Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

Gods, everything hurt. Dyna’s body felt spent and her veins throbbed. Muffled voices filtered through the hum in her ears.

“These will be your chambers during your stay, my lady,” someone said. “I’m the stewardess of this castle. You may call me Madam Kahna, and this is Noemi. We will see to whatever you require.”

“Thank you,” came Lucenna’s soft reply.

Dyna forced her heavy eyes to open. She found herself on a bed. Lucenna stood at the door, speaking to a dainty, orange-winged female. Beside her stood an older female, her expression stern. Gray streaks wove among the brown braids holding back her hair in a bun, her wings matching in color. Both wore light blue robes that flowed to their feet, long sleeves trimmed silver, with a silver pin of a tree at their necks.

“You will be called shortly for dinner,” the eldest said stiffly. “There is a bathing room through that door. Please see that you wash up and dress appropriately for his lordship.”

Both curtsied before retreating.

Lucenna shut the door. She smiled with relief when she noticed her and came to sit beside her. “Oh good, you’re awake. Are you all right?”

Dyna sat up, pressing a hand to her heart. “Why does my chest hurt? Where are we?”

The guest room was large and rounded in a circle, the floors and walls constructed of a smooth stone with gilded gold designs along the decorative columns. On the left of the room rested two large canopy beds made of a dark wood. Sheer tulle hung across the posts of both beds with white satin bedding and pillows.

On the opposite wall, flames crackled in the grand fireplace. Her mind flashed with the image of the divine swords held above black wings.

“Cassiel!” Dyna gasped and stumbled to her feet.

Lucenna caught her arm. “He’s alright, Dyna. You stopped the exile.”

“What?” She blinked at her a moment, her mind slowly working to understand that and the fact that Lucenna was holding her arm. Skin against skin. “The zaps…they’re gone.”

“When I placed you in the bed, you didn’t rise. Either you passed through the Rising, or you expelled so much power, there wasn’t enough to make you hover.”

“What do you mean?” Dyna stepped away. “What happened?”

The look that entered Lucenna’s eyes made her heart drop. She already knew what Lucenna didn’t want to say, but she had to hear it.

Dyna looked to the open terrace with a view of the tree line outside. “Did I…hurt someone?” At her silence, she whispered, “How…many? How many people did I…?”

“Two lost their lives.” Lucenna’s voice sounded far away.

Two.

She was saying something else, but Dyna couldn’t hear her clearly anymore. A piercing sound rang in her ears, muffling all else. The room was tilting.

“Dyna.” Lucenna grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Take a breath.”

She was. She was breathing while others weren’t. That was her doing. Hers. She had wanted the barrier gone, wanted power, well now she had it.

Desperate for air, Dyna rushed for the veranda and pushed through the doors. It took her into the brisk chill. Her boots caught the floor and she fell against the banister. It was an accident. She didn’t mean to do it. She didn’t mean to.

Breathe…

Lucenna was there, but Dyna pushed her hands away. Everything was closing in on her and green light flashed at her fingertips again. Her mind was tunneling, her vision darkening. Control. She needed control. To focus on something else.

Anything else.

The sound of distant laughter reached them. She glanced down through her blurred vision at the stone bridgeway suspended between two sections of the castle. Ladies in fine dresses walked arm in and arm, their wings fluttering behind them.

“A wedding!” One mused excitedly. “And an ascension, all during the festival. Can you imagine?”

“It will be the grandest event held in Hermon Ridge,” said the other. “Lord Jophiel will spare no expense in assuring only the best is prepared for Prince Cassiel’s wedding.”

Her breath caught. What—

“As he should. Lady Sarrai is the jewel of the north. Who else could possibly belong at his side? Their union will do well for the Realm.”

“It’s a splendid match, indeed.” The ladies passed under the veranda, their voices fading away.

It was all that was needed to still Dyna’s mind for a moment. It was quiet. So deathly quiet.

“Dyna…”

All of her attention then focused on her friend’s face. On the shock woven in Lucenna’s features, the worry. It could only mean that Dyna’s mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. She’d heard correctly.

Something happened while she was unconscious. Cassiel went from nearly exiled to engaged to another. Whatever chance she had of being accepted as Cassiel’s mate vanished when she attacked them with her magic. Even if that didn’t happen, being removed for another…made sense.

