Page 14 of Tortured

“Yes. But they’re usually dreams.”

“No. They are reality.” The High Emrys smiles. “Though you are, or rather were, a human, I will tell you a secret. All beings who come into the universe are given a portion of the Creator’s light. Humans do not have the ability to harness the light in their heart-centers, and they cannot carry the amount of light that emrys do, but they do have discernable light in their heart-centers.”

“What does this mean?”

“Before you parted from Niawen, after she’d given you her light, something happened between you, didn’t it?”

“We escaped from Caedryn’s citadel,” I say. “She was weak. I had all her light. We waited in the city until we could safely leave at night. And we parted ways so Caedryn would follow me and she could escape.”

“And in that time together, something transpired between you two.”

Physically? Is that what she means? “I kissed her! I wasn’t going to let her go without making sure she knew how much I loved her.”

The High Emrys grins. “Yes. You unwittingly forged two bonds with her.”

“What?”

“Mental bonds and emotional bonds are quite easy to forge, and with an emrys, they often happen without meaning to.”

“But she had no light to form a bond with!” I exclaim.

“She had a drop. A single drop. Much less than even you—a human—would possess. But it was enough. Your meager lights allowed those bonds to form.”

Creator above!

“Please tell me Caedryn can’t sense our bond,” I say.

“Your bonds with her are separate from your bonds with him,” she says. “But you must be careful what you think and recall, for Caedryn will hear and sense those.”

“Just not hear and sense things directly from Niawen.”

“Yes.”

“So it will probably be better for me to limit contact with her to keep her safe,” I say.

“Probably.”

“But I can find her if I choose.”

“Yes,” the High Emrys says.

My shoulders lower as my body relaxes. These emrys and their bonds. This is nothing that I could have ever expected.

It gives me hope nonetheless.

Chapter 8

I leave the High Emrys in her grove of trees and wander back into the palace. I don’t know where I’m headed, but Aneirin finds me soon enough.

“Follow me.” He jerks his head. “This way.”

I hurry after him. I marvel at the peacefulness in the hallways. No busyness like in my father’s palace. Here, as we pass others, they quietly bow. No words are exchanged. There is no loud ruckus coming from the great hall from training men. As we near a room down a lone corridor, a soft murmur of voices reaches me.

The council.

“So they are ready to attack me,” I say.

“Easy, princeling.” Aneirin pauses with his hand on the knob. “They just want to know. They won’t strip you of your dignity or toss you out.”

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