The Blessed City

Maleah poured over the books again in search of evidence of what happened after The Fall. It had been near six days since her adventures with Arik and her meeting Varen. She'd spent most of her time in the library and if she wasn't there, she was training with Arik and the others or training with Penni in Eina and learning more about Varen.

She'd improved significantly with the dagger. Still not a master at the new skill, she at least hit the target every time, even if it was the edges of the fabric. As an additional part of her training, the twins decided she needed to learn how to work with both her gifts. Tallulah, the water nymph from the High Court was assigned to be her tutor. And after days of history lessons about water nymphs and the difference between fresh and saltwater nymphs, she was finally allowed to practice channel water.

Yet her mind remained with the books inside the library. Always finding its way back to The Fall and the events leading up to it and then after. But never settling on the cause. Despite her lack of success in that area, she had discovered a lead. Kalli had headed into the Ether Mountains. But the mountain spanned for leagues north to south and its girth was wide. No one knew for sure when the Ether Mountains gave way to the land beyond Dianmoore. At least, no one who lived today knew what waited there.

And, she added as she pondered over the maps, there was no telling when she first set out, when she arrived or how long she stayed. Not to mention where in the mountains she had settled.

Catching the hour by the sun, she resolved to put the books away and head to her lesson with Tally. She had just shelved the last one when the doors to the library swung open.

"Tally, I was just about to make way for you," she spun on her heels and found Arik and Rowena where she expected Tally to be. Their faces were solemn and Arik kept his eyes lower than usual. "What is the matter?"

"Your lesson has been canceled today. Your presence is required in the High Court." Rowena offered no time to ask questions. Leaving quickly, Maleah was forced to dash after them. Shuffling to fall in step alongside Arik, she leaned in.

"What is wrong?" She frowned when he did not answer. Having gained some knowledge of him, she pressed him. Jabbing his side with her finger, she waited. But he only shook his head and turned away. Resigned, she walked the halls as if she'd walked them every day since birth. Her mind mapped the way before they ever turned the next corner.

Inside the High Court, Maleah found Cam and Rhys waiting, separate from the High Court itself as they huddled in a close group. The sound of Rowena's entry, however, pulled them apart. Worry was plastered over every face. She could feel it as if it was a person alone.

The muttering did not stop though when they arrived. The nymphs continued pestering each other with questions. "What will we do?" "How are we to protect ourselves?" "They leave us no other option."

Maleah joined Cam and Rhys and watched in silence. Rohan and Rowena attempted to calm the court, keeping their tones gentle and smooth. Penni and the fire nymph, Connaleigh, sputtered over each other. Drámir grunted along with the male nymphs, the dwarfs head barely rising to the height of their waists, but his grumbles were well heard by all.

Zadkiel, the elf listened quietly contemplating. His eyes darting over to the three of them every so often as if an idea had occurred to him, then rejoining the High Court as if he had dismissed it all the same.

"She must be our main priority," Connaleigh said heatedly. "She is of the High Court. Without her, our magic is weakened. The veil cannot protect us for long in her absence. No matter what magic you two can conjure, it may not be enough. Not after this many years."

"The fire nymph is right," Drámir groaned as if it strained him to agree. "Our people are our main concern. They did not select us to guide and protect them without due cause. It is our duty and we cannot let those savages keep her. I dare not imagine the kind of suffering she may see if she denies them for long."

"They took our words. Born here or not, they deserve our protection as much as everyone else." Penni defended. But what was he defending, Maleah wondered, trying to piece their arguments together.

"Deserve our prote - humph," Connaleigh scolded. "They brought them here. It is because we granted their stay that we are now in these weeds."

"They are not responsible for her kidnapping, Connaleigh," Juniper reprimanded. "You of all the nymph should heed to fire of your tongue before you subject anyone to its flame."

"This coming from the keep the peace green, nymph," Connaleigh whipped a hand at her.

