Temperance (8 page)

“Then where are we? Did you find out?”

This was the time to either deny everything she’d seen or…what?
Believe this man?
 

Those options didn’t exactly instill much confidence in her own sanity, but as Siobhan continued to stare her down, Naeve decided that maybe now was a good opportunity to offer her sisters a bit of hope. Something that would maybe make what she was about to say easier to swallow.

“Naeve?”

“I don’t think we were drugged.”

Siobhan sat up further and brushed her hands along her pants. “Okay. But where are we?”

It was now or never. She just had to spit it out, like ripping off a Band-Aid.
 

“Arcania.”

Siobhan’s amber eyes peered back at her, and then she frowned. “What?”

“Arcania,” she repeated again and watched her sister rub her temple as she continued to look at her.
 

“Did you hit your head as hard as me? Because it sounds like you just said, ‘Arcania.’”

Naeve nodded as she saw Audra and Fiona begin to move. “I did say that.”

“I don't get it, then. What is Arcania?”

“Actually, you should really be asking her
where
it is. It’s a place, not a thing.”

As Bastian’s voice echoed throughout the cave, Siobhan’s eyes scanned the area and she began to scoot back. Naeve reached out and touched her knee, hoping to calm her.

“It’s okay, Siobhan.”

“Like hell it is. Who the fuck is that?”

There was a low whistle in the darkness and then a chuckle. “Well, she has a mouth on her, doesn't she?”

Naeve whipped her head to the side and glared over in the direction she knew the smug man was standing. “You’re not helping. Give us a minute, would you?”

“Just one?” he inquired.
 

Naeve decided that, if he could read her mind, then he’d get,
How about you
disappear
until I’m ready?

“Just making sure. With me, you’d best learn to be specific, cousin.”

“Or what?” she snapped out loud this time.

“Or,” he drawled, “you never know what could happen.”

Before she could question him or stand up to yell, he disappeared. Literally faded into nothing.
 

Holy shit.
Where did he—

“Who was that, Naeve? And where the fuck did he go?” Siobhan’s questions were delivered like accusations.

“Ah…” Naeve hedged, trying to find the right words to explain Bastian—and
any
words to explain what she didn’t know.

“Naeve?”

Saving her from actually having to speak was the sound of feet moving across the ground. Fiona took a seat beside Siobhan, and Audra knelt down next to her. They each looked at one another and then reached out to hold hands, forming a small circle of four.
 

She remembered their mother telling them when they were children that, no matter what, they must always stick together. Nothing could come between the four of them.
 

Born together, they were united. She was forever reminding them that they were each different and possessed unique personalities they should be proud of. And as Naeve sat there with her sisters, she knew she had to tell them what she’d seen.

“This is going to sound really strange,” she started out softly. “That man, the one who was just talking? Well, he showed me something. Something I can’t explain.”

“What?” Audra asked as she squeezed her fingers tighter around Naeve’s. “What did he show you?”

Naeve swallowed, and her eyes nervously roved over them as she realized how insane her next words were going to sound. “He showed me our mother.”

“What?” Siobhan asked. “You mean she’s here?”

“No. No,” she answered, quickly shaking her head.

“Then what do you mean he showed you—”

“In his palm,” she interrupted before she lost her nerve. “There is this light and it glows, and he showed me our mother back when she was young and pregnant with us.”

“
Ooo
kay. Do you know how crazy you sound? I think you hit your head harder than the rest of us.”

“No,” Naeve insisted, staring across at Siobhan. “I know what I saw, what he did.”

“What he
did
? Are you listening to yourself?” Siobhan asked as if she’d totally lost her mind.
 

Hell, maybe I have.

“Who is this guy, anyway?”
 

“His name is Bastian. He reads minds and does…does this magic stuff with his hands and the light.”

“I don’t want to sound mean, Naeve. But do you really believe that?” Fiona finally asked.

“Yes, I do. I know I sound crazy—trust me. But he can show you. Just like he showed me.”

She let go of their hands and called out Bastian’s name, and as they sat there and waited in silence, Naeve could feel her sister’s eyes on her as absolutely nothing happened.

* * *

Bastian took full form back up in the shadows of the Sequoia. He had to contact his father’s guards and let them know he’d secured the women. He should have really done it when he’d first arrived, but having never left the castle before—or even his chambers for that matter—he’d been curious.
 

So he’d taken a few minutes—
maybe more than a few
—and spoken to Naeve, the first of the four to wake.

What exactly does the Empress want with them?
From what Bastian understood, it couldn’t be anything good—not when it came to Seraphine.

Marked by the Guardians, like himself, he and Seraphine were two of the very few sensualeers known to the public. Their kind possessed certain abilities that the people of Arcania had been taught to fear ever since the legendary battle with Caitlin. That apprehension was one of the many reasons he’d been locked away since he was born and others like him remained in hiding.
 

She, however, had been crowned Empress and was known as ‘the ruler without mercy.’ She governed with brute intimidation to get what she wanted, solidifying the fears of the people when it came to their kind. Tyrannical and unloving, she had made sure that the people of Arcania shared her desolate fate—nothing was sacred.
 

Bastian settled into the crook of the tree and closed his eyes as he searched out the link he was seeking. The art of communication through one’s mind was one of the first skills he’d perfected. He’d forged many different paths over the years. Some out of boredom and some without permission, but he’d never had to establish one with someone so antagonistic towards the idea—someone like his father’s head guard.
 