Who else could possibly belong at his side?

A vicious twisting started in Dyna’s gut and spread to her lungs, her throat constricting. The sensation swarmed through her being so painfully that she thought something had splintered somewhere inside. Like a piece of her had fallen out of place.

“May I ask why such an adorable creature looks as if her world has ended?” a male voice faintly asked.

Dyna looked up, blankly staring at the pureblooded Celestial standing on the banister. The setting sun radiated behind the young male as if he had walked out of Heaven’s Gate. Locks of gold hair fell around the angles of his face. He wore silky robes as white as the wings on his back.

As the sun finally faded, the last streams of light haloed him, glinting off the gold circlet on his brow. He tilted his head at her curiously. One edge of his mouth curved in a soft smile. “Dynalya Astron, I presume.”

She stood upright and dipped in a curtsey. “An honor to meet you…Prince Asiel.”

There was no questioning it. The family resemblance was obvious. She stepped back as he landed on the terrace.

Lucenna hissed something under her breath. Asiel ignored her, his blue eyes on Dyna’s face.

“The honor is mine.” He bent in a courtly bow, and his gaze flickered to her hand. “You are bleeding.”

She glanced down at her scraped knuckles, blood seeping from the torn skin. It must have happened when she tripped into the banister.

Asiel brought a finger to his mouth and bit it until he drew blood. He reached for her hand, but she stepped away from him, shocked by his offer. “I can heal you,” he said, his smile a little too kind. “With a drop of my blood, your lovely skin will repair instantly without a scar.”

“Thank you, Your Highness, but I must respectfully decline,” she said firmly.

Why was he here? This was wholly inappropriate, especially to offer such a thing. He knew the laws.

Asiel canted his head. “You don’t wish to be healed?”

“Not from you.” Dyna winced at how rude that sounded. “I mean, you cannot give me your blood. It’s illegal.”

Cassiel had told her that she couldn’t take blood from another Celestial. Ever. Doing so would defile their bond.

“Very well. Tell me what caused these tears?”

“It’s nothing important. Might I ask why you have come?”

“To our chambers no less,” Lucenna added behind her.

“You don’t have to lie to me,” he said, disregarding both of their comments. “Whatever it was, it must have been very important for you to cry.” The prince reached out to wipe a stray tear from her cheek.

Dyna jerked her head back and he raised his eyebrows at the reaction. That was twice he had attempted to touch her and she couldn’t help but suspect he was trying to Soul Search.

“You have heard of me, and only bad things it seems.” He tutted. “Pity. I would have enjoyed getting to know you without reservations.”

“No, Cassiel … speaks very highly of you.”

Asiel chuckled at her lie. “It’s kind of you to say so. It must be something you do, to put yourself before others. The way you did when you stopped my cousin’s exile.”

“You were there,” Dyna said, realizing she had seen him before. “In the throne room.”

He’d been the one holding Sarrai back during the sentencing.

“I make it my business to know who enters my kingdom, my dear.” Prince Asiel tilted his head as he studied both of them with delight. “And I see two fair maidens. The God of Urn surely bestows upon me.”

Lucenna placed herself in front of her. “Cassiel warned us about you,” she hissed. “I think you should leave.”

He had? Dyna didn’t know anything about any warning, only that he wasn’t fond of him.

Prince Asiel leaned his head back and laughed. “My cousin has a talent for overreacting and spinning lies. Though I haven’t the faintest clue what he has spun this time, I assure you it’s false.”

Lucenna conjured a crackling purple orb in her hand, and it filled the air with menacing static. “Leave.”

“Well, I best be on my way, then.” Prince Asiel grinned further. With a flap of his wings, he rose into the twilight sky. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Dynalya. A beautiful name for a beautiful flower. I hope you have any thorns. You will need them.”

Then he lowered in a courtly bow and flew away. The warning lingered with Dyna, and she looked down at her hands that still looked too soft. Even after killing two Celestials, he only saw a helpless female.

Sweet little scarlet flower…

Dyna ground her teeth. That’s what they all saw.

Lucenna waited until he was completely out of sight before extinguishing her magic.

She frowned. “You threatened the Lord’s son.”

“I don’t care. Cassiel doesn’t want him lurking around you.”

“Why?”

“Because he is something of a rake. He makes a sport out of seducing virgins.”

