Chapter 50
Iyana
Warm sunlight shone down on Iyana. She lay within a soft patch of grass and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep in the sun’s rays.
But then she remembered, and Iyana sat upright with a jolt—the poison, Emmeric’s love, her heart stopping.
Iyana worried she may have made the poison too potent.
Her heart wasn’t supposed to stop completely.
The same verdant green meadow spread out in front of her, exactly as she remembered it from the last time.
A wide, rushing river separated Iyana from the actual Everlands, and either she didn’t remember the current being quite that fast, or it had increased in speed since she was there last. Luckily, Altea was nowhere to be found.
The lure of the river was stronger than before.
Most likely because, this time, Iyana had actually died.
Everything within her wanted to resist the temptation of that river and the peace she knew she’d find on the other side, and simply wait for Em to give her the antidote.
But she had come here for a reason, and she was wasting time.
Emmeric was only going to give her twenty minutes, and if Iyana was honest with herself, it was probably going to be less.
If it were him lying dead in her lap, she wouldn’t wait the full twenty minutes either.
With a deep breath that did nothing to settle her nerves, Iyana set off for the bank of the river.
Dipping her toe in, she found the water to be pleasantly warm, not the cold bite of most rivers she was used to.
Iyana waded in until she could no longer touch the silty bottom, then began to swim towards the opposite shore.
She never claimed to be a strong swimmer—growing up in the desert and only occasionally visiting an oasis will have that effect—but the current seemed to be too strong.
Almost immediately, she was swept downstream, and she had to power her legs and arms with magic to propel her forwards.
Still, every time she looked, the riverbank appeared no closer.
Iyana did not know where this river flowed to, or what would happen to her if she failed to make it to the other side, but she didn’t want to find out.
Drawing forth more magic, she directed it into her muscles and lungs and took a deep breath, swimming with all her might.
She fought against the raging river, and as her strength began to fade, her toes touched upon sand again.
Iyana almost wept with relief as she struggled the last few feet and collapsed on the shore.
Her breathing was so loud in her ears that she didn’t notice the person approaching her until there was a head blocking out the sun.
“Here, let me help,” a deep, masculine voice said, and a hand appeared to pull Iyana off the ground.
Suspicion ate at her for a moment, but she remembered where she was.
Souls who went to the Everlands were inherently good, or had redeemed themselves in the Nine Hells and earned their place here.
The odds were in her favor that she would not find an enemy during her stay.
So Iyana grabbed the offered hand and was hauled to her feet.
Before her stood a tall, strapping man with skin darker than Kaz’s, and irises that appeared almost black.
He kept his hair cut close to his scalp, and he wore a broad grin.
His body was lean, but muscular, and the only sign of his age was the small wrinkles around his eyes, which spoke to how often he smiled.
“Thank you…” Iyana said.
His smile broadened. “My name is Theo.”
Iyana’s jaw dropped. It couldn’t be. “You’re—”
“The first Kanaliza, yes,” he said. “Les sensed you arrive and sent me to guide you.”
When she said nothing, too caught up in her own shock, Theo chuckled and turned, gesturing for her to follow. Iyana fell into step beside him, needing to jog to keep up with his long strides.
The lush green meadow continued from the river bank into rolling hills.
There were bright flowers everywhere—pink carnations, orange marigolds, purple orchids, and yellow chrysanthemums. A light breeze brushed against Iyana’s face, carrying the sweet scent of the flowers to her.
She noticed that it was peacefully quiet here, and while there were no chirping insects or birds singing, there was still a sort of song that flowed through her. One that she felt rather than heard.
Iyana followed Theo through a meandering trail, nobody else in sight. The Kanaliza didn’t seem to be in any sort of rush.
She cleared her throat. “Emmeric is only going to give me twenty minutes, so I don’t have much time.”
Theo smiled broadly. “Time acts differently in the Everlands. Twenty minutes for him will feel like hours here for you.”
