Secret Worlds (316 page)

I clung to him tighter. “And what Okelo told me?”

“What did she tell you?”

“That you are not allowed to be with me because of the child?”

His face hardened. I took that as a yes.

“So, then why are you touching me now?”

“Because the tradition is I cannot make love to you. I can still be with you and around you. I couldn’t before because they wanted to study your reaction. They needed to be reassured that you weren’t a witch that cast some spell or enchantment on me, even though, in a way, you had.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“You were aware I left, and you didn’t try to stop me?”

“I couldn’t, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. It would play right into Jiren’s desires. It would prove his argument to him. For now, we must do this according to their rules. We need to make them understand we have nothing to hide.”

“You knew I wouldn’t be able to leave, didn’t you?”

He stared at me with questioning clear in his eyes. “I didn’t, though Danst told me. He realized you wanted to leave and tried to tell you what I couldn’t.”

“Why? Because you were being watched?”

He nodded.

“And now?”

“Now they understand you can’t leave. You won’t allow yourself to. This realm won’t let you leave because it realizes the power that binds us together is greater than any magic or enchantment in this world or the next. We are made for each other, Relena. Nothing and no one can change that…no matter how much you fight it. Or question it.” His eyes grew darker, and I could tell he remembered.

“I’m sorry, Marren. I had no idea it was the test. I thought it would be something more ceremonial like the last time. I didn’t know and I made it harder on you.”

“Gvgeyu, waya uwoduhi. Always and forever, I’m yours.”

“No matter what.” It was a statement more than a question, but it seemed Marren wanted to answer anyway.

“No matter what.”

Marren took me to the inner halls of the mountain. The dwarves didn’t leave any part of the floors or pillars unpolished. Small rooms filled the inner halls with families, healers, and tradesmen that made swords, craft armor, and even a chef that cooked meats and made jerky with a baker whose baking had filled the hall with the tasty aroma.

He took me to a room and sat me down at a large stone table with wooden stools. They were plainly carved but still held the beauty of pure craftsmanship. Marren set a small metal plate on the table with a chunk of meat, some roasted carrots and a piece of bread. It was too much for me to eat, but I could tell by the expectant gaze in his eyes, he thought I should try.

“So what now?” I asked, peering up from the plate to wait for an answer.

“Well, tonight, I get to officially present you to my people. There was a celebration planned, but I had to call it off for reasons already explained.”

I nodded. “Then what?”

“Then the planning for the ceremony begins if you want. We don’t need to rush, but my people don’t like children born outside of the ritual of binding.”

“Wow. That sounds like a death sentence.” I chuckled on the last word. But the glare in Marren’s eyes said it wasn’t funny. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you still want to marry me?”

“What?” I hardly swallowed the piece of meat with the way he said the words. It wasn’t like he was anxious and wanted to understand more so than reassuring himself that I wanted to be with him and not because of the heart song.

“Do you still want to marry me?” he repeated.

“I heard you. What I don’t understand is why you are asking me this? Didn’t we already go through this conversation?”

“We’ve been over this, yes, but I may have manipulated you into agreeing, and I want to be sure you truly want this as much as I do.”

I twisted to face Marren straight on and grabbed his hands. I focused on the contrast that was still amazing to me. His deep bronze color compared to my fairer tone. I almost appeared too pale sitting next to him. “Marren, whatever makes you happy and keeps you by my side, I will do. I don’t want to forsake any of your rituals or customs because they are unfamiliar to me. Though I may not understand them all or the reasons behind them, I do understand that I love you beyond reason. I can’t live my life without you, so if that is what it takes to make it happen and keep the peace among your people, then so be it.”

I stared into his eyes, slanted under partially sealed lids. His lips were together but relaxed. I couldn’t tell if that was what he wanted to hear. I turned my gaze away and asked, “Do—do you still want to marry me?”

I found his eyes again and tried to find any emotion in them. I tried to find the warmth, the love, the passion, but it remained hidden behind the wall he had up. Something wasn’t right about this. Something seemed…off. I couldn’t place it, but this didn’t feel like Marren. I said, “I don’t feel well. I need to go lay down.”

