Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

R ose was on the Osten Point’s doorstep far too early for their meeting the next morning. Her mind was restless, and waiting for a polite hour was out of the question. She didn’t attempt to hide the intent of her visit. The tall, sturdy boots she wore were appropriate for travel, and her sword was strapped to her back, undermining any casual appearance of her tunic and leggings.

If Norden house was a castle and Suden a sprawling manor, Osten house was a sophisticated, single-floor building with high ceilings. It still had all the space of the others, but the entryway was more disarming, appearing like an elegant home instead of the court of wind fae.

The lingering outline of where Luc’s magic should be inside her was as clear as ever. She didn’t know what to think of the remaining memories of her dream last night. The feel of Luc’s voice—his magic— remained on her skin. It was a feeling she was too familiar with to doubt. The how of it made less sense. When she awoke with the echo of his touch as present as that of his magic—she knew she had to do something. Now.

She tried to find the tunnel to his magic in the heart of hers again. Not every detail from last night was available to her waking mind, but she knew that’s where they connected. She’d tried to find the connection so many times—the tunnel simply wasn’t there.

It wasn’t there this morning either.

Unsure of the protocol, she raised her hand to knock. While she waited, she rubbed at the phantom feeling in her chest—the outward reflection of whatever was going on with her magic. Last night had shaken her. Already desperate to get to Luc, the dream, or connection, or whatever it was, stirred her to action. With Arie and Aurora yet to arrive at Compass Lake, Juliette seemed Rose’s best bet for an uncomfortable conversation about her link with Luc’s magic.

An unfamiliar female glared at Rose as she opened the door. Like Juliette, she was tall. Rose had to look up from the step to meet her eyes. She had fair skin and blonde hair that skimmed her shoulders. It was early, but her hair was already neatly styled, a striking contrast to the knot in which Rose’s hair was tied. She hadn’t made herself presentable, simply rolling out of bed and rushing to Osten house. Rose could sense the wind power in the fae, who looked down her long, pointed nose at her. The fae’s pinched brow accused her knock of being an inexcusable offense.

“What?”

The abruptness of the greeting probably should have taken Rose aback, but she was in a state of her own. She matched the female’s grumpy greeting. “I need to speak with Juliette.”

“She hasn’t even breakfasted yet,” the fae replied with a glance over her shoulder.

Rose rolled her eyes as if she cared whether the Osten Point had eaten. They were trying to save the continent and maybe Rose’s sanity.

“Lela, who’s there?” The more familiar voice interrupted Rose’s standoff with the female and saved her from further verbal sparring.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m sending her away,” Lela replied, glaring impossibly harder at Rose. Apparently, she had seen the eye-roll and wanted Rose to know she would not stand for it.

“Juliette!” Rose called over Lela’s shoulder. She felt like she was tattling on the female to their wiser advisor, but she could admit she was desperate. Rose heard Juliette’s deep sigh from beyond the door.

“Let her in, Lela. She has an open invitation,” Juliette called from her unseen location in the house.

Even with Juliette’s command, Lela’s expression was dubious. She barely sidestepped, her gaze pinched, giving Rose enough room to squeeze by. Rose nodded, working to rein in her smirk, as she walked down a long entry hall to the Osten Point.

Rose was unsurprised that even the Osten hallway was lavishly decorated. Elegant tapestries hung on the wall beside portraits of the past Osten leaders. Juliette had been in her position the longest out of the current Compass Points—over a hundred years. It was clear she’d taken the time to make Osten house hers.

Lela had made it sound like Juliette was still in bed. The woman at the end of the hallway was very much ready for the day—far more so than Rose. Juliette wore a long dress with billowing sleeves, and her dark hair was knotted elegantly at her nape. Juliette’s gaze lingered on the dark circles under Rose’s eyes. Her eyebrow lifted as she took in the sword strapped to Rose’s back. Lela followed Rose into the room, watching like a hawk circling its prey.

