Heirs of War (28 page)

Ariana was distracted from hatching any plans as Sheridan moved on to inspect Ariana's feet and winced as if the outlook wasn't good. "What? What is it?"

Sheridan tried to give her a look of reassurance as she brushed her hands off on the side of her dress. "It's fine...they're just...well, a lot of blood caked up on them. I need to get them clean before I can dress the wounds. I should probably let you go soak for a while before doing anything more, really."

"Go soak?" Ariana looked around the room expectantly. "Where?" She had found their indoor bathroom facilities to be less than modern with what she had heard referred to as chamber pots in place of toilets, adding to the idea she was trapped in some historic horror film.

"We have an outdoor bath behind the manor," Sheridan answered. "The pools lead to one of the main rivers of our world."

"Your world?" Ariana asked the question as innocently as she could, knowing she probably wouldn’t receive an answer to aid her in her plans. "Does this world have a name?"

"No. I can't tell you where we are."

Ariana scoffed and gestured to her feet. "Why? Does it really look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon?"

"I'm not worried about you," Sheridan explained. "I’m worried about your sister Isauria. She has the gift of seeing, like I do. Which means she could be watching and if I say where we are...."

Ariana nodded her understanding, tucking away that useful bit of information for possible use later. "My family will come storm the castle to get me out."

"Exactly. I really should get you to the bath so I can get back to my mother. I can get one of the guards to carry you." Sheridan started to walk toward the door, but Ariana stopped her with a frantic hand on her arm. "What? They aren't bad, I promise. I'll make them give you some privacy."

"Please, don't. After hearing what Kellen said about giving me to one of them...Just let Alec do it? I trust him. I'm not sure if I should, but I do."

"Alec is a good guy," Sheridan assured her. "He doesn't think he is, and he thinks he has some huge burden...Once we win the war, and he's free, he'll see." She turned back to the door, opening it and allowing Alec to come inside. "I'm going to take Ariana to the baths, but I need you to carry her."

He let out an annoyed sigh. "I could probably use one too, I guess. Or am I going to be dismissed there as well?"

Sheridan gave a genuine grin at his annoyance and pinched his cheek teasingly. "Oh, I think someone's feeling left out." She laughed at the sneer he gave her in return. "Come on. I'll tell the guards to hang back some so as to give you some privacy, Ariana."

"Thanks," Ariana said with warmth. Her face turned serious once Sheridan's back was turned. As Alec lifted her into his arms, she placed her mouth by his ear and whispered, "Pay attention to any escape routes you see down there. I have a plan."

***

"This isn't your place,
" Terrena argued fervently as they marched along the corridors leading to the main meeting hall.

"I don't care,
" Rhaya shot back as she pressed forward with determined purpose. "They should be keeping a better eye on her."

Terrena grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her away from the doors ahead of them. "She’s barely left her room, Rhaya. She refused to meet with the Duillaine, even. What trouble can she possibly cause from her bed?"

Rhaya jerked her arm away. She had hoped her sister would be on her side of this issue, but she had made every effort to stand in her way. "You don't know her, Terrena. She isn't just going to lay there forever. She's going to do something stupid, and we need to do something before it's too late."

"And what do you expect her to do? Sneak off in the dead of night into a world she knows nothing about armed with powers she can't use in the hopes she might find him when there was no trail left at all?"

Saying it like that, Rhaya felt like her worries might be unfounded. But she has sensed the anger in her. Zelene was the one who usually muttered about taking action. She shook her head as if to shake off the doubts Terrena was trying to plant in them. "What would you do if it had been Garrett?"

The words hit Terrena like ice and her eyes widened. "How did you—"

Rhaya held up a hand to halt her questions. "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is Zelene is lost and heartbroken, and we need to be there to stop her when she decides to take matters into her own hands."

Terrena's arguments were halted as another's arguing voice carried through the doors. Rhaya, looking as just as stunned as her sister at the sound of Arland's shouts, carefully crept to the doors and cracked them open. She knelt down low as she peered through the door and though Terrena admonished her for doing so, she soon felt Terrena's hair brush against the top of her forehead as she too leaned forward to see what the commotion was about.

"Stand down, Arland," Sylvanna shouted as she jumped to her feet.

"I will
not
," he shouted back, his face reddening from his place in front of the women he addressed. "My wife is dead. My daughter missing while another lies helplessly in her bed, her life slipping away as she does your bidding. And now Zelene!"

"Zelene is fine," Solanna said as she stood up and stepped toward her brother in law. "And we have tried to get Isauria to see reason, to come out of this state before she causes herself further harm. She does not stay on our orders, Arland."