I stood up and turned my back toward him. I had taken no more than the first step when my wrist was caught in a tight hold. I glanced over my shoulder and then down to my wrist and back up to Marren’s face. “So, how long did you think you were going to trick me into believing you were Marren?”

Not a glint of surprise filled his eyes like I had hoped to find. I tried again.

“Well, Jiren, is it? Where is Marren?”

His face broke into a smile, and it was just as bright and just as beautiful as the real Marren’s, but had something threatening in it. He looked hungry for blood.

His eyes changed to an iridescent green, cold and just as hard as the first time I’d seen him.

“Well, you’re smarter than you seem.” He clapped his hands.

People poked out from behind the pillars, and Marren, hands bound behind his back, stepped out with the dwarf Ancient, Ildir. Marren had drilled me on all the Ancients, and this would be the only one that would dare to hold him against his will.

I took off toward him as Ildir released Marren. He wrapped his arms around me and planted a large kiss in the middle of my forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t warn you. I’m not sure he wouldn’t hear if I spoke to your mind.”

I nodded, understanding, then whispered, “He knows about our child.”

“It will be all right.”

“Now, Jiren, are you satisfied yet? Or are you still convinced this woman, who has already convinced the rest of the Ancients of her love for Marren, isn’t his heart song?” Ildir spoke with a booming voice that carried to the next mountain over. He clearly didn’t like the idea of having to detain his friend like this or play these games, always trying to catch me in something I’m not guilty of.

“She may have you all fooled, but I’m not yet convinced.” Jiren had shifted to his human form, the one from when I first encountered his disdain for my existence. I forced down a shudder, remembering when he tried to shove energy up my arm like sharp, thin knives.

“Need we remind you of the consequence of pursuing this and being proved wrong?”

“I need no reminder, because when you are proved wrong, you will be punished. This pup is no closer to Marren’s heart song than she was to leaving this realm!”

Loud gasps echoed. The hall had filled with people. I had a mind to say something snide, but Marren’s hands squeeze mine and I held back.

“You would do well to show her the respect of your equal rather than a piece of dirt at your feet,” Marren snapped.

Jiren let out a deep, throaty chuckle meant to raise the hairs on the back of my neck and send a thread of warning through me. Bile filled my mouth. Tingling in my hands started to move up my arm. I readied for battle.

“Why would I take the word of the one who is under this witch’s spell? Hmm?” Jiren asked.

A murmur of hushed voices moved through the crowd.

“What do you say about that child growing in her womb?” His voice echoed through the hall, returning the last word a few times just for emphasis.

“That’s enough!” Ildir interrupted. “Jiren, you expect this realm to punish this woman, who somehow managed to bewitch myself, Blyl, Joe’n and Marren into believing she is his heart song?”

“And most of the races…” Jiren added.

I rolled my eyes, finding it harder to resist ripping his throat to shreds.

“Marren, I’m sorry, my friend, but it seems he’ll stop at nothing. What will you say to support your side?” Ildir asked in a lower voice.

Marren released me and stepped into the center of the hall, a few feet from Jiren. “Relena was a human. She didn’t possess any powers or possess knowledge of our world before me. She wasn’t even aware of her own friend’s true identity until one of my own told her. Relena would need to be an extremely powerful sorceress to gather the energy necessary to successfully fulfill the magnitude of the spell it would take to fool everyone, but Jiren…” He let the last word hang in the air, and everyone turned their gazes to him.

Jiren’s jaw clenched tight, lips pressed together into a straight line. His hands clutched the cuffs of his robes. For a moment, I thought I caught a strange purple aura surrounding him, glowing faintly and pulsating.

“Relena, is my heart song. She has proved it. Yes, she did try to leave, but only because she believed she had no choice and thought it would save the races. She discovered the heart song we share wouldn’t let her leave and kept leading her back to me.”

The other Ancients, who seemed to have sided with us for now, stepped into the center of the hall and joined Marren, staying a few feet behind him. The rushed murmurs grew louder.

“The prophecy is here,” Marren continued.

