Union (20 page)

“How will it work?” Cerylea’s question pulled Ryneq into the present, and he turned back to the table. “When I’m sufficiently magical, how will I protect my home?”

Ahlyria smiled softly, and placed her hand over Cerylea’s as she spoke. “When you fully accept our magic, Alel will be your true home, not Torsere.”

Cerylea’s mouth fell open, a look of distress on her face. But before Ryneq could say anything, Ahlyria continued speaking. “Of course Torsere will still be your kingdom, and as such your home too, as far as the magic is concerned. You will be responsible for its people, along with your brother, and of course you are free to visit whenever and for however long you desire. In fact the more you visit, the easier it will be to keep the protection in place.” She paused and looked pointedly over at Morkryn. “But Morkryn’s magic will become a part of you, child. You will be joined not only to him but to the Forest, and Alel and all its people will feel like your true home. Only then will you be able to draw on its magic to protect all of Torsere.”

Ryneq felt a little numb as he watched Cerylea take it all in. He knew that something like this would happen when they agreed to a union with the elves. Cerylea couldn’t stay with him at the Stone Palace forever, especially if she was marrying an elven prince. But now that it was actually happening, he felt the upcoming loss deep in his chest.

“I think that’s all we need to cover for now,” Morkryn said, his voice soft and lilting and seeming to settle Cerylea’s nerves. She met his eyes and smiled, looking very much in love. Ryneq felt the ache in his heart lessen as he saw how happy she appeared with the whole arrangement. “Would you like to go for a walk, Cerylea?”

“Yes, I’d love to, thank you.”

Ryneq stood up as they left, and Ahlyria came around to join him, then slipped her arm through his and guided him to look out over the edge of the balcony. The early-morning sun was pleasantly warm on his face, and Ryneq closed his eyes for a second, breathing deeply and letting the fresh sea air fill his lungs.

“I think they’ll make a fine match.” Ahlyria let go of him and rested her hands on the rail. “They seem quite taken with each other already.”

Ryneq sighed. “Yes, they do. And you’re right.” He met her eyes. “I think they’ll be good for each other.”

“I know this must be difficult for you both, Ryneq. You and Cerylea were so very young to have all that responsibility suddenly thrust upon you. I imagine this decision was a hard one to make, but I sincerely believe it to be the right one.”

She smiled warmly at him, nothing but honesty in her expression. Ryneq graciously accepted her praise in the spirit given, but he had to give the credit to his sister—the idea had been hers, after all.

“Thank you, but it was Cerylea’s decision. She’s always known how to look ahead, to see what will help keep Torsere and its people safe.” Ryneq ducked his head, suddenly feeling inadequate.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Ryneq. I heard all about your and Nykin’s experiences at the hands of Hatak and Seran.” She lifted his chin with the tips of her fingers and made Ryneq look her in the eye. “I knew your father, Ryneq. Were you aware of that?”

He shook his head, because, no, he hadn’t known that. But then again, the topic of the elves wasn’t something they’d ever discussed in much detail. He wondered how much more he and Cerylea weren’t aware of.

“It was a long time ago, but I like to think I knew him well. He would have been very proud of the way you and your sister have turned out. Torsere is in very capable hands, and I am more than happy to help you protect your people.” Ahlyria squeezed his shoulder once before stepping back. “Now, if you have time, I would love to show you around Alel before the heat sets in.”

Ryneq felt a little drained from everything they’d talked about, and the idea of forgetting it all for a while as Ahlyria gave him a tour of Alel sounded very appealing indeed.

“I’d be honored.” He bowed his head and gestured for her to lead the way.

F
AELON
OPENED
the huge wooden doors and ushered them out into the bright sunshine. They were at the entrance to the royal residence, looking out over the jetty on one side and the beach on the other. Nykin immediately noticed the beach was empty. Fimor and Kalesh were obviously out flying somewhere, and Nykin searched the sky to see if he could spot them.

“Where would you like to go first?” Faelon asked, his eyes full of excitement.

His mood appeared to be contagious because Nykin couldn’t help but grin widely as he thought about all the things he wanted to see, and when he glanced at Selene, she looked exactly the same. He’d talk to Fimor later, after they’d had a look around. “I want to see everything,” Nykin said, laughing as Faelon rolled his eyes. “But first, I’d love to see the huge trees with the walkways. Fimor and I saw them from the air, and I’m curious to know what they are.”

