Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (25 page)

Gil studied me. Finally, he nodded. “Work on Heat Gem
training and I’ll see if I can rearrange your next few lessons while you’re
gone.”

I sighed with relief. “Thank you!” I almost hugged him but
stopped when he pointed toward the door again. This time, I obeyed.

I ran down the long hall, past several closed doors and fireless
torches until I reached the double doors leading outside. Hastily, I shoved
them open and barged through at reckless speed. It was impossible to stop
myself before barreling into Cole on the other side of the doors.

“What was that all about?” he asked, holding out a hand to
help me up after I’d splattered to the ground.

Flustered, I ignored it and pushed myself to my feet.
“What?”

“Your last training. I’m assuming that was the Passion Gem?”

Warmth rushed to my cheeks in spite of the frigid air. “That
really wasn’t something I enjoyed. Believe me, that gem is one of the last I
wanted to learn.”

Cole grunted as though he didn’t believe me. “It’s a little
ungrateful to be using your hosts for practice, don’t you think? No one here
likes their free will being taken from them.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the defensive words that sprung
to my lips. “I have another training to get to,” I muttered. I brushed past him
and hoped he would let the matter drop.

He didn’t.

“Oh, well, how nice for you. Do you need more subjects to
experiment on?” he asked. His footsteps echoed my own.

I stopped and whirled around. “I didn’t want to do it, Cole.
In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have a choice in how to spend my
time or what gems I’m trained on.”

“You don’t have to do what everyone tells you, you know. You
could stand up for yourself every once in a while.”

Somewhere in the distance, the city bells began to ring,
marking the time. I was late. I moaned in frustration. “Aren’t you always
saying I should be so grateful to be the Gem Heiress? Don’t you always tell me
I should be doing everything I can to make the best of what I am?”

“That doesn’t mean you should –“ Cole began, but I cut him
off.

“Besides, I’m not sure why my Passion Gem practice bothered
you so much today. You didn’t seem to be affected by it at all.” I leaned away
as I said it. His eyes widened and this time, it was his turn to blush.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he sputtered.

I glared. I couldn’t help it. He’d made me late– something I
would surely pay for when Aluce found out– and while I’d taken his words to
heart a few days ago when he’d called me out on my behavior, he’d only seemed
to become more arrogant since. So, with a flippant smile, I said, “Why don’t
you tell me.” Before he could answer, I turned on my heel and marched away.

I had to go around the back edge of the city, past several
doors leading into the inner chambers of the mountain before I found the correct
building. When I entered, a tall man with dark brown skin and gentle lines
etched around his eyes was already waiting for me. He looked as though he’d
spent much of his life smiling, which was something I already knew was rare in
this land. He sat near the entrance to the tunnels, reading over some type of
parchment. When a gust of cold air followed me inside and fluttered the paper
in his hand, he glanced up. The corners of his mouth were turned upward and his
eyes were filled with so much warmth, my heart swelled.

My father had been the only man who had ever looked at me in
the same manner. I halted my steps, basking in the compassion and gentleness
that exuded from his expression.

“You must be Aylen,” he said, standing as he stuffed the
parchment into his vest. That’s when I noticed he only had one arm. He held out
his hand and I reached forward to take it before I bowed in formal greeting.
“Please, none of that,” he insisted.

I released his hand and took a step back. “I’m sorry I’m
late. I know you’ve come a long way and it was disrespectful to make you wait.”

He chuckled and waved his hand at me as though to scatter my
words away. “It doesn’t matter when we begin your lesson. It only matters what
you gain from it.” Then, with a flick of a finger, he uttered one word. “Come.”

He took me into another Et Loedin tunnel, past doors I knew
led to rooms deep inside the mountain. Finally, we arrived at a chamber in what
must have been the coldest corners of the city. There was no place to sit and
no friendly fire warmed the room like I’d grown accustomed too.

“Please rest ,” he said, motioning toward the cold stone
floor. I obeyed.

When he’d placed himself across from me, his long legs
folded in front of him, he stared at me for several moments. I shifted to find
a comfortable position before I realized it was no use. He watched and smiled
at my fidgeting before he finally introduced himself.

