Genesis (20 page)

Something about his unease bothered me,
especially the darkness behind his expression. He clearly didn’t
trust Jett; yet if I wasn’t safe with the captain of the fae army,
who would I be safe with? I gave him a short smile. “Thanks for
your concern, but I’ve been just fine. I would have been much
better if I had actually gotten to spend some time with
Mo—”

Luke interrupted me as if he hadn’t
been listening to a word I was saying. “It will be good to have you
within my lands.”

Okay? That was a weird thing to say.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it. Nothing about Faeresia has been
predictable so far, and I’m sure that applies to your realm,
too.”

He shrugged. “Altasia is magical. I
think you will enjoy your stay. If only we had more time, yet I do
understand Tabitha’s hesitance to delay…”

You couldn’t have pulled my attention
away from him for all the chocolate in Belgium…well, maybe. Why had
he stopped? “Go on,” I said.

Jett bent around Queen Kalista. “He has
said quite enough already. Isn’t that right, Luthais?”

Luke pushed back from the table and
raised an ankle to his knee. “I apologize, Jafan. I find Rayla
distracting.”

Jett smiled humorlessly. “Don’t we
all?”

A trumpet sounded, and everyone at the
table looked to the man on the steps. His voice carried throughout
the space. “Queen Alithea. King Theran.”

My heart jumped. “Mom?”

Luke snapped his neck toward me. “I
thought you denounced her as your mother.”

I would never do such a thing again. I
didn’t care who knew about it. I needed my mom, and no one here was
going to stop me from having her in my life. I gave Luke a shrug.
“When I first saw her, I thought she couldn’t be my mom, she only
looks a couple years older than me.”

He grunted, giving me a compassionate
stare. “You must long to spend time with her.”

I sighed. “You have no
idea.”

Luke clasped my fingers and ran his
thumbs distractingly along my wrists. “We could delay our departure
for a day.”

I looked straight into his heavenly
eyes. “You would do that?”

He smiled. “Rayla, I would do anything
for you.”

Without hesitation a grin sprang along
my lips. “Thank you.”

A woman’s voice interrupted our
conversation. “Luthais, I do not think that wise. As it is, we only
have three days with Rayla. We cannot afford—”

Luke cocked his head. “If
Rayla wishes to linger another day in Eldrea, we
will
accommodate
her.”

The queen of Altasia nodded and turned
back to her conversation with Jett. Seems Cassie was right about
the lords being the true rulers of the kingdoms. Jett peeked around
her and gave me a slight smile. I doubted anyone else would have
even noticed. Putting that aside, I shrugged. More time with Mom. I
was all for it.

Mom headed toward me, so I stood and
raced over to her. Not even thinking about it, I threw my arms
around her neck. I didn’t care that the whole room watched us. I
also didn’t care that her jerk for a husband scowled at me. If I
had been a bit more brazen, I would have stuck my tongue out at
him. As it was, I gave him a genuine gloat of a smile. He twirled
on his heel and marched up the steps. What was this dude’s deal? I
had never done anything to him.

My eyes narrowed, honing in on his
retreating form. That would change if he didn’t start treating my
mom right.

Mom stepped away from me. “You look
dreadful, Rayla.”

I laughed. “Uh, thanks.”

“
Haven’t you been
sleeping?”

“
I…it’s been a bit difficult
lately.” Especially with Heath showing up almost
nightly.

She hugged me again. “Oh, baby. I’m so
sorry for having to leave before. I wish I could have been here,
but—”

“
I understand, duty and all
that.” I gave her a frown. “Why didn’t you tell me you were
queen?”

She gave a quick glance around the
room. “I didn’t want to make you any more self conscious. This must
be difficult enough.”

Luke joined us. “Your highness,” he
said, taking my mom’s fingers into his. He placed a gentle kiss at
her knuckles. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and
she smiled. “Always a pleasure, Lord Luthais. I trust you are
recovering.”

Luke blanched as if surprised. “I am,
your majesty. Thank you for asking.”

Their interaction rang as more than a
little odd. I faced Mom. “Did you hear?” She raised her delicate
brows. “Luke said we could stay another day.”

Instead of overwhelming joy, the only
thing I could label her expression was concern. She faked a smile
and hugged me. “That’s wonderful, baby. I’m so pleased.”

I frowned, but Jett entered our little
circle. “Since our guests will be tarrying for the night, we’d
better get you all settled. Please follow me. I will show you to
your rooms.”

“
Thank you, Jafan,” said my
mom. “I appreciate your willingness to help.” Her cold fingers
grabbed my arm, making sure I stayed put. “Rayla will come with me.
She and I have much to catch up on.”

The minute Mom and I were alone in the
hall she pulled me tight against her for a quick hug. “We have
little time. Come.”

She led me into a small antechamber
that housed a few benches, but we didn’t stop there. She flicked
her wrist and the wall in front of me dissolved into an archway.
Something in the rigid way she carried herself told me this wasn’t
going to be the family reunion I had dreamed about.

Once through the door, the wall
reappeared. I touched her shoulder. “What is it?”

Her muscles constricted under my touch.
“I’ve never wanted you in Faeresia.” She threw her hand in the air
and groaned. “You cannot imagine the underhanded ways of the fae
race. Back alley deals have become commonplace.” Her face went
pale. “I’ve been told if you linger here, you will be taken. If
that happens, Rayla, you will get no second chances. You will be
used for your power by the one person I couldn’t stand to see have
it.”

She was talking about Ainessa, and I
should have just taken her word, but I still had so much to learn
about this place. I shook my head. “What am I supposed to
do?”