"The trees are gentle creatures." Juniper bared her teeth. The vines on her dress twisted around her body as if itching to wrap themselves around something other than fabric. "Unlike the volcanoes from which your kind reside, we do not seek destruction."

"Easy, Juniper," Penni pressed a soft hand to her shoulder. "Placing blame upon one another will not bring her back. We must be smart about this, else we risk more than her life."

Maleah looked at them again with fresh eyes. Listening to their words with the intention she gave to her books. Penni and Juniper, Drámir and Zadkiel, the twins and Connaleigh, but no . . .

"Where is Tallulah?" Her voice cut into the High Courts debate. All eyes came to her. Some of them curled their lips in a snarl while the others looked at her sadly. "Who has taken her?"

Rohan's eyes lowered to her. The sign of bad news she knew all too well. Her stomach rolled and her face washed itself of all color.

"They have found us," Rhys said aloud the fear which Maleah had hoped not to manifest. Rhys looked to the court. "It was the phoenix, wasn't it? That would explain how they found us so easily. If just by chance the Huntsman flew through our borders, it would have given all our secrets away."

"The scavengers who have hunted you are at our borders. They've taken camp a few miles south of the swamps." Connaleigh spoke through barred teeth, the disdain he had bled from his tongue.

"How many are there? Perhaps we can send our raiders to draw them back." Arik suggested, raising wary glances from the High Court.

Penni shook his head. "The Eyes estimate there are at least five scores out there. More than our city could take even if all were masters at their weapon."

"Yet they are not," Juniper said remised.

"But you've magic." Cam's tone turned to shock as the words tumbled from his mouth. "Nymphs and Blessed alike can conjure enough storms to push them afar. Add the likings of two gods and they may never return from the swamps."

"There is risk in using magic to aid us and there is no telling what the consequences may be if we tried. We cannot risk the lives of our people nor Tally's to retrieve her." Rohan turned to the court. "Nor can we trade the lives of these young people for one of ours."

"You cannot be serious?" Connaleigh spat. "You would give more weight to their lives than the life of one of us."

For the first time, Maleah saw anger rise in Rohan's face. But as quickly as it flamed, it flickered out. "I give no life more weight than another, Connaleigh. You of all nymphs should remember that well."

"We cannot sit on our rums and do nothing!" Drámir huffed. "Our city and our people are under threat. There must be something we can do that does not involve anyone dying."

They argued. Voices and authority clanging against one another in angry symphonies. Maleah wanted to cover her ears as every word threatened to rip at her. But she did not move.

Her head spun. Lord Brae had found the city. Full of fae creatures and Blesseds untouched by the cruelty of the outside world. Unbeknownst to the king, they lived separately. Peacefully. Yet all that peace, all the building, protecting, living, all that was now gone. There would be no rest for any King's Men within Dianmoore now that their city had been discovered. The King would want all the Blessed taken into custody. All the warriors to take an oath. And the fae creatures would be killed if they did not submit to his command. Less they escaped. But the chances were thin and the risks too great.

No, there would be no rest. For anyone as long as they remained here. As long as she remained there, the King would stop at nothing. All the people, all the suffering that would ensue. She dared not to be responsible for more than she had already caused.

"You must leave," she murmured. Lost in her own conclusion, she raised her head. No one heard her over the sound of their own vehemence. She needed their attention. As time was waning, she thought quickly. Raising her hand to the room, she spun the air around them until loose hair whipped and they covered their faces from the gush of wind. When they all turned to her, she lowered her hand and dropped the wind.

Their mouths were agape; eyes wide with astonishment as if saying how dare she. She bit back the grin and spoke again. "You must leave. They will not stop until they get what they came for. As long as you do not show yourselves and the people remain hidden, there is a chance you all can escape."

Drámir was the first to laugh. His full belly shook with feigned amusement. "Escape," he mused. "Escape where? Child, most of us do not know the world outside. We are not equipped to live elsewhere. Nor do we have the means to travel."

