Early in the morning, Tyrian got dressed and left his tower. He hadn't slept very well after being tormented by dreams and memories and thoughts of what was to come. He had been awake before dawn and formulating a plan of attack, and he was ready to take action. He would sneak back to Trinan, find Ben's grave, and seek his answers.
First, he needed to tell the others just what was going on. It wasn't something to be kept a secret, and it could turn out to be advantageous. He didn't want to be a hero, but he was well aware that he had been headed that direction before he had known it was his destiny. The simple fact remained that there was no one else who could do what he was doing, and it needed to be done.
He went directly to Cassie's room but didn't bother to knock. He just walked inside. She deserved to know the truth of things before the others were told. And if he could catch her sleepy and vulnerable, possibly susceptible to suggestion, it was all the better. He was a general at his heart; he knew how to fight any war he wanted to win.
The room was of larger size considering its location, and it had also been divided between a sitting area and a sleeping area. The division had been made by tall screens that had symbols from the Monk Clans etched into them. Just beyond them, he could barely make out the shape of a bed.
A little smile on his lips, he went around the screens. The bed was much more simplistic than his own, and much smaller. Cassie slept on her stomach. She had one arm thrown over the side of the bed, and the blankets tangled around her hips. She wore an oversized tunic for sleeping and it dipped down over one slender shoulder.
The fist of need hit low and coiled hard inside his body. He stopped breathing entirely as he moved silently closer. Those ridiculously kissable lips seemed to be begging for his. Her body was perfectly formed for his hands. His entire body throbbed with the desire to claim her, even his jaw aching as he struggled for control.
He bent down, intent on kissing her awake, when her eyes suddenly opened. Before he could blink, she lunged upward and sent them both tumbling onto the floor. As the dust settled, she was sitting across his hips with a dagger at his throat. Feeling a bit stupid for forgetting she was a monk, he didn't move. "Cassie?"
She blinked at his voice and then the sleep cleared her brain and eyes alike as she realized who she had attacked. "Oh gods. Tyrian." She hastily tossed the dagger aside and glared at him furiously. "You idiot! Never sneak up on me like that! What were you doing?"
He smiled. The display of anger only made her more beautiful to him, and it was a welcome thing to see that she could lose her temper. It was a sign of her control issues diminishing. Too, the way she was perched over him allowed him a generous view of her tempting body. The tunic dipped delightfully low over her breasts. "I was intending on kissing you. But I don't argue the outcome."
She opened her mouth and then closed it. Abruptly she realized the position they were in. Her breath wedged in her chest as she stared down at him. The firelight flickered over his face to sculpt lines and planes. His dark eyes shimmered with green highlights and the longing inside clenched her heart and soul. Her hand slowly framed his face against her will.
"You have me at your mercy," he teased huskily. His hands settled hotly on her legs, and his right hand burned with that delicious tingle of magic. "What will you do with me, my lady monk?"
A bit helplessly, she bent her head and kissed him. She couldn't bear it. She had to taste his smile, to claim it for her own. She needed him so badly. His right hand slid up her body, trailing fire in its wake, then buried in her hair to pull her closer. As the kiss deepened, his tongue teasingly tangling with hers, something broke inside.
Her body quivered and then fiercely arched to press against his. Something like a tortured groan came from his chest and he instantly rolled to pin her to the carpet. His hands went everywhere as his mouth devoured hers. The tunic tore as he jerked the laces apart to find the flesh beneath. Somehow, he broke free of the kiss so that he could see what he had uncovered.
She was pale skin and supple curves and nearly flawless. Nearly. Small scars from unhealable wounds scattered across her skin and marked her indelibly as a warrior who had fought for her life more than once. The sight of it made something inside his soul quiver violently with complex emotions. Pride. Sympathetic pain. Love. Safety. Seeing the reminder of her monk lifestyle reminded him how safe he was in her arms. Nothing and no one could ever hurt him so long as she was there. "Hold me, Cassie," he whispered thickly. "Don't let me go."
She threw her arms around his neck fiercely and held on with all her strength. "I won't let anything happen to you!" she vowed intensely. "I won't let you go, Tyrian. Ever!" She turned her face up for his kiss, needing his taste imprinted inside. Whatever had broken had broken with a vengeance. Nothing was more important than the man in her arms. She loved him more than any fear could override.
He tore his mouth free and said thickly, "We better stop, Cassie. There's no time for what we both need."
