Lunaria (A Soulmark Series Finale), page 7
The air is soaked with the perfume of flowers in bloom and ripe earth, freshly turned and moistened. I take in a deep breath and feel the heaviness on my soul diminish. Surrounded as I am by these lustrous beings, I almost feel as if the presence of my powers is called to the surface from its prison deep inside of me.
"Over here," Eva instructs, herding me down a course of wooden planks that lead to a small open area. Seated on the ground, with their backs and wings to us, are my friends.
"Celosia! Alekos!"
Both turn, eyes wide and mouths parted in surprise.
"Lunaria?" Celosia scrambles to her feet, but Alekos, being the quicker of the two as tree runners ought to be, reaches me first. Well, almost. He halts a yard away from me, the manacle around his ankle prohibiting him from crossing the rest of the space. I close it for him, my arms flinging themselves around his neck and squeezing with all my might.
"I never thought I'd see you again," I confess, not at all surprised when I begin to weep into the crook of his neck. Alekos squeezes me back. His long arms encircling my waist to lift me off the floor.
"Me too," he admits. "We tried to find you—"
"I know," I hasten to say, leaning back to stare at him properly. His angular face is far more cut and defined than I've seen before. A nasty yellow and purple smear encircles his right eye. I stare at it in pity. "I'm sorry."
He places me back down, a sad smile playing on his lips. "You would do the same for either of us." I bob my head and run the back of my hand over my cheeks and under my nose before walking over to Celosia. She waits impatiently for a hug, her arms held out and open to me.
"You're here," she breathes into my hair.
We stay in our embrace for a long time, relishing in each other's presence without a word but a symphony of whimpers and noisy sniffles.
"Finish up." Eva's voice cuts like the fangs of a pusna. "You know the rules."
Celosia releases me with reluctance, and she and Alekos walk me back to where they were seated. I follow suit as they fold to the ground.
"Give each other some room." Both Celosia and Alekos scoot back accordingly at the order, then look at me. I mimic them, wincing at the action. There is most certainly a bruise on my rear end from my stairway tumble.
Celosia watches me with keen eyes as I wince, but I study her as well. Her usual glowing skin is dull—though still a golden tan—and her calico eyes don't hold the same shine as they did in the Hollow. My sight drifts to the thick silver metal encasing her neck.
"You're hurt,” Celosia says.
"I fell," I say, "down a flight of stairs." Celosia's eyes water in an instant, a hand drifting to her lips as she attempts to hold back her sorrow. I outstretch—
"No more touching," Eva barks.
The sharp reprimand puts me on the straight and narrow. In less than a wink, my hand is back in my lap and tucked into a fist... and my heart is lodged behind the oppressive subjugation choker.
"Why can't we touch?" My friends opt for matching frowns of wariness as they glance to Eva in search of permission. Their following crestfallen expressions dim my spirits, and Celosia shakes her head at me. I slump and direct my gaze at Alekos. "What happened to your eye?"
He scratches at the ashy brown bark atop his elbow. “I might have accidentally elbowed one of the wolves here… and broken their nose.”
“And this explains your black eye?” I inquire, puzzled. Alekos’s lips twitch.
“They might have seen through my accident and reciprocated accordingly.” Alekos shrugs and tosses me a small grin. The sight warms my heart. Maybe my friends are not so downtrodden as their tired forms suggest.
“To think they thought us unfit to be soldiers,” Celosia chimes in, her words directed at Alekos. When she catches my curious look, she rolls back her shoulders and explains. “When we first came through the realm fractures, they thought us tenacious warriors like the rokama.” Celosia chuckles, but it dies off almost as soon as it comes. “They made us spar with their men and women to test our prowess," Celosia recites as she twirls her mahogany hair between nimble fingers. "We proved inadequate. They were quite upset with us, at first. They said we were of no use and told us quite explicitly of what they did with things that were of no use.”
Celosia ducks her head and takes a deep breath.
“Celosia, are you—” the illuminator fairy holds up a hand to Alekos’s words. After another breath, she tips her head up and continues.
