Page 45

Chapter

Forty-Four

The mist was suffocating.

I opened my eyes, but all I could see was white, thick and endless.

It felt like I was floating—or maybe I was standing?

My legs trembled as if unsure whether they would hold me or give in to the weight of my confusion.

I tried to blink away the fog clouding my vision, but it was everywhere, like a prison with no walls, trapping me in its boundless nothingness.

Then, that voice. Its voice.

We meet again.

It slithered into my mind, cold and familiar.

I recoiled at the sound, instinctively wrapping my arms around myself for protection, but there was no escape from it.

“Where am I?” My voice rasped, hoarse as if I’d been screaming.

My throat burned— had I been yelling into this void, and no one had heard?

Panic gripped me, my heart racing in my chest. The silence was unbearable, suffocating, until its laugh echoed all around me.

“Tactras,” the voice whispered, curling around the edges of my thoughts like smoke.

Tactras? Home of the Court of Whispers, a place shrouded in secrets and danger.

Fear gnawed at me. I swallowed hard, trying to stay composed, but my voice trembled as I spoke.

“Did you…cause what happened to me?” I could feel my heart pounding in my temples, the question barely escaping my lips.

The laugh returned, chilling and mocking.

“In a way.”

My skin prickled with dread.

I clenched my fists, trying to muster any sense of control.

“What does that mean? Don’t play games with me,” I snapped, but my words felt weak, hollow.

“Why am I here?” I asked, rubbing my temples as a dull ache settled in.

I wanted answers, but the fog in my mind was thickening, making it harder to think.

Panic started clawing at the edges of my sanity.

Gods, what is happening to me?

“I brought you to my home.”

My home.

The words made my heart skip.

This mist—was it from Tactras ?

Had it followed me, creeping into Azmeer?

The thought of it haunting me, watching me this entire time, made my blood run cold.

“Okay…” My voice cracked as I tried to steady myself.

“And why would you bring me here?” My chest tightened as if every breath was becoming harder to draw.

The air felt too thin, too heavy.

The longer I stood here, the more I felt like I was falling apart.

“There are things you must know.” Its voice was smooth, yet it chilled me to the bone.

“If you recall, you made a deal with me. There will be a time when I call in that bargain. Today is not yet that day. ”

My breath hitched.

The deal . My stomach twisted at the memory, the one I had pushed to the back of my mind, hoping it would fade away.

But deep down, I’d known it wouldn’t.

I couldn’t escape it.

Not now. Not ever. “I remember,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The mist swirled around me, tightening its grip.

“There are things you must learn.”

Before I could ask what it meant, the mist parted.

I dropped to my knees.

Standing before me was a man towering over me at least seven feet tall.

His hair was blonde, shimmering with streaks of violet and white, as if the storms themselves had braided lightning into his locks.

His presence was suffocating, charged with power and danger.

The mist wrapped around his broad, muscled frame like a lover’s embrace, tender yet deadly.

My breath caught in my throat as I gazed up at him.

His eyes were violent.

A storm. Clouds of purple and gray churned within them, flecked with shards of black and white, lightning flashing in the depths of his gaze.

With every step he took toward me, thunder rumbled through the endless sky above us.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

“Who…who are you?” My voice trembled.

He laughed—a sound so powerful it shook the air, vibrating in my bones.

“Is it not clear, Brida?” He lifted his arm, pointing towards the skies.

My gaze followed his gesture.

Above us, a polar stratospheric cloud appeared, colors swirling like glass, rippling in the sky.

The winds howled, growing stronger, more vicious.

My body swayed, struggling to stay upright as the tempest roared around us.

Thunder boomed, and I flinched, nearly collapsing under the weight of the fear surging through me.

Ollo. This was Ollo.

The Primal of Storms.

My thoughts scrambled, desperate to make sense of the situation.

I was kneeling before a being that could tear me apart with a mere thought.

I did the only thing I could think of.

I lowered myself to the ground, my forehead pressed against the cold, hard earth.

If only Addie could see me now.

“You can look at me.” His voice was gentle as if amused by my submission.

I trembled as I lifted my head, but I didn’t dare meet his gaze.

I kept my eyes on the ground, every nerve in my body screaming in terror.

He walked to a nearby rock and sat, lightning flickering beneath his skin.

His presence radiated power, more ancient and terrifying than anything I’d ever imagined.

He was a living storm, and I was nothing more than a speck of dust caught in his fury.

“How…” My voice wavered as I struggled to find the words.

“How is this real?”

“This is my home, Brida. Where else would I be?” His voice rumbled, a storm in itself.

I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think.

All I knew was that I was at his mercy.

