EPILOGUE SELENE
I walk, leaning on my staff, making my way along the road from Arboria. Magic swells in me and around me with every step, as natural to me as breathing.
I've probably learned more about magic than anyone alive.
I understand its rhythms and the depths of its powers.
It's part of what made me the arch magistrate of Aetheria, second in power only to the emperor.
That felt like a good place, at first, until Tiberius went mad, and became so cruel it was obvious he would be overthrown at some point.
Once that became clear, it was the simplest thing to step aside and allow it to happen.
Now I'm on my way back. Do I look the same as when I left? No, I don't think so. Oh, physically I'm almost the same, with the same eternally young features, the same dark hair and violet eyes. But I've been away from the city, and my body has hardened with the effort of living in the wild.
And with the fights I've been having there.
Tiberius's madness wasn't the only reason I left.
I recognized a threat too great to confront directly when I saw it.
The moment I met Lyra Thornwind, I knew she had power on a scale that most people couldn't even comprehend, not just a beast whisperer but the most powerful of their kind.
Perhaps I could have let her be killed. Perhaps I should have because, after all, I made oaths to Aetheria and to Tiberius. But at the end, the best thing for Aetheria was Tiberius's fall. Besides, by allowing things to be torn apart, I created the possibility of them being remade in a new form.
Like me. I don't wear the formal robes of an arch magistrate now, but rather things in the colors of the forest, made from a mixture of plants and animals. Anything foolish enough to try to hunt me has only been added to it, giving me a patchwork robe that tells the tale of my conquests.
I keep walking, using a hint of my magic to disguise myself from view.
One of the advantages of having truly studied magic rather than just relying on innate tricks is that I've always been able to adapt what I do.
Right now, it makes sure that I can approach unobserved.
It's just one of the things I've worked on in the forest kingdom.
And, of course, it was a place where I could practice slaying beast whisperers.
Aetheria killed so many of those within its borders and drove out the rest. Of course, many of them would find their way to the heavily wooded lands of Arboria.
They thrived there, in a place suited to their bestial instincts.
At least until I came along.
I feel the briefest hint of sorrow and guilt at having to kill so many of them, but if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that I must do what's necessary, regardless of the cost. Failing to do so only creates more pain.
And it was necessary to kill them. Necessary to kidnap them first, necessary to make them fight me.
Each one had more power than they thought.
Each one tried their best, latching onto any animals around them, summoning them to their side or drawing in power from them.
In the past few months, I've seen people twist and change, their bodies shifting as they take fragments of animal power they can't control.
That lack of control is part of what makes them so dangerous. They are wild and untamed, with a power that responds as much to their emotions as to reason. Beast whisperers almost tore down the empire in a reign of blood until Lyra Thornwind betrayed her own kind to fight Lady Elara.
I can't allow too many of them in the world. They're far too dangerous for that. And fighting them, hunting them, has helped me to hone my skills against their kind of magic. I've learned what it takes to beat a beast whisperer and built up the techniques I will require in the days to come.
I can see the city in the distance now. It is beautiful even now, although I note that the old flags do not fly on it.
Domitian was clearly unsuccessful, but then, I calculated his chances as no better than the flip of a coin.
It was worth trying. Had he succeeded, he would have handed Aetheria to me.
Well no. If Domitian had taken the city, he would no doubt have refused to hand it to me and forced me to kill him.
But I would have gotten the throne either way.
As it is, I'm sure his efforts have still weakened the newborn Republic of Aetheria, produced fissures between its factions, made sure that the city is ripe and ready for me to pluck it from the branch.
I allowed the emperor to be removed because it was necessary. Now it is necessary that I should return. Will anyone have the audacity to stop me? I’m sure Lyra Thornwind will try, but that’s what all my training has been for.
I will face her, and when I do, Lyra Thornwind will die.