“I’m known as Calix,” he said. “I come from Herrista which
is very far north.”

When I didn’t answer, he continued. “The history of the Heat
Gem is simple. The discoverer had the usual lofty desires in mind when he
searched for an unnamed stone. He dreamt of riches and power like all the other
gem scouts before his time. However, he wasn’t expecting to find the gem in the
coldest reaches of our land. When he touched the gem for the first time, his
greatest desire was only for warmth after such a long, frigid journey.”

Unable to keep from laughing, I clapped a hand over my
mouth. “I’m so sorry,” I said through my fingers.

Calix dismissed my mirth with a wave of his hand once more.
“No need to apologize. It’s a story we often tell in our tribe for
entertainment. We all have a good laugh over our poor foolish ancestor.”

Slowly I dropped my hand. “So, the gem only keeps the user
warm?”

Calix raised his chin slightly. “Yes, as far as those in my
tribe know. But I’ve wondered for a long time if someone with multiple
bloodlines could discover other benefits to the gem.”

“Such as?” I asked.

He smiled this time. “That’s entirely up to you to find
out.”

“How would multiple bloodlines make a difference in how the
gem is used?”

“I wouldn’t know,” he said. “I only have one bloodline. But
gems can be manipulated under the right conditions and someone with your
abilities is untested. I’d be curious to see what you could accomplish.”

I glanced away, afraid to voice my thoughts. I barely
remained in control every time I connected to an unfamiliar gem. How would I
possibly discover new uses for any of them?

Calix’s slight touch on my arm was a request for my
attention.

“Don’t let it concern you,” he said. “For now, just learn
the gem. Be mindful of your surroundings. It’s terribly cold in this room and
you have the best source for warmth at your fingertips.”

He pointed out a creamy stone on my necklace crammed with
glowing orange veins. I closed my fist around it and tried to focus on how
freezing I was. Truthfully, I wasn’t as cold as I should have been because my
Et Loedin clothing was designed to keep me warm, but still, my breath formed
little white puffs that floated in the air every time I spoke or exhaled.

By this time, I was so used to recognizing the individual
voice of each gem, I didn’t have too much trouble connecting to it. I still had
to fight off the urge to allow myself to connect to several others, but I’d
grown accustomed to the strain. The ability was like a muscle that needed
constant exercise to remain strong.

As soon as I felt the gem engage me, a flood of comfortable
warmth spread from my toes to my cheeks. It really was much nicer than feeling
the bitter chill nip at my face.

“That wasn’t so difficult,” I said, delighted. 

Calix didn’t seem as thrilled. “May I?” he asked, reaching a
finger toward the exposed skin of my hand. Quickly, he tapped it. The moment
his flesh touched mine, he jerked his hand back with a grimace.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re projecting too much heat. It doesn’t harm you, but
it will burn those you come in contact with.”

I glanced down at the spot on my hand where Calix had burned
himself. It looked normal. “How is that possible?” I asked.

“With a gem as powerful as yours and with so many bloodlines
to muddle your connection, I’m not surprised. The gem has just taken over.” He
smiled ruefully. “If you can’t learn to control it, you could consider it as a
sort of protectant.”

His words sparked a memory of the king’s men invading
Vairda. After my gems had begun to take control, I’d burned one of their
leaders unintentionally when he’d grabbed my arm.

With all the disasters my last few days of training had
caused, I couldn’t help feeling discouraged. “This keeps happening,” I sighed.
“No matter what I do, the gems all seem to more in charge than I am.”

Calix looked thoughtful. “It’s possible they are. The gems
are as alive as those who use them.  With so many battling for space in your
blood, there’s bound to be a struggle for dominance. It will take enormous
strength to remain dominant.”

I looked away, unable to meet his eyes. This was what I
feared the most. Even when I felt in control, I was finding that I wasn’t. It
seemed that every time I used a new gem, somehow it used me.

“You should try and sever the connection now,” Calix said.
He gave me a sheepish smile. “The room has become uncomfortably warm since you
. . .”

