Chapter 3

CHAPTER3

Lore hated to take anything from Allura when it was so clear the siren had very little left. Though her friend waved off her concerns with a laugh.

“I don’t need any of it,” Allura had claimed. “The sea is all I need, and I have my ship back because of you. I’ll steal a few items before I go and no one will ever know I was here. Leave the rest to rot and keep the seas on my horizon.”

She’d heard the quote from Allura before the few times she’d seen her off, but this time seemed different. Allura seemed different. The siren was on edge and kept glancing into the shadows like she was waiting for someone to attack them.

And considering the company the siren kept? It was entirely likely.

So Lore didn’t argue much. She took what Allura offered after that, slid new boots on her feet, wrapped a moth-eaten shirt around her torso, and kept on her own leather pants that would offer her much better protection against the elements.

They couldn’t steal horses. Though it would make travel much faster, it wouldn’t get them very far before they were noticed. And they certainly could not travel on the back of a dragon. Abraxas would make the entire world tremble again. The magical creatures knew him as a symbol of what the mortals could do. They’d enslaved the most powerful of all their kind and forced him to kill others for their own enjoyment.

The longer they could keep it secret that either one of them had returned, the better.

So they would walk. Again. All the way from the docks, past the castle, through the swamp, and into Tenebrous. It would be yet another long journey and it would take them longer than she feared they had.

Still, it was the only plan they could think of. Otherwise, they might be looking at a dead Zephyr and the rest of the mortals as well.

Lore cared very little for the rest of the humans. She didn’t care what Margaret was doing with the kingdom either, but she would not lose her friend. Not another one.

“Ready?” Abraxas handed her a bag, although he looked like he wanted to grab it right back the moment she shouldered it.

“We talked about this, remember?”

“Yes, I realize if you weren’t carrying any bags that someone might think you were important. You don’t need to remind me again, Lore.” But he muttered underneath his breath, “It doesn’t mean I need to like it.”

Her dragon. Always the gentleman.

She cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled up at him. “I love you.”

The anger lines around his eyes and mouth softened. “I love you, too.”

They started off their day and set a good pace. Allura hadn’t wanted to see them off. The siren needed to get back to the ship, figure out where the rest of her human sailors had gotten off to, and make sure they weren’t stolen. There weren’t a lot of them, half her crew maybe, but enough for Allura to be worried.

Lore couldn’t think about those men who had gotten them here safely. She couldn’t think about the fear that burned through her at the thought they might be dead because they had returned. She could have offered them another life. Another way to live in the dragon isles where they could still sail and adventure but have a safe place to rest their heads. She could have...

A warm hand landed on her lower back, the heat spreading through her skin. “Easy,” Abraxas said quietly. “You’re letting your thoughts get away from you.”

And she was. Again.

Lore took a deep breath and focused on every step they had to take. “Right. Stop thinking about the madness of the past few days and focus on the now.”

“You got it.”

So she did.

They passed through multiple hamlets on the way. And the closer they got to the castle, the more magic she saw in the land. At first, she almost didn’t notice the tiny changes.

A scarecrow moved in the corner of her eye. Its head turned to watch the crows that circled the crops before settling back to staring straight ahead when they moved on. Laundry floated up from a basket that a woman had set on the ground, twining itself around the line without her having to lift a finger. Wood chopped itself with an enchanted axe that had made a very good pile beside it.

Little things that her mind seemed to remember and said, “this is normal,” but then she realized how not normal it was. These were homes of people who had lived in fear of ever showing a single ounce of magic. Now? They showed it without care at all.

The very earth seemed seeped in it as well. Ancient roots had stretched from deep within the earth, seeking out sunlight as they pulsed with green magic that would help them grow. They wriggled underneath her feet, sensing that an elf was among them. They seemed pleased that she’d returned, but she was afraid of what they’d do to her.

And the grass... Oh, it was greener, wasn’t it? Everything here seemed to be so much more than what it was when they had left.

When they stopped to eat lunch, settling on Abraxas’s cloak while pulling out a small block of cheese and bread, she eyed the ground that was dotted with flowers she’d never seen in her life.