She nipped at his chin. "Will there be time later?"
"I'll make time. Steal it." He kissed her between every word, unable to resist the lure of her swollen lips. "Cassie. My Kentei."
Her eyes, more blue in the firelight than black, blinked at him in sudden confusion. "Your what?" She searched his eyes, saw the core of determination inside, and tightened her hold on his neck comfortingly. "I think we need to talk, Tyrian."
He suddenly smiled. "I came in here intending to talk, actually."
She snorted at that. "Sure you did."
"I did. It was on the list." He rolled off her and up to his feet in a single lithe movement. He offered a hand to assist her, but she flipped nimbly to her feet. He had to be impressed; he didn't know anyone else who could do that. Her tunic was hanging open, tempting him, and he firmly pulled the edges closed. "I'll wait around the screens," he managed to say. "For the sake of my sanity, please cover yourself."
She took over holding the tunic closed and waited for him to move out of sight. Quickly she stripped off the tunic and pulled on her regular monk wear. It was not only her most comfortable thing to wear, but it also hid the most of her body.
When she went back around the screen, he was opening the curtains to let in the rising sunlight. He had also lit lamps. She spotted where her dagger had landed and scooped it up with a sigh. "You really should have known better."
He grinned sheepishly as he sat down at the table. "I suppose I should have." He held out a hand to her. When she crossed to his side, he tugged her down onto his lap. She gave him a flustered look, but he merely looped his arms around her waist. "I like you right where you are." There was just enough of a height difference that they were eye level when she sat on his lap. "Will you sleep with a dagger under the pillow when you're in our bed?"
She touched her forehead to his with a smile. "Yes, because there will be something far more precious than my life in it with me." She sighed softly as her fingers traced his lips. They were still flushed from their kisses. "I give up, Tyrian. I don't know what you did to me, but I'm not so afraid. Or perhaps, I'm more afraid for you than for me." She smoothed her fingers through his rumpled black hair. "I need you to be happy. And I feel like I'm the only one who can ensure you are."
"You are." He took a long breath. "We're destined, Cassie. Lady Tanelia came to me last night. She told me that my birth had been preordained, that I was born under a star known as Kaiten. It's my destiny to save our land. To be a hero." He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "As repayment for what I am being asked to do, there are one hundred and eight other Destined Stars to share the sky with me. All to be my friends, to love me and support me. You're one of them, but . . . you're more."
"You called me your Kentei Star."
"The name given to the star that shines closest to the Kaiten, the star that shelters and protects. My lover. Lady Tanelia said you were the one being who could hold me together and keep me from breaking." He let out the breath he had been holding. "Seems that my 'iron will' as we've all called it, is a double-edged sword."
"That, I knew." She framed his face with her hands and softly feathered kisses over his face. "I will always hold you together, Tyrian."
"It doesn't bother you?" He searched her eyes intently.
"Why should it? It's what I want." She brushed soft kisses across his eyes. Those beautiful eyes with their indomitable spirit and fierce glitter. The eyes of a leader, a hero. The stars had chosen their emissary perfectly. While she would not have wished the burden on his shoulders, at the least she was there to lift it again. He made her believe that anything was possible.
He caught her chin and tugged it down so that he could kiss her tenderly. "Thank you," he said softly. He curled a lock of her hair around his finger, loving the silken resilience. He wanted to see it tumbled across his pillow. "Move into my room with me," he asked. "Please. I will beg if needed, Cassie. I need you."
"Alright. Alright." She grinned. "But we don't want to consummate the relationship yet."
He slowly arched a brow. She looked far too mischievous suddenly. "We don't?"
"Not for at least a week. That way Kyle wins the betting pool."
"You honestly think that I'm going to be able to have you in my bed for a week, knowing you're mine for the taking, and not make love to you the way we both so terribly need? And you honestly think people will believe that I don't?"
"They'll believe it," she countered dryly, "because we're both going to look frustrated and miserable. I mean, more than we do. And I think you can find the control if it is for Kyle. He wants the money to buy a gravestone for Ophelia."
He took a long breath. It would be an interesting test of his willpower, but for something like this, he was willing to try. He predicted one hell of a lot of cold showers, though. "Thank god for running water."
She hid a smile. She didn't need to ask to know. "Was there anything else Lady Tanelia told you?"
"Yes, but that can be told to everyone. There's something I have to do." His eyes darkened. "I have to return to Ben's grave. She told me the answers are there."
