56. Revelations #2
"My brother is playing a role. Gathering intelligence," I hissed. "He's taking advantage of the situation and learning what he can about Olinthar and Chavore. And Sundralis. Anything you think you've seen is merely the mask he's wearing. Anything he’s done is necessary to maintain appearances."
"And how could you possibly know that, Thais?" Xül asked.
"Because unlike you," I snarled, "my brother doesn't lie to me."
Silence.
"Why is he playing this role?" Aelix asked carefully.
I took a shaking breath, weighing my options. This secret had been buried for so long, kept even from Marx. But if it could save Thatcher...
"If I tell you this, I want something in return." My voice was steady now, cold with purpose.
"You're hardly in a position to negotiate," Aelix pointed out.
"I'm in exactly the position to negotiate." I met his gaze unflinchingly. "Because what I know could change everything about your plot."
Xül stepped closer, shadows curling at his feet. "What do you want?"
"A guarantee. Thatcher lives. No matter what."
"I can't promise that," Xül said immediately.
"Then I have nothing to say."
"Thais, be reasonable?—"
"Reasonable?" I laughed, brittle and cold. "Is any of this reasonable, Xül?"
His face went white with anger or pain—I couldn't tell .
"Listen, Thais. If there’s something you know," Aelix cut in, "something that could change things, something that could help us negotiate for your brother’s life, now would be the time to tell us."
“Negotiate with whom?”
They only stared.
“We will show our hand if you show yours,” Aelix offered.
I looked at him, then at Xül, then at Marx. The only ally I had left in this room.
The secret had been mine and Thatcher's alone, buried deep since the moment we'd made our vow.
To speak it aloud now felt like betrayal—but wasn't silence the greater betrayal if it meant Thatcher's death?
My mind raced. They already planned to kill him.
What did I have to lose? And what might I gain if they understood that Thatcher wasn't their enemy?
That he hated the same monster they feared?
It might be the only thing that could save him now.
I made my decision, and took a deep breath.
"When we were brought here—after the Proving, after Thatcher's abilities manifested—we made a pact."
Xül's eyes narrowed to slits. "What kind of pact?"
I didn't look at him. Couldn't. Instead, I focused on Aelix, on the growing confusion in his golden eyes.
"To kill Olinthar."
There it was. Our secret. Bared to the world.
Xül's knuckles cracked. "So, you do have a death wish," he growled. His posture stayed calm, but there was only rage in his eyes.
I ignored him.
"I don't understand," Aelix said finally. "Why would you?—"
"Because of what he did to us." The words came out raw, bleeding.
Understanding dawned in Marx's eyes. "Shit, Thais."
But Aelix still looked lost, glancing between Xül and me. "Can someone please explain what everyone seems to know except me?"
My eyes snapped to Xül, letting every ounce of contempt show. " I'm surprised you kept that a secret. Or did it not come up during all your plotting?"
"Thais," Xül warned, but I was beyond warnings.
"Olinthar raped our mother. He's our father."
Aelix went utterly still.
His gaze crawled to Xül. "You knew this?"
Xül's silence was answer enough.
"Does your father know?"
More silence.
"I'm assuming that's a no." Aelix dragged both hands through his hair. "We need to tell the others?—"
"Others?" Marx cut in.
Aelix and Xül exchanged a look.
"Marx," Aelix said slowly, "what I'm about to tell you... if you repeat this to anyone, we're all dead. Do you understand? Not imprisoned. Not punished. Dead."
Marx's face paled, but she nodded.
Aelix took a deep breath. "There are some in Voldaris who have grown tired of Olinthar's tyranny. Tired enough to act. Those who wish for change."
My heart stopped. "Who?"
"Morthus. And he is backed by Vorinar and Syrena. Including their followers.”
The Lord of Death. The Lord of Fate. The Goddess of Dreams.
Lyralie's words drifted into my mind then. What she'd said at the Proving.
Not all who serve the divine realm agree with every tradition we're asked to uphold.
"And Davina, soon," Aelix murmured, looking back at Xül.