The man’s mind was a steel trap. One which he never unlocked. In other words, Bastian had to knock and wait for the door to be answered. So when he sent out the link, he was surprised to feel the almost instant connection.

Knowing of Ry’Ker’s stern reputation and his intense dislike of
what
Seraphine was, Bastian assumed that he was regarded with the same disgust, so he didn’t bother with pleasantries.
 

We’re in the Taise Forest. On the East bank of the Hei Falls.
 

There was no acknowledgment, just a slight change of direction in the soldier's thoughts and true to his nature, Bastian couldn’t help but latch on to it.
 

Kai knows where it is.

I don’t believe I asked.
The clipped response was cold and direct, and it left Bastian annoyed enough to fire back.

Then stop thinking about it so hard. Your brother will lead you here. Make sure you follow.

The second he thought it, Bastian felt the guard sever the connection.

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Siobhan started out slowly, as if she were talking to a deranged person. “This man, this stranger, who brought us here…is here to help us? And as an added bonus, he can do magic tricks? Really, Naeve?”

When Siobhan said it like that, Naeve thought she sounded batshit crazy too.

“I can't explain it. He said that we were brought here by…” She hesitated over the word ‘Empress’ because it seemed so, well, weird
.
“By someone, but he didn’t give a name. And he says we are part of an Imperial Family. Oh…and that Aunt Rhiannon, get this, has been missing for years and so has Mom.”

Siobhan finally stood and started to pace. “I'm sorry, Naeve. But you sound demented.”

“Yes, she does. Doesn't she? But she is telling you the truth.”

Spinning on her toes, Siobhan turned to face where Bastian now stood with a long, thick branch that was lit at one end.
 

As the rest of them stood, Naeve noticed he was dressed the same as before in those lightweight pants and nothing more. He moved to take a step closer, and Siobhan backed away.

“Don't come any closer to us.”

“Or what?” he asked.
 

Naeve winced as she thought of all the things Siobhan would be thinking—case in point.

“I don't think
kicking my ass
would be beneficial at this point in time. Although I'd like to see what that entails.”

Siobhan bravely took a step forward, but Naeve grabbed her arm.
 

“Stop it,” she murmured. “I believe him.”

Siobhan glared at her and then moved her eyes to her other mute sisters.

“They are starting to believe me also,” Bastian interjected. “Just so there’s no reason to speculate.”

Siobhan’s shoulder’s stiffened, and she turned back to face the stranger across from her. “Okay, then. Since you’re the strapping young man here to save us, why don’t you lead the way out of here?”

Bastian raised the branch he was holding and then dug it into the dirt below his feet so it stood upright. “Because you have it all wrong, cousin. I’m not here to save you.”

As the final word left his mouth, he raised his hand in an arcing sweep across the space before them. An intricate mirage appeared, the fire from the branch forming the shapes and shadows of people and villages; it was a map of a world they'd never known existed. Turning back to face them, he said fiercely, “But my father seems to think that you are all here to save them.”

Kai stood in the archway of the Hall and watched his men move around in silence. A little over an hour ago, he’d given the order that they were moving out at nightfall.
 

Since then, Marcus had taken charge in gathering their weapons and having the food readied, while Ry’Ker had begrudgingly taken a seat in the far corner of the room.

It was odd to look at a man and know that you were of the same blood yet not be able to recognize anything about him. That was how Kai felt as he looked at the stranger in the corner.
 

Ry’Ker had removed his helmet and body armor, and even then, the man who came into view was no one he remembered. His head was shaved, as were all the Imperial Guards, and his face was grave. The laughing boy he’d grown up with was long gone, but then again, he was not the same either. Not by any means.

He walked into the room and looked over the weapons laid out on the table. Axes, crossbows, and swords were all strewn across the large expanse, and as he ran his fingertips along the edge of the sturdy bench, he came to the final piece of weaponry—his favorite by choice.
 

The arrow and longbow.

Almost as tall as he was, this particular bow he’d crafted with his own two hands. Just as he had with the arrows, which sat neatly beside the quiver he’d modified to strap to his back.
 

He picked one of them up and continued over to where Ry’Ker was seated. After running his fingers along the smooth wood of the shaft, he stopped in front of his brother and pressed his fingertip against the sharp head.

“Have you heard anything on the location of the women?”

RyKer’s eyes found his as he answered, “Yes. Just now.”

“Si’Bastian, I presume?”

His brother gave him a suspicious look and asked, “How would you know it was him?”

Kai felt his lip curl at the side and merely shrugged. “I grew up at L’Mere just like you. Or have you forgotten, brother?”

Ry’Ker stood from the chair he’d been keeping warm and fumed at him. “Of course I haven’t forgotten. I was merely unaware that you’d made such close friends with the resident
sensualeer
.” His voice grated over the final word as he moved to stand toe-to-toe with him. “In fact, I’m surprised you even remember how to be civil enough to have friends.”

Kai took a step back and slid the arrow between his thumb and forefinger before dropping it down to his side. Slowly, he ran his eyes over the
guard
standing before him then returned to the table to place the arrow back down next to the others.

“Believe what you want, brother. But be careful who you choose to follow with those lofty expectations of yours.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Looking over his shoulder, he pinned Ry’Ker with a steely look. “Betrayal comes in many shapes and forms. Be sure you aren’t so quick to pardon some while condemning others.”

Finished with the conversation, he walked towards the door, ready to go and get suited up.