Llyano, page 11
part #5 of Beyond The Veil Series
“I missed you so much, Father. Mother. So much!” Llyano mumbled.
“Then never forget that we are always with you, my son. Always watching over you and are never disappointed in what you do,” his mother said.
“We have watched over you all these years and could not be prouder of who you are, son,” his father added, and they stood there for quite a long while, embracing each other.
When they finally separated, it was to Llyano seeing the tears falling down his mother’s cheek and his father with a look of intense pride in his gaze, and he felt his heart swell and fill with joy, setting aside his fears that they would have been somehow disappointed in him.
“Thank you, Mother, Father,” he said, turning his gaze to each of them in turn as he addressed them.
“Come, let us sit and talk,” his mother suggested.
And that was how Llyano found himself spending the majority of the morning, talking about any and everything with his parents, trying to catch up with their lives, if they were really and truly okay living here instead of moving on, and why they had chosen to remain instead of moving on. It touched a chord deep in him when they had told him that they remained because of him. They had not been able to bear leaving him altogether, even though they had passed earlier on, yet knowing all they’d left to him—the huge responsibility and the grief they knew he would experience—they had not been able to leave without a way of watching over him.
As he listened to them, he felt so choked up and so loved, yet it was as though they had never left him at such a young age. He had lived his life for several centuries after they passed, yet he never knew just how much he’d missed them until now, until right this very moment.
It pained him that he even had to bring up the thoughts he’d had in his mind the previous night and discuss it with them. As he talked with them, he had no desire to even raise the subject, he simply couldn’t. Yet the thought would not leave his mind.
“What troubles you, son?” his father asked, catching him by surprise.
Shocked that his father had been able to discern that something was wrong and that he’d been unable to hide it better, he shook his head, starting to deny that anything was wrong, but the narrowed gaze his father pinned him with, that look that ever said, don’t mess with me he’d received when he wanted to hide something, stopped him. Then again, his father had always been intuitive, and he’d never gotten away with hiding anything from them before. He had no idea why he thought he’d be able to do so now.
Sighing, Llyano said, “It truly nothing.”
“Son.”
“It’s nothing because I don’t believe it. It couldn’t possibly be true!” Llyano exclaimed, trying to explain why he’d said it was nothing. “It was just something that was said during the mating ceremony, but I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it because it is not true!” Llyano said, jumping to his feet and pacing in front of his parents.
As he paced, he missed the look that passed between the two elder Faes, and so when they dropped a bomb on it, it had him stopping in his track, his back to them as panic, disbelief, sorrow, denial and several other emotions flitted through him.
“Would this be relating to the fact that we are not your birth parents?” his father had asked, and he’d been unable to turn around to face them.
Llyano fisted his hands by his sides, shaking his head, trying to deny what they were saying. It couldn’t possibly be true. It was a lie, they were just repeating an unfounded rumour, every type of excuse jumped to his mind. Yet he could not turn around to discern whether it was true or a lie, because he knew there would be no going back if he turned and saw the truth on their faces. And that was something he could not stand.
“Look at me, son,” his father demanded.
Yet Llyano shook his head, his foot rooted to the spot. His breathing came out harsh, and inside, he returned to that little child who ran to his parents to solve his problems, who thought the sun rose and shone with them as they made his every fear disappear. Yet in this instance, he wanted to run away from them so that he would not hear what they had to say.
Strong hands dropped onto his shoulder and squeezed him, offering the support he so desperately needed, but wanted to get away from at the same time. Sighing, he allowed his father to turn him around until he was facing them and allowed their touch on his person as he slowly lifted his head to stare at them.
“Yes, we are not your birth parents. We found you on one of our outings, and unable to bear young, we took you in and every day with you had been a blessing for us. Every day is still a blessing for us, son, because we are your parents in every way that counts, even if we did not give birth to you,” his father said, succinct and straight to the point as always.
“Father.”
“We would have told you on your coming out celebration, but we did not live long enough to see that day, and for that, we are sorry,” his mother said, squeezing his arm. “You are my son, Llyano, and that will never change, no matter what.”
They pulled him into their arms in an embrace, and though he resisted at first, he was unable to hold strong against the emotions they brought out in him. Finally succumbing, he held onto the both of them tightly as though he never wanted to let go, never wanted the last few minutes to have occurred, but they had and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
When they finally separated once more, his mother led him to the seats and pushed him into it, knowing his strength had depleted with the shocking news.
“Tell me,” he asked in a soft voice.
And so they told him. How they found him, where they found him, how they did not know who his birth parents were, how they did not know who he was, but had taken him in and had raised him, and for all intents and purposes he was theirs.
They talked for a long time until Llyano had had to leave to get ready to depart with his mate back to the Wind Kingdom. Their good-bye had been teary even as they escorted his entourage to the border, yet those few hours together were ones he’d never wish to forget.
Shaking his head to clear the memory from his mind, Llyano responded, “I am not ready to discuss it. Later.” At Solax’s raised brow, Llyano sighed and said once more, “Later, later, when my mind settles, I will tell all.”
