Unquiet Slumber (59 page)

Gabriel stopped Tianna before she got out the door. “Where are you going?”

Tianna tried to squeeze past him. “Out. I need to get away from here for a while. I’m going back into the valley to spend a few days in the trees.”

Gabriel knew she couldn’t be allowed outside the walls of the stronghold. He took her hand and tried to pull her back into his home saying, “Come, sit down, and let’s talk.”

She snapped back, “I think I’ve heard just about enough talk for today. I’m tired of being informed what my future holds like I have no say in it.” She knew that she shouldn’t leave Haven unprotected but her fury was causing her to not think straight. When she realized she was taking her anger out on Gabriel, she willed herself to calm down. She said, “Sorry Gabriel, I don’t mean to take it out on you. I just need a little space. I need to get some of this anger and confusion out of me.”

Gabriel had an idea. “If you want to knock some of the fight out of you, come with me.” He drug her out of the door with Seth and Nathaniel trailing behind them. They were also curious about what Gabriel had in mind.

They walked down several streets before Tianna voiced a concern. “A tour of the stronghold isn’t what I had in mind.”

“Hold on. We’re almost there.”

They went down one last street and turned a corner. In front of them was a very large field. Tianna was thrilled to see something green, even though it was only grass.

Gabriel smiled. “Let’s do some training.”

Nathaniel was called by yet another female walking by so he left shortly after they arrived. She was just an excuse; he just didn’t want to watch Tianna fight. His dragon was barely contained and if he saw her attacked, even in a mock battle, he feared he would come out and defend her with lethal force.

Before training began, Gabriel asked Tianna to show him her new mark. She reluctantly took off the arm bands, exposing the new artwork. Seth quickly took off his armor. He desperately wanted to see his addition as well. A broad smile lit across his face when he took a close look. His mark was of a silver long knife that was sheathed in a yellow lily with four crossing swords, hilts were in violet, blue, red, and green.

Tianna couldn’t help but walk over and caress the mark. She scrutinized the long knife on his arm, which was an exact match to the knife now in her hand. She gazed up at Seth perplexed. “How did the Seer know? She’s never seen my knife.”

Gabriel joined them and put his hand on her shoulder. “We told you that you’re special. This mark proves that you’re the warrior we were meant to find.”

Tianna shook her head in disbelief. “It just can’t be. I can’t be what you were searching for. The Seer has made a mistake.”

Marcus walked onto the field while they were still in a heated discussion about the meaning of the prophecy. Marcus hadn’t had a chance to look at his own mark and marveled at what was on Seth’s arm. He smiled, “Then our quest was a success and the prophecy is coming true.”

His statement started Tianna off on another verbal rant. There was no convincing her, so Marcus changed the subject. “I would like us to meet at my home tonight after evening meal. I have a few things from the Seer that I need to discuss with all of you.”

At the mention of the Seer, Tianna recalled her initial reaction. “Speaking of the Seer, when we met her today, I recognized her scent. She had the same scent as the old woman that gave me that drink back in Knightstorm. Could she have been the old woman in disguise?”

They all laughed, and Marcus answered her, “The Seer is powerful, but she hasn’t left Haven in centuries. She couldn’t have been there. And she would never poison anyone on Kai’s behalf. She’s dedicated to his destruction. That’s why she sent us out on our quest in the first place.”

Tianna agreed it was silly to think that the Seer had any connection to Kai, but the scent was one she would never forget, and the two scents matched exactly. The Seer seemed so strong in her beliefs of the prophecy, she couldn’t possibly be working with the evil she obviously hated and was working so hard to destroy—or could she? Tianna wondered, but she dropped the subject.

Marcus left them to their training, saying he was going to find Nathaniel and tell him of their evening plans.

Over the next few hours, Gabriel worked with Tianna and Seth. He had a small building that held equipment. They ended up working with swords and blades of many sizes, as well as some self-defense moves. Although Tianna was unmatched when it came to the use of her bow, she was still frustrated with her limitations when using anything made of steel.

Seth came up with an idea to help Tianna’s issue. “Why don’t you try to use a staff made of wood?”

Gabriel and Tianna nodded to each other. “It’s worth a try,” Gabriel suggested.

He dug through his equipment, found a wooden staff, and tossed it to Tianna. Feeling the wood in her hands, she could feel her powers over nature spark. After a little trial and error, she learned how to manipulate the staff into basic sword shapes. She found she was able to battle much more effectively with her staff and was even able to strike Gabriel a couple of times.

As they headed back to the main area of Haven for evening meal, Gabriel explained that they would be eating at a common area. Tianna liked the fact that all of Haven gathered together to eat like so many of the other magical villages. She wondered why humans didn’t follow this tradition.

When she approached, she noticed that everyone seemed to be helping with the meal. Some were cooking while others were serving, while still others cleaned up. Everyone was talking and laughing.

Gabriel and Marcus were instantly surrounding by members of Haven wanting to welcome them back. Tianna gave them their space and proceeded forward with Seth.