“Yet…” Joe’n stepped forward, bringing the attention to her, “Jiren seems fit to find any way necessary to make it not come true.”

“Perhaps, the real question here is why Jiren is so convinced Relena is a threat and how a mere human could have pulled off such an elaborate hoax?” Blyl asked. Not of anyone in particular, other than to spark curiosity in the rest of the crowd.

“Relena?” Ildir drew my attention to him. “Do you have anything to say to your own defense?”

I kept my eyes locked on Marren’s. With a reluctant nod from him, I said, “What can I say that hasn’t already been said? I have nothing to hide and continue to be obedient to the Ancients and their requests. I’ve done nothing to be guilty of.”

“Very well,” Ildir said. “Jiren—”

A bright purplish light filled the room. It came from where Jiren stood and was so bright it stung my eyes, making them feel like they were melting. I couldn’t search for Marren. I couldn’t think to use our private way of talking. The screams and shouts that filled the room would drown out any word. A loud hum filled the air, growing louder as the light grew brighter until a burst of heat knocked me off my feet.

Silence filled the air, and then darkness.

I waited for the humming to end. It started back up shortly after the silence fell. It began as a soft whisper, then grew in intensity while I remained on the ground, too afraid to move. The sound grew louder until I realized the noise was a combination of my heart beat banging in my ears and murmurs that surrounded me. Words came to me in bits and broken pieces.

“Not…gone!”

“Jiren…“

“He’s right…“

“We were blind…“

I opened my eyes to the stone floor covered by feet surrounding me. I gazed up and found Joe’n, Blyl, Ildir, and Gurth, the goblin Ancient who had remained out of sight and distant, all stood around me like a shield. Panic struck my heart. I stood up and pushed my way through the Ancients, despite their grumblings not to, and found in place of Marren, only his clothes were left. Lying as if he curled himself up on the floor, but his body had been completely consumed.

“No! No! Where did you take him?” I shouted at Jiren who appeared pleased with himself.

“Think about this,” he said to the crowd. “If she is Marren’s heart song, would she be standing here, asking such questions?”

With his words, I understood what he tried to do. He wasn’t above sinking to levels so low he set new standards. He somehow made Marren disappear and made it seem like he died in an effort to prove me wrong. To get his way.

A hand gripped my arm and jerked me back behind the line of Ancients.

“The laws of this land are clear. An Ancient killing an Ancient without due cause is an unforgivable wrong. In an effort to prove your desires, you may have killed Marren, but Relena is with child. Not only is she protected because she carries Marren’s heir, but she is protected because of you, Jiren. She is protected because she was Marren’s mate. Whether or not they share a heart song,” Ildir said. He tried to force the sadness out of his words, but they still poked through, eating away at my strength.

“But he can’t be dead! I’m still alive!” The words fell out of my mouth softer than a whisper.

“The Ancients decree you are banished. Any races following you are to be released of your leadership and allowed to side under the Ancient they choose,” Joe’n said, her voice calm and smooth. Her words, as far as I could tell, didn’t hint at sadness. I was grateful for that.

Blyl turned toward me. “I’m sorry, but you are not free from punishment either. It has been written if two share a heart song, they share in death. Either Marren isn’t dead or you aren’t his heart song after all.”

I nodded my understanding. The motion felt numb, almost as though I no longer had control of my body.

“You will be taken to your room, where you’ll be most comfortable. But you will have no luxuries, you will not be allowed outside, and you will be forbidden to leave,” he added.

I nodded, numbly, again.

Blyl tried to escort me toward the room. His hand gently cupped my upper arm. My attention was pulled toward the metallic clanking of the sword on his belt. I turned my gaze toward his waist. It wasn’t secured. He must have forgotten to do that during the commotion. His hood remained over his head, making me seriously doubt he had seen me looking.

We approached the doors leading out of the mountain. They hung open. I stopped, and Blyl stopped with me, seeming to understand I needed a break. Well, I needed a plan.

Footsteps echoed toward us from down the hall. My head turned toward Jiren, being escorted out with a smug smirk on his face. I narrowed my eyes toward him, needing to see a flaw in him. He would stop at nothing to win this war. But why?