She grimaced. The logistics of sneaking into Trinan when everyone there knew Tyrian's face were horrible. Everything that made her his Kentei Star rebelled at the very idea of letting him walk into the lions' den. But if Tanelia said he needed to go . . . "I'm going to hate this. And so is everyone else."
He let her go so she could stand and then let her tug him to his feet. "Let's see if we can't get those communications panels to work properly and get everyone to the meeting room. Think R.K. is awake and can bring us breakfast?"
"No doubt." She cleared her throat. "And I suppose I need to ask one of the castle maids to move my things to your room. What do we tell people if we're not lovers yet?"
"We're taking things one step at a time. And we are." He caught her hand and brought it to his lips before pressing it to his heart. "Even if your fears hadn't broken, we would be doing this. You need to trust me."
She shook her head. "I do."
"Not as much as you should," he countered gently. "This morning proved it. If you truly trusted me with your body as much as your heart, you'd have known my presence and not been alarmed."
She opened her mouth only to close it thoughtfully. "You know," she said slowly, "you may very well be right."
"I know I am." He stole a quick kiss and headed toward the door.
Bemused, she shook her head. "You have a hidden arrogant streak. I can tell you're a spoiled rich boy."
"I just like having my way." Already feeling better because he knew that she was going to be in his arms every night, as she should be, he was smiling as he headed through the castle and to the meeting room. A brief study of the voice-box told him how to use it and he began buzzing the boxes in the rooms belonging to his current Destined Stars. Including himself, there were eleven Stars counted for. It seemed daunting and impossible that there would be more.
Kyle was the first to stumble into the meeting room not long later. He was shortly followed by the others, most of them barely awake. Shots was alert, as was Marian, but Liang and Ewan were drinking cups of coffee as if their lives depended on it. Dylan and Kell yawned around every other word. Cassie arrived with R.K. and they carried trays with breakfast for everyone. Hawke was just alert enough to help pass them around the table.
"What gives?" Shots asked as he propped his feet on the table. He saw Liang eyeing him and hastily took his feet down again. "Y'all made it sound so serious, Lord Tyrian."
Tyrian sat down at the head of the table. He didn't have a choice since they had pointedly left the seat open for him. The only consolation he had was that Cassie sat to his right and Liang to his left. "Last night, I was visited by Lady Tanelia, the Great Seer."
There was silence and then Hawke told Cassie, "See, you need to sleep with him so strange women don't drop in unannounced."
"I'll be sleeping with him tonight," Cassie countered dryly, "but we'll only be sleeping."
"It's one step at a time." Ewan patted her shoulder companionably. His brown eyes twinkled merrily. "True love is scary stuff."
"Y'know firsthand?" Shots asked.
"Lena," Kyle, Kell, and Dylan said as one.
"Shut up!" Ewan muttered.
Tyrian had a feeling he would like Lena if he ever got to meet her. Any woman who could make Ewan run scared was well worth knowing. "Lady Tanelia told me that I am the Kaiten Star," he explained. "And I think what she told me might very well be what Blaine foresaw in her prophecy. Seems it was foretold a long time ago that I would be born and become a hero for my people. I was born under the star known as Kaiten. The stars themselves have chosen me."
"No one else at all was born the night that star shined?" Kyle asked with a touch of skepticism.
"Based on what she told me, no." He kept silent on the idea that there might be other Kaitens. If there were, it was possible the star had shown again in the intervening years on another child's birth.
"So you mean you didn't even have a choice?" Marian bristled. "You're being forced to just . . . just take on the burdens of the entire country? It was different when it was for Ophelia. You made that choice! But now it sounds like you're saying . . ."
"That Ophelia was meant to die." Kyle could barely get the words out. His eyes felt dry and burning. He couldn't cry anymore. There were no tears left. "She had to die so you could save everyone."
Tyrian searched his eyes and could see that Kyle was nowhere near ready to hear that Ophelia had known all along—which also made sense now. "I was already taking over before she died," was all he said. "We can't know what's destined and what's not. Even if we say it's my destiny to save everyone, that doesn't mean that we can just kick back and let it happen. We have to make it happen."
"So then what makes it so destined?" Hawke demanded.
"If Lord Tyrian walks away," Kell said softly, "then any number of events could happen to force him back. Terrible events. Things he will never be able to turn a blind eye to. Some have as yet happened."
