Fates Entwined: Halven Rising

The Newlander soldiers were seconds behind Reese as she brought up the rear in the leap through the portal. Fortunately, along with being a bumpy ride, Camille’s portals were also short-lived, and closed before the soldiers got there.

Elena caught the look on Reese’s face as they entered the Old Kingdom castle and great hall. “Trust me. It was worse before Derek added new plumbing.”

Old Kingdom, Reese’s paternal birthplace, was…different. Hollow, all sharp angles, and dark. It looked like your typical stone castle from outside, with a moat at the entrance. They didn’t use electricity, and shutters kept out the cold instead of windows, which explained the chill in the air. The place made New Kingdom, with its bedroom murals of bloody battles and statues of angels having sex with humans, appear downright elegant and modern.

Derek walked off to speak with some of his soldiers, and Camille approached the center of the great hall…where a massive tree with a trunk as thick as a semitruck grew through the middle. She stepped over the rope barrier and placed her hand on the trunk, resting her forehead against the tree.

“Umm?” Reese looked nervously at Elena. “She okay?”

“That’s the tree.”

Reese nodded. “A tree, yes. A big one, too. Hey…did the leaves just do something? Elena.” She jabbed her friend in the arm with her elbow. “The leaves!”

“That’s what I’m talking about. You’re looking at the Ancient Allon. And yes, the leaves move. They hop from branch to branch.”

Reese cut her friend a look. “Right, because that’s not weird.”

“I realize a lot has gone on, so I get it if your head’s not all there, but keep up, will you? That’s the Ancient Allon. They say the angels planted the tree a million years ago. Drinking tea from the leaves was how I increased my powers. Granted, it made me a little sick, but it was worth it.”

“And that’s how you got your height?” The tree’s leaves were moving again. So bizarre. “And how Derek bulked up and got huge?”

“All of it. Allon trees grow everywhere in Tirnan, but the Ancient Allon has magical properties more powerful than any other magic in the realm, from what I understand.”

“Another good reason to return to Old Kingdom,” Camille said, and Reese jumped. She was jumpy. Sad. Scattered, like Elena suggested. But Camille could also be stealthy when she wanted to. Reese hadn’t seen or heard her approach.

“Not only Halven abilities,” Camille said, “but Fae abilities may also increase after drinking tea from the leaves of the Ancient Allon. I’ve never heard of Halven gaining as much power as you and Derek did, Elena, but then, they’ve never tested the effects on Halven with noble blood.”

Elena’s brows pinched. “Since when have they allowed Halven in Tirnan? I was told a Halven in this realm was as good as dead.”

“I’m afraid, before you and Derek, the survival of Halven in our land was, indeed, low. And not simply because they couldn’t withstand the nectar of the Ancient Allon.”

“Because Halven were scorned and murdered?” Elena’s tone was bitter.

Reese sensed Camille’s sadness and shame at the words. “Elena, Camille is our friend. Without her, we wouldn’t be here.”

Elena closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Camille. I’m—not myself.”

“Understandable,” Camille said. “Theda and I suspected there could be Halven in our land after Marlon’s alliance with Portia, but as far as I can tell—and I’ve cast my ability wide to read power levels in both kingdoms—the only true Halven in Tirnan are you, Derek, Reese, and Marlon when he was alive. After drinking the Ancient Allon tea, your and Derek’s energy levels became closer to Fae. That leaves—” Her gaze landed on Reese.

“Me,” Reese said.

Elena frowned. “I thought Marlon made some deal with Portia to allow Halven in the realm. Wasn’t that why he agreed to work with her?”

“That is what we believed, but…it seems Portia did not hold up her end of the bargain.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Reese said, her anger rising to match Elena’s. “The queen used Marlon to murder Fae—including Elena’s royal family—in order to gain the crown, and planned to kill my half-brother all along?”

“Very likely. Who can say for certain?” Camille peered across the great hall. “And it seems she wishes to control Old Kingdom as well. That is what powermongers do, is it not? Seize control by any means? Portia is no fool. She cannot manage both kingdoms without true supporters. She is holding on to New Kingdom through forced fealty and a few misguided brethren. As for Old Kingdom, she plans to use Keen Albrecht to gain power. I’m told he swore fealty to her in order to keep Reese safe—”

“He what?” Reese stared at Camille. “You’re wrong. He swore fealty to save his own skin.”

“Yes…and yours. He is one of the best warriors in the land. He could have escaped. But not along with you. He did what he needed to keep you both safe.”

Reese’s breathing grew constricted and slow. He’d made that sacrifice for the same reason he had so many others. Because he cared about her. More than he let on. Every political move he’d made had tied him to Portia—and had given Reese and the others freedom. “We all must make sacrifices,” he’d once said.

“Keen is an Emain Fae with powerful Oldlander blood,” Camille continued. “He is an ideal candidate to win Oldlander support.”

“But he’d be working for Portia, potentially betraying the people here for Portia’s gain,” Elena pointed out.

“Yes. And if the Oldlanders discovered his perfidy, it would not go over well.”

Reese had pushed the memory of last night to the back of her mind—had pushed her feelings for Keen away. At least for the past hour. But now her stomach dipped and her mouth tasted sour.

She’d lost him, resigned herself to it, but hope had bloomed when he’d come to her last night. Except that wasn’t real, or at least it wasn’t lasting, because he had to marry whether he wanted to or not. And if his sacrifices got him killed?