And there was no escaping it.

“You can look at me.”

I hesitated, lifting my head with the utmost caution, my heart hammering in my chest. Every crack of lightning in the distance jolted me, and I could barely stay upright.

The Primal of Storms loomed over me, a breathtaking and terrifying presence.

Lightning coursed through his veins, illuminating his skin in stark contrasts.

He was more ethereal than I could have ever imagined.

“Am I allowed to speak?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as I looked at the mountain range that stretched endlessly before us.

The sight was mesmerizing and overwhelming, the snow-capped peaks shimmering under the bright sun.

Yet, it only added to my sense of displacement and fear.

“Of course, you may speak. I wouldn’t have asked you to sit if I planned to prohibit it.” His eyebrow arched, a mix of amusement and authority in his gaze.

“Okay.” I paused. “Is this really happening or am I dreaming?”

He laughed, the sound booming across the skies and rattling through me.

“What do you think is happening, Brida?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, my voice quivering.

“I’d like to think it’s real and that I’m somehow still alive.”

“You’re still alive, Brida. There’s plenty of work to be done yet.”

“Work?” I echoed, my mind racing to process his words.

“Yes,” he said, gesturing to the rock next to him.

“What sort of work?” I asked, confusion and fear mingling in my voice.

This couldn’t be real.

I had been at the ball.

There had been pain…

and then this. I couldn’t reconcile it all.

“That is the question, isn’t it?” he replied, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Do all Gods speak in riddles?” I muttered, frustration bubbling beneath my fear.

“Do you know what happened to me before,” I waved my arm around us, “we got here?”

He nodded.

“Yes.”

“Do you plan on telling me?”

“If you ask the right questions,” he said with a smile that seemed oddly familiar yet filled with enigmatic intent.

I felt trapped, the oppressive mist swirling around me, closing in.

Is this a dream? A game?

My mind struggled to grasp the reality of the situation.

I had no connection to the Court of Whispers or to Ollo.

Why was he speaking to me?

“If this is really happening…”

“It is,” he interrupted, his voice firm and unwavering.

“Why, of all people, have you chosen to speak with me?”

“Because everything is as it is meant to be.”

I ran my hand through my hair, and realized that I was no longer in my dress.

“What happened to my clothes?” I found myself asking and was greeted to his laughter.

“A fine question indeed. We couldn’t very well have you looking like the night itself in the land of the Dawn, now could we?” He winked.

Stay focused. “You said there is work to be done.”

“Yes,” he confirmed, his smile widening.

“Am I purposed to complete this work, or task alone? Is this our bargain?”

“I did tell you that was for another day. But to answer your question, there are others.”

“Others. Others to work with? Do I know them?”

“It would be far less interesting if you didn’t,” he said, his gaze shifting to the horizon.

The sun was dipping lower, casting long shadows and turning the sky into a canvas of deepening colors.

“We don’t have much time left, Brida. Even though I am here, I am not truly here. Not yet.”

Everything around me began to dissolve into white once more, the darkness encroaching rapidly.

“Listen to me, Brida,” he said, his hands still on my shoulders, grounding me despite the vanishing world.

“War is coming. You must be prepared. Like I told your friend, they are waking up.”

“Who are they?” I asked, panic rising as the mist closed in.

“The rest,” he said, beginning to fade from sight.

“What am I supposed to do?” I cried out, my voice swallowed by the encroaching mist.

“Make sure you have the Wind by your side,” his voice grew distant, barely perceptible.

“Close your eyes, Brida,” he instructed as his presence started to disappear completely.

The mist enveloped me, and his final words echoed in my mind as the world around me dissolved into white.

???

“Brida!” A voice exclaimed.

“Brida, come on, Brida, look at me.” I began to feel hands on my face, touching me as if they were examining me.

I was so tired. My eyes fluttered back shut.

“Stay with us, Brida.” It was a familiar voice, a feminine voice.

Addie, I thought, that sounded like Addie.

Where was I? My vision cleared, and I saw a familiar window to the left.

I forced myself to blink.

With each lift of my eyelids, the room came more into focus.

Addie and Magister Thorne were in the room with me.

Addie was seated on the bed beside me, hands on my face.

The Magister, who looked like he was seconds from death, sat in the chair that I had so many times before.

“She needs water.”

Magister Thorne poured the water with shaky hands into the glass jar, handing it to Addie.

“Here,” she propped me up with her left hand that she placed behind my back, pulling me towards her.

“You need to drink this, Brida,” she placed the cup at my lips.

I did as she said. After finishing the glass, Addie placed it down on the table next to me.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” She leaned me back down towards the pillows.