“Do things seem... different?” she asked as she sat down on the cloak.

“How so?”

“Just... more.” She didn’t know how to voice her concerns or what she was seeing. This wasn’t the world she had come to expect. There was more happening here, more growth and development than she’d left behind, and she didn’t know what to do with that.

Abraxas grunted and handed her the center portion of the small loaf. “Magic, yes. That’s what you’re seeing. There’s a lot more of it than when we left.”

“That’s what I thought.” She bit off a large mouthful and then said through the food, “Seems a bit odd.”

“More magic, more creatures, fewer humans. Maybe the earth is coming alive again after a very long wait.” He shrugged, and it seemed to be that easy for him to cast it aside.

She couldn’t.

Lore could feel the earth changing underneath them. Her magic stretched out, testing the boundaries of this new power that flowed. She could feel where it came from, and that was each individual who had finally been allowed to show who they were and what they could do. That didn’t make her feel strange. She enjoyed knowing that the land was feeding off the magical creatures. But where was everyone else?

Creatures could live like this while the humans were still there. They could all agree that there was magic in the world. It wasn’t scary. Humans could live beside them without feeling like they needed to destroy those who were different. That should be enough.

And yet, this had been taken too far. Now there were only magical creatures, and the earth was feeding off it. The trees, the ground, the land itself was changing, and she didn’t know if that was a good thing.

Lore took another bite of her bread, chewing and pondering her thoughts. She didn’t want to be left in the dark like this. She had to know at least what had happened already.

“I want to talk with someone,” she said, the words coming out of her mouth before she’d really thought them through. “A villager or someone in the next hamlet we come across.”

Her dragon shook his head. “We’re too close to the castle, and I doubt they’ve forgotten you that quickly.”

She hummed underneath her breath. He was right. She couldn’t afford to have Margaret find out she was here this early in their game, but there had to be a way for her to hide herself while still talking with someone about the changes here.

“I have an idea,” she said. “But it would require that I talk with someone on my own.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I can’t hide both of our identities at the same time without Margaret feeling the spell.”

He shrugged. “You probably could. But if it was too distracting, no one knows what I look like, anyway. If you want to wander over and talk with someone, that’s fine. But I’m not going anywhere.”

A woman only had to die once, and he suddenly felt the need to be attached to her like a leech. Narrowing her eyes, she muttered, “Fine. But you will say nothing.”

“I’ll pretend to be a mute.”

“They’re still going to be very suspicious of why I have a giant walking with me when I could very well be someone important. The only people with bodyguards are the rich.”

Abraxas shrugged. “Then say I’m your husband.”

“Little on the nose, don’t you think? A giant man and a small woman, wandering through the woods on their own?”

His eyes flashed with a bright heat. “I will not bend on this, Lore.”

She finished her food quickly after that. She hadn’t expected him to change his mind, but she had wanted to distract him from her talking with anyone. Threatening to do so without him had made sure he’d argued that he could accompany her, not that she shouldn’t talk with anyone at all.

The next hamlet they came upon, she let her power flex through her. It was a small bit of magic, sleight of hand really, but enough that she worried Margaret might feel it. Anyone who was sensitive to magic might feel the ripple. Hopefully, there were no enchanters in the hamlet or there would be questions she couldn’t answer.

Thankfully, it appeared to be a small cluster of satyrs. Most of the people in the village had tiny horns on their heads and cloven hooves that clopped along the stone streets that were hand built and gleamed in the sunlight.

Lore went to the farthest house. The one that stood a little aside from the others and was a bit more rundown. A single woman inhabited it, and she stood outside with her laundry in her hands. She wasn’t as powerful as some, so she had a wand in her hand to guide the clothing up the line.

“Who are you?” Abraxas asked under his breath. “So I know what name to call you.”

“I don’t know who I am.” That was part of the fun. Lore grinned up at him. “I’m who she’s been missing, but who won’t be coming back.”

“Excuse me?”

The satyr looked up and a little shriek erupted from her mouth. “Alyss? Is that really you?”

Lore opened her arms wide and nodded.

