The Tears of Elios (27 page)

“Elios was heartbroken and began crying. Her first ten tears froze as they fell from her eyes and became the Tears of Elios, the orbs we are searching for. The rest of her tears became the first elves.”

“So all elves, in a way, have the ability to magnify magic?”

Ranealya’s lips twitched in amusement. “Now you are extracting too much from a legend.”

“Well, it was worth a thought.”

***

It was mid-afternoon on the next day when they stopped in front of a tall tree in southern Edensdowne. The Green Mountains were just to the south of them, and the salty smell of the sea filled the air. Ranealya knew without a doubt this was the location of the first orb. It fit the images Galen had shown her. She searched the branches above for the enormous nest from the visions. It appeared empty, but her senses remained vigilant for any trace of its guardian.

“Gregor, can you perform a levitation spell?”

He scoffed at her question. “I'm a Master, Ranealya. Of course I can perform a levitation spell. Why?”

She was already pulling her dress over her head. Gregor closed his eyes and turned his back to her. She giggled at his shyness, especially after that night at the hunting lodge. “Because I need you to make sure that the orb reaches the ground safely,” she replied as she tossed her clothes to him.

Within seconds, her body shrank, and a coat of feathers covered her skin. Then she was flying in the air, enjoying the freedom of it for that brief moment. She changed back into her normal form as she landed in the nest and began digging through the twigs, feathers, and bones that littered the bottom of it.

“You know, we should really work on creating a spell that allows you to shape-shift without getting completely naked,” Gregor said below.

“I can shape-shift with clothes on, but the clothes wouldn't survive it.”

A flash of white caught her eye in the corner of the nest, and she pounced on it. The first orb! She dug it out of the surrounding debris, careful not to upset the delicate scaffolding of the nest. As soon as she had in her hands, she peered over the side. “Are you ready, Gregor?”

“You found it already?”

“Yes.” She rested the orb on the edge of the nest. It felt cool and heavy against her skin. “Make sure it doesn't break.”

As she tossed the orb into the air, Gregor cast the levitation spell. It floated to the ground without harm, and she relaxed when she saw it roll to a stop on a cushion of pine needles. Knowing how clumsy he was, she’d almost expected him to drop it. “Don't touch it,” she warned when she saw him take a step towards it.

That was almost too easy
, she remembered thinking as she changed back into a hawk. She launched into the air and was on her way down when a searing pain scraped along her back, followed by the horizon tumbling in circles around her.

The guardian had returned.

Ranealya steadied herself as the griffin lunged at her. She darted to the left and avoided his claws. Her back throbbed from his first swipe at her, but not enough to prevent her from staying focused. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the griffin charging toward Gregor.
Oh, no, you don't
, she thought as her body shifted.
Two can play at this game
.

She had barely assumed the full form of a griffin when she locked talons with the guardian. Their bodies swooped within two feet of Gregor's head, but she was relieved to see he was unharmed. Terrified, but unharmed. She began attacking the other griffin, hoping to lure it away from him.

The griffin followed her deeper into the mountains. Feathers flew as their claws clashed. Their sharp beaks stabbed blindly, each trying to deliver a death blow. Ranealya knew she had the upper hand, though, as she spied a rocky cliff ahead. She moved in front of it and waited for the griffin to dive for her again. She forced herself to remain calm and still as she hovered in that spot, even though her heart raced. It was mere inches away from her when she shrank back into a hawk.

The guardian collided with the cliff wall as she dodged it in her smaller form. A sickening crunch filled the air, followed by an avalanche of boulders that fell on top of the wounded griffin. It shuddered and then became still.

Invigorated, she flew back to Gregor. Her wounds had almost healed by the time she landed and changed back into her human form. She grinned at him as she pulled her dress on. “Wasn't that exciting?”

“No, that was foolish! You need to stop showing off. People could have seen you shift in the air.”

She shrugged him off.
Why does he always have to spoil my fun?
“I doubt it. This is a remote location. Besides, I've met that griffin before. He deserved it.”

