Diddero and Raja had gone ahead. They had found a mutual interest in rock climbing, and Diddero was bringing Raja to see some of the climbs he had mapped out. Because she needed to become stronger, and possessing the skill to climb a mountain could prove helpful, she promised to try it. But Natalia couldn't quite see why Raja found it entertaining.

As she waited, she laid her outer robe by the stream and waded in the water. The water rushed by her feet, tickling her ankles and toes. The stones beneath her feet were smooth, worn over time by the rushing water.

Natalia wiggled her toes happily; she could not remember the last time she had walked barefoot in a river. Perhaps, it had been before she had married Lukas. After their marriage, the responsibility of being the wife of the Academy's most influential student made her feel she could no longer do such childish things. For how long had she lived under Lukas's shadow? She stopped walking and stared at the flowing water contemplating this new thought. Lukas had shaped her entire life. She had been his friend, lover, wife, and finally, his captor and savior. Now, what was she to him, and what was he to her?

When Water arrived, her heart fluttered as the singing began. Leena explained that the Lady, as they called her here, loved to sing for her friends. When magic users heard her song, the Lady was happy, which made Natalia happy too. Then Natalia heard Destan's contralto voice added to the Lady's soft soprano. She turned and saw the man standing at the bank closest to the cottage staring at her with a gentle smile. His mouth didn't move, yet his song infused her body, leaving it lighter and refreshed wherever it touched.

He had to have been younger than her, the Queen was near Lukas's age, and as she had read in his thoughts, he was her younger brother. But he was so calm and wise; he seemed almost ageless. She beaconed him to join her, and the slight blush and hesitation he responded with betrayed some of his youth. Natalia chuckled softly once he made his decision and peeled off his boots before rolling up his trousers.

As Destan waded out to her, she appreciated his body. Though she felt a strong feminine element in him, his outer form was masculine. He had the shape of a man who often swam, with broader shoulders than she would expect for his petite frame and a muscular chest. She had felt that chest against her hand and body during her healing, and the memory sent tingles through her belly.

His dark hair fell into his eyes when he leaned forward to watch his step. His hazel eyes, which had been so familiar to Raja, must be the same as the Queen. Was it the shape or color that resembled her, or was it both? She could not imagine anything of the Queen in this man's open, lovely face. But, they were of the same blood, the same parentage. Had he been a female at birth, he would have been a rival and likely never have survived.

"The water is refreshing," Destan commented as he reached her. "It is a nice day for this."

"Yes, just hot enough for wading, but not yet for a swim."

"Is there a lake?"

"Yes, Diddero showed us. It is filled with mountain water, so cold."

"There should be ways to heat it."

"I believe the Master can, can you?" Natalia was curious as to the extent of this priest's power.

"I do not know. I have never tried it," he replied.

She stepped forward and stumbled unexpectedly. Destan grabbed her elbow to steady her, threatening to pull them into her Mindspace.

"Try your shield," Destan prompted. "Keep me out." She complied and found it more comfortable than before. He let go of her elbow and smiled.

"The Shield Master will show you a better way, I am sure, but this will work until your lessons begin." He sounded almost proud of her, and she was pleased when she thought of it. She had blocked him despite a prolonged touch, something she had not been able to do with someone unshielded.

"Why do you not have a shield?"

"I have no Mind Magic," he admitted. "The Lady will protect my mind if needed, but I am hopeful that Diddero or Jiyun will be able to share their talents with me, as theirs are not fully grounded in the magic of the mind."

"Are they not?" How did this man know so much about the Vale's guardians?

"No, or at least that is what The Master believes," Destan reddened.

"How do you know what The Master believes?"

"It is a story for another day," he admitted sheepishly. She debated asking him more but noticed Raja and Diddero walking toward them.

"We should go to the shore; our escorts are returning." Destan followed her gaze and nodded, giving her his arm for support.

They had just returned to their things when Raja cried out, and a wave of emotion pushed through their bond. Destan caught her as she fell towards the ground under the weight of the feeling.

"Diddero, block the bond," Destan yelled as his healing power attempted to stop the pain she was experiencing. Suddenly it was gone, the emotion, the pain, and the bond. After the shock of the pain, followed by complete silence, faded, and fear took over. Natalia wriggled out of Destan's hold to approach Raja. Destan trailed behind her with their clothes in his hands. When she reached Raja, Diddero had an arm around the kneeling man and supported him.

