Chapter 19 #4
“I will release you now,” Vahl told the paralyzed Hallowed Knights. “The battle is over. Stand down and assist the others in securing the prisoners.”
With a look of wonder on their collective faces, the Knights complied and promptly got to work.
“Welcome to my hall, Great General,” Taseus said in a strange tone that mixed warmth and amusement. “I’m sorry that you should find it in such a mess.”
“Are you okay?” Gavin couldn’t help asking.
“Yes, Gavin. My Knights and my friends watched over me,” he added, before glancing over his shoulder at the balcony. “They’re Draylians.”
“They are traitors and mass murderers,” Vahl hissed.
“You presume much, Great General,” the Draylian female said. “While your statement does apply to some of my people, it definitely doesn’t apply to the majority of us.”
“And I should believe you because…?” Vahl challenged.
“You can see auras,” she retorted in a self-evident manner. “Does mine indicate that I wish you ill?”
Even as I finished placing one of the Dantorian Knights’ souls back inside his body, I briefly peered at the Draylian female’s soul. It was indeed not showing any animosity towards us, quite the opposite. I glanced at my brother to see a troubled expression fleeting over his features.
Before he could answer, she shifted her attention to Gavin as I moved on to another wounded Knight.
“Greetings, Augur. Your Grappa was quite impatient to meet you at last,” the female said. “I’m glad you made it.”
Vahleryon recoiled. “Grappa?!”
“Yes. I just found out that the Divine is my mother’s sire,” Gavin replied, his eyes locked on the female. “It’s a long story that I will explain later.”
“Great General, this is Svira,” Taseus said. “She’s a good friend and played an important part in my ability to send my message to Gavin.”
His previous words about creating a distraction to use Coron’s device to send the message came back to mind. Had Svira been the distraction? Was she a mimic like Dread who had taken someone else’s appearance to lure the Primus away?
“Your friend?” Gavin challenged. “Draylians attacked Sarenia. They nearly killed my Aunt Siona—who is truly more like a sister to me. They caused great harm over their obsession with conquest and domination.”
Svira nodded with a dejected expression.
“Yes. And it was a foolish decision by Dread,” she conceded.
To our shock, she jumped over the railing of the balcony.
Instead of plummeting to the floor, she slowly hovered down and landed gracefully.
The other two remained on the balcony, keeping watch.
Although their demeanor remained unthreatening, I didn’t doubt it would shift in a blink if they believed their apparent leader to be in danger.
“We’re not your enemies,” she continued as she stopped next to Taseus. “Our people are divided like many others throughout the galaxy. Are there not many of your fellow Braxians challenging your Magnar’s refusal to align with the Guldans?” she asked Gavin.
He narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t respond.
“Didn’t many Sarenian rebels join forces with the Guldans and Draylians to attack their new Queen? Aren’t there tens of thousands of Korletheans who fled their homeworld because their people are utterly divided over how to handle the future based on their dark past?” she further challenged.
“Fair point,” Vahl conceded. “But it’s strange you should bring up the Korletheans as a part of your example. You hate them.”
“I do,” Svira replied, her tone and face hardening with deep hatred.
“I hate them with everything that I am. Would I love to see their world burn to the ground? Yes. Wholeheartedly, yes. I would not lift a finger to help them and would probably sit in the front row to enjoy the show. But that does not mean I would orchestrate such an event or even participate in it.”
“That’s a bit hard to believe considering the amount of vitriol you just spewed,” Vahl argued.
She smirked.
“Fair point, as you say. But I’m sure you have had plenty of times in your life where you would enjoy ill happening to someone yet never consider causing it yourself,” she countered.
“I want peace for my people. I’m a mother.
My oldest is your age. After a lifetime spent in hiding, I refuse to condemn my children to the same fate.
We do not want to be hunted down anymore.
We didn’t ask to be created, but now we’re here. And we will fight for a right to live.”
“Your people attacked us first,” Vahl countered.
“A faction of my people did,” she corrected.
“Like the Korletheans, we have followed the prophecies surrounding you from the moment of your birth. The odds of you choosing to become the Great Warrior instead of the Beast were slim. You prevailed over that first major hurdle. Then the odds of you and your allies overcoming the tremendous challenges on your various paths were even slimmer. And yet, the Sarenian Queen lives. The soul whispering healer lives.”
She looked at me when she pronounced that last sentence, sending a chill down my spine.
“Every single one of your victories against the dark paths set before you tip the scale a bit more in your favor,” Svira explained. “It is essential that you continue to win. Then my people will recognize that you are who we must side with.”
Vahl cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at her.
“Why should we care whether the Draylians side with us or not? Why would we want you as our allies?” Vahl challenged in a conversational tone devoid of any disdain or haughtiness.
“Because Dread isn’t our only mimic,” she warned.
“One of us can be all of you. No word can begin to describe the type of carnage that will ensue if we fight on opposite sides of the war. And if we win, it will be the end of the universe as we know it. The warmonger faction will wipe out entire species and enslave others. Their resentment and anger run even deeper than what I feel. We cannot—must not—allow it to happen.”
With all the Hallowed Knights resurrected, I proceeded with deep healing of their injuries.
A part of me was torn seeing the souls of the humans and Zolians still lingering and starting to decay.
The healer in me burned with the need to make them whole again.
But they were enemies here to kill and harm us.
Did that justify not granting them much-needed assistance if we had the ability to give it now that they were subdued?
Vahl lowered his eyes, lips pursed as he reflected deeply.
“Who’s behind all of these attacks?” my brother asked at last. “Who is orchestrating the Great War?”
Svira gave him an indulgent smile.