Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) (29 page)

Kaeleigh’s eyes fluttered open.
I’m dead, aren’t I? Lovely.
No, she could feel the hard, cold, and moist planks of the bridge underneath her. She could feel her lungs filling and releasing air. Her heart was beating, albeit a bit slower. She was slumped partially on her side and her stomach.
Am I hurt?
Clutching her head, Kaeleigh couldn’t remember what had happened. Slowly she lifted her head.
Why is everyone yelling?
Suddenly her attention was snapped back to the present, flooding her mind with what had happened and where she was.  

Gasping, she looked back behind her. Finn was standing on the edge of the cliff looking utterly dumbfounded with his jaw open, when seconds before he had been yelling something. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and muted.
Did I lose my hearing?
She looked to the opposite end of the bridge. Chel was off to the side of the bridge, pacing with her hands clasped and held up in front of her mouth. Kaeleigh cocked her head, trying to understand Chel’s reaction as she had tears in her eyes. Confused, her gaze slid over to Daegan where he stood at the edge of the bridge, tense in every way imaginable, flexing and releasing his hands over and over like he was getting ready to rush the bridge. All of this did nothing for her nerves or the flutters in her stomach. When he saw her looking at him, his eyes grew large for a brief second, as if surprised, then recovered. He seemed to relax the tiniest bit when she began to stand up.   

Kaeleigh felt like all the life had been drained out of her and was slowly seeping back in to every little inch of her body. Getting up, she faltered and fell back to the ground like a newborn foal. Slightly embarrassed that everyone was watching her, she looked at her feet trying to find their way. Out from under her eyelashes, she saw Daegan muttering something but again couldn’t seem to hear anything; she felt like her ears were filled with gauze. He looked angry. Suddenly there was an audible crack, then Daegan was stalking toward her on the bridge. She looked up to find him staring down at her, but then instantly he was down on his haunches right next to her.  

“You can’t even seem to do the safest things without getting into trouble, can you?” he said, clearly trying to make light of her lying on the ground in front of him, but there was something else in the tightness of his voice. It took too much effort to try to figure him out so she just let out a little laugh with a sigh. He grabbed her arm as she raised it for him to help her up before he had even asked. Out of the side of his mouth, he couldn’t help the small smile that slipped out.

Finn was yelling something from the other end of the bridge, but Kaeleigh still couldn’t hear him. Confused, she looked from Finn to Daegan just as Daegan glared at him over the back of his shoulder. Daegan had one arm around her waist and the other gripping her hand as he guided her the rest of the way across the bridge. All the tingles that she now associated with him—with his touch—were working their way under her skin, bringing her peace.

“Why can’t I hear them?” Kaeleigh wondered out loud. “I couldn’t hear you when you were over there either,” she said, gesturing with her free hand to the other side of the bridge. “But I did hear you
before
I got onto the bridge.” 

Daegan looked down at her, slightly puzzled, but shrugged. When they were almost to the end, she paused, causing them both to stop. He didn’t even look at her, just waited for her to be ready to keep going as if he could sense she needed a moment. Without looking up at him, she shyly asked, “What do I look like? I mean... do I look any different?”

“You look like you, but you also look different... I guess you do belong here,” he answered with his smirky eyebrow lift that just frustrated her. He shrugged again, knowing that it must irritate her. He seemed to like to watch her lose control of her emotions. “You should probably ask Chel. She’s waiting for you.” 

She knew he was changing the subject, which bothered her because well, maybe she looked bad or maybe she was some kind of freak here in this world. However, she was excited to see Chel too, so she let him walk her off the bridge. As soon as she stepped off the bridge, she heard a “pop” in her head and all her hearing was restored, as though she had been in a bubble. Kaeleigh stood for a brief second popping her ears and moving her jaw around, before she was mauled by Chel’s embrace.

Daegan had to interrupt them so that they wouldn’t miss Finn walking, or marching, toward the center of the bridge. He wasn’t even going to stop in the center, but the mist surrounded him and held him in place. Finn’s was the fastest of everyone’s, as if he was somehow able to control the mist to a degree. Or the mist was disinterested in him. 

