The Last Lullaby (The Spellsinger Book 1) Read online

  “Interesting.” Torin looked Banning over. “Your sword doesn't seem sharp enough to make such a strike.”

  “There are a lot of metaphors flying around, gentlemen.” Cerberus frowned. “Are you talking about your cocks in reference to my girl here? Because I'm starting to get mad.”

  “You're not the only one.” I gave Torin and Banning hard looks. “Banning, we discussed this; I'm not interested. If you're here to help, fine, but if you're just going to put stress on a relationship I actually want to be in, you can leave right now.”

  Banning's strong jaw clenched, his regal nose lifted, and his stunning green eyes flashed. He looked back at his gura and considered things, then finally nodded.

  “The blooders I brought with me came of their own free will,” Banning said. “We are here because this is a battle that needs to be fought, and won, here in Tír na nÓg. None of us want it to spill into the human world. The European Falca has been notified, and they will send more troops if we require it. They have also offered me a clean slate, as it were, for being here.”

  “So you didn't just come for me?” I smirked.

  “There were multiple reasons for my joining Cerberus,” Banning offered. “But you are among them.”

  “Two songbirds with one stone, eh?” I shook my head. “How very like a blooder.”

  “You should know,” Banning said smugly. “You were one.”

  Torin shot me a look, but wouldn't show his hand by asking in front of Banning.

  “Decide now, Banning.” I narrowed my eyes on him. “Me or the Falca? Why are you here?”

  “So I must reject you, if I'm to be allowed to stay near you?” Banning lifted a brow.

  “Yep,” I said as I grabbed Torin's hand. It had begun to slide up my thigh inappropriately.

  “As you like.” Banning nodded to me. “I choose the Falca then.”

  “A wise decision.” Torin nodded. “One that ensures my hospitality and your continued existence.” He waved some servants forward. “Show our guests to their seats, and prepare some rooms for them, it seems as if they'll be staying awhile.”

  “May all the gods help us,” I muttered.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Banning hadn't meant it when he said he chose the Falca, of course he hadn't. He had made the best tactical maneuver, the one that kept him closest to his goal. And then he'd waited, biding his time. His opportunity came the very next evening, when I'd gone to Torin's library for some private time. I needed to search through my iPod, and find songs for the battle. I had my earbuds in, so I didn't even hear Banning come in.

  I gave a startled yelp when he sat beside me on the leather couch.

  “Sorry.” He gave me an apologetic grin. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

  “Banning,” I sighed, and scooted down the couch, away from him.

  Torin's private library was just three doors down from his bedroom. Between them was a study (a sort of Shining One version of an office) and his private dining room. The entire floor was reserved for the Onyx King. There were guest rooms, but only a few, and I was the only guest occupying one . . . technically. I kept some stuff in the room across the hall from Torin's, the one he'd originally imprisoned me in, but I never slept in it anymore. I mainly used it for getting dressed in the mornings.

  Torin had removed the enchantment from the walls of my guest room. But as he'd pointed out, now that I had the relic, it didn't really matter. I could have removed the enchantment myself. Anyway, I didn't expect Banning to be up there, much less to come striding in like he owned the place.

  “Why, Elaria?” Banning didn't try to touch me, just stared at me as if I'd betrayed him. “Are you still angry with me for letting you die?”

  “Banning, I'm not angry with you. You didn't do anything to me; that was Fortune.” I held up a hand when he started to ease forward. “I'm just not interested. Even if it is true, and we were once lovers, it has no bearing on this life. I'm sorry; I don't feel anything for you.”

  “Yet . . .” His jaw clenched, and I got a flash of the gheara he was- relentless, determined, ferocious. “I'm certain that if you'll just give it some time, the memories will surface, and you'll feel as you once did.”

  “I'm certain that I won't.” I knew I needed to just rip this Band-Aid off as fast as possible, and get the pain over with. “I admit that I saw some images of the past which may or may not have been created by the power of suggestion.”