Still, the lack of a heartbeat below her breastbone was disturbing, as was the absence of the bond with Emmeric. Iyana wanted to get the answers she sought, then return to her own Kanaliza. She missed him.
“Couldn’t you simply tell me what I need to know?”
He shook his head. “Les knows more about it than I do, since she had the magic. But she couldn’t come down to the river.”
“Why not?”
“Most souls aren’t able to wander that close to the water once they’re here. All the years I’ve been here, I’m the only one who can, so I’ve become an unofficial welcoming party for many people.”
“Why are you able to when everyone else can’t?”
Theo shrugged and grinned. He seemed to smile a lot. “I don’t know. I’ve never been great at doing what I’m told, though.”
Iyana couldn’t help but notice the lack of any sort of buildings and wondered if they were located elsewhere, or if people lived in the trees. She asked Theo, and he laughed, rich and deep.
“No, this is paradise. We don’t stay in the trees.
The houses are built into the hills. There’s no need for food or water in the Everlands, so there are no markets, and if you want to drink a beer because you miss the taste, all you have to do is think about it.
” Theo held out his hand and, sure enough, a tankard of ale appeared.
“And you do nothing for the rest of eternity?”
“You could, I suppose. People find things to occupy their time. You can also choose to Fade.”
“Fade?” Iyana had never heard of the term before.
“When you’ve decided you no longer want to stay in the Everlands, you can choose to Fade. Your soul is returned to the universe and you essentially cease to exist. People still remember you, but your energy is redistributed.”
“Why would anyone choose to do that?”
Theo turned his dark eyes to her, suddenly serious. “Eternity is a long time, little one. Even a soul can grow weary of carrying on. I’ve considered it over time, but Les thought she would need to be here for you at some point, and I don’t go anywhere without her. So I’ve stayed.”
The thought of this beautiful soul before her not existing hurt Iyana’s heart. She had only known Theo for a handful of minutes, but she already liked him, and she hoped he decided to wait to Fade until after she had her time in the Everlands to get to know both him and Les better.
“Here we are,” Theo finally said after they had walked in silence for several minutes.
He turned to the base of a hill and a door shimmered into appearance as he reached for it.
Without hesitating, Theo grabbed the round knob and pushed the door open into a small and cozy foyer.
It opened into a living room with plush couches, a hearth in the corner, and multiple rugs strewn around the room.
“I’m back!” he shouted.
Alessia, the original Aztia, turned the corner into their living room and grinned. “Iyana, it’s so good to see you again.”
Iyana was wrapped in a warm, motherly hug. “I’m surprised you remember me.”
Les scoffed. “It’s hard to forget a girl from a thousand years in the future suddenly appearing on your front lawn.”
Another man and woman entered the room. As Les released Iyana from her embrace, she was able to take a look at the newcomers and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. They were people Iyana only recognized from her hallucinations in Uther’s dungeons, and from her grandmother’s descriptions.
“Mom?” she choked. “Dad?”
Iyana’s mother grinned and opened her arms. “My beautiful girl.” A sob broke free from Iyana as she ran forward into her mother’s arms. A strong pair of arms wrapped around them both, and she enjoyed the sensation of being sandwiched by her parents.
People Uther had forced her to grow up without.
She’d never had the luxury of remembering their embrace from when they were alive, and she was not ashamed to be crying so openly.
Someone cleared their throat, making Iyana glance away from her parents and blink her tears away. But they returned immediately when she saw the old woman standing in the doorway.
“Mata Imo,” Iyana whispered.
Her grandmother’s beautifully wrinkled face smiled.
All of her turquoise jewelry was where Iyana remembered it, but her back was less stooped.
The tears fell harder as she approached the woman who had raised her and formed her into who she was.
Imo was never one for physical affection, so when she touched her hand to Iyana’s face, she leaned into the touch; trying to soak in the time with Imo as much as she could.
“I’m so proud of you, granddaughter.” Her voice was exactly how Iyana remembered it to be.
“I miss you so much,” she murmured.
“I know, my dear. Come, let’s sit.” Imo guided her to one of the couches, and she sat wedged between her mother and her grandmother.
