Diomere's Healer

Quinones

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The Gate Keeper Chronicles,

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Chapter One

The pearl-covered walls and ceiling of the entrance tunnel pressed in around Arriana Quinones, royal healer and sister to Diomere’s Queen. Shell fragments crunched under her feet. A set of copper doors decorated with pearls in a wavy pattern, mimicking the gentle sway of seaweed, appeared at the end of the tunnel.

Through them, she could feel a’mi, the elemental energy of all life, pulsing in waves. It saturated the island of Diomere, making it possible for her kind to live among the humans of Saimond. And despite the fact that her kind, the A’mi, or those able to access and wield this energy, came from Mondami, the world on the opposite side of the gate, she’d never been there herself.

She just wished her first visit was for pleasure.

Arri glided toward Diomere’s gate cave, head high, heart pounding like that of a frightened rabbit. Nervous laughter crept up her throat. She swallowed it, then glanced at her stone-faced sister, Kardia, who walked beside her. Inhaling a deep breath, she shrugged her shoulders, then exhaled slowly. A non-Chosen hadn’t stepped foot through the gates since they’d been closed hundreds of years ago. Until now.

It’ll be what you make it. Squaring her shoulders, she kept her steps even, unhurried. Her visit would be simple. If you can call traveling halfway across a world you’ve never visited, for a plant you’ve never seen, to make an antidote you aren’t exactly sure how to make, all before your nephew dies, simple.

She snorted, a humorless chuckle breaking the silence among those escorting her and her two travel companions to the gate. Kardia’s pale green eyes landed on her, a single brow lifting in question. Forcing a smile, she winked and received a frown in return. Kardia wasn’t buying her act.

Arri clenched her jaw, stubbornly hanging onto her smile. Though she’d failed to figure out the poison was a’mi based until after King Delmar’s death, she knew now and would do whatever necessary to prevent it from taking another life. That will not be Reis’ fate.

She stopped at the steps leading up to the copper doors. Her fifteen-year-old nephew, King Areisteos, or Reis, as he preferred to be called, slipped past her to climb the three stairs to the gate cave door.

We could hire someone on the other side to do this for us. Her youngest sister’s voice echoed in the pearl lined tunnel.

Arri flashed a tight smile over her shoulder at Lareina, the queen regent of Diomere until Reis’ next birthday. We’ve gone over this. She faced the gate cave and hefted the heavy weight of her pack higher on her back, then ascended the steps to the gate cave’s door.

Reis placed his hands on the Palm Seal, two hand-shaped indentions etched into the doors. A lump formed in her throat. Reis’ father should be here opening the gate. If she had just realized—she clenched her jaw and shoved aside the regret. Now you know.

With a quiet sigh of air, the doors opened, and she stepped inside a circular cave. The stone walls were painted and carved to resemble a coral reef growing from the seafloor complete with red and yellow sea fans, sponges, and algae. Gem encrusted fish peeked from amid the reef, their scales glinting gold, citrine, and ruby against the blue painted background.

Carved into the cave’s back wall stood the gate, its two pillars and cross beam pulsing with a’mi, bathing them all in a soft blue light and highlighting the symbols for the five elements etched into each. The gate’s middle appeared solid stone, but once Reis fed his a’mi into it, a doorway would open to Mondami.

I’ll open the gate every full moon until you return, Tia Arri. Reis wrapped her in a tight hug.

Arri met dual colored eyes, one green, one blue, dulled by the poison stealing his life. Remember, you must stay calm. Don’t give it any strong emotions to feed from.

I know, Tia. The corner of his mouth lifted in a pale imitation of his usual teenage smirk.

Arri cupped either side of his face in her palms. I will return with the antidote.

His smile faded and a spark of defiance lit his gaze, showing her a glimpse of the king he would become. I will fight this with everything in me until my last breath.

Arri lifted up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his forehead, then faced those staying behind.

She smiled at Gregor and Nadia. Safe travels on your return trip home.

