Chapter 72
Aweek after Aryx’s birth, Altair returned with a grim expression.
Tethys sat in the library, gently rocking the sleeping infant, her eyes unfocused on the page of an open book.
Her brother promised he’d return with news of Araes as quickly as he could, but with each day passed, her fear of the worst turned palpable in the all too stagnant air.
Time slowed and quickened all at once as she worked through the growing pains of her new normal.
Aryx was a fragile thing, with fresh, pink skin and little golden eyes.
The midwives reassured her that the nature of motherhood would snap into place, but just as her magic, Tethys still awaited the flood of knowledge.
Every hour brought new challenges, and while she met them head on, the voice in the back of her mind, the one antagonizing her always, was a touch too loud.
“Brother,” she said, struggling from her seat. “Tell me you have good news.”
Altair’s mouth thinned across his stone chipped jaw and Tethys’s heart sank to her stomach.
“I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but no one has seen him for days. His commanding officer, Captain Haidee, worries he’s deserted,”
“He would never,” Tethys snipped, swaying her arms to soothe the stirring babe.
“I know, and in truth, she doesn’t think that’s what happened. But sister, even Ophis’s shades come back empty handed. I’m sorry,” Altair replied, placing a gentle palm on his nephew’s silken head. “It’s as if he simply left.”
“What of his mother and sister? Are they alright?”
“Ophis tells me they’re fine. Shaken from the war, but their home was one of the few still standing. They haven’t seen him either, not since he returned from the border.”
Candlelight flickered along the floor to ceiling bookcases, casting wraith-like shadows that clawed at the leather bindings filling each shelf. Tethys knew down to her core that Araes wouldn’t desert. Of all things, the lieutenant was loyal. He’d rather suffer in silent agony than abandon his post.
“Something isn’t right. What if Vorthal somehow got ahold of him? Or maybe, just like those children, he slipped into the Rift. He could be out there with no way home,” Tethys said.
“That’s not possible. We re-secured the gateway with the prism key. Just as you said, the cracks are sealed between our realms.” Altair flashed her a sympathetic look. “We might need to accept that Araes isn’t as we believed him to be.”
Tethys shook her head, pacing the study. Her legs were weak beneath the thin sleeping gown she wore. She hadn’t bothered dressing, or bathing for that matter. Not when nights combined with days in scattered spouts of sleep.
“What’s the status of Venia’s border? Is it secure?
” she asked, fixing her gaze out the windows.
An evening storm rolled in with the tide that quivered the palm fronds and blurred the crystalline glass with a curtain of rainfall.
The air hummed between the immortals. Altair knew why she asked, and so did she.
“For the moment yes, but the Venian and Canissaen councils have yet to establish an addendum to the treaties in place. It’s still fairly volatile in the east, and the military is nearly decimated,” he replied, sinking into a leather armchair.
“The Ursaean and Aquilaean armies also have thinned from this war. The whole damned continent still burns.”
“I must go home, Altair. My people need me,” she said.
What Tethys truly meant was Araes needed her.
She would search for him until the final tick of time ran out, if she had to.
Altair’s news was concerning, but some piece of her clung to the seed of hope taking root.
He was missing, not dead. There had been no corpse.
No bones. Just as she’d brought the Venian children home, she’d too bring him back to her. Back to his son.
“While I agree it’s due time, there’s another matter we must discuss,” Altair said, eyeing his sister.
“I assume you mean my husband,” she replied, watching a falcon circle the raging waters below. “I must admit, our impending reunion haunts me. Past your wards, I’m powerless against him.”
“Procyon has called our father to council,” Altair said. Tethys turned on her heels, stunned by her brother’s words. “His accusations are…well, extensive.”
Silence fell between them save for Aryx cooing in her arms.
“And Obscuros accepted the request?” she asked, sucking in a breath.
“He’s agreed to hold court in Venia, actually. In two days’ time.” Altair watched her expression closely, his brilliant eyes scrunched at the corners. It wasn’t often the summer king involved himself in anything outside the southern realm, and now, he stood between the east and west.
“We will leave tomorrow, although I fear there isn’t much of a home to return to,” Tethys said, holding her son close. Altair’s eyes wandered to the babe. “Do you want to hold him?” She knew her brother wouldn’t ask, but he desperately wished to. The southern king nodded and held out his arms.
Tethys placed her swaddled son in the Altair’s embrace, grinning as her all-powerful older brother cautiously pulled him close.
Aryx was so small in Altair’s arms, just a delicate little bundle of blankets wrapped in two massive forearms. The babe yawned and settled into his warmth, like a soothing summer’s day.
“He feels nearly weightless,” Altair breathed his eyes glinting with wholehearted affection. “Eos above, sister, he’s…”
“Perfect?” Tethys offered, brushing a thumb along the infant’s brow.
“You’re so loved already, little fighter,” her brother whispered. A weight lifted from her chest. This was the family she so desperately sought. The unconditional love shared between blood. “Wait until Polaris gets a hold of him. I don’t think she’ll ever let him go.”
Tethys laughed in response. “Until she has to change a diaper or two.”
Altair’s grin was one of pure joy. The world around them burned to ash and the future still lay deep in the dark unknown, but it was undeniably brighter. Even if only a flicker.