Not okay. She couldn’t live with that.

Damn him. They weren’t meant to be together, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love him.

No matter how hard she tried to place Keen next to the men in her life who’d let her down, he was different. He’d been there for her in ways no one else had. And now he was putting his life at risk for everyone.

She didn’t regret last night. She simply ached for what she’d lost—or nearly had.

“Keen will marry Illa, Hakon’s daughter.” Reese attempted to keep her voice steady. “Will that protect him?”

“Possibly,” Camille said. “The engagement is official. Hakon reported as much through a magical messenger. Keen returned to New Kingdom palace hours ago and announced his betrothal to Illa in front of queen and court.”

Right after he made love to me.

Reese’s legs weakened. She locked her knees and stared straight ahead, but her chest ached like a sledgehammer had hit it. “So it’s…to take place.” Her voice shook, and she had to clear her throat to get the sentence out.

Camille nodded, and Elena moved closer to Reese, their shoulders nearly touching. Reese wouldn’t look at her, though. If she did, she’d fall to pieces in front of the entire castle guard, who all seemed to be congregated in the great hall.

“Does Portia think Derek will just hand over the kingdom?” Elena visibly bristled beside Reese. “What kind of fool is she? These are Derek’s people, and he’s determined to protect them from another ruthless ruler. Not that Keen would be ruthless, but he wouldn’t be the one in charge. Portia would be.”

Camille’s bland expression didn’t hide the distress Reese sensed from the Fae. “Derek has served the kingdom well, but he is at a disadvantage. He gained the respect of his men, but there are many in this land who do not approve of him—who wish him harm for daring to take leadership of our kind. Old Kingdom respects name and blood, both of which Hakon Radnor possesses in full measure.”

“And so does Keen,” Reese murmured, remembering how Keen had told her Derek’s father murdered his family.

“Yes,” Camille agreed. “The king had Keen’s family eliminated when Keen was an infant, removing them from the succession. He forced an oath from Keen when Keen grew of age, that he would forfeit his birthright. But Osulf Niall hadn’t planned on Keen outliving him, making that oath null and void. Keen is eligible again—if he manages to take control from Derek.”

The situation was going from bad to worse. With Theda’s death, they’d lost their best chance at regaining New Kingdom for Elena, and now it seemed Derek would have his birthright taken from him as well—by Keen.

They weren’t safe in New Kingdom, and if Derek lost Old Kingdom, they wouldn’t be safe here either. Reese would have to return to the Earth realm, which she’d always intended to do, but for some reason the notion felt off now. She wasn’t the same girl she’d been when she arrived—not physically, and not emotionally. She was tied to this place and people. And she wasn’t sure how she’d ever go back to her old life.

Reese had no reason to stay in Tirnan, but she would help her friends as long as they needed her, and then she’d leave. And remain a commitmentphobe for the rest of my life, she thought bitterly. Only now, she didn’t want to be unattached. She wanted what she couldn’t have—to be with the stubborn Fae who’d risked everything for her.

Derek crossed the room and joined them. “The soldiers are preparing for a full-out battle with New Kingdom.”

“Isn’t that what they did the last time?” Reese shook her head. “How can this one end any better?”

A chill seemed to rack Elena’s body. “She’s right, Derek. It wasn’t enough. We had soldiers from Old Kingdom, from Emain, and the New Kingdom warriors my mother recruited. She thought…” Elena’s face went blank. Reese squeezed her hand, and Elena blinked. She swallowed and cleared her throat. “My mother thought it would be more than enough. She knew Portia hated her, that Portia would make her the target. She didn’t count on Beatrice attacking me. Portia is unpredictable, and now she’s grieving and desperate. We can’t go back. Not unless we have a better advantage.”

“But we do…” Reese looked at the tree. “If we make a few changes.” She turned to Camille. “You said Fae can increase their powers with the Ancient Allon just like Halven, correct?”

“Yes.” Camille’s eyes shimmered, as though she was thinking the same thing.

“Have all Old Kingdom soldiers drunk the tea of the Ancient Allon?” Reese asked Derek.

He scratched his head. “Probably, but I’ll make sure.”

Camille scanned the men in the room. “The Ancient Allon will not make Fae much stronger than they already are, but it will enhance our abilities slightly. Amund and his men have never drunk from the tree. In our history, Newlanders and Sunlanders have rarely been allowed here. And certainly not to gain powers. Until now. Amund and his soldiers, and anyone else on our side, will drink from the tea of the leaves, myself included.”

“And I’ll drink from it too,” Reese said.

Elena’s eyes widened. “No, Reese. It won’t hurt a full Fae like Camille, but it could kill Halven. It has killed Halven. And humans don’t stand a chance; they never survive. It’s not worth the risk.” She shook her head fervently, tears blooming in her eyes. “I can’t lose you too.”

Reese reached for her friend, holding her tight. She wasn’t afraid of drinking the tea. Her biological father ensured she came from a royal Fae bloodline, but she understood Elena’s fear. She’d just lost her mother. Even a slight risk of losing someone else close to her was too much right now.

Reese had nothing to lose and everything to gain by building her powers. If she could help her friends with a stronger ability and tip the balance in their favor, it would be worth a little illness. Even if she couldn’t tell Elena her plans right away. The alternative was to return home, knowing she could have done more and hadn’t.

Knowing the kingdoms would be ruled by a madwoman.

Knowing the one person she loved might lose his life because he’d sacrificed for her and everyone else.