  “You think your mind is making it up?” Banning scowled. “Elaria, you must feel the truth in them. What did you see?”

  “I'm not getting into this.” I started to stand, but he grabbed my wrist.

  “Just tell me what you saw. Please.”

  “Fine.” I sighed and sat back down. “But I'm not telling you what I saw until you confirm something first.”

  “What? Anything.” He leaned forward eagerly.

  “What color was Cosmina's hair?”

  “The woman who killed you?” Banning's eyes went wide. “Did you see her?”

  “What color?”

  “Red,” Banning said, and my stomach flopped. “A vibrant auburn. It didn't look natural. Like my own hair, it was enhanced by immortality. Was that what you saw?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “She was above me, laughing.”

  “As you died.” His eyes shut, and his features twisted with pain. “She laughed as you died. The endless years can make some of us very cruel.”

  “Indeed”-I huffed-“and not just blooders.”

  “What else did you see?”

  “You, dressed in lace.” I gave him a little smile and flicked his blond hair. “Your hair pulled back with a ribbon.”

  “That was the fashion of the time.” He smiled back.

  I felt a twinge of attraction, which I immediately stamped out. Nope, not going there with a blooder, no matter how hot he was. I didn't want this, even if there had been no Torin in my life. But there was a Torin, and our relationship made me want Banning even less. What was some dusty memory compared to the vivid ones I forged with Torin every day?

  “I still don't want to be with you, Banning,” I said softly.

  “You just haven't remembered fully yet,” Banning offered. “Give us a chance, Fortune.”

  “Elaria!” I hissed as I stood. “My name is Elaria. Now please leave.”

  “I'm sorry.” He shook his head. “I just... your face... I got a little confused. Forgive me.”

  “You're forgiven if you leave.” I pointed at the door.

  “As you like.” He sighed heavily as he stood. Banning started for the door, but paused when he came abreast of me. “You will remember more, Elaria, and then you will understand. This is not a love that can be ignored.”

  And then he left.

  I crumpled back onto the couch with a relieved huff, but there was a nagging tickle in my chest- this horrible feeling that he might be right.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “I can't believe you brought Banning here when I expressly told you I was going to Tír na nÓg to get away from him,” I hissed at Cerberus.

  We were behind the castle, in the training fields, working out maneuvers that would keep our side safe from my spellsinging. This was more complicated than you might think. We were preparing for a huge war, and I wasn't sure how many soldiers I could enchant at a time. So we had to do practice runs using non-lethal spells, such as singing them to sleep. Once I knew roughly how many men I could manipulate at once, as far as mind control went, we then needed to work out how I could attack certain areas on the battlefield without hurting our troops.

  First we'd tried a series of horns. But we'd had to make a different type of horn call for each of our twelve units. Cerberus, his shifters, and Banning's gura made up their own fighting force, while Onyx had another. Then there was Jade, Peridot, Topaz, Chrysocolla, Citrine, Jet, Howlite, Garnet, Fluorite, and Alexandrite. So far. Other kingdoms were still deciding which side to be on. We had some intel on Sapphi
re that had told us they had support from Diamond, Malachite, Jasper, Opal, and Tiger's Eye. However, we didn't know for sure if there would be more joining Galen's cause.

  Our allies hadn't given us their whole fighting forces to train with, but they had sent some of their commanders, with small units of men, to work out the details. Then they would return to their kingdoms to train the rest of their soldiers. I'd had no idea that the tactical aspects of war took so much time. On top of all that, there was the traveling to consider, the location of possible battle sites, and the spying.

  The Shining Ones loved subterfuge, and they were fantastic spies. This was great because it meant we received a lot of information on potential threats. But it also meant that we were probably being spied upon as well. It was hard to keep battle plans under wraps when you had so many allies. The more people involved, the more lips to let things slip, and the more ears to overhear the slippage.

  But that was all for later. At the moment, we were working out the movements of units. As I mentioned, we'd tried horn calls, but there were so many different groups, we'd had to make a type of horn Morse code, and assign a series of bursts to each one. It had been a disaster.

