24. The Five Artifacts
The Five Artifacts
ALASTAIR
Glancing down at the makeshift map Ignis had drawn by hand, I admired his confidence.
Land masses etched with intention, they all reflected the cartography we followed when sailing Ellira’s waters.
The overall shape of the continent and Ignis’ explanation of the terrain left me curious about how much he knew, especially considering his unwavering claim.
“Why don’t we start at the beginning, shall we, Alastair Seridean, the Child of Jaskor?”
The Child of the god whom I relied on most. The Child of the god who had never failed in ensuring my safety.
“The first artifact is going to be here.” Marking a designated X on the parchment, Ignis lifted their all-white gaze to meet us. “In an archive dedicated to the God of Luck.”
“Wait.” Leilani set her glass down and motioned toward the claimed location. “How do you know these things?”
The corner of his inky lips curled upward. “I suppose it would be rather stupid of me to presume the two of you would blindly trust my claims.”
“The two of us?” My other half glanced at Parran. “You mean three.”
Ignis shook his head. “Two.”
Brows furrowing, I interjected, “You cannot just assume they are willing—”
“The things in which I share are what Parran is unable to.” Ignis peered across the table to the one we spoke of, and Parran dipped their chin.
“Their binding with the wretched cunt makes it impossible for them to divulge to you the prophecy—the story our people have prayed to the Damned to allow to unfold. Fae and Shifters alike have waited for these days, the end times, where a war would be fought for the freedom of the lands and a reclamation of power.”
I looked to Parran as I had in many instances. “Is this true?”
They nodded.
Ignis smirked and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
“I am not a threat, Alastair Seridean. If anything, I am an asset to you and those you sail alongside. Especially if you wish to find the five artifacts that are needed to call upon the power of each god. While you could eventually uncover them on your own, I will speed up the process. And with another realm relying on your prompt response, time is not a resource to be wasted. Not if you do not wish to see Wraelira swallowed whole alongside its counterpart.”
Silence followed until Parran drummed their nails against the wood.
I peered at them, watching as they curled their long fingers under the node of the chalice before bringing it to their lips.
They took a handful of swigs before settling back against the table.
“Ignis is like me—displaced by the nuances of this realm, and brought over here in an attempt to balance things in the Others’ eyes.
Except that he slipped from Sorva’s influence before she trapped many of us, which is why his voice is free while mine is not.
His words are truthful, and I wish I could express more than that. ”
The genuineness coating Parran’s features was enough confirmation. I trusted them more than most of my crew, and based on the glint in their cornflower stare, they were not, and would never be, lying to me.
Snatching my rum from the table, I downed the rest of it before dropping the glass back to the worn wood. With an intentional exhale, I ran my fingers through my hair before meeting Ignis’ all-white gaze once more. “Okay, so if Jaskor’s artifact is here, what of the four remaining?”
“I was beginning to fear you wouldn’t ask,” Ignis hummed before trailing his sharpened nails across the continent.
“Ellira has dropped hers in the waters she rules over.” Marking the Sea of Ellira, he continued, “Elaros rested his on the isle of the woman—Sereyn—who once held the goddess’ heart to display his commitment.
” Another X. “The Goddess of Illusion, Delusion, and Seduction planted hers in the Capital, directly in the walls of King Marellan’s rule.
” Another. “And last, but certainly never least, the Goddess of Life gave hers to a lake in Velispar.”
“That’s all five,” Leilani mumbled, slipping back into the booth. “Holy shit, Alastair.”
Booted foot tapping against the floor, I examined the parchment, committing each line drawn to memory. “Okay, so we go to the archive, find whatever Jaskor left for us, and return to the ship. From there, we disclose our route to the rest of the crew.”
“Which is?” Parran asked, a smile crossing their expression.
“Most logical would be to hit Velispar since we are near, followed by the Isle of the Sleeping Woman, the Sea of Ellira, and last… the palace.” Reaching for my drink, I couldn’t help but groan when I remembered it was empty.
“But?” Leilani clarified, already knowing my mind had slipped elsewhere.
“But I am almost certain things will not go according to plan. Not when we have royal fleets on our tail and the most trained hound among them.”
“Ah, Caspian Vayne.” Settling on their perch atop the booth across from us, Ignis chuckled. “He’s quite the character.”
I passed him an incredulous look. “You’ve met him?”
Ignis dipped his chin. “A couple of times, actually. Though I’m certain he will not recall me. He seems to have a thing for visiting taverns when he is sailing the seas.”
Inhaling deeply, it was my turn to nod. “He does. Or well, he did when he and I used to fly a flag together.”
Leilani tucked herself against me, fingers snaking across my back with strokes only she could offer—comfort. “Sorva imprisons Vayne, correct?”
“Yes,” Ignis answered without pause. “He has been for gods know how long. The man whom you knew, or know, may not even be who resides beneath the mask she has so meticulously molded to his face and flesh. Then again, I am uncertain how anyone could avoid harboring some form of maliciousness after being led by an evil hand for that long.”
My jaw feathered with his admittance, chest aching alongside it.
The time I had shared with Caspian had never felt like a farce; every gentle brush of his fingers and the deep groan of my name on his lips had seemed genuine.
Knowing how long Sorva had reigned over Wraelira, I couldn’t help but question where the line between truth and lie began and ended.
But there remained a key difference between the man I knew and the man who greeted me that winter night with the determination to carve a hole in my chest.
His eyes.
The Caspian who held my heart had looked at me with a love so unmatched that his once-crystalline eyes glinted in a way that rivaled the surface of Ellira’s waters.
Their blue hue was unlike anything I had seen since, so pure and full of hope that it emanated from him and seeped into whatever he touched.
But now a dark crimson embedded itself in their purity, tainting it with the bloodlust he craved.
And buried within them was nothing but deep-seated loathing and a hatred so potent for our world that I questioned if he had agreed to work with the dark goddess to see it fall.
If there was one thing I knew with utmost certainty, it was that the captain I sailed with all those years ago was no longer that man. Not when darkness polluted his soul and insanity nipped at the edges of his conscience.
Flattening my palms against the cool wood to bring myself back from where I drifted, I cleared my throat. With my mind settled, I opened my mouth to utter my command, but the throaty chime of a bell cut me off.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
Five consecutive strikes. Not a rhythm indicative of the hour, but…
“Royal fleets,” Ignis answered for me, his eyes widening. “They’re already here.”
I slipped from the booth, fingers already interwoven with Leilani’s as I yanked her up with me.
Parran followed suit, their attention shifting between her and me, but it lingered somewhere a breath longer—Ignis.
Pain laced their expression, and their brows dropped with a guttural ache that spoke of a lack of desire to say goodbye.
Hesitantly, they stopped a foot away from me, their throat bobbing as a gleam of opposition flashed in their cornflower pools.
As soon as I saw it, I already knew what it was.
They had resided among humans for years, and while my crew had welcomed them with open arms and without an ounce of judgment, I imagined that seeing someone like them would awaken wounds they thought had closed.
It was something even I couldn’t refute, because if I caught sight of Caspian’s baby blues again, there wouldn’t be anything in the world that would make me wish to leave him.
“Ignis,” I prompted, earning the Fae’s attention. With a smile, I extended a portion of myself I rarely gave to strangers, but for Parran, it was a sacrifice I was more than willing to make. “How would you feel about joining our crew?”