Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
ELLIE
“Not all storms announce themselves with thunder.”
Writings of the Flamevein Oracles
“I need to send for Kalliss and Meren. They will want to know you’ve returned.”
Vorith moves toward the door, and speaks to someone beyond it in tones too low for me to catch. When she returns, another woman follows her, carrying a tray with a pitcher and two cups. Steam rises from it, carrying the familiar scent of the drink that passes for tea here.
“Kalliss lives about an hour’s ride from here. Meren is a little farther away. I’ve sent messengers to their villages. They should be here by early evening.” She pours two drinks, and hands me a cup.
Hours. I have to sit here knowing that two more people who shaped my fate will be coming here. My hands shake slightly as I accept the cup.
“While we wait, tell me about Nyassa. How has she fared all these years?”
I take a sip of tea, using the time to gather my thoughts. Where do I even begin?
“She worked at a children’s home in Chicago.
” I set the cup back down. “I lived there from when I was three until I aged out.” At Vorith’s confused look, I stop.
“It’s … If a child has no parents, or any family to look after them they’re put into homes with other families.
They call it fostering. But if there aren’t any families to take them, or if they’re simply not wanted, there are group homes, where lots of children like that live together, with adults paid to look after them. ”
“I see.”
“Nyassa had a position at the home, and watched over me. But she never told me who she was, or treated me any differently from the other children there. I only discovered her real identity a few days ago.” I explain about what happened at Thornspire, and how the explosion drove us to Chicago.
I tell her about meeting Nyassa, and the ritual which brought us back, separating me from Sacha.
“I don’t even know if she is here or in Chicago. ”
Vorith’s face softens. “That sounds like her. She was worried about what would happen when you arrived in the place we had chosen to send you.”
“She said the crossing pulled her with me. That she didn’t choose to go.”
“That doesn’t make her dedication any less. She could have tried to find a way back. Instead, she stayed to protect you.”
Hours pass while the conversation turns to the Veinbloods and what happened to them after Sacha was imprisoned. We pause when women bring in food and more tea, none of them stopping to talk and departing as silently as they arrived.
Vorith describes how she and the other two masters searched for families who were hiding from the purges. How every conversation carried risk, and every decision balances survival against hope.
“We lost so many during those years. Families who couldn’t adapt to hiding, and were caught using their powers. Others who tried to fight back instead of becoming invisible. We had to learn the hard way that our powers were not going to aid in our survival.”
She traces patterns on the table surface while she talks, telling me about the challenges they faced.
How they had to find places remote enough to avoid regular Authority patrols, but accessible enough to not look like they were hiding anything.
The way they lived in constant fear of discovery, and taught people to suppress abilities they’d used openly for generations.
“The hardest part is watching children grow up scared of what they are. Parents who had once celebrated their children’s first manifestations of power now teach them to hide those same gifts.
We have tried to preserve as much knowledge as we can, but anything that can be seen or read risks our lives.
So most of our heritage has been passed down verbally. ”
“How did you decide what to keep and what to abandon?”
“Trial and error. Painful lessons.” Her smile is rueful.
“And arguments. So many arguments. Kalliss wanted to strike back immediately. His visions showed him glimpses of victory, but no path to reach it. He didn’t know if it was a vision of something that would happen in days or years.
Meren argued for deeper concealment. He wanted us to move farther into the mountains where no one would find us. I tried to hold us all together.”
“What did you want?”
“Survival. For as many as possible. Even if it meant losing parts of ourselves in the process.”
The sound of horses interrupts us—hooves on earth, the jingle of harnesses, voices calling out in greeting. Vorith stands and walks to the window.
“They’ve arrived. Please, wait here.” She steps outside, and voices reach me, though I can’t make out the words.
My stomach flips, and my hands shake as I set down my cup. I’m about to meet the other two masters who helped save my life.
The door swings open, and Vorith comes back inside. Two men follow close behind her.
“This is Kalliss.” She indicates the one with more gray in his hair. “And this is Meren.”
Kalliss steps forward, one hand lifting toward me. “May I?”
