Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (34 page)

I stood abruptly. “I didn’t come all this way to sit idle.
I’m as much a part of this now as you are. I fight with you or I find a way to
get there on my own.”

“Sai, this is more dangerous than you think. You’d be safer
here than if you joined me on the battlefield. You don’t have the use of gems
to help you in a fight. It’s one thing to stay alive amongst men on equal
ground. It’s another to face the strongest gem users in war.”

“We’ve fought a few soldiers with gems,” Lirig said. “And
won, obviously.”

“Then you were lucky.”

I snorted. “Or you just place too much value on what those
gems can do.”

Tereg pursed his lips. “It’s true, the king’s warriors have
gotten lazy. They’ve been in power so long they’ve forgotten how to use their
abilities to the fullest extent. But it doesn’t mean the battle will be any
less dangerous.”

“No, but it means I may be as formidable an opponent. More
so because I’ve worked harder than any of them to master my weapons.”

Tereg shook his head again. “I’m sorry, Sai. If you love
Aylen, you’ll stay here and remain out of harm. I’ll be informing the camp
leader here of my wishes on this matter.”

He stood to leave. He hadn’t finished his meal and I’d
hardly touched mine, but I knew neither of us was going to be able to eat anything
tonight.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare myself before I
speak to the camp.” He offered us an apologetic smile and turned to leave. But
I wasn’t finished yet.

“Tereg!” I snapped. He turned once more. “At least give me
some way I can contact her. Give me a way to let her know I haven’t abandoned
her.”

Tereg closed his eyes and sighed deeply. I sensed he was
trying to decide how much to tell me. Finally, when I thought he’d walk away
without an answer, he opened his eyes and rested a steely gaze on me.

“You can’t tell her where you are. She’ll come after you.”

“I won’t,” I vowed.

“Give me a message for her. I’ll find a messenger bird bound
for Et Loedin and send it along.”I gave him a sharp nod of my head. He
attempted one more smile but failed when he had to wipe a weary hand across his
eyes.

“I’ll come back shortly to say goodbye,” he promised.

We watched him leave the room in silence. The thud of the
door shut us off from the rest of the camp that had begun to congregate in the
common area. I turned to Haji.

“Did you tell him you’re a traveler?”

“No,” she said. I wanted to hug her for it.

“Good,” I whispered. “Good.”

Once we’d reported our discovery of the king’s army, hidden
in the distant wilderness, Iolar had sent out flyers to study the situation.
Afterwards, when they’d confirmed everything I’d told him, envoys were sent to
my father and the nearest rebel camps. In the meantime, Iolar insisted I
further master the Protection Gem. The current fear running through Et Loedin
was that the Protection and Concealment Gems being used to fortify the city
would somehow fail and the king would find a way inside using Travelers and
Destroyers. Iolar and several other trainers felt I had the best chance at
blocking intruders from entering.

Aluce would have agreed with him, but since she hadn’t
returned to Et Loedin, I found it easier to follow my own instincts. I’d spent
the last several days tentatively connecting to my Empathy Gem and trying to sort
through as many emotions as possible being projected from the soldiers.

I’d learned a few things. First, my gem was powerful enough
to let me sense emotions from very far away. Second, the more I opened myself
up to the Empathy Gem and the feelings from the hidden army, the more
excruciating my burden became.  And finally, by accident, I‘d discovered I
could manipulate someone’s emotions, even though the heart of the gem hadn’t
been exposed. I’d been confronted by one of my trainers for skipping another lesson.
One moment she’d been furious and insistent I go with her. The next, with just
a small amount of coercion, she’d willingly walked away, convinced my reasons
for missing training were brilliant.

All of this worried me.

With the exception of the Destroyer, I’d been able to
control every gem using Tanerris’ methods. However, the more I used the Empathy
Gem, the more I realized there was very little I could do to filter unwanted
emotions from other people. It also seemed as though every facet of its power
was available to me with the slightest effort.

 In a way, it was strange. The gems I struggled with the
most, I realized, were motivated by two extremely opposite emotions. One was
fueled by hatred and the other by pure selflessness.