Faelon exchanged looks with Lerran and Avelor before turning back to face Nykin. “You mean those trees?” He pointed behind them at the treetops towering above some of the buildings in the distance.

“Yeah.” Nykin strained his eyes to see them better, but they were too far away. “What are they for?”

Avelor stepped up beside Faelon. They made a striking pair—both blue-eyed and blond-haired—and Nykin didn’t miss the way Faelon leaned into Avelor’s touch. The two of them were obviously close. Although he’d never admit it, Nykin was a romantic at heart, and he liked seeing them happy. They were good for each other, with Avelor’s serious side toning down Faelon’s naturally flirty nature.

“Those are our homes,” Avelor said, staring back at the trees over his shoulder. “The royal family lives here”—he pointed to the building behind them—“in the main body of the city, but most of us have treehouses linked to the city by aerial walkways.”

“Can we see them?” Nykin asked, hoping he wasn’t breaking some rule or tradition by asking to see their homes.

“Yes, of course.” Faelon gestured for Selene and Nykin to follow him. “We’d be honored to show you, but I suggest we don’t walk all the way. It’ll be hot soon, and the treehouses are farther away than they look. We could go through the buildings of course, but where’s the fun in that?”

Selene nudged Nykin with her elbow. “What does that mean?” she whispered.

Nykin just shook his head at her. He was about to whisper back that he had no idea, but Lerran was suddenly walking between the two of them.

“He means”—Lerran began, and Selene immediately flushed pink at being overheard—“that we’ll be going on horseback.”

Nykin groaned at the thought. He very rarely travelled by horse, and the last time hadn’t ended too well. Judging by Selene’s expression, she was none too keen either.

“You ride dragons for a living, how can you be scared of riding a horse?” Lerran teased, clapping them both on the shoulder and laughing loudly.

Selene immediately bristled, and Nykin winced—Lerran really had no idea what was coming.

“We’re not scared, Lerran.” Selene’s tone was frosty, and the smile instantly fell from Lerran’s face. Nykin almost felt sorry for him, because he clearly hadn’t meant anything by it. “As you said, we ride fire-breathing, winged monsters high in the sky. Scared is the last thing we would be.” She fixed him with an arched eyebrow and an angry glare, and Nykin dipped his head to hide his smirk. “Nykin and I just aren’t used to riding horses, that’s all.”

“My apologies”—Lerran made a show of bowing and looking deeply sorry, and Nykin almost scoffed. Like that was going to work on Selene. Nykin had been on the wrong end of that cool demeanor more than once, and she never let him off that easily. Lerran reached for her hand and wrapped his long fingers around it. Nykin watched in disbelief as Lerran looked up at Selene from under his thick black lashes—blue eyes sparkling—and gave her a wide smile, which she returned. “Let me show you the horses.” His dark hair fell to just below his shoulders, and Lerran brushed it out of his face as he straightened up.

Nykin eyed it longingly, a pang of jealousy shooting through him as he thought about the hair he’d had to cut off. Lerran looked more like a dragon rider than he did.

Selene’s soft laughter snapped him out of his brooding. “Thank you,” she said, clearly having forgiven Lerran already. Nykin glared at the back of their heads as they walked in front of him.

He followed them into a long, low building, just a short walk up from the royal residence, and Nykin sighed in relief at the cool air surrounding them as soon as they stepped inside. The air was thick with the smell of straw and horses, and Nykin breathed deep, finding it oddly comforting. It reminded him of Ryneq.

“What do you think?” Faelon was suddenly right beside him, whispering into Nykin’s ear and startling him. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

Nykin ignored the ever-present pull of Faelon’s magic and looked to where he was pointing. “Oh.” Nykin stared in awe at the stalls lining the walls of what he realized was the stables. “They’re incredible.” He didn’t know much about horses, but the white ones in front of him were breathtaking. Soft nickers and whinnies echoed around the stable as the elves got closer, and Nykin smiled in delight.

“Come on.” Faelon slipped his hand around Nykin’s and tugged him forward. He didn’t seem to think it odd that he was essentially holding Nykin’s hand, and Avelor was standing right beside him, not looking bothered by it, so Nykin just let it go. He followed them both into the stall. Faelon was already cooing softly and stroking his hand down the horse’s neck.

