Page 81 of Omen of ice
Keltania
I arch my back, aware that I’m on some type of bedding. Every inch of my body aches, and the chill in the air is far more prominent than it was before.
“How do you feel?”
Forcing my eyes open, I meet Delkin’s hopeful grin with a grimace. “Like I fell from your tree into an ice cube.” With his help, I pull myself up into a sitting position. “Valen?”
“He seems all right. He hasn’t woken yet.”
“I suppose the secret is out.” I stretch, cringing as a knot forms in my lower back.
“Secret?” He’s seated beside my bed, watching me curiously, arms folded in his lap.
“That Valen has magic.”
“That was no secret.” Delkin smiles. “We knew from the moment he was born. It’s fitting, really. He’s the son of the true Winter Lady. He’s extremely powerful, which I suspect is why Orbik kept him alive all these years.”
“They use him,” I blurt out. Delkin is Valen’s father. He needs to know what Orbik has been doing to him over the years. Crap. What did he call it? “Something called…panashere?”
Delkin pales and makes a soft choking sound.
“They drain his magic. Use it for themselves.”
He flinches. “If I had any idea he’d survived, I would have torn the world apart to retrieve him. I was given false information. That he and Mori… When he arrived here, I hoped she was still out there, too.” He squeezes his eyes closed for a moment, and when he opens them, there’s nothing but an inferno of fury. It’s the same look I’ve seen in Valen’s eyes. “The pain he must have endured during those extractions…”
“It’s no walk in the park.” I think back to what Valen said about his mother. How she was found running through the woods. “How did Mori end up back at the estate?”
His expression twists into a painful grimace that causes my chest to ache. “Mori had gotten restless. She convinced me to take her and Valen on an outing, to the ground.” A shudder goes through him. “She missed the Winter Lands so much, craved the snow… We ventured too close, and we were attacked and separated. I went out with members of Vey Brill. We searched for days until we found bloodied items belonging to her and Valen not far from a tragon nest.”
“And you thought she was dead.” I can’t imagine how hard that must have been. Losing his love and his child… “I’m sorry.”
“Mori would be happy that Valen found me. I take solace in that fact.” He leans back and studies me for a moment. “That show you put on at breakfast was quite impressive.”
“Was anyone harmed?” The thought that I might have hurt someone twists in my chest.
“Everyone is fine.” He cocks his head to the side. “Of course, we’re all quite curious… Mind explaining how you channeled Fae magic?”
I run a hand through my messy hair, praying to the Goddess that he can’t hear the sudden thunder of my heart. “It’s complicated.” I hold up my hand to examine a red leather braid tied around my wrist. “What—what’s this?”
“I no longer have magic, but I can stillseemagic.” He touches my forehead, to the left of my initiation sigil, with the tip of his finger. “Daroose brought you to me for a reason. Whatever is allowing you to tap into my son’s power is coming at a cost—one your body is not designed to pay. That braid is soaked in jalva oil. It will dampen the magic—for a time.”
“I made a mistake,” I say. The admission is a foul tang against my tongue. “When warding Valen, I accidentally linked our life forces.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning what happens to me, happens to him, as well as the other way around.”
Delkin laughs. “Fitting, I suppose. In a twisted way, I mean.” His smile fades, his eyes narrowing just a bit. “He’s your partner, correct? Based off that ridiculous Aphelian bond excuse?”
“Not a fan of the tradition?” I swing my legs around and over the side of the bed. The room sways and dips a bit, but it clears quickly.
He snorts. “Aphelian wasn’t the person your people believe she was.”
“You knew her?”
He frowns. “I thought I did, at one time.” The hint of sadness in his voice falls heavily between us.
Something about the way he says it… “I don’t suppose you’d like to elaborate?”
