Page 40 of Unseen Lord

"Kayla and Tavian would have moved her. She's safe, I assure you. Let's go. We're almost there." Arias is no-nonsense as we move deeper into the jungle. Theo rests against my chest, sleeping and shivering. Duke scouts ahead, sniffing at everything.

It's slow going, slogging through the thick undergrowth of forest that's now heavy with moisture. My feet keep getting stuck in slime so gross I feel like it's crawling up my legs. But eventually we arrive at the mouth of a cave covered by hanging moss that blocks visibility of the entrance. Arias pushes the moss away and invites us in.

For the first time in hours, the rain can't reach us. The inside of the cave is drier the further in we travel. I shiver at the memory of recently being buried alive, and Elias wraps an arm around me. "Cold?"

"Traumatized," I say, and recount the story.

He raises an eyebrow. "So now I know two of your greatest fears. What's the third?"

I snort. "Nice try. You'll have to wait on that one."

Let's just hope I'm never in a position to tell him.

It's the worst one.

The cave is spacious, the stalactites so high above us I'd have to ride Theo to reach them.

As we walk further, I hear the echoes of others at a distance. Then closer, until we reach a cavern filled with those who made it from the village.

There's a huge fire built in the center, where people are warming themselves, and smaller fires scattered throughout for families to converge around.

I scan the crowd and see Kayla administering healing to those who need her. When she sees us, she heads towards us, her face constricted in worry. "What happened?"

Arias frowns. "Nothing good. Where's Tavian?"

As if summoned, he joins us from the shadows, nodding a greeting at Elias.

"Is there somewhere more private we can talk?" Arias asks.

Kayla leads us through the cavern, whereupon I see that accommodations have been made for a longer term stay. Beds are laid, small fires already have pots hanging over them for food, and children are distracted by dolls and games.

I look for Lala and her family, but don't see them immediately, and we turn a corner into a more private section of the cave, one where it seems Kayla and Tavian have set up their quarters. We sit on furs around a fire as Tavian passes out blankets for us to dry ourselves with while we explain what happened.

At the end, no one looks thrilled. Dejected is a more apt description.

"There's something we need to tell you," Kayla says softly. She's speaking to all of us, but looking straight at Arias.

Oh shit. Whatever it is, it's heavy.

"What?" Arias asks, his jaw hardening.

"When you died," Kayla beings, "it was… it devastated all of us. Especially your parents."

Arias makes a move to interrupt and Kayla holds up her hand. "Your birth parents. They were heartbroken. We all were. When you rose from the dead with your powers, we discovered you because even as an infant you were strong. You inadvertently devastated a village, trying to find home."

Arias sucks in a breath, and Elias and I stay silent.

"We realized then that you had the Water Spirit, and we feared a prophesy had come to pass."

"What prophesy," he asks through gritted teeth.

"That a High Fae born of the Druid Spirit would destroy the world. It was a prophesy told to Arianna on her wedding night. If anyone had found out you lived, and carried the Water Spirit, they would have killed you out of fear. That is why Tavian and I raised you in secret. We thought it would be the safest for you, and that we could help you learn to control your powers."

Double shit. Because you see where this is going, right?

"But I'm not the one spoken of in the prophesy, am I?" he asks, pain in his voice.

Kayla's head drops, and Tavian places a hand on hers and speaks. "No. It would appear you're not. Aya is."