“This is Sahlanthi. She’s mine.” Faelon grinned as Sahlanthi turned to nuzzle him. She was huge, much bigger than Nykin had been expecting, her long silvery-white mane falling onto Faelon’s shoulder as she nudged him with her muzzle. “Hey, Lanthi,” Faelon coaxed the mare with his low, velvety voice. “Say hello to Nykin.”

She turned her big dark eyes toward Nykin, almost as though she’d understood what Faelon had said. “Wait, can you talk to her? Like I do with Fimor?”

Faelon smiled and shook his head, and Avelor answered, “No, not like you and your dragon.” He leaned around Nykin to stroke along Sahlanthi’s back, pressing close to Nykin in the process.

Nykin was suddenly acutely aware he was essentially sandwiched between the two elves, and their combined magic was starting to creep out and over his body. He wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not, but it became hard to resist the pull of both of them at once. Nykin’s eyes fluttered shut as he let the warm glow wash over him.

He felt hot all over. His heart rate picked up, and he knew he should be moving away to sever the connection, but the feeling was intoxicating, and his stomach clenched as a wave of arousal flooded his senses. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the warm body behind him.

“Nykin?”

Someone placed a firm hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly, and Nykin’s eyes snapped open to stare directly into Faelon’s apologetic face. “I’m sorry about that.” He looked kind of sheepish, and Nykin realized the warm glow had vanished, and he felt a little ill when he thought about what he’d just done.

“Don’t,” Faelon placed his hand on Nykin’s arm, his magic tightly under control this time. “It was our fault.” Avelor shuffled up beside Faelon, wrapping an arm around his waist. “We forgot how susceptible you are to our magic, and just”—Faelon ducked his head, looking at Avelor out of the corner of his eye and smirking—“got a little carried away.”

Nykin cleared his throat, still a touch off-balance, and wondered how on earth he was going to explain it all to Ryneq. As if reading his mind, Avelor spoke, his voice pitched as low as Faelon’s had been when calming his horse.

“I’ll apologize to King Ryneq and explain what happened, if it would help?”

He looked so sincere that Nykin couldn’t do anything but smile at him, and he felt the tension ease away. “Thanks, I’ll bear that in mind.”

He wasn’t sure whether that would actually make things better or worse. But then again, Nykin didn’t think Ryneq had a problem with Avelor, so maybe that would help. He could always just not mention any of it, but Ryneq was bound to ask how Faelon had behaved, and Nykin didn’t want to lie to him.

“Let me introduce you to your horse, Nykin, and then we can get on our way.” Faelon ushered him out of the stall and led him farther into the stables.

“My horse?” Nykin stopped walking, and Faelon glanced back over his shoulder at him.

“Yes, Nykin.” He cocked his head to one side and arched an eyebrow. “You can’t really ride with me or Avelor.”

Nykin’s cheeks flushed with heat as he thought about being in such close proximity to the elves and their magic, and he quickly shook his head. “No, definitely not.”

Faelon laughed loudly. “Come on, then, she’s in here.” He opened the door to the stall, and Nykin followed him inside.

The horse was a little smaller than Faelon’s, but she was the same beautiful white, with a silvery-white mane to match. The only other difference was that her tail was streaked with black. “Are all your horses white?”

“Yes,” Faelon grunted, as he pulled a saddle off the stand behind him and settled it onto the horse’s back. “We breed them out in the forest. We can go see them another time, if you like?”

Nykin nodded, walking farther into the stall so he could stroke his hand down the mare’s flank. “What’s her name?”

Faelon secured the straps of the saddle under her belly and started on the bridle. “Kethlia.” He rubbed her nose, and she whinnied softly. “She’s very easygoing, Nykin. You’ll be safe with her.”

Nykin reached out to run his hands through Kethlia’s mane. He expected the hair to be coarse, but instead it felt soft like silk and slipped easily through his fingers. “Hi, Kethlia,” he found himself saying, his voice dropping to an almost whisper. Kethlia turned her head to regard him with big brown eyes, and nipped playfully at his arm making Nykin laugh.

“She likes you.” Faelon placed the reins in Nykin’s hands. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Nykin took them eagerly, far more excited about riding her than he’d expected to be. He let Faelon give him a hand up, then swung his leg over the saddle. “What about the others?” He hadn’t seen Selene or Lerran since they’d entered the barn, and he craned his neck round to look for them.