Chapter 43 Eviana #2
“It will never work. The whole of Devram would need to fall for anything to change,” Caris said, reaching for her book and turning back to her paltry dinner. A dismissal if Eviana had ever seen one.
“They aren’t alone,” Eviana blurted. “They… Theon has fallen for someone. Chosen her against Valter’s wishes, and she is changing things. It has caused division among the kingdoms.”
“Nothing will change in Devram unless the gods come and destroy it all to start anew,” Caris said again. “Good night, Eviana.”
“Not the gods, but what of Chaos?”
Caris stilled, slowly setting down the soup spoon she’d picked up. Moving the book aside once more, she turned back to Eviana. “You speak of the Revelation Decree.”
“I do,” Eviana answered, not sure how this was going to convince Caris to help her. She just needed to find a bargaining chip. Something to entice her.
“That is not really a decree,” Caris went on.
“Theon figured that out early on. He was only in his adolescent years when he started digging into it. Initially, Valter was happy, but Theon became preoccupied with it,” Eviana said, and as she spoke, Caris leaned forward imperceptibly. Almost as if she was hanging on to every word.
“Pen was from the Falein Estate,” Caris said softly.
“I know.”
“She would have encouraged his love of academics.”
“She did,” Eviana confirmed. “Something Valter was often irritated with her for when it interfered with what he wanted Theon focused on. Theon can be…obsessive.”
“And all of this relates to Chaos how?”
“That obsession carries over to his personal relationships,” Eviana said. “The female he has fallen for was to be his Source, but she is not Fae. Hidden in the realm, she is the granddaughter of Arius and Achaz. Both.”
Caris’s brow furrowed. “Beginnings and endings cannot be in one.”
“But they are, and more. I do not understand it all as it is not my place, but her magic is Chaos itself,” Eviana continued.
“She is the most powerful being in Devram, and she will bring the realm to its knees. She has already destroyed the Pantheon, and I am told Theon is now at her side once more.”
“And you? Where are you in all this?” Caris asked, crossing one leg over the other and resting her chin in her hand.
“What do you mean?”
Her smile was sharp. “I watched you with him for years, Eviana. Endured torture at your hand while cut off from my power. For decades, I have not been able to touch it.” Her emerald gaze darted to her wrists. “But you understand that some, I suppose.”
“It’s been days for me. Not decades,” Eviana deadpanned.
Her smile didn’t falter. “But it is still driving you mad.”
“How are you not?”
“Pen helped me learn to endure it long ago,” she answered, her smile turning dark and cold. “I had to endure many things, thanks to you and Valter. Forced to conceive a child against my will. Watch another claim my child as her own. Care for my son and be unable to tell him who I was.”
“I was…” Eviana trailed off, understanding the pain of what she was describing.
“Just trying to survive,” Caris supplied.
Eviana nodded, holding her stare. “But more and more I find myself wondering why I bothered.”
“Why did you?”
Silence hung in the air as she debated what to say.
For seven years she’d kept this secret. No one knew about Priya, and it was part of keeping her safe.
And yes, Priya was why she was here, trying to gain Caris’s trust to begin with, but she suddenly felt like she was telling her secrets to everyone.
Tessa knew. She could assume she’d told Theon and Luka.
Corbin. Lange. The more people who knew, the more she would be used against her.
Caris wasn’t the only one who had a rightful grudge against her.
Finally, Eviana said, “If I was gone, he would just do the same to someone else.”
Caris’s head tilted, her raven locks slipping over her shoulder. “Why do you care?”
Why did she care? If she’d been gone, she wouldn’t have had to worry about anything. She’d be in the After with no cares. Priya wouldn’t exist to worry about, spared from this poisonous cycle.
“I don’t know why I cared back then,” she answered honestly. “But now, it’s because of an innocent girl he lords over me the same way he did to you with Theon.”
Caris sat up straight at the words, her eyes wide. Eviana crossed the room, placing the photo on the table.
“I didn’t get to care for her. She didn’t even know I existed until a few weeks ago, and she still doesn’t know who I am to her,” Eviana said.
“I don’t know her favorite foods or what scares her at night.
I didn’t get to see her first steps or watch her wonder the first time she felt a flower call to her.
I know it’s not the same, but she is why I care now.
Because even though I didn’t get those things, I will still sacrifice whatever I must for her, just as you did for them. ”
She stepped back as Caris reached for the photo, her hand trembling.
Eviana didn’t know if Valter told her anything about Theon.
He wouldn’t have cared to tell her of Luka or Axel, despite her being their caretaker as well.
Judging by her reaction though, she hadn’t seen them since the day Valter tortured her in front of them.
“The bargain isn’t for me,” Eviana said. “It’s for her. Even if I never see her again in the end.”
“I don’t know what you think I can do,” Caris said quietly, still fixated on the photo.
“I just need to get her out of here,” she answered. “If I can get you out, will you take her with you? Get her to Theon? There are two males who will be with him. They will take her from there.”
Her eyes filled with pity. “Even if you could do that, what about you, Eviana?”
“Does it matter?” She gestured around the room. “Did it matter to you that this became your reality as long as they were safe?”
“Come to me with a plan, and we’ll talk,” Caris said, holding the photo with two hands now.
It wasn’t a yes, but it was something.
Eviana turned to leave, but just before she stepped through the hidden panel, Caris called out, “Thank you, Eviana.”
She didn’t stop or look back. There was nothing to thank her for. It was the least she could do after being part of the reason she was there in the first place.
Now to finalize her plan and hope that Corbin and Lange would be on board.