Foretold (Daughters of Saraqael Book Three) (23 page)

“Oh,” she said, her eyes widening. “Thank you.” She took the seat, completely bewildered.

“What’s your other power?” Skye asked curiously as Caleb went back to leaning on the wall.

She shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I can change the color of anything organic.”

Skye’s eyes lit up. “You mean, like hair or skin?”

“Sure.”

“Cool! Can you give me a dark blue streak next to my light blue one?”

“Oh. Of course.” Evangeline waved her hand toward a strip of Skye’s hair, generating a glow of lavender light as her power surged. Then she produced a mirror and handed it to Skye so she could see the resulting streak of dark blue. “I can change it back whenever you want.”

“That is so fierce!” Skye marveled over her reflection with a wide smile. Then she put the mirror down. “May I see your hair now?”

Although she was obviously reluctant, Evangeline reached up and removed the cap. Glimmering silver hair cascaded down to between her shoulder blades. Skye sucked in an awed breath.

“How beautiful!” she declared. “Why would you cover it up?”

Blinking, Evangeline replied, “As I explained, it is unusual. It invites others to talk about me.”

“Well, I personally think they’re all jealous. You’re absolutely lovely, and I love the fact that your hair isn’t exactly like anyone else’s.”

“Why don’t you change the color if you don’t like it?” Caleb asked.

“My power doesn’t work on myself.”

Skye reached out and took one of the Lekwuesti’s hands with a smile. “I happen to think your hair is perfect, Evangeline. And perhaps when the others realize that it was at least in part because of your hair that you will be pairing with one of Saraqael’s daughters, they’ll stop talking about it in a negative way.”

“You…want to pair with me?” Evangeline’s voice reflected incredulity.

“If you’d welcome it.”

The happy tears in Evangeline’s eyes were all the answer Skye needed.

James couldn’t form a coherent thought. His heart thundered mercilessly in his chest. He heard his blood pulsing in his head as he struggled to breathe. He knew if he opened his eyes that his vision would be a complete blur.

It was absolute ecstasy.

Eventually, though, he pulled himself away from Olivia’s delicious and consuming kiss. He pressed her against his chest as they both tried to catch their breath and some semblance of control. It was a wonder they hadn’t fallen from the tree they had climbed nearly half an hour before, after Caoilinn had left them in the forested park to explore on their own. They hadn’t been in the tree long before Olivia had climbed onto his lap, wrapped her long legs around his waist and promptly made him lose all track of time.

She laughed against his chest.
Sorry
, she thought with a great deal of humor and no remorse.

He smiled and hugged her tighter, rubbing a hand down her back.
I can’t think of a better way to spend a free hour than making out with my wife
, he returned, using the human term she had taught him.

Laughing again, she pulled back a bit and caught his gaze. “Well, thanks for letting me distract you.”

“It was truly my pleasure,” he said. He kissed her again, lightly this time. “But Gabriel and Caleb said your sisters have just finished pairing with their Lekwuesti. We’re supposed to go and meet them.”

She nodded. “And then it’s time for the ritual, right?”

“Yep. And since you all only slept about an hour at the Orculesti homeland, we’re hoping you’ll only need half that time to rest here. We can head right to the Corgloresti homeland this evening. We’ll be done with all of the rituals by the end of the day tomorrow or the day after at this pace.”

He carefully shifted her so she could balance on a nearby branch. Then he started the climb down before her, wanting to be sure there wasn’t any danger before she left the safety of the foliage. It wasn’t long before they were both on the ground. Since he didn’t see anyone or anything around, he determined it was safe enough to move out of the park and head toward their family.

As they stepped out of the trees, Olivia brushed the twigs and debris from the skirts of her sage green sundress and then bent to adjust the strap of one of her brown sandals. Her hair was a little disordered due to his roaming hands, so he reached over to brush a couple of stray curls back into place.

His Gloresti senses surged an instant before she would have died. As though in slow motion, he went from running his fingers through her soft hair to shoving her bodily toward the ground.

He wouldn’t be able to say later what it was that alerted him to the targeted arrow. Maybe a glint of its deadly tip flashing in the sunlight. Possibly the twang of the weapon as the missile was released. But he would always remember the slice of pain that rushed through his forearm as the arrow flew past them. He would remember Olivia’s startled gasp as he shoved her off-balance and they both hit the ground. And he would remember the sight of her neck and collarbone suddenly blossoming with blood from where the arrow had managed to score her flesh despite his quick actions.

He rolled them both back into the safety of the trees within a second of hitting the ground, his protective instincts at their full height. Then he surged to his feet. As he sent out thoughts to Gabriel and Caleb, he dragged Olivia as far into the cover of the trees as he dared without getting them lost from possible aid.

