“And her?”
Vadim Maur glanced down at Elfeya, the edge of his disfigured mouth curling. “Make her scream. Make her beg for death. But do not give it to her. I want her alive the day I claim her daughter’s body and soul.”
The Fading Lands ~ Fey’Bahren
Dawn turned the eastern sky over the Fading Lands to pale pink. Rain sat in the center of his magical cage, his body relaxed, his mind calm. He’d Raged the first few bells of his imprisonment, but no longer. Now, his tairen lay coiled within him, a silent hunter, not mindlessly wild but lethally patient, waiting for the first chance to spring. Isolated by the dense weaves of their cages,he and Ellysetta could not call for help, and could not even speak to each other except through their bond threads.
Their Fey guards stood up and turned to the west, Fey’cha in hand. A moment later, they sheathed their blades and waved to the approaching party. Tenn, Yulan, and Nurian crested the Su Reisu plateau, theirshei’dalinmates close behind.
The six of them approached their imprisoned king and his mate. Tenn nodded to the guards, and the dome of magic around Ellysetta dissolved, leaving five-fold weaves of Spirit surrounding her so she could not call to the tairen for aid, while gleaming circlets bound her arms to her chest so she could not spin any other magic in her defense.
Tenn stepped forward. His expression was as stony as any Fey battle mask she’d ever seen. “Ellysetta of Celieria, you stand accused of weaving the forbidden magic. Will you admit your crime willingly, or must you be Truthspoken?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Release Rain. You imprison your king. In Celieria, Tenn v’En Eilan, you would be branded a traitor and sentenced to death by torture.”
“We are not in Celieria,” the Fire master said softly, “and our actions are not treason. We”—he gestured to include Yulan, Nurian, and Venarra—“are here to stop Rain’s madness and keep him from destroying the Fading Lands.”
“Madness?” she spat. “Everything he’s done, he’s done to save the Fading Lands! How can you betray him this way?”
“You dare suggestwebetrayhim?” Tenn’s eyes burned with red-gold flames, and his voice dropped to a low note that vibrated with fury. “He has broken every Fey law that does not suit his whim and made a mockery of the honor that serves as the cornerstone of our existence! He brings adahl’reisenthrough the Mists and installs him as an honoredchatokin the hallowed halls of Dharsa’s Warriors’ Academy. He grants a Mage-Marked woman entrance to the Fading Lands... stands idly by while she enchants hundreds of our finest and noblest warriors into bloodswearingthemselves to her service... then makes her his queen even though the Eye of Truth reveals her for the foul, Azrahn-wielding corruptor she is!”
Tenn drew himself up to his full height, righteous fury swirling around him in swaths of fiery red magic. “He has betrayed us in every way possible!Because he broughtyouinto the Fading Lands!”
“He brought me because the Eye told him I would save the tairen,” she cried. “And I have! Four kitlings were born in Fey’Bahren tonight—because Rain and I saved them.”
Consternation flashed across Tenn’s face. For a moment—just a moment—she saw doubt flicker in his gold-sparked eyes.
Yulan stepped forward, his brows drawn together in an accusing scowl. “How did you save them, Celierian? With Azrahn? Did our king knowingly allow you to weave the forbidden magic?”
“Everything Rain has done, he has done to save the Fading Lands!” she cried. “He is your king, and he would die to save his people!”
“Then he should have done so a thousand years ago!” spat Nurian, Sariel’s cousin. “He is as much an abomination as you! A madman who inherited a throne he did not deserve because he did not die with his mate, as a bonded Fey should. Everything about his rise to power is as corrupt as his existence and his rule. I reject him as the rightful king of the Fey.”
Ellysetta stared at him, aghast. “You hate him because Sariel died and he did not. Dear gods, all this time, he has held you in his heart, and you have wished him dead.”
“Enough of this.” Tenn held up his hand. “We owe you no explanation. We have come for answers, and you will give them to us, willingly or by Truthspeaking. You, Ellysetta of Celieria, stand accused of weaving the forbidden magic Azreisenahn, known as Azrahn. Do you confess to having freely and deliberately woven this magic?”
She glared at them and clamped her lips shut.«They accuse meof weaving Azrahn,»she told Rain.«They say you are a madman, unfit to rule.»
To her surprise, he laughed.«Well, you did weave Azrahn, and I am on occasion more than a little mad.»
She jerked her head around to glare at him.«You think this is funny?»
His teeth flashed in a grin more savage than humorous.«Nei, shei’tani. The fun is only about to begin. Look.»He pointed skyward.
She looked up into the sky overhead, where Steli’s white form shone like a pearl in the early morning light. Her wings were spread, and as she swooped down to get a closer look at the gathering on Su Reisu, her eyes blazed like blue stars. She gave a roar that made every Fey on the plateau jump and stare upward in fear. Steli gave another fearsome roar, a call to arms, and scorched the sky with an enormous jet of flame.«Tairen! Defend the pride!»
Within a few chimes, the sky was filled with tairen, all of them roaring loud enough to shake down the mountainside. They dove for Su Reisu, flames searing the air, and the Fey scattered like mice. The tairen herded them together with flames and swooping attacks.
When the Fey were back on the plateau, ringed by a full dozen fierce, furious tairen, Steli-chakai, her fangs dripping venom, leaned her great head down and growled deep in her throat. In a pure, perfectly comprehensible Feyan, she commanded,«Release our pride-kin from your magic, or die where you stand.»
Tenn, Yulan, even Venarra, all looked taken aback. And in an almost laughable display, they turned beseeching eyes to Ellysetta. “They would not dare...” Tenn said. “We are Fey. My brother was king!”
“Rain and I are tairen,” Ellysetta replied coldly, “and heisking. I suggest you do as Steli-chakaicommands. Quickly, before you rouse her protective instincts even further. There are four hungrykitlings in the lair tonight, and the pride considers all intruders a threat better left dead.”
Glowering, Tenn nodded at the Fey, and the weaves around Rain, Bel, and Gaelen dissolved. The three warriors were at Ellysetta’s side in an instant, shoving her back behind them, sandwiching her between their tall, protective bodies and the rumbling chests of Steli, Fahreeta, and Torasul.
«Shall we scorch the wingless ones?»Steli sang in tairen song. Tairen did not play politics. To them, an enemy was a creature to be shredded and scorched.