She narrowed her eyes at the dwarf. Setting her lips in a firm line. "Tell me then, dwarf, what ideas do you have to protect the whole of your precious city?" She waited and when he did not answer, sinking into his own diminished laughter, she continued. She drew an unsteady breath. "We know what they want and it is not the city nor the gods or the Blessed born within. I am the one the king wants. To have me in their custody will be enough to give you all the time you need to escape."

Every eye fell on her. Each bearing its own weight of shock and confusion. But before anyone could say a word, Rohan stepped to her.

"No. I forbid it. You will not be a sacrifice." Unyielding in his tone, she knew better than to argue. Yet it did not stop her.

"No one should have to die at the cost of my life. I simply will not allow it. At the very least, I can distract them long enough for someone to rescue Tally."

When the court erupted into a series of refusals and acceptance - be it for her sacrifice or against it completely - she rose her hand and silenced them all with the singing of the wind.

"Maleah, no one denies your bravery," Rowena began. "In the short time you have spent among us, you have proven yourself strong in many ways. In mind and heart especially. But you of all people know how much we are depending on you to live. And live beyond this day. No one else can find the others. If we lose you, then the world loses hope. I cannot stand for that."

"You will stand for the people you have chosen to protect." Softly, Maleah took Rowena's hands. "You have brought stories to life for me. Made me believe in the gods once again and that there remains good in this world still. Let me do this."

"If you go, you will die. Either by the lord or by the king's hand himself. I will not allow it," Rohan lowered his brow in a deafening stare.

"You made me a promise that if I wished to leave, you would not force me to stay. Do you remember that?"

He nodded, glaring at her. "We also made a promise a long time ago. To protect the world and all its creatures. You are not to leave this castle until I say otherwise. Do you understand? Arik, escort Maleah back to her room."

Before she could dispute him, Arik was shuffling her out of the room and across the bridge. She caught the glimpse of regret and fear on Cam and Rhys before they were lost to sight. Wrestling against his firm grip she struggled to rid herself of him. Anger boiled inside her. More fierce than ever before. Building the closer she stepped to her room.

When, at last, Arik released her, she was in the center of the bedroom. She spun on him, raging hatefully.

"You are no different than the rest of them."

"Maleah - " his eyes were soft and sad but she did not care.

"No! You are just like them. Throwing me in this cage because of what I am, because of what I can do. You know as well as I that those men will not surrender until they have what they want. If they so much as enter Sabhille and see what lies within you are all in danger. Every man, woman, child, fae, and Blessed. I have to go there. If they have me, then all this will remain safe for some time still."

He shook his head. "Rohan is right, though. We cannot lose you. Not when we are so close to discovering the others. You are far too valuable. If the king only knew . . ." he shook his head again.

"It is my life, Arik. It is not for them to decide how I should live it."

"They are gods, Maleah. Of course, it is." He glanced over his shoulder at her before shutting the door and locking it between them.

Running, she yanked on the handle. Pounding on the door, she shouted for him to open it. Demanding it even after she heard his footsteps disappear down the hall. Furious, she beat the door until her hands throbbed. Beet red, she rubbed them between violent remarks.

Turning back to the room she paced. Stomping the ground, she felt as if she was a child again. Being scorned by her mother for playing in the river and then being sent to her room as punishment. Only she was no longer a child and her punishment wasn't a true punishment. Wringing her hands she plotted her escape.

She would escape, she was sure of it. But how?

Stopping short of the bed, she looked to the window. Gazing at the drop, she considered it. Too far to just fall neatly. Could she trust the wind to catch her? Would she be able to soften her landing or slow her descent? Thickening the air under her feet, perhaps she could.

She stepped back suddenly scared of the thoughts she had. Was she serious about jumping out the window? At least two hundred feet in the air. A roof below her and still some height until she met the ground with solid feet. If she had solid feet by then.

The fear decided it for her. Jumping was not an option.

