54. A Sliver of Narvendor
A Sliver of Narvendor
ROHEN
With one of Caspian’s sabers in hand, I adjusted my grip on the serpentine hilt, slashing its sharpened length through the throat of one of the humanoid creatures.
Its inked life force splattered across my face, blackening my freckles to match the searing ember of my rage.
The momentum aided me as I reared, driving the tip of the steel into the head of the next encroaching monstrosity.
Rotting tissue and muscle squelched, mixing with the harmonious sound of dropping corpses and gurgled shrieks—the sound of Death.
His shadows brushed against my calves. The light caresses he offered through the darkness he wielded lingered for a breath before plunging into every orifice of our enemies.
Even with the extensions of his essence, the coaxes he gifted me served as a reminder of his presence, confirmation that he was still there, fighting alongside me with the same lethality I wielded.
“Parry!” Caspian shouted, his back greeting mine while the umbra he commanded encased us like a shield.
Without having to say more, our blades crossed, and sparks erupted between us.
What was once a force that would’ve been leveraged in opposition had transferred into an unwavering alliance.
I was infatuated by him in ways I never envisioned, ways that would have me carving my heart from my chest if he demanded it.
Whatever he longed to be called—Caspian, Death, my treasure—I would oblige, for there was no other man I wished to stand beside, and our fluidity on the battlefield proved that.
Not having seen the creature until it was right above us, the shower of coagulated blood was all the confirmation I needed.
It dripped from the green linen Caspian had offered me, seeping into the lush fabric just like the corruption that tainted our lands.
Its organs were quick to follow, coating the docks with all the Other Realm had birthed.
Though shaped the same as one would expect, there was something equally as haunting about them as their features.
It was as if that wickedness had begun plastering itself on the walls of their innards before it had devoured the rest of their autonomy.
Too caught up in my examination, it wasn’t until Caspian’s fingers curled around my bicep and he hurled me over his back that my mind returned to the slaughter we’d left behind.
Soldiers crafted by shadow and water worked in tandem to execute the intruding beasts, our armies working together just as efficiently as we had.
Body parts were strewn about the wooden walkways, some tossed aside into the bowed embrace of the port.
Each figure moved just as gracefully as we did—our powers drawing off each other with a steady ebb and flow.
Breath catching in my throat, I landed on my feet, my attention darting to where I had been seconds prior. Eyes settling on Caspian, he remained where we’d stood together. Steel raised, his arm trembled as he fought the wrath of the one responsible for the intrusion.
Sorva.
“Oh, my obedient mutt. You brought her back just as I requested, didn’t you? Such a good boy.”
Teeth bared, Caspian snarled, “Over my dead body will you ever lay a hand on her.”
“Careful,” she hummed, the massive slab of granite she wielded carving harshly toward the top of Caspian’s head. “We can arrange that.”
Sheathing his saber in my belt, I replaced it with my dagger.
Jewel gleaming beneath the incessant flames, I tossed it once in my hand before throwing it with the precision most underestimated.
The power behind it forced the tip into her shoulder, each inch of the blade sinking deeper until only the hilt remained.
Snarl potent, her ember eyes flicked in my direction, but it was my utterance that came. “For all the gods that watch, I will be your demise. I will enjoy every second of watching you fucking rot for all you’ve done to Wraelira and the innocent lives you’ve roped into your game.”
“Now there’s the Ellira I remember.” Tearing the weapon from her flesh, she flung it to the side. “Give me your fury, Rohen Levitte, for I will drink it like the finest wine until nothing remains.”
My wrist jutted to the side, flexing without my control. Fingers following, they swept through the air with knowledge I did not harbor, the summoning flowing from me as a mix of my voice and my mother’s. “Pelagos!”
The sea answered my call, snaking along the boardwalk and gathering stray beads on its route.
Joining as one, that refined figure I’d met in Hollowmere returned, churning with a vengefulness that ran far deeper than my own.
Those cyan eyes bloomed with intensity, flowing white hair defying all that restricted mortals, and as soon as he set his sights on Sorva, he moved with such unpredictability I’d assumed he’d vanished once more.
A sharp shing of metal greeted metal, drawing my attention to where Caspian remained.