"No," he spat back as he stepped away from her offered comfort, "she stays to do what you will not. She searches for Ariana."

Meridel rested her chin in her hand wearily as she responded. "It is as we have said before, Arland. We are doing everything in our power to find Ariana, but we cannot simply storm Cahira in the hopes of finding her. She would be dead before we reached her."

He laughed humorlessly at this. "Everything in your power? You have done nothing in your power for the past twenty years! The Duillaine have sat here upon these thrones for generations, content to do nothing while they wait on the Prophecy to unfold, and you are no different. It is your inaction that led to the death of my wife!"

"You cannot blame us for our sister's death, Arland," Meridel responded heatedly. "She left of her own accord. If she had remained in Anscombe, she would have been protected."

"She left to find our children," he bellowed, his hands forming claws in front of his face as if he could tear away the veil seeming to be hiding reason from them. "You all knew. You heard the same rumors we did. The Cahirans had found them and were plotting against them. She begged you to see reason, to aid her in rescuing them before it was too late."

Meridel sighed in frustration. "You know we could not act. Our actions must be thought through, Arland, or we risk losing everything. With the
Prophecy—"

"
I don’t give a damn about your prophecy! These are my daughters—"

"Enough,
" Sylvanna shouted, her commanding voice echoing throughout the halls. She lowered herself back into her seat as if she were composing her temper. "We will hear no more of this Arland. We have been tolerable as you are husband to Nandalia, and you are still grieving, but we will not stand for such accusations. What you say borders on treason, aligning you with the likes of the very people who murdered your wife. You forget your place and who you are speaking to."

"I am well aware of my place," he said, his voice dropping to a threatening level. "My place is between you and my children, as it should have been eighteen years ago when you took them from me. I will not make the same mistake again, Sylvanna."

Sylvanna narrowed her light green eyes. "You dare threaten me?"

"It is not a threat, Sylvanna. It is a
promise
," he accentuated the word as he jabbed his finger toward them. "I will not sit by idly while you leave the fate of my daughters to chance. You forget why I was married into this family. My family still holds great influence, and I will use that influence and any means necessary to get Ariana back. You have been warned."

Both Rhaya and Terrena gasped at the same time, knowing their uncle had gone too far even as the eldest Duillaine Banair called the guards forward.

"I believe Maistir Arland needs some time to cool his temper," Sylvanna said calmly as her attention shifted to the two sets of eyes peering through the cracked doors. "Close those doors! I will not tolerate spying, even from our own."

The doors snapped closed in front of their faces, just barely missing Rhaya's nose as she fumbled backwards. Terrena helped her up, and they both looked at the now closed off room with apprehension.

"What do you think they're going to do to him?" Rhaya asked.

Terrena shrugged, her own concerns evident on her face.
"I’m not sure. Take him to his room and lock him in there until he calms down, I suppose. Do you understand now why I was trying to convince you not to march in there and make demands?"

Rhaya was unhappy about this, but she nodded. "He isn't wrong, you know."

Terrena said nothing, but the frown on her face made it clear she agreed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"We have to,
" Alec pressed.

"We can't risk it, Alec,
" Ariana argued. She was tired of having the same conversation with him and over and over for the past week. The salve had worked its magic, and she had recovered nicely. Nicely enough that they would be able to act on their plan at last. Truthfully, they had to act soon, or they risked incurring Kellen's wrath once she was well enough to take her revenge. "I understand you want to help, and believe me—I wish we could. But we can't. If one thing goes wrong—"

"I know the risks,
" he snapped. "But I can't leave her here, We have to help her, Ariana. She needs to escape as much as we do, if not more. I would have expected you of all people to see to it she gets the aid she needs."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, offended though she wasn’t quite clear as to why.

"That I expected more of the future Duillaine than this! You would leave her behind, even after all you have seen her go through? Are you really that selfish or just callous?" he challenged angrily.

"Alec
," she snapped, growing impatient. "You don't get it. She isn't going to come with us willingly."

"Then we will force her. She will see reason eventually," he said, his mind made up.

"We can't do that," she hissed, trying not to raise her voice. "First of all, kidnapping her makes you no better than them seeing as how that is
exactly
what they did to me. Second, we have to keep a low profile once we're out of here. Dragging a prisoner along with us, one who is probably pretty famous around these parts no less, is going to raise more red flags than we can deal with."

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration, angry she had a po
int. "Then we will convince her." He rushed over to her, taking her hands into his own with urgency. "Please, Ariana. I will do anything you ask after this. I will be your willing slave. Just do this for me. I am begging you."