The fire that burned in the wound to his forearm was incredible, all but doubling him over when it fully hit him. Knowing the pain was unusually intense, alarm coursed through him. And when he saw Olivia clutch at her neck and heard her sharp cry of pain, his alarm turned to understanding horror.

He stood in indecision for a moment, wanting to run back to the edge of the woods to see the tip of the arrow that had struck them, but not wanting to leave her side. Ultimately, his instinct to protect her overrode everything else. He fell to the ground beside her, yanked his tank top off and held it pressed against her neck. The amount of blood pouring from her injury seemed too much for a light flesh wound. He didn’t even realize that he was losing blood nearly as quickly until his head swam. It took all of his focus to keep upright.

“Where are you hurt?” Gabriel suddenly asked from right behind him.

James realized a bit blearily that he hadn’t even heard his siblings approach. How long had he and Olivia been sitting there? Clenching his jaw against his pain, he swallowed hard and lifted his tank top from her neck in answer to Gabriel’s question. They could all also see the wound on his forearm when he pulled away from her.

Olivia’s cry this time was almost hoarse. Because Gabriel was right beside her, she grabbed his pant leg as she thrashed on the ground. He knelt beside her.

“Hang on, Liv,” he said in calm tones. He looked up as Amber knelt beside her.

James heard Gabriel’s thought toward his wife as he looked back and forth between him and Olivia:
Their eyes
. As another intense wave of pain hit him, provoking a choked scream that started in the back of his throat as he fought it back, he looked more closely at Olivia’s eyes. The normally green irises were ringed with black. His worst fears were confirmed.

Skye hurried over to his side. As Amber sliced her palms with Gabriel’s dagger and held her hands over Olivia’s neck and collarbone with her healing light flaring, Skye wiped her wet cheeks with her hands, then sliced her own palms. She reached out and held her hands over James’ wound, causing a different wash of light. The relief was almost instantaneous.

She gave him a small smile. “It’s the best I can offer.”

“I’ll take it,” he said, trying to keep his raging emotions in check. He focused his gaze on Olivia as Skye leaned forward to keep her tears falling onto this injury. Light ebbed and flowed.

Caleb walked up then, his expression dangerous. James shifted his glance briefly to his brother and realized he had gone to the edge of the woods to scout for further danger. He had also recovered the arrow. He held it pointing down, its black tip easily visible. James clenched his jaw against his rage as he looked back toward Olivia.

That was when he realized that Amber looked troubled. Perspiration covered her face as she leaned over Olivia, who was now clutching her abdomen and sobbing. A fresh wave of fear rushed through him.

The baby.

Skye knew she had done everything she could for James. The fact that her blood was immune to the curse combined with her easily flowing tears had sealed his injury and reversed the effects of the curse on him in amazingly short time. It also helped that the curse hadn’t had very long to take hold. Where once his dark blue eyes had been ringed in black, they were now clear. His forearm now had a thin red scar very similar to Amber’s, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about that. She guessed Amber might be able to remove it.

Suddenly, he wrenched his arm from her grip, his attention focused on Olivia. She glanced at her sisters and realized immediately what had caused his reaction.

She scrambled to Olivia’s side as Amber started pulling Olivia’s skirt up, ultimately baring her waist to her healing touch. Skye’s vision was blurred by her tears, but she saw the blood spotting her sister’s thighs. She heard the anguished sound that James made. Caleb knelt beside his brother and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Gabriel held Olivia’s hand in a fierce grip.

I don’t know if I have enough energy left to save the baby
, Amber thought toward Skye. Tears were trailing down her cheeks, blending with sweat. They caught each other’s gazes.

Skye nodded resolutely.
We can do this. They will not take this baby from her.

She took the dagger, and before anyone could stop her, ran it over the soft skin of Olivia’s lower abdomen. It caused her to cry out in further pain and shock, though she surely sensed Skye’s intent because she was projecting it. Then, rather than using her still-bleeding palms, Skye ran the dagger across her right wrist, directly across the mark that rested there.

When she leaned over Olivia’s new wound to combine her tears and the blood from her wrist, the resulting light blossomed blue-green.

Olivia bucked in response, then came to rest. She shifted her tear-filled gaze to her sisters. “I think it’s working,” she said in a whisper.

“Come on,” Skye said, looking around her. Amber had already run the dagger across her wrist and was leaning over Olivia. Blue-green light again flared. “All of you.”

James hurried to take the dagger from Amber. His tears had started flowing the moment he saw Olivia’s condition, so he was ready to do what he could to help his wife and unborn child. Skye felt Caleb tap into her emotions to bring forth the tears he needed and watched Gabriel close his eyes to do the same.

