Chapter 22

[X] indicates inner dialogue

Numbness filtered through Nyline making it hard for her to think and care about anything in this moment. Her uncle had just up and left. Then, how everyone had acted when she had used her shadow skill. Damien's scouts seem to think that she just magically got them. Not worked her butt off for years to get to her level. She just had an overwhelming feeling that she was constantly being judged. Why did it mean so much when someone could do different things with their aether than everyone else? In truth though, she wasn't any different from her mother. Her mother had been strong mentally and aether wise. So, was she, then why, was it such a big problem when it came to her?

She pulled her mind from the judgement of the people on board the air ship and towards what her uncle had told her. That she attracts daemons and that was what happened when she was born. She had known that it was partly her fault, but her fault entirely? She never even fathomed.

["I had mentioned this before, but I don't believe that account is completely correct. There are no records in our royal or public library that says that there was any flux of any types of daemons during our birth."] She let out a long breath before taking another deep one in and letting it out slowly.

["You're back…"] was all she could muster at Gabriel's sudden words.

["Would you prefer if I wasn't in your mind?"] She shook her head.

["What's the point in fighting it now?"] The inner voice was so soft, so much of a mummer, that she wasn't sure if it was an actual thought or not.

["Fighting being mated."] She hummed. There was a mixture of emotions coming from the other side of the bond but she just, couldn't deal with it, so she turned her attention away from him. ["Is there anything I can do for you right now?"] His voice was sad, and she could tell that all he wanted to do was to go over and wrap her in his arms, but everything was just so heavy in this moment that she wasn't sure if she wanted the contact.

["Give. It. To. Her."] Adrenell's very angry voice spoke each word sounding as if she were about to kill Dashiner. Her attention was pulled into the conversation.

["You give it to her!"] Dashiner shouted back.

["You almost DIED getting that for her. Now you walk your little butt over there and give it to her, yourself!"] A very small smile cracked on Nyline's face as Adrenell continued to rail into Dashiner. There was a long pause.

["Fine…"] Dashiner finally caved sounding resigned and tired.

["Well, maybe this will cheer you up."] Gabriel muttered. Nyline could only shake her head. What in the aether world could really cheer her up in this moment? She had nothing, everything she owned was on the other side of the fairy gate.

Footsteps approached, slowly, then as if he were trying to get his confidence back the steps became steadier. Then, with a soft grunt a body landed next to her. There was silence as she heard Dashiner take a long breath in then out slowly.

"Lady Nyline… I know that it's not a lot… and I'm not sure how much this will mean to you… but, I thought that having this would be important to you… so, I wanted to make sure that, if you decided to start your life here with us, that you had it with you…" There was a long pause and Nyline couldn't help but look to the side. She had never heard such a disjointed, awkward sentence before in her life. "So yeah… I went back and got this for you…" Nyline placed her temple on her knees as she focused on him. He was sitting next to her, crossed legged, looking down at her patchwork teddy. Her breath caught in her chest before she let it out in a rush.

That's what he had gone back for. The realization had hit her in the chest like a physical blow making her breath leave her lungs in a whoosh. He had to have gone all the way back to her mother's bedroom to find it, and almost died doing it. She wasn't sure what to say so she sat up completely and looked at him with large round eyes.

When Dashiner saw the movement, he looked at her and gave her a large lopsided grin before he held the bear out for her. She didn't hesitate as she reached out and took it, holding it tightly to her chest, before she sat it down in her lap. A patchwork teddy and a dagger. Two items from lost parents that she'd never see again. She felt like she was going to cry.

"Thank you so much." She whispered, her voice catching with the emotions. The items themselves did make her a little sad but, at the same time she was overjoyed to have them. They were the reminder of what once was, and she knew that the memories would always be with her.

"I really hope I'm not out of line saying this, but I wanted to tell you that I think your skill level is simply amazing." Dashiner spoke so quickly. "To have a shadow skill that you are even able to mask your sent. I can't imagine how much training it would take for someone to get to that level. It's one of the harder ones, and it takes so long to perfect… Then you have your movement skill and I don't even know what your max is on that, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were a mile or longer. Did you do anything as a child other than practice your scout skills?" Nyline felt her chest warm and cheeks turn slightly red at the comment.

