Chapter 16 Lana
Lana
“So, you know about Thames, then?” Kade asked standing slightly behind me.
I scarcely remembered to breathe.
“Know about Thames?” Evelyn laughed indignantly. “Whose sacrifice do you think trapped him?”
I glanced at the others, who stared at the spirit just as perplexed as I was. Evelyn huffed as I shrugged in confusion.
“The original sacrifice?” Kade asked.
“Well, I suppose I need to start at the beginning.” She rubbed her forehead as a small smile spread over her lips. “Come, sit, and I will tell you all how it truly began.”
Evelyn glided in front of us and I joined the others, settling onto the rock formations. Kade never left my side, choosing to stand beside me as I crossed my legs, getting comfortable for whatever story was about to be told.
“Ready?” Evelyn asked and we all agreed. “Good. Now, Brookmere celebrates me as the queen who stood alone, whose king wasn’t worthy of mention, correct?”
I nodded.
“Pishposh. Jasper Blackthorn was my king. My mate.”
Jax coughed, covering up a wheeze. “This is about to get really uncomfortable for you two.”
I glared at him. Kade, exasperated by Jax’s antics, sent a shadow to cover his mouth. Ian didn't bother trying to hide his chuckle but regained his composure quickly, wanting to avoid a shadow gag.
“We ruled in a time when magic flourished, rejuvenating the land and blessing all who lived here in Atheria. A few years into our reign, we began having trouble with magic wielders utilizing their gifts in dark ways. Greed for power corrupted them, darkening their souls. They plagued our land, stealing and destroying everything in their path. We were able to defeat most of them, but one grew stronger than the others.”
“Thames,” I said quietly.
“Yes. And Thames’s mate was the only sorceress in the land.
” Evelyn glanced toward Kade. “You know Cassandra more as a healer, but the way she wielded magic, in addition to her spellwork, was unparalleled. We’ve never seen another Fae with the ability to perform half the magic she possessed.
Defeating Thames was impossible enough, but the two of them together? They were unmatched.
“We fought them on three separate occasions, barely escaping with our lives each time. We feared there was no way to stop Thames’s evil from spreading and eventually throwing all of Atheria into darkness.
Vivienne came to us heartbroken at losing her sister to Thames, and told us of a prophecy.
The Fates foretold a path would open for us to hold Thames at bay until they granted the world what it needed to defeat him.
” She pursed her lips. “One week later, Cassandra appeared at my doorstep. Thames’s power scared her, and she realized she’d gone to a place she couldn’t come back from.
She’d had a vision that she refused to tell us about, but it led her to turn on her mate. ”
“But mates are supposed to be sacred. It’s supposed to be forever.” My mind reeled, it was almost too much to take in. “How can one go against their mate?”
“Do not think it was easy. Cassandra lived in pain. I’m sure she still carries that burden even now.
She created an amulet, one that would serve as a gateway to lock Thames in the middle of our world.
” She swallowed as despair creased her features.
“Cassandra knew a sacrifice was necessary, one of immense magnitude. It wasn’t until Vivienne returned with another prophecy that we finally understood.
This particular prophecy changed our lives forever. ”
As Evelyn spoke, she slumped forward, her arms wrapping around herself.
I couldn’t help but want to comfort my ancestor.
I could feel the pain radiating in her words.
I stood from my seat and took a step toward her.
She gave me a kind smile, though it didn’t meet her eyes, and put her hand in the air, indicating for me to sit back down.
Tentatively, I returned, desperate to hear more.
“When the Fates finally divulged the sacrifice needed, it left us heartbroken.” A tear fell down her ghostly face.
“Our bond as mates had to be sacrificed. It was the purest, strongest thing we could think of. To save our world, Jasper and I sacrificed our bond, and the magic created from that allowed Cassandra to trap Thames in the void, splitting the world apart forever into two. Everything we’d worked for to create a united kingdom vanished because of one power-hungry Fae.
Jasper and I were cursed to live and rule our kingdoms alone.
Forever forced apart by the void holding Thames’s soul. ”
She looked up toward the sky, the sun shining on her face as she closed her eyes.
