Page 9 of Shaedes of Power (Soul Magic #1)

CHAPTER 9

S ufficiently clean and with sleep finally coming to call, our bathhouse diversions had to come to an end. Farris politely turned around without asking so I could slip on my buttercream-colored robe and secure its belt around my waist. He was going to head back to the room while I went to check on Dru.

It had to be creeping toward midnight by the time I found myself at Dru’s door. She lived no more than two hallways down from me in the set of rooms secured for the families of the High Shaedes. We were in one wing of the castle dormitories, while other faeries at court were housed in another large, multi-tiered wing on the other side of the palace.

I knocked quietly, as I didn’t want to wake her. But the door opened with magic, and I walked in to a scene I knew all too well. Dru was still in her human clothes, her face filthy from crying and covered in debris from the throne room, lying unresponsive on the bed.

“Dru?” I said softly. It was no use asking her if she was okay. I knew. Whereas Farris and I were in the stage of getting to know each other better, Dru and I had been best friends for our whole lives. There was nothing really necessary to say in that moment.

I quietly grabbed a lime-colored nightdress from her wardrobe and used magic to move my friend into a sitting position. There was a tiny struggle to get the soiled clothes off her body, but I was patient and creative, so in ten minutes or so, she was sitting there in her nightdress, staring at a spot on the far wall of her room. I grabbed a towel that was folded on a chest of drawers by the wardrobe and looked to the sky. I called the Balance to deliver a little rain, and when I held out the cloth, the cloudless night sky gifted a small trickle of water directly onto the cloth, leaving everywhere else untouched.

I sat next to Dru and wiped her face gently, then her neck, her arms, and her hands. I rubbed her head with the damp towel and made her short hair stand in a thousand different directions. There was an ornate comb on her bedside table—an ivory comb with emeralds embedded into the handle. It was a gift from her parents to her on her eighteenth birthday. I remember she hadn’t brought it on conversancy because she was too afraid to lose it.

I combed her hair slowly, for longer than needed, because I noticed her eyes close and her head roll back a little. I didn’t need my magic to get her back into bed. She lied down willingly. Then I covered her up with the covers and extinguished her lamplights.

“I will have the kitchens leave you something outside your door,” I said softly in the darkness.

There was no response at first, but then Dru’s voice whispered in the night, “That sister of yours has to die.”

“I know,” I replied.

On my way back from the kitchens, my heart stayed with Dru, but my head was busy replaying everything that Farris had disclosed. If there were still High Shaedes to report to post-conversancy, I would have definitely talked about Farris and how much resilience he showed in the face of such a hard life. I would have recalled how he was always looking for magic in a world that wouldn’t provide it and how, in the helpless throes of evil, he prevailed. It was inspiring, to say the least, and filled me with a sort of resolve. One that would at least get me through the night.

I opened the door of my bedchamber, and at first, I thought Farris was asleep. His breathing was quiet and even. A few fireflies were the only light in the place. We hadn’t discussed sleeping arrangements prior, but my instinct said that he wouldn’t object to sharing my bed. I decided to sleep in my robe instead of changing into night clothes, fatigue setting in fast. When I pulled back the covers and lay down, he stirred, and like a magnet, he was suddenly there. His warm body smelled like the sweet and exotic harpishberry, and as his arm wrapped around me, my eyes closed in peace.

Morning came and went with its futile attempts to wake us from our slumber. First came the bird song, and then the blinding dawn light. When the entirety of the court awoke, voices and footsteps filled the halls. Busy preparations for the great renewal ceremony had begun. There was surely something I could contribute, but instead I just burrowed deep into Farris’s warm embrace. I could not be bothered.

Eventually, the sky showed evidence of the noon sun just as Leyanna came barging into the room without knocking.

“I’m worried about you, Opal. I didn’t see you at breakfast. The court energy out there is freaking me out, and I’m having a fashion emerg—” She stopped as Farris’s tussled blonde locks poked out from my covers. “Oh,” she said.

I squinted hard through the daylight, trying to glimpse Leyanna’s face. It was nearly impossible to startle or embarrass her, and I thought I had managed to accidentally accomplish both.