"I did other things but not much," She laughed softly. "I'm an all A student at my school… That means I got all top marks in every subject. I'm four months ahead of the other students in my grade, and I'm two grades above the other people my age." Dashiner gaped at her as she set her head back on her knees and wrapped her arms around them. "I started the shadow skill when I was three. I had just started really showing my use of aether and my uncle jumped on it." Dashiner took a moment to absorb what she had just said before he shook his head and looked at her.

"Wait. Hold up a tick. Did you say three AND you started with the shadow skill? Not your movement so you could build up your aether." Nyline gave him a lopsided grin.

"I've never really had to build my aether, I just have the aether…" She smiled softly as if she were remembering something. "My uncle wanted to make sure that I had perfected the shadow skill. So, when I was small it was a game. We'd play hide n seek. Uncle John would always be it and I'd use my skill to hide. I never won once, he could always find me no matter what, but it never really felt like losing."

An odd tingly emotion filled her, and it took her a second to realize that it wasn't her emotions. One glance over at Gabriel told her it was from him. He was smiling as he talked to Damien but somehow, she could tell that half of his attention was on her. The emotion that she was getting was happy; this weird tingling in her chest that made her feel lighter.

"Jonathan is probably the best scout I've ever met in my life and that includes Gabriel's parent's scouts." Dashiner paused before he continued. "I'm sure that Jonathan is alive, and he'll come back to you." Nyline let out a soft breath before she shook her head.

"Oh, I have no doubt that he's alive, no matter how hard that general daemon hit him there was no way that he died but, he isn't coming back." Dashiner's eyebrows drew together at her words.

"What do you mean?" Dashiner's eyes were wide as he looked at her. As a short explanation she lifted the dagger in her lap and held it up so that he could see. Dashiner cocked his head slightly to the side in question.

"He gave this to be before we entered the forest. He didn't even use his connect skill when we started running. He was going to ditch out even before the general daemon showed up." Dashiner's mouth fell open.

"What? There's no way he would just ditch out on you." Nyline grimaced.

"Weren't you and Adrenell the ones who thought it was distasteful for a scout to outlive their master?" Dashiner turned pink all the way to the tips of his ears and his mouth turned into a thin line as he looked away from her.

["She's not wrong…"] Adrenell muttered in the back of his mind.

"Well, that was before we knew you… and the situation…" Dashiner trailed off as Gabriel walked over with Damien in tow a couple steps behind.

"Dashiner, as I've told you more than once, if I die, I want you guys to live your lives." Gabriel scoffed, "That entire tradition that a scout can't outlive their master is outdated and annoying."

["Now you're getting scolded? You're on a role."] Adrenell laughed in Dashiner's mind. To Nyline surprise Dashiner didn't respond to her taunting.

"I'm aware," Dashiner spoke in a serious tone, "I think I might finally understand after meeting John. As long as theirs purpose then of course we should keep living." Gabriel gave him a look.

"That purpose can be for yourself as well." Dashiner gave him a wry smile and without giving him a chance to respond Gabriel turned towards Nyline, his face falling. "Are you sure?" Nyline nodded and Gabriel sighed. "Before when I met him in the hallway after you had gone to sleep, he told me not to give up and that you'd be staying. I didn't honestly understand what he meant then, it was before you told me." Nyline's eyes grew wide at his words.

"It's not your fault… Its John's." Nyline said shortly looking down at the dagger in her hands. Damien looked at them.

"Wait, what's going on?"

["You didn't tell him?"] Gabriel mused and Nyline felt her calm mask slide into place as she continued to look at Gabriel with no emotion.

["I haven't spoken to him. I'm pretty sure I made that clear."]

"Hey no inner conversations." Damien snapped his fingers a couple of times, looking between the two. "I'm a part of this too and want to know what's going on." They both looked at him. Nyline's mouth went into a thin line as her eyes went back down to the dagger. Gabriel crossed his arms.

["Fine, I'll be the barrier of bad news."] Gabriel spoke softly towards her before turning to Damien. "John apparently has been planning on leaving Nyline as soon as she accepted a mate. If she rejected her mates, then Nyline thought that he would stay with her. However, given the current situation he has now put her into a position where she has to choose a mate.��

"Is this true?" Damien's voice was demanding but it was also sad. Nyline let out a deep sigh as she looked at them both before her eyes settled on Damien.