“
I know you think you are
not ready to choose a bondmate, but if you delay, you might have no
choice at all.”

I nodded, pacing a line in front of
her. I’d worried about that too. Any moment the council could
insist I bond with whomever they wanted. Was that what this was
about? She had to know what they were planning. “What if I don’t
want to bond with anyone?”

Her eyes hardened. “I can’t stress to
you how important your power is to overthrowing the Order. The only
way to accomplish such a thing is for you to be bound. As it is,
your power is volatile. You could easily hurt yourself or someone
else out of nothing more than inexperience.”

“
Is this you or the council
speaking?” She cringed. “Why didn’t I see you there?”

As if to avoid looking at me, she
stared at the painting on the wall. “I wore a glamour.” She held up
her hand when I started to speak. “So much had happened to you
already; I just wanted to save you from having to face me in front
of those people.”

“
You act as if you aren’t
one of them.”

She shied away from me. “It has been
difficult to maintain a safe distance. Theran wants to rise in the
ranks. He is hoping to overthrow Valen as chairman.”

“
Why?”

“
Power. Rayla, everything
here is about power. If anyone tells you differently they are
either delusional or lying to you.”

“
What do
you
want me to do?”

She shook her head and sighed. “I
cannot give you my observations without swaying your decision.
Heaven knows I would love to delve into the political mess I deal
with everyday, but that wouldn’t be fair to you. It would also be
forbidden. As the Nexus, you must choose.”

That was the plan, but if I could be
more certain about a few things, my decision would be much easier.
“Gibbit told me the Altasian raiders were after me.”

To my surprise, she nodded. “I’ve heard
rumors. The dark court is full of dissention. I wouldn’t be
surprised by anything that happens while you are here.”

“
So Eldrea and Altasia make
up the dark court?” How odd considering every Altasian I had seen
so far had been fair haired with blue eyes.

She smiled. “No one has explained this
to you?”

I folded my arms. “I can’t seem to get
much in the way of explanation these days.”

The five-fold symbol with its
interlacing circles emerged into the air between us, shining like
an errant star. She traced the top circle. “Air, the most buoyant
of all elements starts the cycle of creation. Fire is next and
transforms the unorganized into recognizable matter. Then comes
water, of which emerges the very essence of life. Next earth, the
stabilizing force. Last comes void, the cohesive glue that holds
everything else together. Without it, we would be nothing more than
floating molecules.”

“
Wait a minute, if void
contains all other elements, shouldn’t the Eirians have control of
all elements?” Taylor’s explanation had left me wanting. “Even if
one person couldn’t control all the elements at once, couldn’t they
have a group of people who did it together?”

Mom laughed. “They wish. That would
make a certain princess very happy. They do have small abilities
with each element, but it is no more than a flicker of power. They
don’t have the capacity to use all elements at once even with
multiple fae trying. They can only manipulate a few at a given time
which gives you a marked advantage. Their role has always been one
of management.”

“
Does that mean if I bonded
with Zach, he would have more power over each element than any
other lord would?”

Her face reflected her speeding
thoughts. “I honestly don’t know, baby. I guess he could. Are you
considering him?”

“
I’m still considering
everyone at this point. I know I could really mess this up, and I
don’t want to make the wrong decision.”

She shook her head. “I am pleased you
are taking your responsibilities seriously, yet you should not have
such worries. As your mother, I want you to make the decision that
will bring you happiness. I don’t think any of the current lords
are a bad choice.”

Nice to know, still, I didn’t miss her
unsaid but. “Even Heath?”

Her chuckle carried through the room.
“He’s been illusive at times, but he seems the good sort. Of all
the lords, I know him least.”

It was no wonder. Up until recently he
hadn’t even been at court. “What impact will my choice have on the
realms?” A shudder rippled down my body. “Will the council uphold
my decision?”

“
We would all like to know
that, Rayla. All I can tell you is, depending on what happens, we
may be facing civil war. No house is willing to give up
position.”

What kind of answer was that? “What
about your house, Mom? What exactly do you all hope to gain if I
choose Jett?”

Her smile brightened. “I had hoped your
thoughts would bring such questions. The dark court, especially the
Eldreans, have the least interaction with humans at this point in
time. We hope to alter that.

“
Once the Tuatha de Dannan
entered the race, change was not far behind. You see they found a
way to connect with humans that did not interfere with the dictates
of the creator.”

My brows shot up. “How’s
that?”

“
Through dreams, mostly. The
fluidity of the water element allows a certain link to all Earth
creatures. The goal was to bring humans out of the dark ages. To
help them see there was more to the universe than Earth. To help
them know of their own insignificance.”

“
How was that supposed to
help the fae?”

“
Ah! Here’s the best part of
the Altasian plan. Through captivating the imagination of the race,
they were able to make interaction possible because it was the
desire of the humans. For centuries, Altasians had open relations
with humans. The golden age ensued and some say the Altasians have
once again infiltrated human minds. The industrial revolution is
evidence of manipulation.”

“
Why is that a
problem?”

“
Things got out of hand with
a few mortals when other houses attempted communication, and the
fae were commanded to keep a distance. Thus came the contention we
face now. The Altasians claim if the other houses had let them do
their job, we wouldn’t be in this mess with the Order.”

Confused anyone? “I thought it was okay
for fae to influence humans.”

“
There is the slightest
difference between influence and manipulation. Influence is to set
a point to light. Manipulation makes that point seem like the only
way. If we manipulate, we take the free will from our target. This,
we cannot do.”