Page 29 of Shadows Ascend (Remnant Archives #2)

T he snow leopard’s grin widened, the crystal blue eyes calculating, its long tail curled up around him. "I see that my unicorn fashion has taken off since I have been gone." The master healer's deep soothing voice emanated from the majestic cat.

"Jar," I croaked, not able to tear my eyes away, hardly believing what I was seeing.

The feline predator chuckled. "Yes, your majesty, it is I."

" Emon? " Remnant's hesitant voice sounded in my mind. " Is that…? "

" Yes, " I choked back to her, realizing this was the master healer's shifted form, I had never seen it before but had always known him to be formidable.

His crystal blue eyes zeroed in over my shoulder where footsteps of my daughter and soulmate could be heard slowly approaching. "Well met forta , and our newest shadow shifter cub. Greetings, little Riella."

"Jar?" Remnant whispered, the three moons suddenly peeking over the sandy dunes bathing us all in moonlight.

The cat shook its head exasperatedly and arched his brow, looking down at the pookah that started to roll in the sand. "This is not going as I expected. It’s almost as if they thought I’d be wandering the Vagari in my death rather than the Eithne. Any suggestions, friend?"

The pookah stopped its rolling and hissed, disappearing into the twilight.

"Spirit guides," Jarquinn's cat sighed and rolled his eyes. "You can never fully trust them.”

Riella giggled behind me.

Jarquinn's tail twitched before curling it further around him, turning his sight on my daughter.

"Little cub, I must say I am terribly sorry for the way we last met and I will apologize for Zaki.

He is an eager and somewhat tactless spirit guide.

Until you came he preferred setting my tail on fire rather than helping me. "

"Will he come back?" Riella asked shyly.

Jar's regal spotted head dipped, narrowing his gaze on her.

"I do believe he will, little cub." Rising back to his full height in sitting, he hissed.

"Before you two become complete numpties, staring at me with drool hanging out of your mouths," his eyes shifted between Remnant and I before rolling again,"Let us move on.

We have some things we need to discuss…these lands, while beautiful, cannot always be trusted. " He eyed the sand wearily.

I glanced back at my soulmate, neither one of us moving, having been solidly frozen in shock, still unable to comprehend what was happening before us.

But our daughter did not hesitate, delicately placing her crown back on top of her head she marched forward with eager determination.

My hand shot out, stopping her, and she looked at me with confusion. "Not without us Riella. It is dangerous for you to go off alone."

My reprimand only served to deliver an adorable pout from her.

Snickering, I rose from the sand, brushing it off from my leathers and feeling its coarse granules scraping beneath my shirt. Reason number forty one not to wear a fucking shirt.

Remnant stepped next to us, reaching for Riella's other hand. "Your father is right, that crown was not worth your life, little one. You must think about what you are doing before you chase after something again."

"But I did think," she sulked, looking between us. "There is a silver path beneath us and grandmother said the path is safe." As if her words commanded it, the sands parted to reveal the glittering walkway under our feet.

The snow leopard chuckled and his eyes twinkled at our daughter. "Clever, little shadow shifter." Rising smoothly, he began to stalk away, indicating us to follow.

I barely repressed my laughter when Remnant shot an arched brow at me.

"How did you know this, my cub?" I peered down at the top of her head where her crown glinted in the dusky twilight.

She swung our hands, happy once again, pulling us forward to follow the snow leopard. "I asked the lands for a path and it told me yes."

"The land speaks to you?" Remnant gasped softly, shooting a concerned look towards me.

"Yep!" Riella hummed.

"What else do the lands say?" I said carefully, watching the sauntering snow leopard ignore our conversation, leading us casually over the next dune.

She tilted her head to the side and then nodded once. "They say to follow Master Healer Jarquinn and that they love your shirt father."

Barking out a short laugh, I squeezed her hand. "It is not for them, it is for my beautiful daughter—” and something else entirely.

The pathway shifted beneath my feet and I stumbled into a curved divot that was not there before. Cursing, I growled down at the lands.

Riella giggled. "They did not like you saying that but say they also agree. I am beautiful."

Smiling, ruffling her hair fondly. Amazed at the child before me. "Little fiend."

"We are here," Jarquinn's voice rang out and the three of us stopped to see a beautiful soft light flickering above the sand no bigger than my hand. Its warm glow illuminated the elegant spotted coat of Jar's cat and it hummed, singing a voice of longing and promise .