When Tianna entered the area, many stopped what they were doing and stared at her, causing a knot to form in her stomach. Seth felt her unease. Knowing that she was going to try to hide, he grabbed her hand and enthusiastically talked to her about life in Haven as he drug her to a table.

She half listened and nodded as she snaked between the tables and watched members of Haven try to figure out who and what she was. Many of the males smiled and sniffed the air as she passed. The look in their eyes reminded her of the expression on the knights of Castle Knightstorm.

Tianna peered down, realizing that she was still dressed in the leather hunting outfit that accentuated her figure. She pulled Seth’s hand to get his attention. “Maybe I should go back to Gabriel’s and change.” She dropped his hand and started to back away.

He glanced down at her confused and asked, “Why?”

She nodded her head to the side to get him to look at those around them.

Seth scanned the room and chuckled, “They just think you’re very pretty and are wondering how I was lucky enough to have you on my arm. Why don’t you sit at this table and let me get you some food. You can be my date.” He gave her a brilliant smile.

She sighed, knowing that she couldn’t disappoint Seth. “Okay date. Go get me some food.”

After Tianna was seated at a table, Seth quickly went off to get their food. Noticing the continued staring, Tianna looked down at her hands and fiddled with the top of the table. She was afraid to make eye contact with anyone, especially the males who were gazing at her like she was on the dessert menu.

Seth came back within moments with plates heaped full of food. “Turns out there are other advantages to being a part of the returning quest. I didn’t have to wait in any line.”

He sat down and they tried to eat together, but they were interrupted continuously by a stream of onlookers whose curiosity wouldn’t let them stay in in their own seats. Every time Seth was about to take a bite, he had to put his fork down to introduce Tianna to someone else.

Tianna constantly had to answer the same ‘what are you’ question over and over. Although she was grateful they weren’t running from her in fear, this type of attention wasn’t much better. Their reaction to her was making her very self-conscious about the fact that she was completely different from everyone else in Haven. Thankfully she had covered her lily mark with her arm bands or they would’ve been asking her about her connection to the prophecy. She wanted to avoid those questions because she still didn’t believe she was connected to it at all. In her opinion, it was all some cruel joke.

Seth, on the other hand, loved the attention. When he took off his shirt to proudly show off his new mark, he forgot about his battle scar from Kai on his back. Several onlookers gasped when they saw it and insisted on hearing the story of how it came to be.

Seth had been ordered not to mention Kai, so he adjusted the story to say they battled an unnamed evil wizard. He retold the story of his near-death experience several times, each time becoming more animated. They all agreed the evil was growing stronger every day and must be stopped—no matter the cost.

As Tianna listened to the reactions to Seth’s story, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what their reactions would be if they saw a real Black Dragon mark and found out that she was bonded to that evil, but how long could this remain a secret? Tianna feared they would learn about it sooner than later.

As she tried to smile and tolerate all of the questions, Tianna caught Nathaniel watching her from a nearby table. She hung her head and decided she could take no more. As Seth took a short break to eat a few more bites, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She said, “You stay and enjoy your fame. I’m going back to Gabriel’s to rest.”

“Can I walk you home?”

Tianna shook her head. “I know the way and I really want to try it on my own.”

Before Seth could try to change her mind, she got up and quickly squirmed away through the every growing crowd. The stares as she passed were like a weight on her chest, and she was finding it hard to breathe. Once she had enough open space, she ran up the road until she was completely clear of the crowd and could no longer hear the cheers for Seth’s bravery. It didn’t take her long to realize that she must have taken a wrong turn, because she found herself down a street she didn’t recognize. She had no idea where Gabriel’s home was. She refused to go back to the common area so she decided to just walk around until she saw something she recognized, hoping she would find a tree to touch along the way.

People continued to point and whisper as she passed. They weren’t running from her in fear, but it hurt just the same. She was once again an outsider and would have to struggle to be accepted. She was tired of having to fight to belong.

She aimlessly wandered for almost an hour with no luck in either finding Gabriel’s home or in finding a tree. She turned yet another corner and found a dark, quiet sitting area. She sat down on a bench, rubbing her hands on the cold stone beneath her, and groaned as she observed nothing but stone for as far as she could see. She felt like she was trapped in a large stone cage.

She laid down on the bench and stretched out while staring up at the stars. It was a beautiful, clear night and she noticed a bright star pattern in the shape of a cross twinkling directly above her. The pattern resembled a similar pattern that rested in the sky above Trille. She stared up for a long time willing herself to think that she was lying in a tree back in Trille.

While in her make-believe tree, she pondered on her current situation. She thought of her bond to Kai, the prophecy, and the Seer’s decree for her to be mated to an unknown Draak. If she did successfully mate with a Draak, would that stop her need for Kai? Would it break the bond she had with him? If the bond was broken, would his mark disappear? If she did mate, could she even get pregnant given she wasn’t full Draak?