Chapter 2 #2
He sat with me through the feast, as villagers and strangers alike came to congratulate him.
Kaydra flaunted her crystal, gleaming proudly on a necklace.
Everyone at the table wore theirs too, displaying it in some way.
I was the only one who had theirs tucked away.
Under Blayren’s instruction, I left the chain visible at my throat, hiding in plain sight.
Once we had eaten, the Unseeing began their circuit through the tables.
They walked smoothly as though nothing hindered them. When they neared our side, my body locked tight, and I clutched my crystal through my dress. How could such a small thing wield so much power over me? It dictated not only my future, but my very life.
The Unseeing paused, sniffed the air once, then drifted on.
I let out a breath. Blayren rose and beckoned me to follow. He led me to one of the outhouses, where Magnis stood guard. He paid us no heed as we slipped inside. Blayren bolted the door quickly and then reached into his cloak.
“Eat this.” He pressed a strange black flower into my hand. “We don’t have time. Eat it now.”
I shoved the flower into my mouth, wincing as the gloopy texture slid across my tongue. Blayren clamped my mouth with his hand, forcing me to swallow. My eyes watered as I fought back my tears. And then my stomach churned as something sharp invaded it, slicing through my insides.
“You’ll be sick in three minutes. Stay quiet, and let me do the talking.” He swept my hair back, and I saw his eyes were wet too. “Magnis is a good man. He will not let them take you.”
I tried to speak, but Blayren’s hand silenced me.
“Trust me,” he said again. “We’ll figure out a plan once I get you home.”
Get you home. He really did think of me as his daughter. As part of his home.
He took my hand and led me back out into the night. A line stretched towards the thrones. The once-vacant throne was now filled by a figure I could not fully see. His clothes were dark and the shadows seemed to gravitate around him.
Unlike the Moonstone King and Sunstone Queen, who sat upright at his side, the Bloodstone King lounged in his throne, with one ankle draped over his knee. He toyed with a gold dagger, its tip buried deep in the armrest of his throne. That was all I could see through the shadows.
My gaze shifted back to the line, where Magnis patrolled alongside the other guards. One by one, those who had brought a crystal presented it to the Moon Basin at the altar.
The high priest raised their hands for silence and began to chant the First Sacrifice.
The tale of eight Moon Brothers who each gave a rib to form the moon, and of the Sun Sisters who gave an eye to birth the sun.
Their bones and light, bound forever, were said to keep the realms alive.
I’d always wondered if they regretted it, giving so much of themselves for a world that worshipped only the pieces they left behind.
The chant echoed through the grove. The kings and queen watched as the crystals floated and the Unseeing threw dirt from the Treeroots over it, awakening the aelith fully.
It was always a terrifying thought if your aelith turned red.
Or if it didn’t glow at all.
I would have taken red over that.
My pulse drowned everything until all I could hear was my own erratic breath.
The line continued to move. I watched the guards work their way down it. We still had about twenty people to go. Kaydra’s crystal had already been kindled—her aelith was moonstone blue. What if the flower didn’t work by the time it was my turn?
My heart sank when Magnis was no longer among his men.
Instead it was Vasten—Blayren’s vicious nephew—who hated me as much as his father did. As he drew closer, his ice-blue eyes lit up when they found me. Oh, gods…
The ground swayed underneath me as the flower began to do its work.
I squeezed Blayren’s arm, warning him I was about to be sick.
“My daughter,” Blayren cried out. “She is unwell.”
He sat me on the ground, causing a break in the line.
I bent forward and retched, spilling bile onto the ground. Everyone turned. Magnis stepped from the sidelines, moving to help. But horror struck me when he was pushed aside by Vasten. His smirk as he marched forward churned my insides, dragging another wave of vomit from me.
“Allow me to help, Uncle.” He forced his way through the crowd and crouched beside me.
He jerked my chin up, snapping my head back roughly.
“My, my. You do look unwell, cousin, and during such an important event.” His eyes flicked to my chest where my crystal lay hidden, and his smirk widened. “Let me help you.”
“Vasten—”
“No thanks needed, Uncle,” Vasten called back, hauling me to my feet.
His eyes never left my face. It was clear by now I was the only one not displaying my crystal.
With all the merrymaking, I hoped it would’ve been overseen by everyone else.
But not Vasten. The snake. The way his cunning eyes traced from my hands, to my pockets, to my throat… sadistic glee blazed in them when they unveiled the truth.
