Meri

Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2020 Beth Linton

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0266-7

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For Audrey, my editor, and all the team at Evernight Publishing. Thank you!

MERI

The Guardians’ Trust, 3

Beth Linton

Copyright © 2020

Chapter One

Two years ago…

The Gateway

What is it you want me to say? Maddox met Seren’s emerald gaze without flinching, his frustration building as the waterfall pounded behind them. "What exactly do you expect me to do? I am the Caretaker. My parents may have been Other but I was born in this world. I have been tied to the human world for six hundred years in ways few can understand—but you, Oracle, do."

Balanced naked on the rocks, her red hair slick down her back, Seren glared. "We have been at war for centuries—centuries, Maddox—while you live here in your mansion and let strangers pay to wander through your Guardian forest."

The muscles in Maddox’s jaw ticked as his jeans and shirt grew sodden from the spray of the gateway’s waterfall. And I ask you again what it is you expect me to do? I have experienced war, many of them in my long life, or have you forgotten the war between the Welsh and the English my parents exchanged into? I was born into that time of rebellion. I spent my childhood learning how to fight. I spent the first hundred years of my life fending off the English and fighting to keep Guardian land intact: fighting to keep this gateway safe. Suddenly, he was furious. More wars have been and gone, Seren: a civil war, two world wars! You think I know nothing of anguish and fear because I live in the human world?

Maddox’s chest heaved in agitation, the spray of the falls coating his shirt so it stuck to his wide chest.

The gateway, he said and gestured to the circular stone concealed by the waterfall behind her, this gateway allows nothing but our bodies to pass. He looked down pointedly at where she stood naked before him. Only her soul, and the body that carried it, could make the crossing to the human world. "What do you expect me to do? Send weapons? Medicines? How? Anchored to the human world, I can’t cross and survive for more than the shortest of times. Is that what you want me to do, cross this gateway and die? Or perhaps you want me to send my Guardians in my place? You know as well as I do they would go insane from exposure to the Other Realm within weeks but perhaps my death, my Guardians’ deaths, mean nothing? Is that what you want, Seren Daire? You want us, me, to quit the role the Mother entrusted us with and come die for you? It’s not my fault that the idyllic world of your childhood has been transformed into hell by Griffin Fionn!"

Seren visibly deflated as the truth of his words seemed to prick her anger.

You’re right, Seren said, shivering. But you don’t know what it is like, Maddox. We are forced ever deeper into the forest, ever higher into the mountains. Griffin rules all. His hold on the males of our species strengthens each year, more and more turn to the darkness he offers. The stories that have reached me about life inside the palace…

She tipped her head back and looked at the darkening sky, the freckles across her nose and cheeks pronounced against her pale skin.

Sometimes I feel like I am fighting this war all by myself, she said quietly. I can’t help but resent the freedom you were born to sometimes, Maddox. You have the freedom to make your own choices, to be with who you want, and do as you wish.

Maddox closed his eyes as grief welled. He had no such freedom. The only female he had ever wanted stood naked before him, lashing at his raw heart, and he could never have her.

There had never been a moment of his life when he hadn’t loved Seren. They’d become lovers at seventeen, and for decades, they’d been happy, despite the gateway that divided them. He still remembered the scent of bluebells on the spring air when his vision had claimed him, a moment of fate that had robbed them both of happiness. The images that had rushed through him from the creator had revealed that he was to one day leave the human world for the barren ice of the Dark Realm. He didn’t understand why or when, or even the purpose of his fate, but the Dark Realm was a near-certain death sentence and the prophecy he’d received had been clear—he must go.

That same vision had also revealed an important fate for Seren—and it was a fate that excluded him. He’d seen Seren, a baby in her arms that was destined to be king, a paternal shadow hovering just out of sight, but a shadow that wasn’t Maddox.

The contents of that prophecy had taken him forever away from the woman he had loved for all of his very long life. It was a pain he guarded closely and it meant that, for the creator’s sake, he’d had no choice but to push her away.

Is that what this is about? Maddox demanded. You are angry because I can’t love you? Pain had him lashing out. It wasn’t me who got married, Seren.

Seren flinched. That’s not fair and you know it. She met Maddox’s blue eyes and her voice was thick with some emotion when she said, You didn’t want me, Maddox. We were lovers and then you told me it all meant nothing. You sent me away. I waited for you to change your mind. I waited for centuries! And then that day— she broke off then laughed, the sound making him ache. What did you think I would do after we had sex and then you denied me again? Pine for you for another two hundred years? For a moment, it appeared as though she’d say more but then she seemed to change her mind.

Maddox exhaled slowly, trying to regain his hold on his temper and his tongue. What they spoke of was in the past. It could not be changed. He had turned Seren away so she could bear the child prophesized as her people’s future king and savior, but he’d hated that she’d married someone else.

He thrust his unsteady hand through his hair and willed the pain away. Despite the fact her marriage had broken his heart, there was nothing he could or would have changed. It wasn’t fair to punish her for it.

I’m sorry, he finally said as he willed himself to calm. The past is the past. More than three hundred years should be enough to bury the hurts we have caused each other. We both come from a different time, Seren. We serve Mother Nature. You do as She wills, no matter the personal cost. We both do, he added, his voice quiet.

Looking tired, Seren sank onto the slick rocks at the base of the falls.

Seeing the slump of her shoulders, Maddox settled onto the rocks beside her. The material of his damp jeans brushing against her naked thigh. For long moments, they sat together and watched the fish within the pool the waterfall fed as the sun slowly set.

It is so calm here, Seren finally said. Life in the jungle is hot and intense. We train, we fight, we mate, and we try to keep our species alive. As soon as I step back through that gateway, I will be hunted once more. She reached out and placed her hand on Maddox’s forearm where his skin was exposed beneath the rolled-up arms of his shirt. I understand that it’s hard for you to know what is happening in the Other Realm while being unable to help us.

