Chapter 33

The flight to Valhalla was exactly what I’d needed. Watching Claire’s excitement when she climbed on the gravicycle and Alec helped her strap on the safety harness, following as we navigated the inky black tunnels lit with vivid fluorescing rocks, hearing her cry of shock and triumph when we’d burst out of the tunnel in the skies above Aeden, it was like watching myself all those months ago.

We dipped down through the low clouds and skimmed the trees, their purple and blue foliage glimmering below. Two massive ravens flew nearby, their black wings throwing off the warm sunlight in a flush of iridescent violet.

They cawed at us and showed off, diving and swooping in welcome. I stood up on the gold rails of the gravicycle and cawed back, feeling an immense sense of freedom and relief. It was strange, but I hadn’t realized how much I had missed the underworld. I felt home.

We flew on, passing mountains, silvery streams and cerulean fields. I could see Alec pointing out various landmarks to Claire as we passed by, showing her the sights.

Finally, a giant sequoia pierced the distant horizon. As we grew closer, the seven golden spires of Valhalla became evident, circling the tree of life like children begging for candy from their mother. Above them all, the brilliant red sun of Aeden shown, casting its undying light upon the realm. As we passed over more fields and smaller buildings, Alec gradually slowed his speed from a breakneck 170 miles per hour to a sedate highway speed. He pointed at the cycle deck of tower three and started his descent.

We settled down at the far end of the deck in line with a dozen other gravicycles. While I removed my harness and started untying my gear, Claire hopped off their bike and jumped up in the air with a victory fist pump.

“That. Was. AWESOME!” She yelled. “Yes!”

I laughed. “I know, right?!”

“Please tell me we can do that again,” she danced over to me and begged.

“Oh, most definitely,” I agreed. “Hey Alec, where are those dunes you were mentioning?”

“There are some smaller ones near the sea here, but I was thinking we could go down the coast. The further south we go, the stronger the currents are on the sea that fuel the winds. The dunes there are huge, perfect for boarding. I don’t know why I never thought of it before. And with a few gravicycles at our disposal, who needs a ski lift?”

“I’m in,” Claire grinned.

“First though, we’re going to need to check in with Bran and debrief.” I groaned, and Alec continued, barely hiding his amusement. “And, of course, we need to check on your mother, and get Claire settled in.”

“Right, of course,” I sobered up. How could I have forgotten about my mom, even for a moment? Suddenly, I felt like the worst daughter ever. My feelings must have been clear on my face, because Claire wrapped an arm around me.

“Hey, it’s okay. I bet she’s dancing circles around the other patients by now. She’d be happy to see you smiling, you know.”

“I know. It just feels weird sometimes to be doing things without her. She’s been there every day of my life, you know? And now I’ve seen things I never even dreamed of, I have a whole new life, new friends, new home – and she’s missed everything.”

“I know. And I know she’d be so proud of you, too.” She hugged me.

“Hello Alec, ladies.” I looked up and saw Mireia striding gracefully toward us across the balcony.

“Mireia, hi! This is my friend, Claire Brucie. Claire, meet Mireia Yamuun. She can basically answer any question you could possibly have about Aeden.”

“Such glowing praise,” Mireia smiled, lifting an eyebrow. “Welcome, Claire. Jade informed you would be coming. We have prepared a room for you right next to Siri, so you will feel more at home during your visit.”

“Thank you, Mireia. That’s so great.”

“Alec, Bran is waiting for you in his quarters. He requested that you head straight there when you arrive for debriefing.”

“In his quarters?” Alec sounded surprised.

“Yes.” Mireia ignored the question in his voice and turned to me. “Siri, if you and Claire will come with me, we can get you settled in and freshened up before you head to see Bran.”

“Do I have to see Bran first? I’d really like to go see my mother. Is she awake?”

“Yes, she is, and yes, you do. Patience, faeling. Alec, did you need something, or have you forgotten how much your Commander hates to be kept waiting?”

“Um, no. Of course not.” He blushed and ran his hand along the back of his neck looking at me and clearly still not wanting to leave. “I’ll see you soon, Siri. Claire.” He nodded at us both and stalked away. I really hoped that he wasn’t going to be sent off on another mission right away. In just a few short days, I’d gotten used to having him around again.

Mireia waited as we hefted our bags, then led the way to the shady entrance to the tower. “We’ll have to remove our shoes,” I explained to Claire, dropping my stuff again and removing my sneakers. “They’re not good for the cala.”

“Cala?” Claire asked, slipping off her boots.

“Yeah, most of the floors here are covered in cala. It’s this amazing blue grass that helps fae bodies stay energized and healthy. Something about the mega-negative ions it gives off, helps keep us young and hot,” I winked.

Mireia laughed. “Not the most scientific explanation, but it’ll do.”

Claire ran her toes through the cala and sighed. “That’s amazing. Shag carpeting has nothing on this. Why is it blue? I haven’t seen a single green plant since I got here.”

