Page 31 of Of Nightmares & Fire
“Since you know that I am here, I assume that you know why I am here as well?” I ask, my tone not giving any of my frustration away. The forest is imbued with more magickal properties than any place I know of, other than the Dead Sea itself, and Kaeleith is just as old as some of the oldest trees and in many ways imbued with the same elements.
“Aye,” She smiles, a devilish smirk, her gaze wandering around the cottage as she guides me to sit in front of a fire where she has a cauldron heating over an open flame. She crouches down lower than her old bones should allow and begins stirring the liquid inside before her head tilts in my direction. “I made the balm, and I make more now. You will take it back with you. Go now, ask your questions.”
“Who did you give this balm to recently?” I question, and she smiles into the concoction as she pulls it away from the flame and onto the cooling stone just in front of a small door at the bottom of the wall. She hums thoughtfully as she pulls baubles and bottles from shelves. Pouring mixtures and grinding flowers, herbs, and elixirs together before throwing them into the mix. The boiling liquid fizzes and pops, a flame catching only for a moment, but Kaeleith doesn’t flinch. She keeps working. Her knobby hands moving in a rhythm found over time.
“Does it matter who? It clearly went to good use. I smell it on you.” She says, smiling again. “It is not all I smell on you, though, Kyros Kahzal. You have finally returned to the palace.”
“Not in the sense you may think. I don’t have time to play games with you, Kaeleith. You know why I am here; please, just tell me who came. Who did you give the balm to?” She sucks her teeth in a clicking sound before quietly using a ladle to pour the liquid into a small tin. She crumbles the familiar dried orange flower into the mortar and uses the pestle to grind the fire poppy into a dust before sprinkling that too into the tin. She whispers an incantation as she uses her magick to stir the mix with a twirl of her finger.
She does the same thing three times, a different flower for each. When she is done, her gaze drifts in my general direction, and she holds all three tins in the palm of her hand in a stack. She steps forward and pushes them into my chest.
“You will know what they are for when you need them, and youwillneed all three.” She nods again at the tins pressed over my heart more firmly, and I finally relent with a sigh and pocket the now cooled balms. “As you know, I am close with the Neer. When they come to my woods, I don’t ask them why, just as I don’t ask you. The princess, though, I have heard tales of her. The beauty she holds, both inside and out. She's curious and smart. She is not cruel like the king, though everyone has their secrets... Perhaps it’s time for you to show her something not many have. If it's trust you wish to gain, it’s vulnerability you must pay.” Narrowing my eyes on her, I think about what she is saying… I swear at times her magick allows her to look inside my mind.
“You really won't tell me who came for the balm?” I ask one more time as she ushers me to the door. Her white eyes drift to mine, and a breeze blows her gray hair across her face, and she smiles as she takes a step backward.
“Use the balms, Kyros. Don’t be the stubborn man you were forced to become. Rememberwhoandwhereyou come from. Be the man you were meant to be.” Without another word or a moment for me to think about what she has said, she snaps the door shut between us.
Use the balms.I shake my head.
The thing about rending a portal back into the castle grounds is I don’t know who will be on the other side. I have no way of knowing if where I am rending it will have eyes on it or if I will be safe and unseen. The implication of being caught for anyone else would surely be death. For me, it would be a severely inconvenient headache I would rather not deal with at the moment.
But like leaving to find out about the balms or the person with magick within the castle, I have no choice. I step through the divide and the smoke of it closing behind me and Khol dissipates on a desert breeze, but just like me, he freezes as we hear muffled voices whispering as we approach the stable doors. There is a shuffling before the door opens, and a woman startles as we come face-to-face.
“Divine, you scared me.” She says, taking a step back and running into a man’s chest with her back. She looks up at him over her shoulder, and his chin lifts as he takes me in.
“You are one of the princesses' suitors.” He states, and I stare blankly at both of them. Even though my mind is racing with what I can tell them, I remain silent.
“Kyros,” I finally say, clipped, before side-stepping with Khol and heading in past them. A couple of the horses whinny and chuff as I begin securing the stirrups and unfasten the cinches on Khol’s saddle. He can tell I am on edge, and it’s causing him to get antsy. He becomes more vocal, whining and stomping his massive hooves.
“What are you doing riding in the middle of the night?” The man asks, and I ignore him as I turn my back and continue getting Khol into his stall. It’s disrespectful, and I hate that I have to playthis role, but it’s what they would expect of an heir of another kingdom. I hear them whispering again, and when I slowly turn around, they are frustratingly staring at one another before turning their attention back to me.
“What are you doing out here?” The redheaded woman asks as her brow furrows.
“My horse needed to run. I rode the perimeter only and came right back here, but as you have clearly stated… it’s late. I should be getting back to my chamber.” As I begin to leave, I cut between both of them, and once outside, I freeze. Turning around, I look at both the man, whom I recognize as one of the castle guards, and the woman. The same woman who took the Princess back to her bedchambers, but it’s not who is standing before me that causes me to stop. It’s the scent of fire poppies. The balm came from both of them.
“Of course. Goodnight.” The woman gives a slight bow; the man does not do the same. Our eyes clash for a moment, and a cloud of fear darkens his eyes.
“Goodnight to you too, miss?” I ask.
“Colette.” She smiles more and nudges the guard with the toe of her slipper.
“Rest well, Kyros of Diemos.” The man finally says and nods at me, andsomethingelse flares in his eyes. With that, along with the scent, I know who is responsible for getting the balm for the princess. One question still remains, though: why?
Chapter twenty-four
Astraea
Therewasatimein my life that my sleep wasn’t plagued by nightmares. A time so long forgotten, I feel as though it never really was. I know I am in a nightmare now because the flashing in my periphery is always the first sign. I wish I understood the meaning, but the more I try to see, the more pain comes when I wake up.
The galloping thrash of my body matches the pounding rhythm of my heart before the lasso of fiery pain and the staunching darkness evades. Every time is the same, but recently that’s not been the case. I’m far more aware these days. A little more in control of my movements. I turn my head this time to face where I know I saw theflashing movement to the side, and what my eyes focus on is both confusing and beautiful.
Thousands of trees, so dense that you cannot see beyond their trunks. The bough is so dense that it blots out all light from above. I’ve never seen anything like it, other than in books kept in the library. Eathian has nothing of the sort. Our trees are few and far between; the sun here is much too harsh to grow anything beyond craggy, straw-like grasses and cacti that sprout here and there. Even the palace conservatory is limited to what it can grow. The longer I stare, the darker things get. Like night is eating up all of the light around me, there is no sun baking my skin from above.
“Ssssssennnnkaaaaaa,” my attention is jarred by the deep hissing voice.. I don’t know what it means, but it feels familiar somehow. The deep, bone-aching chill runs up my spine at the sound of it, and far off in the darkness, the rumbling laugh penetrates the air around me. The feeling of being chased makes my heart thunder in my chest both in the dream and where I lay in a paralyzed sort of sleep.
A scream rips from my throat as I physically recoil from the clawing hand that reaches for me through the darkness and sinks its shadowy talons into the flesh at my back. My body arches, tears bursting from my eyes and streaming down my face as I cry out in terror laced with pain.
“Astraea?! Shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay! It’s Cole. I’m here.” Wracking sobs shake my shoulders as Colette rocks me like a baby in the center of my bed. The room is still dark, even more so as summer is starting to creep over Eathian, making the nights, especially withinthe castle, darker and much warmer. There is no more need for a fire lighting the hearth.