“Relax,” I said groggily. “He’s still healing. I wasn’t going to make him sleep on the floor.”

“So how are you feeling this morning, Farris?” Leyanna smiled smugly.

“Fantastic.” He grinned. Then he collapsed back into the pillows.

“All right, you two party animals, I will have a servant bring you some daphweed tea and some breakfast. But before I go, Opal, that tunic with the rubies or the embroidered gown my mom had made for Summer Solstice a few years ago? ”

I had turned my face and buried it in the pillow but was still able to muffle out a reply. “Whatever makes you feel the most powerful, Ley.”

“Rubies are the second strongest gemstone.” She pondered it for a moment and then shut the door quickly behind her.

I turned my body to face Farris, who was as handsome in noon light as he had been in moon light. It wasn’t even cool outside, but my body had learned to crave his warmth overnight, and I didn’t want to leave this safe space. There were lots and lots of problems outside this room.

“She’s delightful,” he said sarcastically, blinking his eyes open. “Please tell me daphweed tea in some way resembles coffee.”

“Perhaps in the same way a squirrel resembles a tiger.” I laughed, and without thinking, I placed my hand near his heart. “It’ll certainly put some hair on your chest, so watch out.”

To prove he was no squirrel, he was suddenly on top of me. He had my wrists in his hands above my head before I could register what was happening, and the length of him pinned my body to the mattress hard. His hair dangled about his face, and framed by the bright sunlight, he looked like an angel. The desire in his eyes held me captive even more than his body as my magic swirled around deep inside me, enjoying something undiscovered about him. And then there was a knock on the door, and a Natural walked in with a large tray displaying tea and a hearty breakfast.

Farris released me immediately, while I thanked the servant and set the tray by the windows. We sat down and enjoyed a quiet meal, both lost deep in thought. I wondered if his thoughts were along the same lines as my own. What were we doing? There was undoubtedly some attraction here, but he was not an appropriate, nor a realistic option for me in any way. My magic might be curious, and my heart might be too, but he was probably leaving tomorrow morning. And there was war on the horizon. Being close to the Shaede Court was dangerous right now. We had a target on our backs, and he had already been wounded in the crossfire. Farris barely survived that shadow beast attack. Keeping him here would be like keeping a pet, one that was vulnerable and easily susceptible to collateral damage. Not to mention, my focus needed to be elsewhere. Dru needed her friend, and the court needed my sister avenged.

The daphweed tea put Farris in great spirits. He wanted to know more about Leyanna and Dru and their magic. He made me laugh several times at his own expense as he told me stories about some of his misadventures in the city. I saw a different sort of passion in his eyes when he described the nuances of Jiu Jitsu in contrast to other martial art forms he’d studied over the years.

I described to him the general customs of the renewal ceremony, even though I had never been to one. There would be a celestial event, accompanied by lots of drumming and spelling from all the court. The Balance would be summoned and select the next to claim the High Seats from the Shaedes. My parents described this all very blandly, without much detail. But apparently the magic of the Balance literally raises the bodies of the chosen Shaedes from the ground and physically places them before their thrones. It all seemed a little too deliberate. The Balance was something we could all feel in some way or another, but it was still this very ominous, very mystical being or force with which few fae have ever directly interacted. And when they did, it was at great cost—like when the High Shaedes cursed the Shadowlands.

A part of me was both excited and dreading the whole scene, yet hopeful that the court held worthy leaders that the Balance somehow knew would fix this whole mess. It hadn’t failed us yet.

Because it was such a sacred and rare occurrence, everyone dressed over the top in their most regal attire. Thus, Leyanna’s frantic outburst this morning. Trying hard not to become overwhelmed with emotion, I let myself into my parents’ room. After digging through my father’s entire wardrobe, I selected a cream-colored tunic with gold embroidery and a corded detail along the shoulders, for Farris. I also found a pair of dark brown pants and boots that would probably fit.

