Chapter Twenty-Five
Though the field seems barren and the battle lost, do not let your hope wither, for I shall carve a path where none yet exists.
The horn blast filled the enclosure, rough and raw. A bold, primal screech of rage, hate, and violence. Even in my spirit form, nerve endings screamed in protest; the pain of each wild note reverberated throughout my entire being. Ripples of agony nearly buckled my knees.
The royals smashed their hands over their ears and screamed. Domino stood in battle position, his eyes glittering with challenge as though he’d waited for this his entire life. Victors had vanished.
The nightmare lasted forever or mere seconds, I wasn’t sure. My brain was currently the consistency of soup. The moment the sound tapered to quiet, realization dawned. The last sign. It had happened.
The end was here.
Astan would select his host.
The royals squared off, facing each other.
“I don’t love any of you, and you don’t love me,” Lolli said, a quiver in her voice.
“Same,” Summit proclaimed, backing up. “But I know who does.” Both he and Lolli eyed Cyrus and Felix.
The brothers hadn’t recovered from the horn blast as quickly as their peers. Ashen and unsteady, each held the other’s bleak stare.
Horror suffused me, a merciless flood filling my throat. The emperor—Astan—had planned this. Had wanted the brothers, his grandchildren, to battle to the death. The final test, winner take all.
“You desired a go at me, brother.” Felix smiled without humor. “This is your only chance. But understand this. I won’t go down easy. This is my sole opportunity to dismantle the Tome Society and CURED from top to bottom. It’s the only reason I live.”
“CURED?” Summit gaped as Lolli bellowed, “Traitor!” Both bristled and bowed up, gearing for attack.
“Don’t you dare touch him,” Cyrus snarled at the pair. His exhalations grew choppier, verging on growls.
Felix jutted his chin. “Grandfather paid Tabby to spy on me, did you know that? I gave her the world, and she betrayed me as soon as I gave my life to Soal. I was forced into treatment. You cannot comprehend what they did to me in there,” he shouted, spittle spraying from the corners of his mouth.
“I would have forgiven my Tabby Cat. I loved her and understood she was as brainwashed as the rest of us. But to gain my release from the facility, I had to prove I’d turned my back on Soal.
I didn’t, not at first. I waited for his help.
But days of torture passed, and he did nothing.
Finally, I had to accept the truth. I can trust only myself.
The emperor watched, beaming with pride as I did what he demanded.
” Agony contorted his features. “I killed her. I murdered the woman I loved.” Tears streamed down his cheeks.
“She begged for my help. Pleaded for my forgiveness. I struck anyway.”
Sympathy and resolve flittered over Cyrus’s features. “The emperor will be dealt with, but so will you. I won’t be dying today. I was born to rule, and that’s what I’ll do. I’ll wield a power not even Grandfather can subdue.”
No. He wouldn’t do this terrible deed. He hated CURED. Hated Astan and everything the god stood for. Cyrus wouldn’t murder his own brother. He was smart; he would find another way. “We have to stop this.”
“We cannot,” Domino replied. “We offered each a way out. Like Giselle, they made their choice. Now they reap the consequences.”
No. I didn’t accept that. “Cyrus,” I shouted, racing to him. Panic and fear overtook me. “Cyrus. Listen to me. Please.” I jumped in front of him. Waved my arms. Nothing. No response as he and Felix braced, preparing to attack. “Cyrus!”
“You cannot stop this.” Domino’s sad assurance buzzed across our bond, sending me into a new tizzy of movement.
“Please, Cyrus. Whatever Astan offers, say no.”
“Arden Dawn Roosa.”
The familiar feminine whisper hit my ears, halting my activities. Briar Rose. Confused, I turned and scanned my surroundings. She’d sounded so close, yet she hadn’t entered the dome.
Then, I felt a tug. A tug so strong it yanked my spirit backward several stumbling steps. What the—yank. I stumbled back another three feet. “Domino,” I shrieked, digging in my heels.
He bounded over and clasped my wrists in his intractable grip, but the next tug proved strongest, dragging him with me. Closing in on the dome . . .
If I touched it, I would die. So would Domino, via our connection. I fought for our lives. Fought so hard.
It did no good.
Tug. Another several feet. Mere inches away. The next haul could be my last. “Try to save yourself,” I pleaded, accepting my fate. “Help Cyrus. Don’t give up on him. Look out for my mom and Mykal. Thank you for everything.”
“I’m here for you,” the librarian snapped. “Always you.”