"Once we were declared unfit to be soldiers, they made us prove our worth in other ways. At first, it was purely for knowledge. We spoke to them about our kind and the rokama. We explained to them about our home, and the roles we play to keep it safe and thriving."
"They were interested, for a time," Alekos says when Celosia trails off, her gaze going distant. "But they wanted more. They wanted to know about... you."
My reaction is instantaneous. I hiss in a lungful of air and rock back in my seat. The room's muggy air no longer feels pleasant, and despite opening my coat, sweat appears in small patches on my back and under my arms as I take in another staggering breath.
"Me?"
"Yes. I admit, when it first happened, it didn't seem out of the ordinary," Celosia explains, though her forehead crinkles as she exhales. "They wanted to know more about how we arrived, and why we came in the first place. We told them we came for you and that you are our dearest friend. The wolves said they would help us get you back and see us home, but they would need our assistance as repayment."
" ...you're helping them?" My breathless query makes them flush. "They're awful." I peer over my shoulder, prepared for a reprimand from Eva, but the bronze-skinned woman merely perks a brow back at me.
"We do not have a choice in the matter." Celosia's calico eyes plead with me to understand. "After what they did to the rokama—" Celosia stops short. She draws back and tucks her legs underneath her. The manacle around her ankle scrapes against the floor as her chain rattles noisily. "We did not wish the same fate. We have been compliant since. Mostly compliant.” Celosia lowers her voice. “We have our ways to dissent. And through this ordeal, Alekos and I have never forgotten that we are champions of light.”
Alekos gives a stout nod. “And the fortune of the trees.”
The fuller picture of why they had spoken so freely lessens the initial blow of the news. As does the knowledge that their fighting spirits remain, regardless of whatever abuse they have faced. I swallow down my unease as I contemplate their languished shapes.
“They’ve hurt you?” Alekos and Celosia look to one another, the same look of consternation on their faces as they communicate without words. It is Alekos who answers me.
“They don’t seek us out to harm us,” he assures me, the hint of a sneer near his mouth and wrinkling nose. “We’re too weak to put up a good fight—”
“Alekos.” Celosia’s curt tone draws Alekos to heel. He casts a surreptitious glance beyond my shoulder, her shoulders hunching forward. “The wolves often skirmish for… sport.” Celosia spits out the word as if it were a toxic bud. I cringe as well—fight for sport? It is not the fairy way.
"They make wagers with one another to gain status,” Alekos explains. “Sometimes they simply fight to receive a lesser punishment from their betters. They made us watch in the beginning, far too many times than I wish to recount. If it is the former fighting style, the victor is granted a prize of their choice from the crowd. We’ve seen the prizes be people or elevated positions, but as of late it has been us.” Alekos takes in a shuddering breath and hikes his shoulders back. He continues on with no quiver to his voice. “When we are the prize, they siphon vials of our magic from us."
The color drains from my face as my hand drifts to the collar at my neck.
"I do not understand," I whisper. My heartbeat goes a mile a minute in my chest. "How can they take your magic? Your... essence? How is it possible?"
"The wolves have aligned themselves with powerful sorcerers. They have somehow found a way, Luna." Celosia's hand comes to rest on her inner elbow, clenching the fabric of her dull grey sweatshirt. "They do not take it by way of the collar. That is for obedience. They take our magic with a jewel. It somehow siphons small amounts of our magic, which is then gifted to the victor for their use.”
“They take your magic and give it away?”
Celosia frowns as she nods, her displeasure palpable. “It would seem to be the coward's way of gaining power, and this pack is full of them.”
Growls of reprimand stir from all around us. I go still at the threat, but both Alekos and Celosia tip their noses in the air. Their mouths are both drawn to tight lines as they hold their ground. When no other backlash comes, Celosia carries on.
“They’re only imbued with our power for a short period of time.”
I relax a fraction but remain on high alert with the presence of the lycans hovering out of sight nearby. “Does it hurt?”
Alekos grimaces. "It's very painful and tiring," he confesses. "But the pain is easier to bear over time."