If Dyna wasn’t so taken aback by the other news she heard, she might have been more shocked or perhaps laughed. Instead, she merely gazed down at the far treetops below. Lucenna came to stand by her as they watched the Celestials fluttering about, lighting torches outside of their homes for the incoming night.

“When I saw humans living here, I dared to hope,” Dyna whispered. “That everything would be all right.”

But that spark had died as quickly as it had formed. The thought of being allowed to stay with him seemed so impossible now.

“And why shouldn’t it be?” Lucenna asked her. “What we heard could be a mere rumor. Even if there is some truth to it, you haven’t given Cassiel a chance to explain. Don’t assume anything until you have spoken to him first.” Lucenna brushed her messy hair aside. “I have seen the way he looks at you, Dyna. You’re his bonded. His life-mate, his wife, should you need clearer words. I would be very remiss to believe he would so easily cast you aside for another.”

I care not what the Realms say. I am yours and you are mine.

That’s what he told her and she believed him.

It was easy to feel insecure when comparing herself next to the beauty of Sarrai, yet the thought of anyone else attempting to take him from her made flashes of magic coil through her fingers.

“Dyna.” Lucenna looked at her worriedly. “Come, it’s too cold to linger outside.” She led her back for the doors. “How do you feel now? Is your power spent?”

Her Essence felt strong, nowhere near dwindled. “It’s perfect. Only my body feels tired. Does this mean I passed the Rising?”

Lucenna winked at her. “Yes. You’re acclimating.”

“But I lost control.”

“Your magic unleashed to protect Cassiel. I think you have a hold of your power. It’s your emotions that need to be tamed.”

“How bad was it?” Dyna asked. “The throne room…”

Lucenna cringed. “Um, well, it’s completely destroyed. You turned into this green deity of terror that even had Prince Malakel cowering. I had to strike you to make you stop.”

Oh, that explained why her chest was sore.

Dyna remembered finally what it had been like to wield so much power and it frightened her. She was grateful Lucenna kept her word, because she would have killed Malakel. In that moment she wanted blood, wanted to draw out her claws and make him pay.

I could easily become a monster, too.

Should you ever let her out, she would be glorious.

A shudder went through her.

“Honestly, you were a little frightening,” Lucenna said as they entered their room. “Remind me to never stand between you and the grumpy prince.”

But they paused when they found the Celestial with orange wings waiting. She gave them a shy smile and curtsied.

“My lady, I’m here to help you dress for this evening’s dinner with our Lord.” She motioned to the dresses laid out on the beds. “I have already prepared the bathing room.”

“Ah, perfect,” Lucenna said. “I would love to have a hot bath.”

Noemi smiled shily, her brown eyes soft and bright. Her wings trailed after her as she headed for another door. “If you will come this way, my lady.”

They entered a stone room with a large full bath built into the floor. Steam hovered on the surface. They undressed and slipped in. Noemi poured floral smelling oils and soaps into the water and worked on washing their hair.

“Thank you, Noemi,” Dyna said as a gentle stream of warm water slid through her scalp and soothed her sore body.

“Of course, my lady.”

“Is it odd to have us here?” Lucenna asked on the other side of the massive bath as she scrubbed her arms with a washcloth. “Must not be every day you serve non-Celestials.”

“No, not very odd at all,” came her cheerful reply. Noemi ran her fingers through Dyna’s hair and murmured in soft awe in the language of the heavens.

Dyna smiled tiredly. “What did you say?”

“Oh, pardon. I was admiring your hair, my lady. I have never seen such a color.”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

“I was thinking the same of your wings. They remind me of sunsets and the orange poppies dancing in the meadow outside of my village in the summer.”

It reminded her of home and made her a little nostalgic.

The servant stopped to stare at her a moment, and her eyes seemed to water before she grabbed a brush and slid it through Dyna’s hair.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Noemi sniffed, giving her a tearful smile. She spoke a soft reply in her language and this time Dyna understood the thank you from the tone.

“I wish I could speak your language. It sounds lovely.”

“I will teach you, my lady. What do you wish to learn?”

Dyna thought of Cassiel, hearing his voice when he spoke in his language. She fought the knot forming in her throat and reminded herself she made a promise about their bond. And she was going to keep it. “Well, there is one thing…”