CHAPTER 13

Sythrian swore under his breath as Nessa landed softly on his shoulder, chirping softly. She had been circling above them for hours as they combed the forest, trying to spot Kairi through the trees, but they had returned to the tower empty-handed. Sythrian followed Diander as he approached a weary-looking Rosamynd and Tevel who had emerged from the tower. She was wringing her hands worriedly and talking fast.

“It’s all indistinct. There seems to be some magic distorting the images. Gracie is still with Jaspyrr, trying.”

Suddenly a shout rang from atop the wall above Tiethar’s entrance, and Nessaria took flight and sped off towards the forest. An image of Kairi from a bird’s-eye view flashed before his eyes as Nessaria chirped.

“Kairi!” Sythrian shouldered his bow and sprinted after Nessa, followed closely by Diander and Tevel.

Finally Kairi emerged from the forest, falling to her knees. Sythrian put on a burst of speed, but skidded to a halt as two white wolves stepped directly in front of her, the male growling warily at him.

     Sythrian raised his bow, but froze with astonishment as Kairi lifted a hand to touch the male wolf, who immediately sat down next to her, pushing his head underneath her arm as if supporting her. The female nudged Kairi’s face with her nose, and Sythrian thought he saw Kairi smile as she rose shakily to her feet.

     Diander and Tevel appeared beside Sythrian, mouths open in amazement. Even in her obvious exhaustion, Kairi looked straight out of a legend, with her red-gold hair blowing in the breeze, one hand on each wolf. Her cloak billowed out behind her as she walked slowly toward him, and the sight of her took Sythrian’s breath away.

Tevel seemed to shake his head, recovering his senses. “What happened?” he demanded as Kairi stopped in front of them.

“I-I don’t know. I-” Kairi swayed a little on her feet, and Sythrian dove to catch her as before she hit the ground.

Tevel and Diander rushed forward and helped Sythrian carry her inside. The two wolves followed close behind, and Sythrian watched them warily. As they entered the tower, students who were coming out of the Great Hall stopped and stared at them. Sythrian tried his best to ignore them, but the noise of whispering grew into a dull roar, and suddenly it seemed like the entire population of the tower was standing in the halls, watching their strange procession.

They took her straight to the hospital wing and deposited her on a bed. Briellina bustled into the room, stopping short at the sight of the two wolves in front of the bed, where Kairi lay unconscious, her face smeared with dirt. Briellina’s face paled, but the wolves moved over to the side of the room and she hesitantly moved forward to tend to Kairi.

     Sythrian, Tevel and Diander hovered behind her, worried. “Will she be alright?” Sythrian wrung his hands, watching as Briellina shined a light in Kairi’s eyes, watched her chest rise up and down with her breath and listened to her heartbeat using a strange instrument she attached to her ears. She was holding her hands over Kairi, murmuring in the ancient language, a soft glow emitting from her palms when Jaspyrr entered the room, quietly closing and bolting the door behind him, his expression grave.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Briellina sighed and opened her eyes. She seemed unsurprised to find Jaspyrr watching her expectantly.

     “She seems fine, aside from dehydration and exhaustion.” Sythrian sighed as relief washed over him, but he noticed that Briellina still looked pale and worried. She took a small blue bottle from a shelf nearby and tipped three drops into Kairi’s slightly open mouth. “I’m afraid we’ll find out no more until she wakes.” She tucked a blanket around Kairi before motioning for them to follow her out into the corridor.

“Can I stay?” Sythrian blurted out. He looked down, embarrassed, missing the look that passed between the others.

     “Yes, she shouldn’t be alone when she wakes.” Sythrian looked up at Briellina, surprised. “When she wakes up she’ll need to drink this.” She tipped three more drops from the small bottle into a glass of water on the bedside table and stirred it a few times. She put her hand lightly on his shoulder before following the others out into the hallway.

***

When they reached Jaspyrr’s chambers, they walked around the charcoal circle in silence, passing through a door in the far wall into a smaller but cozier room. Motes of dust shimmered in the sunlight that shone through a large window. Three chairs sat facing a large desk, the surface of which was strewn with an assortment of odd objects. A fourth, more ornate-looking chair sat behind the desk, its deep blue upholstery looking well worn.

The wall behind the desk was covered in tall bookshelves, many of which looked ancient, and it was to these that Jaspyrr went. He ran a long finger along the spines of the books, muttering to himself.

Tevel sank into one of the chairs. “Do you think it wise to leave Sythrian looking over her? I’m sure his intentions are good, but he seems a bit—,” Tevel frowned, “—besotted.”

     Briellina snorted as she and Diander sat in the remaining two chairs, “That’s putting it mildly.” She raised her eyebrow. “I don’t want her left alone, anyway.”

     Jaspyrr’s finger stopped over the tattered spine of one book, pulling it from the shelves and flipping through it before setting it down on the desk between a small bronze figurine of a dragon and some sort of egg-shaped stone. The book lay open to a portrait, rendered in vibrant colors.

     Tevel, Diander and Briellina sat in stunned silence as all four of them gazed at the painting, which portrayed a young woman, nearly identical to Kairi, a delicate crown resting on her head. Next to her on the dais sat a massive white wolf.

     “Who is,” Briellina leaned closer, reading the caption underneath the portrait, “Arieyhl of Farrynor?”

Jaspyrr spoke quietly, “Arieyhl of Farrynor was once the queen of Gellarial.” He sighed. “I’m afraid this may put Kairi, and all of us, in great danger if Olbin hears of this.”

“I can see the resemblance, certainly, but what does she have to do with Kairi?” Briellina frowned.

“Our intelligences have been saying for a number of years that Olbin is obsessed with finding Arieyhl’s child, but as far as I was aware Areiyhl was killed before carrying it to term. The child has never been seen.”

“What does he want with the child?”

“Well, there are rumors of a prophecy surrounding the child, although they remain just that, rumors. Even so, Ariehyl was the wife of Mytar first, and soon after Olbin destroyed him and took the throne and Arieyhl for himself her pregnancy became known. Whether he or Mytar fathered it, no one is sure, but if the child were Mytar’s, he or she would be rightful heir to the throne.”

Briellina made a noise of disbelief, “But that was hundreds of years ago!”

Jaspyrr shrugged. “I believe Olbin has always been under the impression that the child lives. Elves live for many hundreds of years, Elven Mages even longer. Olbin himself is an example of this. The child, if it had survived, is likely to be an Elven Mage, given its parentage, and he may believe that Ariehyl’s offspring is biding its time simply waiting to take back the throne. Some have suggested it is his entire motivation for this mad war he wages against us.”

“But she is only seventeen. This child would be older than you or I.” Briellina shook her head.

Tevel shook his head. “Whether it is true or not, she has enough Potential to attract Olbin’s attention regardless, and I believe he will overlook Kairi’s age if he hears rumor of her new aniih and her resemblance to Ariehyl. We will be hard-pressed to keep him from finding out about her, and it is only a matter of time before he learns the location of Tiethar. He might have already learned it from Mather, much as I would like to hope that he withstood the torture.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Briellina spoke, “What should we tell her?”

 “Nothing, I think.” Jaspyrr frowned. “It will only frighten her, and she has already been through a lot. I’m sure she will hear of legend of Arieyhl from her peers, but not many know about the child. As for her aniih, other mages of even greater renown had aniih that students share.”

Tevel looked doubtful, but agreed. “I don’t see any point in telling her until we know more. The most important thing is to begin her training, and teach her to defend herself.”

The others nodded. Briellina excused herself and rose to check on Kairi, leaving the others to discuss how to proceed with Kairi’s training.