How am I feeling? I have no idea what’s going on .

“Confused.” I sat up a bit straighter in the bed.

Magister Thorne looked like he’d fallen asleep.

“What happened?”

“What’s the last thing you remember, honey?” Addie clasped my hand in hers.

“I was in pain,” I said.

“A lot of pain, and then I heard a scream. Now I’m here.”

Addie nodded.

“You seemed to have had an attack of some sort, the pain from it caused you to pass out. Do you remember what you felt?” Her eyes held mine.

I looked around the room.

It hadn't been long since Kadian lay in this bed, with me pacing beside it, day after day, fervently wishing for him to wake. Reading through books, scouring for information as I sat in the chair that Magister Thorne slept in now. I couldn't help but wonder if Addie had done the same.

“How long have I been here, Addie?” My voice was low.

“Four days.”

Sitting up straighter, my eyes focused on the doorway, and I found that there was no longer a door there, but a wall of shadows.

“What is that?” I moved her so I could get out of the bed.

“Bri, be careful,”

The shadows hissed with a strange, almost tender sound as I approached.

I extended my arm toward them.

One shadow jumped from the others and began to swirl around my wrist, leaving a slight hole in the mass that I could see through.

Dainan paced outside.

I turned back to Addie, her expression grave, hinting at the seriousness of the situation.

“How long has he been there?” She remained silent.

“How long, Addie?” My tone grew firmer.

She sighed, “He has refused to leave.”

The shadow slithered down my body, rejoining the ones that blocked the door.

Humming as it did so.

“He hasn’t allowed anyone else inside and has insisted on keeping the shadows in place as a form of protection.”

“Protection?” I echoed her words, “Protection from what?”

She opened her mouth but was interrupted by the snore that escaped Magister Thorne.

She gestured her arm to the bed, demanding that I sit down.

“Addie, what’s going on?” I asked as she pulled the covers over my legs once I crawled back into bed.

“The king is dead,” she pushed my hair behind my ear.

“Oh,” I whispered. Poor Dainan, and Alvar.

Gods, his wife. “It was expected, was it not?” I leaned back.

Gods, I’m tired.

“The king’s manner of death is what was not expected.” She said, “The king and queen… She is still being monitored, but it doesn’t look good.”

The scream , I’d heard a woman's cry before collapsing .

“How?”

“Poison,” Addie said as she clasped my hand.

“They’re sure?”

Gods, how was Alvar? Dainan? Has Alvar’s mark solidified in the last four days?

“Yes,” she nodded, “they’re sure.”

“How were they poisoned?” I finally asked, noticing she was avoiding my gaze. “Addie, what are you not saying?”

She rose, looking at me, “The king and queen were each given an eclair for dessert to celebrate a successful evening. Prince Alvar had requested some be set aside for him. However, it was only at the last minute that the king had decided to attend the ball…”

“Gods, someone tried to poison Alvar?”

She began to pace, “Yes. It’s believed the poison was not intended for Elidas but for Alvar.”

Someone tried to poison Alvar? That didn’t make sense. Alvar was beloved, I saw it the night of the ball.

“Who…”

“We still don’t know. Whoever it was managed to somehow sneak into the kitchens and inject the eclairs with poison when no one was looking.” She made her way to stare out the window.

“Addie,” I whispered, “who brought me here?” She said nothing. “Addie,” I said more sternly.

“Prince Dainan ran to you and shadow-stepped you here.”

“I need to speak with him.”

She turned to face me, “I’m not sure that’s the best idea right now, Brida.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Frustration growing in my voice.

“Something’s been happening to Dainan for the last several days,” she said, her concern evident in the dance of emotions in her eyes. “His behavior has gone beyond normal levels of protectiveness in regards to you. He practically tried to kill Kadian when he came to see you. He needs rest. He’s undoubtedly under stress from the news of his father, his concern for his mother, and you .”

She sat beside me on the bed, “His caring of you is no longer secret, Brida, and his fiancé and her father are not pleased by this development.”

I rubbed my face in my hands.

Alvar is king. Will the marriages even take place?

“I need to see him now, Addie.”

Before I could hear Addie protest, I stood in front of the shadows, “move,” I commanded. They slithered to the sides, allowing me through the doorway before closing on Addie as she tried to follow.

The scent of Dainan hit me as I stepped through. Within moments, he was in front of me, his presence overwhelming. The dark circles under his eyes spoke of sleepless nights.

“Dainan…” My voice was a breath of relief as he pulled me into his arms. His embrace was both desperate and comforting, one arm cradling my lower back while the other cupped my head, holding me close. I savored the warmth of his touch, the strength of his arms. For a moment, the world outside ceased to exist.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes a tempest of flame and shadow, each vying for dominance. “You’re alright?”