Nadia stepped forward with a scowl and hugged her. Do as Kardia says and come back safe, sprite. You’ve a niece to deliver in a few months.

I wouldn’t miss her birth for the world. Arri patted her eldest sister’s stomach, making Nadia’s fierce expression soften.

I still can’t believe we’re having a little Nadia. Gregor’s hand joined Arri’s on Nadia’s stomach, and he looked at Nadia with so much love Arri felt a pulling sensation in her gut.

She’d never really given much thought to a mate of her own, figuring it would happen eventually, but now she couldn’t help imagining finding someone who would love her the way Gregor did her eldest sister, to have a partner to spend her life with, a mate whom she could make happy and have him want to do the same. She wouldn’t fight the heartbond as Nadia had. No, she’d grab on with both hands and pry her heart wide open for her heartbonded.

Watching Gregor gently cup Nadia’s stomach, the pulling sensation became an ache as she imagined the feel of her own stomach swelling with her child. She glanced away and her gaze caught on Reis. She inhaled. Reis first, then you can focus on finding your own mate. She’d already failed Diomere once. She wouldn’t lose Reis too.

Gods willing, my niece will be nothing like her mother, Zephyra, the fourth Quinones sister, drawled in her sultry voice.

Gregor smiled. If the gods are willing, our daughter will be exactly like her mother. He winked at Zephyra, who rolled her eyes, then hugged Arri. I look forward to reading all about your travels when you return. Remember to note what the politics are like over there. We’ll need to know how receptive all parts of Mondami are to those from Saimond.

I have my journal and a freshly sharpened quill in my bag. Arri hugged him back. Stepping away from Gregor, she clasped Lareina’s outstretched hands. "Try not to worry too much, baby sister. I will return with the antidote. Help Reis keep a wall of a’mi around the poison as much as possible. It’ll keep it from spreading quite so fast."

Lareina gave a self-deprecating smile. I am who I am. Aren’t you the one that says worry is my middle name?

Zephyra wrapped her arm around Lareina’s waist. Actually, that was me.

Lareina leaned into Z, her solemn gaze remaining on Arri. Thank you for doing this. May the gods bless your journey and bring you back to us safe. The queen regent squeezed Arri’s hands, then released them and stepped back.

Zephyra leaned forward, eyes the same bright green as Arri’s sparkling with mischief. Lasablo is home of the Jinn. You’ll tell me if their eyes really glow? And if the Incubi really are as seductive as I’ve read?

Nadia’s frown tightened the scar on her cheek into a white line. Of course, she cares more about rumors of males than whether our sister returns safe.

Zephyra pursed her lips and blew their eldest sister a kiss which made Nadia grind her teeth. Arriana is a Quinones. Like the rest of us, she’s too hard headed not to succeed. Z bit her lip, a mischievous expression painted on her face. There’s no harm in having her slake my curiosity too.

Cheeky twit, Nadia muttered, her lips twitching.

Arri laughed, her heart filled with so much love for her four sisters, the organ threatened to burst from her chest. Do try to behave for the remainder of Nadia’s stay. Think of our niece.

Zephyra waved her away. I promise not to sing the bossy blowfish into any walls for my niece’s sake.

Nadia scowled, but remained silent, though Arri figured that was more due to Gregor standing behind his heartbonded, his arms wrapped securely around her, whispering in her ear. Their oldest sister nodded in response to whatever Gregor said, her scowl melting as she bit back a smile. Then Gregor said something else and Nadia’s gaze heated. Having witnessed the two circle each other and eventually fall in love in Thuno two years ago, Arri wasn’t surprised at the ease with which Gregor diffused her eldest sister’s famous temper and had to bite back a grin.

She glanced at her other sisters. Lareina, eyes glistening and sad, smiled at the couple, while Zephyra pursed her lips and glanced away, and Kardia’s jaw hung open, her usually inscrutable expression replaced by wide-eyed astonishment. Nadia wasn’t known for backing away from an argument with Zephyra. Ever.