We took turns getting dressed in my room. Farris went first while I waited in the hallway. But when he opened the door, my heart was conflicted. He looked so attractive in faerie clothes, the high collar opening in a deep V over his chest. The long sleeves covered his scars, and the pants stretched a little stringently against his well-defined thigh muscles, but overall, he was a vision and would blend in quite well. He was even more handsome than my father, who had worn this tunic long enough for the memory to blend too seamlessly with the new reality.

Then it was my turn. I tried to hurry, but it was a difficult decision. Part of the point of dressing up was to show off your shaede. Those faeries who felt that they were of the caliber to be considered by the Balance as High Shaede material would undoubtedly be dressed in bold and bright representations of the color of their power. But since I had no shaede, nor any demented intention of winning favor with the Balance, I finally settled on my mother’s favorite dress. It was a dream of a gown, strapless with a shiny gold bodice that clung tightly to my lean frame. At the hips, a gauzy, layered skirt began, cascading to the floor. It would have been completely see-through if it weren’t for the layers and layers of sparkly white gauze that caused my legs to become nothing more than shadows.

My hair was quickly untangled and combed into its natural state—long, waist-length opalescent waves falling down my back. There was a mirror angled toward the wall by the window. I never really used it—I didn’t ever want a reminder of all the ways my appearance illuminated my shortcomings. But today, there was no hiding. If I didn’t have a shaede of my own, I might as well match Farris. And a part of me wanted to see the way I would look in his eyes.

I swiveled the mirror around and stood back. In the gold, I looked like my mother.

It would have been so easy to cry. To barricade myself in my room, to avoid the court at the ceremony, to declare myself too in mourning to deal with anything that was plaguing the realm right now. But that was not what the daughter of a High Shaede would do. If high magic was never my destiny, I could still support my parents’ legacy by doing this—by facing myself and the problems facing the realm with my people with my head held high.

I waved the door to open, and Farris stood in the doorway. He folded his arms and leaned against the threshold, the tiniest smile on his lips .

“Well, what do you think?” I asked. I fanned out the dress a little, naively thinking that was the focus of his surveying eyes.

“I think you look like a fantasy,” he said. “I also think that if I take another step into this room, you and that dress are never going to make it to the ceremony.”

Like so often with Farris, I found myself without a response. But I was thankful for the compliment. It gave me the confidence I needed to brush by him in the doorway and start heading down the hall.

“So where are we headed if the ceremony doesn’t start till dusk?” he asked, reaching for my hand.

“I figured we might spend some time with Dru. Usually, with big ceremonies, there are tons of festivities. All day, there would be dancing, music, and delicious feasts. But I’m guessing that with everything that happened with the Night Court hanging over our heads, no one is feeling all that festive. The renewal ceremony is a necessity now, not a celebration. There will be the usual dinner held in the dining hall, and then we can all go to the ceremony after that.”

It didn’t take us long to arrive at Dru’s room. I knocked quietly, hoping to find her in better spirits than the night before, but was momentarily surprised when Leyanna was the one to open the door.

“Wow, he almost looks fae,” she said, moving to the side to let us in. She was dressed in a rose-red silk dress with her fire-red hair piled high on her head, spindly curls tumbling about and cascading down. She was dripping in rubies, from the bejeweled headband nestled in her curls to the earrings and the gem encrusted bodice of her dress. She was dazzling.

Dru got up from her perch on the side of her bed and gave me a long hug. She had on a dark green leather dress with long sleeves that started off the shoulder. It was a sheath of a dress, hugging the line of her body all the way to the floor, with two long slits on either side, so it was possible to walk.

“How are you today, my friend?” I asked as I pulled back to look at her face. Her eyes looked clearer than yesterday. Still haunted, but present.

“I spent a lot of time with my mother this morning. If she can sojourn on, so can I, I suppose. Besides, I need to exhibit strength if I am to be chosen among the warriors the next High Shaedes will eventually be sending to deal with Ciaran and his court.”

“Be careful what you wish for, honey,” said Leyanna, throwing herself in a green velvet chair by the window. “Unless the new Shaedes are blessed with magic and knowledge no one else has ever had, it doesn’t seem likely that even our strongest battalion of green killers is going to be much of a match for the Night Princes.”

