Chapter 34
Air whistled past Soren’s ears as Thessa soared into the cloud line. Ahead, where a dip in the mountains lay, there was a shimmer and a pull. Energy surrounded the veil between their realms, the place where Soren had been born of two gods and called home in her first lifetime.
Arcadia.
Vane and Heles soared above her, leaving a shadow in their wake as they pushed ahead. Soren sighed sharply. “Vane!”
He glanced back. What is it, my love?
Let me go first. Just in case.
The connection went quiet, and she shouted his name down it as he and Heles sped towards the barrier at breakneck speed. Thessa didn’t even try to catch them as they hurtled into the space where the veil lay.
“Vane!” Soren screamed shrilly, but it was too late. He was already disappearing behind the shimmer, hazy clouds hiding what lay beyond.
Thessa.
The dragon caught a north wind, letting it carry them swiftly towards the barrier. They’re alive, but Heles tells me we must hurry.
Why can’t I hear them?
The veil was rapidly approaching, but Soren hardly cared, fear for Vane and Heles clouding all other senses or worries.
We’re almost there. Brace yourself.
Soren ducked her head against Thessa’s back as they passed through the veil.
For a few seconds, the air felt sticky, vibrating heavily with strong currents of power.
They were suspended, somewhere between here and there, until air that smelled like honeytwine trees hit her square in the face.
She blinked rapidly against the wind as Thessa hurtled towards the ground and then banked.
Relief swept through her when she saw Vane kneeling atop Heles just ahead.
They were on the top of a hillside covered in grass and wildflowers that looked down over a sweeping valley.
The air was warmer than it had been moments before, the sun shining through the parting clouds to reveal a blue sky.
For a few breaths, everything felt calm.
But then, Heles roared, the sound echoing off the peaks around them. Fear was cold as it consumed her, but she tamped down the panic, instead sharpening terror into a blade. She still couldn’t see beyond Heles, but something made her feel threatened. Someone was there, waiting for them.
She swung her legs over the saddle, intending to slide to the ground. Thessa rumbled, the low growl vibrating up Soren’s body. She ignored the dragon and dismounted, her feet hitting the ground with a thud.
“Soren,” Vane warned, his eyes just beyond Heles. “Wait.”
She ignored him, ducking under Heles’ wing. But when she saw what lay before them, just beyond sight of the top of the hill, she froze.
Four of the eight principal gods stood before her, three Vemon dragons just behind them. Juno was in the front, atop a familiar dark-coated horse—Sgàilsuil, the creature that had taken Soren to the temple. Now, she knew for sure the beast was no mere animal but a spirit of fate.
Juno’s azure robes flowed in the wind as she dismounted, and Soren was reminded how much Ana looked like her, though Juno was taller than her daughter. Ether swirled in the goddess’ eyes as she dismounted and said smoothly, “Hello, Sora. It’s been a long time.”
Soren didn’t move, didn’t breathe, especially as Juno stepped aside and a wave of familiar shadows rushed forward.
The goddess of Night was crying silver as she looked at Soren. Just behind her, Thanatos stared like Soren was a phantom he had sent to its grave. She supposed that was not entirely untrue in some sense.
“Are you going to hand me over to him now?” Soren said calmly to Nyx, despite the terror making her feel ice-cold.
The mark on Thanatos’ forehead, marking him as Nyx’s, rippled with ether.
Soren had seen it happen only once before as Sora, when she had been very small.
The line between her parents was pulling taut, their emotions tangling, and the mark knew it.
But when he took a step forward, Nyx put a hand on his broad arm.
When Nyx stepped forward towards her, Vane appeared so quietly and swiftly, Soren did not sense him. He angled himself in front of her, and though he did not lift his sword, Soren could feel his magic heating the air.
“No closer until you state your intentions,” he said, his voice sharp.
From behind Thanatos, Soren saw someone shift. Vulcan.
Soren remembered the god of fire had always been elusive to a degree, at least in Sora’s lifetime.
But now, she saw him just a few paces from her.
He was an inch or two taller than Vane, but beyond that, they were shockingly similar in appearance.
She saw Vane’s gaze flick to where he stood for just a moment before he focused on Nyx again.
“Vane Evva,” Nyx stated. “The demi-god who we might call responsible for my daughter’s death.”
Vane didn’t move, but Soren felt him stiffen. She sighed sharply. “My husband is no more responsible than I am, much less responsible than you. What do you want?”
Juno exchanged a look with Vulcan, though Soren could not read it. Thanatos nodded at Nyx and murmured, “They’re ready.”