“Oh, right! Sorry about that.” I focused on disengaging
myself from the gem and sighed with relief once it was done. I hardly noticed
the shift in temperature or the chill in the air as it once more began to
penetrate my skin. Instead, all I could think about was idea that perhaps I’d
never had control over any of the gems at all. And if I was merely a vessel
through which the stones could manifest their power, had I already lost the
ability to control my own will? Had the gems already turned me into their
servant?

I spent the next several days visiting with multiple
trainers. Aluce was convinced I needed to fit in as many of the less useful
gems in as short a time as possible so I could move on to those that would
prove more powerful in battle. The problem was that every trainer thought their
gem was the most important.

The Beauty Gem was one of the worst. After a lengthy
introduction to the history of the gem and its limitations and strengths, my
trainer instructed me to mentally picture all my physical flaws. When I frowned
at her, she mistook my expression for concentration.

“Now, turn those flaws into your greatest physical
attributes,” she said. “Imagine them perfected. See yourself with the beauty
you’ve always wanted.”

A few years ago, I probably would have turned into a blond,
tan Vairdan, but with all the changes in my life recently, I no longer desired
to alter myself physically. Still, I tried to obey her instructions.

I ended up with the exact same features I’d begun with.

 My instructor called me impossible and claimed I wasn’t
being honest with myself. When I told her I was probably showing more honesty
than her entire tribe, she declared the lesson over.

In another lesson, I learned the flameless torches around Et
Loedin came from Light Gems that did nothing more than give light. I laughed
even harder at the history of the Light Gem than I had at the story of the Heat
Gem. However, when I tried to use it, it took over and nearly blinded my
instructor. At least in battle, I realized, that wouldn’t have necessarily been
a bad thing.

The pale gray Prosperity Gem was introduced to me by a man
dressed in expensive clothing and draped with powerless jewels. His hands
flashed from the multiple gold rings he wore and he carried weapons inlaid with
precious metals. He promised me that wealth could purchase success and power.
It was obvious his tribe had seen an abundance of it. When I tapped into the
stone, I didn’t feel much of a difference in myself until I realized
Miranaschian coins were rolling out of the sleeves of my dress and clinking
inside the toes of my boots. I wasn’t sure how, but I knew the coins had come
from my trainer’s purses. He’d warned me that the gem helped people prosper in
many different ways but it never produced coinage on its own unless it stole
from someone else.

When I began to dump the money onto the table, my trainer
watched with awe.

“This is rare. Rare indeed! Where did these come from?” he
asked, his expression shifting from surprise to hunger.

 I quickly broke my connection with the gem, passed the
coins to him, and fled the room before he could ask me to conjure more.

After days of mishaps, word of my incompetence and lack of
control began to make its way around Et Loedin. Even my trainers started
showing up to lessons wary and uncommitted. Worse, I struggled to fully break
the connection to my Empathy Gem. Its presence relentlessly nudged and prodded
me and within days, the gem had become my constant companion. Because of this,
I always sensed the disappointment and hopelessness people felt toward me.

By the time I’d had lessons on almost all twenty gems, I’d
lost track of how long I’d been training and how many mistakes I’d made. I was
depressed and exhausted and Gil still hadn’t given me a time when I could work
on sword fighting or the Warrior Gem. Apparently, they hadn’t found a
trustworthy trainer from that bloodline.

 I considered confronting Aluce myself so I could demand a
chance to sword practice with other sky dwellers but I hadn’t seen her for
several days. In the meantime, my mother had holed herself up in the map rooms
where she tracked most of the rebel movements and waited for more information
from my father. Even my Empathy Gem training had stopped, not that I needed it
anymore since the gem never seemed to give me a moment’s peace.

One afternoon, after an accidental dismissal from a Travel
Gem session when I traveled too far again, I decided to head to my next session
early instead of going back to my trainer. I was surprised when a note from Gil
that morning had instructed me to go to the landing pad at the edge of the
city. I knew Aluce would never allow flight training when there were so many
other gems to learn so when I saw Cole approach after a short wait, I gaped at
him.