Chapter Thirty-Seven
Deep nothingness expanded before me. I peered at my gown, billowing in periwinkle waves within a shallow pool of water at my bare feet. Had I been barefooted this whole time?
No.
No—the games. Mira.She used her mana somehow. I was sure she emptied her core before we left. But the memory of her trembling hands clutching Mallack’s still-beating heart said differently. And that crack in Annorah’s manastone—I hadn’t imagined that, just like I wasn’t imagining this.
I absorbed the vast expanse of darkness, where my presence served as the sole source of light, as if a spotlight cast upon me from above. This realm was a creation of my own, a sanctuary I once frequented to commune with my god. A place between the veil from which he spoke, and my mind.
But why? Why would he do this now? No. I can’t be here.
“Erezos?” I walked on precarious ground with my tone. “Erezos, I have to get back.”
I spun as if I’d find an exit somewhere behind me, but the same endless nothing mocked me from every direction.
“Show yourself to me. What do you want?” I called up, waiting for a response.
Overlapping chatter filled my ears, and my reality flickered. I stood before an unfamiliar smiling family sitting around a dining table. Mira caught my eye, sitting on the far end. My lips parted to call to her, but I stopped. No. That wasn’t her.
Realization hit me like a charging drakboar. This was the woman Mira spoke of from her dreams. Over the past nine months, we delved into multiple discussions about these recurring visions that haunted her since childhood, pondering their significance.
I surmised they held more significance than mere night-musings, yet I never fully comprehended their meaning. My world swiveled on its axis as the pieces fell together. While similar to Mira, she was completely identical to Annorah, right down to that familiar tender warmth that radiated from her. Mira couldn’t possibly dream of that without having any prior knowledge of her, which meant this was no ordinary dream. This was another variant—one where humans exist. Aethier’s realm.
Fear, sharp and cold, consumed me, and my breath quickened like there wasn’t enough air reaching my lungs. Panic loomed over me, and I had the overwhelming urge to sit. Was my heart in a vise?
“Get me out of here! I need to get back!”
“Calm yourself, little one.” A disembodied voice emanated from the ether.
Or at least I thought it was. I tucked my head into my arms and clenched my eyes shut. An ease pressed against my mind, and I relaxed into it, letting it soothe me like a cool breeze over flushed cheeks. Erezos. Relief cascaded through my being.
“We haven’t got much time.”His ancient tone held an edge of urgency.
“Erezos, we have no time. You need to let me go. Mira, she needs me.” My anxiety flared again, like brittle kindling.
“We only have now. Calm yourself.”
While my heart threatened to beat out of my chest, his essence demanded obedience. I was used to Erezos pulling me to the edges of my mind to speak. Though I’d always been met with any number of comforts. Warm fires, beautiful scenery, or even fine dining—which was as strange of an experience as it sounds—to enjoy food you hadn’t physically eaten.
To experience his power in this manner was overwhelming. He plunged me into a void of endless darkness within my mind, leaving me without escape, only to thrust me into an unfamiliar realm with no explanation. Yet, I sensed a purpose in his energy, a necessity that drove his actions.
“Why did you show me that?”
“You saw where your girl must go.”
His voice changed, became corporeal, and a cool hand brushed along my back. I raised my head and beheld our surroundings—a vast expanse of nothingness. Above me, the piercing gaze of my deity locked onto me with ecliptic intensity.
I took his outstretched palm and let him help me stand. His skin was smooth, cool—dark gray, like thick smoke. His face was handsome with sharp, hard features, and I could feel him all around me even as my eyes were pinned on the form in front of me. However, the contours of his druid form appeared to waver like fluttering leaves in a breeze, a testament to his dwindling strength as he fought to maintain his foothold in my mind’s limited space.
“Did Atreus do this to you? Where are you? How can I help you?”
“Limit your questions, little one, and listen.”
My jaw snapped shut.
“Your girl is not who you think she is. But she is so very important.”