Of course. Nyvora. The marriage. It was to secure an alliance.
"You're planning a coup." The words left me, unreal even as I heard them.
A treacherous thought slithered through my mind, unwanted and painful. Had Xül and I been working toward the same goal this entire time?
The realization sat like acid in my stomach. We both wanted Olinthar gone. Both wanted his reign to end?—
No. I forced the thought down before it could confuse things further.
Because I would burn every world to ash before I let Thatcher die due to their miscalculation. And Xül—Xül had been willing to let it happen.
"Eventually," Aelix confirmed. "But it has to be done carefully. Precisely. One wrong move and Olinthar will slaughter us all—and anyone even suspected of being involved."
"And my brother?" My voice came out strangled. "He's what—collateral damage in your divine civil war?"
"When he looks at Thatcher, he only sees Vivros," Xül said quietly. "An opportunity that slipped through his fingers before. He wants a second chance."
"If that happens, the resistance would be crushed before it could even truly begin," Aelix finished. "They want to eliminate that possibility before he ascends and gains full access to his power. And this is the best opportunity. With Vorinar overseeing the final trial."
"Murdering an innocent," I said, the words bitter as poison. "Sounds like a great way to start such a noble cause."
"From their perspective, it’s one death to prevent thousands," Aelix said grimly. "If Olinthar's power grows unchecked, if he gains allies like your brother... the bloodshed would be unimaginable."
"Well, he's certainly not loyal to Olinthar. So can we call off the bounty on Thatcher's head then?" My delivery was pointed, but it couldn’t bury the panic behind it.
"That's where I was today. What I was doing. Trying to reason with them,” Xül said, his voice still terrifyingly controlled. "As I have been trying to do every time the plan has been presented.”
I stared at him. "You expect me to believe that? That you were trying to save him while you were—" I cut myself off, the memory of last night too raw. I couldn’t shake the convenience of the situation. Would he have ever told me if I hadn’t found out on my own and confronted him? My mind and my heart were at war.
"Believe what you want," he said, that calm never wavering. "It doesn't change the truth."
“Let’s say I do believe you. Were you successful in your efforts, Xül? Did you convince your father not to eliminate my brother in the final trial?”
He simply looked at me, jaw clenching. “No.”
"Take me to Morthus." The words burst from me. "Now. Let me plead for his life myself."
Silence crashed through the dungeon. Even Marx looked shocked.
"No." Xül's response was immediate, absolute. The temperature in the room plummeted. "Absolutely not."
"I don't care what you?—"
"Think, Thais." His voice dropped to something lethal. "The moment you ask to plead for your brother's life, you reveal that you know too much."
My blood ran cold as the implications hit me.
"He will know that you're aware of the resistance." His eyes blazed. "And then he'll kill you to protect the secret."
"But—"
"You do this, and you sign your own death warrant."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" I yanked against the bonds, desperation clawing at my throat. "Just let him die?"
Silence.
"This is a risk I'm willing to take!"
"Well, I'm not!" The words exploded from him, swirls of death energy slamming into the walls. "I won't watch you die!"
The silence that followed was deafening.
"If you ever cared about me," I said, my voice raw. "If any of what happened between us was real, you'll do this for me."
The words rushed past him. Agony streaked across his face .
"Don't." His voice was barely a whisper. "Don't use that against me."
Tears burned my eyes. "You say there's no way, but at least give me the chance to try."
He stood frozen, wrestling with himself. When he finally spoke, his voice was hollow.
"You would use my feelings against me so easily?"
"To save my brother? Yes." The admission hurt, but it was true. "I'd use anything. Anyone."
"You're determined to die for him."
"I'm determined to try to save him," I corrected. "If that means dying, then yes."
A long silence stretched between us. Xül looked as though he'd just lost a war.
"Fine." The word was clipped, lifeless.
"Xül," Aelix asserted. "You can't be serious."
"Untie her," Xül commanded, ignoring his friend's protest.
This had all started with me on my knees at the Proving, begging them to spare Thatcher. If it ended the same way—with me pleading for his life while mine hung in the balance—so be it.