The sounds of footfalls neared them as Gabriel pressed his wrist to Olivia’s abdomen. Skye looked up as the elders surrounded them. Without a word, Ini-herit found a place beside Olivia and waited until Gabriel pulled his hand away before he held his own hands to her waist.

Silver light flowed from his touch. The dagger wound healed. The Corgloresti elder kept his eyes closed in concentration. Skye held her breath as her tears continued to flow.

After a long moment, the silver light stopped. Ini-herit opened his eyes.

“It would seem the baby has a strong will,” he said to Olivia. “You are both fine.”

It took almost an hour for all of them to once again compose themselves and regroup. Skye was completely drained. She gathered with her siblings and the elders in a large house that she learned belonged to the Lekwuesti lieutenant, Hinto. He had unquestioningly opened his doors to Sebastian when the elder approached. They now all sat somberly around his large dining table. Some of them were standing.

Centered in the middle of the table was a piece of ivory parchment. Its ends were curled and it was splattered with James and Olivia’s blood. The arrow had been used to project the parchment to them.

Its message was brief: “I will not stop unless you stop me. –G.”

Skye stared down at the strangely elegant and flowing script as though it would bring answers. Her hands were pressed together in her lap. Her eyes felt gritty and sore from her many tears. She was sure she looked as wrecked as her sisters, who had wept along with her. Even their husbands looked emotionally wrought.

“This message comes from Grolkinei, but he did not cast the arrow himself,” Uriel said at last.

“Absolutely not,” Jabari agreed. “That would be impossible since Mercesti cannot see or find our stronghold.”

“And he would not have stopped with one arrow,” Ini-herit added.

There was another round of silence. Skye kept her gaze on the parchment. She felt Caleb’s hand move to her back. She appreciated the show of comfort and leaned against his side.

“We detected no conversions within the homeland,” Sebastian said. He waited for Malukali and Knorbis to nod in agreement. “The being who shot that arrow should have converted to Mercesti.”

“Only a Mercesti would have access to a cursed weapon such as that,” Uriel said. “The evidence implies that it was a Mercesti who shot the arrow. But how would they have gotten past our guard?”

Gabriel shook his head. “We all know Mercesti can’t get through the protections. It’s impossible. We also know there are non-Mercesti Estilorians who want the daughters of Saraqael dead. It isn’t a big stretch to guess that one of us is in league with the Mercesti.”

Heads turned. James and Caleb both nodded.

“You are suggesting…a traitor?” Jabari said. His brows were drawn in concern.

“It’s the only answer that makes sense,” Gabriel said. He was holding Amber’s hand on top of the table. He exchanged a look with her.

“The being who shot the arrow didn’t intend to kill Olivia,” she said in a quiet voice.

“It was a cursed weapon and it struck her neck,” Ini-herit argued. “How could that not be intended to kill her?”

“Amber and I survived the curse,” Skye said. “Whoever shot it probably knew that.”

“And the arrow was shot low,” Caleb added. “James said earlier that Olivia was bent down the moment the arrow reached her. I think the fact that it struck her neck was an accident.”

“Not to mention the fact that James sensed the arrow and immediately moved to intervene, as he is innately attuned to do,” Gabriel concluded. “Whoever shot the arrow knew Olivia would probably survive.”

“That is why the assailant did not convert,” Zayna said with wide, disbelieving eyes. “He or she shot the arrow without intent to kill.”

“Whoever it is,” Knorbis said after a moment, “They are highly skilled at masking their thoughts. Malukali and I have not intercepted any such intentions. Even general negative thoughts regarding Amber, Olivia and Skye have greatly diminished as we have visited the homelands.”

Malukali nodded. “As Estilorians meet the sisters, they realize the negative myths and rumors about them are all false. There is general delight surrounding their existence now.”

There was more silence. James eventually broke it. “Are there any Orculesti or Wymzesti skilled in the use of a bow and arrow?”

“Why do you ask?” Knorbis wondered.

“We appear to be looking for a being skilled enough to mask his or her thoughts from you and wield a bow with enough ability to hit a target from a great distance.”

Ini-herit nodded. “So the most likely options are either an Orculesti or Wymzesti skilled in the use of a bow, or a Gloresti, Corgloresti or Waresti skilled at masking their thoughts.”

“That leaves an awful lot of options,” Amber said dryly.

“I can think of no one who fits those particular criteria,” Knorbis said. “But I will certainly look into it further.”

“We’re headed to the Corgloresti, Gloresti and Waresti strongholds,” Gabriel said. He looked at his wife and siblings. “We’ll be particularly on-guard. And I’ll be paying attention to the demeanors of everyone we encounter.” Then he looked at Malukali and Knorbis.