My instinct was to insist he was wrong. I witnessed Mira wield mana. She looked like Annorah. I could draw on any number of the facts I’d been so sure of only minutes ago, but I let them lie languidly on my tongue. In the presence of my god, his words held undeniable authority. He was my creator, and what he said was infallible fact. Despite my unwavering faith, the weight of his revelation struck me. I’d been wrong all along.
His dark voice, like obsidian and crisp nights, swept through me. “We twelve were bestowed with a variant to safeguard and govern in reverence to the Empress.”
I nodded, showing him I knew the history.
“When the Drak breached the veil and invaded, we were still in our infancy as a variant. We needed help to defend it from the scourge. So I sent for Aethier’s aid.”
“And the first humans crossed into this variant,” I offered.
“He came to my aid, but in doing so, caused irreparable damage to the veil between our variants. It grew thin, weak. It’s only a matter of time before it ceases to exist and they merge into one.”
My hand flew to my mouth, but I remained silent.
“I created Annorah, a human capable of wielding my power, as an effort to foster peace between our kinds in preparation for that merge, and offered her to the human king as an answer to his prayers. But Aethier took my gift to humanity, my version of his creation, as an insult. He created Atreus and gave him eternal life to mock me. Then he left, leaving his precious humans behind. Or so I thought.”
“I don’t understand. What does any of this have to do with Mira if she isn’t Annorah’s reincarnation?”
“She is the key to bringing me and Annorah home.”
My brows pinched, and my mouth dried, as if full of sand. Bring Annorah home? I stared, more questions swarming than we had time to answer.
“Twenty-three years ago, Aethier tricked me,” he went on. “He stole my power, locked it away in a manastone—but not before I created one last thing.”
“Mira.”
He nodded.
“But then, where are you now?” I asked.
“Nature has its ways of restoring balance.” A triumphant gleam emitted from his swirling gaze. “A reincarnation can only be born where I exist.”
“The mystery woman—she’s the reincarnation?” The pieces came crashing together. “You’re in Aethier’s variant?”
Erezos nodded.
My legs weakened, and I had the sudden urge to sit again. “If you’ve been there for the last two decades, what’s changed? Why are you able to speak to me now?”
“I was hoping you could answer that for me.”
I chewed on my lip, thinking as quickly as I could, fearful of his form dissipating before my eyes. But I shook my head, struggling to make it make sense. But something else came to mind. “Erezos, nine hundred and twenty-three years ago, you warned us that Atreus was plotting against Annorah, but we found out he was also hoarding–”
“The ash. I took care of it. You need not worry about that.”
My mouth fell open to speak, but no words came.
He sensed my hesitation. “What is it? Speak Sidelle.”
“The ash still exists. Atreus is making weapons with it.”
The dark complexion of my god’s skin blanched. “Then things are much worse than I feared.”
“What is it?” I asked. “Maybe I could figure out how to combat it if–”
“Forget that for now. My only hope of returning to my full strength lies in ensuring your girl makes it into Aethier’s variant unnoticed. She must find the true reincarnation, and together, free me from my prison. Do you understand?”
I nodded. Then a thought came to life like a lit candle. “Erezos, Aethier gave your manastone to Atreus. Most likely for safekeeping, but what if he’s started to use it without Aethier’s knowledge?”
“He would be very foolish to do so.” Erezos’ eyes swirled with the color of starlight, and a knowing smile spread across his dark features. “The released mana would find its way back to me, even from across variants. It would explain why I’m able to generate enough focus for this small feat.”
“But that means if we gain control of that manastone, then we can release you. You could return, regain your control.”
His features were a fragmented mess of wisps as parts of him floated free from this space. But I could still read the hesitancy in his ancient, handsome face.
“I’m afraid that’s not how it works, little one.”
My hope shattered. “What do you mean?”
“When Aethier forced my essence into that manastone, he sealed my weakened self away. My only certainty is that I reside somewhere within his variant and that my prison was secured using mana stolen long before the creation of the manastone.”
My eyes widened. By the mountain. “The missing chest. Are you saying all this time Aethier has been in possession of Annorah’s power?”