She dragged in a deep breath to suppress her groan. "Fine. I can’t do any of this without you. But here's the deal: You do
not
tell her our plan. Any of it. You feel her out and try to convince her to come with us. And then we act. Whether she agrees to come with us or not, we are out of this place within minutes of talking to her. Got it?"

He gave her an exaggerated bow. "As you wish, Ainnir Ariana."

"And don't call me that," she snapped.

He glanced up at her from under his dark lashes, still frozen in the bowing position. "It is a title you must get used to holding, Ariana. When we get to Anscombe this is how they will refer to you. This is how I must refer to you once we return."

She shivered, not wanting to think about what was ahead of them once they escaped from Kellen. "I don't think titles go very well with the whole incognito thing. Let's just get out of here first, okay?"

He nodded and straightened. "Fair enough. Do you think you are ready?"

Ariana gulped back her nervousness. She had been practicing the manipulation of Air ever since Sheridan had mistakenly instructed her on how, and she had proven to be pretty adept. She had even sent Alec crashing into the wall on accident yesterday. She knew she didn't have the time to master her power. What she could do now would have to be enough. She would make sure it was.

"Yes."

"Then we should go see Sheridan." He gestured for her to go ahead. "Do you have a plan to get us to her?" he said somewhat mockingly.

Ariana knew Alec didn't like her plan at all, but he hadn't come up with a better one since their last escape attempt. Truthfully, she felt part of him might be too terrified to act for fear of what Kellen would do to her if they failed. But they both realized they couldn’t sit back and wait for Kellen to recover.

Ariana opened the door and was face-to-face with the same two guards who had been watching over them when they had first tried to escape. She cursed to herself silently, but pressed forward with their plan. "I would like to take a bath. Alec said he needs to reapply the salve Sheridan gave me, but Sheridan made me bathe first last time." She bit her lip, knowing she had started rambling since she was nervous, but hoping they wouldn't interpret her nerves for what they were.

The female
reluctantly agreed. "We'll need to check with Sheridan first."

"Fine," Ariana said, relieved they had responded in the way she thought they would. "Take me to her now." The guard started to argue, but Ariana lifted her hand to halt her protests. "No, I want to hear it from her lips if I'm denied. I want to know who I should tell Kellen is to blame when I'm dying from an infection."

"Fine," the guard agreed through gritted teeth, "but he stays here."

"I'm afraid not," Alec said, reciting his part as they had discussed. "Kellen ordered me to ensure Ainnir Ariana's needs are met. I can hardly do so from my room."

"You just want to see me naked."

He shrugged, not missing a beat. "Might as well preview the prize before claiming it."

"Keep dreaming," Ariana retorted snidely.

The
guard rolled her eyes. "Alright! We will all go see Sheridan. As long as the two of you remain quiet."

As the guard turned around, Ariana flashed Alec a smile that was both triumphant and boisterous. Her quick grin served as her way of telling him 'I told you so' and from the returning look he gave her, the message had been well received. He picked her up, heaving her over his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes as she let out an indignant gasp.

Alec patted her butt genially. "Come now, Ainnir Ariana, you can’t walk in your state, now can you?"

Ariana knew he only tried to get her back for her smug look. She also knew he had succeeded. She was positively fuming by the time they reached Sheridan's door, and he plopped her onto her feet. Sheridan seemed surprised to find the four people standing outside her bedchamber.

Ariana nodding to indicate the guards standing behind her. "Can you please tell your goons I can go take a bath so Alec can reapply the salve? Something tells me it might not be as effective with a bunch of dirt and blood mixed in with the goop."

Sheridan shook herself as if out of confusion. "Of course. You may take the Ainnir Ariana to the baths."

"Great," Alec said with annoyance, "and since your mother ordered me to take care of her, I guess I get to go to."

Sheridan blew out a breath, giving him an apologetic look. "That would probably be best. I would offer my help, but I'm afraid I'm a little busy while Mother is recovering."

Ariana let her face fall with disappointment. "Oh."

Sheridan took the bait. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Ariana said as she twisted her hands. "Just...can we come in for a sec? Alec and I are having some, um," she let her sentence trail off, pausing to shoot him a glare that was very much so genuine as she still thought this was a bad idea, "
issues
. Can we talk in private?"

"Sure," their young friend agreed, opening her door for them to enter and signaling for the guards to wait outside. She closed the door and turned to them, her face shifting to surprise by how urgently Alec approached her.

"Ariana and I are going to escape, and I want you to come with us," he rushed out, ignoring the cry of protest Ariana let out.

"So much for being coy, Alec,
" Ariana said through gritted teeth.

Sheridan took a step back from them. "You can't be serious. Mother will see to it you two are locked in the deepest darkest holes you can think of when she finds you. And she
will
find you."

