Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (25 page)

"I heard she tried to take the throne, but the queen rejected her claim," one of the girls said, stirring some potatoes in a large copper pot.

"The queen can't do that! The Chosen One is meant to rule," replied another one, who was stirring the boiling cauldron.

"Well, I heard she doesn't even want to be queen, and that she's making a lot of waves, being raised human and all," another said, as she pulled four pullum out of the oven.

They were silly girls who really knew nothing, Rose thought with a laugh. The wall towns were the last to get any word of the royals or their happenings. And usually by time they heard anything, it was so jumbled that there was barely any truth to any of it.

On the other side of the room, the men were sitting at the tables, getting drunk on vinum, as they usually did on festival nights. On any other night, they were calm and gentle husbands and sons, but on festival nights they became loud and rowdy. But it was OK, as long as they returned to their regular selves the next day. This was how festivals usually went. The women worked while the men drank, and then after dinner, they all danced. That was Rose's favorite part, the dancing. Ocean, her husband, had been a great dancer. That was how he had won her over. They had been paired young while they were both training for the Royal Guard and had spent little time together. Rose believed in divine pairings and had embraced it when she had found out, but she was nervous at the same time. And then, while they celebrated the seven pairings made that day, he had pulled her into the center of a room, much like the one where she stood now, and danced with her. It was the Early Morning dance, which always had been her favorite. Ocean knew every move and had stared at her with his deep-brown eyes the whole time. Rose fell in love right there and offered a silent prayer up to Cupid every night for having brought them together. Soon after, Ocean began his protection duty, one for which he had been chosen many years before, and then years later Rose became pregnant. She left the Royal Guard after that, per the rules, and made a home for her family. She never regretted a day of it.

"Now, now, girls. Less chatting and more preparing," Rose said with a clap of her hands.

The girls laughed, knowing there was no force behind her words.

"It's going to be a great festival, Rose. Don't you worry," Floral, one of the older women, said, smiling. "How are you holding up?"

Rose returned her smile. "I'm fine. I've been without him for a while, you know."

"Hmm. All mothers say they're fine when their son leaves, but it's usually the festivals when the missing comes out."

Rose sighed. She did miss her son, but she knew he was doing great things. "I really will be fine. I have so many children today."

Floral laughed. "Too many if you ask me."

"Food's ready!" one of the girls yelled.

Everyone gathered around the tables, taking seats with their families. Rose sat at the head of one of the tables, since she was the host. She had set a place next to her, on the off-chance that her son could get away, but she didn't have much hope. They were about to say the festival prayer when there was a knock on the door. Rose got up and headed over to open it. She nearly collapsed when she saw her son standing outside. She put her hand to her chest and cried out.

He smiled down to her and let her pull him down into a hug.

"Oh, my goodness. What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping back.

"You think I would miss a Cucurbita Festival? You know it was always my favorite."

"Oh, of course." She glanced inside. The others were still at the tables, talking among themselves. They would be so surprised to see him. "Well, no waiting out here. Come on, come on."

"Wait...I...um,"

Rose noticed his companion for the first time. "Oh, Fern? Is Fern back?"

"No...um. Mom, this is Syney...Andrews."

The girl pulled her hood down to reveal a face Rose thought was long dead. But it wasn't her. It couldn't be.

"Syney, this is my mother, Rose of House Redfern."

The girl smiled genuinely and reached out her hand. "It's so nice to meet you."

Rose stared at her for a moment, her heart still trapped in her throat, before taking her hand. "You too." She paused. "Oh, you are going to cause a stir."

"Oh, jeez. If I'm intruding, we can leave."

"Over my dead body," Rose said, feeling her normal self return. She put on a huge smile. "You never turn anyone away from Cucurbita Festival!" She moved to the side and ushered the two inside. "Everyone, we have some special guests. Lily, set another place, quick."

"Hunter's not so special," laughed one of the younger men, Lake, a longtime friend of Hunter's. He got up and greeted his friend with a large hug and a pat on the back. "It's been too long, friend."

"Only a few weeks."

"Four-and-a-half weeks," Rose said quietly.

Hunter looked at his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "But I'm here now."

She nodded. "And the special one would be here. Come, girl. They don't bite, not like this anyway." Rose pulled Syney forward. "This is Syney of House Vilori."

The entire room fell silent. All of the girls' mouths dropped open, and the men all stiffened to attention. Even the old wolves knew what having a royal around meant.

Syney gave a wave. "Hi, everyone."

Rose laughed heartily. "You'd think she was naked standing here! She's just a girl here for the festival, so wipe those looks off your faces and welcome our guest!"

Then everyone started talking all at once. Rose led Syney over to the place next to her, as questions about dresses came from the girls and big welcomes came from the men. Syney handled the attention well. She was obviously a royal through and through, Rose thought. Hunter took a seat next to Syney and sent her a small smile. Rose's breath hitched a little at that, but she pushed it aside and smiled. She had her son, and that was all she needed right now.