“So much for keeping a low profile.”

Ranealya closed her eyes and took a deep breath as his words sunk in. Yes, she had been reckless once again. On the other hand, she’d saved his life, and to her, that justified the risk. But now she opened the door to all sorts of new problems if she was putting his needs before her own. “Where's the orb?”

Gregor pointed to it, a scowl still darkening his features.

She picked it up and stared into the center of the orb. There was a flash of white light, followed by a series of images. The mist over the Green Mountains. A canyon hidden in the folds of the peaks. A cave filled with treasure. Then everything went blank.

“What did you see?” Gregor asked.

“The way to the next one.”

She was trying to shove the orb into the saddlebag when a flash of blue surrounded it, causing it to shrink to a third of its size.

Gregor’s hazel eyes glowed with excitement. “I figured it would be easier for you to carry it back to Galen if it was smaller.”

She smiled back at him. “You occasionally have a good idea.”

His grin widened as he looked away. “I try not to be too much of a nuisance.”

They proceeded further south into the Green Mountains. An afternoon thunderstorm blew in from the coast, drenching them with rain. The downpour became so heavy, they could barely see the road ahead of him. Her limbs grew clumsy from the numbing chill. It was too dangerous to try and push on in this weather.

The icy drops had saturated every fiber of her clothing by the time she spied a rocky outcropping and pulled them off the road to seek shelter. She shivered as they dismounted and tied their horses to a nearby tree.

Gregor wrapped his arms around her. A pale blue light surrounded them after he whispered something that sounded like a spell. The water was magically pulled from her clothes and hair, and she began to feel the blood return to her frozen fingertips within seconds. “Is that better?” he murmured in her ear.

“Yes.” It felt good to be warm and dry. It was even better to be in his arms.

She wasn’t the only one who appeared to be enjoying it. Instead of backing away when she was dry, he pulled her closer and traced the dimple in her cheek. “You're such a remarkable woman, Ranealya.”

Her mind and body battled with each other. Her mind told her to remain focused on the mission, but his eyes were so warm and inviting that despite her better judgment, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

At first, she expected resistance from him after everything that had happened, but he kissed her back with the same eagerness. Her mind surrendered as the pleasure her body experienced overwhelmed any form of logic.

He broke away. “Are you curious again? Or are you just trying to cover yourself in my scent?”

“No, I just enjoy kissing you,” she replied as she pulled him to the ground. She wanted to finish what they started that night in a hunting lodge. She wanted to experience what could have happened.

He kissed her back with such intensity that it almost took her breath away, but she didn’t want him to stop. His fingers fumbled with the laces on her dress and soon pulled it over her head, leaving her with the thin shift between them once more. She pulled off his shirt and savored the feeling of his warm skin against hers as her mouth explored his. An ache throbbed in her lower stomach, demanding relief.

Gregor pulled away and hovered over her. He stroked her cheek, his face unreadable. “Ranealya, I—” He paused and wrinkled his brow as if searching for the words to finish his sentence, but none came.

She reached up and covered his hand with her own. Her desire for him grew as her eyes met his and glimpsed what remained unspoken between them. She knew he was falling in love with her, even though he was a fool to have such feelings. “Shut up and kiss me, Gregor.”

He relaxed as she pulled him closer. “Gladly.”

She was so wrapped up in enjoying the moment with him that she barely heard the distant twang followed by a hiss in the air, but she knew immediately what caused those noises. She tensed and rolled Gregor to the side a split second before a black arrow embedded in the ground beside them.

Ranealya gasped, her desire for Gregor draining from her body as she looked over her shoulder. Deep within the shadows of the trees, she saw the Azekborn load another arrow. Fury seized control of her mind, and her fangs lengthened. She launched at the drae, feeling her body shift into a form she had never experienced before.

As she closed in on him, the Azekborn's eyes widened in terror, and he ran deeper into the woods.