"Ben," Marian whispered.
"Lady Tanelia said my destiny began with Ben." Tyrian took a deep breath. "She also said that if I go to his grave, I will find my answers as to why he died, and why his role was so important in my life."
"Time out!" R.K. sat up quickly. "You're intending to sneak back into Trinan where everyone there likely wants you dead? Over my dead body!" He stopped suddenly and got an odd look on his face as the others stared at him. "I have no idea where that came from."
"Everyone at this table," Tyrian said softly, "is what is known as a Destined Star. You were born under stars that draw close to mine. I need you to keep me strong. You give me the support I must have if I want to endure through my destiny. The stars have burdened me, yes, but they gifted me at the same time."
"Well, hot damn." Ewan crossed his arms. "That makes sense of everything. Why all of us, even R.K. and Kell, who don't fight, want to make sure you keep your ass safe and alive. Why we all feel so much more powerful because you believe in us. Count on me, Tyrian! My sword is at your command. If you need me to scale the walls of the castle, just toss me some rope and I'll go."
"Let's hope it doesn't come that," the Kaiten said dryly.
"What of Cassie?" Dylan asked. "She's not like the rest of us. Not truly."
"No, she isn't." Tyrian looked at Cassie, his eyes dark with his emotions, all of which seemed too complex for anyone else to understand. "She is my Kentei Star. She is the star closest to mine, the one that shines to shelter me. My greatest defender. The one person who can keep me from breaking."
"He has a breaking point?" Hawke whispered to Shots.
He pulled his hat low over his eyes, his stomach clenching with dread at the idea of what might happen to Tyrian if he broke. "No, little lady. And that's the whole problem. If someone like Tyrian breaks, it's like dropping glass from the tower. There's no repairing it."
Her hands gripped together briefly. She took a long breath and then nodded briskly. "Okay! Okay, then you can count on us, Tyrian! We'll support you no matter what. You want to go to Trinan, then we'll take you there."
"We can't take a full party," Liang protested instantly. "We need to be much stealthier. Cassie, I, and Ewan will accompany Tyrian back to Trinan. Ewan's face isn't known there. He can move around the town safely from the streets while Cassie looks from the shadows. When they can find us a safe opening, then Tyrian and I will join them."
"I don't like this," Dylan muttered.
"Join the club," Kyle and Shots both muttered back.
Tyrian got to his feet. "It has to be done. I trust Lady Tanelia. And . . . I have to know. Ben was my brother. If he died for my destiny, then I need to know why. And I need to know who his murderer is. It's all connected somehow."
Everyone at the table recognized instantly that he had dug in his heels. Only Cassie would possibly be able to change his mind, but she was the last person who wanted to try. Nothing more to be said or done, everyone split up. Liang and Ewan went to their rooms to pack a bag for the nearly weeklong trip, and Cassie found herself going with Tyrian to his—their—room. The maids had moved very fast, as if they had just been waiting for the chance.
Tyrian hid a smile as she walked with him up the stairs of the tower. "The guards didn't look surprised. They looked very pleased."
"I think it is a general feeling among everyone," she agreed ruefully. "Now the bets will really fly as they try to pin down just when their Kaiten and his Kentei actually become lovers. I ought to be embarrassed that my love life is on such display, but I'm beginning to be amused by it. Perhaps because it doesn't scare me as much anymore."
"And it's the price to be paid for being with me." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm living in a fishbowl. Now you're in it with me. I'm sorry, Cassie."
She looked up at him, the blue flecks in her eyes glimmering like the stars that blessed their birth. "I'm not."
It was still a little bit unnerving to open the closet and see her clothes hanging neatly beside his. It seemed so intimate, almost more intimate than when they had shared a bed before. "This will take some getting used to," she conceded.
Once they had both packed their backpacks with anything they needed, they headed down to the courtyard to meet up with Ewan and Liang. They retrieved horses from the stables and then headed out of the city entirely. The gates shut behind them, and guards along the walls waved encouragingly.
It was almost five days before they reached the edges of Trinan. It was three days from the castle to Teasarn, and an hour from there to Trinan, but there was every chance that Teasarn had soldiers in it just in case someone came back. Therefore, the longer route had to be taken. No one complained. Ewan had a lot of hilarious, if hair-raising, tales to be told.
