Page 46 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

Twenty

TEGAN PLACED HERbow and quiver on the oak table by the kitchen and turned to Aiden.

“I’m not sure if they have running water anymore, but there’s a well in the back of their yard if we need it. You can settle in the parents’ room since you’re much taller.” She giggled a little, so quiet he hardly heard it. “I’ll take the small bed where their child used to sleep.”

Aiden watched her as he sat on the sofa, slowly placing his own bag down. It was strange to him how willing she was to help him—a stranger.

Exhaustion ran through him as he sat down in the nearest chair. He leaned forward, intending to rest his elbows on his knees, and shut his eyes for a moment. The world lurched out from under him before he could.

The room spun around him as he struggled to regain his equilibrium. His eyes clouded over, and he felt the blood drain from his face.

“Ah, fuck,” he said.

Tegan’s footsteps hurried toward him as he slumped forward, trying to keep himself from falling over.

“Tegan,” Aiden called out.

“What . . . what’s happening? Are you ill?” Her voice sounded panicked. Aiden shook his head.

“Not to make this awkward between us, but I’m going to need you to catch me here in a min—”

And with that word, Aiden slipped into his dream state.

_______________

AIDEN’S EYES FELTheavy and dry as he adjusted to the dark space surrounding him—objects of nature materialized until he found himself in a familiar place. It was the prison he lived in within the Eastland Forest. Enormous, half-dead trees blocked out the sun with their skeletal branches, casting deep shadows along the ground. Crooked trails were spider webbed out in all directions. The gloom of it lay thick over everything he saw, and it was exactly how he remembered it.

Elijah emerged from behind a large, rotting tree trunk. “Well, this place is a bit scary,” he said.

The feeling of being watched crept up Aiden’s neck, making the hairs on his skin stand straight. Inconsistencies in that world made it obvious he was in a construct, not a memory. He moved to rest his hand on his father’s sword, an instinctive comfort whenever he felt vulnerable, but his fingers found nothing but air.

“The Eastland Forest is one of the most beautiful places in this world,” Aiden said, “but within that land is this place, the Whispering Woodlands, and it would make you have nightmares for years.”

Elijah glanced around, looking nervous as if he felt like he, too, was being watched.

“Where are you now, in the real world?” Elijah asked.

Aiden stood tall, looking up as if he would see Tegan peering down at him. “Northeast of Heyerberg. We had a complicated run-in with Kieran’s men—”

“We?” Elijah asked.

“A girl is with me. She helped me escape and took me to a location hidden within the forest when it was no longer safe. We’re in a cabin for the night.”

“Good,” Elijah said, and Aiden gave him a quizzical look. “I’m not far behind. Camped at the bottom of Whitestone Mountain.” He paused, his eyes glossy with pain as if he struggled to get the next words out. “Aiden, I’m sorry about Valkanon. Rest assured, he’s been buried with honor.”

The memory of the Shadow Creature and Valkanon’s fall had been ever-present in his mind since it happened. The sight of his oldest friend’s face at the moment of his death. It was never far from his thoughts. But Elijah’s words brought it screaming back to the forefront, and he felt the pain grip him just as tightly as it had the first time.

“Once the storm settles,” Elijah continued, “we’ll meet you where you’re staying.”

Aiden shut his eyes. He cannot come here.

“You should not have left Zemira, Aiden. What were you thinking? Why didn’t you talk to me before you left?”

Aiden closed his eyes as anger contorted his features. He didn’t want Elijah’s help. He knew if Elijah had heard his reasoning, he would have stopped him from leaving. It was too late now. Elijah was miles behind him.

“Elijah,” he started. “I believe I fought the Shadow Creature; it was drawn to my magic. I have felt its own power. It drew itself to me because that is what it feeds upon. It was ripping the very life from me.” He stopped, trying to string his words together the best way he could to help Elijah understand. “If that is true, my sister, with whom I share that same magic, needs more protection than ever. I will give Kieran something he will want far more in exchange for her.”

Elijah looked as if he was biting the inside of his cheek. “And what is that?” Elijah asked.

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