  Men had fumbled about, going in all sorts of directions, bumping into their compatriots, and generally causing a big mess equivalent to a twelve-car crash on a highway. It was simply too hard to count horn blows while trying to battle an opponent. Everyone was confused. It looked like a comedy act, except with armor and a lot of clanging. The Shining Ones meets the Marx Brothers. It would have been funny if the fate of all the worlds didn't rest upon our shoulders.

  Finally, we'd decided to simply use some human technology. The European Falca had sent reinforcements at Banning's request, and Cerberus sent some of his men back into the human world to meet the new recruits and ferry them over with traveling stones. While there, Cer had his men gather supplies, including communication devices. Each commanding officer would have a set. Sir Hugh, the onyx knight assigned to guard me while I sang, would have a set as well, and would relay my orders to each commander on when to pull their men back out of my magic's reach.

  So now that we had that worked out, the teams were trying to figure out how to fight together. The commanders had all given their input as far as tactics went, Cerberus contributing a fair amount, and now those plans were being put to the test in a mock battle. Cerberus had handed control of his men over to Banning, deciding to take a back seat so their unit could function more smoothly under a single leader. There were more blooders in their group than security men anyway. So Cerberus was able to sit out the maneuvers. Torin, however, was with his soldiers, working them through the movements efficiently. He looked amazing in his jewel-studded leather armor, riding horseback among his knights.

  I hated to admit it to myself, but Banning looked pretty impressive too, even though he was on foot. There was an air of confidence and control around the blooder, and he led his group expertly. If he hadn't been so outnumbered at Crouching Lion, I doubt he would have needed my help. His soldiers looked strong and capable, and they obeyed his commands as if they'd done so for centuries, even the reinforcements from the Falca. He just had that aura about him that made people want to follow him.

  I had very little to offer the proceedings, so I was standing upon a little rise with Cerberus and Hugh. We had a nice view of the proceedings. Hugh was intently watching everything play out, writing notes down for the report he intended to present Torin with later. So Hugh wasn't listening to our conversation. Or if he was, he wasn't letting on.

  “I had no choice.” Cerberus defended himself. “Banning was there when I got your message. He announced that he would be joining me, and then went to gather his blooders. I didn't even have the chance to refuse. Besides, I figured you'd need all the help you could get.”

  “All right, fine,” I huffed.

  “And he's a good guy.” Cerberus smirked. “I mean, if you're not going to be with me, he's an acceptable alternative.”

  “I'm already with Torin”-I smirked right back-“in case you hadn't noticed.”

  “Yeah, I noticed,” Cerberus huffed. “Everyone has noticed.”

  “You got a problem with Torin?”

  “No, actually.” He chuckled ruefully. “He seems like a good guy too. It's just loyalty to my friends, you know?”

  “Well, how about being loyal to this friend, and support my choice of boyfriend?” I nudged his shoulder with mine.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Cerberus gave in. “But what happens after this is over, El?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This is convenient now.” Cerberus shrugged. “You guys are working together to save all the worlds. But when this is over, what then? You gonna move out here for good? Give up the human world? All that money you just made?”

  Of course Cer would focus on the money.

  “Why would I have to choose?” I frowned. “It's a little soon for that, and I have a traveling stone now.”

  “So you're just going to jump back and forth through the Veil?” Cerberus lifted his brows.

  “Why not?” I huffed. “Maybe he can come visit me too.”

  Cerberus gave me a look that clearly said what he thought the chances of that were.

  “You never know; he may want to.” I rolled my eyes. “It doesn't even matter right now. We'll talk about it when it does.”

  “All right.” Cerberus said it like it was no big deal, but the damage had been done. He'd planted the seed of doubt.

  I looked over at Torin, where he stood, directing his troops, and I felt myself scowl. Torin looked up at me as if he could sense my stare. He frowned, seeing my expression, and started toward me. I waved him off and forced myself to smile nonchalantly. Torin narrowed his eyes, and my smile brightened. Nothing to see here, move it along, sir. He stared a little longer, gave me an intimate look, and then went back to work.

