Chapter 79
“I am happy to share with you all that I managed to secure an alliance with King Belzari.”
Aegir’s words had me swallowing hard. I avoided any form of eye contact, especially with Semuel.
“He will have eighty thousand soldiers, both human and Sand Wielders, ready to aid us when the time comes.” Aegir ended his sentence with a firm nod directed at everyone and no one in particular.
“And in exchange for?” Ryvar extended the word for by three seconds. That was how long it took Aegir to reply.
“For water, of course. King Belzari wants the Wellspring Oasis replenished, so we have to think of a way to achieve that. I will be returning in a few months’ time. I believe I shouldn’t return without a sustainable solution.”
“Understandable. But we don’t have the means to filter salt water without the Water Wielders,” Amani added. “But let’s say we manage to find a way, we cannot just casually fill the oasis. I’m certain we’d have to be more discreet than that.”
“Maybe you could send Storm Wielders,” Leannon suggested. “An act of nature wouldn’t seem suspicious.”
Eldric answered that one. “That’s not a bad thought, but without water in the atmosphere, it’s impossible to generate a storm from dry air. It’s hard doing it in Sijar over the dry season, let alone in that infernal desert.”
“The reservoirs can hold up to two years’ worth of water and they’re deeply hidden,” I stated. “Perhaps you could keep refilling those.”
Semuel rubbed his chin, eyes lost. He blinked.
“Last I checked, the Wellspring Oasis is running dry, whereas the Dunehaven Oasis is still thriving. My father’s hands will soon be tied.
I bet he would make the ration laws more stringent and seize total control of the Dunehaven Oasis.
Although that would stir up some political agenda with the council members who run Dunehaven.
Perhaps we can find some way to keep feeding the Dunehaven Oasis instead. ”
“Then we have to think of ways we could either transport fresh water from the Faded Mountains or find a way around the old pumps,” Ryvar added.
“I don’t think the waterways can be utilised that easily. They’re heavily guarded. Not to mention that the purification mills were destroyed,” I added, receiving a nod in agreement from Marshen.
“Perhaps we could build new pumps, hire engineers to build new ones,” Leannon replied, glancing at Yanik. Jebel was indeed the master of underground architecture and complex buildings.
“The pumps require Wielders to carry out their function. Building them alone would not solve our problem—we must consider the Faded Mountains,” Amani added.
“What about her? She claims she can wield.” King Ryvar pointed at me, causing everyone else’s heads to turn my way and my cheeks to flush.
Amani almost choked on her wine. “Huh? How is that possible!? And why didn’t you tell me during girl time?”
“I—”
“One person cannot replace the workload of thousands,” Aegir cut in, offering his brother a death-stare. “The new pumps can be built in Sijar; we can create new waterways.”
“You didn’t answer Amani’s question,” Leannon kindly pointed out.
“That’s because I cannot say.”
“So what, we’re supposed to just blindly believe and trust you? All the while you clearly have no interest in doing so yourself,” Leannon countered.
“I cannot tell you without revealing the source of our powers.” My mother had told me that only a few people knew its source and that I should never tell anyone about it.
Amani did say that this meeting would entail life-altering decisions. My brows knitted and my head turned right. Aegir lifted his arms. Amani scoffed.
“How. Rude. Setting a sound barrier right in our faces. Wh—” Aegir pointed his palm towards his sister and her lips moved voicelessly. He grabbed the seat of my chair and pulled me closer to him.
“I cannot make this decision for you. But what I can tell you is that everyone in this room is here for your people. If there is a way that their powers can be restored, we’ll do whatever it takes to see it done.”
I nodded, shifting my gaze from Aegir to Semuel to Marshen.
Amani tore through Aegir’s sound barrier.
I spoke over her complaints. “During these past months, I’ve come to realise that keeping secrets is not always the best decision.
” Marshen’s lips pursed, whereas Aegir’s lifted.
“I trust that all of you will keep this confidential and use this information for the sole advantage of my suffering people.”
They all nodded in agreement.
Then I looked towards the one person I trusted the least and said, “Swear it.”
“Oh, just me, or does everyone have to do it?”
“Swear it.”
The king gave me a grand eye roll and gestured his arms forward before replying, “I swear it. How’s that sound to you?” I only replied with a small nod.
“There was a reason why Naar entered through Crystal Bay—shrouded, might I point out. They did so because they wanted to destroy Thalassa’s stone temple first. The temple is the place where we worship her, yes, but it is also where the moonstone sits, or rather sat.
I carry a tiny fragment of the stone with me.
I believe it is the source of my powers. ”
“And Naar stole the moonstone? Or did they destroy it, you said?” Leannon asked. “Will they ever get their powers back?”
