“Justise is Easton’s uncle, Cameo’s brother. Not that everybody really knew that Justise was related to her. But that’s not my story to tell. Anyway, Justise is married to Ridley, who’s our healer. Justise is the blacksmith and helps with our weapons. They’re hanging out with Easton today and are dying to meet you.”
“Oh, that’s…I didn’t realize people really knew about me. Or wanted to meet me.” I didn’t know what to say to that. I hadn’t realized I’d be meeting some of Easton’s family. Frankly, I just wanted to begin my training so I could go to the Lumiére Kingdom when it was time and try to figure out what the next step was. For some reason, this felt like a way station, and I really shouldn’t think about it that way. I had things to do, elements to learn, and I needed to focus and not yearn to be somewhere else when I was here.
“You’ll like them, I promise. Justise is a grumpy butthead, but with what he’s been through, he’s earned it. Ridley is our not-so-grumpy healer. At least that’s what I call him. But I love the both of them, and Easton hasn’t had a father figure in his life for quite a long time, so I’ve always enjoyed the fact that he has his uncles with him.”
Before I could say anything to that, wondering exactly what Easton thought of Wyn airing some of his possible secrets to me, we ended up in the middle of the courtyard with the sun shining down, and people milling about. This was far different from the last time I had been in the court with so many people hiding, so many scared.
Maybe that was just the parts I remembered because I had been fighting for my life. I could still recall the sound of the children laughing and playing in the streets of the border to the Fire lands. There hadn’t been children hiding in pain or in terror. They had all been smiling. They had been happy. Yes, terrors were happening all around them, but there had still been hope.
And now I could see some of that on the faces of the people that looked up to Easton as their king.
There were so many of them around us. Some were Fire Wielders, some Earth, some I could sense were a mixture of the two. And some, yes, some were Danes, Maisons without any Wielding powers. I had learned from reading Rosamond’s book and from what the others had told me, that Danes were becoming far more prevalent as time passed. When the Maison realm had fractured in two, it had changed the way magic and Wielding moved within its own people.
Before he died, the old knight had used the crystal that tried to protect its people against them. He had siphoned the magic and Wielding from them to create Danes. Some had been born that way, others were forced into it.
When we were last here, Braelynn had been called a Dane, while Emory had just been considered human. I was neither because I was the foretold Spirit Priestess—or so they told me.
Oh, I believed it now, but sometimes it was quite hard to keep on believing it when I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do about it, or even what I could do about it.
Nobody knew why Braelynn had been considered a Dane, but maybe that was why she’d come back as she did after she died. Nobody explained to me exactly how it had happened, though I didn’t think anybody really knew. It was just one of those things, something that happened that I was supposed to just go along with.
So, I would listen, and I would learn. I wouldn’t just go along with it this time.
“Ah, you’re here,” Easton said, raising that dark brow of his.
I really did not want to like him, even as he smirked at me. Oh, he might be one of the most attractive people I had ever met in my life, but he was also one of the most annoying. He always had that smirk. As if he knew something I didn’t. And because I knew that he actually did know way more than I did, it just annoyed me. It wasn’t my fault that I was a couple of hundred years younger than he was. Anybody with that much time to learn things would have a leg up. It wasn’t nice to gloat about it.
“Oh? There she is,” one of the others in the courtyard said, grinning. Two men stood beside Easton, both with dark brown skin and darker hair. One wore a smile and leathers and a tunic similar to my own, just without the embroidery. The other had on something similar but with a leather smock over it. That male was not smiling.
I could guess who was the grumpy weapons maker and blacksmith, and who was the not-so-grumpy healer.
“Ah, yes, Ridley, meet Lyric, the Spirit Priestess.” Easton gestured towards him, his voice oddly formal as if he didn’t really know what to do right now either. That made me feel a little more comfortable.
“Hi, I just go by Lyric though, if that’s okay,” I said, giving a little wave.
Ridley came up to me and wrapped me in a hug so tight, I swore my back cracked a few times. However, it felt good in the end, so maybe he had done it on purpose. He was a healer after all, not that I actually knew if what he did was done by magic or if he was like a doctor. Rosamond’s book hadn’t been very specific about that.
“It’s so good to finally meet you. We’ve heard all about you, of course. And from the look on your face, you haven’t heard about us. But why should you? You’ve had to focus on exactly what this whole magical world means. But, any questions you have, we’re here for you. And if my nephew tries to hurt you while you’re in training, I can hurt him back, and I can heal you. It’s sort of my job.” He winked, and his husband at his side rolled his eyes before holding out his hand.
“I’m Justise. It’s good to meet you.” I took his hand, his firm grip squeezing my fingers ever so slightly. And though his words were gruff, I could tell that he actually meant them. So, maybe he wasn’t all that grumpy.
“Thanks for inviting me.” I really needed to work on what I was going to say before I actually said it. I hated sounding inept.
“We weren’t just going to let you stay there in the human realm and rot, were we?” Easton asked, buffing his nails. He really was a jerk. A very big one. With really pretty eyes.
Of course, then I thought of Rhodes’ silver eyes, and I got a little sad. I swore Easton could tell where my thoughts had gone because his eyes narrowed and he came closer, holding out his hand.
I looked down at it before taking it, not sure why I did, but also not wanting to offend anyone by not doing so.
“Let me show you around a bit, and you can tell me what you’ve been doing for the past year. My uncles need to go back to work, but I wanted them to meet you. If you have any questions during training while you’re here, they’re here to help you. As are Teagan, Wyn, and even Arwin. Arwin is still in training himself, but he’s still one of the higher-ups here, and I trust him with my life—therefore, yours. I want you to learn how to deal with your elements. And that’s why you’re here. Nothing more.”
That last bit was a very odd thing to say, but I just nodded, saying my goodbyes as the uncles walked back to where they presumably worked, Ridley leaning in to Justise’s side ever so slightly as they did. They were seriously a cute couple, and I was glad that there was at least some happiness in a world that seemed to be failing around the Maisons.
“So, that’s why I’m here? To figure out what I’m doing?”
“Of course. But, tell me, what have you been doing for the past year?” Easton let go of my hand when he turned the corner to move down the hall, and I wondered why I felt the loss. It wasn’t as if he were mine, after all. No one was. Not even Rhodes. Or Emory. No one.