The things that dwell between: The Fae Realm, #1

By Jules Harig

There are more worlds than ours. There are beings other than humans.  They are hidden from us in another realm, another world. One night a year we can catch a glimpse to the other side, and see the things that dwell between the worlds.   We can see the world they come from, the way their world works. 

There is an entire universe hidden from the humans, just waiting to be explored. What lay on the other side of the veil? What will you see when it falls?

 

Thane carnell has spent his entire life training for the highest position in his field.  one fateful meeting changes the course of his plans, and he is thrown into a world he never expected to be a part of.  He doesn't know who he can trust. 

The realm is going through changes that have never been seen before. There are plots and conspiracies all around the corrupt world.  can it even be set right? can the balance that has kept the realm alive still be kept?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tirlt Publication
• Release date: Dec 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393503354

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

SOME THINGS IN LIFE stay with you. If seen at a young age, those things can have a deep impact on who someone becomes and how they live their life. Thane Carnell entered the queen’s library, feeling an accomplishment that could not have been completed without the drive he’d felt ever since the first time he had entered this very room. The smell of the books brought back the memories as if it were yesterday.

I’m sure you are aware of what exactly the job entails, Adviser Lord Glyndwr said, returning him to the current.

Yes. Thane nodded, surveying the massive library few got to see. I’m to keep the records of the royals in the realm.

So, you have read the histories made public then? Lord Glyndwr asked.

In my lessons, yes, Thane responded with another nod.

Good. Now you get to read their journals and learn what wasn’t public. The adviser placed his hand on a stack of books that had been left on a table.

Thane approached the stack of books and opened the first of the journals.

You’ve been here with your father before, correct? the adviser asked.

When I was younger. Thane flipped through the journal that had belonged to the current Fyre King when he had been a young prince. My father was the messenger for the realm. I went with him when he was delivering ... He turned the page to reveal a sketch of his father.

Your father delivered the journals here before taking his current position with the Fyre King, the adviser finished for him.

He’s been close with the Fyre King for longer than I’ve been alive. He met my mother through him. Thane looked up from the journal.

I’ve met your mother. She’s ... quite an unusual woman. Not really someone I would imagine with a man like your father.

It wasn’t a relationship. It was just an arrangement. My mother wanted a child with blood from all the elementals, something my father could give her. He shrugged and returned his attention to the journal.

Yet your father ended up raising you. Lord Glyndwr frowned.

My mother isn’t exactly the motherly type. She wanted a child with power. Holding the blood to all the elementals makes me a potential. In complete honesty, he had always figured the Earth Queen had pushed her into the decision.

A potential ... The adviser nodded in understanding.

Having the blood of all four elementals was a very treasured and sought-after line in the realm. Only those with all four lines could be considered when picking new royals within the capitol. The queen of all had ruled for a thousand years though. She had never married and had no heirs, so it was a very good thing to be a male potential during this time. Even with his high-level bloodline, royalty was never something that had interested him. All he ever wanted was knowledge. No higher knowledge existed within the realm than the position he would be learning right here.

Where is Biblleaoharlan Dejen? Thane asked, changing the subject.

Oh yes. The adviser returned his attention to the task at hand. He said he’ll meet with you when the Datha blàuo is in full bloom. He needed to pick up the newest information from the Gwadhers. It’s the beginning of the month, after all. The adviser gestured around the room. He said you should look around and make yourself comfortable while you wait though.

Thane nodded and sat at the table to look through the Fyre King’s old journal.

The adviser left the room.

Thane was left in complete silence to study.

THE GRUFF AND COMMANDING voice of a man interrupted Thane’s hours of reading.

So, which of the private journals caught your eye so quickly? Biblleaoharlan Dejen, the man who would be his mentor, snatched the book from his hands to look at the cover. He made a disapproving huff before setting down the book and turning away.

Thane regarded the man in confusion. Is something wrong with the Fyre King? He sat back in his chair, giving his full attention to the man.

