Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(62)

But that wasn’t completely true because last night here in Zivost, I dreamed the emperor’s Druman were chasing me. I was not going to share my nightmares with her.

“I dream all the time,” she said. “I dream about a Phaetyn girl. She lives outside our walls. She does what the Phaetyn are meant to do; she’s a land healer.” She paused and then added, “I believe it is my destiny to become her.”

“Is that what drove you to join the rebellion?” Dyter asked.

Kamini laughed, but the sound reverberated with bitterness. “That vision is what drove me to create the rebellion.”

Holy Pancakes! Kamini was the leader of the rebellion? I shared a shocked look with Dyter.

She halted. “We’re here. You can set him down,” she said. “I need you to touch the tree. It should be easier now. Phaetyn powers get easier every time you use them.”

I slid Tyrrik from my shoulders to the ground, circling my arms to loosen the stiff muscles. “First tell me what you’re looking for?”

“The truth,” she said, grabbing my empty hands and pressing them to the trunk of a large elm.

Colors burst behind my eyes, and then murky shadows formed. Luna Nuloa and her guards stood beside the elm, the queen holding her daughter wrapped in a silvery blanket. Luna lowered the rock wall, and as she tilted her head to see to the other side of the barrier, the moonlight exposed her devastated face. She murmured to one of the guards, but her words were lost in the silence of the images. She pointed back toward Zivost and then to the outside. The wall retracted, and the three of them began to cross.

As Luna left Zivost for the other side, her mortal lover emerged. He smiled, his eyes lit with love, and in his arms, he held a small child.

I withdrew my hands, realizing the moment I did that Kamini no longer held them to the tree. I grinned and opened my eyes, my heart pounding with excitement in anticipation of telling her what I’d seen. Luna and her human lover had another, older child together. At least, that’s what I’d understood from the visions. That would explain why Kamini didn’t possess the ancestral powers for her generation. Was her older sibling female and still out there somewhere, an unknown solution to the Phaetyn’s troubles? My mind moved frantically, putting the pieces together. Luna had mated with Kaelan long ago but over time saw that he and Alani were in love. She’d eventually broken their binding and then fell in love with a human and had two children with him, giving the youngest to Alani and Kaelan, perhaps to babysit, or maybe Luna didn’t trust them with the eldest daughter. The emperor had then slaughtered Luna’s human lover and captured her. Alani became queen after this, and Kaelan king once more, while Luna was pouring her ancestral powers into my mother’s womb, into me.

All of the pieces finally fit together. I opened my mouth to tell Kamini when a rustling in the forest made me freeze.

“Ryn? Dyter?” Kamoi called, just before stepping out of the trees with several guards.

Relief washed over Kamoi’s features as his gaze flitted over Kamini and then met mine. “I’ve been so worried.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I said. He’d taken on his father for me. I couldn’t imagine how that was going to haunt him in time.

Kamini’s gaze shifted from her brother to me, and she pursed her lips.

Kamoi crossed the dirt patch leading up to the large elm and scooped me into his arms. “Curse the night, what happened?” He breathed into my hair, the thudding of his heart tangible where our chests touched. He continued to hold me close as he said, “One minute my father is throwing fruit at you, and then chaos ensues. How did you get away?”

I drew back, tapping him on the chest at the same time. He set me down, a sad smile resting on his lips.

Drak. How was I supposed to tell him I’d killed his parents? “Uh, I . . . uh,”

He shook his head, jaw clenched. “I know what happened in the clearing. I watched it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, and in my mind I added, your parents died. Because I wasn’t sorry I’d killed them. Not sorry at all.

The guards continued to hover inside the tree line, their attention focused on the prince and Kamini.

Kamoi shook his head again. “I’m not. I mean . . .” He swallowed before continuing, “I’m sorry they’re dead, but they were terrible leaders for our people as I’m sure you saw. That might be wrong of me to say—”

His eyes grew dark and hard for an instant before he glanced up at me with a softened gaze, and my heart squeezed at the conflict that must be rampant inside him. “What will happen to the Phaetyn now?” I asked. “The golden barrier is down.”

Kamoi’s gaze went from me to Dyter and then back to me. “You are the only Phaetyn with ancestral powers.” Kamoi glanced at Kamini before turning back to me. “Will you lead our people, Ryn?”





25





I closed my eyes to control the overwhelming urge to burst out into bitter laughter. Would I rule these people who had made me feel uneasy and unwelcome from day one? Would I help the people who had drained an unconscious Drae of blood just to properly kill each other? “No,” I said. “There are so many reasons, but the short answer is no.”

“Please,” Kamoi said, reaching for my hands. He entwined his fingers with mine and held them to his chest. “Please come back. We can figure this out; together we can rebuild a better Zivost.”