“I think so,” I replied, my hand resting on his cheek.

“Don’t ever do that to me again.” His voice was laden with the weight of his worry, his fear.

“I heard about your father,” I murmured, my fingers threading through his hair. “I’m so sorry.”

He remained silent, his gaze unwavering, reflecting his exhaustion. He had been a vigilant guardian, a sentinel who had not left his post.

“Dainan,” I began, “something happened the night of the ball…”

“Bri!” Kadian’s voice shattered the moment as he, Oz, and Tamra burst into the room. His face was a mask of worry, and his eyes darted between us, “Are you alright?”

Blocking me with his body, Dainan snarled at Kadian.

“Whoa,” Kadian lifted his arms and took a step back, Oz and Tamra mere feet behind him. “Easy there, big fella. We’ve been through this.”

Darkness began to emerge from Dainan, slowly extending its tendrils toward Kadian.

“Dainan,” I said calmly as I placed my hand on his chest, “it’s just Kadian. I’ll be fine,” he didn’t move an inch. I moved myself in front of him, clasping his face in my hands. “Dainan,” I said more firmly as I saw the flames surge in his eyes. “Look at me,” I repeated until he pulled his attention from them and moved to me. “I’m okay, look at me, I'm fine and here. I’m in front of you right now,” his breathing was ragged, a hunter ready to kill its prey.

“Bri…” Kadian said.

I turned around to see the three of them standing in complete shock.

“Kadian, stay there until I tell you it’s fine.” I sensed that even though Dainan’s immediate impulse to attack was diminishing, it wasn’t gone completely.

“Dainan,” I ran my fingers along his jawline, pulling his face towards mine. “Please go rest, I will see you in a bit. I’m going to speak with them.”

His eyes finally released them and found mine. He didn’t move for several moments. “ Dainan, ” I whispered, almost a plea, until he nodded, the shadows receding.

He turned to me and pressed a light kiss to my forehead, “I’ll come see you in a bit.” He shadow-stepped out of the room, his departure freeing Addie as the barrier dissolved.

“What in the Gods’ names is going on out here,” Addie said as she came rushing out of the room.

I walked towards Kadian and embraced him. “I thought I was the only one allowed to pull stunts like this,” he whispered. I couldn’t help but laugh.

He raised an eyebrow as I pulled back. “What?” I asked him.

“We brought you something,” Oz interrupted as he pulled a jar out from his pocket.

“I swiped it from the dining hall,” he said, handing it to me. “It’s wolfberry,” he smiled.

“Did you bring me just a jar of jam?” I could feel the smile on my face.

“Ah, and…” He reached into his other pocket, “a spoon!”

“Thank you,” I laughed as I looked at each of them. “Now, who is going to fill me in on what I’ve missed for the last four days?”

“No one, because you need to be back in bed,” Addie said as she arrived beside me.

“I’ll stay with her,” Kadian answered as he looked at Tamra and Oz, who nodded. Addie didn’t look convinced, “you know I’ll make her stay in bed, Addie.”

“I know no such thing, Kadian Taldot.” Addie let out an exasperated sigh. “The last time I watched you two, you informed me you were headed home from the night and I found you at three in the morning, huddled under a blanket in Brida’s room while she read to you. She was so tired the next morning that her face fell into her bowl of oats.”

“Well, I promise this time to be good.” He smiled. “I’ll come to you guys later.” He whispered to Oz and Tamra who nodded their goodbyes.

Making our way back into the room, Addie woke Magister Thorne and helped him walk from the room.

“He’s looking fucking terrible,” Kad said as he sat down next to me in the chair.

“I thought so, too. It’s strange,” I said as I leaned my head back against the pillows, “I feel like I just saw him and he looked nothing like that.”

Kadian rose from the chair, and made his way to sit down on the bed next to me. “What happened, Bri?”

“I don’t know what happened exactly,” I said to him as I closed my eyes.

“Try to tell me what you remember,” I heard him say.

“I saw Dainan…” I yawned, “and it felt like my body was being ripped apart.” I was beginning to fade. In a whisper I said, “before something snapped.”

I felt the darkness creeping closer, coming to lure me into a dream state. I welcomed it. I was just on the verge of sleep when Kadian said, “Did you say that something snapped?”

“ Mm? ” I replied as I fell into a deeper state of relaxation.

“ Snap…Snap… Snapped,” I heard Kadian whisper. “Gods.” His tone changed, and my eyes shot open.

“Lil,” he ran out of the room.