Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
The priestesses here suspect me. I have grown rather close to Kronos’ son quickly in order to observe him and try to decipher his motives.
Part of me wishes he was evil, though he does hide something I am sure is important.
He often disappears for long stretches of time during the day with the dragon. Something about this feels familiar.
—Ana, Priestess to the Usurper King, Arcadia
Nya awoke to the familiar feeling of her mother brushing hair back from her forehead. She groaned softly, forcing herself to open her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light of the flickering torches around them.
“What—where are we?”
Her mother’s ice-blue eyes were red-rimmed, but her expression was calm.
“We’re still in the Gods’ Aisle, in a cave system within one of the mountains.
The general with the blond hair and the attitude claims we are prisoners who will be kept comfortable.
” She snorted, shaking her head. “As if I believed him for even a moment.”
Nya’s brow creased, realizing she was talking about Carus. She didn’t inquire about him further, though, instead asking, “Why didn’t you and the dragons try to fight them off and escape?”
Her mother’s throat bobbed and her jaw tensed, telltale signs she was trying to collect herself. “I couldn’t leave you or your father, Nya, love. I don’t… You are my only reasons to keep any remaining faith in this world.”
“Is Papa alright?” Nya asked, sitting up abruptly enough that her head spun, sweeping her gaze over the dim room. Her pulse quickened when she saw him, still unconscious on a cot a few feet away.
Her mother touched her cheek. “He’s alright, Nya. It’ll be a bit before he wakes up again.” A small smile tugged at her mouth. “And gods save everyone here when that happens.”
Nya took a slow breath. “It worked, what I did.”
“Yes.” Her mother’s voice was very quiet as she added, “I didn’t ever want you to have to feel the cold of that place. But perhaps keeping you from it was a mistake on my part.”
Nya met her eyes. “I know you and Papa wanted to protect me, but I’m as much a part of this world as you are.” She shrugged, adding, “All my life, you kept me away from Arcadia, but it found me anyways.”
Her mother’s expression clouded, and Nya knew she was about to ask about Morgen, but they both froze as her father muttered, “Where the fuck are we?”
Nya suppressed a small smile despite the circumstances, and her mother sighed and said under her breath, “Here we go.”
The cot creaked as he sat up, and though he winced at the pain, he still tried to stand, demanding, “Sora, Nya? Are you alright?”
Her mother stood, kneeling next to him and pressing a hand to his shoulder. “We’re fine. Lay back down before you ruin all the work our daughter did bringing you back from the brink of death.”
He blinked a few times, his eyes landing on Nya, then flicking back to her mother. His voice was steadier, more lucid as he asked, “What happened?” and Nya didn’t miss the undertone of cold rage simmering beneath his mask of calm.
Her mother pressed her lips together, but before she could reply, her father’s gaze shifted, and he spat, “You.”
Nya whirled, finding Morgen leaning in the doorway, his hands in the pockets of his pants. His hair was pulled back from his face, accentuating the sharp angles of his cheeks and the shadows beneath his eyes.
“A ‘you’re welcome,’ would be appreciated, but I’ll take not getting skewered immediately by you for now,” Morgen said, a single brow raised. He was breathing normally and had changed out of the bloody armor, but Nya couldn’t tell if the wound had healed fully.
“You little fuck,” her father seethed, trying to stand before her mother hissed something in his ear, and he settled for sitting on the edge of the cot with a glare.
“You should probably listen to your wife, given you lack the range of healing abilities I have,” Morgen said. “I’ve no intention of inadvertently killing anyone at the moment.”
“You…” Her mother trailed off, eyes narrowed. “You are Kronos’ son?”
Nya looked between them, entirely unsure of what was happening, especially as Morgen dipped his chin and said, “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, Sora, but it seems, once again, we are not meeting under very pleasant circumstances.”
“Sora?” Nya’s father said. What’s going on?
I had no idea he was Kronos’ son, her mother said down the pathway.