“It seems that way. Ironic, isn’t it? Shut away with my own gifted’s mana.” He shook his head. “Which is why only the reincarnated can free me. For now, leave the foolish human king to his mistakes. Let him continue to use my power. Focus on sending the girl through the veil.
His haunting tone sent a chill through me, filling my heart with apprehension at the idea of sending Mira into the unknown variants alone.
“I’ll go with her.”
“No.” His voice grew distant, his energy fading quickly. “Only human blood can pass through the veil into Aethier’s variant. A being such as yourself will call too much unwanted attention. I created Annorah in the image of my brother’s humans to encourage peace between our people and avoid war.” A wry smile lifted a corner of the last visible remains of his face. “But I created Mira to end one.”
My eyes shot open. The cool stone floor was clammy against my face. I pushed myself upright, pressing my palm to my aching head, and hissed in pain. It came away covered in warm, sticky blood. Confusion and dizzy memories addled my brain, and I struggled to make sense of my surroundings. The royal castle’s great hall?
Wait.No—this wasn’t Bronne. This was… new. The Vylandrian castle?
Metal shackles clanged behind me, and I turned toward the sound. An aching terror enveloped every inch of me. Eurok, shackled to the floor, beaten into a massive, bruised bloody heap, surrounded by guards. Fury surged in my chest, and I flew to my feet.
“Eurok!” My voice cracked, breaking with my panic.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
That deep, familiar tenor sent a cold shiver down my spine. Atreus. I spun on my heel, facing him.
“You lied to me, Sidelle.”
He clicked his tongue, shaking his finger like I was nothing more than a petulant child.
I reached inside myself to brace my power—it was gone. “What did you do?” I seethed through my teeth.
“I’m guessing you’ve noticed your mana’s missing.”
My answering glare only coaxed a dreadful smile from his lips.
“Thanks to some clever masonry work,” he mused, “I’ve been able to secure my new home from your kind.”
The ash?
I surveyed the chamber’s smooth polished walls. We were in Vylandria. He found a way to infuse it into the very stones used to construct his fortress. A flicker of amusement danced in his cold brown eyes as he observed the dawning comprehension on my face.
“I know this must be difficult for you, but your kind’s treachery knows no bounds, pet. I had to take precautions.”
My skin crawled at his calm, placating tone.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play stupid with me,” he snapped, then stormed up to me, stopping a breath’s width away. “The girl,” he whispered.
“I don’t–”
Atreus’ hand collided with my face, the sting spreading like fire along my cheek. I tasted blood as my lip split, the metallic tang of copper flooding my mouth.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” The words ground through my clenched teeth. “Why don’t you use your precious manastone to find her yourself?”
His eyes narrowed, and his head quirked. “Come again?”
I reeled, then spat in the king’s face. Blood and saliva spattered his tan skin. “You heard me.”
In utter disgust, he wiped my defiance from his cheek and reared his arm back, preparing to strike. Let him try to break me. I was done playing as his precious pet.
“Stop. Don’t fucking touch her.” The words rasped from Eurok’s lips, etched with fury that mirrored my own.
I edged away from Atreus, pivoting to join Eurok, but the guards shifted, warning me to stay put. If I possessed my full strength, I would have gutted each of them without thought.
The king snared my wrist, wrenching my arm behind my back. His painful hold locked me in place, forcing me to watch my bonded, bleeding, and crumpled on the floor. My mate. The male I devoted myself to but starved of true companionship. Tears stung my eyes, and I pressed my lips together, fighting to remain composed.
“Please,” I whispered. Gut-wrenching guilt wracked me to my very core. “Please, just let him go.”
Atreus’ ears perked at my whimper. “It didn’t have to be this way, you know. You lied to me. You told me the girl possessed no mana. I welcomed her into my chambers.” He jerked my shoulder, spinning me to face him. “You tried to make a fool out of me.”
“Why are you doing this, Atreus?” Tears stung my eyes as I begged him, my agony evident in every word. “Annorah? The poaching? This castle? Why? What is it you want?”