"Can you feel that?" Remnant asked through our bond, "it's the same feeling I had earlier, this light wants us to come to it."

I grunted, the song pulling me inward just a Remnant said. It was…peaceful, the same feeling I had always felt when I entered the healing quarters. Like a warm blanket, soothing the storms that raged within us all.

"Jar," I began.

The snow leopard shook his head. "We talk when we are inside."

I peered around us, seeing nothing but sand and the dead end of the silver path we stood upon. "Inside?"

Jarquinn rolled his crystal blue cat eyes again. "Sometimes I do worry about you, Daemon."

My soulmate stepped forward and tilted her head at the warm light. "It's a gateway," she breathed.

Jar nodded. "More or less." Turning towards the light he looked over his shoulder, poised just inches before it. "It is the doorway to my promised peace. You will see them scattered throughout the Eithne should someone want you to visit them."

Pouncing through, he was immediately absorbed by the enchanting glow.

"Ooooo, I wanna go!" Riella cried, yanking on both our hands and dragging us stumbling through the gateway with surprising strength.

"Her shifter powers are manifesting already. The strength, her speed," I sent to my soulmate before we touched the light.

"We must teach her how to use it to her benefit then, and soon," Remnant said firmly.

"She will know how to use them when the time is needed. It is not the faeling's powers I would be worried about. It is yours," Jarquinn interrupted our internal thoughts, reading the worry easily on our faces.

Snapping my head up, I stared at my friend, now in his fae form—a fae who I had just seen beheaded by my soulmate only days ago.

He was every bit the ancient fae I remembered. Sky blue robes, blonde hair shining, slanted bright blue eyes staring with so much depth to them that I could get lost trying to understand it.

My gaze shifted to the world surrounding him, surrounding us, and reached out tentatively to a purple wisp that floated right in front of me.

It fluttered at my touch, and then rose away into great towering trees full of thick glittering foliage.

From their wispy leaves, heavy rain drops were frozen in time, reflecting soft beams of light from the warm sun, casting millions of rainbow prisms all around us.

The master healer shook his head exasperatedly and walked forward through the towering oaks that hummed, their branches moving to softly touch the healer in greeting as he walked by. Flowers bloomed from each step Jar took, a trail to follow in the most wondrous of ways.

Riella tugged on my hand, her eyes wide. "I want to be able to do that," she whispered before skipping off in front of me to follow, her little hands trailing over the fragrant petals.

Shaking my head, I carefully stepped through the vibrant green moss of the forest floor, avoiding the blooming flowers, not trusting any of them not to bite my balls off.

Remnant snickered next to me, reading my mind and likely hearing the same distant snores of gnomes just as I did. Another thing that would likely bite my balls off if I allowed them to get too close.

Jar paused, stooping to pluck an odd looking yellow bloom sprouting from the ground.

"Ah. Yes this will do." He muttered to himself and held the odd looking plant outwards into the sunlight. The forest around us hummed like it agreed and was pleased.

"It's so beautiful," Riella whispered beside us.

Jarquinn smiled softly at our cub. "It is, isn't it?"

Frustrated, I ran my hand through my hair. "Why did you bring us here Jar? You must know why we are in Sheol. Why is it that you are standing here acting like you didn't almost kill my soulmate then beg her to end you."

Remnant flinched, the pain this had caused her evident on her face, the guilt burning brightly in her eyes.

I swept her hair back. "Let the guilt go, little umbra. Jar knew it was his time." I bent to hoist Riella in my arms. Tucking her close into my chest, feeling suddenly protective of my family, I glared at the master healer accusingly. "You knew, didn't you? That you would die."

Jar raised a singular blonde brow at me, dropping his hand that still held the plant.

"I am an ancient fae, Daemon. My days have always been numbered," he sighed.

"But even more so when I broke the wards on Riella.

The Sanguine is not easily destroyed, in order to save her I had to take pieces of it into myself.

I am sorry to say, I was foolish enough to think that the small amount I did absorb would not affect me. "

I growled low. "That still doesn't explain why we are here."

Remnant rested her hand on my upper arm and I ceased my low growling. She gazed at the healer expectantly, "Why are we here Master Riss? Why have you sought us out?"