“Contrary to what you might believe,” Nyx said, “we are not here to deliver you to Kronos.”
Vane’s hands were still nearly aflame, and he hadn’t moved. “Don’t tell me you want us to play assassins for you?”
Vulcan laughed, a rough sound, and flame finally broke through, crackling between Vane’s fingers.
“I told you he wasn’t an idiot,” Vulcan said, glancing at Thanatos.
“How the fuck would you know?” Vane snapped, eyes on his father.
Vulcan’s eyes swirled with silver. “Don’t think I wasn’t watching you all these years. I must say, I have been impressed.”
Nyx cleared her throat, and Vulcan held out a hand, as if to indicate, Yes, yes, continue.
Soren’s mother appeared to be the leader amongst this group of…rebels? If they did not stand with the king of the gods, that was what they were.
The council of principals was divided.
This is what we hoped for, she reminded Vane silently.
He brushed heated fingers against hers. Not if they want to use you as a weapon.
That was our plan too.
Not necessarily.
Nyx was watching them closely now, her eyes moving to Vane’s left hand, to the band there. She tilted her head. “You can speak to my daughter without words.”
Vane hesitated but then nodded. Nyx took a step closer to him, now barely a foot away. “How?”
Vulcan chuckled. “Nyx, dear, look up. The answer is quite literally staring you in the face.”
Nyx raised her gaze to where Thessa and Heles loomed above them all, watching closely with narrowed, blinking eyes.
They were larger than the other three Vemon dragons gathered behind Vulcan, perhaps the biggest this realm had ever seen.
But their allegiances were not to Vulcan, who had forged their kind from fire and the embers of life and light from Sol.
Thessa let out a roar. My loyalty is to you both, from the moment I saw you.
For we knew there had never been a greater power than the one forged between you, Heles rasped, shaking her head in an act of aggression towards the gods before them.
Nyx’s eyes widened, and even Vulcan looked surprised. “Diombach rìogna,” he murmured, and Vane looked at him sharply.
“Why would you say that?” Vane asked his father.
Soren’s brow furrowed. What did he say?
Diombach rìogna… It means ‘doomed reign.’
“You sense it, though, don’t you?” Vulcan asked, his voice low. “You and Sora have always been destined for something greater. I suppose now, we know why.”
Juno looked sadly at Nyx and said in a hurried, hushed tone, “I tried to tell you—”
“Enough!” Soren shouted, splaying her hands.
A wave of dark ichor swept out from her palms, rushing past the gods’ feet.
Juno jumped, but Thanatos looked vaguely pleased.
“Stop bickering amongst yourselves like children. We came here for a reason, and with or without your approval, we’re going to carry it out. ”
“You want to end Kronos,” Juno said softly.
The air grew tense. There was still the question of the gods’ loyalties to Kronos. Soren was nearly sure they were all here because they were against him, or at least displeased with his reign. But for her and Vane to admit they wanted to kill him could still be dangerous until they knew for sure.
Juno waited, though, pushing Soren to say it first. Vane set a hand on Soren’s arm, a gentle warning to wait.
She didn’t listen. They couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore.
“We want to destroy him,” Soren whispered. “I want to rip his body and soul apart into so many pieces, there is nothing left to come back. I want you to tell me how.”
“Death,” Thanatos said, his lips lifting. “I see you have finally found the merits of its uses.”
A flash of a memory momentarily blinded Soren—her, arguing with her father.
“Death is too final a power!”
Thanatos laughed, the sound as cold as a grave. “Do you have any idea what you could be if you stopped being so afraid? You cannot change what I gifted you with.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You will.”
Soren blinked rapidly and whispered to herself, “That day in Mise, with the children. I had never killed anyone before then, had I?”
Nyx answered, her voice soft as midnight. “You always embraced my gifts as a youngling. You were my evening star, Sora, but I always knew that, truly, you had your father’s dark heart.”
“Fear is powerful,” Thanatos added. “But Death always comes for us.”
“As it will come for Kronos,” Juno said, touching her forehead. “We know it is possible to damn him with your mother’s mark, to end him with your father’s power. Doing so would make him yours alone. You would hold his fate in your hands.”
Soren bit her cheek, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen the mark, never used it on my own.”
“Yes, you have,” Thanatos said, a smile playing at his lips, as if he was enjoying this. “Do you really think we cared enough to dispose of that idiot prince? It was a smart move, though, I do admit. The princess is much more suited as heir.”