“No one knows what they did exactly, other than the thousands who died trying to protect it. But just so you know, the stone is wider than the table before us and twice as high. Stealing it seems impossible, but with the Naaris, one cannot say. They seem to have a solution for everything.”
Marshen added, “The temple still stands, but it felt empty. Surely it lacked power.”
I nodded at Marshen and continued, “We believe they had or perhaps still have a masked ally, some external help that either veils them or provides them with intel, likely both.”
“We suspect that already,” Ryvar said. “I still think it’s Rih.”
“Stop living in the past, will you. Why would Rih attack Ilma?” Eldric asked.
“Well, the people of Ilma are Hydrans, just as the Silchans are. And it disrupted the chain of our symbiosis, didn’t it? Everyone suffers from just destroying Ilma,” Ryvar added.
“I do not think they allied with Rih.” All heads looked my way.
“I think that their allies are witches from Brimholden. And Naar didn’t just attack Ilma.
They attacked Ramel, too. Before, I think.
” Everyone’s brows did some sort of movement.
Amani’s and her brothers’ furrowed; Semuel’s reached his forehead.
Ryvar gestured a go on with his right palm.
“I believe that they are the reason why there hasn’t been a single record of a newly blessed Sand Wielder in over fifteen years.”
“How?” the king demanded.
My gaze shifted towards Semuel. “Answering comes with potentially revealing the source of Amfir’s blessings.”
“Don’t hold back. If there’s even the slightest possibility of fixing it.”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but Marshen and I…we went through the Unnar Caves and—”
“You did what!?” Semuel’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward, almost getting out of his seat. Faern had to pat his shoulder, encouraging him to sit back down.
“I strongly recommend you not try it.” My head moved left to right as I spoke the words laced with fear and warning.
“I definitely agree with her,” Marshen grumbled.
“Do not spare me one detail,” Semuel said.
“Perhaps we’ll leave the details for later, but what I can tell you is that at the very end of the caves lies a sarcophagus.” My eyes prickled and I couldn’t look at anyone else but Semuel. My words came out as a rasping whisper. “They burned it all.”
“They burned the secret of the Unnar Caves?” Semuel’s words came out bitter and enraged. His knuckles whitened; his jaw flexed tight.
“They managed to break in through the exit. They knew the exact location of it. From history, I’ve found that witches entered Lyrantheia through the Unnar Caves.
At least two of them knew where the exit was, considering that they survived to tell the tale.
” I glanced towards Marshen, and he gave me half a smile. We also survived.
What puzzled me was that the depiction of the witch from the memoir shared the same surname as Ayla, the same witch who was bound to my mother. Unless every witch’s surname was Ikubib, then something wasn’t adding up.
“So, they’re what? Destroying the source of our powers, one by one?” Faern asked with snarling lips. His gaze dropped on Leannon.
“I shall warn Tamer immediately. Our source must be completely secured.” My brow creased as I glimpsed the bouquet behind Leannon wilting and turning ashen. “And yours should be, too,” Leannon added, looking at Yanik.
“What about us?” Aegir asked. His gaze shifted towards Ryvar, almost too quickly.
Amani shrugged. “We cannot protect something that we do not even know exists.”
Ryvar finally met Aegir’s gaze, straightening in his chair. “Our best bet is that if we do not know about it, then they do not know about it. And besides, our gifts are not randomly given like Amfir’s, they’re inherited through lineages.”
“Our gifts are also inherited by blood, yet here we are,” I replied flatly.
Aegir reached for my hand beneath the table and laced his fingers around mine.
Ryvar disregarded my comment and said, “All right, so, we should start thinking of ways to transport or purify water, and we’ll discuss the ideas in our next meeting. I say we are ready to move on to our next topic, shall we—”
“I disagree,” Semuel cut in. His stare, I noticed, was directed at Aegir.
“Go on,” Ryvar urged impatiently.
“I think it is your brother who should go on,” Semuel replied, his gaze piercing Aegir.
“What’s your problem?” Aegir all but snapped.
“My problem is that I know my father. He wouldn’t just give you eighty thousand of our men for something that he had already asked your parents for.
No, my father is too proud for that. Which is why he still holds a grudge against Queen Tamer Leigh.
Too proud,” Semuel mumbled. “He must have asked for something else.”
“He asked for water. End of discussion.”
“Do not lie to my fucking face,” Semuel warned through clenched teeth.
“You’d better speak up, brother.” Ryvar didn’t seem to like the sound of this conversation. I dreaded it.
“Fine. He asked for a personal favour, which concerns none of you. The deal’s done and the alliance is secured. We can move on.”
“A favour that concerns none of us other than her, right?” Semuel countered, tilting his head my way.
Aegir’s grip on my hand tightened. His breath turned misty. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Which sister?”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“Which. Fucking. Sister?”
“Maryam.” It just slipped out of my mouth. Aegir stiffened at my side.