The satyr dropped her wand onto the ground and launched at her. Perhaps it was a little cruel to be the person that this woman had missed the most, but she had to make sure it was someone that wouldn’t come back. Just like she’d said. She could only assume that Alyss was long dead, or worse, that she would soon be.

Clasping her arms tightly around the satyr in a hug, she hoped that this would give the woman closure she very much deserved. “I’m back, but not for long.”

“What are you doing here?” The satyr leaned back, holding onto her biceps and holding her still. “You were supposed to be across the seas by now! Is it Devlin? Did he not make it onto the ship?”

Lore could piece the story together in her head. Young Alyss was in love with a human. He’d fled to the ships with her, likely the last ones leaving, and they had sailed across the seas. Hopefully that was where the story began, and didn’t end.

“He’s safe,” she said with a bright grin on her face. “I didn’t make it onto that ship, but I’ll make the next one. I wanted to come say goodbye.”

“Well, and what a goodbye it will be! I’ll get the others. They’ll be so pleased to see you!”

“Wait—“ Lore grabbed the other woman’s arm before she could leave. “I just wanted to see you.”

A shadow crossed over the satyr’s eyes, and then the woman looked behind her to see Abraxas looming there. The woman swallowed hard. “And who’s this?”

Damn. Not her husband, clearly.

“A friend,” Lore tried. “Do you mind if we go somewhere private?”

“A friend? He looks like he’s in the Rebellion.” The satyr swallowed. “You were never involved in that, darling.”

Oh, but she was. She was very much involved in that and if she didn’t get the woman inside where she could at least pry into her mind in peace, then all of this could fall apart around her ears.

Lore glanced over her shoulder at Abraxas, her eyes wide. He misinterpreted what she needed. Her dragon took a heavy step forward, malice in his eyes and strength dancing down his strong shoulders.

“Heavens,” the satyr woman whispered. “What have you gotten yourself into, Alyss?”

“Nothing all too dangerous.”

“It seems as though that might not be correct.” The satyr swallowed, her eyes flicking over her shoulders, and Lore knew she was about to run. “Why don’t I get your father?”

No, no more family. No more hugs. No more people who would never see their dear Alyss again. This was a mistake. She should have thought up a plan that was less dangerous... and less cruel.

“Can we come inside?” She tried one more time. “Please?”

The satyr looked her over and something inside her died. Lore saw it. She saw the hope and the pleasure of seeing her drift away until there was nothing left but exhaustion and sadness. “You’re not my Alyss, are you?”

Lore bit her lip and then slowly shook her head. “No, I am not.”

“Why are you here?”

“To ask questions and get answers.”

“From me?” The woman pressed her hand to her chest, the fingers blunt and short. “I don’t know anything. We just moved here only a few months ago, and we were hoping for a quieter life away from the city. Surely you need the village elder, someone with more power than me.”

Lore shook her head, sadness stretching through her entire body until her limbs felt heavy with it. “No,” she whispered. “I need you. I need someone who will tell me what happened, honestly, without the filter of responsibility. I need to know from someone who lived it, and I believe you are that person.”

The satyr licked her lips. “What is your name?”

“Alyss.”

The satyr’s eyes filled with tears. “What’s your real name?”

Lore shook her head. “I cannot tell you that. The magic I conjured only shows you what you want to see. I do not know who you are looking at. Only that you see a beloved.”

“What kind of awful magic is this?” The satyr pressed those blunt fingers to her mouth. “What kind of creature can cast such a spell?”

Lore looked on helplessly as the thought came to life in the other woman’s mind. The thought that likely none of the creatures had even hoped to dream as their world shifted and changed.

“Goddess Divine,” the woman whispered as though the two words were only to be spoken with reverence. “Could it be you?”

She didn’t like the title, but if it got her answers... Lore nodded. “Now, will you let us inside?”

The woman’s eyes flicked from hers to Abraxas behind her. “And that means you’re...”

Her dragon was never subtle. Lore didn’t need to glance back for her to know that his eyes had flashed red and gold, like coins mounded in his cave. The satyr lost all the blood in her face, but then she nodded.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Come inside, and I will tell you all that you have missed.”