"Yes, my uncle has been planning on leaving for a while now; he just needed someone else to take care of me. It's simple, once my mate shows up, he'd leave, and I'd start my life in the aether world." Nyline stood slowly and brushed the dirt from her butt, which in truth didn't do much since she was covered head to toe in dirt and mud. "It's why…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the ground her arms wrapping around the dagger and patch-work teddy. "It's why I never wanted any of this to happen."

"But," Ryan asked softly from the right of Damien. "Even if Damien hadn't come to find you, the spell that your mother placed on you would have sent you back here on your birthday. Once you entered the aether world, both Prince Gabriel and Prince Damien would have come to find you."

"I don't blame Damien for Uncle John leaving." Nyline spoke softly. All Ryan did was nod as if he were just making sure.

"He must have thought that you could handle everything going on then." Damien spoke in an off voice and Nyline snorted.

"Yeah cause this is the perfect situation for any introvert. To be dropped into a world that I know nothing about with a bunch of people I've just met, and the only person I've known my entire life just faked his own death to get out of taking care of me. Can totally handle any of this." Nyline laughed but it was closer to a sob.

"Nyline, I know this is difficult and that we've just met, but, were not really strangers." Gabriel spoke as he took a couple steps towards her. She focused on his eyes and nothing else. "I think you know that deep down." He cocked his head to the side as if listening and she realized that he was listening to her mind.

Nyline just looked at him for several heart beats before she looked away and crossed her arms tighter across her chest. He wasn't wrong but that was probably the biggest issue that she had with the entire situation. She hadn't known Gabriel for more than twenty-four hours, but it felt like he was some long-lost childhood friend. It scared her how easily she was allowing him to get close to her. No one in her entire life had ever been able to really get close, she had never let them. If she didn't get attached to anyone then she wouldn't miss them when they were gone. It was just something that she had come to accept because deep down she also knew that eventually, she would have to return to the aether world even if she didn't want to.

"I know that this entire situation is a little crazy, I mean who thinks they're going to get sent back to their families destroyed kingdom when the clock strikes midnight on their 16th birthday." Gabriel's voice was soft as he soothed her rough edges. Damien let out a breath and didn't say anything as he looked away from the two of them. Dashiner laughed somewhere in the background and she flicked her eyes to him.

["What would you do if you got transported like that?"] Dashiner asked his eyes at Adrenell.

["Gods, I have no idea."] Adrenell looked at Nyline and their eyes connected for just a second before she smiled. ["I'm damn sure that I'd be freaking out a whole lot worse right now. Lady Nyline is rather calm given the situation."]

["You're not wrong. You panic easily."] Dashiner grinned and Nyline could tell in that smile he thought the world of Adrenell, despite all the crap they gave each other.

["I feel bad for her."] Angelica spoke softly from somewhere to her right. ["Not only is Jonathan gone but so are her parents."] Nathan only hummed in agreement.

["I want to make this situation better."] Sigma spoke softly to Shanell.

["Then do something for her. Make her feel welcome. Figure out a way to try and get to know her better."]

"Hey, I know this is hard but I'm here if you need me." Nyline blinked to see that Gabriel was much closer and had placed his hand onto her shoulder as he spoke softly. She hadn't realized that she had gotten completely absorbed in the inner thoughts that were currently being thrown around like tennis balls. It made her head spin slightly as all the mates continued their conversations. Slowly, she felt warmth coming from Gabriel's hand as it passed her clothing and then, as if a radio had been turned down the inner voices of everyone around her slowly became background noise instead of a radio blasting. Nyline looked at him from the corner of her eye.

["What did you do?"]

["I did something?"] Nyline nodded. ["Is it good or bad?"] Nyline paused as she looked around the deck at everyone. Some of them looked back at her whereas the others were busy with their own duties of helping the ship hands.

["Good for the most part."] Nodding at Gabriel and glancing at Damien she turned and headed towards the front of the airship. Hoping that she had ended the conversation about her uncle leaving before everyone could start pointing fingers. It wasn't anyone's fault other than John's and she wished that everyone on the ship understood that.