Her flesh burned as she chased him. Her vision clouded with red. She now fully understood the meaning of bloodrage. Every beat of her heart fueled her hatred. She didn’t want to stop once she cornered him and ripped his throat out before he could utter a cry. Her jaws snapped his bones like twigs, and her claws snatched his still beating heart from his chest as if it were a toy. His red eyes dimmed as she continued to shred his flesh, tearing his limbs from his body.

And she reveled in every second of it.

Eventually, she calmed down, and her body slid into its natural form. She stood naked and on all fours in the rain. The black blood of the drae formed tiny rivers around her, draining down the hillside. She studied the carnage around her and wondered what possessed her to act that way.

Gregor’s voice called to her in the distance, and she realized her rage was due to someone threatening him.

“Ranealya!” Gregor shouted as he appeared from the trees. His eyes widened as he surveyed the scene. He covered his mouth as he took a step back and turned away. Then she heard him retching.

She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but as her vision cleared, she saw the black blood dripping from her face and the shreds of drae that littered the ground. Her throat burned. For a moment, the monster she’d become actually horrified her. She wiped her face as she stood, rinsing any evidence of her victim from her body in the rain.

“Was that entirely necessary?” Gregor asked as she took her cloak from his hands.

“You obviously don’t know what it takes to kill an Azekborn,” she replied with an unintended hardness in her voice.
This was no time to feel guilty over doing what needed to be done
. She strode past him, anxious for once to put her clothes back on.

Gregor trailed after her. “But did you need to completely dismember him?”

“Yes!” She whirled around, and he barely avoided colliding with her. “It's kill or be killed, and for once, I got to be the hunter.”

“You changed into a Hellhound, Ranealya!”

So that was a new form I took
. No wonder the drae was terrified of her—it was a creature even he feared. “It was the best form for the job.” She resumed her march back to the horses and tried to figure out how she was able to take on this new, more powerful form.

“Not everything needs to be solved by brutality.”

“Perhaps,” she said, not bothering to slow down, “but until the Azekborn are gone, I'll sleep better knowing one more is dead.”

When they reached the outcropping, she yanked the arrow out of the ground and showed it to him. “This could have been buried in your back, Gregor.” She snapped the shaft in her hand. “Anilayus is on to us.”

She changed into her human disguise as she pulled the dress over her head. The remnants of her linen shift lay in scattered rags around her, and the damp wool itched against her bare skin, but she could bear it for now. The rain was beginning to stop. “Mount up. I want to be as far away from here as possible.”

Ranealya turned and was taken aback by the disgust and disappointment in Gregor’s face. An odd ache formed in her chest. He finally saw the monster she could be.

It’s better for him to be alive than approve of my actions
. The iciness returned to her veins. He would come around once he realized that.

As they rode deeper into the mountains, she scolded herself for putting them in danger. Yes, she had probably attracted the Azekborn's attention by shape-shifting in the air. And to make matters worse, she had been distracted by her lust. She didn’t even want to consider what would have happened if she hadn’t heard the snap of the bowstring.

It bothered her to admit she cared more about this human than she did about anything else. The mission should be more important than her feelings for Gregor. She needed to distance herself from him in order to protect him.

The moon was high overhead when she allowed him to make camp. She ordered him not to make a fire, explaining that they didn’t need to draw any more attention to themselves. Gregor nodded and crumpled to the wet ground, pulling his cloak around him. He looked miserable, but she resisted the urge to lie next to him and share her warmth. “Sleep, Gregor. I'll keep watch over you.”

He regarded her with some hesitation before nodding and pulling the hood of his cloak over his head. She knew she had made him ride until he was exhausted, and he probably was too tired to argue.

Ranealya climbed onto a rock to have a better view over their camp. His heavy breathing as he slept caused the aching in her chest to resurface. As the stars inched across the sky, she came to the difficult conclusion that no matter how much she wanted to be with him, it was impossible for someone like her to bring happiness to someone like him.