Finn’s transformation was the least affected. He did seem to grow a few inches and he added some muscle; more like an athlete than a moody high school student. His skin seemed to pale a little—not that he was tan to begin with. As with Daegan, he was re-clothed in more realm-appropriate clothes; soft-material pants for easy flexibility, and laced-up boots that oddly looked like a cross between something native and more modern. Ironically, he had on the same T-shirt he had on before but added a chocolate-brown buckskin vest. His hair was still sandy but it was longer, resting just below his ears, and his eyes were a much more intense hazel than before. 

As quick as it started, it was over. He continued sauntering off of the bridge, but before he could conceal it, both the girls noticed a marking on his inner bicep that they had never seen before. It was somewhat similar to the newly visible one on Daegan’s forearm. Finn’s marking looked more like a sun with curved arms extending from it and surrounding it. According to the “Nice tat” comment from Chel, she too saw it. Quickly, he pulled his sleeve down, not realizing that it had crept up with the mist blowing around him. His ears were also a bit more pointed and his facial features more defined, but still Finn.  

“Finn’s a hottie here in Alandria,” Chel mumbled under breath to Kaeleigh. Finn seemed much too intense to react to Chel’s comment, if he heard it at all. He marched straight over to Kaeleigh.

“Are you all right?” he asked, focused solely on Kaeleigh and running his hands from her shoulders down to her elbows, making sure. When she nodded, he swung his head toward Daegan. “Why did that happen? I’ve never seen that happen before. It was trying to
kill
her!” He was shouting now. 

Wow, he’s intense
, Kaeleigh thought, watching the show.

Daegan stepped right up in Finn’s face almost nose to nose, but Finn didn’t back down. “It was not trying to kill her. I wouldn’t have let that happen!” he snapped. “I didn’t even know I could get through the wards or I would have gotten to her sooner,” he added, clearly more for Kaeleigh as he didn’t feel the need to explain anything to Finn.

“Yes, why could you get through the wards?” Finn asked suspiciously.

“I do not know,” Daegan replied, confused as well.

Kaeleigh stepped up right next to them and placed a hand on each of their chests, pushing them apart. Finn gently grabbed her wrist and turned it so Daegan could see the marking on her arm. “What does it mean? It shouldn’t look like this.” The only thing different about her marking after crossing the bridge was its shimmering iridescent quality.

Chel gasped, grabbing Kaeleigh’s opposite wrist and twisting it to show her. “Look! Another one.”

Surprised, Kaeleigh jerked her hand from Chel and her other from Finn, putting them both out in front of her for her own inspection. “Wow,” she breathed out, half in awe and half in shock. Looking up, she sought Daegan’s eyes which were looking somewhat between intensely confused and genuinely concerned. Chel was intently studying the lines and curves, trying to make some sense of it out of her own knowledge. And Finn, wide-eyed and fearful, looked even more pale, if that was possible, and like he might possibly get sick.

“It looks similar to Finn’s but not quite whole,” Chel said finally, after a brief inspection.

“Enough about my wrist!” Kaeleigh frowned, frustrated. “We have a LOT to talk about.” She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling weak as her arms now hung limply at her sides. “I feel like I could sleep for a week. Could we find shelter, Daegan? Please.”

It was the “please” that pulled at his heart. Daegan nodded and instantly turned and started walking. He paused briefly only to turn to Kaeleigh. “Are you able to walk a bit further?”

“I’ll manage,” Kaeleigh said as confidently as she could force out. Hating that she felt weak, she stood up and pulled her shoulders back, determined not to give in to the physical weakness she actually did feel. He nodded, admiring her inner strength.

Finn, Chel, and Kaeleigh all walked together, quietly assessing each other and even the smallest changes that had taken place. Chel tried to describe to Kaeleigh the few changes that she could see. Her hair was basically the same but a wilder variation of the rich dark umber browns and reds. Her eyes were more defined and feline-like; where they were an unusual green to begin with they now had a golden ring around the vivid green irises. Her ears had grown some and now had a slightly pointed tip. She didn’t feel too much different, although she seemed more balanced and graceful, more fluid in her movements. 