Expecting Pelagos, I was taken aback when a different form greeted me, one made entirely of darkness.
Clad in black armor, vibrant streaks of blue erupted from the gaps between each plate, illuminating the entity with a vehemence I knew could belong to only one god.
Elaros.
Obsidian hilt cloaked by shadow, each tendril swirled around the sharpened weapon that seemed to be born of the abyss itself.
Their head rose, and even with the helm hiding their features, the golden glare that met Sorva contained a spark of amusement.
And it wasn’t until I heard them speak that everything fell into place.
“Lovely to see you, Pelly.”
As if in answer, the general that my mother claimed was one of her strongest reappeared, his shin slamming into Sorva’s side with enough force to send her to the blackened sand just beyond the docks.
The plume of dust served as confirmation of her landing, and with it, the mythical being aiding Caspian stood to join one of Elaros’s army.
“You are the same prick you’ve always been, Erebus.”
The newly-named male chuckled. “After centuries, I do not believe that is the way you greet—”
Power erupted, but where I anticipated it to come from the shoreline, my heart thundered in my chest as I spun toward the palace.
The cliffs it stood upon shuddered beneath the wrath that blanketed the air, so thick it made it difficult to breathe.
Its silver spires shook, gleaming with a liveliness that made them ignite like a bolt of lightning.
A crack followed as arched bridges shattered, their paper-thin stone failing in the onslaught of raw force.
No, not force.
Alastair.
Caspian started to move, but Erebus was there, his large hand flattening against the chest of the man I longed for. “You cannot.”
“Bullshit!” Caspian shouted, pointing at the structure renowned for the terror lacing the streets of all the provinces. “My family is in that godsdamned palace!”
“Stop him,” Ellira called down our bind.
“The Son of Jaskor lives and breathes, and with the spike in his father’s essence, we need to use this moment to test what the three of you are capable of achieving.
It will give us a sense of what to expect when the artifacts are retrieved, along with the potency of the summoning.
Currently, as one, channeling the domains that linger in your lineage, there is a chance the three of you may be able to break the veil. ”
While I wished to challenge her, I swallowed it due to the urgency in her voice.
It was clear time was slipping between our fingers, the damage irreversible if we did not provide aid.
Thoughts heavy with implications, I rushed toward Caspian in hopes of not only aiding the lands our parents loved but also serving as a balm to his fraying nerves.
“Cas,” I said, my fingers trailing up the back of his arm as I repeated my mother’s words.
“It’s not… It’s not bad. I promise. Ace is okay. They’re okay.”
Were they all?
Chin snapping in my direction, the expression of the man I’d met in Seirdra’s Veil returned, violent and starved for desolation. Unwilling to buckle beneath his scrutiny, I drew my shoulders back in anticipation of his poisoned tongue, but instead, he relaxed into my touch.
“Little siren.”
“My treasure,” I breathed, trailing down his bicep and muscled forearm before finding his hand. Squeezing it once, I peered up at him. “I need you to trust me. Okay?”
There was no pause. “Always.”
As another quake rocked the earth, I tugged him toward me before ordering, “With the next pulse of power, we channel into each other. Let your father guide you; they know what to do.” Gesturing toward Pelagos and Erebus, I added, “It’s why they sent them.”
The dip of his chin was the only answer I needed, and as we grounded one another, I felt a presence manifest behind me. Hands slowly settled on my shoulder, lips dropping to press a kiss to the crown of my head.
“I am proud of you,” Ellira whispered, her cadence far closer than it had ever been.
“I am always proud of you, my beautiful star, just as I will always keep my eye on you until we are freed. Until you and I mingle as one, and you join Caspian where Elaros and I reside. But for now, settle all your attention on me, and I shall do the rest.”
Falling into all she was, I leaned into her caress. As I dove headfirst into extending her that level of trust, even after learning all I had, a chill rippled through my blood. And before I knew it, a sharp snap tore through Serevalen.
Instinctively, my eyes opened, but there was no Sorva, no further decimation, and no intruding army. Blinking once to test if I was hallucinating, the sight remained, and with it came an irrefutable beacon of hope.
For above, in the sky cloaked in smoke and debris, was a small sliver. A sliver that unveiled moonlight beyond—another realm. No, another continent.
Narvendor.