Page 101 of The Rebel Seer

“Very much,” she replied with a smile. “She came to me when I was low. I didn’t know why, couldn’t remember my dreams with the exception of how terrible they were. She saved me. There was something inside that told me I wasn’t in the right place.”

He sat up, not an easy task in the small bed. They were forced to cuddle all night and his feet hung off, and it was the best sleep he ever had. “But you were.”

“I know that now, but at the time I felt,” she seemed to think about what word to use, “so far away. I didn’t understand it, but I was too far from you. Now I know. If I had been born near you, I would have been human.”

“If you had been born on my plane, in my timeline, you would be roughly fourteen years old,” he pointed out, trying to ignore his insistent cock. “I would have to protect you and stay away from you for years.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she replied with a frown, and her eyes were on his chest.

“You are not afraid of me?”

She shook her head. “Another good reason to have been born Fae this time around. I was raised around all manner of creature. They do not frighten me. Though now that I think about it, perhaps I need better senses when it comes to danger since I thought marrying the evil king would be a good way to save my plane.”

He had almost forgotten. “You need the marriage for your kingdom. You said something about a blight.”

“We have not had a fertility god or goddess for many, many years,” she explained. “My people were struggling, and then Ostara was discovered. She had been trapped by men who thought to use her power. They died, but she remained in the prison. One day some curious children found the cage they held her in buried in the sand of a cave. They freed her but she was weak. She found me and I ascended. However, she was still weak. We heard word of a wizard who could funnel energy to non-corporeal beings.”

“If it’s Myrddin, he cannot. Or rather wouldn’t. He’s not known for his good deeds.” This was what he needed so he didn’t fall on her and scare the hell out of her before she was ready. He needed to think the problems through. “You said Devinshea sought you out as his bride.”

“I believe he heard about my ascension,” she explained. “There are several Fae planes in this timeline. I come from one that accepts both Seelie and Unseelie Fae. My plane is not directly attached to the Earth plane, as this one is. From what I understand there is one Seelie plane and one Unseelie plane both attached.”

That was how it was in his time. From what he could tell, the land remained the same. It was the people who changed given what forces sculpted them. “I know the royals traveled to several different Fae planes other than the attached ones.”

“I lived on one founded by a group of Fae who hated the wars between us and wanted to live in peace. Which we do for the most part. My mother is Unseelie and my father Seelie. So both tribes are represented by our crown. But when we lost our Green Man no one would help us. After so many years, not even the gnomes could make it work. We thought we would have to find new lands or be taken back into the sitheins here. And then Ostara brought us hope but

even inside me, she was a shadow of her former self. So we met with witches who put us together with Myrddin. He brokered the marriage between us and Devinshea, and it seemed perfect because Devinshea did not want physical relations with us. He was honest about finding his love. He wanted only her but would accept a political marriage.”

“My darling, then what did he get from the marriage?” Marta had been somewhat naïve. She believed the best in all people.

“Apparently he got to try to peel Ostara off me and eat her soul.” She laughed. “Sorry. Ostara is calling me a silly girl for believing that. She says you cannot eat a soul, as your friend Shy could attest. Though she does appreciate that is a question we should have asked. We were naïve.”

“Shy? What does she have to do with it?”

“Nothing to do with it, but your friend should be able to put the pieces together. Ostara believes she now knows what the wizard is trying to do,” Meadow explains. “She didn’t understand why he has spells and charms to draw in deceased souls. She felt them, knew what they were, but it didn’t really register. She’s so much stronger now, and that means her memories are stronger as well. The magic from last night truly revitalized both of us.”

“He’s trying to draw in souls? To what purpose?” His body was humming with energy.

“I don’t know, but perhaps Shy would since she is made of the energy that turns the wheel.”

He’d heard the phrase before but he didn’t understand. “I’m confused by that. I’ve known Shahidi for several years. She’s never shown powers beyond being able to talk to the dead. It’s been very useful. She’s trained hard, and she’s good at hand-to-hand combat and several weapons, but I don’t understand what you mean by turning the wheel.”

“The wheel is life,” she explained. “Think of it like a year. You are born in the spring. You live in the summer. You die at the end of the fall and rest during winter. You make your choices during that sleeping time. It’s different for all people. Sometimes that winter is the blink of an eye because the soul knows what it wants. Sometimes the soul lingers. It watches and learns. The soul makes a choice to move forward, to stay somewhat where they are, to change forms entirely. I made that choice, Sasha. It’s why I trust what is between us. Whatever I saw when I passed into this turning, I knew being born Fae would lead me here.”

He reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips. “And I am so grateful for your choice, my love. But how would Shy turn the wheel?”

She stopped for a moment, obviously listening to the voice inside her head. “Ossie says she’s made of an ancient magic. She looks human but she is not. She says it’s been at least two thousand years since she felt the presence of that magic on any plane. You see while there are many different versions of human and Fae and other creatures, there are those whose souls are completely unique.”

This he had figured out. “Gods like Bris. Goddesses like Ostara.”

She nodded. “Yes. And, if I’m correct, beings like the wizard Myrddin. The simple fact that he can cross timelines without using the stones proves this. Shy did not need the stones. When you are ready to go home, she can get you there.”

If she was right, then he could get them all out now. But he had to be certain. “Because of this magic she has?”

“She doesn’t have the magic. She is the magic.” Meadow frowned, an expression that did not mar her beauty in the least. “She does not know, does she? She believes she is human, which is why I sensed the small distance between her and the Green Man. She worried she would not be enough for him, but the real question is the opposite.”

“Shy has always worried her magic is too dark for Rhys, though for a long time she had a passenger. A bit like Ostara, though Harry didn’t have the same power. He lived in her soul space and he was Rhys’s grandfather.”

Meadow smiled. “Soul space. A pretty name for it and a bit true. Ossie is wondering how the magic found its way to become somewhat human. Arawn destroyed it when it became clear he would have to retreat with the Fae. It was too dangerous to keep in Annwn. He had certain symbols—you might call them objects of power. The Golden Torc, the Cloak of Invisibility, and the Cauldron of Rebirth. The cloak was given to a group of powerful beings who were creating a race of kings.”

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