Kaeleigh was still weak when she walked but tried not to show it. Chel graciously held onto her arm to help support her while giving the appearance of friendly companionship. Finn remained the most quiet and seemed to be disturbed that this part of him had been revealed. His answers were short and clipped when one of the girls would ask him about his changes or anything about Alandria in general. Eventually, they stopped talking to him directly and whispered among themselves.

Hello? It’s not like too much is different. At least you know what you look like! I need a mirror
, Kaeleigh kept thinking. She knew it was vain, but she didn’t really care. She could look like... well, anything. Was she an Elf like Finn? A Faerie? Was she a shifter like Chel? Kaeleigh didn’t think so since she had the pointy ears and Chel didn’t, but she didn’t even know what her other options were in this world. Chel wasn’t much help with descriptions.
Ugh! Swear word
. Apparently being in this realm of
otherness
she felt she should watch her language, but sometimes you just needed to say something.

Kaeleigh started slowing down a bit; her breathing seemed to be strained. She couldn’t understand what was causing her to feel this way. Before stepping onto the bridge, she was fine. She thought she was supposed to come off of the bridge stronger and more confident in who she learned she was, except that she wasn’t and all she had were more questions that no one seemed to want to explain to her. Daegan was being his stubborn, closed-off self, and Finn had retreated to some reserved, tortured person that she hadn’t known before—sure, he had always been moody and sulky, but never like this. Kaeleigh wished she could understand both of these very different men that she was with. 

They had explained that Chel was a kind of shape-shifter—not the werewolf that she originally thought she was but similar. Apparently, when she saw her dad shift, he too had changed into a wolf. But she had taken off before letting her parents fully explain. She had assumed they were werewolves. Chel mentioned how Daegan had briefly explained that to her after she got off of the bridge when she was freaking out about what she was. Apparently it ran in her family to take the shape of wolves as a dominant shift, but with training she should be able to shift into several different animal forms.

Kaeleigh was happy for her friend that she was coming to terms with who she really was. She was also incredibly shocked to learn Chel’s parents were from here as well—that was their family secret. Finn already knew that he was an Elf; whether he was happy about that or not, at least he knew, but she still didn’t know who or what
she
was. She felt a little different and she was sure that she had some physical changes even though she hadn’t been able to see her face yet. Neither Finn nor Daegan seemed to want to fill her in; either that, or they really didn’t know, which seemed unlikely.  

“Daegan? I’m curious. If you’re a type of Faerie, shouldn’t you have wings?” Kaeleigh innocently asked.

Apparently it struck some chord with Daegan though, because he stopped in his tracks and turned back toward her, scowl in place. “We don’t know. It would be prudent of you to not ask that again of a Faerie. It is a sensitive subject.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sor—”

Kaeleigh staggered and instantly felt life drain from her once again, as if she might faint. With a deep intake of breath, she gripped Chel’s arm tighter and leaned against her. Her world was rapidly closing in around her as the darkness began to swallow her. She heard the muffled sound of Chel saying her name. The next thing she felt was her body being swept up, feet leaving the ground and strong arms holding her to a chest of solid muscle. Daegan’s voice whispered into her ear for only her to hear, “Hold on, Kaeleigh, we’re almost there. Don’t leave me now.” And Finn’s hand brushing across her forehead—probing her temple—was the last thing she was aware of before she fell into the darkness of her mind.

Chapter Thirty

The group approached a little cottage not far from the river and nestled in a small forest of trees unto itself. Just beyond, where the trees began to grow sparse, were sprawling fields of wild flowers of all different colors and kinds—similar to ones found in the mortal realm but much more alive, as if singing with the energies of the earth. Everything here seemed to more
alive
than anything in the mortal realm. Further still were rolling hills of green in the far distance. Other than the little cottage, there were no signs of any others that might live nearby. It was secluded and hidden. 

Smooth stone pavers lined their way up to the front door of the little cottage that looked like it was straight out of a fairytale that Kaeleigh remembered as a child. As a child she hadn’t been read to much, but when she had the chance to read for herself she devoured them.