Rose felt out of place with these two well-put-together fae, but took the seat Juliette offered, trying to collect her thoughts before dumping all her problems at the Osten Point’s doorstep.

It was her first time in Osten house, and she would savor it. Her gaze roamed the room. Juliette’s refined elegance was evident in every decorative touch. The plush sitting room had velvet cushions, wooden tables, and a sizeable floor-to-ceiling set of windows that looked out over the lake. They must contain some magic because Rose couldn’t say she’d ever seen into this room from the water.

Though stylish, the desk in the corner made it feel like the Osten Point’s study. With the breathtaking view of the lake, Rose would spend all her time here, too. Papers were strewn across the desk, and a book was open as if Rose had interrupted Juliette’s morning routine; she supposed she had.

“You’re early,” Juliette commented, likely urging Rose to share what brought her to Osten house in such a state.

“We need to try…to cross…” Rose spoke in stops and starts. She’d meant to discuss her connection to Luc but couldn’t decide how to start. Her bias towards action had her already making plans. On her walk over, she’d concocted a new strategy to search for Luc’s power. She needed to go beyond the veil and check for the tunnel in the heart of her magic there. It was a concept she struggled to put into words, but the fact that she could smell Luc’s magic—that Aaron could smell it around her—made her wonder if their mental connection in her internal lake had been more physical than she realized. She would swear he spoke into her mind in the cavern below Mount Bury. And his power had a physical presence drawn to her more and more on their journey chasing Aterra. Maybe they just needed to be closer together for it to appear. Maybe she would find their connection again when they were in the same realm.

“I’d like to try to cross now,” she finally got out. She wasn’t sure what else to say. Lela hovered by the door, but Rose didn’t know her place in the fae courts. The female appeared about Rose’s age—though that meant little to the fae. It helped a little that she, too, seemed unsure if she should stay and listen.

Juliette’s gaze followed Rose’s, drifting to where Lela stood. “Lela is my steward and heir. You can speak freely in front of her.”

Rose couldn’t help but widen her eyes at the comment. She noted the surprise in the other fae’s features as well. Rose was unaware Juliette had already selected an heir. It wasn’t public knowledge. This might also explain Lela’s surprise that Juliette shared the information.

It made sense though. Given the length of her appointment as Osten Point, she likely would have found her successor in a recent generation. Rose hoped this didn’t mean Juliette was close to stepping down. She had much to learn from Juliette and hoped to have her as a fellow Compass Point a while longer.

Rose spared a moment to appreciate Juliette’s directness in providing the information. She didn’t dance around sharing necessary details. A small smile crossed Rose’s face for the first time that morning.

“Don’t overthink it,” Juliette said, her answering smile cat-like. She knew how much openly sharing the information meant to Rose. “Why do we have to try now?” Juliette brought them back to the problem at hand. “I thought we would convene with Carter at a more appropriate hour.”

“I know that was the plan, but…” Rose’s hands clutched together in her lap, a new nervous habit she needed to wrangle.

“What happened, Rose?” Juliette asked.

Rose rubbed at her chest again. Her magic ached, and her dream hadn’t felt quite like a dream. Although the details kept slipping through her fingers whenever she reached for them, the feeling of tendrils of Luc’s magic wrapping around her was crystal clear.

“I don’t know,” Rose said honestly. “Something is going on with my magic, and I think it has to do with Luc.”

Juliette’s eyes lingered where Rose rubbed her chest. “You think his absence is affecting your magic? Physically?” She scratched her temple. “Rose, think about what you’re saying. That’s impossible.”

Rose couldn’t help but notice Juliette’s face turning introspective as she made the statement. Part of her felt vindicated, as she knew Juliette was considering the same thing Rose was—the one thing she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud.

Rose chose her words carefully, circling the topic. “I know it should be impossible, Juliette. I’m just telling you what I feel.” She rubbed at the pain in her chest like a phantom limb, unable to dislodge the discomfort.

“You can’t be bound.”

