Chapter 55 #2
Tethys’s nightmares—the premonitions brought to her during sleep. Could she have been projecting into the Rift this whole time? What of the black-haired woman who haunted her mind, or the beastly wolf with brilliant yellow eyes? Were they, too, made from the Rift? Or touched by it, as Eos said?
Although Tethys’s true lineage brought clarity, there were still so many unanswered questions. What of the prophecy? What of her demise written in the stars? What of the children slipping through the cracks? She felt her body withering, the warmth in her skin fading.
“After your birth, Phosphora unlocked the gate so she could bring you into the mortal realm. But in doing so, its power weakened. I feel Vorthal’s tremors through this world, and I suppose, since you’re here, you’ve felt them too.”
Tethys nodded, words refusing to cut through the dread now closing in. Her birth…her existence, was the snowball that caused this avalanche.
“You’re quiet, love. Share your thoughts with me,” Eos said, lacing her delicate fingers through Tethys’s. “Have I frightened you with my truths?”
“No, I’ve felt like something was missing for as long as I can remember. I’ve hated myself for so long, resented the magic that never manifested,” she said, tears threatening to fall. “My life has caused so much pain. So much loss.”
“No, dearest, all of this is a consequence of my actions, but I’d open that gate a thousand times over if it meant saving you,” Eos whispered, wrapping her arms around her daughter. The warmth Tethys found in her embrace settled into a stillness where only light and love could exist.
She hadn’t, until now, realized how desperately she needed to feel a warmth such as this.
Until it was nearly too late. Being here, safe and secure in Eos’s arms, she let herself feel again.
She allowed the wolves to circle, but they didn’t risk an attack.
Her mother’s light kept them away, protecting the goddess from their wicked words and sharpened teeth.
“And the children? How could they have slipped through if the gate is still sealed?” Tethys asked, finally pulling away. She thought of something Leda said, Helen’s affliction—was that remnants of the Rift?
“They, too, have been touched by the Rift, and now Vorthal siphons their essence to strengthen his own. He’s grown powerful enough to fracture the veil between realms and the Rift’s pulled them back, just as you said—through the cracks.
I feel their presence, but mortal life isn’t made to survive here.
They fade with each passing day.” Eos laced her hands together, her brow heavy with an onset of sadness.
“If they’ve crossed over once before, they can return, right?” Tethys asked, her palms trembling with a growing realization. She knew what had to be done, and yet, in doing so would risk the whole world.
“Perhaps, but Tethys, there is only one bridge between the realms. To unlock the gate would mean an opportunity for Vorthal to return,” Eos replied.
Tethys watched a torch lit sconce extinguish. The starving flame cracked before yielding to cold shadow. Like a battle of darkness and light, each lick of fire—a soldier on the frontlines desperate to protect their border.
She, too, now would don armor to defend this front line.
“There isn’t an alternative. We must open the gate, if only for a few moments. If we reseal it, will the wards refortify?” she asked, her voice unyielding in its resolution.
“Yes, but I cannot allow you to do that, my love. The gate barely holds as is. If it’s opened again, I don’t know what else might come through,” Eos said.
“We must try. Those kids deserve to live. I made a promise to their mothers and I intend on keeping it,” Tethys said with curled fists. “You said you’d risk opening the gate a thousand times over if it meant giving me a life. Help me do the same for them.”
Eos was silent. Her lips thinned as she weighed the risk, but Tethys already made up her mind.
She’d open the gate with or without her mother’s aid.
The primordial paced across the ballroom, her gown’s gauzy train collecting residual sand particles with each step.
The gleaming crystal crown atop her head sparkled in the sconce light, projecting minuscule beams of light, like stars, over weathered marble.
“If I cannot sway you from this, then I’ll do everything I can to prevent Vorthal from crossing into your world.
The gate is beneath Phosphora’s home, but Tethys, if it remains open for too long…
I’m not strong enough to hold Vorthal here.
We cannot allow him to break free.” Eos returned to her throne and sank into the marble seat.
Her back straightened against the white stone, and Tethys realized suddenly that the primordial was terrified.
Eos, a being powerful enough to withstand chaos itself, now trembled before her.
“He won’t ever reach the mortals,” Tethys promised.
“Let us hope. Now, you must go. You’ve already spent too much time away from your body.
If you stay any longer, you might not find your way back.
” Eos waved her hand through the air, slicing the curtain of energy pulsing around her.
“I know you feel alone in this world, dearest, but be not afraid of what the future may bring. I am with you always.”
With one final moment, the sconces blew out and the ballroom faded back into sand and dust and time. Eos’s final words burrowed into Tethys’s skin, injecting her with newfound life as she faced her future.
I am with you always.