before in the past two years, but I
was a little surprised to hear it from the noble before me. He had been among
the ten families that had just been given permission by Sethian to seek out a
human bride a moon-cycle ago. That he had found a bride so quickly was
astonishing. There were some from the very first group that had set out seven
years ago that still hadn’t had any luck.
I glanced at Saeria, and she shrugged. “We can go now if you like.”
When we arrived to the point between worlds he had been frequenting,
I could tell immediately that this was going to be another bust without the blonde
woman who was sitting in a daze in the middle of the field having to even say a
word. This was what a lot of the nobles didn’t understand. Here under a Sidhe’s full enchantment, a woman would agree to anything because to her, this was only
a dream world. However, almost every time the women returned to the human realm
and their minds became clear again, they freaked out about what had happened
and would never return.
Seeing this dazed woman, it now made sense how he had found somebody
so quickly. He really hadn’t. There was no way she would pass Sethian’s final
test to gain permission for the change in this kind of state. Still, I had
promised the noble I would talk to her, and I would.
I was so busy observing the woman that I didn’t notice that the
noble had stopped at the threshold of the “door” we had used to enter this
space.
Without warning, he lunged at me. I don’t know if he had intended to
grab me or push me into the space beyond the barrier between both realms where
God-only-knows what terrible thing would have happened to me, but the moment
both hands came within an arm-span of me, they disappeared up to his wrists in
an instant. There had been no flash of light, no sound, or not even a sign that
his hands had met with some kind of resistance. They were just—gone.
I stared in a kind of horrified shock as he fell, screaming, to his
knees, holding out his arms before him to reveal two perfectly healed stumps
where his hands had been only seconds ago. They looked like amputations that
had happened years ago, the skin only slightly darkened along the end of the
stumps and none of it bloodied or even reddened with inflammation.
However, even though the stumps looked completely healed, the elf
continued to scream and scream while the poor human woman he had probably
forcibly brought into the Inbetween as his red herring rocked back and forth
with her arms wrapped firmly around her knees, having woken up from the elven
enchantment straight into what had probably seemed like a nightmare.
Understandably upset about all the attempts on my life, Thaylan had
somehow used his spatial manipulation abilities along with the natural familial
bond we had between us to erect a barrier around me that he had said would
prevent anyone with ill intent from harming me physically. When I had pressed
him for more details, he had just shrugged and said that his gifts were
instinctual, and it wasn’t something he could really explain
Even though we had tried to keep what had happened that day a secret,
word had still somehow spread, but instead of causing the problems for Thaylan
that Sethian had feared, it had instead been the solution to mine. No one has
tried to come after me physically since.
Now, despite my misgivings, Sethian, the children, and even Thaylan,
himself, have the same protection, but that was the maximum amount of barriers
he could maintain without draining his personal reserves of energy too much.
But now Thaylan was gone, off studying with a renowned,
four-thousand-year-old mage from the Lithvir Sidhe for a year,
and I knew that Sethian was secretly worried that the attempts on my life would
start again. Not only that, but this time there were also a handful of human
brides now living in the realm that could also be targeted. None of them had
conceived yet, so I prayed that some
was a little surprised to hear it from the noble before me. He had been among
the ten families that had just been given permission by Sethian to seek out a
human bride a moon-cycle ago. That he had found a bride so quickly was
astonishing. There were some from the very first group that had set out seven
years ago that still hadn’t had any luck.
I glanced at Saeria, and she shrugged. “We can go now if you like.”
When we arrived to the point between worlds he had been frequenting,
I could tell immediately that this was going to be another bust without the blonde
woman who was sitting in a daze in the middle of the field having to even say a
word. This was what a lot of the nobles didn’t understand. Here under a Sidhe’s full enchantment, a woman would agree to anything because to her, this was only
a dream world. However, almost every time the women returned to the human realm
and their minds became clear again, they freaked out about what had happened
and would never return.
Seeing this dazed woman, it now made sense how he had found somebody
so quickly. He really hadn’t. There was no way she would pass Sethian’s final
test to gain permission for the change in this kind of state. Still, I had
promised the noble I would talk to her, and I would.
I was so busy observing the woman that I didn’t notice that the
noble had stopped at the threshold of the “door” we had used to enter this
space.
Without warning, he lunged at me. I don’t know if he had intended to
grab me or push me into the space beyond the barrier between both realms where
God-only-knows what terrible thing would have happened to me, but the moment
both hands came within an arm-span of me, they disappeared up to his wrists in
an instant. There had been no flash of light, no sound, or not even a sign that
his hands had met with some kind of resistance. They were just—gone.
I stared in a kind of horrified shock as he fell, screaming, to his
knees, holding out his arms before him to reveal two perfectly healed stumps
where his hands had been only seconds ago. They looked like amputations that
had happened years ago, the skin only slightly darkened along the end of the
stumps and none of it bloodied or even reddened with inflammation.
However, even though the stumps looked completely healed, the elf
continued to scream and scream while the poor human woman he had probably
forcibly brought into the Inbetween as his red herring rocked back and forth
with her arms wrapped firmly around her knees, having woken up from the elven
enchantment straight into what had probably seemed like a nightmare.
Understandably upset about all the attempts on my life, Thaylan had
somehow used his spatial manipulation abilities along with the natural familial
bond we had between us to erect a barrier around me that he had said would
prevent anyone with ill intent from harming me physically. When I had pressed
him for more details, he had just shrugged and said that his gifts were
instinctual, and it wasn’t something he could really explain
Even though we had tried to keep what had happened that day a secret,
word had still somehow spread, but instead of causing the problems for Thaylan
that Sethian had feared, it had instead been the solution to mine. No one has
tried to come after me physically since.
Now, despite my misgivings, Sethian, the children, and even Thaylan,
himself, have the same protection, but that was the maximum amount of barriers
he could maintain without draining his personal reserves of energy too much.
But now Thaylan was gone, off studying with a renowned,
four-thousand-year-old mage from the Lithvir Sidhe for a year,
and I knew that Sethian was secretly worried that the attempts on my life would
start again. Not only that, but this time there were also a handful of human
brides now living in the realm that could also be targeted. None of them had
conceived yet, so I prayed that some
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