From Spirit and Binding Read online

  They had all lost so much, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to feel.

  Or if I should feel anything at all.

  “I’ll get the other things ready,” Wyn said, hurrying off, leaving me alone with Rosamond and her grandmother. The others moved around us, and soon, we were ready to go, my body still shaking from the warring elements inside of me.

  I couldn’t control them, and that worried me. Because the one person that could help me center myself was gone, and that meant I needed to do it by myself.

  I just didn’t know how.

  The ashes of the now-destroyed Water Estate stung my nose and left a mark on a landscape that had once been beautiful, even if it had concealed an evil that no one dared to name.

  That was gone now, and we had to walk away. There would be repercussions for what I did, for what we all did, but we would deal. First, we needed to get home.

  So, we said goodbye to Lanya, to the others who had fought with us and would remain behind as our allies.

  And then we journeyed east.

  To the Obscurité Kingdom, to the place that I now called home. And, hopefully, one day, to Easton.

  Chapter Four

  Lyric

  * * *

  I had wondered once what it felt like to live in a time that wasn’t my own, back before there were cars and planes and different modes of transportation to get you from one side of the world to the other.

  Then, I found myself in the Maison realm.

  Technology didn’t work the same here as it did back in the human realm, where I had been born and raised. Even though it had only been a little over a year since I learned about this new realm, it felt like eons. Maybe because once I had been taken away from all the comforts that made things easier to live and work and go to school, I realized they hadn’t really mattered. Many of the Maisons had never even seen them before. They didn’t venture to the human realm, so they didn’t know what they were missing. They didn’t know what it felt like to travel from one side of the Earth to the other in a steel tube flying at hundreds of miles per hour.

  Rhodes, Easton, and some of the others in my circle had traveled to the human realm to find me.

  Perhaps not me exactly. They had gone into the human realm to find the prophesied Spirit Priestess. The fact that it had been me, meant that their search had ended after hundreds of years.

  It was still so odd to think that those surrounding me were centuries old, the youngest in their two hundreds or so.

  Arwin had been younger. I let out a shuddering breath as I thought of him and looked back at the carriage that held his body.

  He was the only dead we were bringing back with us. The others who had died for us and by our sides had been part of the Lumière Kingdom. We’d left Lanya behind, and she would take care of the Wielders there. She would bury them and make sure they had the services they deserved. Each of the territories had their own way of saying goodbye, of dealing with their dead.

  One day, I would learn them, but for now, we had to move quickly through the northern Spirit territory to get to the Fire territory. To the Obscurité Court.

  The Maison realm, while without technology, held magic.

  Thousands of years ago, the territories had been split, along with its people. With the Water Wielders in the northwest, and the Air Wielders in the southwest. In the Obscurité Kingdom, the Fire Wielders occupied the northeast, and the Earth Wielders were far in the southeast. The Spirit Wielders had been the ones to split them, both up north and down south. In my head, the Spirit territories looked like two pieces of pie, their points gently touching, but I knew that wasn’t technically the case. The borders were a little more ragged, not perfectly drawn, and along the lines themselves, the two territories blended. The first one I had seen had been Earth and Fire, where it looked like the red rocks of Colorado, the two elements combining to create the beauty. And the people within those areas sometimes had both Wieldings—or just one. Or, thanks to the dying crystals, none. They were Danes now, no more magic, beholden to those around them for protection.

  “Sometimes, I really wish the old days were still here, the ones where we could just easily move from one part of the territory to another using the crystal and so much energy.” Wyn came up to my side, and I looked over at her, giving her a small smile.

  “I was just thinking that. I’m not exactly sure how you guys made it this long without cars.”

  “You know, I hear those are very helpful,” she said, shaking her head. Wyn gripped my hand, giving it a squeeze, and I smiled at her a little more. We were both hurting, inside and out, all of us a little numb. But we were just trying to make it through, trying to get home so we could formulate a plan.

  It was the time leading up to formulating the plan seemed like we were out of our depths. And I hated that.

  I really wished there was a way to make everything better and sparkly and wonderful, though I knew it wasn’t going to happen.

  “You know, we did at least have our own invention of the wheel,” Wyn said, shaking her head at me. “We have carts, as you can tell,” she said, gesturing towards the two that held Rhodes and Arwin, as well as another larger cart that held some of the supplies that we’d been able to find for the journey. We hadn’t taken much because we knew the Water Estate and those within it needed more supplies than we did. Or at least what was left of the Water Estate.

  I rubbed at the spot over my heart again, trying to ignore the pain.

  I wasn’t going to think about that.

  “And we have horses, though they aren’t exactly like yours in the other realm.”

  I glanced over at the large beasts that looked almost like Clydesdales but were slightly different, their noses a little wider, their coloring not quite the same chestnut or white or gray that I was used to. There was almost something a little more magical about them, too, and they looked as if they could see into my soul with those deep, dark eyes. Then again, some people thought horses back in the human realm were the same way.