Inhaling, Arri faced the gate, her stomach churning.

Though my visions haven’t shown me anything concrete, the aura of darkness and danger cannot be mistaken. Lareina hugged Arri again.

Arri patted the Queen’s back. King Augustine promised to provide a guide familiar with Lasablo’s culture. We’ll be fine.

Lareina, her brow wrinkled, just nodded, then crossed to stand beside her son. Reis pressed his hand to one of the gate’s two pillars and the blank wall in the center of the gate turned from solid stone to a doorway of blinding light. Arri flashed a final smile at those staying behind, shaded her eyes with one hand, and walked into the light, her two traveling companions, Kardia and Master Yrral, right behind her.

Chapter Two

Arri’s foot touched down into Mondami, the home of her ancestors, for the first time. But before she could take in her surroundings, a surge of a’mi blasted through her like a bolt of lightning, making her hair lift from her head and her skin glow. She gasped as her body shrunk until she stood no taller than Kardia’s shin and her heavy pack crashed to the cave’s floor. Wings unfurled from her back and fluttered, lifting her from the ground.

The speed of the change surprised her, washing over her in seconds rather than the minutes she was used to, making it impossible to grab those belongings not touching her skin and carry them through the change with her. Glancing down at her pack, she rolled her eyes. You’re definitely not in Saimond anymore. She smiled.

Beside her, Kardia’s body spasmed as she fought the change, her wings melting into her back before the tips fully emerged, the black talons on her fingers retracting almost immediately back into her fingers. Master Yrral stumbled and caught himself on his staff, his usually serene face pinched and haggard.

An elderly human, a light fairy…and were those harpy wings, Cousin Kardia? Fascinating. The husky voice, reminding Arri of sultry nights and fingers trailing over skin, came from behind them.

Arri turned to see her twin cousins, Princes Kristiano and Luciano, gliding barefoot through a set of open copper doors, water dripping from their hair and clothing. Except for the wet hair, pearl white for Kristiano and blue black for Luciano, the twins were exact replicas of each other with heavy-lidded turquoise eyes in faces saved from being too pretty by a square jaw line. Though distantly related to the double dose of dessert for the eyes, Arri couldn’t help but follow a single drop of water as it trailed down the sculpted landscape of the first twin’s wide chest toward his waist, before dropping to the knee-length skirt clinging to his muscular thighs.

You boys sure are pretty. Arri wagged her eyebrows at the pale-haired twin.

Kristiano grinned, his teeth bright against his olive skin. Your appreciation is appreciated.

Kristiano greeted her companions, his gaze lit with curiosity as he approached them, while his twin trailed behind, his face expressionless except for dull eyes bracketed by lines of weariness, which jerked to each of them then away. It’s like he can’t make up his mind whether he wants to look at us or not.

They’re half-breeds, Luciano muttered to his brother, his lips pressing together as if he fought not to let the words out.

Kristiano’s smile dimmed, and he flicked a glance at his brother. Yes, well, we knew that. We just thought they’d be Mer/Human half-breeds.

Kardia glanced at Arri, one brow raised. They’re wearing skirts.

Kiruto. It’s the—traditional dress—of the Mer—warrior. Luciano peered down his nose at them, his lips seeming to pry themselves open, then snap closed between every few words as if he fought to keep from speaking. But then—I wouldn’t expect—a half-breed—to understand anything—about tradition.

Well, you certainly got the dress part right, didn’t you? Kardia asked, a humorless smile lifting the corners of her lips.

Luciano’s mouth popped open again, but Kristiano put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. The twin glanced at his brother, his face back to its expressionless, almost slack mask as he nodded and retreated into silence, his eyes becoming dull. Kristiano studied his brother’s expression, gaze troubled, then cleared his throat and forced a smile before stepping past his brother to stand just in front of him, next to Arri.

Arri held her index finger up, then closed her eyes. Calling on her a’mi, she transformed back into her human form. Her body lengthened until her boots once again rested on the floor and her wings disappeared.

