Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) (19 page)

The eagle bearing Titus and another warrior
Fae
swooped close to her and Rothatin’s owl, close enough for her to see Titus’ warm smile and expression of sympathy. Selena lowered her gaze. She’d been hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell that she’d cried her eyes out all night, but Titus was entirely too perceptive for that. He reached out for her hand and she placed her palm in his. The two warrior
Fae
exchanged glances and nodded, keeping their birds close enough so
that they
could talk.

“You did the right thing,” Titus said gently. “It wasn’t safe for them to continue on with us.”

Selena knew that he was right, but that didn’t make her feel any better
about having sent Zoe and Rose back home that morning. Yet, looking at Titus now only reminded her of what Adrah had shown her within the Eye of Goldun. It reminded her of his fate if she were to leave like she wanted to. That, coupled with the long talk she’d had with Rose
the night before
,
had sealed the deal.
Her grandmother’s words stuck with her now, hours later.

“I didn’t see much of you at the party,
sweet pea
.”

Selena looked up from where she sat on an ornate, silver, cushioned stool in front of a low vanity and mirror, brushing her tangled hair. She felt a smile curling at her lips as pixie dust rained down onto the table and into her lap. Even after the terrible things she’d seen within the Eye, Titus’ kiss remained on her lips, tingling with remembrance.

Rose chuckled. “Oh, so that’s where you’ve been. I should have known.”

“It wasn’t like that
,
Gram.”

Rose shook her head and sat on the edge of Selena’s bed. “Of course it is. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t r
emember the good ol’ days when
Jeb McClendon and I used to park his Chevy at Lookout Point and neck.”

Selena swiveled on her stool and turned to face Rose. “Okay, first, no one calls it necking anymore. Second
…
Jeb McCendon?
Ew
! And third, is there even a place in Twin Oaks called Lookout Point?”

“I will have you know that Jeb was the quarterback of the football team and best looking guy in school
in his day. And if there was a place in Twin Oaks
called Lookout Point, I sure as
shootin’ wouldn’t tell you where it is.”

Selena shrugged. “Well in Goldun they call it Pixie Point and it’s magical.”

Rose’s face was suddenly serious. “Making out with that cute
Werewolf
boy isn’t the only thing that happened
,
is it? I saw you coming back to the party with Queen Adrah. Something is wrong.”

Selena frowned. “Gram, how do you do that?”

Rose shrugged. “Years of practice. Besides, I raised you! I know you inside and out and I definitely know when something is bothering you.”

“It’s this whole princess of a nation thing. And the long lost parents thing.
And the prophe
c
y thing.
So really, it’s everything.”

“Feeling a little uncertain, huh?”

“Uncertain is an understatement. I’m downright scared, Gram. I mean, these people expect me to fight and I don’t know the first thing about fighting. All I know is running, and as far as I know running away never helped anyone.”

“Honey, you’
ve just solved your own problem.
”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about what you just said. ‘As far as I know, running away never helped anyone’. If you get back on that ship and let those Grimm fellas take you home, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.”

Selena stood, too restless to remain sitting. Her feet itched to move and she paced to keep the urge to run at bay.

“I don’t understand. You want me to stay here with these people; lead them in their battle? Gram, that means I can’t go home with you. Maybe I never will.”

Rose nodded. “I know. I am prepared for that.”

Her voice was sure
,
but Selena detected the sadness in her eyes. It glistened in the form of tears.

“I can’t leave you, Gram. You’re all I have in the world.”

Rose shook her head. “No. You have a mother and a father who lost you tragically. They didn’t abandon you, Selena, you were stolen from them. Seventeen years later they
now
have a chance to see you, to know that you’re all right. As a mother who has lost a child, I know exactly how they must be feeling. I could never take that hope away from them and be so selfish as to ask you to come back with me. You belong here
,
Selena.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because for years I’ve watched you struggle to fit in with the other kids. I’ve watched you try to deal with being different and I could see that you felt like less than the rest of them. Granted, I didn’t know why you were so different until a few d
ays ago, but still. You can be yourself here
,
Selena. You can reach your full potential. You say that you don’t know how to fight, but I wonder if maybe you’re wrong about that. How could you know when you’ve never had the chance to learn?”

“Adrah thinks that I should travel to Damu and meet my father. She thinks that the journey will change me somehow.”

Rose nodded. “I agree with Adrah.”

“You can’t go with me, Gram, you or Zoe. It’s too dangerous.”

Rose stood and wrapped Selena in her arms, transporting Selena back to the days when she was a kid with pigtails and her head only came up to her grandmother’s waist. Now, her chin rested on Rose’s shoulder.

“I love you
,
Gram.”

“I love you
,
too
—
” Rose pulled away and stared up at Selena with tear filled eyes “
—
Eladria.”

The memory of the conversation and the resulting drop-off of Zoe and Rose almost brought tears to Selena’s eyes again. She choked them back and tried to focus on the positives. Her grandmother and best friend were now safely on their
way
back to Earth; Jake and Wil had seen to that. Their ship departed
from
Goldun first thing that morning, after Selena had taken the time to explain to them, Zoe
,
and Adrah that she had decided to stay.

