The Drifting (63 page)

~ * ~

Chapter Forty-One

~ Tharin ~

  Kalis led me to the
Summer
Garden
, a favorite place of hers to spend our time away when we were once lovers.  Even with the Garden being out in the open
,
I felt claustrophobic.  In the past, having Kalis next to me soothed my rage, my anger, my frustration…whatever irritation it may have been at the time.  Tonight, however, she
seemed to be a part of irritation
.

“I’m sorry, Tharin,” she says softly as she wraps her arms around my waist, holding me close.  Without thinking, my arms go around her shoulders, comforted by her warmth.  “He was a great warrior, kind and beautiful.”  She continues soothingly and I nod against her hair, feeling my emotions over Phoris’ death come over me.  Suddenly, the need to be back in the hall with Phoris and Lily pulls at me.  I gently
push
Kalis from me, but she resists
,
looking up at me.  “No, Tharin.  This is where you belong, here with me.  I know you’re obligated to the treaty…to marry the new queen, but I also know deep down you love me.  If you could just see me, see me as you use
d
to.”

Kalis leans up at the same time she wraps her arms around my neck bringing her lips to mine.  She kisses me slow
ly
, seductively and for a moment I’m lost in her tenderness, in the familiarity of her touch.  The kiss turns desperate and begins to heat up when Lily’s face appears in my mind, pulling me away from her. 
Kalis
lays her head on my chest as I catch my breath, remembering who I’m holding.  What the hell am I doing?  I know that Phoris’ death has knocked the wind out of me, but I should have more control than this.  Kalis’ kiss took me back to a safe past, but Lily’s image brought me back to the here and now.  Damn it, I’m holding the wrong girl.

I place my hands on Kalis’ shoulders
, pushing her gently
from me.  I can see the desperation in her eyes, desperate to make things the same between us once again.  I shake my head, “I’m sorry.  I need to be with Lily.”

She grabs me, stopping me from leaving.  “You can’t tell me what happened last night wasn’t real.”

I let my arms drop to my side, stunned by what she just said.  “Then it
was
you.”

She nods, confused.  “Of course it was me.  But Tharin, you didn’t need to drug me to have me in your bed.  I would have come willingly, you know that.  I’m not quite sure what happened when we woke, but I figured you pushed me back in the room so that we weren’t found out.  I knew then that you were in your
drifting
state and
were
only trying to protect me.  I left as soon as I was dressed.”

I stare down at her
,
trying to make sense of her version of last night’s event.  So she was used
–
to a point.  How else to make it real when Lily discovered us? 

I place a hand on Kalis’ cheek and she snuggles her face against it warmly.  She stops when I say, “I’m sorry…it wasn’t real.  I was drugged, too
,
and we were placed in my bed for Lily’s sake.  I had nothing to do with it.”

I left her standing in the garden alone, unable to humiliate her any longer by witnessing her pain and frustration. 

I find my father and uncle Colsea alone in the hall with Ka.  The bodies have been removed, including Madeas and Phoris.  I was hoping Lily would be here, but I know she’s probably back in her suites, alone. 

I make it a mental note to go straight to her when I
am
done seeing to my father and uncle.  I call out to Alorn and Mellis with no success and decide to
leave
them alone for now.  They will find me when they are ready and have dealt with Phoris’ death in their own way
s
.  Phoris.  I catch at my emotions as they threaten to escape from within.  I make my way to where the three elders sit quietly, my father and uncle comforting the old man who I called Ka
,
but in actuality
is
my blood and king, Kalinest.  I should have known, all the signs were there, I was just looking at the wrong ones.

They had gathered in a small circle and I grab a chair as I make my way to join them.  I place the chair next to my father, looking at each face.  Colsea, Mellis’ father
,
nods solemnly at me in greeting and my father, eyes red with crying, reaches over and takes my hand in a hard grip.  “We have sent word to your aunt,” says my uncle.  “She will be here tomorrow.  Be sure Alorn is here to greet his mother
–
she will need his strength.  Tolan and Ziri will also be here in the morning.  They would have been here late tonight, but they still have matters to take care of before leaving the
Willow
.” 

I nod, thankful to hear that my brothers would be returning, despite being gone less than twenty-four hours.  Even with the distance that separates us, I can feel Tolan’s grief
–
one of the perks of being a twin, especially in our bloodline. 

“I’m sorry, Tharin,” starts my father slowly, “but we’ll have to delay the wedding.  We must prepare for the funerals.”

“No,” interrupts Ka,
briefly
coming out of his
mourning
.  “We must have the wedding and get the two of you to the doorway.”

“How are we to do that?” asks Colsea.  “Our brother and his son are both dead.  They were the only ones who knew the summoning of the doorway, the location to Eirrell.”