I’m not sure what he’s asking, but I give a cautious nod. His fingers brush my cheek, then he smiles.
“Elowen. My vision showed me this moment.” His fingers tip my chin up, and he peers into my eyes. “You returned and grown up. Prophecy made manifest.”
The intensity of his attention makes me want to step back, but something in his expression holds me still. I get the distinct impression that he’s looking for something specific, and apparently he finds it, because his smile widens.
“Visions are one thing, reality is another.” Meren’s voice breaks the moment and Kalliss drops his hand and steps back. “Her presence here will put everyone at risk.”
“Isn’t that all the more reason for us to act?” Kalliss turns to face him. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“Or it will be the catalyst that will get everyone we’ve kept safe killed.”
I look between them, unable to ignore the tension crackling in the space that separates them. “What are you talking about?”
Vorith sighs. “Kalliss and Meren have been divided on what the visions and your eventual return means. Kalliss believes it is a sign that we should stop hiding, but Meren thinks your presence will be the herald of the true end of Veinbloods.”
“We sent her away for a reason. The visions called her both savior and destroyer.” Meren looks at me. “I’m glad you’re alive, Elowen, but I do not know that your presence here can be a positive thing.”
The bluntness of his words sting, but I try to set that aside because I can hear the genuine concern in his voice.
"You're talking about me like I’m some force of nature that’s going to sweep through and change everything whether I want to or not.”
“Aren’t you?” Meren’s question is quiet. “The Authority has issued proclamations about you. They’re mobilizing resources to hunt you down. Your very existence changes the game we’ve been playing for twenty-four years.”
“Easy, Meren,” Kalliss says softly. “He means no insult, Elowen. You have to understand that we’ve watched the Authority grow stronger year by year, while we remained hidden.
Children have grown up suppressing the very essence of what they are.
Families live in constant fear of discovery.
” He turns to Meren. “But when do we stop hiding? When do we remember what we once fought for?” His hands move as he speaks, and I catch a glimpse of burns on his palms.
Did the ritual they performed to send me away cause those? Am I responsible for his scars?
“When we can do it without sacrificing the very people we’ve sworn to protect.
” Meren’s voice is just as passionate. “These aren’t just numbers we’re talking about.
They are people. Families with children who have never known anything other than the safety of our settlements.
Elders who have spent years building new lives.
Are we willing to throw all of that away just because a girl arrives with powers that match prophecy? ”
The word ‘girl’ throws me back to Lisandra and the way she sneered little girl when I refused to believe Sacha was dead.
But I keep the reaction to myself. Meren isn’t Lisandra, and he’s not wrong.
I am young by his standards, and I have brought danger.
The proclamations about me are proof enough of that.
“Are we willing to abandon the possibility of freedom for the certainty of oppression?” Kalliss fires back.
“Freedom for who?” Meren’s voice rises. “The dead? Because that’s what revelation will bring. The Authority don’t want us to live. They don’t show mercy. They will only destroy us.”
“They’re already destroying us! Slowly. By forcing us to hide what we are until there’s nothing left worth preserving.”
I watch the argument turn more heated. Kalliss speaks of destiny and prophecy. His satisfaction with my return is evident in every gesture, every word. But Meren counters with practical concerns. Everything he says shows he is someone who has learned that hope can be just as dangerous as despair.
Vorith tries to be objective, but as the argument continues, her own belief becomes clear. She agrees with Kalliss, although her reasoning is different. Where he talks of prophecy and destiny, she speaks of necessity.
“The Authority is still gaining strength. Their reach extends further all the time. How long before they find us regardless of how well we hide?”
“We’ve stayed undiscovered for twenty-four years,” Meren counters.
“Because we’ve been lucky! And because they believed we were already dead.
Her return changes that.” Kalliss points at me.
“They are going to discover Veinbloods survive, no matter what you try to do. Elowen, and the Vareth’el being free ensures that they are going to search.
Eventually they will come to our settlements. ”
“So what? We reveal ourselves and guarantee destruction? At least hiding gives us a chance!” Meren slams a hand down onto the table, and I jump.