  “He's kind of big for a fairy,” Cerberus noted.

  “Yeah,” I said appreciatively.

  “You like big guys?” Cerberus transferred his speculative stare to me. “How did I not know this?”

  “Down, boy,” I teased him. “You know we would be bad together.”

  “Yeah, we'd go down in flames.” He smiled brightly. “But what a way to burn.”

  “It would be.” I winked at him.

  Then an echoing boom filtered back to us from the front of the castle. An explosion. A big one. Everyone started running toward the sound, Cerberus and I included. It was a bit of a sprint to get around the massive edifice of onyx, and it took us a few minutes more to reach the main courtyard. There were already numerous knights rushing about, some returning from the site of the disturbance.

  “What happened?” Torin asked one of them.

  “The Onyx Gardens, Your Majesty,” the knight reported as he pointed back from where he'd come. “Some of the statuary has been destroyed.”

  “That sly bastard,” Torin growled. “Bring me a horse!”

  There was a lot of movement around the stables, but one of the knights dismounted before a horse could be saddled for Torin.

  “Take my mount, Your Majesty.” The knight offered Torin his reins.

  “My thanks.” Torin mounted, then held a hand out to me. “Elaria.”

  “Oh.” I rushed forward and let him help me into the saddle before him. “Okay, I guess I'm going too.”

  Torin smiled briefly, and slid an arm around my waist. He maneuvered the horse back toward the Onyx Gardens expertly with just one hand. The guardian statues actually formed a circle around the castle grounds, and I had a vague thought that it was strange to choose the front as a point of attack. Wouldn't the back be better? We'd been training back there and might have caught them if they had gone that route. But they shouldn't have known that. Maybe they'd heard the commotion; training for war isn't exactly quiet. Still, the thought nagged at me.

  The other knights went into formation around us, and the sound of hoof beats vibra
ted through the shivering air. It seemed like my heart was beating along with the pounding hooves. We rode through the gates, and down the packed dirt road in tense silence. Torin had warned me that there would probably be skirmishes before the big battle, but this sneaky attack had shocked me. We reached the edge of the gardens quickly- it was right outside the courtyard- but we had to travel a ways in, before we arrived at the site of the explosion.

  There was a huge, black smudge marring the vibrantly green grass. Roughly circular, with long streaks shooting out from its center like a star. Across this smear were the remnants of several onyx statues, just a mass of debris now. Torin stopped our horse at the edge of the soot circle, and dismounted before helping me down. He headed over to the spot, and stared down at it, fists on hips, frowning.

  My feet took me past Torin, straight into the eye of the explosion. The men started muttering behind me. My gown, one of the many Torin had provided me with, swept through the cinders, snagging on bits of stone. I didn't care. I could feel the pain radiating from the broken gem, and it was calling to me.

  Crystals can hold energy; that was the purpose of these gardens, to store enough magic to form a protective shield around Onyx. A shield that could also be turned into a sword by the king. But gemstones could absorb things other than magic, trauma being one of them. The stone may not have actually felt pain, like you or I would, but it carried the weight of it. I don't know if I'm describing it right. The stone held the memory of the hurt. A record of the explosion, which included a jarring break of its enchantment. In my mind, I registered the feeling as pain.

  “Elaria, what are you doing?” Torin stepped carefully over the bits of stone, as a squeamish man might do at a gory crime scene. “Come away from there. We'll have to . . .” He swallowed hard, and I turned to see the strain on his face.

  “You feel it too,” I said gently, and held my hand out to him.

  “They've injured my onyx.” Torin's eyes looked wounded, as if he'd taken the damage himself. He latched onto my hand, and stared into my eyes, “Of course I feel it. I created these guardians. Their spells have been broken, the stone shattered. It cries out to me. But you shouldn't be able to sense it. What exactly are you feeling, Elaria?”