“Survive,” I commanded him, wrenching free of his hold, hoping against hope. Momentum carried me to the finish line. Maybe he could recover. I braced—
And slipped through the dome without difficulty.
Astonished, I whooshed across the land, moving so quickly the terrain blurred.
Then I was inside the castle, going through ceilings and walls.
Into my suite. My eyelids popped open, and I gasped, jolting upright in bed.
The thudding of my heart filled every inch of my body. Buh-bum. Buh-bum. Buh-bum. A war drum.
Though I threw myself against the pillows and squeezed my eyes shut, I didn’t return to Cyrus and Domino. The librarian didn’t follow me or appear.
“Arden Dawn Roosa.” Briar Rose called to me once more, a clear summons.
I jolted upright again. Panting from exertion, I wrestled with the compulsion to visit her. If I could get to the garage, I could steal a vehicle and return to the dome in my physical form.
And do what?
Tears seared my eyes.
“Arden Dawn Roosa. Come to me. Now.”
No more whispers or kind requests. The goddess shouted a directive that reverberated through my cells.
My limbs acted of their own accord, propelling me onto my feet. Though I resisted from the inside, my outside paid me no heed, padding into the hall, just as I was.
The guards hadn’t abandoned their post. Nor had 999, the meta Cyrus had summoned before the field trip. At my appearance, the men snapped to attention, one rushing ahead to lead the way, the other following me. As we motored onward, the meta kept pace at my side.
I’d always secretly longed for a pet of my own, but I had barely been able to afford cheap, awful meal bars for my mother and myself. This meta, I’d never have to feed, yet I couldn’t ditch it soon enough. Its metal frame and multitude of weapons were anything but adorable.
No one had to be told where to go; somehow, they already knew. Along the way, other trainees exited their rooms, heading in the same direction. We didn’t speak. In fact, everyone else appeared entranced, staring straight ahead.
Dread pricked my nape as we navigated the maze of hallways, taking an unfamiliar-to-me route.
And yet, we ended up in a very familiar place: the temple of gods.
Guards stationed at the open doors allowed us to sail inside without issue.
I tripped over myself when the statues came into view.
They looked to be flesh and blood now, full of color and life, the stone gone as if it had never been. Yet, none had moved from their perches.
I pressed a fist against my thudding heart. Trainees spread out without prompting, approaching different deities. No one neared Astan, I noted with a shudder. The king of gods was a stunner in multicolored detail, his horns the deepest black, his wings the whitest white.
As his glittering eyes tracked my every move, he smiled, his teeth as sharp as blades. I shuddered.
“Finally, the day has come.” Glee emanated from Briar Rose as she shifted, slowly extending her arm toward me. Vibrant-green vines coiled around her fingers, spreading to her elbow. Flowers of varying colors bloomed with lovely petals, unleashing a sweet floral bouquet.
A berry grew from the center of one of the flowers, reminding me of those produced by Tsuri. It glowed, though not with the same brightness. I witnessed the progression of it all, astonished.
“Go ahead. Taste,” she urged. “Let me make all your dreams come true.”
My chest clenched. For as long as I could remember, I’d yearned to be a grower, working alongside Ourland’s agricultural giants.
I’d taken special gardening courses, took extra jobs to afford the proper tools, and poured all my energy into learning my craft.
I’d done my part, paying taxes on the money I made, while also paying taxes on the money I spent, while also paying taxes on everything I supposedly owned, which I’d purchased with already taxed money.
Yet CURED had other plans for me and demanded more. Demanded everything, including my life.
When I was recruited for military service to pay off my mother’s back taxes—money she shouldn’t have owed—my aspirations died. It was then that I’d begun to wake to the truth that CURED wasn’t a remedy but a disease, corrupt at its very core. So join them once again?
“No,” I grated.
The berry evaporated. “My casing is gone, but I require a host to shed what remains of my prison. I choose you, Arden,” she grated back.
My legs threatened to buckle under the weight of her tone. “I don’t care.”
“Say yes,” she continued, “and I will grant you a power beyond imagining. You’ll own this world and the other.
Create a garden oasis as you’ve always yearned.
Feed the entire population. Live a life you’ve only dared crave in secret, with Cyrus at your side.
He is Astan, and Astan is Cyrus. It’s already done. ”
Lies and bribery. It was such a human thing to do. In fact, she struck me as a woman desperate to live again, willing to promise anything to get it done. But I knew better than to accept a deal with a lying cheater.