We grow silent and fidget in our seats. Their plight and fighting spirit tangle me in mixed emotions. Now that the Wselfwulfs had me, would they really help us back home? No. The answer is instantaneous in my mind and heart. So, what would become of us?
I force my head high in a mimic of my friends’ confident posture, striving for optimism. "Well, you’ve got me,” I say with a small grin, easing the tension between the three of us. “Have they said how they plan to see us home?"
Celosia shrugs. "They have not shared their plans with us, but..." Her sight flickers from Alekos to Eva.
"Vo tom era si coma..." Alekos whispers hurriedly in the old language of the Hollow Woods. I can make a door. "Abata elo vetrum abra e hue d’ober." With the right tree and a boost of power.
"Hey!" Footsteps march toward us from behind me. "You know the rules, fairy boy. No slipping into your foreign language. What did you just say?"
Celosia rushes to explain, her eyes alight with renewed vigor. "He—"
"Astay mae si kryst….” There is a crystal, I whisper back just as fast. “Tom hossi akra?" I ask. Can you truly?
Alekos gives an indistinct bow of his head—just as I am shoved down. I make a frightened noise and scramble to get off my back.
"Did you not listen to what I just said?" Eva crouches near my side. She puts on a fearsome glower, but it would be more terrifying if she didn't have a shadow of panic to her reaction. "Don't think for a second that you're indispensable. We've made it this far without you and your friends, Noah will lead us to victory no matter what. Get in line, or else."
Her haughty threat chases away the glimmer of panic about her. In its place is steely determination. I swallow back my retort and command my body to still. Her jade orbs rake over me, searching for any hint of disobedience. In this moment, I am starkly reminded of my younger years, entrapped by the penetrating regard of a newly reigned fiyerno. One false move guaranteeing three hoofs trampling into your chest and face as it reared on you.
Eva could not be more similar in this strained moment between us as she asserts her authority.
She backs away, her displeasure still present. I wait for my heart to calm before I straighten and keep my gaze averted to the ground. My hair drapes around my face to create a curtain as I compose myself. Once I have, I glance out from underneath half-lowered lashes to study the scene.
I will not let this pack ruin my friends or me. I will be strong, just as Keenan and Jax asked of me. I will be strong, just as Alekos and Celosia have.
My newfound determination must show, for Alekos dips his head in acknowledgment. He catches Celosia's eyes and gestures subtly in my vicinity. When she sees me, the spark of fire in her eyes returns.
“Why do the Wselfwulfs want me? Why go through all this trouble?” I ask.
Alekos clears his throat. "They want you to destroy the remainder of a crystal."
"No, they don't," Celosia corrects solemnly. Alekos raises both eyebrows quizzically at her, but her calico eyes remain on me. "They know you are a cultivator, Luna. They know you can... enhance things, but they also know your kind has the ability to absorb energy to an extent."
Trepidation tickles at the nape of my neck. "What do they want me to do, Celosia?"
"All right," Eva interrupts. "Wrap it up. You three can enjoy each other’s company without all this small talk."
Celosia sneers at Eva's harsh tone, her eyes gleaming with rebellion. Illuminators are not keen on passive nature. They are the embodiment of passion and all that is light. Whatever this pack of wolves has done to my friend must have—
"They do not want you to amplify the crystal. They want you to siphon its energy," Celosia blurts out. Eva gasps and storms back over to us. My friend tilts her nose up high and glares at Eva's approach. "Then the sorcerers want to siphon—"
Smack.
Eva's backhand takes Celosia to the ground. "Shut up!" Eva shouts and casts a harried look over each shoulder. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"Celosia!" I scramble over to her fallen figure and kneel beside her. "Why would you do such a thing?" I demand.
"There are rules," Eva snarls, but her exclamation is twisted with fear. "If you don't follow them, then you aren't the only one to pay the price."
I lace my fingers with Celosia's and help her sit up. Eva's insight does little to sway me, even as I hear the sound of people approaching. I take solace in the reassuring squeeze Celosia delivers to my hand. In this singular united act, a tingle of familiar magic stirs from the depths of my body.