Morgen cleared his throat. “Look, I know we all have the ability to speak silently to each other through various channels, but I think it might be less confusing if we clarify all of this aloud.”
“Fine,” her mother said shortly, her eyes still on Morgen.
He nodded once, pushing off the wall and sitting on a small woven chair closest to Nya. Their eyes met briefly, but she couldn’t quite read his closed-off expression.
“Would you care to explain, or should I?” he said, glancing at her mother.
Sora cleared her throat. “What I saw, it was barely for a second, and…” She shook her head. “After I was reborn, I always thought it might have been an odd trick of my brain in those last moments, some strange image my mind tried to conjure as a distraction from the pain.”
Nya did not miss the way the torches flared slightly, or that her mother casually slipped a hand into her father’s.
“I saw a child,” her mother explained. “Just for a flash before I was gone, near one of the pillars off the side of the throne room. A young boy with eyes…” She trailed off, looking at Morgen. “A boy with eyes both silver and gold. It was you, wasn’t it?”
Morgen’s jaw tensed, and Nya felt sick at the realization of her mother’s words.
He dipped his head in a shallow nod, a dry, humorless laugh slipping past his lips. “I wasn’t supposed to be out of my room. But, for once, my disobedience actually worked in my favor.”
“They would have destroyed you if they found you,” Nya’s father said flatly. “So, I presume you escaped the palace before they arrived.”
“Who would have?” Nya asked before she could stop herself.
Morgen lifted a brow. “The other half of the council. Your parents had just taken care of their problem. Do you think they would have let the potential of another one live?”
“How old were you?” Nya’s mother asked quietly.
“Almost thirteen,” Morgen replied, the ghost of a smile on his face as he added, “My birthday was the next day. Truthfully, the best present I’d ever gotten, waking up knowing he was dead and would never be coming back.”
Nya couldn’t help glancing at the scar on his throat. She knew Morgen noticed, but he didn’t acknowledge her for more than a moment.
“Why then?” her mother asked. “Why try to take the throne if you knew what Kronos was like once the power went to his head?”
Nya resisted the urge to sit up straighter when Morgen sighed and muttered, “Right. Of course. They never told you.”
Ever since she’d been brought here, Imeria, Carus, and even Morgen himself had been referencing some important factor that explained why he needed to take the throne, but no one had bothered to explain it.
To her relief, Morgen didn’t try to skirt around it this time, instead leaning forward on his elbows as he said, “There is a reason Sol gave the embers to Kronos in the first place.”
When no one stopped him, he continued, “The embers are not only the source of Life, but the basis to this world. All the principal gods were born with a piece of them, but Sol eventually made the decision that, spread thin amongst them, the embers were not strong enough to hold the realms together. The council came to an agreement: one of them would hold the embers alone in a concentrated form and in a specific place, though Sol didn’t make clear who.
They all assumed it would be him, but then he gave them to Kronos, by whom they were held until he was destroyed. ”
Morgen paused, the gold flaring in his eyes as he glanced at her parents. “I presume you know the reason heirs exist, given you are both named as such.”
“The realm would become unstable if one of the principals was permanently destroyed,” her mother said hoarsely, her voice almost shocked, as if she was realizing something she hadn’t before. “They aren’t just gods, but manifestations of elements central to the world itself.”
“Yes.” Morgen sat back, stretching his legs out in front of him.
“Kronos often referred to me as his ‘spare.’ I was always assured that once he had a true, pure-blooded godling heir, he would get rid of me so there wasn’t a question as to who the title passed to.
” He laughed, the sound hollow. “The principals would have killed me as soon as they figured out how to take the embers, I’m sure.
And then, they would have quickly realized their entire world was doomed to slowly die.
Kronos was a shit king, but he was necessary, as was his place in that godsforsaken palace. ”
Nya’s father cleared his throat. “Are you saying the palace’s placement was intentional?”