  “I know we would have been able to find a few more to ride through the northern Spirit territory to make it easier for us, but we just didn’t have that kind of time. And I wanted to make sure that the others had what they needed to get to the other territories,” Wyn continued. I nodded along.

  “Plus, do horses do well on boats?” I asked, pondering.

  “They do okay. After all, the horses from the Water territory are used to traveling over water like that.”

  The Water territory was mostly seas and rivers with one large massive landmass in one corner where the Water Estate had once stood. There was also a swatch of land that bisected the area with a river that ran through that.

  There were smaller parcels of land around the seas, and even Water towns built directly on the water with mechanics and magics to create civilizations.

  I hadn’t seen those, mostly because the ships that we had been on when we were traveling through the Water territory hadn’t gone in that direction.

  It was something I thought I might want to see someday, but it was hard for me to focus on that now, to focus on anything really.

  Because all I could do was think about what would come next, and the fact that I had no clue what to do about any of it.

  We kept saying that we needed to go home. Because home would help us think.

  What else was there? Where else could we go when it felt as if all hope was lost?

  Rhodes was hurt, one of the Air healers in the cart with him, doing his best to help.

  Easton was just…gone.

  I sucked in a breath and rubbed a hand over my chest again as Wyn squeezed my other hand before letting go.

  It was as if she knew what I was thinking about.

  I didn’t know what I was thinking about. Not really.

  Easton might be dead. At the very least, he had been taken.

  I couldn’t get the vision out of my head: the rope made of smoke that had wrapped around his body and then pul
led him through the shadows. Had ripped him from my arms.

  No, that wasn’t quite right. He hadn’t actually been in my arms. He had held me, kept me from destroying myself and everything else with my lack of control, and then he had kissed me.

  Followed by him telling me he could never love me. It was as if someone else had been saying it. As if something had come over him.

  I hoped to the gods that I would eventually find out what he meant. What had happened.

  It was hard to have hope and strength when, though we’d won some battles, it felt as if the war would be everlasting. And I’d only been in it for a short time. I couldn’t imagine what the others were going through. After all, they had been dealing with this war and the aftereffects of the Fall for centuries.

  I was just a babe.

  It was hard to think about whether they would resent me for not being able to help, for not being able to save them all with a snap of my fingers.

  “It’ll be okay, Lyric,” Wyn whispered before she walked away, going to the cart where Arwin’s body lay. She jumped over the side in one graceful movement, looking like the warrior she was, and then spoke in soft tones over Arwin’s corpse.

  I turned away, giving her privacy.

  It was hard to watch, not knowing what to say.

  He had died in front of me, protecting me. And it had felt like he was younger than me, as if he were a young trainee, and I was in his class.

  He had been older than me, at least in terms of age, though maybe not in everything else.

  After all, the Maisons aged differently than humans did.

  That reminded me that, once again, I didn’t know which side of the line I was on anymore. Was I human? Was I a Maison? Would I grow old over time? Or would I have the lifespan of those in this realm?

  Honestly, that didn’t really matter at the moment, because I had to survive first. We all had to.

  “Is Braelynn at the Obscurité Court?” Luken asked as he came up beside me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  I looked over at the blond warrior, his hair pulled back in a leather thong, his sword strapped to his back. He looked so sad, his face set in weary lines, but there was hope in his eyes, too, an expression that worried me.

  “She is. I left her with Justise and Ridley, Easton’s uncles.”

  “They’re the ones running the court, then?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yes. Apparently, they did it before when Queen Cameo and even King Zeke left. From what I could tell, they’ve always been close to Easton.”

  “Justise? He’s the weapons maker, right?”

  I nodded. “He’s a Fire Wielder. The weapons maker and blacksmith at court. His husband, Ridley, is their healer, but I don’t know what his Wielding is.”

  “Most think he’s a Dane,” Teagan said, walking up on my other side.

  Teagan reminded me a lot of Luken, the Obscurité half, rather than the Lumière. Teagan was Easton’s best friend and had once been with Wyn.

  Now, the Fire Wielder seemed as lost as the rest of us. He had been training Arwin, as well, and now that Easton was gone, none of us really knew what to say or do. There were plans to be made, and we had to keep moving forward.

  It was hard not to look back when the path in front of us was so covered in shadow.

  “A Dane can be a healer?” Luken asked, frowning.

  “You have something against Danes?”

  There was a rumble in Teagan’s voice, and I almost stopped to try and pull them to the side and make them get along. Mostly because I didn’t want to deal with in-fighting, yet I didn’t really know what I could do to stop a fight between two hulking warriors. I might have more Wielding than they did, but I didn’t have their control.

  “I was only asking because I hadn’t heard of that before.” Luken narrowed his eyes as we continued walking. I looked nervously around, noticing that some of the Air and Water Wielders that Lanya had sent with us were slowly pulling away, giving the two warriors some space. Maybe I should do the same, but I wasn’t going to.

  “So, you don’t have anything against Danes?” Teagan asked.

  Luken raised his chin and then stopped. I almost tripped over my feet to stop, as well. Teagan was on my other side, glaring at the warrior.

