Page 19 of Broken Lands

Someone sat down next to me, my eyes too fixated on the flames in my palms to look at who it was. Strong arms pulled me up from the floor and into their lap, cradling my body against their own. I couldn’t look away from my flames, scared that if I did, the little control I was maintaining would collapse, and I’d set the room ablaze. Even with my attention elsewhere, I recognized him from touch and smell alone.

General Brand settled me between his legs, wrapping one arm around my waist, his fingers splayed against the bare skin of my abdomen. His other arm stretched out along mine, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. The scent of whiskey and pine surrounded me as he rested his chin on my shoulder and counted. “Breathe, Riley,” he murmured, his hot breath caressing my ear, almost instantly distracting me from the panic that had been threatening to consume me and causing a different heat to bleed through my body. “In, 1, 2, 3, 4…. Out, 1, 2, 3, 4… That’s it.”

He kept counting as I focused on breathing in and out as he instructed. My heart slowly but surely returned to a normal rhythm, the deafening pounding in my ears reduced to a low thrum, and my vision cleared as the room came back into focus. The flames in my palms flickered and shrank in size. Letting go of my waist, he gathered both my hands in his, slowly forcing me to close them, extinguishing the flames altogether.

I closed my eyes, still counting my breaths, and tried to hold on to the sense of calm General Brand had helped me find. My emotions were scattered, and I could make little sense of how I was feeling. So much about my life had changed in such a short amount of time. I’d really need to work on controlling myself, especially if this was what happened when my emotions got the better of me. I could have really hurt someone.

I choked back a sob, leaning into General Brand’s embrace, my back pressing flush against his firm chest as he remained wrapped around me. Focusing on the steady rise and fall of his chest allowed me to match his breathing with my own. I wasn’t ready to move just yet, wanting to stay huddled up in his little pocket of warmth and safety.

It seemed General Brand wasn’t as cold and emotionless as he tried to portray. Little by little, he was letting me in and showing me the softness that waited just beneath his tough man act. He was both gentle and kind; it hadn’t escaped my notice that for all his hard ass fronting; he had now helped me twice. Once by physically healing me, and just now by emotionally supporting me through a panic attack of sorts.

I didn’t want to leave the cocoon of safety I had found in his arms, but as Professor Darmon relaxed and moved back to take his seat at his desk once more, I forced myself to pull away. General Brand’s hands lingered for a moment before releasing me and quickly pushing to his feet. Stretching out a hand to help me up, his eyes caught mine, something bright and hesitant shining there.

“Thank you.” I whispered, emotions warring in my chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lose control, the anger just … took over.” I lowered my eyes and took a step backwards, followed by another, before returning to my chair. I kept my gaze downcast, a little embarrassed by my outburst.

“It’s not unusual for our emotions to rule us for some time after our elemental powers are awoken. I should have kept that in mind and perhaps broached the topic of your brother more sensitively, for that I apologize.” Leaning forward on his elbows, he rested his chin on his hands, looking directly at me. “Whilst it is clearly a sensitive topic, it is one we need to discuss. I think we need to clear the air so that we can move forward on the same page. Are you okay to continue, Riley?”

I nodded, keeping my eyes downcast, hyper-focusing on a wooden knot in the front of his desk. General Brand’s stare was burning into me as he assessed me and made his own decision whether I was fit to continue. He must have declared me so, as I felt the weight of his stare lift from me and I hazarded a peek to see him turning toward the Professor.

“Are we correct to assume that you applied for ascension in a bid to find James?” General Brand asked, his voice cold and cutting once more, jarring me out of my pity party. For the love of all that was holy; he drove me crazy with his constant fluctuating between hot and cold in the blink of an eye. Maybe I was reading too much into his behavior. Maybe the fae were just a particularly moody bunch, and his mood swings had nothing to do with me. They had just said our emotions ruled us for some time, though Stefan and Bee seemed pretty normal.

They’d figured me out; there wasn’t much reason to hide the truth any longer. I belonged here more completely than if I had ascended in the usual manner. “Yes, I did. Something has happened to him, and not a single person I tried to contact about it has offered me any help. He would not disappear on me, and I know he’d be searching for me if our roles were reversed.” It was up to me to find him; I couldn’t rely on anyone else.