“The red sun triggers a different response in the plants for chlorophyll production,” Mireia answered, “and the light waves slightly alter how the eyes see color, too. When exposed to the yellow sun above below, plants quickly turn green in a matter of days. The same goes for the plants from your part of the world. Within a week of exposure, they change to blue or violet.”

We followed Mireia through the tower to our rooms. I left Claire with Mireia at hers and opened the door to mine. As soon as I was through the door, I was tackled by a blur of white.

“You’re back!” Auroreis squeezed the life out of me. I hugged the fourteen year old back, brushing her wild platinum hair out of my face and laughed.

“I sure am.”

“Oh! You need to take a bath right away, your grandmother said so. But you mustn’t delay, your father is waiting in his rooms.” She started taking my things from me and prodded me towards the bedroom. “I will set out some clean clothes. Your bath is waiting, I ran it as soon as Mireia sent word you were arriving.”

“Okay, okay!” I laughed. “Geez. I missed you, too.”

She paused, eyes wide. “Did you really?”

“Of course I did,” I smiled. “And to prove it, I have some things for you.”

“Really?” She clapped her hands and bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Yes, really. But, I couldn’t find any jeans, we didn’t wind up having time to hit any stores. However, I was able to get you a pretty sweet collection of my favorite Midgard candies.” I started pulling the small packages out of my bag and handing them to Auroreis. “Skittles, Mars, Nerds, Mentos, and oh, my absolute favorite, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”

“These are really all for me?” Auroreis looked up at me with wide eyes.

“Yes,” I laughed. “Try not to eat them all in one sitting.”

She rushed forward, hugging me again, and then plopped down in the armchair by the closet to look through her new stash.

While she was safely distracted, I hurried into the bathroom and eagerly stripped off my clothes. There was nothing better than a bath in Valhalla. The water here was amazing, with a life force all its own. After a quick soak and thorough wash, I felt like I’d had a full night’s rest.

When I came out, Auroreis was gone, but she’d left an outfit on my bed: loose, wide legged linen capris and a form fitting midriff tank in a dappled grey with white trim. The best part, in my opinion? The tank top had seamless support built in, so I never had to wear a bra, not even for glima training. The fae in Aeden had the comfort market totally cornered.

I left my rooms and knocked on Claire’s door, which was opened for me by Auroreis.

“Mireia has assigned me to look after your friend, as well. I hope you do not mind. It’s so exciting to meet another mid-worlder!”

“Of course I don’t mind,” I laughed.

“Auroreis,” my grandmother called from one of the couches by the window, “please do let Claire know it is time to get out of the bath. I fear she may have fallen asleep.”

“Blissed out, more likely,” I giggled, watching Auroreis rush to the bedroom doors. I walked over and sat with my grandmother. “How are you? Did everything go smoothly? Did you have any problems getting here? What about my mom? Is she okay?”

“Easy now,” Jade patted my leg. “Everything went fine. No one gave us the least bit of trouble. Your mother is awake, they spent all night running tests on her and the other patients and released her this morning. She’s still supposed to rest, of course, although she’s never been one to follow doctor’s orders.”

“Where are your rooms?” I asked, assuming they were sharing a suite.

“I’m right across the hall from you. Given your connection with Alec, I thought it best to be nearby. Someone in this family needs to show some restraint,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Oh, not you dear,” she said absentmindedly, patting my knee. “It’s your mother. She’s…well, you’ll see.”

Worried, I started to ask what she meant but was interrupted by Claire bouncing out of her bedroom. She wore mauve linen pants and a cream ballet-style wrap shirt.

“These clothes are amazing. Siri, aren’t they the softest? And that water! Wow. My parents are going to have to come to Valhalla themselves and drag me home.”

“I hardly think that will be necessary,” Jade said drily. “You’ll return with me after Siri’s choosing. The only reason your father even agreed to this trip is because I vouched for your safety personally.”

“I know, I know.” Claire huffed and sat on the arm of the sofa next to me. “So, now what?”

“Now, I am going to take you on a tour of the city while Siri sees her mother with Bran.” Jade stood and brushed out the non-existent wrinkles in her pants.

We made our way down the hall to the central tower stairs, where we split up. The two stairs spiraled slowly around each other, one stair rising and the other descending – Jade and Claire went down, while I circled around to enter the upwards stair.

My father’s quarters were one floor above mine. It was weird that we were meeting here. I could count the times I’d seen his rooms on one hand. Mostly, we met in the Command center, where he was always working. My grandmother’s words had made me nervous, too. Why couldn’t I just go straight to my mom’s rooms? Had she woken up different somehow? My grandmother seemed to think her behavior was off. I hoped it wasn’t serious, but I was nervous that my father wanted to meet privately with me first.

With that thought, I found myself at his doors. I hesitated, taking a deep breath before I knocked.

Whatever it was, I could handle it. How bad could it be?

Alec opened the door. Looking extremely uncomfortable, he invited me in. I looked at him, questioning, but he avoided my eyes, a muscle twitching in his jaw while he fidgeted. I stepped into the room and looked around.

Oh, it was bad. It was really, really bad.