When they reached the city, Liang and Tyrian found a place to hide. Ewan entered the city as plain as day, and Cassie slipped into the shadows that were such an integral part of her life. People spoke candidly with Ewan and told him all about the rumors and the speculation that flew. No one seemed to want to give their opinion of their own living, but Ewan sensed a certain tension under the surface.
As he was about to leave the tavern, he heard a soft musical voice say, "Care for an ale?"
Startled, he looked to the side to see a woman sitting at a table out of the way. She was surprisingly tall and shockingly gorgeous. Her long white hair was scooped up in a ponytail, and her eyes shimmered a fascinating shade of purple. An ageless wisdom lurked inside as if she seemed to know everything. "I might," he said slowly, sensing a kindred spirit. He slowly sat down across from her and studied her intently. She wore the familiar plate armor of a heavy-duty warrior. On her right hand was a Lightning Relic. On her left was an unfamiliar relic that looked like a musical note. "What do you recommend?"
"Hmm." She slid a glass across to him. "A dose of reality? Pity no one else around here has had any."
He sipped the ale and watched her over the top. "I've been drinking the stuff for months. You get used to the taste."
"After a while, anything else tastes terrible. Reality isn't always great, but better to be honest than blinded." She ran her finger around the edge of a water glass, and a softly beautiful humming sound echoed in the air. It lingered like wine on the tongue. "What do you think of the guards in Trinan?"
"They do their jobs well," he conceded.
"Very well, indeed. But sometimes they can be a little lazy. Some even take naps when they shouldn't. I'm surprised no one has snuck into the city, what with that new marble gravestone. It's no doubt worth a fortune."
His eyes sharpened. "I assume it's guarded too."
"Amazingly, it's not." She got to her feet gracefully and dropped a few coins on the table. "The drink is on me. It's always nice to talk to someone else who can read the stars."
She walked away soundlessly, even her armor silent. Her body moved with the precision and control of a long-trained warrior. Much to his surprise, there was a claymore equipped on her back. He had not met many combatants who could wield one, but then, she was definitely taller than average. The long and heavy blade would not impede her.
After a moment of thought, he left the tavern as well. It didn't take long before he sensed Cassie join him, and together they left the city. They returned to where Tyrian and Liang hid and hunkered down to wait for nightfall.
"Well?" Liang asked.
"I met a very interesting person at the tavern," Ewan said. He recounted the conversation and then added, "She's one of us. I'm not sure how I know, but I do know it. And she certainly knew who I was. I got the impression she even knows where we are right now." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "She wore an unusual relic."
"What did it look like?" Cassie asked.
"A music note."
"Oh, it's a Music Relic." She looped her arms around her legs. "You know how Voice Relics are considered the bastard child of the Pure Relic of Listening since they're one of a kind but not actually Pure? Well, Music Relics are like the Voice Relic."
"What do Music Relics do?" Tyrian asked curiously.
"Musicians use them to enhance their performance. Some think that someone of enough magical capacity could even use one as a weapon. I can't say how, but it would no doubt have to be quite extraordinary."
Ewan thought of the way the woman had moved and spoke and how everything she had done had been like music itself. He had a feeling it had nothing to do with her relic. "I think she might qualify."
Under the cover of darkness, with Tyrian and Liang hidden in cloaks, they made their way to the city limits once more. A lingering soft pulse of music in the air alerted them to which direction to take, and it wasn't long before they found where several guards contentedly slept away at their post. The gate stood open just enough for even Ewan to slip inside undisturbed.
It could have been a trap, but inexplicably, Tyrian knew it wasn't. That music he could sense was soothing to him, in a way not dissimilar from the way he felt when his Stars were near. It seemed to tingle along his soul.
The graveyard was as silent as, well, death. It was a peaceful place, serene and calming. Both nobility and commoner could be buried there. The class difference didn't matter in your death, Tyrian thought. Only in your life. It was a saddening thought.
Near the edge closest to the city walls, they found a marble gravestone. Tyrian's whole body trembled as he lightly traced the words carved into the cool stone. Ben Southerwind: son of Donald & Annareal, brother of Tyrian. "We shared no blood," he said softly. "But we never remembered. No one ever assumed otherwise. People were always surprised to learn he was adopted."
A soft wind rustled the trees melodically. Cassie lifted her head quickly. "Tyrian, be quick," she said softly. "We're being warned that time is short."
He knelt down to study the grave. There was nothing out of place. He had no idea how he was supposed to find answers there. He smoothed his hand lightly over the flowers blooming on the grave, and green light suddenly started to emerge from the grave.