"So, tell me," Gabriel spoke from behind her and she jumped slightly, not realizing that he had followed her. "I know that you can hear the inner voices of other's, but I guess I don't really understand it completely yet, but I want to." She regarded him as she tried to think of the easiest way to explain her odd skill.

"In a nutshell, there are too many inner voices, it's like being in a large crowd of people constantly only their all loud and fighting to be heard. So basically, everyone is shouting directly into my mind."

"And you are unable to block this ability?"

"No…I've tried but there's nothing I can do about it. It's a trait that's passed down through my mother's side of the family. That's why it was so weird to see my mother when we…" She paused, "At the ballroom. She was standing around hundreds of people and didn't seem to look like she was in any pain. I've always wanted to ask her how I could do that. Music has always helped; it keeps that side of my brain distracted so that it doesn't get over whelming."

"Do you have any additional family that you could ask?" Nyline shook her head. "I'm assuming that eventually you get a headache?"

"I don't know if I would call it a headache, it's more like mental strain. Like your mind is a piece of wood and its slowly bending to the breaking point." Gabriel made a humming noise as if he was starting to understand but didn't completely yet. "Here," Nyline reached out with her hand before she stopped herself, pulled it back, and looked away from him. She had just almost voluntarily touched someone, her hand gripped into a fist at her chest. That was not only stupid but was also dangerous.

"I don't mind," Gabriel's voice was low, soft, and understanding. "If you want to touch my skin, steal my memories, see or feel anything, then it's yours." Nyline looked back up into his face, her lips set in a grim expression.

"You don't know what you've gotten yourself into," She whispered taking a step back. "You really have no idea what kind of monster you're letting into your kingdom. I'm not really who you think I am or at least who I should be."

"Hey," Gabriel was suddenly right in her face, one hand on her cheek as he held her gaze. He stood like that before he bent and pressed their foreheads together softly. Nyline wanted to jump back from the skin contact as the memories washed into her mind, but she also didn't. The warmth from him was welcome and she found it easy to push those memories to the side so she could listen to him, her body relaxing. "Don't call yourself a monster. I don't care what has happened in the past there isn't anything wrong with you." Nyline couldn't help but grimace. "I'm serious."

Pulling back slightly and looking into his eyes she knew that he was, but she couldn't help the twisting feeling in her gut. She understood that his people were half daemon and whereas she was similar, she was also very different. It would only become more apparent as time went on.

"Anyways," Gabriel took a step back and pulled the glove from one of his hands before extending it to her. "I would like to know what you were about to do before you stopped yourself. I do not fear you or your skills. I told you before my mind is open to you as is my memories."

Nyline looked down at the hand and knew that the second she took it there was no going back, nothing could change the fact that she had chosen to take this path. However, at this point she was already on this path and there was no going back, even if she wanted. Naturally, she hesitated worried about everything and nothing all at once. So, when Gabriel reached his hand out slowly enough for her to pull away if she wanted, but when she didn't, he gripped her hand gently in his.

"Now," He whispered, "What do you want to show me?" Nyline took a steading breath and let it out slowly. Again, the memories flowed into her mind, but it didn't overwhelm her. She was able to push the memories to the side and focus only on Gabriel. Then, she allowed her aether to flow from her hand and into his as she tried to imagine sharing her skill with him. The slight inhalation was what told her that it had worked.

They stood there for a few minutes listening to the inner voices of the people around them. Dashiner and Adrenell were talking about the bets that they had made eailer and determining who had won. Sigma and Shanell were discussing something about what they wanted to do for dinner. Rebecca and Ryan were discussing what their next steps should be. Angelia and Nathan weren't talking but were sending the little pictures back and forth. Delta was talking to someone who was very far away. It sounded as if she were listening to his day and talking only once in a while.

Then there was the crew around them, some of them had silent minds as they focused on their work. Others were talking softly to their mate; many were worried about where they were heading. Other's had many other problems that weighed on their mind as they tried to solve the them and keep up with the rest of the crew.

"Pardon the intrusion," Sigma's soft voice spoke next to them. Nyline jumped and pulled her arm back from Gabriel's looking as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. Gabriel on the other hand turned calmly to his scout as he pulled his glove back on. Then, the inner voices around her started to increase in volume. She grimaced slightly as she shoved her hands in her pocket and pulled out her mp3 player. Sigma and Gabriel both fell quiet, their eyes on her.