Not if you like pictures of naked women and Mommy issues. The man strolled through a row of books.

Thane chuckled at the response. It was true; the Fyre King was known to take advantage of his position when he’d been a prince. All of that had seemed to stop though once he had claimed the throne and his queen.

Don’t you think his queen is a good influence on him? He watched the man curiously as he brought a book to the table.

She is. He nodded, setting the book on the table. But he’ll always be a child king. He’ll never be truly respected like his father was. Just because you chop off the queen’s head in the middle of court and demand respect doesn’t mean you’ll get it. He nodded at the book now on the table.

Thane leaned forward and opened the book. The center of the first page contained a name scrawled in neat, clear writing: King Finndo.

The king’s father ... Thane pulled the book closer for further inspection.

Now that was a king! The man headed into the aisles to grab another book. If you’re interested in reading about the men your family has worked with, I suggest you read some of the entries with King Finndo and your grandfather. He returned with another book and set it beside the other. The women in your family are interesting as well.

Thane pulled the book on top of the other and opened to see the name. The Queen of Water? he asked, not understanding the reference.

Your great-grandmother was the queen’s handmaiden during the war between Sky and Water. That was how your grandmother came about.

Was she some sort of secret lovechild with a high-ranking Sky Soldier? Thane joked. The joining of Sky and Water within the bloodline was very secretive. His father had never spoke of it, and he had never found any official records in any of his research throughout the years.

It wasn’t love, the man said flatly, opening the book to a certain page, and pointed to a passage.

Thane read the Water Queen’s description of the aftermath of the well-known attack on the Water Kingdom. The attack had left her sterile from a horrible miscarriage and her servant, his great-grandmother, pregnant. His brow furrowed, pulling the book closer as he read the Water Queen’s first journal as queen.

You have an entire world to learn about. Your family is a much larger piece of the puzzle than you know. He moved about the room to gather more books. That’s why I chose you above all others to take my place. A smile formed on the man’s lips, watching Thane devouring the journal with an eagerness that could only be seen in the young. You have much to learn about the realm, my young student. He patted Thane’s shoulder and headed to a desk on the far side of the library. Read up while I review all I gathered today. We’ll speak later about what you learn.

While the man was busy with his work, Thane read from every journal before him, all spread along the table and open at once. He had much to learn, and he knew he had come to the right place.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN sitting here? The Biblleaoharlan Dejen’s voice startled Thane.

What time is it? he asked, stretching. It wasn’t until he moved that he realized how stiff he was.

Well, I left you alone here around last bloom. It’s almost full bloom now.

Really?

Yes. Get yourself something to eat. I’m sure you haven’t eaten anything in that time.

That would be a correct assumption. Thane pushed away the journal he had been reading and stood. His stomach growled at the thought of food.

Go. I’ll clean things here.

Thane nodded and left the room. He could stop by a place in the market near the castle. He kept his head down, losing himself in his thoughts as he walked through the Fyre Embassy and the gardens that separated the embassies from the school. Students in the third level roamed the campus, and his mind wandered to his lessons and how he had not too long ago been one of them. He spied the area that had once been his favorite spot to sit and read, and noticed a girl with long black hair. Before he could get a good look at her though, he saw stars. He assumed he had walked into a tree until he heard the Sky Princess’s familiar shrill cry.

Watch where you’re going, worm. Kassandra Kalan, the nasty piece of work that was the heiress to the Sky Kingdom, sneered and glared at him.

Or you could just be more aware of your surroundings, he retorted before continuing through the campus. He heard her and her friends resume their chatting but couldn’t quite decipher what they said.

Oh gross! the princess exclaimed. He’s a worm! You know who his father is?

Thane turned to glare at her over his shoulder.

And his mother is a loon, she added, making eye contact as she twirled her finger next to her temple in a crazy motion.

Thane turned to face them and smiled. Hey! Did you know her father didn’t want her, and that’s why she lives at the school?