"Get back!" Liang dragged Tyrian back quickly even as Cassie and Ewan swiftly moved aside.
The green glow pushed its way up through the soil and became the familiar shape of a relic. The sphere of glass held the symbol of a multi-edged moon scythe deep within it. The entire thing pulsed with a strong power that everyone present felt inside. Tyrian, more than the others, felt it the sharpest. It was a familiar feeling. He knew this relic.
Without conscious will, he slowly walked closer to the relic. He lifted his hands toward it and felt his soul eagerly soaking up the power being expended. He grasped onto the relic, intending merely to take it from the air, but the decision was taken from him the instant it touched his right hand.
The relic fused forcefully to his hand with a sharp cracking sound. It seemed to shove its way inside his very soul, filling every drop of his magical capacity. It tore at his soul and seemed to claw it apart in an effort to find its place. The pain was all-consuming, staggering, and then the rush of raw power slammed into his head. With it came memories that were not his. They were Ben's.
"Tyrian!" Cassie leapt forward and caught him in her arms. She was strong, but he was heavier than she expected, and she fell to her knees with him cradled close. He looked pale as salt, sweat slowly sliding down his face. She could feel how every muscle in his body had knotted violently in response to the relic's forceful mergence. Terror made her mouth dry as she stared at the back of his right hand where the mark had appeared.
"What the hell?" Ewan's voice was shaky. "I've never seen a relic do that! I've seen people fuse relics! They don't hurt!"
"Regular relics don't." Liang could barely get the words out. "But . . . but legend states . . . states that Pure Relics do."
Ewan went still. "That's . . . that's a Pure Relic?" He looked at the scythe on Tyrian's hand and could see how it was much darker, much more brilliant than a normal relic mark. "Wait, don't Pure Relics give immortality?"
Cassie looked up at the stars, her eyes going instantly to the ones belonging to her and Tyrian. His was dimmer than usual as if it responded to what he endured. Her arms tightened around him, and her star shone ever brighter. She thought of her adopted father, her promised legacy, and then looked at the Pure Relic her lover bore. Destiny did, indeed, plan for everything.
Tyrian was only distantly aware of their voices. It was only the sound of Cassie's heartbeat that kept him sane. It was the only anchor he had as he came under full assault from the memories left inside the relic. He could barely sort them all.
But then, Ben's image appeared in his mind. Tyrian, he said softly, if you are seeing this, then I am gone, and the Devourer is in your hands where it belongs. I gave my life to protect this relic for you. When I met you, I knew you were the one meant to be its owner. I carried it inside, safely protected where it could not be sensed. From that day I asked you to 'break a curse on me,' I had the relic attuned to you. That is why you could never wear another relic. Already, you were wearing one. A Pure Relic user cannot equip any other relic. A Pure Relic fills every aspect of your magical capacity.
Is that why, Tyrian asked his brother's image. Is that why my capacity was so great?
No. That potential was there to take in the Devourer. But it is why everyone was able to sense it so clearly, and why you acted like you had a relic when you didn't. The Devourer . . . its burden is great. But you have the will to endure. You must endure!
Who did this to you? Tyrian nearly shouted the words, driven beyond his control, his will shaken. Why did you have to die? Who killed you? Why?!
Rather than words, memories separated themselves and became images. Tyrian watched very clearly as Ben's birth parents gave him the relic for safety before they were murdered. Ben, and Tyrian, saw the murder. Ben was barely more than five at the time. Life at the orphanage was not better over the next eight years, and then, Foresalia had attacked.
Tyrian felt his heart break as he watched his brother flee for his life from the army only to encounter a more sinister figure. It chased him across the hot desert of the Empire until it finally wounded him and left him for dead inside Teasarn. Tyrian could even see himself in the memory as he rode closer with Liang. It had only been he and Liang that had saved Ben that time.
Then, only a short time ago. The memories came in faster for being more recent. Ben arriving at Teasarn to get Tyrian's birthday gift and coming under attack from that shadowy figure. This time it revealed itself to be a haggard and decrepit old woman that looked, somehow, frighteningly, familiar. She screamed at Ben again and again to give up the relic, but he just laughed at her. Said she would never find it. Her rage welled and she grabbed onto his throat to begin draining his lifeforce.