Alec placed his hands on her arms, squeezing them with urgency. "Please, Sheridan. I can't leave you here. You can come with us, and we can finally be free of this place
. Free of Kellen. I promise no harm will come to you when we reach Anscombe."

She jerked away from him as if the temptation he offered had burned her skin
. "You can't promise that, Alec. You don't understand. I
helped
my mother find them. I saw Terrena and her Cyneward talking about the others being in Dhara, and once we were there, I could see them too. They will execute me for that, if they don't execute me just for being Kellen's daughter first. You can't protect me."

Ariana groaned inwardly, thinking they didn't have time for this, but wanting to help the girl. "But I can." She sighed. "Look, I have power there, okay? I'm like a princess or whatever, which means I have some say in what goes on. And more than that. They need me. If you help me get back to them, I'm sure they'll be thanking you, not killing you."

Sheridan’s eyes filled with tears as she stared back and forth between the two people in the worlds she called friends. "I can't. I know you can't understand, but she's my
mother.
I can't betray her like this. I can't leave her. She needs me. She loves me and it would break her heart."

"You are right she needs you, but you are wrong when you say she loves you. The moment you are no longer useful to her, she will kill you. Come with us, Sheridan. Please," he begged, his usually smooth voice cracking with emotion. "Please. I can't lose you."

She took a step back, her chin quivering with the visible struggle she was having. "I can't," she said firmly. "And if you leave, I will find you. I will see you and be able to find you."

His face hardened, realizing she wouldn't acquiesce and Ariana watched the sting of Sheridan’s betrayal wash over him and shift to anger.

"Not if you don't know where we are," he challenged.

Ariana stepped between them, knowing this had to come to a close. "Is that your decision then? You won't come with us?" She allowed her to nod and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sheridan. I wish it could be different," She repeated back the same words Sheridan had spoken to her before kidnapping her from Dhara, understanding now Sheridan truly had meant every word because she did as well.

Sheridan's eyes widened as she watched Ariana lift her hand up as if she were clamping her fingers around her throat. Sheridan gasped as the air around her seemed to disappear. She began wheezing and tried to get to the door, but Alec was on her in an instant. He wrapped her in his arms, holding her and whispering tearful apologies until she went limp in his arms. He lifted her up and carried her over to the bed, laying her across the mattress and taking care to tuck her in neatly. He took a step back, watching his oldest friend sleep her last peaceful sleep as he wiped the tears from where they began to collect around his nose.

"We tried, Alec," Ariana said, attempting to give him some sort of comfort.

He brushed off the proffered comfort. "It's time for your bath, Ainnir Ariana."

She nodded, knowing he was right and putting on her best game face as they returned to the guards posted outside the door. As soon as they were outside the door, careful not to let the guards see inside, Ariana held her arms out to Alec, and he lifted her with ease into his. She rested her head against his shoulder, nerves on fire as the plan unfolded before them. Her heart pounded in her chest. Alec's fingers
massaged the nape of neck, which helped to ease her nerves. She gave him a small smile of thanks as they marched on. As they reached the banks of the river, he gave her a discreet affirmative nod, signaling her to begin her part in the plan she had schemed.

She took in a deep breath and put on her best bratty face. "Owe! Would you be careful? You're ca
rrying precious cargo after all."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Maybe if you would stop squirming like a petulant child
, you might be more comfortable."

"Maybe if you would stop trying to cop a feel, I might be more comfortable
." She pushed against his chest. "Just put me down already."

Alec marched them over to the edge of the river and dropped her in. "As you wish,
my lady
."

The
indignant cry Ariana let out was quite real as she had not been expecting that at all. She splashed around as if she was having a hard time getting her footing. "Would you two stop standing there like idiots and help me here?"

The male guard exchanged an exasperated look with his female counter part before wading into the water and lifting Ariana into his arms. "I thought you wanted a bath," he muttered as he carried her over to his comrade.

"I do," she returned as he placed her onto her feet. She made a show of limping as if in pain, and he steadied her with his bulky arms. "Where I come from, we like to take our clothes off when we bathe. Can you help me get this bondage off?" she asked the female guard, referring to the dark green corset she was wearing over top her cream colored chemise.

The woman let out an unhappy
grunt, but obeyed. With both their attentions on Ariana, Alec pulled his shirt off and quietly slipped into the water. He let his shirt drift off a ways before taking in a deep breath and ducking underneath the water.

Ariana watched him discreetly. The moment he disappeared from sight, and the water stilled, she made a point of looking around. "Where did Alec go?"

The male guard cursed under his breath as he looked around. He spotted the floating shirt and sighed with annoyance. "He's probably just under the water."