Sapphire Falls (The Lost Realm #2)

47. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Kyla

L ong after the men had gone to sleep, Kyla and the other women sat together in the darkness of night. Morgan and Susan had slept for a few hours before waking and joining the others in her sitting area. Kyla felt a sense of kinship with these three witches and Rue that she’d never felt with other women, their combined destinies so entangled it was difficult to not feel close to them.

She’d shared the news of her pregnancy with Morgan and Susan, and they’d celebrated her good news. Yet, the somber knowledge of the war loomed over their conversation. They needed to make the most of their time together before Morgan and Susan left for Nephel at first light.

Avery and Morgan sat side by side, arms touching as they whispered something in their home language. From what Kyla could sense, Avery didn’t fight Morgan on her decision to leave Latiah. She looked sad, but resigned to let her sister return to the Towers.

Susan and Rue talked quietly, no doubt catching up about what had happened between them over the course of several weeks.

Finally, Rue said loud enough for all to hear, “I need all of your help. I need to get Selene out of here.” The heaviness in her tone didn’t surprise Kyla.

Kyla tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it fell flat. Rue must be sick with worry about Selene. “I saw to her care myself. She’s being housed near Hyacinth now. I know the men aren’t releasing her, but look at it from Savine’s perspective. Selene is the person who caused him more pain than anyone else in this world—including Jasper. The bond will be respected, but he needs time to think.”

“I promise Selene won’t be hurt,” Avery reassured her.

Rue shook her head. “I know you all may have different opinions on Selene, but she is my soulmate. I knew too. I didn’t admit it to anyone because I was a bit ashamed, and now I feel like I have squandered my time with her.”

Susan raised her hand up to get everyone’s attention. She was much more soft-spoken, and Kyla wasn’t surprised by this gesture. “I’ve never said I don’t like Selene. She is fiercely loyal. Won’t she join us to Nephel? Rylo depends on her, especially now that Elio—” Susan’s voice cracked. Kyla could feel the emotional pain she carried like a fog creep through the room. Meanwhile, Morgan’s shadows slowly slid around her, cocooning her legs.

“If Latiah allies with Nephel, Savine will release her. He has no choice since she’s the only one Rylo trusts,” Morgan said, leaning back in her seat and propping her feet up on the small table in the middle of the room. The shadows skittered back into her. Such strange behavior these American women did from time to time, it often caught Kyla off guard.

Susan snorted, hurt in her eyes. “That isn’t true. He trusts you , Morgan.”

Avery lifted her eyebrows, “Does he?”

Kyla saw the blush growing on Morgan’s cheeks. Her pale skin changed from alabaster to cherry within a few moments.

“It’s not what you think. He considers me like his pet or something.” Morgan’s words slid off her tongue in a smooth lie, almost so sharp that Kyla could taste it in the air. Morgan wasn’t being fully truthful about her feelings for Rylo, or perhaps what she meant to him. But, Kyla would let Morgan keep her secrets. It wasn’t her place to share what Morgan was hiding behind her lies.

“Savine was convinced I was his gift from Althea, so that’s not too different. Are all fae men this possessive?” Avery asked.

“All fae are that possessive,” Kyla said with a laugh, diverting the conversation to take the growing pressure from Morgan. From what Kyla understood of Morgan, she was a private woman who preferred to keep much of her thoughts and feelings to herself, rather than disclose them to a larger group.

Susan gave a sad smile. She’d suffered a loss since they were together in the Towers, and by her reaction to Elio’s name, Kyla could see she was in mourning for him. “The exception would possibly be a Bayberry, but I believe my parents would tear the world apart if they were separated.”

“At their age?” Avery asked.

Susan smiled, but it faded quickly. “Oh yes! They are very devoted to each other. I think my chance of that is gone now.”

Avery looked concerned at their friend. “What do you mean?”

Morgan sighed heavily, putting her hands to her face before looking up at the others. “Susan, I am so sorry for Elio. I know we talked about his death, but I shouldn’t have made you hear the details again.”

Susan’s face looked cracked with grief. “I know there are risks with magic. It’s just we were only beginning to know one another. I’ve never felt so wanted, and I don’t even know if we were soulmates. Now I’ll never know.” Tears streamed down Susan’s face and Rue pulled her close as Susan sobbed on her shoulder.

Kyla got up, her lower back aching from being in the same position. She let herself stretch her arms high overhead. The nausea she’d been experiencing had been growing more intense in the past few weeks, and she never knew a fae could feel so worn down as she did. It was well past her typical bedtime, but it was worth staying up late with her friends. She made her way to a cabinet and pulled out another wine bottle, topping off the other women’s glasses.

She turned to Avery while she stretched. “I don’t mean to intrude on your relationship with my brother, and I know you’re still adjusting to life with a fae soulmate. It sounds very different from what relationships are like in your realm. But, please, don’t continue to hold his devotion to you against him.”