  “My soulmate was a Dane. We don’t know how she ended up in the human realm.” Luken let out a breath through his nose. “She died.” The words were clipped. Harsh. And so full of aching sadness that my heart lodged in my throat.

  “Luken,” I whispered, not knowing what to say about Braelynn. She was alive now, only in Familiar form. A cat with bat wings, rather than the girl I knew, my best friend. And, yes, she had been Luken’s soulmate. Maybe she still was.

  Tears sprang to my eyes, and I wished there was something I could do. But, once again, I was helpless.

  “I’m sorry,” Teagan said, holding out his arm for a warrior shake. Luken gripped the other man’s forearm, and they held each other, still glaring, but there was a sense of solidarity there, too. That was good, at least I hoped so. “I’m sorry for your loss, it’s not fair to find the one that’s meant for you, only to have them ripped from your grasp.”

  I looked away then, not wanting to hear more, not wanting to think about the fact that I didn’t have my soulmate either. Mine didn’t love me. What did it all mean?

  Before I could wallow in my self-pity any longer, I froze, the shadow in the distance coming closer.

  I didn’t know what it was. It didn’t look exactly like the Air monster we had fought, the Domovoi, which had been a dragon of sorts that was almost Spirit-like. This wasn’t it. But it was something big. And it was moving fast.

  When someone shouted behind me, I knew it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.

  It was coming at us, and we were going to have to fight it.

  Chapter Five

  Lyric

  * * *

  “Everybody, prepare yourselves for battle!” I shouted over the murmurs and yells of the others. The wind lifted my hair, and I ignored the heat from the sun shining down on my face.

  I was still reasonably new at this, but I had been in enough skirmishes and fights to know what I needed to do. Hopefully, the others would know, as well.

  Luken and Teagan took control of those fighting, those on our side, at least. They were warriors, those who had dealt with battle lines and plans for years. They had been on opposing sides more than once, something I would ask them about later, but they were working side by side now. Because we weren’t Obscurité or Lumière.

  We were fighting against whatever was coming at us. And it was big.

  Wyn was at my side, the wind blowing through her hair.

  “What is it?” I asked, squinting in the blinding sun that covered the northern Spirit territory. It felt like night never fell when we were here. There was always a tone of sepia around us as if the sun had burnt everything to a crisp, and what was left, were the remnants of souls everlasting.

  I knew at one time, the northern Spirit territory had housed cities, great civilizations with temples where the Spirit Wielders lived. Much like the southern Spirit territory. There had been people, cities, laughing children, and adults who had loved one another. That was all gone now. Because of the Fall. Because when the others had used the crystals and the Spirit Wielders to gain more power, they’d killed so much. And the war had brought devastation. It had truly been Obscurité versus Lumière then as the Spirit Wielders ran away, scared for their lives and not part of either court or kingdom.

  They had died, and they had hidden, stashed away in the human realm.

  Where I had been born. Where I’d lived.

  And, one day, I would have that element, as well. Spirit. I would have all five.

  For now, I was standing on a desert-like landscape with others shouting orders and getting into position. Someone would need to protect Rhodes, others were tasked with watching our supplies and Arwin’s body.

  I would have to stand up fr
ont because I had four elements. I only hoped I could control them. I had to.

  I couldn’t let them control me.

  Wyn took my hand and grasped it tightly before letting go and spreading her fingers.

  “It’s a wyverin.” She looked over at me, and my eyes widened.

  “Is that like a dragon? Like the Domovoi? The ghost dragon thing?” There had been a Domovoi with its ghost rider when we last walked across the northern Spirit territory. It had only been solid when the rider was touching it, but when he jumped off to fight, the dragon had been ghostly and see-through again.

  We had defeated it, but it had been close. And we’d needed Easton’s Fire and Earth to prevail.

  We didn’t have Easton now.

  I swallowed hard.

  We may never have him again.

  “Sort of. It’s not like the Domovoi. It’s solid. It has the head of a dragon, but can stand on two legs while it flaps its wings. They’re almost leathery, like a Komodo Dragon you would see in your realm. Only it’s far larger.”

  I licked my lips, my hands outstretched as my Wielding skated along my fingers.

  “I can see that.” I narrowed my eyes again, trying to focus on what I saw.

  It was large and black, with blue and green scales gliding up its side as if a waterfall cascading.

  That wasn’t what I was staring at, though. And I wasn’t looking at the sharp fangs and talons, either. Or its leathery wings as they beat a fast staccato, coming towards us as it moved in the air.

  No, I was looking at the rider.

  The one in the gray robes that billowed out behind him.

  “There’s a Creed Wielder riding him.”

  Wyn sighed. “Yes, it seems that the Creed of Wings is still alive. Though we should have guessed that. It wasn’t as if we killed them all on that ship.”

  I shook my head, my Wielding scratching at my palms. The Fire licked at my fingertips, the Air gliding between the digits. Earth rumbled beneath my feet, and Water skimmed.