Chapter 26: Fates Entwined: Chapter 25

eese woke with a head that no longer pounded like the devil. And found herself being spooned by Keen.

For just a second, she lay there with his arms wrapped around her and pretended they were of the same world, and that this was how she would wake every morning. In his arms.

But they weren’t of the same world. And this wasn’t how things could be. Keen would marry her sister, and Reese would return home. To school. To her messed-up parents. To a life that meant little after everything she’d experienced in Tirnan.

She wanted more. More with Keen. More with Halven and Fae and her powers, and learning what her ancestors meant to this world and the Earth realm. They had to exist for a reason.

had to be here for a reason. She’d survived the Ancient Allon leaves. That must mean something.

Reese reluctantly rolled to her back, and Keen stirred.

He rubbed a hand down his face and sat upright. He took in her expression. “How do you feel?”

“Better.”

He let out a deep breath, his eyes soft for only a moment before they hardened. “Good… Now I must kill you for what you put me through. What were you thinking, drinking the tea?”

She rolled her eyes. This man did not scare her. Not one bit. She sat up and pressed her face to his neck, breathing in his scent, because he was still in bed with her and she could lap it up all she wanted right now. “I was thinking I’d like to kick some ass in the realm of my ancestors, and that I needed a little extra power to do it.”

“That is a terrible reason to put your life at risk.”

Tough words, but his heartbeat kicked up a notch as her lips pressed against his throat. “Sure.”

“I am serious, Reese.”

She leaned back. “In hindsight, it was stupid. I didn’t realize it would affect me that badly. I won’t do anything like that again.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “But don’t think you can tell me what to do, Keen Albrecht. You have no say. You’re marrying my sister, for goodness’ sake. From now on, I’ll do what I have to in order to survive.”

He sighed and stared at the ceiling. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Those are my thoughts. What am I going to do with ? You drive me nuts when you’re near, with all your bossiness, but…I don’t like it when you’re gone.” She scrunched her nose, remembering how distraught she’d been when he left her at the tavern. When she worried she’d never see him again.

His emerald eyes were warm. “The feeling is mutual.”

Illa entered the room without knocking, and Keen rose swiftly from the bed. She glanced at him curiously, then at Reese. “You look much better. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ll live. I’m sorry I worried you. That was…more painful than I thought it would be. And a bit frightening.”

Illa came closer and placed her soft hand over Reese’s. “You were in and out of consciousness for three days.”

“Three days?”

“Exactly,” Keen said, looking over his shoulder at her, mouth firm.

“Well, crap, no wonder I feel like I’ve been run over. Were Elena and Derek this sick?”

Just then, Elena entered, followed by Derek, Hakon, and Camille.

“No,” Illa answered. “From what I understand, both Derek and Elena recovered after a few hours.”

Reese slouched. Hell, she really could have died. She hadn’t intended to put her life at risk. She truly thought she’d have the same experience Elena had. “I’m sorry I worried you. I really am okay now.”

Reese swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched out her toes. A wide gap separated the hem of her pants from her ankles.

She stretched her arms out in front of her—and the sleeves of her shirt were short as well, and tighter all around.

She jumped up and stumbled into the nightstand, her head spinning. Everyone in the room lurched for her, but she held up a hand. “I’m fine. But check it out!” She stood tall. “You guys can’t make any more short comments.”

Elena raised her eyebrows.

Keen’s mouth pulled back on one side.

Hakon looked to Illa. “What is she talking about?”

“I believe she is demonstrating how…

she has grown after drinking the Allon tea.”

Reese peered at the faces in the room. “Why do you look unimpressed?”

Elena came over and stood in front of her. She still had a few inches on Reese. “You grew about”—she scanned her—“three inches. Not worth risking your life over.”

“I wasn’t trying to grow taller,” Reese grumbled. “I was trying to increase my powers, but how come none of you are impressed with my awesome new height?”

“Because you’re still the shortest one in the room?”

