The original Gods banded together and created the first five Godlings: Death, Sun, Moon, Mind and Elements.
— The book of Tevye
Airess
A Fae guard slung Taryn over his shoulder and tossed him on the ground next to Airess. She immediately scrambled over to him, despite her bound limbs and the rocking of the ship. Her shoulders slumped as she shook him. Taryn was still unconscious.
The world began to spin and her thoughts became scrambled.Frantic. Airess’ stomach folded in on itself, dread stealing her breath away. She was heaving, her bound wrists going to her chest as she fought for breath. What was wrong with him? Why wouldn’t he wake up?
Would he live?
Airess squeezed her eyes shut. No, he couldn’t die. She wouldn’t let him. Airess needed to calm herself, to fight this anxiety attack. He needed her now more than ever. She closed her mouth and began to breathe in for four seconds, then out for four seconds. Airess inhaled the salty air and focused on the seagulls cawing in the distance.
When her breaths finally evened, she took in her surroundings. They had been moved to the military ship that had stopped them, and now both sat bound in rope. The ship groaned as the Fae conversed quietly across from her.
The crowd parted as a woman, who seemed to be in her sixties, came forward.
The woman’s brown skin contrasted against the bright orange headwrap that her graying hair was pulled up in. She wore flowing pants and tunic to match. The woman leaned on a cane with a slight wobble and surveyed Airess with one brow lifted.
“State your names,” the woman demanded in the Mrkynian tongue with an accent she didn’t recognize.
“My name is Airess.” She motioned down to Taryn sheepishly. “And this is Taryn.”
The woman’s eyes widened slightly before she schooled her features into neutrality, pointing to Taryn. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know. He fell unconscious as we arrived. Please, help him. He needs a healer as soon as possible.”
Airess couldn’t read the woman’s facial expression. She blinked her Sight forward to read the woman’s intentions, but nothing came. She realized she must have still been drugged from the donstenyte arrow.
“You and your friend will be allowed in Rune temporarily due to such…oddcircumstances. I will take him to be healed, but immediately after you will be presented to the king.” the woman stated as she glanced down at Taryn, lips pursed.
“Thank you so much,” Airess began. “You have no idea–”
The woman held a hand up to stop her. “Don’t thank me yet. You have yet to meet with the king.”
Airess blinked, taken aback. She realized the weight of the woman’s words, that she was to be presented to theKingof Rune. Oh, how she was so ill prepared.
“What is your name?” Airess asked, grasping onto any bit of information she could.
“Ismene,” the woman said. “High Priestess of Eileamaid, the elemental God, and loyal member of The Obadiah.”
“The Obadiah?” Airess asked, perking up. She was so distracted with worry that she had almost lost sight of the fact that she had actually escaped. “Ma’am, I have traveled all this way to meet you. Priestess Esper Crawn helped me escape the Luciens so that I could train with you–with The Obadiah.”
Ismene’s eyes trailed down Airess’ face and landed on the locket sitting at her heart. “If that is true, you’d best explain that to the king,” Ismene said, eyes narrowing. “He will decide if you can stay here.”
Ismene turned away and left her alone with Taryn. Airess’ head whirled, grasping onto everything that had just occurred. She felt some relief, knowing that Ismene agreed to heal Taryn, whatever was wrong with him. She only hoped the king would accept them.
If he didn’t, where else could they go? There were only two continents left on this earth, and one of them wanted both of their heads. Airess swallowed. If they were cast out of Rune, it would be a death sentence. A means to their end. She looked up to the sun and prayed they would be accepted, prayed they would make it through.
Airess sat in silence the rest of the boat ride to shore. She propped up Taryn’s body as best as she could so he was leaning on her. It was as if he was asleep, his body normal, but his mind gone.
She grabbed his hand and whispered, “Please, wake up Taryn. We finally made it to your home.”
When they docked, Ismene barked orders in Runean to the soldiers on deck. They grabbed Airess by the arm and one Fae male flung Taryn over his shoulders with force. Airess tried her best to find the specific words to convey her worry. “Careful.Please.”
The Fae soldiers snickered at her broken Runean as she was escorted off the ship and to the dock–the same dock she had dreamwalked to when she saw Taryn’s past memory the night before the engagement ball.
Her eyes darted to the Waterborne Fae upon the docks, using their hands to guide water from the ocean and into the buckets nearby. It was moments like these where she started to wonder just how sentient the Dreamworld was, to show her Rune for the first time right before her escape from Luciena. Airess knew it had to be deeper than that. She didn’t believe in coincidences.