One of her friends snickered and was elbowed to submission.

Mister Carnell, the head mistress snapped. That was completely uncalled for.

Sorry Headmistress Wombolt. He slightly bowed his head.

He should be punished, the princess chimed in with a firm nod.

And I’m sure you’re completely innocent, the girl with black hair said from beside the head mistress. He’d seen her around, usually with the headmistress. He had never spoken to her though.

I am!

Yes, by blaming me for you smacking me in the face and calling my mother crazy, Thane said. All while I’m just trying to head to the market for Biblleaoharlan Dejen.

You’re on an errand for your mentor? the headmistress asked. You are free to go. She returned her attention to the princess. You, however, will come with me. She left, dragging the princess toward the main building.

Thane looked to the black-haired girl who was smiling at him. He smiled back.

Miss Taliaferro! the headmistress called.

The girl’s attention turned toward the headmistress. Coming! She turned back to wave at him.

He waved back as he watched her leave, not turning away until she faded in the distance. The food was completely forgotten until he heard the princess’s friends giggle. He turned to look at them, and they scattered like the pests they were.

THE SMELL OF TEAS AND herbs was overpowering in the market. The teas reminded him of his mother and her obsession with them.

Teas are her comfort, his father had told him once. It was all she had after her mother ... He never did finish telling him what had happened to her mother. He’d discovered his grandmother’s fate later in reading through the histories. It was all so horrible, but it gave him a better understanding of his mother’s habits. Tidbits of the Fyre King’s journal describing the encounter with the first of her tea parties crept into his mind.

The once white floor was soaked in pools of partially dried blood. Bodies were nailed along the wall, leading down a hallway. I ignited the candles as we walked down the hallway, following the line of bodies. We heard a violin echoing along the few walls that were left bare. The music lead us into a large, open room where more bodies had been displayed. These bodies sat in chairs, and what looked like their veins sprouted from their wrists, moving the lifeless arms along with the music like marionettes. Scanning the horrible scene, my gaze fell finally on the female violinist, Diana. Her blond hair was soaked in blood, her clothes torn and ragged. Aidan called out her name, and she came to us as if nothing was wrong with this massacre. These men were far from innocent and surely her captures, but did they really deserve such a fate?

Shoving the thoughts from his mind, he stopped at the first tea merchant he saw and ordered a cup of tea with a small honey cake to eat. The best bakers always bordered between the Fyre and Earth Kingdoms. The best teas were from the Earth Kingdom. His favorite was a blend of Light fruit leaves and Fyre fruit leaves with electric daisy buds. It was a nice wake-up tea, the calm blissfulness of the light fruit with the smoky taste of the Fyre fruit bringing a hint of spice. The electric daisy buds brought an extra jolt for waking up.

Thane’s thoughts wandered to everything he had learned in his reading. So much had never been shared with the realm. He wondered what else he would learn in his new position. It was sure to be interesting in the days, weeks, and years to come. Once he returned to the library, he would ensure to review the reports from the Gwadhers. For now though, he just wanted to enjoy his tea and cake in quiet.

CHAPTER TWO

WITHIN A WEEK, BIBLLEAOHARLAN Dejen had left Thane in charge of managing the library for a majority of the days. While he read and worked on his research, his mentor collected more information and traveled to other areas that could fill missing pieces of the history within the realm.

I need your help, his father exclaimed, bursting into the room.

Thane could hear the panic in his father’s voice before he spun around to see it in his face. What’s wrong? He scanned his father’s body for signs of bodily harm. He knew his father had been involved in a takeover within the Fyre Kingdom recently and feared the worst. Once he noticed no blood or wounds, he shook his head. Of course, it wasn’t physical harm his father had come for help with; he would have gone to a physician and not a librarian. He stood from his desk and went to meet his father.

My king. His Father spoke between panted breaths. He’s ... not well. He surveyed the room to ensure they were alone. Only Thane was allowed in the private libraries