"Curse them!" she roared. At the edge of the bed, she sat and stared at the door. If she focused enough, perhaps her anger could will it open. Or . . .

Rising, she rubbed her hands together. Summoning the still air, she funneled it into a rock and thrust it at the door. The room shook on impact, the chandelier quaked above her. She hit the door again and again. Feeling the floor shudder, watching the walls quiver. Channeling her anger into every hit until she felt her strength begin to wane and the sun began to sink.

Sucking in what air she could, Maleah prepared for another hit. Propelling the air forward, her eyes grew wide when the door crept open and sudden screams rang into the room. When the cloud of air disappeared down the hall, she saw Rowena rise from her crouch.

"What in the starry skies was that?" Rounding on her, she frowned, when Maleah did not move. "Well, what are you waiting for. There isn't time to lose." Waving her hand at her, Rowena ushered Maleah from the room and down the halls.

"What are you doing?" Maleah asked once clear of the room. "I thought I was condemned to my room?"

Rowena turned down an unfamiliar hall, checking around corners before fleeing down the next. "That is what Rohan wants yet it is not what we need. I've always admired my brother's nobility and his need to protect, even if it meant taking the long road. Now, however, is not the time for long roads and steady hope."

Hurrying down winding stairs, Maleah found herself weaving her way through the steam room. Ducking behind sheets as to not be seen by the women who washed them. On the other side, they crept out a back door.

"You are willing to sacrifice yourself for our people. There is honor in that. But you are stupid if you believe I would allow you to do that. Not," she added when Maleah opened her mouth in defense, "without a plan. I may only be one of two, but together we are the gods of abundance and fortune. Which leaves much in the ways of success."

They wound their way through the village. Unlike her many trips through it before, the markets slept. Instead, every capable person carried a weapon. Heaving crates and barrels onto wagons. Stacking bays of hay and tools into them until the weight lowered their backs to the ground.

"What does Rohan plan on doing?"

"After you left, there was much more debate. How to retrieve Tally without raising eyes to what resides in our city. If we should fight or escape in the night. The nymphs want Tally back, for they are stronger with her. Drámir and Zadkiel want to fight. They believe that they could force the scavengers to retreat with pride and steel."

"But you don't."

"You were right, Maleah. They know we are here and they will stop at nothing to exploit our secrets. They know of our magic and knew enough to take Tally - someone of great importance to us. They know you are here. All of which leaves us in great danger." Rowena led them into the forest towards the training circle. "We will have little time to execute this if we want to succeed so we must act swiftly."

In the clearing, Maleah stopped dead in her tracks. Rhys and Cam stood armed with their weapons. Arik was with them, standing not far off next to Varen and another blue fae bird. He had saddled the great birds and sheathed a set of daggers in its side. She looked from him to the others, to Rowena.

"You did not think I planned to send you alone, did you?" She said nothing as she followed the god towards her companions.

Rhys rushed to her, throwing her arms around her in a tight embrace. "I am sorry we did not stand with you in the High Court. It was foolish of us not to. We are a team. Despite our hiccups and revelations. You must know, Maleah, I have always been on your side."

Maleah felt a twinge of guilt tweak her chest but acknowledged Rhys with a nod. "Rowena said she has a plan."

She focused all her attention on the details which Rowena spelled out for her. Nodding when appropriate, questioning when necessary. All the while, Arik and the others waited patiently, examining their weapons and adjusting the straps on the saddles.

"Remember," Rowena said to Rhys and Cam they mounted their bird. "You must get in and out without being seen. All of our lives rest on that. And Maleah." Maleah looked to the woman from atop Varen, Arik behind her. "This is your home now, I trust that you will do all you can to return to us."

She nodded stiffly, suppressing the fear that began trickling up her spine as she listened to the plan. On Rowena's signal, the blue bird took flight, Varen not far behind him. As the bird jerked into the air, Arik's hands clutched her waist.

Without another word, Maleah guided them into the hands of their hunters.