"No touching," Eva orders.
She yanks me away by my coat. Celosia and I both let out startled cries.
"Let me go!"
Eva purses her lips and continues to drag me away from Celosia and Alekos. "You've earned yourself a time out."
Alarm swells inside of me. I watch as Alekos darts up and over to us. He almost makes it in time to catch me. Almost.
"Adiago mea l'otay!" Help is coming, I shout with desperation as I claw at Eva's forearms. "Lo t'sade. Lo deuner!" Be strong. Be patient. “As nos fehta!” We will fight.
"I said no fairy talk." Eva's frustration bleeds through her every pore as she pushes me roughly to the ground. I land on my hip and scrape my hand against the ground.
"What the hell is going on here?" The voice is akin to distant thunder. It rolls through the room, unquestionable in its fury. Eva halts all movement and hovers above me uncertainly. When she looks up to see the interloper, she goes ashen and hastens back several feet.
"What are you doing here? Noah said the fairies were to be kept together and—"
"This one is mine," the rokama declares.
I dare not turn and see his musclebound frame or fearsome expression. The mere thought of seeing him again ushers a thrill of danger straight into my bones. Alekos and Celosia stand side-by-side, watching with grim resolve. Their hands are clasped together defiantly.
"Who gave you the authority to barge in here and do as you please?" Eva demands, placing both hands on her hips.
The rokama ignores her. "We're leaving."
The she-wolf's eyes widen. "You can't just—hey!"
The dreaded black hood is produced and shoved back over my head.
A litany of errant protests burst from my mouth but go unheeded as I am hefted up and onto the rokama's broad shoulders. Blood rushes to my cheeks. My hands punch uselessly at the rokama's back as he takes us away.
As we exit the Greenery, my senses kick in and I put my hands to better use in order to pull the hood from my head. The world around us is coated in darkness. Whatever lights they used before to illuminate the property are scarce as we tread farther away.
"Where are you taking me?"
The rokama makes no reply. I pound at his back again, feeling nauseous as his pace increases to a jog.
"Let me down!" I screech when he dashes forward.
"You're fine." He grunts a second later before slowing down dramatically. My head spins and throbs all at the same time. A groan spills from me as the rokama sets me down and leans me against some kind of wall. When I look up at him, his features are made up in concern.
His hand reaches up and nurses my jaw with careful reverence. Those obsidian eyes of his are affixed to my mouth. I freeze, all too aware of how cornered I am. A feather-light graze breezes the underside of my swollen lip, followed by a brutal lashing from the wind.
I shudder in another breath. The rokama frowns.
"I'm sorry," he says. "They should not have been allowed to handle you like this."
For a brief moment, I am stunned by his sincerity... and then my anger takes hold. With both hands on his chest, I shove with all my might and manage to push him back a single step. His lips turn downward.
"The only reason I have been handled this way is because of you! I wouldn't be here if you hadn't taken me or disrupted my group on the road." The rokama's frown takes a turn toward severe. His lips curl briefly back, and then he takes hold of my upper arms, urging me to move... and pulling open the door next to us.
"Go inside. There is much to discuss."
I'm not given the chance to disobey. The rokama's guiding grip forces me inside, and he follows closely behind me. The room is small but toasty warm. My cheeks flush, and my nose drips at the unexpected swelter. I consider the room with a cautious air and find it nicely furnished if not sparse. A small potbelly stove sits in the corner of the room near a small dresser. On the other side is a bed, a desk set, and a nightstand with a comically small lamp. Above us, a lone incandescent bulb illuminates the room.
"Where are we?" I spin around to pitch my demand at him face-to-face. The rokama peels off his navy coat and hangs it on a hook near the door, all without taking his eyes off me.
"My quarters. Give me your coat."
I move the zipper up as far as it will go. "No."
A muscle ticks in the rokama's square jaw. "Give me it," he replies through gritted teeth and thrusts a hand toward me. I retreat until I bump into the foot of the bed, which is when the rokama prowls my way.
