Chapter 60 #2
He hadn’t found even a few minutes of sleep once they’d returned from the docks.
Every time he willed his eyes shut, only the sounds of Tethys’s hushed sobs haunted his thoughts.
He was no stranger to the wraith-like memories coming to life with the setting sun, but seeing her so broken, so fractured, terrified him unlike all the rest. He felt powerless against the enemy she faced.
Defenseless amidst its attack. All he could do while she donned her armor and wielded her blade was hold her.
Offer her the warmth of an ally. It felt like enough.
And yet, something he couldn’t quite pinpoint lingered, sending reminders of just how helpless he was.
“She has things to tie up in Ursae. She’ll be here as soon as she can,” Altair replied coldly. His eyes reflected the early morning sun beaming in from the row of windows opposite the table.
“As soon as she can? You cannot be serious. Time is already dwindling, and now Polaris decides to keep us waiting?” It wasn’t anger, Araes realized, that curled Tethys’s fingers into fists. It was fear.
“Easy, sister, we’re lucky she intends on leaving Ursae at all.
The attacks from the far north have increased rapidly, and with the northern reinforcements already stationed in Venia, she can’t risk leaving her people unprotected.
” Altair’s voice, like the calm breeze filtering in from the southern seaside, simmered the fire now blazing across the table.
“There will be no one to protect if we don’t reinforce the gate. Are you both thick? Why am I the only one in our family that truly sees just how dire this situation is?” Tethys rose from her seat and paced to the windows.
Even beneath the sheer force of her rage, her golden curls were luminous in the sunlight, highlighting each wild tendril falling down her back. Araes shifted in his seat, his untouched breakfast plate growing cold before him.
“I do understand, sister, but just as your loyalty is with Venia, hers lies with the Ursaeans. Until her wards are strong enough to shield the north from the flatland creatures or the war in Venia is won, she cannot leave her people defenseless,” Altair said, joining her at the window.
Araes watched the immortal siblings share unspoken words.
Altair scanned Tethys’s face with impenetrable composure—his cooled control meeting a fiery inferno.
“I—We don’t have time, Altair,” Tethys hissed. Her correction, although subtle, didn’t go unnoticed. Araes rose from his seat and traversed the battlefield to stand by her side.
“What do you mean you don’t have time?” he asked, tucking a curl behind Tethys’s ear. Altair wasn’t blind to the love between them, but the gesture was a risk. Araes knew Tethys was reeling, slipping into the flames of rage she tried so hard to control.
“I-I misspoke. Get Polaris here sooner, Altair. Or transmit us both and I’ll talk to her myself,” she demanded, leaning into Araes’s affection.
“You will not command me, sister.” Altair’s power, like the fiercest of gales, sent tremors through the palace, shaking even its foundation. “I have opened my home, turned a blind eye to your transgressions, and offered you my support.”
Tethys’s back straightened against the coursing current of power. Araes realized she wouldn’t yield to it. Not this time.
“Goddess, Polaris’s delay gives us time to resolve the conflict in Venia.
The gate is weak, yes, but it’s held since the beginning of time.
The northern queen hasn’t just granted her support, but also her army.
Our people need the ally. If you go to Ursae, dagger raised and ready to fight, she might withdraw her forces,” Araes said.
There wasn’t room for mortal consideration in an argument between gods.
Just as he knew when to be silent, he also knew when to speak up.
Tethys’s lips thinned and she turned her back on the men. Tucking her hands behind her, she watched the horizon line in the distance. Although only a few steps from Araes, he’d never felt further from her.
“Fine. We will wait, only because the Venians need her armies. But if she continues to delay, then I will go to Ursae myself. And I won’t ask nicely this time,” Tethys said, glancing over her shoulder.
The intensity of those glowing golden eyes sent a shockwave through Araes’s entire body.
There were so many versions of her, and some still so foreign, but this one…
this one was most terrifying. So frighteningly beautiful.
“Now, there’s another matter we need to discuss. My general received a report from General Otto. It seems the rebels have established an outpost in one of the temples of old, just outside the Venian gates—”Altair’s next words were interrupted by the crack of splintering wood.
“I’m glad to see you’ve made a full recovery.” Frost and rotten leaves rushed into the room, drowning out all sound and light and life. Araes whirled around to face the door, now crooked on its golden hinges. He drew his blade.
Standing in the broken door frame was the Autumn King.