Solax nodded and began talking about any and everything, trying to distract his mate from his thoughts and give him something else to occupy the time with, and that was how they spent the rest of the day until they reached the drawbridge where Llyano’s men awaited their return.
* * * *
Three Weeks Later
“Your Majesty, the situation in the lower Dari has seen no improvement. Each time we think we have a lead, it slips past us and winds up a dead end, and more than that, another two girls have gone missing. What orders do you have for us, sire?” Ashrin asked, standing in the receiving parlor in the residence space of the king’s rooms.
Solax and Llyano sat on seats adjacent each other as they dealt with the issues of the kingdom as they cropped up.
“I am aware, Ashrin. However, I will leave you and your men to keep dealing with the issues until a solution is found. I will handle it from a different angle.”
Fealen frowned. “You found something, My King?”
Llyano nodded once. “Nothing worth mentioning just yet, but it’s a start.”
“We hope so, Your Majesty. In that case, we will take our leave and keep monitoring the situation,” Ashrin said, bowing.
“Send Icham in on your way out, will you?” Llyano ordered, and watched the two generals depart.
“Are you done with the letters, my love?” Llyano asked, turning to face his mate who was seated beside him and busy writing out the correspondence they needed to go out today.
Solax looked up from what he was doing and gave Llyano a fond smile. “Almost. Then we can have the rest of the day to ourselves.”
“And what have you in mind?” Llyano queried with a raised brow.
“You’ll see,” Solax responded cheekily, and got back to finishing up the correspondence.
Just then, Icham walked in, ever smart and ready to carry out the wishes of his monarch. “You asked for me, My King.”
“Icham, I need you to send out these mails to the kings of the four kingdoms. Make them aware of the urgency of the content in the letter and no one but the kings are to be privy to the content inside. Do you understand?” Llyano asked, gesturing to the letters Solax was diligently working on.
“My King?”
“It’s of the utmost importance that they each get this letter in two days. Whatever you need to ensure this happens is at your disposal,” Llyano said, picking up a special permit with his royal seal on it and handing it to Icham. “This will ensure nothing hinders you in this journey.” Once Icham accepted the permit from him, he turned to face his mate. “Is it done?”
Solax was quiet as they finished up the correspondence and sealed each four of them with the royal seal, then dropped each into individual packages and turned to face his mate, nodding as he passed them on. “It’s done.”
Llyano accepted the packaged correspondence and handed them over to Icham. “It must get into the hands of the kings themselves and no one else, do you understand? No one but the kings themselves must see it or know about it.”
Icham accepted the correspondence, nodding his understanding of how important the content of the correspondence were for his king to keep emphasizing it. His chest swelled with the level of trust his king had in him to personally ensure that he was up for the task at hand.
“I understand, My King. I will not fail you. I will make all haste to ensure these are delivered.”
Llyano stared at Icham for a while then nodded his head, satisfied with what he saw. “May your journey be swift and efficacious.”
Icham bowed to Llyano, then turned and bowed to Solax, then swiftly swept out of the room, knowing well that the kings could have chosen others to fulfill this mission, but he’d been chosen and he would not fail, no matter what.
Chapter Fifteen
The royal tree house was alive with activity as the monarch of each kingdom began arriving within days of each other. The servants worked efficiently to have the monarch settled in properly, and attending to all their needs as they arrived alone, knowing the urgency to which they had been called for.
With the request for them all to join Llyano and his mate in his study sent to all four monarchs, they walked into the room, unable to rest, for their need for more information on the dire news they had all gathered for.
“You received the same correspondence, I presume,” King Aaeren, King of the Fire Kingdom asked of King Galen, king of his neighbouring kingdom, the Earth Kingdom as they settled into a couch adjacent each other with their mates.
As the two monarchs entered the room, they forwent greetings, trying to get to the heart of the dire matter that had had them departing immediately after receiving the correspondence, without any time to make proper preparations or depart with a proper entourage. Aaeren and King Radisq, mate of Aaeren and Prince and Regent of the Water Kingdom held each other’s hand together, knowing that they had left their son in capable hands, with Aaeren’s mother and brother Yves.
“We left as soon as we got it. If the contents of that letter is to be believed, we are indeed at the precept of great destruction,” Galen answered, his stoic expression giving nothing away except for the tightening of his arms against the hand his mate, Finc slipped into his side.
Although not popular knowledge, as he kept his identity anonymous and mysterious, the famous author Funchent was also Finc, an Earth Fae and the mate to the Earth King.
Just then, Llyano and Solax swept into the room, dressed in their regal attire. Servants poured in after them, bearing platters of delicacies and ale and wine and drinks, and so many different types of dishes.
“I am glad we were all able to make it in such short time. This is my mate Solax, Guardian Spirit of our realm. Solax, this is King Aaeren of the Fire Kingdom and his mate, King Radisq of the Fire Kingdom, Prince and Regent of the Water Kingdom.” He gestured to the next couple and introduced them also. “King Galen of the Earth Kingdom and his mate King Finc.”
“A pleasure to meet you all,” Solax said graciously, with a smile bestowed on each monarch.