“Always a ray of sunshine,” I said sarcastically in Leyanna’s direction. “But I’m still not convinced that Dru isn’t going to get called by the Balance herself. Her father was a High Shaede, and with the current unsettled political climate, you know there will be need of a green on a seat.”

“That is worth a good laugh,” Dru scorned, not laughing one bit. “My father was one of the most powerful green Shaedes this court has seen in centuries. And that was before he was bestowed with the Balance’s direct power. The only green getting that seat that should get that seat is one with magic that can deliver.”

“I’m sure Astor is drooling his pretty little face off this morning. You know that idiot thinks the seat is his,” said Leyanna.

“Well, he is just that, an idiot,” I said. “I refuse to believe the Balance would ever trust that narcissist with powerful magic.”

“Well said,” agreed Leyanna, then turning her attention to Farris, who was hovering behind us and listening intently. “So, Farris, how do you find the realm of faeries? Does it satisfy your human imaginations of such a place?”

“First, I don’t think the human imagination is really capable of imagining the beauty of such a place. But if I ever did dream of faeries, all fantasies have been thoroughly surpassed.” He made sure to smile roguishly at me, and I blushed on clue.

Leyanna, not missing a beat, took the opportunity to embarrass me further. “Opal looks lovely today, does she not? You two make a stunning pair.” I glowered at her, but I knew she meant no real harm. It was just that Farris needed no extra encouragement.

“She is always a vision,” he agreed. “And you ladies also look stunning this afternoon. If I were allowed to escort all three of you to dinner this evening, I might be able to die the luckiest human in the realm.”

Leyanna approved; I could see it on her face. Dru, on the other hand, was not so easily flattered. “So how are your injuries, Farris? The effects of the poison have clearly subsided. One might say that avoiding certain death by shadow beast venom might already make you the luckiest human in the realm.”

“I am forever indebted to you all for saving my life,” he said, suddenly very solemn. “That interaction with the shadow beast was indeed certain death, if it weren’t for your actions.”

“It is our duty,” replied Dru.

“Besides, it was worth it if only to see how much you make our Opal smile,” teased Leyanna.

“I think it’s time to head to dinner,” I said, looking for any other topic of conversation as long as it didn’t concern the effect Farris had on me.

The dining hall was a somber sight. Normally filled with the sights and sounds of an animated court gossiping, drinking, and merrily socializing over colorful, fragrant meals shared across long banquet tables stretching the length of the room, today’s dining hall was eerily quiet. Filled with the most exquisitely dressed fae in every shade of color imaginable, the room still seemed covered in a shadow of anxiety and anticipation. Darkening expressions and hushed whispers floated from table to table and stirred up nervous magic.

Farris led us into the hall, receiving attention from only a few courtiers as most of the faeries were deep into their own thoughts and conversations. We sat together and partook in a long meal, barely eating anything and mostly just listening to Leyanna ask Farris superficial questions about his life in the city. The open sky above us eventually went pink, evidence that the sunset had begun. Jupiter was very close, and magic prickled along the skin of my arms and back. I looked around to see if anyone else could feel it, but if they could, they didn’t show it.

We had managed to kill a few hours, and now was the time we had all been expecting. Chairs shuffled around as the court began their exodus to the throne room, while plates along the tables started to magically dematerialize.

We arrived in the throne room en masse just as the drums started their rhythmic thumping. No description I provided Farris of the absolute raw energy that transcended upon the crowd forming before the empty thrones of the Five could have done it justice. I was inhaling and exhaling magic. We shuffled forward to make room for others, and it was like the room was growing to make room for all the extra faeries that were in attendance—all the strongest and best of us. The ones who believed themselves worthy. I grabbed Farris’s hand, partially because I didn’t want to lose him in the sea of bodies, but also to steady myself. I could feel a shift in the magic. We were calling the Balance involuntarily, the drums harnessing some ancient power that was pulling the magic from us and pushing it back in. The ceremony was revving up quickly.