Maddox stared at the land he had spent several lifetimes protecting, retaining. The steep slopes of the valley a legacy lush with ferns and trees, an unspoiled forest he held in trust.

The prophecy that guided our parents’ lives told of the pure of heart: children born from the Doubles and the Exchange who would be essential in saving the trinity of worlds from darkness. The Other Realm is battling that darkness, the descendants of those Doubles part of the Resistance that fight against the evil Griffin Fionn spreads. Surely, soon the meaning of the prophecy will present itself.

He shivered, almost feeling the Dark Realm pulling him closer. His time for the human world, his time with Seren, was nearing an end.

They remained where they were as the sunlight dwindled and their time drew short. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when Seren’s body jerked and a spear of evening light fell sure and strong upon them. Shifting back, he watched as Seren’s green eyes turned opaque and her body tipped backward.

Shifting to catch her, Maddox froze as an invisible force cradled Seren’s body and lifted her from the ground. With Seren relaxed, head and arms hanging backward as though asleep, Affinity lifted Her Oracle safely off the rocks, cradling her so that the remaining rays of the sun coated her naked body with its warmth and her long red hair hung toward the ground.

Rising, Maddox stepped aside as a great breath filled Seren’s chest, a rasping gasp as the creator held Her child safe so Seren’s body could accept the coming prophecy:

"Generations past the creator woke from her slumber, driven to prevent the conception of a child who would bring darkness to the trinity of worlds. Nature mourned her failure. Her Doubles exchanged and the dark infection within Affinity was weakened but not enough… In hopes of changing fate, the Last Child was taken in by the royal House of the Le’ Feys, but the path to darkness is seductive and again She failed.

"The importance of the Doubles increased, the children born necessary to bind the human world and the Other Realm more tightly. In this She succeeded—and now the pure of heart are born and grown.

"The eclipse of Affinity threatens and without its purity, all life will be lost. The lost ones must return home…"

Maddox watched as Seren’s body again jerked within the hold of the creator before Affinity slowly lowered Seren and relinquished her to Maddox’s open arms. Cradling her limp body, he held her and waited for Seren’s eyelids to lift as he glanced nervously at the lowering sun. Within a few minutes, the sun would be lost behind the valley wall and the gateway would close. Seren would be trapped until the next evening. That could not happen.

Seren didn’t stir.

After laying Seren gently on the rocks, Maddox stripped his wet clothing from his body. Naked, knowing the danger he faced, he gathered Seren’s unconscious body back into his arms, ignoring the press of her smooth skin against his own.

Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he stepped through the gateway and made his way to the Other Realm. Above, and then behind, the water beat down, the song of the stones fearful as he stepped through. Traveling through the tunnel that linked their two worlds, Maddox hesitated before the next curtain of water. Opening his senses, he tried to determine if danger lay on the other side. Sensing nothing, he stepped through into the fading light of the Other Realm to face the home world of his parents.

Allowing himself no time to absorb the beauty of the jungle around him, he scanned the rocky cliffs that surrounded the pool. Hearing movement to his right, he tensed and turned to face Brenin L’ anna, one of the Resistance’s most prominent leaders.

What happened? Brenin demanded as he hastened up the rocky steps that led to the base of the falls and scanned Seren’s still body as though for injury.

She is well, but she received a vision. It was a powerful prophecy. You must get her to safety.

Brenin took Seren from the Caretaker’s arms and Maddox forced himself to let her go. He must trust another to care for her as he always had. It was not his place. It could never be his place.

I must return. Maddox looked meaningfully at the setting sun. He had to hurry. And without another word, he stepped back into the gateway and made himself leave Seren and return home.

Everything had changed. The end Seren longed for was finally approaching—he just wished that ending didn’t include him dying within the Dark Realm away from everyone and everything he loved.

Chapter Two

Two years later. December 20th, 2018

The Guardians’ Trust, North Wales

Meri laughed as she accepted a bottle of Bud from Marc and watched her best friend settle at the kitchen table beside his brother. The heart of the Guardians’ Trust, the kitchen was warm and comfortable—with people, with love—while outside, the December wind was bitter. Winter’s tight fist had closed on Welsh land on the first of the month and still retained its tight grip three weeks later.

Me? Bungee jump? Taking a sip of her beer, Meri smoothed her blonde hair away from her face and welcomed the taste of hops and bubbles. I like my retinas where they are, thank you very much.

You weren’t tempted at all? Marc asked, his brown eyes intent. You might only ever go to New Zealand once and A.J. Hackett’s original bungee jump is legendary.

Cole grinned, his hair and eyes almost as dark as his name. Not everyone shares your sense of adventure, brother.

Meri nearly choked on her beer. Death wish, more like.

Marc was an adrenaline junky who lived for the thrill. She knew it was one of the reasons that he’d decided to specialize in emergency medicine now that he’d graduated, while she—with two years as a junior doctor under her belt—was applying to the Red Cross.

Her studies complete and her professional standing now on solid ground, she’d taken a month to travel before she turned her attention to the next phase of her career.

Besides, she said, I had plenty of adventure on my trip. I hiked the Fox Glacier and went black water caving in the Waitomo caves. Her month traveling around the islands of New Zealand had been a dream come true. A bite of adventure before she went for her interviews.

Marc leaned forward in his chair, his features animated with interest. Did you see the glow worms in the caves? I hear they are pretty wonderful.

I did. She grinned at the memory. The experience was definitely special. Freezing, but special.

Cole gave a mock shudder. "Being deep underground in the freezing cold, and in pitch darkness, does not