Lady of Light and Shadows
Page 123
Gaelen smashed a fist of five-fold power into the selkahr crystal holding the Well open. The crystal shattered, and the doorway to the Well of Souls collapsed.
«Ellysetta, shei’tani.» Rain turned back to her and reached out with all his senses, crooning her name on every pathway, including that fragile thread of communion she'd forged between their souls and the even more astonishing thread over which he'd not shared fellowship with another Fey since the Mage Wars. «Kem’reisa.»
Primitive, driving Rage still throbbed within her, hissing, hungry for blood and death. At his call, her head turned. Her eyes seared him, and an answering fury rose hot in his veins. His own eyes went fire-bright and a low growl rumbled deep in his throat as the tairen strained for dominance within him. He held her gaze, a match of power to power, will to will, mate to mate.
They hurt us. They slew our mother-kin» Her voice was a vibrant, multi-ply thread, the voice of Ellysetta ... and something more. Those whirling sunburst eyes turned to regard the brutalized remains of Lauriana Baristani, and her Rage flared higher. « They must die.»
«Aiyah,» he vowed. «And they will. They will flee from us like prey on the Plains of Corunn. This I promise you. But not yet, kem’reisa. First we must save the tairen and the Fey Her attention shifted back to him, and he forced his own anger to calm. He held out his arms. «Come back to me, Ellysetta. The pride needs you, and so do I. He spun compulsion and need on every path they now shared.
At first, he wasn't sure his call had pierced the veil of bloodlust, but then he felt her Rage shift. The furious, whirling radiance of her eyes dimmed slightly, and he felt the gentle part of her soul swim slowly back to the surface.
"Rain." This time her voice was all Ellysetta, shocked and shattered. "Oh, Rain." The blaze of light surrounding her winked out, and her body plummeted from its great airborne height towards the torn, jagged tumble of marble, earth, and stone below.
He leapt forward, magic flying instinctively from his fingers in a rapid weave of Air that slowed her descent and cushioned her fall. She hovered above the ground, embraced by Air until he reached her and snatched her to his chest. Her skin was warm to the touch, the pulse at her neck rapid but slowing, and even now she glowed with a visible brightness.
Ellysetta's vast magic had at last been unleashed and in that moment the facade of mortality that had hidden her all her life was ripped away, revealing the stately Fey queen she was born to be. The familiar lines of her face were still there, but they seemed purer now, breathtaking. Even the endearing freckles that had sprinkled her skin were burned away, leaving silky, pale Fey perfection.
She was still Ellysetta, but the shy mortal girl was gone. In her place stood a dazzling Fey shei'dalin with eyes that blazed
with astonishing power.
The remaining warriors of her quintet gathered round, mouths gaping, Fey stoicism lost in stunned amazement and breathless wonder. Nowhere in the Fading Lands was there a woman who shone so bright. Nor ever had been ... except possibly the legendary Fellana.
For beneath Ellysetta's long auburn lashes, in a face that now gleamed with the luminescent beauty of the Fey, a tairen's eyes looked out where once mortal eyes had been. Shining prisms of opalescent green with no hint of white, they glowed with latent magic.
"Rain," Bel breathed. "Gods' blessings, Rain, is she ... ?”
"Tairen Soul," Rain confirmed. "The first born since I came into the world twelve hundred years ago. The first female Tairen Soul ever recorded."
In Eld, locked away in the dark stone confines of his cell, bloody and weakened from the punishing wounds he'd earned for aiding his daughter, Shannisorran v'En Celay gave a weary smile of triumph. His mind reached out across a familiar path, instinctively sharing the vision. «Can you see her, Elfeya?»
Alone in her silken prison, Elfeya wept with love and joy and tried to hide her fear. «Aiyah, beloved, I do see her. She is glorious.»
CHAPTER TWENTY-Two
Farewell, dear brave and valiant soul,
take flight on gilded wing,
Soar high and laugh upon the wind,
while songs of honor sing
Til once again the Gold Horn sounds,
your soul to battle calls,
Resplendent blaze of hallowed flame,
to triumph over all.
-Farewell, Brave Soul, a Fey Warrior's Lament
Outside the cathedral, the battle with the demons was over and the remaining Fey warriors gathered the dead. Two dozen warriors lay side by side in the scorched grass, their luminescent glow of Fey life extinguished. The grim proof of their desperate struggle left Rain hollow inside, scooped out like gourd drum so the loss could echo freely inside him. He'd seen too much death in his lifetime, lost too many dear to him It hurt. No amount of battle fatigue had ever made it stop hurting.
“Oh, Rain ... so many lost.» Ellysetta's fingers twined with his, squeezing tight.
He'd faced battles far worse than this, where the dead carpeted entire valleys and blood turned mighty rivers red, but this battle left a particular wound on his heart, a sorrow that would never be forgotten. Because this was her first battle, her first bitter draught of loss. Friend, mother, so many of the Fey she'd begun to call by name-all lost in less than a bell. Rain would have given his own life to have spared her that.
"Come away, shei’tani. There are none here in need of healing. Demons do not leave wounded." Gaelen had dug the sel'dor shrapnel from Rain's shoulder, chest, and leg, while Kieran had helped a weeping Ellysetta guide healing weaves of Earth and Spirit to close Rain's wounds and steal away his pain.