“The pleasure is all ours. It’s high time Llyano found his mate and some happiness also,” Aaeren said, smiling at the couple.
“A pity we could not make it to your mating ceremony. And happy felicitation on the happy occasion to you both,” Galen added.
“Thank you. It would be good for us all to meet under better circumstances,” Solax said.
“We will have to make arrangement for it,” Radisq answered with a nod of his head.
Llyano smiled at his mate, then clarified, “King Finc is also the famous author Funchent.”
“Nooo!” Solax exclaimed, staring at the blue-eyed king with white blond hair in shock.
Finc chuckled and the rest of them joined in at Solax’s reaction. “It never gets old, the reaction I get when everyone discovers the truth.”
Solax winkled his nose then turned to his mate, hitting him on his arm. “How come you never told me? You were keeping me in suspense, weren’t you?” he asked pouting prettily.
“I did tell you I had a surprise for you,” Llyano said with a laugh.
And just like that, they spent time, talking and getting to know each other as they delved into the platter of food and drink offered to them, laughing and catching up until all the food was gone and the servants cleared the table, then topped the wine decanter and the ale jug.
“We must get down to business now,” Llyano said when the last of the servants left the room, and just like that, the cheery atmosphere disappeared and heavy silence filled the room as each monarch turned their thoughts to the dilemma at hand.
“Tell us everything. There must be something we are missing,” Galen said.
“Yes. Let’s hear it from the start and we will proceed from there,” Aaeren added, brushing his fire red hair away from his shoulder.
Llyano sighed and nodded, getting to his feet as he walked towards the open space balcony just a short distance away and stood staring out. “The first time I sensed something wrong was when I was having my morning meditation. It was a pin prickle. Nothing that should have caught the attention of anyone, yet I never missed it. At first, I dismissed it at nothing. It must have been my imagination, I told myself. Nothing to worry about. A month after that, I felt it again, a bit wider but there all the same. There was something wrong with the very foundation of our realm. I expanded my senses, trying to track it, wanting to know what it was, it could not be a coincidence that I’d felt a similar thing a month ago. I traced the disturbance, trying to find out what it was, what had caused it,” Llyano said, then folded down to sit cross-legged on the floor, his hands resting on his knees as he closed his eyes. “When I could not locate what the problem was, I began making notes of when and where I felt the disturbances.” Using his power over the wind, he rustled the papers on his desk and floated it over to them, having each of them go through the duplicate notes he’d made for them.
“These are…” Radisq began.
“Yes. Dates, times, and where in the very fabric of our realm where I felt cracks, disturbances,” Llyano confirmed, knowing that they were giving it their full attention even though he could not see them.
“After much thought, I realised that during the mating ceremony between my mate and myself, the one who bound us together gave us a clue to solve this problem, for if we do not do something about it, this world as we know it will collapse and crumple upon itself. We will not survive without the magic of this world for it is an intricate part of us. Gentlemen, simply put, our entire race faces extinction.”
“By the fates!” Radisq exclaimed.
“My goodness!” Finc exclaimed also.
“We must do something. We cannot sit by and allow our people to die!” Aaeren said.
“What message was imparted onto you?” Galen asked.
Solax dragged in a deep breath then began reciting word for word exactly what the male who had bound them had said. “Mating for my people is different from that of the Fae. I am a guardian spirit and thus not Fae.”
“What is a guardian spirit?” Aaeren asked.
“Suffice it to mean, we are the embodiment of all magic and the very foundation of every realm in the universe.”
“Whoa. Every realm?” Finc asked.
Solax nodded. “Now as I was saying, a mating ceremony for my kind is different, and so Llyano and I had to enter the realm of my people through a gateway in order to ensure our mating is recognised. During the ceremony, the male who bonded us said this…Fae and Spirit, Guardian and Fae. Possible and impossible, shades of grey, cracks in the fabric, fabric of time. Hmm, hmm. What to do, what to do. Llyano asked him who he was, and his answer was this – Questions, questions. Always curious, son of wind, wind son. Better yet, who are you? Ah, yes, yes. It would be. King yes, Croesan line, no. Hmm, yes, yes. You are wind, son of wind, wind son. Son of wind, wind son, you are. Ignorant, yes, yes. Ignorant. Find the glow in the dark and all will be clear. Yes clear, all will be clear. The glow in the dark, answers, answers, the glow in the dark. Guardian heart, match, match. Hmm, a perfect fit, strange, strange. Yes, strange indeed. I wonder, wonder. Ah yes. It would be. It must be. Very well – then he bound us together and we saw him. From his next words, it occurred to me that no one had ever seen him before, we were different,” Solax finished, his voice belying his confusion.
“What did he say?” Galen asked.
“He said – You see? Yes, yes. You see. It would be you, it would. When Solax asked him if he was the guiding spirit every mated pair referred to, and yet no other else other than the mated pair understood, the man responded by saying – A misconception guardian. You see as none other do. You are bound, two lifetimes stretched to one. You must remember, yes, yes, the key is the glow in the dark, but you must remember. I asked him, remember what and he said –Fabric of time, all must align.”
