Chapter Twenty-Seven

THE MEMORY FADED, FIZZLING AWAY like bubbles rejoining the current. Pain lanced my heart as I swallowed hard. The truth of what had happened was far harder to swallow than before. An innocent man had been taken from the world in an effort to protect his family, and another had been stolen because of a warped version of that same tale. None of it was fair. Balgair's death. My father's death. The story of my mother. It was all so unwarranted, and it made it hard to breathe.

Alesta sniffled, "Not a memory I ever replay."

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "This stupid war has taken so much, Mom. It's broken everything ."

"The war has indeed stolen much and hurt many. That's why I'm so proud of you. It's time our kinds made peace and rejoined, just like we used to be. We're all Fae, all a part of the same kind, though that has been forgotten."

While the sentiment that Water and Land Fae were part of the same group was a lovely one, it confused me. As far as I knew from the studies I remembered in this state of mind, the two kinds of Fae were part of different Kingdoms.

Curious, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Water and Land Fae have been fighting a senseless war, because we aren't actually different Fae from different Kingdoms. We were part of the same Kingdom once upon a time. That history has just been forgotten. I, myself, only learned about it once I got here, and the water showed me."

Alesta waved a hand, drawing the water to her. It spun on itself to create a ball, and she passed it to me as she asked, "When you think of water, what comes to mind?"

I caught the orb, and it vibrated in my palms like a raging sea within a case. "Well, the ocean, I suppose. Lakes. Rivers. Bodies of water."

Alesta smiled sweetly. "That's what a lot of Fae think of, especially these days. But we forget that water isn't bound to just the sea or streams. Water is everywhere. It falls from the sky, flows through the earth, dwells within plants, and runs in all of us. Water is life, Dewdrop. It's why Water Fae are able to heal others, and it's why we aren't contained to the sea.

"Long ago, back in the time of the ancient language, there were no Land or Water Fae. There was just Fae with different skills and different forms. When the world started to evolve and humans became more advanced, Fae worried that humans would somehow find a way to breach our world and discover us. Those you now know as Water Fae decided that, since they could survive on land or underwater, they'd flee to the ocean where they'd be safe from any threat posed by nosy humans and even other clans of Fae, should issues arise.

"That's where Water Fae remained for centuries, and the land above was slowly forgotten. It wasn't until much later that our kind finally got curious about the world above again and started making trips there. It had been so long since Water Fae had surfaced that Land Fae had also come to think of us as strangers, no longer part of their world. We were suddenly just visitors and no longer welcome to call land home.

"Water Fae started spending more and more time on land, venturing into the human realm, breeding with Land Fae and humans. Our abilities started to weaken. Powers that we used to have, ones that got stronger when we moved to the water, got duller and fainter. Water Fae found it far more strenuous to merge with our element. They started losing the ability to breathe underwater for long periods of time. Our very essence was changing, and very few were left with those original skills—something I'm sure you've seen first-hand."

Shocked at the history I'd just learned, I slowly shook my head. "So how do I fix it? How do I make Water Fae stronger again?"

"You bring peace," Alesta answered. "You continue with what you've started. Bring Water and Land Fae back together like we once were. Show Ambrolia what kind of world Fae could have when our two Kingdoms get along and coexist. It will make everyone stronger. Fae can learn from each other and regrow together."

Her encouragement choked me with a fresh wave of emotion, because there were times when I couldn't help but doubt it all. The few memories I could grasp from my time before here were hard. I questioned if I could do it, or if I even should . Maybe Land and Water Fae weren't meant to get along. To hear my mother, the Queen of Water Fae, not only encourage me in my efforts but truly believe in them was like being handed the sun as I stumbled around in darkness.

"I'll try," I said roughly. "And I'll keep fighting for a way to bring you back. Until then, I'll come visit you here."

Fear flashed in her blue eyes. She leaned forward to grab and squeeze my hand. "You can't come back here, Bria. The pull of the water is too strong, and without a stronger pull to keep you tied to the surface, I fear you'll get stuck here like me. The price you'd have to pay in order to go back to reality, the emotion you'd have to feel to keep you from getting stuck like me … it wouldn't be worth it."

"You can teach me," I pleaded desperately. "You can teach me how to come and go freely."

"My sweet Dewdrop, how can I teach what I do not know?"

Helplessness sank its teeth into me with a cold sting. I'd just gotten here. I'd just gotten my mom back, yet now she was saying I had to return and leave her behind. I didn't want to go back. I wanted to stay as water with her.

