Heirs of War (15 page)

Zelene stood up and peered over at the other girl. She had red hair as well though her sister’s was more of a ginger color than hers, and they both seemed to share the same freckles sprinkled across their creamy cheeks. "Yeah, okay. I can see how you might come to that conclusion," she conceded. "So what does that make you? How do you fit into this new family or whatever?"

"
I don't know," Rhaya answered, her mouth scrunched up in thought. "We arrived last night, and they pretty much brought us straight here, gave us something I'm starting to think was their version of Nyquil, and that's all I remember."

Zelene's
nodded knowingly, still feeling the groggy aftereffects of whatever drug Bianca had given them. She wasn't too thrilled at being drugged, but she could tell from the brief introductions yesterday that their arrival had taken the people here by surprise. "I guess they needed time to figure out what to do with us," she mused out loud. "Well, it's nice to meet you Rhaya, whoever the hell you are."

"She is your cousin," a soft new voice said in an accent that made Zelene think she might have stepped into a Jane Austen novel.

They both looked up to see a young woman of about twenty-four hobbling toward them. She had one arm wrapped around her abdomen as she used the other to grip bed rails for support as she made her way over to them. Her dark brown hair was tangled and falling out of a messy braid. Her face in a grimace in an effort to reach them, determined as she was. Rhaya immediately came to her aid, taking her arm, and leading her to the bed Zelene had been sleeping in.

"Thank you," the young woman said as she lowered herself down.
She smoothed out the skirt of her dress, fidgeting with the hem. She smiled anxiously at Rhaya as the raven-haired girl sat down beside her.

"Okay,
Rhaya’s my cousin," Zelene said, picking up where they had left off. "And you would be who?"

"Terrena," she answered. "I am also your cousin." She turned to Rhaya
and affectionately took her hand. "And I am your sister, Rhaya."

Rhaya blinked rapidly. "Really?"

"What's the matter?" Zelene asked sarcastically. "Can't look at her and tell?"

Ignoring Zelene’s comment, Rhaya kept her focus on
her sister. "Sorry, I just...I didn't realize I had a sister, I guess. Raemann never mentioned you before, but then I guess he wouldn't, would he?"

"I understand," Terrena said as she rested her head
on the pillows behind her. Her heavy lids shaded her eyes momentarily, the pain of her still-healing wounds showed on her face. "I know this is a lot to take in, but if you use your gift, you will be able to see I am telling the truth."

“Gift?
” Zelene parroted snidely. “Care to share with the class?”

"We all have specific abilities based on the elements we represent. Like Isauria. She was born under Air and thus has the gift of seeing,” Terrena turned to Rhaya. “You are born of Water, and the gift of knowing."

"The gift of knowing?" Zelene repeated sarcastically. "Can you vague that up for us a bit? It's not quite unclear enough yet."

"I'm basically an empath," Rhaya explained succinctly. "I can sense what people are feeling."

"As if it weren't already obvious by your eye color," Terrena said with a wry smile directed toward her young cousin, "your temperament gives you away to be of Fire. Which means you must be Zelene. Your gift—"

Zelene held up a hand to stop her. "Is either the art of getting the crap beat out of me, or something I don't want to know right now. I'm already on information overload here."

"Of course," Terrena said with a laugh. "I know this must be very overwhelming for you. You weren't even raised in our world, so there's a lot for you to learn."

Rhaya
squinted at Terrena as if she was trying to place her. "Your name is Terrena?" When she nodded, Rhaya's face lit up with understanding. "You're the one Izzy has been dreaming about."

"I had always hoped she could see me somehow." Terrena said with a wistful air.

"She's been writing about you for years now," Rhaya explained and scooted closer to her sister. "Isauria and I met before everything went crazy, and we were brought here," she gestured around her. "So, I guess everything she wrote was true. And about us."

Terrena lifted a shoulder. "I suppose. I'm not sure how much she would have been able to learn from observing my life since Kenward and I were in hiding. There was much we couldn't say for fear of my true identity being discovered."

"In her story, there's a prophecy about five girls. It's us, isn't it?"

"It is," Zelene surprised everyone by answering. She sat on the edge of her older sister's bed, her fingers twisting the edge of the blanket into knots as she sighed. She looked back up at their expectant faces, a heaviness
on her own as she faced the truth of their situation. "My, uh, my...
father
," she said as she cleared her throat, "mentioned that last night. He said usually four rulers are born into each generation, but there was a prophecy saying that one generation there would be five. We're supposed to be uber-powerful or whatever. The four of us. My twin sister makes five. So yeah, that's us."

Rhaya
looked around pointedly. "Any idea where she is?"

"Probably with the bad guys," Zelene answered bluntly as she sucked in a breath between her teeth. At their horrified looks, she elaborated. "All I know is my father said the Cahirans tried to kidnap us back in the day, and he seemed pretty freaked out when she wasn’t with me. Varrick's eyes were still all black and creepy when…." she trailed off, not wanting to explain the events leading her here, "and he said it was because my sister was still in trouble. And since
that
sister," she nodded to Isauria, "doesn't look to be in trouble, I'm guessing that means it's this Ariana chick."

Rhaya seated herself at the foot of the bed Terrena was lying across. "W
hat can you tell us about this Prophecy?"

T
errena exhaled. "The Prophecy says the generation with five born instead of four to lead the worlds will be the ones to unite the worlds," she summarized. "I don't know the exact words, but that's the best way I can explain."

Zelene
folded her arms over her chest. “Not to blow off this whole saving the worlds thing, but I’ve gotta say I haven’t exactly seen much division since I got here. In fact, things look pretty damn good for a war to be going on.”

