Mates fight for each other. Our bond is the most valued relationship we could ever have; in truth, you complete me.
My fears melted away with his words. I tucked my silver hair behind my ear. That’s why you have me. I stilled as the truth resonated through me.
Yes, my mate, he said in a whisper. That is why I have you.
“Are you serious? Ryn!” Lani shouted in my ear.
I jerked back to the present, arms flailing as I clutched my ear. Spinning to her, I grumbled, “What?”
“You’ll see him tomorrow,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I know, and ouch,” I complained, rubbing my ear. Then I remembered what she’d been doing. Talk later, I shot at Tyrrik.
I’ll wait for you, he purred.
9
“Al’right, I’m yours. So?” I nudged Lani. “How’d you do?”
The Phaetyn peered up at the elm tree, and I followed her gaze.
“Holy pancakes,” I exclaimed. The sickly green color of the elm tree’s leaves had morphed into a vibrant grasshopper green. The deep rivets in the gray-brown bark were filled out, and the trunk had swelled to half again its size. I blew a breath out. “You give it a little juice?”
Lani pursed her lips. “I couldn’t help it. The tree is mine now. It’s the ancestral tree.”
The rich warmth in her voice had my heart expanding, and I understood the implication—it could’ve been my tree had I stayed. Maybe that’s why the leaves had shriveled after I left. “I’m so glad for you. And Queen Luna?”
“You were right,” she answered. “My mother was a beautiful person. I hope to achieve half as much as she did in my time.”
We stared up at the tree. No matter what my reservations regarding the Phaetyn had been, looking at the elm tree, I was certain that with Lani’s guidance, they would find their way. And whatever doubts she’d had about her capabilities, it appeared as though a trip down memory lane had refocused her determination.
I grimaced, rubbing my stomach. No one should be allowed to eat that many strawberries dipped in chocolate or that many peaches. “I’m going to go lie down. I think veiling for so long made me sick.”
Lani snorted. “I’m sure that’s what caused it. But no. There’ll be no lying down until I’m done with you. I’ve taught you to focus your energy and how to veil, but our time is limited, and I still have a few more things I need to show you.”
“I thought the rest of the Phaetyn mojo was instinctual,” I countered. “I’ll just pick it up as I go.”
“You don’t want to get a jump start on ancestral tricks it took me fifty years to figure out?”
The Phaetyn queen could negotiate; I’d give her that, so I hedged. “What kind of tricks?”
“How about I show you how to spear Druman with roots?”
I promptly forgot my aching stomach and leaned toward Lani. “Where do I start?”
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Lani. During my last trip to Phaetynville, I’d noticed a golden path, and apparently the path led to Queen Luna’s castle. Or so Lani was telling me after her mother-tree encounter—no, queen tree.
I followed the lustrous path beside her, and we eventually stopped in front of Luna’s empty home. Home was an understatement. Different than the Rose Castle, Luna’s abode was ginormous, and the milky green stone slabs it was constructed from contrasted with beautiful gold inlays.
Good thing Tyrrik had a hoard of treasure for me. Us . . . I meant us. “What kind of stone is that?” I asked as we approached the steps to go inside. “It looks smooth, almost buttery.”
Three steps led to a raised courtyard of the milky green stone. Leaves were grouped on the ground in bunches, indicating someone had maintained the massive space. A knee-high wall of the same rock bordered the square, and on the other side of the raised patio was the entrance to the castle—massive dark wood doors, each at least six feet wide and fifteen feet tall. The double doors appeared to be the only entrance into the structure although there were dozens of windows facing the clearing. The castle was at least as big as Caltevyn’s in Verald.
Lani snorted in response to my question. “If you chip off any of the jade, I’ll find a way to take your favorite gold trinket,” she said as she stepped off the path toward her mother’s house. “In fact, I’ll find a way to take away a dozen of them.”
I don’t have a dozen. Yet. I narrowed my eyes at the Phaetyn queen. “You do realize threatening a Drae about their treasure is akin to . . .” threatening their first born. I couldn’t say that to her, not after how rough things had been for her growing up. I cleared my throat and said, “You shouldn’t do it. It’s really bad.”
“And you shouldn’t steal from the Phaetyn queen.” Lani threw the words over her shoulder as she bounced up the steps, never taking her gaze from the castle.
I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up to her. “Don’t be so dramatic. And you’re not queen for another few hours.”
The leaves crunched underfoot as we walked, and the air smelled of earth and mulch. With the sun filtering through the treetops, the creamy green stone was darkened in patches by the shadows of the trees, giving the walls a mottled appearance.
Lani went straight to the door, stopping to grab the trunk of the topiary tree to the left. With both hands, she pulled the entire plant out of its pot and dropped it with a grunt.
“What the—”
She bent over the now empty pot and a moment later emerged brushing the dirt off a key. Two strands of green stone looped around each other, the loops constricting at intervals to form the right cuts for the door before tapering into the tip. I narrowed my eyes and asked, “Did your mom’s tree show you that key?”
“Partly,” Lani said. She slid the key into the lock, and with a heavy groan, the door swung open. The smell of stale air exhaled through the now open orifice, and the Phaetyn glanced my way with a nervous smile. “Will you come in with me?”
I shifted my weight, but there wasn’t really anything to consider. I was dying of curiosity. “Of course. I’ll totally protect you although I can’t imagine there’s anything in your mother’s home that could harm you.”
She gave me a withering glare. “I’m not afraid of physical pain, Ryn.”
Right. There were worse things than physical pain for sure. “If you want,” I said with a wink as I led us into the house, “I’ll hold your hand.”
Filtered light illuminated the foyer. From the ceiling hung a glittering chandelier, the large drops of crystal sparkling and casting rainbows onto the surrounding stone walls. On the top of a large, gray wooden table sat a dried floral arrangement, bigger than me, as tall as it was wide. But the dry, brittle foliage was leached of color.
Behind the dead flowers, a floating staircase led up to a landing from which hallways branched off into darkness.
“What did the tree show you, Lani?” I whispered. The air was not only stagnant but weighted as if whatever happened within the walls was burdened with sorrow.
The frown she wore echoed my own emotion. I’d never really thought about how Luna’s life might’ve been, but if this oppressive ache was any indication . . . her life had sucked. I wiped my finger over the gray wood table, revealing a glossy, rich brown the color of chocolate under the thick layer of dust. There was beauty here, hidden and waiting for someone to clean off the betrayals of the past so it could be appreciated once more.
Lani cleared her throat, drawing my attention back to her. She stood at the foot of the staircase. “I need to go to her rooms. She has a special crown, and I need it for tonight.”