She opened her eyes, reached for her pack and sash, then returned each to its proper place. I didn’t consider how much stronger the a’mi is on this side of the gate.

Kristiano’s smile softened to something more genuine. I knew you were all sired from different women, but I hadn’t realized each of you were a completely different race of A’mi. Did you also inherit the Mer form and affinity for Water from Uncle Luis?

Father married Nadia, Zephyra, and Lareina’s mothers, but Arriana and I are de nullo, Kardia said, her voice flat. Father was too caught up in finding his own pleasure to worry about the race of our mothers or the different types of a’mi we’d all end up with. Her lip curled. Typical male.

Luciano’s gaze sharpened, his eyes brightening from their dull mask. His lips pressed tight, even as his throat worked and his arm jerked up, then returned to his side. Her scalp prickled as a slight chill shivered down her back. Shifting so she could keep the oddly acting male in her peripheral vision, she shrugged her pack up higher on her back.

Indeed, Kristiano chuckled, his grin adding to his good looks. You’re so refreshingly frank, cousin. I like it.

Kardia’s eyes glinted. You’ll get over it.

He barked out a laugh. I very much doubt that.

Ees best zat we focus on stopping the poison. Yes? Master Yrral said, interrupting their banter.

Kristiano winked at Kardia, then faced the old human. I’ve a ship waiting. We’ll take you directly to it while it’s dark, then set sail at first light. Father believes your best chance at success is dependent on few knowing of your presence here.

Luciano remained silent behind his brother, but his hand jerked back up to the curved dagger at his belt, his fist tightening on it before one by one his fingers lifted, until only one remained. It’s like he fights himself. His hand trembled, the muscles of his forearm strained, and the last finger rose.

Arri shifted again, until she could see around Kristiano as the light twin continued to speak to Kardia and Master Yrral. Resisting the urge to move away, she met Luciano’s wild-eyed gaze, one second afraid, the next calculating, then his mouth dropped open. Suddenly, a hoarse hiss of air escaped his lips before he clamped his hand around the dagger’s hilt, jerked the blade from his belt, and lunged toward her.

Arri threw herself backwards with a squeak, knowing she wasn’t going to be fast enough, but then Kristiano, who’d glanced back at his brother’s hiss, jumped between them. He grunted.

Bending at the waist, he pressed his hands to his stomach. The dark prince jerked the dagger out of his brother, a hoarse cry escaping his lips before they once again pressed together and his brows lowered. Arri, her limbs tingling with adrenaline, reached for the injured prince, then hesitated when Luciano’s attention once again focused on her. Her breath caught.

He shoved Kristiano to the side and took a lerching step toward her, the hand holding the now bloody dagger lifting a second time. Arri ducked out of his reach as the knife arced toward her. The dark prince lifted his blade again, but before he could take another step, Kardia thrust her sword into his back and Master Yrral brought his staff down on the prince’s arm.

Luciano’s face blanched, his mouth and eyes opening wide, then he collapsed to his knees beside his brother, the dagger flying across the room. Arri scrambled to the light prince’s side and rolled him onto his back, while Kardia dragged the dark prince a safe distance away and kept her bloody sword pointed at him.

Arri gently lifted Kristiano’s hand from the stomach wound. Let me fix it.

Kristiano, deep grooves bracketing his mouth and eyes, glanced at his brother. That wasn’t Luciano. My brother would never have hurt me.

He wasn’t trying to hurt you, Kardia hissed, her narrow gaze never leaving Luciano.

Arri’s heart raced as blood pooled under the prince. Squeezing his hand, she placed one palm over the wound and the other on his forehead. Relax.

It’s night, sister, and you’ve already shifted twice.

Arri ignored the reference to her Light Fairy half’s shortcomings and lifted an eyebrow. Her sisters all knew better than to try to keep her from using her gifts. Kardia growled, but only pressed her lips into a hard line, then returned her attention to the dark twin.