There it was. Juliette stated it so boldly; Rose had barely completed the thought. She’d circled, danced around, and tripped over it but never uttered the words. The ache in Rose’s chest strengthened. Juliette was stating a fact, one that Rose already knew. Rose and Luc were of different courts. Bound fae were a myth—a forgotten faerie tale. There were a hundred other reasons why this couldn’t be true.

But the tightness in her chest—the Luc-shaped hole in her magic—remained.

“Believe me, I hear you. I know the facts. But this ache in the center of my magic is growing more insistent by the day. I think his magic is trying to reach mine from beyond the veil.”

Juliette’s face remained skeptical. “Let’s say your suspicion is correct.” She arched a brow. “I can take you to the caves and even try to call Zrak, but Carter is the better option for crossing beyond the veil. What would you have me do?”

Rose didn’t have to answer as another knock sounded at the door. Lela’s gaze flashed, giving Rose a final glare like this was her fault as she exited the room to answer it. Rose could hear a charged conversation that sounded similar to hers.

Juliette rolled her eyes. “Lela, let him in,” she called.

Carter entered the room with Lela prowling after him. “Good morning,” he said. “I saw Rose headed this way and didn’t think you’d mind my joining you.”

Lela scowled like she did mind, but it didn’t prevent Carter from continuing. “I’d like to try to cross beyond the veil sooner rather than later,” he said.

Rose grinned.

Juliette rubbed her forehead.

“Of course, it would be both of you.” She looked to Carter as if grasping for reason. “What brings you here so early with this request?”

“I can feel the realm calling me,” he said. He glanced at Rose. “I told you that when you gave me the Vesten coin, the power boost unlocked more of the magic that connects my shifter form with spirits traveling beyond the veil. It’s almost like the coin’s presence has allowed me to feel my form’s true calling.” He looked around them, his gaze holding on Lela. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t ready to share his secrets with her. “Running Vesten property in my shifted form here…something calls strongly. My form wants to fulfill its purpose.”

Rose read between the lines. The veil cat’s purpose was to ferry spirits beyond the veil. Magic was tricky though. Rose knew that more than most. Her weapons-master sense let her understand a lot about magic that most did not. Just because your magic longed for something didn’t mean you were ready to handle it. She’d learned as much when she started evaluating the Compass Points’ magic. She’d grown into it, but if she had treaded a little more lightly at first—if she’d taken a little more time—she might not have been so magically drained.

“You know, you might need to build your magic up to this since it’s been dormant so long,” she cautioned.

Carter rolled his eyes. His response was precisely what she expected. “I can handle being a little tired if it helps us fix this mess.”

Rose held up her hands in a gesture of peace. If being a little magically drained was the only sacrifice, she would let Carter pay it. She had her own magical pull to the Suden Point to deal with. “I want to be honest: My motives aren’t exactly pure in all of this. I want Luc back. And I’m not sure I’ll be completely objective about the associated risks. While I’m willing to risk myself, you don’t need to do the same.”

Rose rubbed her chest again, trying to evaluate the feeling. Juliette had said, so calmly, that she and Luc couldn’t be bound. That may be technically correct, but Rose had no other explanation for the strength of this connection she felt across realms.

“I need to test this magic sooner rather than later,” Carter said. “I can be convinced to start small. Let’s try to cross beyond the veil and come back. If that’s successful, we can explore farther on the next trip.”

Rose nodded in agreement. She was sure she could find the connection to Luc again if she was beyond the veil. It would only take a few moments. Their connection had been so easily accessible when they were both on the continent.

“Are you both sure you know what you’re doing?” Juliette, the voice of reason, asked.

Carter and Rose exchanged a glance and then nodded.

“Then I won’t stop you. It makes no difference to me if we try now or in a few hours.” Juliette stood, and before ushering them out of the room, she pulled a custom belt from her desk. With no small amount of pride, Rose realized it was made to holster the twin daggers she had made for Juliette.

“Don’t overthink it,” Juliette said again, catching her eye.

A smile crossed Rose’s face as they ventured deeper into Osten house.