Professor Darmon sighed, rolling his shoulders as he stood and made his way to the window. “Ascension is the way we try to bring our communities together, a way for us to feel more at peace with the divide between us, to build and foster relationships, even trust between our species.” He was staring off into the distance as he spoke, hands clasped tightly behind his back, as though it pained him to admit what he was about to say. “It was a decent plan, in theory, but in reality, it seems prolonged exposure to our magic is detrimental to humans. Many of those that have ascended have become ill, physically, or psychologically. There are a few still here that are fine, but many have run, trying to return home and not quite making the journey; though a couple certainly have. Many of their ailments disappear when they leave our company.”

He turned back to face us, his face grave. “Some of the more advanced illnesses remain. Once we realized what was happening, we began making changes, trying to come to a solution that allowed everyone to remain happy and healthy. Hence your ascension. If a human possessed magic of their own, perhaps they would not be driven to madness in our presence.”

“We weren’t sure if it would work, if there were any humans that possessed any form of magic, and regardless, it came too late. A faction headed by some of those made ill by living among us formed together to become what you would know as…”

“The Resistance.” I said, more to myself than anything. So many puzzle pieces were coming together, answering questions I hadn’t even realized I’d needed to ask.

“Correct. They believe we are here to claim your lands as our own, and not to save it as we promised. That we are failing in our mission on purpose,” General Brand stated, frustration clear in his tone. “It has gotten to the point where, if an ascendant goes missing, they have likely joined the resistance. James’ disappearance was treated as such.”

My mind was swimming with this new information. The question of whether James might have left the fae city to join the resistance had crossed my mind multiple times. It wasn’t impossible and I guess I understood why they may have assumed so. I couldn’t quite bring myself to believe that he had. He had never expressed any unhappiness towards the fae, no inclination that he may turn against them. Hell, he’d always been the more positive of both of us, believing they were doing their best, where I’d always questioned whether they were doing anything at all.

Realizing I’d been silent for a while as I mulled over what this information could mean, I looked up to find both men staring at me, waiting for my response. “I understand why you’d treat his disappearance in that way,” I said tentatively. “Respectfully, I know my brother. If he had joined them, he would have told me, or at least let me know that he wouldn’t be in contact for a while. I just cannot believe he would leave me without a goodbye.” A sob caught in my throat, my heart aching as I allowed myself to voice those thoughts aloud.

“That may be, but it seems the resistance knows of you, Riley. The attack in the Dead Forest was well planned. They were after you and they were almost successful. It would be prudent to remain alert and consider the possibility you may not know your brother as well as you thought.” His words hung heavy in the air, the seriousness of my current situation finally settling in on me.

I was fae, or something similar, with unheard of power that I couldn’t yet seem to control. My brother was missing, maybe having joined the enemy faction, the same faction that wanted me so badly they would take me by force if they could, having already killed one of our men.

I certainly couldn’t say my life was dull.

Chapter eleven

Riley

Therestofthemeeting passed quickly. Both men really had no idea why I possessed the power that I did. They weren’t even sure whether I may be from Faerie or Earth or some other place they called the void. Eventually, deciding nothing would be discovered today, they dismissed me, advising me that my schedule would be delivered to my room this afternoon.

Wandering unhurriedly down the hallway, I headed back towards the dining hall where I was due to meet Bee for brunch. The luxury of being able to have brunch wasn’t lost on me, it was not something we’d been able to do very often back in Sommers. Our meals were set at the orphanage, we ate what we were served when it was served.

Whilst my meeting with Professor Darmon had answered some of the questions I had, I still felt strongly that the fae could do more to help and improve the conditions those living in Sommers and other human communities faced. Figuring out who to speak to about the conditions back home might be difficult. Stefan and Bee had been really open with me so far, but this topic felt sensitive and I wasn’t sure I wanted to put that kind of pressure on my new friendships.

Fiddling with my locket as I walked, lost in my thoughts, I arrived quickly at the dining hall. I spotted Bee and hurried over to join her at her table. She’d already grabbed an assortment of food from the buffet, and I plopped myself down in the chair next to her, burying my head in my hands with a groan. Lifting her head, she looked up from the heavy book she’d brought down with her eyes wide.

“What in all of Faerie is wrong with you?” She asked, surprised by my dramatic entrance.

“I lost control again,” I moaned, not bothering to lift my hands from my face.

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