Ka raises his hand to wave off my uncle
’s
question, shaking his head again.  “No, Tolan knows.  He’s trained with them for years.  Al
t
hough he isn’t a Caller, Madeas taught him alongside with Phoris the summoning to locate Eirrell.”

I look at the old man confused, “You did the rending of the realms, don’t you know?”

He shakes his head, “No.  To do the rendering we had to summon an opening and create the realm.  When Mikas, the Summoner then
,
called forth the opening, I immediately started working with my guards at my side.  When it was completed, we pulled the war through, taking everyone involved. The fight was immediate and Mikas was left to close the opening, sealing us from Eirrell.  I thought it best that
only a few
should know the location
,
but
that it should be
passed on from father to son.”

I stare at the old elf with new respect. 

I hesitate before saying, “I am sorry.  I believe it’s my fault that Lily was discovered.”

My father looks at me confused.  “What are you saying, Tharin?”

“I ran into Cili in the hallway the night we arrived.  I asked him Ka’s whereabouts.  When I mentioned your name,” I turn to Ka, “he obviously knew who you were.  My guess is he may have switched to one of your people helping Sema with the preparations.  I’m sure that’s how Harlu found her.”

Ka stares at me for a moment before sighing and says, “Who is to say he didn’t already know?  Don’t dwell on it, Tharin.  You have too much to worry about, and it no longer matters.  Eathos has probably found another vessel.  Stay alert.”  I nod as my father squeezes my hand.

We continued through the afternoon until servers came in the hall setting up a buffet for us. 

“Go to Lily, son.  She needs you more than we do right now.  Besides, we all agree you should be at her side at all times.  We’ll arrange for a private ceremony and get you two married tonight. 
I
n the meantime, we’ll make arrangements for the…the funerals.”  My father clears his throat roughly and I nod as I stand, suddenly anxious to get to Lily.  Yet, I hesitate as I give Ka another look. 

The old king smiles at me, “We will talk later, I’m sure you have many questions.  Right now, I need to mourn my wife and kin.  I shall wait to see if her spirit will come to me one last time.”  With that
,
he leans his forehead against his walking stick, closes his eyes and
shuts
us out.  I look at my father and he gives me a nod before he and my uncle also
become quiet and shut
me out of their thoughts. 

I
leave them and
walk past the buffet, stopping one of the servers.  “Send food up to the queen’s suite.”  He bows and goes off to take care of the order.

I make my way to Lily’s suite and the closer I near it, the more anxious I feel.  Alorn told me Julia was nowhere in the city.  That sinking feeling I had when I first noticed that the Manui stone was missing from Lily’s neck eats at me again.  I don’t know where she is, but if Julia did leave, then she’s gone home…to her stepfather and stepbrother.  But why?  Why would she leave to go back to them?

The closer my steps take me to Lily, the more sure I am that Lily gave Julia the necklace.  Julia has the Manui Stone.  No problem, we’ll just go and get her and get the stone back.  Tolan will definitely want to come along.  I’m sure he has something he’d like to say to those bastards on Julia’s behalf.

The thought of marrying Lily tonight excites me more than I thought it ever would.  Lily, my wife.  I can definitely live with that
–
my precious, naive and stubborn Lily.  I love her and I swear I will care for her, let no harm come to her and love her until the end of my days.

I push the bedroom doors open to find the room empty.  I peer across the room toward the bathing area but hear nothing.  Instantly
, the worst
comes to mind and I run to the garden doors, searching the nearby area and then
make
my way to my mother’s private garden.  Nothing. 

“Alorn, Mellis
,
Lily is gone.  I need you here now.”
  My call is a desperate one and I’m not surprise
d
to find my cousins coming around the corner to the small garden area.  A part of me subconsciously calls for Phoris and I pull the thought back quickly. 

“What’s happened, Tharin?” ask
s
Mellis as he walks to the middle of the garden, scanning the area.  There’s no playful greeting from my cousin, nor is
there
the usual smile on his face, only red swollen eyes.  The loss of Phoris
along with Milina
has cut him deeply.  As for Alorn, he remains the same, no reaction,
and
no emotion showing.  Kabba has a death mark on him now, and it will be a matter of time to see which of us three, Tolan and Ziri, will kill the demon first.

“I don’t know.  Lily should be here, but I can’t sense her anywhere in the tower.”

Alorn remains quiet, but walks along the perimeter of the pando trees.  He turns to me, asking
,
“When was the last time you saw her?”

“After the attack,” I answer, a feeling of
guilt
eats at me as I remember walking out of the hall with Kalis.

“I was there with her until Dalim and his men escorted her back to her suites.  Do you think Dalim has something to do with this?” asks Mellis.

“No,” responds Alorn.  “I ran into Dalim and his men as he did a perimeter search of the tower earlier.  I spoke with him after doing my own search.”