«Ellysetta, shei’tani.» Rain turned back to her and reached out with all his senses, crooning her name on every pathway, including that fragile thread of communion she'd forged between their souls and the even more astonishing thread over which he'd not shared fellowship with another Fey since the Mage Wars. «Kem’reisa.»
Primitive, driving Rage still throbbed within her, hissing, hungry for blood and death. At his call, her head turned. Her eyes seared him, and an answering fury rose hot in his veins. His own eyes went fire-bright and a low growl rumbled deep in his throat as the tairen strained for dominance within him. He held her gaze, a match of power to power, will to will, mate to mate.
They hurt us. They slew our mother-kin» Her voice was a vibrant, multi-ply thread, the voice of Ellysetta ... and something more. Those whirling sunburst eyes turned to regard the brutalized remains of Lauriana Baristani, and her Rage flared higher. « They must die.»
«Aiyah,» he vowed. «And they will. They will flee from us like prey on the Plains of Corunn. This I promise you. But not yet, kem’reisa. First we must save the tairen and the Fey Her attention shifted back to him, and he forced his own anger to calm. He held out his arms. «Come back to me, Ellysetta. The pride needs you, and so do I. He spun compulsion and need on every path they now shared.
At first, he wasn't sure his call had pierced the veil of bloodlust, but then he felt her Rage shift. The furious, whirling radiance of her eyes dimmed slightly, and he felt the gentle part of her soul swim slowly back to the surface.
"Rain." This time her voice was all Ellysetta, shocked and shattered. "Oh, Rain." The blaze of light surrounding her winked out, and her body plummeted from its great airborne height towards the torn, jagged tumble of marble, earth, and stone below.
He leapt forward, magic flying instinctively from his fingers in a rapid weave of Air that slowed her descent and cushioned her fall. She hovered above the ground, embraced by Air until he reached her and snatched her to his chest. Her skin was warm to the touch, the pulse at her neck rapid but slowing, and even now she glowed with a visible brightness.
Ellysetta's vast magic had at last been unleashed and in that moment the facade of mortality that had hidden her all her life was ripped away, revealing the stately Fey queen she was born to be. The familiar lines of her face were still there, but they seemed purer now, breathtaking. Even the endearing freckles that had sprinkled her skin were burned away, leaving silky, pale Fey perfection.
She was still Ellysetta, but the shy mortal girl was gone. In her place stood a dazzling Fey shei'dalin with eyes that blazed
with astonishing power.
The remaining warriors of her quintet gathered round, mouths gaping, Fey stoicism lost in stunned amazement and breathless wonder. Nowhere in the Fading Lands was there a woman who shone so bright. Nor ever had been ... except possibly the legendary Fellana.
For beneath Ellysetta's long auburn lashes, in a face that now gleamed with the luminescent beauty of the Fey, a tairen's eyes looked out where once mortal eyes had been. Shining prisms of opalescent green with no hint of white, they glowed with latent magic.
"Rain," Bel breathed. "Gods' blessings, Rain, is she ... ?”
"Tairen Soul," Rain confirmed. "The first born since I came into the world twelve hundred years ago. The first female Tairen Soul ever recorded."
In Eld, locked away in the dark stone confines of his cell, bloody and weakened from the punishing wounds he'd earned for aiding his daughter, Shannisorran v'En Celay gave a weary smile of triumph. His mind reached out across a familiar path, instinctively sharing the vision. «Can you see her, Elfeya?»
Alone in her silken prison, Elfeya wept with love and joy and tried to hide her fear. «Aiyah, beloved, I do see her. She is glorious.»
CHAPTER TWENTY-Two
Farewell, dear brave and valiant soul,
take flight on gilded wing,
Soar high and laugh upon the wind,
while songs of honor sing
Til once again the Gold Horn sounds,
your soul to battle calls,
Resplendent blaze of hallowed flame,
to triumph over all.
-Farewell, Brave Soul, a Fey Warrior's Lament
Outside the cathedral, the battle with the demons was over and the remaining Fey warriors gathered the dead. Two dozen warriors lay side by side in the scorched grass, their luminescent glow of Fey life extinguished. The grim proof of their desperate struggle left Rain hollow inside, scooped out like gourd drum so the loss could echo freely inside him. He'd seen too much death in his lifetime, lost too many dear to him It hurt. No amount of battle fatigue had ever made it stop hurting.
“Oh, Rain ... so many lost.» Ellysetta's fingers twined with his, squeezing tight.
He'd faced battles far worse than this, where the dead carpeted entire valleys and blood turned mighty rivers red, but this battle left a particular wound on his heart, a sorrow that would never be forgotten. Because this was her first battle, her first bitter draught of loss. Friend, mother, so many of the Fey she'd begun to call by name-all lost in less than a bell. Rain would have given his own life to have spared her that.
"Come away, shei’tani. There are none here in need of healing. Demons do not leave wounded." Gaelen had dug the sel'dor shrapnel from Rain's shoulder, chest, and leg, while Kieran had helped a weeping Ellysetta guide healing weaves of Earth and Spirit to close Rain's wounds and steal away his pain.