Despite these concerns, once more I had decided to skip
training and packed a bag to take with me to Et Loedin’s peak. Every day since
I’d discovered the king’s army, I’d climbed the stairs to the door Hesper had
shown me and sat on top of the mountain to concentrate on the diverse mass of
human emotions as they flashed through my mind. Some carried with them stories
and memories, letting me know the emotion’s source was a closer relation than
others. Most were flashes of feeling, ranging from boredom to rage, weariness
to hunger. I’d been hoping to find a trail of emotions belonging to the king,
but hadn’t yet. Today, while I readied myself, I vowed I would.

As I fastened my cloak around my shoulders and slipped an
arm through one of the pack’s straps, I heard a knock on my door. I halted,
breathless. By the sound of the knock, I guessed who it was and let out a soft
groan. She was the last person I wanted to see.

With a purse of my lips, I dropped the pack and kicked it
under my bed. As I marched toward the door, I yanked off the cloak and flung it
on a nearby chair. My hand hovered just over the doorknob. Before turning it, I
tried to calm my pounding heart with a few deep breaths. Finally, I opened the
door.

“Welcome back,” I said to Aluce.

“I just arrived. I came back as soon as I was able.”

I nodded and stepped aside so she could enter. She strolled
into the room like she owned it and I wondered if she really just thought she
owned me.

“I hear you’ve been missing your training sessions. Iolar
says he gave you specific instructions to work on your Protection Gem more.”

When I didn’t respond, she continued. “I don’t know what
value you see in wasting your time and disregarding your duties, especially now
that the city is being threatened. I’d think you’d do everything in your power
to prepare to be a help.”

“My idea of preparation isn’t the same as yours,” I said.

“Oh?” Aluce cocked her head and looked at me askance.

It was a look that would have cowed me in the past, but now,
standing before her, I was unmoved.

“Et Loedin isn’t in real danger,” I told her. When she
continued to stare at me, I went on. “The cities below us are perhaps, which is
why there will be a battle. They’ll need to be defended. But I think this
attack is a ruse. It’s meant to distract us from something.”

Aluce narrowed her eyes and made her way toward one of the
cushioned seats situated in front of my hearth. She eased into the chair and
leaned back.

“What makes you think so?”

I sucked in a sharp breath and prepared to launch into my
theories. As I opened my mouth, however, I thought better of it. I didn’t have
enough proof and there was only one way to get it. My confidence faltered and
instead, I gave a noncommittal shrug. “Even with all of his abilities, Et
Loedin is too difficult for the king’s forces to penetrate. He’d do very little
damage here. He has another aim besides attacking the small villages that sit
below a city of flyers.”

“But it would be like him to try to destroy you before your
skills became a true threat,” Aluce reasoned.

I nodded in agreement to appease her but added, “It would
also be like him to create the illusion of an attack with the hope it would
direct his opponent‘s attention from something more threatening. I don’t think
his soldiers even realize this. I believe they’re simply following orders.”

Aluce chewed on this for several moments. While she sat, I
collapsed into the chair across from her. After a time, she lifted her eyes and
studied me.

“You may be right. What do you suggest we do?”

I nearly fell out of my seat. I couldn’t remember a time
when Aluce had seriously asked for my opinion and behaved as though she might
take it into consideration.

When I could speak again, I tried to restrain some of my
eagerness. “I’ve been using my Empathy Gem.” Her lips grew tight.

“So?”

I rolled my eyes. My mother had been right. Aluce was blind
to the gem’s possibilities. “If I get close enough to the king, I may be able
to sense the real purpose behind this invasion. Because I’m a close relation to
him, I’d be able to learn what this is all about through his emotions. It would
be much safer to go in search of him now than if he was near his own home.

When Aluce blinked at me, stone faced once more, I leaned
toward her and stared at her in earnest. “It’s worth a try.”

When she finally answered, her tone was disdainful. “You’re
a bigger fool than I thought.”

I didn’t move. I willed my expression to remain indifferent
in spite of the bruise her words left.

