Dawn came too early. The sun rose over the ocean, and Ben watched its rays over the water, like so many diamonds. He felt Kora stir turn in his arms, and she was watching the ocean too. It was the last peaceful moment they felt they would have for a while. Holding her close, he kissed her neck and shoulder. Feeling Shadows massive warmth behind them, he stuck a wet nose into Kora's ear, and she giggled quietly, not wanting to disturb their friends who had also fallen asleep around the fire. Looking over, they could see Malik wrapped around Ludis who was snug against his chest. Ian was sprawled, and drooling - with an empty bottle of rum in his hand and the cards strewn about him. Choking back a laugh, they turned towards each other and cuddled. Footsteps in the sand announced the quiet arrival of Stella and Royce. Ben winked at Royce, who blushed a little before scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Stella smiled at Kora, and she could see how Stella seemed to glow with happiness. The ring on Royce's hand did not go unnoticed. They all sat up quietly, and began to pass around breakfast, left over from Royce and Stella's untouched picnic. Ludis sat up and stretched, then reached for a pastry stuffed with sweet jam and creamy cheese. Malik reached for one as well, and Ian stirred, groaning. Smiling, Ludis reached into her pack and handed him a small vial.
"Hangover cure, ask Royce. It is the best." Ian nodded his thanks and downed the contents. Sputtering, it tasted vile; he felt as if he was going to heave. Ian struggled for a moment, and then it was as if he had never drank. The hangover was gone. He gave Ludis a look of new respect and she beamed. Royce laughed.
"If you knew how many times she's saved with me with that vile cocktail, you would send me to that drinkers meeting they hold at the temple on 4th of the month." They all chuckled at this. The silence after was starting to get tense, and Malik sighed.
"Well, as you figured. We have things to discuss. We could not be on vacation forever." The group nodded, and Ian spoke up next.
"I was able to decode the messages from the Men of the Grey."
Malik took the parchment he had stuffed in his shirt and handed them over, Kora snatched them first, after reading, her face drained of color.
"Who else has read these?" Her voice was quiet. When Ben tried to take them from her hand, she held them away.
"Just Ian and I." Malik said slowly. He was watching his sister's face. She was furious.
"You are sure these are the coded messages found in Cade's study." She looked at Ian accusingly. He too, could feel her anger and spoke slowly.
"Lass, those are the messages you handed me yourself." Kora threw them into the fire and began to smash them into the embers. The others were shocked, while Malik and Ian looked on.
"Well Kora, those where the only copies I brought, but since I planned to destroy them anyway, I can't be to upset." Ian was looking at her, and they were all curious now. Malik and Ian had suspicions, but not wanting to blurt too much, they waited. Kora was pacing now, and Ben stood. He stopped her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders.
"Kora, what is going on? What did the letters say?" Ben was talking softly, trying to calm the beast he saw rearing in Kora's eyes. She looked like a cornered animal.
"They were love letters… From Drew. The man who turned me to stone. The exact ones he sent to me … when we were lovers." Ben froze. While he knew that Kora was no virgin when they had become lovers, the shock that the man who had been torturing Kora's nightmares was also the lover who had turned her to stone sent him reeling. In hindsight he should have made the connection of course. But knowing this now, it all clicked into place - the additional fear and agitation, the pushing him away. This also meant that the Men of the Grey, their leader- knew that those messages would be decoded, and she would see them. He had been playing them - and Cade - for far longer than they realized initially. Turning to Ian, his face hardened.
"Do we know how long Cade had those letters?" Malik spoke up now,
"The notes from his studies indicated he was in communication with the men of the grey for at least 4 years. They are dated from that period. Either Cade did not know what to do with them to decode them, or he had been directed to purposely leave them in his belongings. I expect that the grey men's leader had expected him to fail." Ian nodded gravely to this.
"All intelligence I have gathered does point to that fact, he never planned for Cade to succeed at whatever he had been attempting. His goal was strictly to start placing seeds of doubt, and to report on Kora's business. He sent regular reports on her to them, and did keep records of those, he was not a total idiot." Ian detailed the reports from memory. Kora's habits, what she ate who she spent time with. The details of her and Ben becoming lovers, and her growing friendship, then adoption into the royal family. No other records of her could be found, on her age- origins, nothing. It was Royce who spoke now.
"So, he is obsessed with Kora, we knew that. He wants to eat Kora's heart. We know that. We also know she must give it up willingly, which will not happen. So why are you here Ian, as much as I enjoy your company." Indeed, Royce and Ian had become fast friends.
"I am afraid that you are being tracked. Once the mages you sent home reach their destination- they will know when and where they lost you. I believe Ben, or any of you at this point - are their target. The leader intends to use you as leverage to gain Kora's … cooperation." Ian spoke quickly, glancing at Kora's stricken face. She knew this was coming. Again, she was putting those she loved in danger, just from existing.
Ian pulled out a map and began to detail when the spies had lost track of Kora.
"That was where Ludis gave her the necklace, to ward off the dreams." Royce was leaning over the map, and Stella spoke up.