“I’ve got to be five foot nine now.”

“Yes,” Keen said blandly from behind Elena. “Short.”

Reese shook her head. “Fine. I’ll always be short compared to the rest of you. What about the other stuff? My powers. How soon will I know what cool new things I can do?”

Elena glanced at Derek. “Immediately. There wasn’t a latency period for Derek or me. We might not have known exactly what we were capable of, but our powers were there as soon as we recovered.”

Reese spent hours with Elena inside the castle laboratory trying to figure out her enhanced abilities. So far, all she got was a stronger, almost visceral sense of what someone was feeling. And she could easily block it, which a bonus. Emotion overload was real.

“Maybe that’s all you’ve got?” Elena offered unhelpfully.

“All that pain I went through, only for more of the same? How am I supposed to help you in the fight?”

“By staying alive?” Elena lit a candle on the lab table with her finger.

Reese gestured at her. “See, now look at that. I want powers like yours. I want to be able to kick Fae ass.”

“You could totally whoop my butt in hand-to-hand combat.”

Reese frowned. “That’s not saying much. Anyone could kick your butt in a physical battle—if your powers were hindered.”

“I want to be offended, but I can’t because it’s true.” Elena grinned. “In any case, don’t worry about fighting Newlanders. Derek and Camille are working up a plan.” She returned several glass bottles to their shelf. They were using them to see if Reese could move things with her mind. Turned out she didn’t get that cool new skill either.

Elena’s eyes turned sad. “I am leery of this battle after the last one. But if we could save my mother’s people from Portia after what’s happened, it would be worth it.”

Reese asked her next question knowing she might not like the answer. Or that she’d like it too much and want to see him. “What about Keen and Illa? Are they still here?”

“They’re here, along with your father and Ulric. It seems Ulric left without permission and can’t return to New Kingdom without harsh punishment.”

“How did he get out in the first place? Doesn’t that go against his oath to Portia?”

“That’s the thing. Ulric never made an oath. Not all of her soldiers were ordered to, only the highest-ranking men and anyone Portia was concerned about. By the time Ulric showed his true allegiance—you know, when he stormed out of the battle with Illa in his arms?—it was too late.”

“Never knew Ulric had that kind of ability. He practically disintegrated the door.”

“Well,” Elena said, “his powers are even stronger now that he’s drunk from the Ancient Allon. He’s been working with Derek’s men while you were recovering.”

“I’m happy Derek agreed to take him in. No saying what Portia would do to him, and he’s grown on me.”

Elena nodded. “All kinds of changes going on around here. With Ulric, this is the first time in Old Kingdom history they’ve had a Newlander on the guard. And if my aunt convinces the Sunlanders to help us? History in the making right there.”

“Sunlanders? You mean the third kingdom no one seems to care about?”

Elena pursed her lips. “It’s not so much that they don’t care about Sunlanders…more of an unspoken agreement to leave them alone. Sunlanders don’t want royal court drama. They’re passive and non-combative.”

“So why doesn’t everyone live in Sunland? It sounds fantastic.”

“Silly Reese.” Elena smirked. “Sunland has no power or wealth.”

“But they’re Fae. They have abilities, right?”

“Sure they do, but Oldlanders have honed their powers and weapons over thousands of years, thanks to crafty alchemists and the Ancient Allon growing inside their castle. Newlanders have strong angel bloodlines and wealth from trade with humans, making New Kingdom and Old Kingdom closely matched in power. I’m sure once they duke out who’s on top, the winner will clobber Sunland and take it over.”

“Tirnan sucks.”

“Truth.”

“So what do we do now? I vote we leave this backward place and take our friends with us. No one will know they’re Fae if they pretend to be ex-basketball players.”

Elena smiled sadly and tossed what looked to be an old-school brass magnifying glass on the counter. Come to think of it, everything in this laboratory looked ancient. They kept things original around here. “Derek was right. I can’t in good conscience leave my people in Portia’s hands.”