"What's wrong?" Gabriel's voice was full of concern and she turned her attention away from the devise and up at him.

"I can't charge this here… Once it dies, it's dead." Her voice was soft looking down at what had been her lifeline for so long.

"Lady Nyline, what is that?" Sigma asked turning her head slightly to the side as she examined Nyline's downcast face.

"It plays music…" She mumbled gripping it in her hand as she pressed it against her forehead.

"It helps with all the inner voices," Gabriel finished as he connected the dots and came to the same conclusion. "Are you going to be alright?" Opening her eyes, she looked over at him, her face falling completely.

"I don't know…" shaking herself she turned to Sigma. "I'm sorry, what did you need?"

"Oh, I was going to ask if you minded if I could make you dinner tonight? I thought that you'd enjoy sitting with all of us and talking. That way you can maybe feel more at home." Nyline felt her stomach clench. Sitting in a room full of mates, all talking to each other. It sounded, well horrible, but it would be nice to sit with everyone even if she wore her head set the entire night. So, with that conclusion she cleared her voice.

"You would want to do that for me?"

"Well yes, if that is alright." Sigma was at a complete loss for words as Shanell started telling her what to say. "You are a part of our lives now and we all want you to feel welcome." Nyline smiled softly at her.

"Thank you both. I would love to have dinner with you guys and eat your cooking." Sigma's cheeks grew warm at her response to not only her but also her mate, who was cheering her on.

"What type of food would you like?" Nyline took a long breath.

"Why don't you just surprise me?" Nyline paused before she put one of the earbuds in and turned the music on. She could feel the stress leave her face as some of the inner voices were drowned out.

["Flat bread pizza, mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes."] Shanell said quickly.

"Shanell's favorite?" Sigma nodded her face turning slightly pinker. "Then why don't we do that. It sounds really good."

["Yes!"] Shanell cheered.

"Why don't we do this? All of the scouts could cook their favorite dish. That way we can show you part of our world right off the bat?" Warmth pooled in Nyline's chest at Gabriel's words.

"That would be really nice." Gabriel grinned as he clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention.

"Tonight, the scouts are going to be making their favorite dishes for Nyline. If you want to cook, please let Delta know what ingredients you need."

"Does that include us?" Nathan spoke loudly from where he was standing.

"Of course," Gabriel spoke, and his face lit up.

["Thank you."] Sigma spoke the silent words that Gabriel couldn't hear which made Nyline cock her head at her. ["This is going better than I could have hoped."]

"That sounds fun!" Shanell spoke loudly, grinning at them. ["Of course, I told you that you didn't have anything to worry about. Gabriel wants her to feel welcome too."] "Hey Adrenell!" Shanell turned and walked towards the other girl asking about some type of pasta.

"Delta!"

"Behind you." Gabriel turned and grinned at the scout.

"Please inform Janti that we will be arriving within the hour. Have him tell my parents of our arrival and…" He paused as if looking for the right words as he glanced at Damien. "Our guests. It looks like the scouts are going to be cooking tonight, like I'm sure you heard." She nodded. "I need him to send the maids out shopping for ingredients. Then have our kitchen staff finish up their duties and head home, they can have the rest of the night off…"

"Anything else?" Gabriel's eyes landed on Nyline as she put the other headphone into her ear and glanced at him.

"Actually yes, I would like Janti to see if he can find two maids for Nyline." Her face hardened.

"I don't need maids," She started sounding exasperated. "I've never had them in my life, and I don't plan on starting now." The hold that she had on the patchwork bear tightened ever so slightly.

"They'll be very helpful," Gabriel's voice sounded amused, but she could also tell that he was being cautious. "You won't know the castle or city very well, and they will be able to take you anywhere. They can also help you with anything that you don't know about the aether world." Nyline turned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I don't need a babysitter." She muttered turning her back on him. "Just because I said there was no reason to fight being mated doesn't mean I want to stay here…" The last words were a whisper. Gabriel took one long breath in and let it out slowly. His eyes going to Delta, who nodded and walked away from them.