should travel to the gardens," Adalia offered, again trying to fight the awkward silence.

Qwinn agreed, thankful for his sister. He rowed the women back to shore and held the boat steady while Adalia stepped out. Then he picked up Alison, carrying her to the Ou'tani, hoisting her up and climbing on afterwards, all without saying a word.

Thankfully, the ride to the gardens was short. Qwinn couldn't think of anything to say to Alison. He beat himself up for showing her his angry side, again. Most of the time he used his anger to his advantage; however, with Alison, he wanted to be better.

They arrived at the gardens and Qwinn slowed. He had not been to visit the gardens for years. His sister always invited him to join her when she went, but he declined. The gardens brought back memories he would rather not have to deal with.

He guided his Ou'tani onto the path and entered the gates. The gardens reminded him of a graveyard, in the sense that it held the memory of things that once were.

Over the centuries, sculptors from the best Vidarian trades had carved the history of his people and placed them in the gardens for all to see and remember.

Flowers of all colors bloomed from bushes and hung from vines. Ivory climbed its way up the side of one of the many statues in the garden. The first one they approached depicted a Vidarian soldier, dressed for battle. He was holding the Vidarian flag high and proud.

Memories of war on the surface came to mind and he forcefully pushed them away. He urged the Ou'tani onward. He should have never agreed to come to this place. They passed statues of Vidarian children playing, weavers working and two lovers, kissing.

Qwinn tried to distract himself from the surroundings by watching Alison as she took in her surroundings. She asked no questions, she merely studied the statues. They passed a small carving of a Torin warrior being slaughtered by a Vidarian and she shrunk back slightly.

"This is the history of my people," he explained gently.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the Torin beast.

"When we were banished here, there were already creatures inhabiting these caves. We do not know how they came to be here."

She took in a soft breath and craned her neck back to look at him over her shoulder. "That was living down here?"

"Yes. We overpowered them enough to drive them into the forest, and eventually clearing enough space for us to live."

"Sounds frightening. Do…these creatures still live in the forest?" she asked.

"They live…deep into the forest. Do not fear; my soldiers are patrolling the forest at all times. We are safe."

Her brows furrowed. "Your soldiers?"

He mentally kicked himself. "I meant the King's soldiers."

Alison turned her face from him, so he couldn't see her reaction. He didn't know if she believe him or not.

They arrived to the most beautiful part of the garden, but at the same time, it was the most painful for Qwinn. They halted their Ou'tani's and dismounted. Qwinn helped Alison down, but her eyes were captivated on the statue in the center. Disbelief and amazement warred on her face. "Is that…?" she trailed off, her green eyes wide in surprise.

"That is my mother," he said softly.

"But she's…'

"Human," Adalia finished

ALISON STARED UP AT THE WOMAN etched into marble. She was beautiful and had a haunted look about her. "How…"

"She was in a similar situation to you…she found us by accident and ended up falling in love with our father," Adalia answered, looking up at the statue lovingly. "She was a wonderful woman."

"What happened to her?"

Qwinn's jaw tightened, obviously he didn't was to talk about this. So, just before his sister could answer, he interrupted. "She died to sickness," he grit out.

Adalia narrowed her eyes at him and spoke quickly in their language. Immediately, Alison knew they were hiding the truth. But why?

Qwinn growled a few words back to her, ending their conversation.

"Why is there a statue of her?" Alison pressed for some sort of answer to the statue that made her feel, for once, as if she wasn't alone. The woman was dressed richly with jewels and a head wrap that looked almost like a crown.

Adalia flung her hand toward Alison and picked up the arguing again. Alison hated being in this awkward position. Finally, she had had enough. She pulled her arm away from Qwinn, who was helping balance her. He turned to her in surprise, his argument with Adalia forgotten.