Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [74]
“But what shall I do?” Elandra asked. “What course should I take? If I am to ensure the correct future will—”
“The witch Hecati accused you of being our puppet,” Anas said with unexpected patience, “but you are not. You cannot follow, Majesty. You must lead. You must find your own way. I have told you all I can.”
Elandra dropped her gaze. She felt far from reassured. “I cannot lead Caelan,” she said. “He will not—have you no knowledge of him at all?”
“Only that he has long been in your dreams. Nowhere else in our visions does he appear. Nor has he appeared in the auspices cast by the Vindicants. What this means, I do not know. Perhaps you will walk beside him, as he will walk beside you. Enough,” Anas said with a curt gesture. “This cave is cold and dark. Its magic is not mine. I must go.”
With that abrupt farewell, Anas headed for the exit.
Elandra hurried after her. “Wait! Please, there is one more thing I must ask.”
Anas climbed outside and stood impatiently in the snow. Her bare arms were blue with cold, but she did not shiver. “Yes?”
Elandra met Anas’s impatient eyes and felt her nerve waver. But she did not back away. “Is there a way to alter time, to make it possible for Caelan and me to return to Imperia more quickly than a normal journey? If we must return on foot or even on horseback, it will take many days.”
“Nine weeks,” Anas said.
“In that length of time, Tirhin will have secured the throne for himself. I will have no chance—”
“You will find the way you need,” Anas replied curtly. “I must go.”
Frustrated, Elandra again hurried after her. “But, please, I—”
Anas held up her hand to silence Elandra and shot her a stern look. “I have done all I can. There are many preparations which I must oversee if the sisterhood is to survive. I can do nothing else for you at this time.”
She quickened her pace and strode away into the swirling snow, until the mist engulfed her and she was gone.
Chapter Thirteen
Shivering within the folds of her cloak, Elandra frowned against the snowflakes stinging her face and realized it was nearly twilight.
Caelan, wherever he had gone, should have been back by now ... if he meant to return at all. For the first time she wondered if he had abandoned her, believing her lost to the poison of the shadows.
Pain filled her heart. She had lost her opportunity, lost him before she understood what it meant to have him. Anger squared her shoulders, and for a moment she wanted to choke him for not giving her more time.
Yet, in fairness, how much time was he supposed to grant her? She had drawn away. She had refused him. She had reminded him of her marriage vows, pretending they were not false hypocrisy and clinging to them to ward off her fears.
Now Caelan was gone.
She pressed her hands to her lips, trying to hold back her emotions. He would not return. Just as he had left his sister behind, so now had he left her.
Her anger came surging back, trampling her grief. She wouldn’t stay here. She couldn’t hide in this cave forever, like a rabbit in a hole. How was she supposed to live? What was she supposed to eat? How was she supposed to occupy herself while he went forth without her?
Furious and frightened, she ran up the bank, telling herself he must have left tracks she could follow. Yet she knew she could never catch up with him if he had indeed left her.
Was she letting her fear command her common sense? Was he not instead only out hunting? She must believe he would return.
As she struggled up the bank, she saw him emerge from the woods into the clearing.
A cloak lined in fur hung from his broad shoulders, and he had acquired a sword from someplace. The scabbard tip showed just below the hem of his cloak.
For a moment she couldn’t believe he was there. She froze, unable to breathe or look away, waiting for him to notice her.
When he glanced up and saw her standing there, several emotions