Michael pulled up Ariana with one arm around her waist, the other at her shoulder. The color had returned to her face and her breathing had steadied. He moved her shirt from her shoulder, exposing unharmed flesh. Her wounds were as gone.
"Ariana," he whispered, his voice wavering with emotion.
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, a dazed expression on her face. "Where am I?" Her voice was low, hardly a whisper.
"Adoria. You are home, dear heart." He half-laughed, half-sobbed with relief as he sat on the bed beside her. "Do you remember anything?"
"No." She reached up, noticing the injury on his arm. He'd forgotten about it himself. His wings were bleeding in several places, and he had a rather large gash in his leg, but he couldn't feel any of it now.
She gasped, her memory having returned to her. "I'm so sorry, Michael, I shouldn't have – "
He hugged her, stopping her mid-sentence. "Ssh. Don't be sorry. Had I been more forthright, you would've felt more comfortable confiding in me. I'm simply grateful that you are… Ariana, you were barely breathing."
Jenner was seated on the opposite side of the bed from Michael. "Child, I bore witness to this. It was he who entered and spoke life back into you." He stood, stepping aside for Ariana to see Garren.
To Michael's surprise, she recoiled into his arms at the sight of Garren.
"I haven't the desire to so much as look at him," she said bitterly.
Michael waved his hand, indicating for Garren to be taken from the room. He appeared to be out cold; whatever he'd done had drained him completely. Michael turned his attention back to Ariana as Jenner ushered everyone else from their presence. He didn't speak again until they were alone.
"I'm sorry about Sara. Forgive me, please, for not speaking with you more candidly. Know that she had no choice in the matter, her words were not her own."
"I know they weren't," she said, her expression wistful. "She's a hollow shell of who she once was. But she is among the living." Her countenance fell grave as she reached up to her left shoulder, rubbing where the sword had pierced her. It seemed to all be coming back to her. "What has he said to you?"
"It was not a short journey here. We discussed many things, least of which is his maternity. He is part Adorian; I saw this for myself as he entered without hindrance. The only thing that kept me from killing him in Eidolon were the Adorian words that came from his mouth. You were right on several accounts. He wasn't responsible for your wounds or the visions that you've been having. He has been experiencing the same, or so he claims."
The expression on her face as he spoke of Garren turned sour. While part of him wanted her to feel that way, the other part of him noted it as significant that her perception of him had changed.
"This is a new reaction for you."
"I heard things come from his mouth that felt untrue, yet seem without reproach. I recall well being wounded by one of his men and him coming to me as I lay bleeding on the ground, saying the only reason he wanted me alive was because I had knowledge of Adoria that the Ereubinians wanted. Did I dream that he stayed with me through the night? I felt his presence each time I regained consciousness, but at the same time I heard him say clearly as I speak to you now that he was responsible for the dead who were left outside of our borders. There was nothing but vile retribution in his tone, Michael. I witnessed evidence with Sara that he'd spoken for her as a breeder. Her lip was bloodied and her cheek bruised."
Michael brushed aside a piece of hair that had fallen into her face.
"Where was he when he said these things, when you witnessed this interaction with Sara?"
"Observance."
It took him a moment to realize she wasn't being sarcastic. "You were in observance? How did you go unnoticed?"
"The humans wear white cloaks. I slipped in with them. It was easy enough. Besides, I didn't go unnoticed. There was a young boy who knew you, who discovered me."
"Micah. He was the one out of twenty-two men who we let return to Eidolon on our last run-in with Garren's men."
"Was this the ambush that Jareth mentioned? How many Adorians were there in the second party?"
Michael grinned sheepishly. "A little over a thousand. Give or take."
"My, it's a wonder you made it out of there alive!"
He squeezed her arm, smiling in return. "You don't know how relieved I am. The reason I asked where you were is because of some of the things that Garren disclosed to me on our journey here. I don't believe he had any reason to be dishonest with me when he said the humans who were slain were killed without his knowledge or consent. I also recall him saying that Sara was claimed by one of his other men. Aiden, I think."
She pondered this for a moment before responding. She reached for her necklace, only to remember that it was no longer on its chain. She felt for it in her pocket and realized, sadly, that it was gone.
"Your necklace?" Michael asked.
"That amulet belonged to Mother." She wanted to ask him about it being pulled, so oddly, from her neck, but thought better of it. "Sara called out for Aiden, while we were in the city. He's the one who chased me into the woods."
Michael recalled what else Garren had said. "He was also apparently the only one capable of catching you. Nine dead?"
Ariana smirked. "Did you doubt it? They may have the ability to selectively conceal themselves, but that doesn't aid them in their unwieldy choice of animals. Those horrible beasts are loud and awkward in their movements." Her face fell then, her distress visible in the line of her mouth.
"What is it?"
"You didn't come for me alone."
He shook his head. "No, I didn't, but Ariana, there are things that I've failed to tell you." He proceeded to tell her the truth about the day they'd found her in the old world.
"Oh, that. I should have told you – I've always been able to conjure a spinning ball of light at my whim." Her face held enough gravity that for a moment, however brief, he thought she was being serious. Then, her smile gave her away. "And you didn't think telling me something like that was important?"
"I've met many times with the council since your arrival, and the consensus is that you have powers that have yet to be harnessed. Father must have known. Whatever lives were lost in coming to your aid, they were given in service to Adoria. Whatever this is between you and Garren is not chance, but fate."
"Don't be mistaken, I still regard him as who he is. But I'm wise enough to see that there are greater things at work than what's readily apparent. He's saved your life now on two occasions. He was well aware of whose sister you are when he met you again in Eidolon."
She looked confused. "How is that possible?"
"When I took Micah back to his realm, I sent him with a message that warned Garren to leave you alone. I still believed him to be the source of your injuries from the dream."
"Michael, I didn't intend for any of this to happen. All I could think about was Sara and – "
"When Garren wakes, I'll speak with him, see what he can tell us about the humans. Find out what chances we have of saving her."
"Thank you." Ariana reached over to his sleeve again, shifting it slightly to expose the wound. "You're still bleeding."
He turned his arm to look at it. It really wasn't his arm that was painful; it was his leg, which had started to throb. "Yes and you need rest. I will walk you up to your room." He rose from the bed, holding out his hand to help her to her feet.
"Garren still believes me to be dead doesn't he?"
Michael nodded. He supposed so. From what he saw, Garren had fallen out just prior to Ariana coming to.
"Don't tell him then, that I am alive. I wish to tell him myself."