Arri closed her eyes, the image of a mortar and pestle appearing on the back of her eyelids. They were constructs created by her mind to help her focus her a’mi, the power humans called magic. Some imagined their a’mi as deep wells, wide pools, or spinning vortexes of power, while others pictured their power as items specific to their talents or gifts. No matter what construct they chose, all a’mi wielders imagined their power as something tangible. For Arri, the tools of a healer worked best.

Her mortar expanded until a physical map and a spirit map of the light twin’s body lay side-by-side on its curved bottom. Most healers only had the ability to see the physical map of their patient’s bones, muscles, and tissue. A spirit healer could see the spirit map showing the flow of a’mi through the patient’s body, but never the physical map. Arri saw both.

Waving the pestle over the physical map, she magnified the prince’s chest until she could clearly see each severed vein and blood vessel in and around the wound in his stomach. She flicked a glance at the pestle and it shifted, becoming two sets of forceps. Taking one in each hand, she began the process of repairing the wound from the inside out, draining a quarter of her remaining power reserves in the process. Checking to be sure she’d healed even the bruising beginning to form from where he’d hit the ground, Arri took a deep breath and released her a’mi.

She opened her eyes to find Prince Kristiano staring at the unblemished skin of his stomach. You didn’t want the scar, did you?

The prince gaped at her, his eyes wide. You’re done?

Arri sat back on her heels and ignored the lightheadedness threatening to send her toppling over sideways. Shouldn’t I be?

I’ve never seen such a serious wound healed so quickly. His eyes softened. Thank you.

You’re welcome. She inhaled, feeling connected to the world in a way that only came after she used her gifts, solidifying yet again her life’s purpose.

Kristiano sat up and rubbed his hand over his smooth skin, then gasped and turned toward his brother.

Scrambling to his feet, he hurried to Luciano’s side, his faced twisted with sorrow. Luc!

Blood leaked from the corner of the dark prince’s mouth and crawled slowly down his cheek, to drip onto the floor. Arri stood, then paused to take a deep breath, her legs and arms trembling.

Master Yrral stepped forward and placed a hand under her elbow, offering his strength, earning a smile from Arri as she patted his arm, then moved toward the twin who’d attempted to take her life.

Before she could kneel, Kardia grabbed her arm. Don’t waste your a’mi, sister. We need to get to the ship before someone else discovers we’re here.

Arri gave her sister a tight smile. You know better, K. I can’t let someone die when I have the power to save them.

He tried to kill you, Arriana.

She remembered the crazed spark in Luciano’s eyes as he attacked her and couldn’t help the prickle of unease crawling across her scalp. She pressed her lips together, the inner peace from healing Kristiano evaporating. Gently pulling her arm from Kardia’s hold, she inhaled and dismissed the memory of the attack.

Lifting her chin, she met her sister’s narrow gaze. It would be wrong not to heal him when I can.

Kardia clenched her jaw. Your gods cursed hard-headedness is going to get you killed someday.

She shrugged, her focus already going to the dying prince at her feet. So be it. Kneeling at Luciano’s side, she placed her hands on his wound and forehead, then closed her eyes.

When the physical and spirit maps appeared on the surface of the mortar, she paused, and leaned toward the dark twin’s spirit map. Fine, black threads of a’mi strangled the top three spirit centers. What in Meren’s dark depths are they? The glow of the prince’s physical map brightened, alerting her to his imminent death. Forcing herself to focus on the physical map and the injury immediately threatening the prince’s life, she magnified the wound in the prince’s left lung.

A hair more to the right and you’d have punctured his heart, K. Arri used a temporary a’mi barrier to stop the blood flooding Luciano’s lung, then using the hand resting on his forehead, turned his face to the side and forced the blood out. She turned her attention to sealing the wound. You missed on purpose.

I can’t protect you from King Augustine’s dungeon.