“

So you acknowledge them now?”

She let out a deep sigh. “I do. You’ve seen what Portia’s capable of. I don’t trust her not to continue her killing spree for power. And what if she decides to take over the Earth realm? Rules don’t apply in her mind, and every time I imagine asking Camille to take me home, I get this gut-wrenching pain in my stomach.”

“Like the one you have now?”

“Like that one.” Elena cocked her head. “Don’t underestimate your heightened ability. It’s got written all over it.”

Reese grinned proudly. “Aw, thank you.” And then her face fell as she considered their predicament. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t like the idea of leaving Keen behind as Portia’s bitch.” She bit her lip, tasting blood.

Abandoning Keen—strong and stubborn though he might be—made Reese sick, and it was one of the reasons she’d taken a chance on the tea.

“You’re worried about my bodyguard now?”

Reese shot Elena a look that said, .

Elena was digging for information. Reese hadn’t revealed her feelings for the Fae warrior and how much things had changed between them. “He’s not your bodyguard anymore. He’s Illa’s fiancé and Portia’s servant.”

“Maybe, but that’s gonna change. We have more warriors from Emain coming to Old Kingdom to help with the takeover. We can’t bring everyone—someone needs to guard the university—but Marcus is one of the biggest warriors they have, and he’s bringing a few of his buddies.”

“Marcus?”

“One of the Emain soldiers who helped guard me on campus. You should have seen him and his guards crammed around our dining table the night before I left for Tirnan.”

“When did I miss a meal with a horde of hot soldiers?”

Elena cringed. “It was before Derek and I came here to cure the virus and get you back. A last meal, so to speak…in case we didn’t make it home.”

“So, good times. And here we are again, saving Tirnan from Portia.”

“There’s one more thing,” Elena said hesitantly. “Keen’s here now, but not for long. He’ll need to return to New Kingdom. He was able to leave under the pretense of escorting his fiancé to her homeland so she could prepare for the wedding.”

Reese’s throat went dry. “Right. Of course he’ll need to go back.”

Elena walked to where Reese gripped the lab table. “What’s going on with you two? And don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ I’ve suspected something since you met Keen in our apartment weeks ago.”

“I didn’t even know him then,” Reese said.

“No. But there was…something. Wasn’t there?”

Reese swallowed. When she’d first met Keen he’d just been Elena’s tall bodyguard—after she’d dropped the bombshell on Reese about all things Fae. It had been a lot to take in at the time, but meeting Keen had made things worse.

He had always treated Reese differently. He never flirted—quite the opposite. He criticized her clothing, or lack thereof. But Elena was right. There had been a spark, even when they were arguing.

when they argued. “I didn’t think so at the time, but I know him better now. I mean, he’s still an arrogant ass. But he’s a good guy.”

Elena smiled. “So, what’s changed?”

“Everything. I know he cares for me. And the way I feel about him… I’ve never felt that way about anyone before. It’s intense, and it’s not only a physical attraction. I find myself wanting to see him happy—willing to do whatever it takes to see that he’s okay. And we…” Reese gave Elena a telling look.

“Oh.

Really?”

Reese nodded and looked away. “But it’s done. I don’t know what we thought we were doing—not denying ourselves for once, I guess. But we can’t be together.”

Elena nudged Reese’s shoulder, lightening the mood with a wink. “The heart wants what it wants.”

Reese choked out a laugh. “Don’t start quoting pop songs. The situation is bad enough as it is.”

Elena chuckled, but her expression turned more serious. “It will be okay. Everything will work out. Look at Derek and me. He’s the king of Old Kingdom and I’m supposed to be the queen of the opposing land—his sworn enemy? I mean, come on, he and I have no business being together. But we’re working it out. You never know what will happen.”

“But you sort of do, don’t you? Has there ever been a lasting Fae-Halven, or even Fae-Human, relationship?”

Elena’s mouth twisted and she looked away.

“Exactly.”