Night crawled across the sky and the stars came into focus above us. Without instruction, somehow I knew I was supposed to gaze on Jupiter, along with all the other fae. I lost track of time. The drums maintained their steady beats, banging out the seconds, but there were too many to count. Locked on to Jupiter, Farris’s hand warm in my own, I knew it was time to open up to the Balance. Along with all my fellow faeries, each of us began sharing an intimate glimpse of our special magic with the entity that made it possible for us to even possess it in the first place. I didn’t know what kind of magic the Balance could sense in me. Perhaps it would pass by me as if I were a Natural—bland and organic, with no real gifts. Or maybe it would recognize something significant that I and everyone else in my life had overlooked. Whatever was there, it had access.

That was when there came a small sound of surprise from my left. Leyanna’s body contorted suddenly, not violently, but as if she were no longer in control of it. We were all kind of frozen in place, rooted in our connection with the Balance, and exchanging magic in droves. Leyanna’s eyes were wide as they stared up at the sky ceiling, magic lifting her up in the air above the crowd and floating her slowly to the dais. She was placed gently in front of the first throne as the drums pounded on.

I was no longer drawn to Jupiter, but to the faces and heads in the crowd that scanned nervously all around for the next selection of Shaedes. In a far corner, near where one of the fire pillars blazed, a lanky blue faerie that I didn’t recognize was lifted above us and headed on another wave of power to the dais. He had electric blue hair that was feathered and short. As he passed above me. I could see that his eyes were a very pale blue and that they held a mixture of shock and uncertainty. He was positioned before the throne to the right of Leyanna, just as the Balance chose another willing servant.

This time a purple Shaede, who looked vaguely familiar. It wasn’t until she was placed before the throne farthest to the right that I recognized her face. It was Glory, the purple faerie whose parents practically manifested her becoming a High Shaede. Growing up, she outdid all of us in our studies and was always chosen first for any errands or special assignments the Shaedes might have had for courtiers. She completed her conversancy four years ago, and we were all forced to sit through her dissertation on what she had learned in the human realm because her insight had been that enlightening in the eyes of the Five. Two hours of hearing her talk was approximately one hundred and nineteen minutes too many. But the most annoying part of being in her general vicinity was the eventuality that at any given moment in a conversation she was destined to interject with “well, my parents say” followed by a parroting of something inane that her parents had told her—usually something that made it glaringly apparent that she had not lived much beyond their over-dominating umbrella. I couldn’t be the only one conflicted about this choice of High Shaede.

But before my thoughts turned even more critical, there was more movement to my left. More to her surprise than my own, Dru was taken up. The leather fabric of her dress rippled in an invisible wind. And just like that, my best friend was made to stand upright to the left of Glory as my new High Shaede, my leader. The resolution on her face was undeniable. The Balance’s power had given her the strength to take on the darkness and she was radiant. I was so happy for her .

The drum beats grew louder, but their rhythm was unwavering. The magic had become so thick that it was visible to me in the air. It pulled at me, pushed at me, almost threatened to put me in a chokehold, but I denied it. I just kept my hand entwined with Farris’s, grounding me to the moment. I stayed present, watching the faerie court sway with the drumming and the intermittent surges of magic. The four Shaedes awaited their final counterpart, searching the crowd with anticipation. I caught a glimpse of Astor, petulant and disgruntled, along the side of the room, daggers in his eyes for Dru. It was impossible not to feel a little satisfaction at that.

My concentration in that moment was instantly shattered. My hand released Farris’s as electricity coursed rapidly through my body, causing my extremities to flail and my back to bend awkwardly. There was a moment when I was worried, when I was wondering what was happening to me and if I was having some sort of mental or physical breakdown. But then my body ascended into the air, and my thoughts were no longer on worries but on the certainty that some terrible, devastating mistake had been made. There was no overwhelming feeling of transference, but on the contrary, as I floated toward the center throne, it was like I was hemorrhaging magic. Things deep inside unlocked. Doors were flung wide open. Chains came off. And when I stood on the dais, in the middle of the other four High Shaedes, I was suddenly very free.