Arri fed more a’mi into the wound, using her a’mi forceps to hold the severed veins together as she healed the wound one layer at a time. Blood welled up, soaking the prince’s clothes. Between that and what she’d forced out of his lung, she knew he’d be too low. She shifted her focus to his kidneys and bone marrow, then used her a’mi to speed up his body’s natural process for replacing the lost red blood cells, before returning to finish closing the wound. You need to work on purposely missing better. Another moment and he would have died anyway.

A miscalculation. I’ll work on it.

Arri’s lips twitched, but she focused on working faster, the dark lines of a’mi on the prince’s spirit map beckoning her from the corner of her eye. After what felt like forever, and ignoring the hollow feeling of her almost empty reserves of power, Arri healed the last layer of his skin, then switched her focus to the prince’s spirit map.

An outline of his body like the physical copy, this map showed the flow of a’mi, like veins of blood, connected down the middle at seven spirit centers, or intersections. The black threads wound around Luciano’s top three spirit centers so tightly she could barely see the prince’s a’mi moving through them.

She followed the threads, searching for a source, but they led to the edge of the prince’s spirit map, then vanished. But what are they made of? Magnifying the prince’s spirit map, she discovered the threads were actually different colored strands of all five elements woven so tightly together they only appeared black. Arri chewed the inside of her cheek, knowing she needed to remove them. What if you kill him? Arri narrowed her gaze. Better dead than to live with his a’mi hobbled in such a horrible way. What about yourself? Though it’d be dangerous to do this with her power level so low, she didn’t have time to wait. She’d be boarding a ship and leaving by first light. If she didn’t heal him now, who knows how much longer the prince could live with his a’mi being virtually strangled. She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. Now or never, Arri.

Decision made, she called all five elements. The symbols for air and spirit, her strongest two elements, appeared immediately along the length of her pestle. Then water, followed by earth and fire. She imagined each as a different colored thread, red for fire, blue for water, yellow for air, brown for earth, purple for spirit, and wove them around the tool, molding its shape, until a pair of sheers lay in her hand, glowing with all five elements.

She slid the bottom blade of the sheers under the black thread. A dark menace pulsed from it and she felt another presence beside her. Before he, and she knew without a doubt the presence was male, could do more than turn toward her, she fed more of her dwindling power into the scissors and cut the thread. A roar of anger shot from the cut end as it whipped from side to side like an angry viper then struck at her. Arri cried out, a part of her aware of Kardia’s sudden grip on her arms. She sent her voice into her sister’s mind, even as she turned the shears into a torch topped by a multi-colored flame. If I stop now, we’re both dead, K.

Kardia growled in her ear, but loosened her grip and began to feed her own power into Arri. Greatful for the boost, Arri followed the thrashing thread, timing her move for when it struck at her again. Just as the thread arrowed toward her, she thrust the torch at it, using the last dregs of her power and the boost from her sister to surround the thread and creep along its length until every bit of it inside the prince was surrounded in rainbow colored flame. The unknown male’s scream, high pitched and full of enraged pain, echoed from the burning thread as it turned to ash.

She collapsed to the side, her sister catching and holding her up with an arm around her back. Blinking, she opened her eyes, her head resting against Kardia’s shoulder as she met Luciano’s piercing gaze.

Deep grooves of exhaustion deepened as he attempted a smile that did nothing to erase the shadows darkening his eyes. You freed me.

Arri lifted a shaking hand to wipe a trickle of sweat threatening to drip into her eye. Do you know who did this to you?

The dark prince’s feeble smile slipped from his face, but before he could answer, Kristiano grabbed his shoulder. Luc? What’s going on? The light prince leaned in to search his brother’s gaze. Is it really you?

Prince Luciano gave him a haggard smile, the corners of his lips barely lifting. Yes.

Kristiano blinked, then a huge smile spread across his face and he hugged his brother. Thank the gods.

When Luciano’s hands fell weakly from Kristiano’s back, Arri tapped the light prince on the shoulder. Easy, cousin.

Kristiano rubbed away the glistening tear tracks from his face, his amazed gaze searching