“Does your mother know about your dangerous notions? Does
she realize her only daughter is considering risking everything on a whim? A
possibility? And with what? A weak gem that has no use in the hour of battle!”

I swallowed the defensive words that sprung to my lips,
knowing they might have vindicated my ideas. I could have told Aluce about
conversation I’d had with my mother the first time she’d trained me. We had
both agreed that the day might come when I would need to read the king’s
emotions in order to understand how to defeat him. And my mother had trusted me
to know when the time would be right.

But, even if I proved my mother’s support, Aluce still
wouldn’t agree. Nor would she trust me. This decision needed to mine, and Aluce
couldn’t know about it.

With effort, I forced a smile. “Of course you’re right. It
was a ridiculous idea but at the time I thought it seemed feasible. I see it
isn’t.”

Aluce’s eyes narrowed even more. “Don’t lie to me Aylen.”

I shook my head and leaned back into my seat. “Set me to
work, this week. How would you like me to spend my time? Now that you’re back,
I’m sure you feel we have a lot of catching up.”

She slowly rose from the chair and assumed a regal stance.
“Battle or no battle, I want you to practice what I’ve planned for your
presentation. I’ve spent the last several weeks inviting tribe leaders and influential
people in cities and even a few rebel camps to Et Loedin for the purpose of
showing them you’re worth investing in.”

“How does someone invest in me?”

“They encourage their people to fight on our side. They
donate gems to our cause. They help weaken the king’s army.”

I glanced down at my ragged nails and callused fingers,
unable to meet Aluce’s eyes. “And in the meantime, what about the threat of
being attacked?”

“You let those accustomed to war deal with it. Et Loedin is
safe for now. That’s all you need to concern yourself with.” She turned to
leave but I kept my gaze in my lap.

I heard her pause at the door and sigh. “You’ve wasted time
by dwelling on this. From what I’ve seen and heard, your power is tremendous
when you use your gems together. If you can get them under control, which is
what you should have been learning to do while I was away, you would be
unstoppable.”

I didn’t bother to tell her I did have them under control,
with the exception of the Empathy and Destruction Gems. She wouldn’t have
viewed Tanerris’ methods as an advantage anyway. Instead, I nodded and listened
for the door to close.

Once her footsteps had faded down the hall outside my room,
I sunk into my chair with a huff. I was the fool? Me? I laughed out loud. The
woman was so full of herself, she was utterly unable to consider anyone’s ideas
but her own.

But it didn’t matter. I knew what I needed to do, and now
that I was controlled, there wasn’t much anyone could do to stop me.

Smiling grimly, I stood, reached for my cloak, and stormed
from my room. I had very little time to plan and I wasn’t about to waste any of
it thinking about Aluce.

I found my mother in the map room. Several other people sat
around the large table when I entered, giant charts of the land spread before
them. A small, dark portion was blotted out on one of them and I realized it
represented the king’s soldiers and where they were suspected to be stationed.

“May I join you?” I asked, halting partway in the room.

My mother glanced up. “Of course. In fact, I was wondering
if there was anything more you’d discovered.”

I smiled at this, grateful she valued my knowledge. “Nothing
specific. I still get the feeling that most soldiers are only taking part
because it’s been ordered. Many even seem distracted, as though they don’t want
to be there.”

Every eye was on me and I blushed. “I’m not certain yet,” I
added. “And I don’t want to sound as though this isn’t a real threat, but I
have received a few impressions that are . . .” I paused, looking for the right
word. Finally I shook my head and said, “They’re peculiar, given the
circumstances.”

My mother glanced at the others and reached for one of the
charts. “I think we can discuss this more in a few hours. It’s nearly time for
evening meal. We’ll convene afterwards.”

The group was somber as they stood and shuffled from the
room. After they’d all left, I picked a chair and plopped down.

“Any word from Dad?”

Mom smiled and pulled a little note from the deep pocket
hiding in the folds of her skirt. She passed it to me and I eagerly unfolded
the small page. I scanned the tiny writing, searching for the information I
needed.