Her father sat on a chair, while Les and Theo sat on a couch opposite of her.
Iyana glanced at her father, sorry she couldn’t sit next to all three of them, but he gave her a serene smile, letting her know he understood. Sometimes a girl only needs her mother.
Iyana’s mother, Isa, who looked so much like her, threaded their fingers together. “I’m proud of you too, my girl. My Iyana.” She smiled sadly.
“You shouldn’t be,” Iyana said, shaking her head.
“I’ve messed it all up. I couldn’t listen to Imo’s simple instructions to stay away from the stars, then Altair killed her.
And I followed him blindly, ignoring blatant warnings that I should have noticed.
I constantly shut down my Kanaliza, even though his instincts were correct.
Nine hells, even Les warned me about Altair, and I only saw what I wanted to!
” She sighed. “I fucked up at every turn. Maybe I should just stay here…”
“Iyana Astalle,” Imo chided. “I know I did not raise a woman who quit when the road ahead became rocky.”
“Rocky?” Iyana stared at her grandmother with wide eyes. “Grandmother, there is no road! There is a semblance of a trail that has long since overgrown and is impossible to track.”
“By yourself, perhaps. Which is why you surround yourself with others who have different strengths. I am not telling you that this is all on your shoulders, child. You need to learn to use those you have around you in order to move forward. I think you were taught a hard lesson, and I am so very sorry I could not keep you from this path, but I know you have the strength to persevere.”
“We believe in you,” Iyana’s father said, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
Iyana peered into the faces of all of her loved ones who had passed on, their expressions shining with pride and love. For the first time, she actually believed them. Maybe she was capable of fulfilling her destiny. She took a deep breath.
“Okay,” Iyana said, looking towards Les and Theo. “Tell me what I need to do to banish the stars.”
The original Aztia and Kanaliza exchanged a look before clasping their hands together between them and then focusing again on Iyana.
“It’s complicated,” Les said. “Zaya gave me the ability to banish them, but was more than vague on the explicit instructions. All she really told us was that a willing sacrifice was required, and from there, my instincts would take over for me. Honestly, when we were able to banish the stars, I only really remember wielding more power than I ever had before, and I wanted them gone. Then they were just gone.”
“A willing sacrifice? How did you fulfill that?”
Both of their faces fell. Tears welled in Les’s eyes, and Theo squeezed her hand.
“A thousand years later, there are still things that are too painful to discuss,” the Kanaliza said. Iyana nodded, respecting their boundary. She could take a guess at what a ‘willing sacrifice’ would be.
“Once you’ve reaped the magic from the sacrifice, you’ll be able to figure it out from there. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific with instructions.”
It was frustrating for Iyana that she had essentially killed herself for a crumb of information, but it was more than they had before. She was sure that between all of her friends, they’d be able to fit the missing pieces together.
“There’s more,” Les continued. “When we spoke before, you thanked me for helping you with your magic, but you need to know that whatever you thought was me wasn’t.”
Iyana frowned. “There was a little fire woman. She was the embodiment of my magic, and I could have sworn she had your face.”
Alessia shook her head. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t know about you until you showed up at my house. I made sure to be watching you from here as much as I could, thinking maybe I had found a way to project my magic to you to help, but I never could.”
“So who was it?”
Les and Theo shared another look. “We don’t know.”
Pursing her lips, Iyana thought about the possibilities, but no solution was readily apparent. She supposed it didn’t matter much either way, because the fire woman had been gone since Altair had stolen her magic, anyway. Honestly, Iyana had lost hope that she would ever return.
A twinge in her chest reminded Iyana that even if time worked differently in the Everlands, she had still lingered too long. Reluctantly, she stood, clinging to her mother’s hand.
“It’s time for me to go,” she said. The others all stood around her.
Imo gripped her shoulder. “You can do this, my dear.”
Iyana nodded, hoping her family’s confidence in her would take root and bloom inside of her, helping her to believe in herself. I can do this.