"What is wrong?" Destan asked Diddero.

"I don't know. Nothing has broken through the barrier."

"Lukas," Natalia answered as she understood the flood she had felt. Raja looked up at the sound of his lover's name, and she could see the elation in his eyes. "Lukas happened. He has reopened the bond."

=====================================================

The sun's light bothered his eyes as he slept. If the sun was shining, it was time to wake up. Usually, he would be up before the sun, but was it morning? Raja sat up as the shock of the memory hit him.

Lukas. Raja reached through the bond and found his connection with Lukas completely open. Lukas' thoughts and feelings were so close that they could be his own. When they had first bonded, this had been the most challenging part of what he had to learn, separating their thoughts.

Needing to separate their thoughts led Lukas to learn how to narrow the bond. Lukas had never said it, but Raja had known that Natalia had not required the narrowing of the bond. Maybe it came from growing up together or just showed the strength of her Mind Magic. Raja had not experienced much merging of thoughts with Natalia. Her disciplined mind kept them separate from the very beginning. He could hear her when she wasn't guarding her feelings but never felt her thoughts as his own. Lukas had not expected to overwhelm Raja the first time, but he had invaded his mind with intention this time. Raja felt an edge of anger and possessiveness hovering in the background of Lukas' opened mind.

The door creaked slightly as Natalia entered his room.

"Tali?" Raja stood and joined her by his window. "How long was I sleeping?"

"A few hours. Destan had to help you sleep. You were so overwhelmed with the bond magic. It was reckless of Lukas to open it so abruptly."

"It was punishment," Raja corrected. "He knew what it would do to me. He was punishing me and rewarding me."

"I don't like it." Natalia touched Raja's face. He felt her disapproval and wondered what she would think of the man Lukas had become since they had parted. It was the first time Raja had felt the two might no longer be compatible.

"He has forgiven me in some ways, but he wanted me to know how much pain I caused. He knows me, and this is the best way for me. I understand how he feels, and I accept it."

"I just think you are happy he is back in your head." She laughed and dropped her hand from his cheek.

"I am," Raja admitted, then his stomach rumbled, an empty vessel craving sustenance. "Have I missed dinner?"

"Yes, I had some brought up. It is waiting in the sitting room. All cold items so that it would keep." She walked to the window in his room and looked out. "I worry about it."

"About what?"

"About who he is now and who I am now." She glanced up at Raja, and he realized she could read his thoughts much better than he could read hers. "I have always been Lukas's - whatever I was at the time, and now, other than carrying a bond with his mate, we have no connection."

Raja encircled his arms around her, pulling her back against his bare chest as she stared out the window. Her need for comfort overwhelmed his need to eat. She didn't speak but leaned into him, allowing him to embrace her as she entered his Mindspace.

================================================

She sat on the bank of an unfamiliar river. Her mind was controlling what they saw now. Her feet dangled carelessly in the water. Her hands were plucking at the small white flowers all around her.

"Tali?"

"I was raised along this river. My father taught me about fishing and the plants dotting the banks. Which we could eat, which were poison, and which we could use as a medicine or for cleaning." She rested against Raja as he sat next to her.

"When I was five, I tested for the Academy. I remember being so nervous that day. Lukas crawled into my bed before dawn to comfort me. I didn't know until much later how he had known to come." Raja saw rooms appear in the near distance.

"He grew up in my home, his parents . . ." she paused to remember.

"Traveled for your council as ambassadors." Lukas had told Raja about his parents.

"Yes! It was always so festive when they returned from their travels. And so many gifts."

"The test?" Raja brought her back to the original story.

"We found out that day that I had strong Mind Magic, like Lukas. We would only learn the extent as I got older. I joined Lukas at the Academy the next day."

Raja saw flashes of a frightened young girl entering a tall building holding a young blond boy's hand. This must be his Lukas; he had never seen him so young. Then he gained brief glimpses of Natalia training with Lukas and other children. But this blurred by to another day with none of the joy. He felt Natalia stiffen as the scene changed as if it had not been volitional.

"I feel the Earth in you!" The voice he heard was full of rancor. As the scene solidified, they stood outside of a grand temple. Guards dressed in the Queen's colors stood like a blurred painting in the background. Earth priestesses surrounded an older but still young Natalia. The Earth Priestess Superior yelled angrily at Natalia, who stood dejected before her. "Your backward people taught you nothing! Do you not understand the Earth's power?" A hand slapped the girl's face as other priestesses looked on in anger. "How could you reject it?"