Cass

Finding a time to go through the secured texts was hard. Cass tried to go during the day, right after her mother had approved, but Beastial, the keeper of the library, kept lurking about and tried to even sit with her in the glassed-in room to see what she was doing. Taking the texts out of the room was impossible. Not only were they spelled to stay on the shelf, but they also had another spell to keep them in the room. So she was stuck sitting in the small room at the tiny wooden table. There was no way she was going to put up with Beastial as well. So she had started coming into the library at night—not that it was open at that time of day, but that didn't stop her. On that first day, she had found the spell to unlock any door and memorized it. But she couldn't go in every night. She didn't want to get too comfortable sneaking in; if she did, she wouldn't be on edge anymore, and being on edge made her careful. Since reading the secured books, she had learned a few things not taught to the Magic Users. There were hundreds of spells in the books. Most didn't work when she tried them, but some, like the lock spell, worked like a charm. She successfully had changed her hair color to blond and then back, and the color of her nails to black, and gotten rid of two blemishes on her face. They had been fun to do, but Cass really wanted more.

She also had found out more about her line's history. Each line had a book dedicated to it. The end of each book held a family tree, while the beginning spoke about the line's beginnings and any abilities related to that particular line.
It turned out her special gift used to be a trademark of the Crystalliannas. And she learned how it actually worked. It was similar to a Vampire's compulsion. Cass wasn't simply telling people what to do out loud; she was also telling them in their heads—inside the decision center of their brains, to be exact. This ability also hadn't been in her line since before the Great War. She found this curious and even scanned a few of the other history books. The major powers of the Magic Users had been dying out long before the Great Divide and War. No one gave an opinion as to why, not even a hint of speculation. It was odd. Cass assumed they would have researched the losses, maybe even do some tests, but there was nothing. There was also very little on the Great War itself. In the books the war happened—again without any explanation—and just never ended.

Cass looked around the empty hallway outside the library before slipping into the darkened room. The secured room was in the back and up a set of stairs. She quietly moved through the tables and started up the stairs. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw Raine's large form step out of the shadows at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, joining him on the top landing.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Cass rolled her eyes. "I have my mother's permission to be in the secured section."

"During the day, with people around."

Cass huffed. "It's not a big deal. I just don't like that little troll who runs the place being over my shoulder all the time. How did you know I was coming here anyway?"

"I followed you the last time you tried to convince me you wanted to get to sleep early. You came here. So when you said you were so tired earlier tonight, I figured this was my best bet."

"You know, sometimes you are too protective," Cass said, unlocking the door to the secured volumes and turning on the light. "After you."

Raine shook his head and walked into the small room. He scanned the various books as Cass released a spell on a row of books and grabbed a couple, putting them on the table.

"What's with the fascination, Princess?"

Cass shrugged and sat down. "It's your fault."

Raine sighed and sat down across from her. "Becca."

"She knows things—things that aren't taught anymore."

"Have you found the things she knows?"

Cass shook her head and looked up to the top shelf to her left. "The big stuff is there, and I can't lift that spell. Only these shelves with histories and smaller stuff."

He got up and looked over the books she had just mentioned. "Is there a detailed history of the Great War?"

Cass eyed him. Raine never asked this many questions. Something was up. "No, they all just glance over it."

Raine nodded and turned back to her, meeting her look. "What?"

"Why are you so curious?"

"Why are you?"

"Touché." Cass turned back to the book in front of her.

"Your mother asked me to keep a closer eye on you."

Cass stiffened and took a tense breath. It was rare that her mother would speak to a Protector who wasn't her own or Leaf. If she did, then she had good reason to. But Cass had done nothing to warrant the extra attention. "Why?"

"She didn't say. Just that she was worried about you." He paused. "She did ask how much time you were spending with Syney."

Cass looked over at him. "We barely see each other."

He nodded. "I told her."

"I don't get my mother. She was normal, and then Syney was found, and all of a sudden she's paranoid and...colder, if that's possible."

"She's a unique person. But she also has a reason for everything that she does."

"I know." She paused. "Hey, did you see Syney tonight in the dining hall? I heard some crazy things about her this morning."

Raine shook his head. "No, but I heard them as well. I doubt they're true."

"Me too, or at least I hope they're not. I thought she was smarter than that."

Raine gave a small smile. "I think she is."

"So are you just going to sit here and watch me read?"

"That's the plan," he said, sitting back in his chair.

Cass shrugged. After only a few minutes, Raine got a little antsy.

"Why don't you do something, like a spell?" he asked, leaning forward.

Cass laughed. "I've tried everything, but the only ones I could make work were cosmetic. And I don't look good as a blonde, by the way."

"Maybe you just need an audience."

She rolled her eyes but grabbed one of the spell books she had gone through. She found a spell to levitate something and concentrated on the book in front of her.
"Levare,"
she said. Nothing happened, just as before. She looked up at Raine. "See."

"What have I always told you?"

She sighed. "Never give up."

"So why are you?"

She squinted her eyes at him. He really was the male figure she always had been missing in her life, all the way down to the clichéd advise. After giving
one more sigh, she repeated the spell and felt something stir inside her. It felt like a new flower bud that was just opening. It felt amazing and powerful. She repeated the spell and felt the feeling push forth. But to her dismay, the book remained on the desk. "Damn, I really thought it would work that time."

"Um, Princess..."

Cass looked over to him and was surprised to see only the top of his head. She looked down at the floor, which was now a good few feet away. She hadn't levitated the book; she had levitated the entire desk and her chair. She squealed with joy but felt the power drain from her as the desk and chair crashed to the floor.

Raine rushed to her side and helped her from the floor. "Not gone, just lost," he said. "Good night, Princess. Not too late, OK?"