“Look at you. The moon’s favourite daughter, snuffed out before she could even shine.” A smile carved itself onto his clean-shaven face. “How I’ve waited for this.”
“Please, Vasten…” His name left me as a desperate plea. “Please don’t do this.”
My plea only widened his smile. “Now the gods are going to show everyone what a useless fucking whore you are!”
He snapped his fingers and Moonstone guards came running to his side.
Blayren withdrew his sword from under his cloak, even though he was outnumbered a hundred to one. Among the Moonstone warriors, Gravyn stepped through them, unarmed, his presence heavier than the rest combined. He planted himself before his brother, his eyes glistening.
“Stand down, brother.”
“I will not let you banish my daughter.”
Gravyn smiled thinly, like he’d been waiting for this. “You know the rules. Hand. Her. Over.”
I clawed at Vasten’s grip, screaming. “Get your hands off me!”
“Let her go!” Blayren’s voice thundered across the clearing.
“Careful now.” Gravyn’s tone cooled, the amusement vanishing. “You raise that sword again, and I will make her suffer for it.”
Blayren didn’t waver. The blade in his hand stayed raised. “No.”
Gravyn’s sigh was long and mocking, a performance meant for the crowd. “Then so be it.” He snapped his fingers twice. “Bring the Fateless forward.”
The word Fateless drew gasps of horror all around us.
He stepped aside as Magnis was suddenly hurled to his knees.
Gravyn drew his blade and pressed it to the man’s throat, exhaling a long, drawn-out sigh, as Magnis lifted his pleading eyes up to him. I knew better than anyone that would not spare him. Not when it came to Gravyn.
“My lord, please…” The warrior’s voice cracked, tears spilling. “My children!”
Gravyn bared his crooked teeth. “You chose to hide a Fateless. Now you will die for that choice.”
Vasten seized me by the hair, shoving me down next to Magnis, who was now weeping for his children. With his other hand, he withdrew my crystal from my cloak pocket. It was even duller than before. Black. Dead. Everyone gasped.
“Rules are rules.” Gravyn glanced at the thrones. “If they cannot be abided, then an example must be made. Is that not so, my liege?”
With his chin resting in his hand, the Moonstone king gave a single nod.
Gravyn smiled as he drew back his weapon, and I screamed when the blade slid across Magnis’ throat. The captain let out a sickening gurgling sound, and somewhere a woman screamed. I realised numbly that it was me.
A young man ran forward when the captain’s body hit the ground. He was restrained by another guard while Gravyn kicked Magnis away like he was nothing, then he turned his blade on me.
“Now you.” He headed for the altar without looking back. “Bring it forward.”
Vasten fisted my hair again and hauled me upright.
My hair glowed through the dye but I could not control it.
Gasps rippled around me as people recoiled in horror, shrinking back as though I were diseased. Vasten dragged me to the altar like I was nothing. Not even a person.
Just an it.
I stumbled, struggling to keep pace. I fought him with every step.
I clawed at his grip in my hair, choking on the sobs tearing their way up my throat. Every step echoed with Blayren’s curses, bellowed at the top of his lungs. I looked back to see him dragged down and chains binding his body.
“I’ve waited a long time for this,” Vasten snarled. “Now you’re gonna get what you deserve.”
As he dragged me down the line, I caught Petyr standing among the spectators.
I had forgotten he had a brother receiving his crystal that day. My eyes held him for a moment, silently begging him to help me, but he turned away.
He just turned away.
Vasten slammed me onto the altar, pinning my head down by the throat.
The Moon Basin glittered beside me, its bowl still cradling a crystal, waiting for its blessing.
Tears streaked the altar stone as I tried to lift my head.
Blayren shouted after me, his voice raw with agony.
I couldn’t even look at him. A child’s cry rose from the crowd, and the thought of Rueren seeing all this wrenched a scream from me as I thrashed against Vasten’s hold.
“That’s it,” Vasten whispered. “Scream like you did that day. Let the gods hear you beg them again. They didn’t help you then, and they sure as fuck won’t help you now.”
“Enough, Vasten,” Gravyn warned, lifting his sword. He looked down his hooked nose at me, disgust curling his thin lips. “Any last words, Fateless?”
A voice cut through the silence, answering for me.
“How about a warning?”
I knew that voice.
It was him.