“If there’s going to be some kind of
Werewolf
wedding, I want an invitation,” Zoe had said jokingly before boarding the Grimm brothers’ flying steamship.

Selena shook her head and laughed. “You are seriously twisted
.”

Zoe shrugged. “Someone’s gotta keep things interesting in Twin Oaks.”

Her friend was suddenly serious as she leaned in to grasp Selena in a tight hug. “It won’t be the same without you.”

Selena had hugged Zoe back and tried not to cry. She’d already spent hours the night before mourning the loss of
the familiar.

“No, but if Adrah is right, neither will this place and neither will Titus.”

Zoe pulled away and swiped tears away with the back of her hand before attempting a smile. “Oh, the things we do for boys.”

Selena had glanced over her shoulder to where Titus stood, leaning against a tree and watching the exchange. She shivered and looked away quickly at the all too perceptive gleam in his eyes.

No, Titus was definitely
not
a boy. His talk of mates and destiny scared the crap out of her, while thrilling her at the same time. She wasn’t sure what it all meant just yet, but if staying in Fallada meant more kisses with Titus under the Pixie tree, then maybe it wouldn’t all be as terrifying as she thought.

“There’s a lot more at stake here,” she answered, even knowing that Titus had been the main reason she stayed.

Zoe nodded. “I know. Give ‘em hell
,
Selena.”

And just like that, they were gone
;
on board the steamship
and streaking across the morning sky
. For Zoe and Rose it was the journey home. For the gray and wrinkled Brothers Grimm it was a double assignment. The Eye of Goldun had possibly located another one of Fallada’
s missing princesses. They were hoping to return with her. Selena had tried her best to ignore the smug expression on Wil’s face as he wished her good luck. Darn him, he had known all along that she would choose to stay!

“Princess.”

Rothatin’s deep voice intruded upon her thoughts.

“We are nearing Damu.”

All thoughts of flying ships and smug German writers disappeared as Selena turned toward the horizon in front of them. The gasp that escaped her throat gave voice to her awe at the beauty that was the desert of Damu.

The light of the sun seemed to take on several colors at once, adding to Selena’s amazement over Fallada’s vibrant hues. The sky was a stunning mix of pink, wispy cloud against a blue backdrop. Sand glittered like gold as far as the eye could see, and sloping dunes dotted the horizon beyond. The gleaming city sat miles away, its
curved
rooftops reminding her of pictures she’d seen of
India
. The largest building had to be a royal palace, she decided, as her eyes fixed on the towering, red domed rooftops. They matched the ruby dangling from the chain around her neck.
Setting eyes on the building caused something to resonate within her. It expanded outward from her chest until she was vibrating with it. Her gaze remained fixed there as the
Fae
landed their birds right on the line where the green grass ended and the golden sand began. Selena frowned as Rothatin dismounted and offered her his hand.

“Why are we landing here?” Selena asked as she reluctantly reached for Rothatin’s hand.

“The heat of Damu is too much for them without the protection of adequate cloud cover,” Rothatin answered, stroking the feathers of his owl affectionately. “They will return to Goldun and we will continue on foot.”

Selena eyed the city in the distance and sighed. It would take a full day, maybe more, to reach it. Titus hopped down from his eagle and the rest of their party—twelve warrior
Fae
in all—followed suit.

“You know, if you guys hadn’t created that wall, Fallada would probably have cars,” Selena grumbled.

Rothatin shot her a glance that told Selena he was not amused. Selena shrugged.

“Zoe would have laughed.”

Titus came up beside her and threaded his fingers through hers.

I thought it was funny.

Selena leap
t
nearly a mile in the air at the sound of Titus’ voice. He was smirking at her, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. His lips hadn’t moved and Selena was pretty sure that voice had been in her head.

“Did you just do what I think you did?”

Titus nodded. His voice intruded again.

Yes.

“Do all
Werewolves
have the power to talk to people inside their minds?”

No. It is a psychic bond shared by
W
ere
-
males with their mates.

Selena’s heart hammered into double time as the weight of what Titus just said settled in. Her hand trembled in his.

“I don’t understand.”

When a male
Werewolf
comes in contact with his true mate, the bond is almost instant. Over time, it grows stronger, until the two are able to communicate telepathically.
As it grows stronger, emotions can even be shared.

Selena swallowed past the lump in her throat and resisted the impulse to run screaming
in
to the hills.

“So, you’re saying that I have this ability
,
too
?
”

Titus smiled and squeezed her ha
n
d. He pulled her closer and wrapped his free arm around her waist.

“You have to concentrate,” he said out loud. “After a while it will become like second nature to you, but at first you will have to think about it. Reach out toward me with your mind and form your thoughts. Project them at me
…
sort of like throwing a ball to someone. You throw it, my mind catches it.”

Selena stared up into Titus
’
sapphire gaze, locked in by the intensity of his stare. He looked back at her, his arm tight around her as he waited.

Like this?

Selena’s voice echoed between them, echoing from the walls of her mind as if she’d spoken aloud. She could tell by Titus’ smile that he’d heard it
,
too.

You did it. You’re a fast learner, Selena.