“But that's impossible. Humans haven’t been seen in Aeritis since…” Kyla paused as Savine spoke up.
“Since The Cleaving? Or so legend says. Although grandfather spoke of some humans appearing over the millennia. Now clean up that head wound and see if what I noticed was correct.”
Kyla did as Savine ordered without hesitation. As she washed away the blood, Savine could more clearly see what he suspected when hefirst looked into the woman’s brown eyes. Above her eyebrows, but below the bleeding wound on her upper forehead and temple, was the undeniable mark of Althea. Five stars wound together with a dainty vine.
“Goddess be damned! Thishumancarries Althea’s mark!” Kyla said. So Savine was right. There it was, the five stars of Althea embedded on the woman’s forehead.
“Goddess be blessed, you mean. Do you understand what power we now possess in winning the rebellion?” Savine asked. He couldn’t help the grin that slid on his face. This was it. Finally, a breakthrough to end this twenty-five-year long conflict.
Kyla bit her lower lip and studied the injured woman. “She’s not a citizen of the fae, but our Premier Goddess has blessed her. Do you believe Althea put her within our reach to defeat the Latian King?”
“How could I not? Get her patched up. We need to see what sort of abilities she has. She sent a warming sensation through my skin when we touched. Also, when I held her on Jari, her breath touched my skin, and it was as if her breath called to my essence.”
Kyla’s eyes widened for a second before her face transformed into serene consideration. Her only reply was a low hmmm.
“Touch her. See if you feel her magic,” Savine insisted.
Kyla squinted her eyes at her brother and frowned as she touched the woman’s pale skin. Nothing happened. The patterns and whorls under Kyla’s own skin didn’t respond to the woman’s touch.
“Maybe your essence was responding to your own magic from when you put her to sleep?”
“Possibly. Don't mention her being marked by the Goddess to anyone. Including that mate of yours,” Savine said as he slipped a piece of hair from the woman’s face. Her braid had come loose and strands of her golden hair cascaded under her strange head covering. It lookedlike a hat, but like none that he’d ever seen. It even depicted a picture of the mountains outside his tent, but not quite. The colors were wrong, more grey than purple. And there was a city drawn in tiny details.
“I'll keep nothing from Garnel. You know better than to expect me to hold a secret from my mate. You have no idea how impossible that would be,” Kyla said as she shook her long, braided hair.
Savine rolled his eyes and huffed. His body towered over the bed, and his essence stirred in annoyance. “Your loyalty is tome. His loyalty is to me as well, but after his behavior today, I do not know how often you both jeopardize that loyalty. Do not bring up the Goddess mark to Garnel. If it naturally happens, then fine. Tell him.”
“Fine. I will place a glamour on the mark once I’ve stitched her head wound. Now, get out,” Kyla huffed back. She turned her back on her brother and began gathering herbs and balms from the wooden shelf behind her.
“And why should I do that?” Savine said back to his sister as he scoffed at her. Despite him being forty-five years older than her, Kyla had always had a way of bossing him around.
“I would hate to have this poor human wake up and be face to face with a terrifying Latian warrior like yourself, brother. Now, go do whatever a domineering warlord does in his free time and wait for my say to return.” Kyla sneered. She always wanted to get the upper hand on Savine. But she had a point. There was no reason to scare the woman. Goddess knows he’d already done that when he plopped that loyalist’s head in her lap.
“As you wish, my sister.” Savine bowed as he walked toward the tent’s door.
Chapter five
Avery
Avery tried to stretch her aching arms above her head. Pain jolted through her right shoulder, and she looked down to see it immobilized to her side. As she stirred, she opened her aching eyes and struggled to comprehend her surroundings. She took in an herbal-scented breath as consciousness returned to her. Everything was fuzzy. She couldn’t remember what had happened or where she should be. She was in some sort of dimly lit space with soft bedding and what appeared to be white walls.
That’s when the previous events came rushing back to her with sudden clarity.
That nightmare with the enormous men fighting with swords wasn’t real. Maybe the bear wasn’t even real. No, the bear definitely was real. She must have blacked out and was now in the hospital. Maybe the bright light and men with swords were an adverse reaction to some medication?
Avery stumbled out of bed, falling to the ground. Her ears rang, and nausea rocked through her. She touched her forehead gently, feeling a massive bump and stitches. Below the gash, her skin felt itchy and strangely more solid than the rest of her skin.
She pulled herself off the ground, leaning on the bed as she noticed she wasn't wearing her own clothing. She wore some sort of dress, with long, oversized sleeves and a hem that reached her ankles. Itwas a plain cream color and had embroidered flowers on the cuffs and collar.
Things weren’t adding up. Where was her IV? What was that herbal smell wafting through the room? She touched the soft blankets on the bed and realized they were, in fact, furs.
Furs of a dead animal.
In her bed.
Avery let out a squeak of trepidation and continued her assessment of the surroundings. This room wasn’t a room at all, but a canvas tent. The tent was large, with a bed at least the size of a king-size bed against the back wall of the tent. There was a dresser and shelves. The shelves were filled with glass bottles holding vials of liquid and dried herbs.
Strange, floating orbs hung on the top of the tent. They didn’t appear to be wired, but floated in midair. She noticed more of the glowing orbs on top of the dresser and side tables. Floating in the air? Surely not.