"I know you know nothing of our world besides what you have seen so far, but you must understand Anscombe can be very deceptive. Things seem wonderful and peaceful here, but beyond the gates is a different story. There is war. Starvation. Poverty. Desperate people turning to desperate means in order to survive. Cities are collapsing
." Terrena stared at her upturned palms as they rested in her lap. "Innocent people are dying all over the worlds."

"Why doesn't Anscombe do something about the war?" Zelene asked and gestured around her. "I mean, seems like they're doing fine. Why don't they share the wealth?"

"It's not that easy," Terrena said sadly. "The Duillaine have kept the peace, but they don't really tell people how to live their lives. There are certain customs that are mandatory to prevent conflict. Or because that's how it's always been. Our way is not to step in when things aren't going well for another world. They must persevere and prosper on their own, as have we all." The sigh escaping her lips seemed to echo her views on the matter. "Suffice it to say, things work much differently here from what I'm sure you are used to. There is a lot for you to learn in order to understand our ways."

"Ya don't say?" Zelene retorted. "I think I figured that part out when some
guy threw Kyle through the air without touching him."

Rhaya straightened. "Me too! What is with that?"

Terrena shrugged with some effort, wincing at the movement. "Manipulating Air as a defense is easier and quicker than manipulating the other elements."

"I think I see what you mean about having a lot to learn," Rhaya commented. She tilted her head as she examined her sister, her mouth twisting. "Why do you sound like you're British? Does everyone around here talk like that?"

"British?" Terrena repeated with confusion.

"The accent. The way you talk," Zelene clarified before turning back to Rhaya. "No one I've met has an accent."

Terrena inhaled deeply with annoyance. "Much like you, I did not grow up here in the city. I've been living out west for so long it is hard for me to remember to speak in the natural accent of Anscombe."

Before they could continue their conversation, two donnfay returned carrying trays of food above their heads.
They set them down on the nightstands on either side of the bed where Terrena and Rhaya sat. One of them, who appeared to be a female with thin strands of gray hair surrounding her pointy ears, padded around to Terrena on her big bare feet.

"Come now, Mistress Terrena," the creature chided in a gentle voice. "Ya shood be in ya own bed. Ya were 'urt bad. Ya need ya rest."

Terrena flushed as the small creature scolded her. "I know, and I will get plenty of rest, Aeryn. I wanted to visit with my sister. Do you remember Rhaya?"

"O' course I do," the elf said
, exasperated. "Visit at ya bed. Ya hurt. They not." She held out her hand for the young woman to take, which she reluctantly did.

Rhaya picked up a tray of food and gestured for Zelene to come with her before following them to the back part of the room. This area held three beds cordoned off by white curtains to give the patients privacy. Remembering Bianca's promise to move Kyle here, Zelene peered through the
partitions to find him lying unconscious still. She felt a pang of guilt since she had been too preoccupied with everything going on to check on him again until now. Granted, she had also been drugged unconscious herself, but she felt like she should have thought about him first.

"Um, I'll catch up to you guys later," Zelene said as she ducked into the makeshift room. She
sat a bench resting against the curtain at the foot of the bed. Her conflicting emotions battled each other as she looked at the usually vibrant young man lying inert before her. They had been through so much together in the past twenty-four hours she felt like their days of resenting one another were a lifetime ago. She supposed it was just part of who he was. Kyle had always been someone she could depend on when she needed him most, and the past day would definitely fall under that category.

Watching Kyle now, looking like he straddled the line between life and death, she knew there was no denying what she had been told. Her childhood had taught her all too well how to differentiate between what was real and what was a dream or hope. She had prided herself on being a grounded individual, believing in what she could see, and hope was not something that usually lent itself
easily. Looking around now, she knew there was no getting around what her eyes were telling her. This world she had found herself in was very real, and Kyle's unfortunate condition made this new reality all the more obvious to her.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, staring at him and willing him to wake up, before Rhaya peered around t
he curtain. Her smile faded when she looked at the boy unconscious on the bed. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and dry lips. His shaggy hair was mess, matching the slight five o'clock shadow lining his rectangular chin.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Rhaya asked
, knowing the answer.

"It's complicated," Zelene answered as she stood.

Rhaya held out her hand for Zelene to take, which the girl stared at in question. "Come on. There's someone I want you to meet."

Zelene threw one more longing glance at Kyle, hoping for him to stir in his sleep or give some sign of being okay. He didn't move. His chest rose and fell, but he offered no other movement.

"Is it another brownie?" Zelene asked as she followed her cousin back through the curtain.

"No," Rhaya said as they walked down the aisle of beds. "I thought you might like to meet your sister now since she's awake." She frowned as they reached Isauria's bedside, where the girl in question still slept. "Well, she was."

Isauria was lying on her back, her eyes closed but somehow still active. They darted around as if she was watching something, and she began to whimper, her chin quivering.

"Sounds like she's having a bad dream," Zelene said. "Maybe we should wake her up?"

Rhaya shook her head, her frown deepening. "Do you remember how Terrena said Isauria's gift was 'seeing'? Well, this is how she sees."

"Sees what exactly?"

"People. Us. I don't know," Rhaya admitted. "I'm not sure how her visions work exactly."

"She can see what happens to us though?" Zelene asked, a little uncomfortable with the idea of her new older sister being able to spy on her from anywhere.

"I think so," Rhaya said. "Maybe she's seeing what happened to you. When we got here last night, they were talking about your friend. I heard you were attacked pretty badly."

Zelene blanched at this, turning even p
aler than normal at the memory. "Yeah," she said simply.