"So, the necklace stopped the trackers?"
"He was tracking her through her dreams, able to tell where she was whenever he tortured her in a vision. I have seen magic like this before…" Ludis too was leaning over the map, thoughtful.
"He is going to hurt one of you, or all of you. I cannot let that happen." Kora was shaking, and Shadow had moved behind her to support her. Ben too was holding her by the waist. Her anger was palpable, she was almost vibrating. They could feel the disturbance in the air, the earth was starting to react to her anger. Vines began to creep along the beach, the waters started to get choppy. The once open sky was now dark with clouds. Stella walked forward and grabbed Kora's hands.
"You must relax. Or do you want to just shoot a beacon into the sky so the enemy can see where you are?" Kora's eyes flashed at Stellas harsh tone, and she closed her eyes, trying to breathe. The vines retreated; the sea calmed. The clouds began to lighten and drift away.
Ian let out a small sigh of relief. Though he had read all the reports of What Kora had done in Ludis's rescue last winter, he did not think he was quite ready to see it in person.
"Well, we got to ask. Kora, you were uh... Close to this fella for a while. Do you know anything that could help us cut this guy down? The men of the grey are still very weak. He is promising them if they can obtain your heart that all will be just dandy for them so anything you know could help." Kora's anger flared again, and she whipped around to look Ian in the eyes.
"Do you honestly think if I knew how to kill this man, he would be torturing me still? I do not even know how he is alive right now! He was 27 when we met, and that was almost 1505 years ago! He was not a stone statue; I can assure you. He admitted in my last vision he had made the mistake of turning me to stone. Drew thought he had to turn me to stone, to use me as a conduit for draining the magic from the earth. He discovered after that all he had to do was eat my heart." Kora was bitter.
"Well, that must've pissed him off something fierce." Royce - getting a small sense of satisfaction at the enemy's mistake.
"He was looking for the one who could break the curse. Remember Royce, the story you told me after we saw Koras powers in Kerr village?" Ben was talking now; Royce nodded.
The daughter of Mab whispered a spell with her last breath, for one to free her from the curse. It floated on the wind, looking for one worthy." Ludis knew this tale and finished the sentence.
" Mabs daughter crumbled to ashes, no one came to save her. So how did Kora…" The light bulb went off, and she looked Ben over with new appreciation.
"Impossible." She murmured. Kora turned, looking over Ben slowly.
"They chose you." Kora sounded … accusing. Ben was confused, and he held his hand out.
"I don't know what that means." Ben did not like where this was going.
"Fae legend tells of the destruction of Mab's daughter, and how her last spell created a fae's other half. The stories go that your love is not chosen by you but by our ancestors." Kora paced as she talked.
"How did you all find Attrition Castle? How did you find the sacred ground of the Fae?" Kora was almost shouting, realization dawning on her. No one spoke.
"HOW?" Ben stepped towards Kora, who moved away, backing into Shadow's side.
"I … had a vision. I saw the men of the grey in front of the castle. I followed them down the path to the cave … and I saw you." Kora covered her mouth, looking up to the sky.
"You… saw me through magic. So- so nothing about this is then?" Kora was fighting the tears, feeling as if her heart were being ripped out. Drew did this. He cast a spell to make Ben enamored by her. He took the stories of old and bent them to his will. For her to be enamored by him. Then he could break the curse. It was not true love, it never was. She should have known; it was too good to be true. He set this all up so she would be taken in, to be tricked into loving these people. All of it was so he could get her heart. The tears came, and she held back a wail. It worked. She loved them all. Ben was walking towards her, anger on his face. He grabbed her face, looking into her eyes.
"This is real. What I feel for you is real. Love cannot be fabricated by magic. You KNOW this. We are real. All of us care about you, how can you not see that?" Ben was shaking, he felt like his lifeline had been cut. He remembered the strange obsession he had felt when he first met her. The feeling of not being able to breathe when she was not around. Even if the Men of the Grey had made some spell to make him obsessed, that did not account for anything else they had shared. He loved her! Didn't he? He saw the look in her eyes, knowing she had felt his brief hesitation, and he cursed. seeing her slip away from him, from all of them. Kora yanked her face loose and continued to back up, shadow was confused and felt her sudden agitation, his hackles began to rise, and he was curling himself around her. Malik and the others approached slowly, aware she was fragile, and Shadow was reacting to her emotions.
"Kora, think about this. Even if Ben had been under a spell, false love can only go so far. We all love you. Please, do not do anything rash." Malik was speaking calmly, approaching her slowly. He was soothing, like he was talking to a frightened child. Royce tried.
"Kora, see reason here. You must look inside yourself. You know what the truth is here. We are here with you." Ludis and Stella held each other, tears in their eyes while Ian remained still, as if he had turned to stone. Did they really love her? Or was it all part of Drew's design to trick her again? Kora did not trust herself; she had been fooled before. When she thought she knew… She closed her eyes, and buried her face in Shadows fur, trying to breathe through the pain.