“No Fae from Brookmere remembered the rest of the world. But I remembered, as did Jasper. As I understand it, he was able to fortify the magic inside of the gem with his own, ensuring Thames remained bound to the void after our sacrifice. Jasper needed an heir to continue his line, and his responsibility to keep Thames bound. His heir was born a century later. At the end of Jasper’s days, he revealed all to his son and sacrificed his remaining magic and life to the gem, powering it to fortify the necklace protecting us all.
“I continued the family line out of obligation but never remarried, which is why Brookmere thinks it had no king during my reign. In a way it didn’t, but my mate was the bravest man there ever was. We were separated by the cruel hand the Fates dealt us.”
Evelyn silenced all of us with her story, even Jax. The shadows retreated back to Kade’s side, no longer needing to keep Jax quiet.
“I knew a sacrifice was made, but I didn’t know the extent of what it was,” Kade murmured as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
If someone asked me to give up our bond, I didn’t know if I could. We only just discovered we were mates, and leaving him behind once had already been enough to almost destroy me. Losing him forever? I wasn’t sure I possessed the strength or the courage to make such a decision.
“I kept the secret, taking it to my grave, except for writing it down in a journal I left behind for my daughter. A secret passed down to protect our kingdoms should the darkness ever threaten to rise again. But that’s not all we passed down.” She held out her hand. “You found my dagger.”
I pulled it out again to find it glowing. Even once transferred to Evelyn’s hand, it illuminated the space around us.
She smiled, twirling it. “I designed this. I even gave it a name: Apollo.”
I stared at her, captivated. What hadn’t this woman accomplished in her time?
“I took our idea of Jasper’s amulet and worked it into a weapon for the women in our line.
In the journal, I explained that I imbued the dagger with my magic to call on as they needed.
The idea being that when the one who the Fates blessed with light appeared, this would be a powerful weapon to cast out the darkness. ”
“Cast out the darkness?” Something scratched at the back of my brain, begging for more.
She nodded. “It should, in theory. None of us possessed the power to test the dagger’s capabilities to destroy the darkness inside of someone, allowing them to return to their normal Fae state.
The power contained within should amplify the light.
I hadn’t expected the line to continue with this tradition as it did.
My brilliant daughter figured that out.” She sighed, running a hand over Apollo.
“Magic, fortified and continually strengthened over a thousand years, is pretty powerful.”
“It only took these two idiots’ bloods to break the amulet by touching it,” Jax scoffed. “Let’s hope something so simple won’t destroy this weapon.”
“Jax,” Kade growled.
He shrugged. “Just thinking out loud.”
I couldn’t help but wonder the same though. “Do I have to kill someone to eliminate the darkness completely? I’ve seen a ‘mist’ come out of the dark ones I’ve killed with it. It looked like the darkness evaporated out of their body, but I’ve never tried it on someone who still lived.”
She shook her head. “That certainly wouldn’t make the most sense to kill everyone with darkness.” She chuckled. “Cutting them, breaking the skin—something to release the darkness with the dagger should be all you need to do. Again, in theory.”
“Right.” I nodded. Unease settled in my belly. I hadn’t had to kill the fae I battled in order to free them.
Kade’s shadows rubbed my back, as if sensing my guilt.
The strox with us stepped forward, nudging Evelyn’s hand until she laughed and pet its neck.
“Why do they listen to you?” I asked.
She cocked her head to the side, watching me, and ushered me forward. Taking my hand in hers, she gently placed it on the strox’s neck beside hers.
I refused to let the audible hitch in Kade’s breath break my focus on surviving my contact with the beast, with whom I absolutely refused to make eye contact.
“When we sacrificed our mating bond, these beasts appeared. The strox. Born from pain. They recognize that in me, but you have also already endured so much. They recognize that pain in you too, Illiana.”
Feeling braver, I brushed my fingers along the strox’s neck and it shivered, making a content sound.
My body trembled slightly at what I was doing, but it also felt incredible. Touching a beast of fairy-tale stories.
“They will answer to you when I’m gone. They’re loyal to our line.”
“And the razorven?” I asked.
“Not as open to being pet, with the poisonous barbs and all.” She grinned. “Every creature of our nightmares appeared from some great pain and sacrifice. Remember that. They all belong to this world, and they will aid you, if you let them.”
I shook my head, not sure I could imagine an army of razorven and strox coming into the final battle with Thames.
“So you’ve been waiting all this time to reveal our true history and the purpose of the dagger? And now what?”