“You stupid, foolish witch. It’s not what Atreus wants that’s important.”
My brows pinched in confusion as his hard, rough hand snatched my chin, forcing my stare to his. A ring of gold encircled the oaken shade of his irises. I paled—then shoved him back, freeing myself from his grip. My steps fumbled as I backed away, gaze pinned to those eyes as shock coursed through my veins, iced and acidic.
It all made sense. The other energy Saura sensed in the journal. Atreus’ sudden indignance for Annorah all those years ago. And the—the falcon.
“Aethier.”
“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere,” he chided with feigned approval. “I thought you’d never catch on.”
My knees wobbled as if the earth trembled beneath my feet. “This whole time?”
“Well, not the whole time.” He waved off my question in a flippant gesture of mocking indifference. “The details aren’t that important. Let’s just say, ol’ Atreus here has proved to be quite the gracious host when I have need of him.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Lies, lies, lies.” He loosed a wicked fit of laughter. “You wielders can’t help yourselves, can you? Where is the girl, Sidelle?”
“I don’t know where she is.” Gratitude flooded me for that fleeting respite, a sliver of solace. He didn’t have her yet.
“She sat beside you during the games, yet when I found you and your prized beast here, she was absent.” He came close, towering over me with a glint of lethal intent simmering across his features, breath hot on my face. “Whereisshe?”
A wavering, shaky smile tore the tender skin on my bleeding lip. “You can’t trace her energy, can you? That’s how she’s gone unnoticed for so long.”
His jaw clenched as I breathed an airy indignant laugh.
“Well, I can’t help you. And even if I could—you can go fuck yourself.”
“Hmm.” He straightened, pacing away from me. “Pity. I suppose, since you have nothing more to offer me.”
He gestured to the guards encircling Eurok. One stooped down, snaring a fistful of his hair, yanking him to his feet. Atreus—Aethier—stepped before him.
“What say you? Hmm?”
Eurok’s mouth formed a hard line, refusing to drop his glare as he fought against the guard’s hold in a feral burst of ferocity. I cringed at the sight of his wounds, so deep they stained his light sage shirt a dark, oozing black. Soon, his strength waned, chest heaving in large, furious breaths through his nose.
“Do you think yourself a worthy opponent, even without your mana, Captain Dramagan?”
The way he spat Eurok’s name enraged me.
“Hand me a sword, and we’ll see who’s worthy,” Eurok seethed through his teeth, blood, and spit spattering the floor.
I stood there, fists clenched at my sides, completely useless.
“Gods do not battle filthy vermin,” Aethier hissed. “We exterminate it.”
My knees collided with hard stone, my legs giving out as the hiss of metal echoed off the walls. I watched the god, promenading as a king, shove his blade through Eurok’s heaving chest—then yank it free in a single, smooth motion. The guards let go, and Eurok dropped to Aethier’s feet.
My screams tore from my throat, but I heard nothing. Hot tears burned streaks down my face as rough hands dug into my flesh, dragging me from Eurok’s lifeless body as I kicked and clawed for release.
Every ounce of my strength strained, desperate to break free. With a final, violent twist, I ripped from their grasp. Something tore in my shoulder, but I didn’t care. I scrambled to his side, a frantic sob choking my throat. With trembling hands, I clutched his wide shoulders to heal him—nothing. My mana was locked within like a sealed sarcophagus.
“Eurok!” My voice shattered in a discordant chorus of sobs and screams. A deluge of tears blurred my vision as the room swayed. “Eurok, please! Please!”
I crawled around his limp body and pulled his listless head into my lap, stroking his cheeks with my thumbs. “Please, come back.” My heart shattered as his once vibrant golden gaze grew distant, hollow—unseeing. “I’m so sorry. Gods, I’m so, so sorry.”
I wished I could undo all of it. Every belief, every mistake—I wanted to trade my fate for his. He believed in me, risked everything for me, and in return, I shut him out, withheld what he deserved.
I led him to his death.