"I didn't reject it. I failed this test," the older Natalia standing next to him whispered. "The Earth rejected me. I understand now that their connection with the Earth was too primitive to have felt the difference." He heard laughter in the background as the Superior slapped her again, then took out a knife.

Another priestess stepped forward and laid a hand on the Superior's arm. She must have been very high in the temple to have attempted to restrain her Superior. The superior threw off the hand, sliced Natalia's cheek open, and threw her to the ground. After this, the Superior knelt beside her and chanted to the Earth, forcing a bond. The Earth responded, opening cracks around them. As the Earth rose to cover Natalia, Raja saw fear touch the Superior's eyes.

"This is not my memory," Natalia's cold voice penetrated Raja's engrossment in the scene. Of course, it wasn't. How could she remember when she was lying on the dirt bleeding? Yet they saw the scene clearly.

"Sister." Raja felt the words more than he heard them. "You came to us too early." A boulder grew under the older priestess, forcing her to let go of Natalia's head. Natalia still bled into the earth and could not rise on her own. "Sister, I felt your gift of blood. We accepted you but could bond with you as we do with her. You can hear our voice." A matronly figure appeared in the Mindspace.

"Mother," Natalia whispered and bowed beside Raja. The older woman helped the younger Natalia to her feet.

"Sister," the figure cooed. "We wanted to wait until you suited our bond better. But our priestess requested a bond or death, so we had to bind you in some way. Such is our promise to our servant." The woman reached for the young Natalia's hand, which she gave without hesitation. "You could call on us as our priestesses do, but in a lesser way. We will complete the bond when you both are ready." The woman met eyes Raja's, sending a chill down his spine. The younger Natalia followed her eyes and frowned as if not seeing what interested the Elemental.

This was not just a memory.

"What is time and space to Earth?" the woman laughed at her own question, "We accept you both. We will make you whole."

Pain pressed Raja into the ground, cracking him open. It stopped as abruptly as it started, leaving him empty and cold. Then, life grew all over him, even as sorrow burrowed underneath his skin. Anger, joy, and peace rushed through him. In a state of almost painful ecstasy, he reached for his mate, and her arm surrounded his waist as she lent him her strength.

"What is this that I feel?" he asked the Mother.

"We cannot tell you what you feel, brother, only that we have freed you from the barrier our friends placed. Our friends will prepare you and perhaps explain your feelings to you. Until then, we will wait."

After Mother disappeared, the ground covering the younger Natalia receded. Green grass grew around her.

The Earth Superior limped to the still-bleeding Natalia and smiled with self-satisfaction. "You are bound to the Earth. You are bound to me; I will control you!" She pressed the young Natalia's cheeks together with her hand, smearing blood across the right one as she did. The Superior dropped her hand, wiping the blood on her brown robe and frowning at Natalia. The joy from earlier fading. For some reason, within moments, the older priestess' doubt disappeared, and she smiled again.

"We have our weapon. Train her well." She pushed Natalia to the awaiting soldiers. "Don't break her," the priestess warned. "But she should be safe enough when a priestess is around."

Raja's hands balled into fists in anger, and he felt Natalia's hand rest over one. In the scene, the high-ranking priestess who had tried to restrain the Superior looked at him.

"The Mother will be with her. I will send my most trusted to protect her." Raja stared at her in confusion. This had never happened in Lukas' mind when they had explored his past. The surprise of the memory interacting with him dried his throat, and he swallowed several times as the priestess waited.

"What is time and space to Earth?" She parroted her Goddess wryly. "You should leave now. You have seen enough. But know that the order is not entirely corrupt. There are those of us who are true to our calling. We are many, and we will rise with you when it is time."

With that, both were hurled out of Mindspace. Raja remembered only ever being ejected from his Mindspace once before when he had upset Lukas.

"Well, I guess we should take the hint." She joked with a slight rise in her voice. Not entirely understanding the power flowing through his, Raja squeezed her tighter, comforting himself with her touch.

"Yes," he answered, closing his eyes to absorb the new awareness of Earth he had gained. His heart filled with awe, and he understood for the first time why he was here. 

WC2759

Last Edit 2/5/2027