Avery frowned and shook her head. “He hurt my sister for no reason!”

Kyla sighed. She knew Avery was going to fight her on this. “That was wrong of him, but he nearly lost you today, and he still blames himself for your kidnapping, and your injury when you arrived at Orofine. He’s going to make mistakes, but you are his soulmate.” Kyla had to fight back her own emotions, thinking of all her brother had been through to get to this point. “You’re his soulmate and he still can’t believe that he gets to call you his. Please understand he will react if you are threatened. It’s the nature of the bond between you, and the reason you reacted the same way with the Hunter.”

Avery bit her lower lip, nodding her head. “No, you’re right. I’ll talk with him after Morgan leaves tomorrow.”

Susan stopped crying as she rested her head against Rue’s shoulder, and Avery broke the tension by telling Susan and Morgan more details of the Hunters, while Rue and Kyla pitched in.

Morgan frowned next to Avery. “So we’ve been hunted all our lives?”

“Apparently. They did a terrible job hunting us. According to the lists we found, there are still more out there.”

Morgan looked tired, like she couldn’t take on the burden of more bad news.

“Can we share something cool? There’s been a lot of grief while we’ve been separated, but Susan and I have learned some amazing magic. Would that be okay with you, Susan?”

Susan nodded. “I think a distraction would be good. We could show them how we can connect mind to mind,” Susan suggested. “But I think Rue and Kyla will be left out. It is probably only possible between witches.”

Kyla saw how Morgan bit her bottom lip. “I was able to communicate with Rylo mind to mind, even when we weren’t close in the caves.”

Susan had a puzzled expression on her face. “I haven’t actually tried with a fae, I just assumed we couldn’t.”

Morgan shrugged. “Let’s show Avery first.”

The room grew silent, Kyla watched Avery as her face lit up. “That’s so weird!” she shouted, far too loud for fae hearing. Kyla cringed at the high-pitched tone of her queen. “What’s the spell? I want to try!”

The women shared the words of incantation, and Kyla watched as Avery struggled to connect through to them mentally. Finally, a wide grin spread across her face.

“I guess they’re talking to each other,” Rue said to Kyla.

“Makes me a bit jealous to not be a witch,” Kyla replied, keeping her tone light.

The three women continued to stare at each other with broad smiles on her faces. It was obvious that they’d managed to communicate together as one, and Kyla couldn’t help but think how invaluable of an asset that could be if they go to war. She only knew of one other couple who could communicate through their minds, but they were soulmates. Their bond between them manifested itself through telepathy. Finally, Susan turned to Kyla.

“Can I try to connect with you mind to mind?”

“Of course! I was feeling a bit left out over here,” Kyla replied, instinctively placing her hand on her abdomen

“What about me?” Rue asked.

“I can try to connect with you, Rue, if you’re okay with it,” Morgan suggested.

“Please do!”

Kyla waited for something to happen, for a pulse of magic to enter her or for a connection to be made, as she often felt when she touched a fae. There was nothing between her and Susan.

She looked to Morgan, who clearly was growing frustrated with her failure to cast a spell to Rue’s mind.

“Perhaps if you touched me?” Kyla suggested to Susan, reaching out her hand to her friend.

Susan took her hand. Immediately, Kyla felt the effects of the wine on Susan’s body, her senses and emotions slightly dulled. But there was also some frustration. Her brow looked damp with concentration, but still there was no voice in Kyla’s mind. No telepathic connection with her witch friend.

Susan sighed. “It’s not working. I can’t find a connection to you.”

Morgan and Rue approached the others. “I couldn’t find my way into Rue’s mind either. Well, we’ve done a lot of spell work outside of just talking to each other through our thoughts.”

Avery added, “We need to practice magic together, but with you returning to Nephel I don’t know how that will be possible. I’m not as talented as either of you, and I’ve gotta get caught up. I can’t just stand on the sidelines of a battle and wait to heal folk. Have you used the deep magic together other than this morning?”

Susan replied, “That was the first time. It was—overwhelming in its power. I’ve yet to find any document that explains how the witches combined the deep magic with their own power. Could you imagine what it took to separate the realm into two?” She shook her head, fear in her eyes. “It must have killed them in the process. I don’t see how anyone could survive such power.”

“Well, we need to start practicing,” Morgan said. “If that witch can raise the dead, we’re going to need to be ready to stop her somehow.”

A chill ran down Kyla’s spine. That sort of power wasn’t natural, shouldn’t be possible.

“The other witch is basically a bomb. She can implode things with her mind, which is also terrifying. But according to Rylo, they’ve been abused all their lives. They are afraid and angry. We need to use that to our advantage.”

Avery’s eyes softened. “They never had a chance to know freedom. We can’t really blame them for what they’ve experienced.”