Slowly, Morgen nodded. “Believe me, I’d prefer not to return there ever again. But if someone who holds the embers does not rule where the council transferred them to Kronos in the first place, Arcadia will soon suffer for it, as will the mortal realm.”
“The storms we’ve heard about in Aren?” her mother said. “Are those a result of what you’re claiming?”
Morgen’s eyes flashed to Nya. “They’re related, yes.”
The room fell silent, and Nya bit her cheek hard enough to flood her mouth with the taste of crimson, hating how small her voice sounded when she forced herself to ask Morgen, “But why take me? Why…why marry me?”
She didn’t need to look back to know her parents were probably waiting for the answer too.
Morgen didn’t look at them, though, his cold gaze held on her.
“I meant what I said. I’m not looking for war with the council, though I will go there if necessary.
Marrying you was a way to get them to listen for at least a second before they tried to murder me—and it worked. ”
A cold stone dropped in her belly, and she cursed the foolish, childish disappointment and the burning in her eyes. “And the blood binding?”
Now, there was a tiny crack in his indifferent, cold facade, a muscle in his jaw flickering.
“A way to ensure you remained close until the negotiation was achieved and provide insurance should their cooperation ever lapse. The marriage alone wouldn’t have done much if they snatched you away before proper conversations could occur. This way, you can never go far.”
She lowered her chin, narrowing her eyes.
“Well, this is really all so convenient for you—using me as some kind of emotional crutch until your armies were properly assembled and tossing me aside once you were done. I’m sure it was nice, though, thinking someone actually liked you for a few years there, beyond your uses with the embers.
It’s a shame that won’t continue, especially given we’re bound for life now. ”
His eyes dulled, almost to the point of looking human, but all he did was straighten and stand. “If that’s all, I’ve things to attend to, but Carus will be outside if either of you would like to lose your prisoner status.”
Nya’s father snorted harshly, and when she glanced at him, he was glaring stonily at Morgen. “I think Nya insulted you better than I could have. We’ll consider what you’ve told us regarding the embers.”
Morgen gave a short nod and, before leaving, he said to her, “Carus won’t stop you if you wish to leave this room.”
“Oh, lucky me,” she sneered. “I’m so glad our marriage grants me a bigger cage, at the least.”
You’re not a prisoner.
She set her jaw. Keep telling yourself that.
He inhaled sharply then turned and strode into the passageway beyond without another word, leaving her alone with her parents.
“You’re not actually considering supporting his claim, are you?” she asked as soon as his footsteps faded.
Her father rubbed his temple, grimacing. “Nya, love, if he’s right, it doesn’t matter how much I’d like to rip his head off for what he did to you.”
“Are you serious?”
He let out a slow breath, wincing. “Part of me would love to say damn the world and everyone in it, and perhaps, once, I would have actually believed that. But if what he says is true, and he does not take the throne, I’m guessing the realm doesn’t have much time left for peace.
” His dark eyes flicked to Nya’s mother, unspoken words passing between them before he added, “You’ve had so little time to live.
If we don’t side with Morgen on this, you won’t have much time left at all. None of us will.”
Nya stood abruptly, ignoring the lightness in her head. “I heard what Thanatos said about the blood binding. My life is over no matter what, or, at the very least, it is no longer my own.”
Pain flashed across her mother’s face. “Nya, we don’t want this for you, but we also don’t have much of a choice.”
Nya let out a cold laugh. “I wonder if that’s what Nyx and Thanatos told themselves when they sold you to Kronos.”
It was like she had slapped them. Her mother flinched visibly, and her father paled as soon as the words left her mouth.
Maybe she didn’t truly mean them, but she was so angry.
Her mind didn’t feel like her own anymore, whirling emotions clouding reason and sense until nothing remained but one need: escape.
Her life.
Her body.
The world.
Perhaps her parents were right. Or perhaps, this world did not deserve to survive anymore.
She was out of the room and running before more angry words escaped her. Carus didn’t stop her as she fled, entirely unsure of where she was going but needing to move before she brought the mountain down on them all.