“I have more than one.” There’s a shocked intake of breath from Bran and Rush, but Keen just stares at me. His head cocks to the right, and his fingers start tapping on his thigh.
“I met him not too long after being in the Neutral Hills,” I state, watching Keen closely. “He was sweet and a little foolish.” I smile, thinking of Derrick. “But he had to go somewhere important, and we were supposed to meet back up. Then there’s Rylan. He hates me, and he’s a dick.” Fire licks inside my belly just thinking of Rylan and what he did. “He’s looking for me. I know he is, so you can understand why I thought about what I did. That you three are here to take me back to him.”
I left out a lot of details. Like I’m the long-lost Princess of the Ignis Gen. That Rylan is an Eligere and has been ruling the Ignis Gen and that fact that Derrick is the Crown Prince of the Aries Gen. I don’t know what I can trust Keen with knowing, but I need to start somewhere.
“Then, there’s you,” I whisper, staring at Keen again. His breathing is forceful as his eyes flick over my face. “I’m supposed to be this prophesied Aether. One will be born. Four, she shall bind. So, shall it be. The Aether.”
Bran mutters something I can’t hear, and Rush laughs. Keen is merely watching me. I shift from foot to foot. Why isn’t he saying something? Anything!
Keen sighs and sits back down, “Did you know that there were groups of people called the Aether Gen over three thousand years ago?”
I shake my head.
“It wasn’t uncommon back then, but it was something special that only happened to a few. You’re not the first Aether Basil. I expect you’re just the beginning.” Keen states. His eyes are lost in thought.
I sit slowly back down by the fire. My gaze locked onto Keen as he stares into the night.
“Elementum wasn’t always four kingdoms. Gens were never as separate as they are now. Elementum was one kingdom with an Aether Gen ruling.”
“What happened?” I whisper, watching Keen as he taps his fingers on the ground.
“The Crown was never passed down by blood either, like it is today. They had to work for the privilege to rule us. They had to want it more than anything.” Keen sighs and stretches out his legs, gazing into the flames. “Every five years, there was a trial for the Crown. Every Aether Gen has a right to try for it. The trial was a series of tests and battles. The winning Gen won the right to rule Elementum for five years. No more, no less. Then it was time to fight for the Crown once again.”
He clears his throat and scratches Bindi under her chin, “Her name was Zara, and she was from the Aries Gen. She was the one who led her Aether. For it is always a girl at the head of an Aether Gen. She’s the one who connects the other four males without her, there would be no Aether Gen. She was vicious and extremely jealous. She ruled with an iron fist, and it was dark times.”
Keen stares lost in thought, and a horrible feeling fills my body.
“Two years into her rule, girls who had already bonded with others started getting sick, and eventually they died. I’m not sure what happened, for this is where the history gets mixed up. Some books said the girls were no longer powerful enough to hold the bond. Others said that they waited too long to form their bonds, and the powers ate the girls up from the inside. Then it’s whispered that Zara was having the girls killed.”
I gasp. My eyes are wide. Why would someone do something like that? I know the world is full of bad people, but still.
“A man named Tolly believed it was Zara who was murdering the girls. They murdered his own daughter. A girl of thirteen. The rebellion formed with him at the head and all of the other families who had lost a child. When the girls died, they took the ones they were bonded with to death's door. The ones that were not lucky enough to even meet her or form the bond went crazy. It was a long and gruesome war that lasted ten years.”
Keen stares at me, and I straighten up from my reclined over position, “They waited years and years for another Aether Gen to form. To take over the Kingdom. To fix what Zara and her Gen destroyed. But it never came. It split the country into five regions, each having its own ruling body, and now here we are. The Gens fight every other day. Battles are waged for borders and prosperous lands. Look at the Sable forest. It wasn’t this dark and deadly thing as it is now. So no, Basil, I believe you’re just the beginning.”
I gulp, staring at Keen with fear in my eyes. Did Zara kill them, or was it not forming the bonds soon enough? I don’t know what to think or believe. History has a way of getting twisted to fit someone else's ideas and beliefs.
“What do you think?” I whisper, watching Keen closely.
“I think Zara killed them. Not only that, but I think she put something in the waters, maybe even in the air itself. Very few births resulted in a girl back then to even now.”
He looks depressed at that. Hell, I even feel sorry for these people I have no history with.
“Enough of history class.” Rush mumbles, “We have an early start.” He rolls over, giving us his back.
I crawl onto my sleep mat and pull the measly cover over me. My dreams are filled with little girls dying and blood. Lots and lots of blood.
CHAPTER TEN
I wake up to a feather-like touch on my face. My eyes blink a couple of times from sleep, and a dopey smile pulls at my lips. Keen is hovering over me. His fingers softly touch my cheek, ghosting over my lips.
“Morning Basil.” He whispers. I feel his breath across my lips, and it makes me shiver.
“Morning,” I whisper back, still smiling like an idiot.
He leans in closer, and that has my eyes widening and my heart thundering. My breath is catching in my chest at him, being so close to me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper. Flicking my eyes to his lips and back up.
“I want to kiss you.” He murmurs, looking at my lips, “But you're not ready yet.” He glances at my eyes, then stands up and walks away.
I just lay here. What the hell! My breathing is harsh to my own ears, and I feel a little awestruck.
No Basil. No. None of that. I shake myself and sit up. I roll my neck around on my shoulders and climb to my feet. I have to pee now. One thing I wish I still had is indoor plumbing. The inn had an outhouse which was nasty, but I’d take it over pissing behind a tree any day. Squatting, balancing, and keeping your pants and underwear out of the way all at the same time while you pee is no joke. And you have to make sure you don’t piss on your shoes either. That takes talent. Thankfully, I’ve mastered it.
Taking care of business, I walk back to camp and pause. Prince wraps his tail around my wrist as I stare. Everything is already packed up, and the twins are now out of the tree. They’re still tied up with roots.
“What's going on?” I question as I move to my pack. A water pouch and a brick are sitting on top. I grimace at the brick but pick it up anyway. I still need to eat something, even though it’s this nasty stuff.
“Rush and Bran are taking our new friends back to Green Glades,” Keen says. “You and I are going to Steelwind.” His smile lights up his face—excitement shining in his pale eyes.
“Okay?” I say, not sure what is up with the expression on his face.