Shock ripped through Tyrian's soul and mind as he saw the old woman use the lifeforce to change her appearance. Shining hair, striking beauty. Eyes as cold and dead as ice.
Lady Blaine, Albanion's consort.
The shock of what he had seen was enough to shake off the effects of the merging, and he opened his eyes as fast as he could. They felt as if they were weighted in lead. His entire body hurt from head to heels and he couldn't find any control over his muscles. He might not have minded it so much if he hadn't opened his eyes to find them surrounded by more than a dozen armed Empire soldiers.
Ewan had his sword drawn, and Liang's hands had lifted in a fighting stance, but there were too many bows and arrows aimed at Tyrian for them to risk moving. Cassie's entire body was tensed.
"We should have known you'd come back," one soldier said in satisfaction. "You lit up the sky like a lantern, Lord Tyrian. That wasn't very subtle of you. Now get on your feet."
"He can't," Cassie said curtly. "Relic weakness."
"Bullshit. Get on your feet, traitor."
"Help me," Tyrian managed say softly to Cassie.
She hesitated and then put all her strength into helping him gain his feet. He managed to stand, but all his weight rested against her. He couldn't even hold up his head. Terror churned inside her stomach. He was so weak! So vulnerable. "Someone has to help me," she said. "You can see he's sick!"
One soldier sighed and put up his bow. "Fine." He walked closer and grabbed Tyrian's right hand with the intent of helping to take his weight. Instead, Tyrian's relic sent out a shockwave that tore through the soldier's entire body. The energy of the relic seemed to completely devour the soldier's lifeforce. He was dead before his body hit the ground.
"Shoot him!" the lead soldier shouted.
Without hesitation, Cassie threw her arms around Tyrian and knocked them both down. One arrow slammed into her arm. Another into her leg. A third struck her in the back. Tyrian, strength returning with the energy his relic had consumed, managed to sit up with her in his arms. "Cassie!"
Ewan and Liang went after the closest soldiers, all of whom were still shell-shocked. Others leapt for Cassie and Tyrian. They never made it. The woman from the tavern appeared from out of nowhere and sent the soldiers flying with a swing of her sword. She lifted her right hand and massive bolts of lightning dropped from the sky. Any enemy still standing was knocked back several feet.
"You!" Ewan said.
"The name is Laia." She turned quickly, assessing the enemy as soldiers carefully got to their feet. "Laia Mitakel." She whistled intricately into the air, and an answering whistle returned shortly. "The way is clear. We just need to make a break for it. Grab the wounded."
Tyrian slowly looked up from Cassie's prone body. Blood stained them both, and some had spattered across his face. Agony moved in the depths of his dark eyes. He focused on the soldiers closing in, and something nearly unholy crossed his face. "Go to Hell," he said very softly, so softly that only Laia truly heard him.
The Devourer glowed and activated as a glowing runic circle opened around his body. The circle of magic existed wholly unique from user to user, and Tyrian's resembled black and green fog. Rolling waves of black energy swept across the land and consumed the soldiers. When the energy faded, there was nothing left at all.
"Shit," Ewan breathed. He had never seen a power like that before.
"Stop gawking," Laia snapped. She knelt and removed the arrows from Cassie's body with swift competency. She grabbed Tyrian's cloak and tore strips from it to bind the wounds as best she could. "We need to haul ass!" She cupped Tyrian's cheek and forced him to look at her. "Tyrian," she said softly, "Cassie will live." Her Music Relic glowed softly. "Sleep."
He slumped over instantly, too weak to resist the spell. Liang wasted no time in lifting Cassie into his arms. Ewan carried Tyrian. They swiftly followed Laia through the stirring city, ignoring the voices rising in fear and confusion. Laia didn't lead them to the same gate they had entered through. She went to another. Waiting there was a man roughly the same height and size as Ewan. "Horses?" she asked.
"Ready," the man countered. "Let's go."
Liang looked at the male with the golden eyes and realized that he had to be the same as Laia. "You're both . . . Destined Stars?"
"Name's Rourke Mitakel. You might be surprised to learn that there are quite a few of us who knew before you did just what is going on." He held Tyrian long enough for Ewan to get on a horse and then gently handed their precious Kaiten over. "Laia is a Healer as well as a warrior. She can tend to Cassie on the way to base."
Liang glanced back at the city as they raced away through the night. "Just what the hell happened?"
"You already said it." Laia's purple eyes looked nearly black in the moonlight. "Hell happened."
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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