Something in the back of my mind had me on edge, like an itch just barely out of reach. There was something I was forgetting. Something really important. But the chime-like voices whispering within the current seemed to push whatever it was away, and I was hit with a desire to stay once more.

"I'm going to try to send you back," Alesta said as she grabbed me and pulled me into her arms.

I held her tightly and buried my face in the crook of her neck. "If you can send me back, why can't I come here again?"

"Because I'm not sure I'll be able to do it again. I'm not even sure if it will work now. I told you, Dewdrop, I've grown weak. My powers aren't what they once were. What if this time drains me completely? We can't risk you getting lost here. Not when Fae need you." She pulled back to grip my shoulders, and her blue eyes bore into mine. "Not when Rune needs you."

The name sent a sharp jolt soaring up my spine, and with it came a flood of memories.

Golden eyes staring into mine with more love than I'd ever felt before.

Lips curled in a warm smile.

Strong hands holding me, touching me, worshiping me.

"Rune," I gasped as fear quickly cleared my mind of any fog the water had placed over it. I had just disappeared right in front of him, and I couldn't imagine what must be going through his head. I had to get back to him.

Alesta smiled when she saw the realization hit me. "There's that connection to the surface you needed." She quickly hugged me one last time and whispered, "I love you, Bria. With all my heart. Be brave and know that I'll fight to return."

The places where her body touched mine began to warm and tingle with a trace of magic. My vision blurred before going dark. I felt weightless, suddenly drifting before it felt like I was soaring . I was flying up and up and up until—

I gasped, and my eyes flew open. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but when I did, I realized I was lying on my back in the middle of the training room. I was right back where I'd been, only the room was dark, still, and quiet. Two torches were lit at the entrance, barely illuminating the empty room.

"Where did everyone go?" I mumbled to myself.

My hand tingled where it laid by my side, and I slowly lifted it. My heart stuttered when I saw my hand made of water, and as I stared at it, the water slowly colored and changed until my peachy, fleshy, boney hand was back. I wiggled my fingers and moved my wrist to confirm that my hand was truly fine, and I was relieved to see the extremity functioned as it should.

I glanced down at the rest of me to see if any other body parts were currently made of water, and I realized I was very naked. I immediately sat up in alarm, and my hair spilled over my shoulders. My eyes widened, because my hair was far less blonde now. The blue extended from my ends to about halfway up my cheek now, making three-fourths of my hair azure.

I dropped the strands I'd been examining and looked around the room for clothes or something to wear. Thankfully, I found some old trousers and a rather large tunic in the changing room. Their musty scent told me they'd been there for some time, but I pulled them on anyway. It was better than wandering around the palace naked.

I crept through the halls and climbed the stairs until I reached the main floor. When I was met with a silent hallway in a place that was usually bustling with activity, my anxiety grew. Maybe something had gone wrong when my mother sent me back, and I wasn't actually in the palace. I could be stuck somewhere in between our worlds all alone.

Heart pounding, I summoned water from the closest source to me. It took a moment to reach me from wherever it came from, but once it hovered above my hand, I quickly asked, "Where is everyone?"

The water bounced at my question before moving away from me and down the hall. Relief tried to seep into my limbs, but I refused to let myself feel reassured until I actually found everyone.

I jogged behind the water, holding my loose trousers up by the waistband as I ran. We reached the corridor that housed the different meeting rooms, and suddenly, I heard voices from beyond one of the closed doors. Heart leaping, I raced for it and threw it open.

Every set of eyes locked on me when I stepped inside, and the very air in the room seemed to leave. My entire chosen family was gathered inside. Well, everyone except Rune.

And each stared at me as if they'd just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping farther into the room. "Where's Rune?"

"Bria!"

My name was fired at me from every direction in dozens of different voices.

Dallas's cry struck me hardest, though. Her voice cracked on my name, and she ran over to me and threw her arms around my neck. She squeezed me as if we'd just been reunited after years apart.

I held her back, but I cocked a confused brow at Jesiah. "What's going on? Why is everyone here in this meeting room? And where is Rune?"

Dallas pulled back and gripped me firmly by the shoulders. Tears ran down her red, puffy cheeks, and having her this close, I could clearly see the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"I—" I stopped.

Seeing Dallas so torn up over my being gone for a few hours was odd. She was extremely distraught, and when I scanned the sea of faces again—some who still stared at me in utter shock, and others who fought tears as they fidgeted like they wanted to rush me like Dallas had—I realized that something wasn't right.

"I'm confused," I stated.

"Hell, I think everyone here is confused," Ardley replied as his eyes traced me from head to toe. "We all thought you were dead."