FORTY-THREE
THE REGALS
PAST
“We must find a way to kill her.” Yuri clenched a fist as he sat with Hassha and Korah around a fire. They’d settled in a forest close to Vanora, far enough away from commoners to be alone.
“We kill her, and we’re all dead,” Korah said, side-eyeing him as she tossed a thick, snowy braid over her shoulder.
“Perhaps it’s what we deserve for lying to her.” Yuri’s voice was solemn.
“I will not end my own life because we made a choice to save hers,” Korah declared. “She was na?ve, reckless, and stupid about Kronos. We saved her! If she’d died with him, we would have too. We don’t deserve the sentence of death because of her poor decisions.”
Silence rained down on them, the flames of the fire crackling in the pit. The Cold Tethered children were tucked away in a cottage a short distance away. They were close to toddlerhood now, stumbling here and there, full of energy, full of purity .
The Regals made it their mission to protect the Cold Tethered children for now because one day, those children would become a saving grace.
“We cannot kill her,” Hassha said after some time. Her eyes glistened, and the reflection of the flames made them appear as bold as Selah’s. “But we also cannot let her and Decius tear through these lands together. She must be the one to kill Decius, and we all know she won’t do it because he’s fueling her wicked agenda. Soon enough, she’ll direct him to the children again. We must protect them. They were made from what remained of Selah’s kindness, which makes them just as powerful as their parents. We can use that to our advantage.”
“What do you suggest we do then, sister?” Korah asked with a weary sigh.
“We combine some of our power to strip Selah of most of her energy and put her to sleep. Forever .”
“And Decius?” Yuri inquired.
Hassha sighed, chin dropping. “We figure out what makes him weakest and use that against him every chance we can. With Selah put to rest, maybe that will be enough to weaken him—or make his actions predictable at the very least. Then we can guide those children, bring them up, and teach them to defend our lands like their parents.”
Yuri and Korah nodded, finding some relief in Hassha’s plan.
But hidden in the depths of the forest with her presence and energy veiled, Selah heard every word.
As her traitorous siblings huddled together, a bout of rage coursed through Selah. She hurried to the cottage where the Cold Tethered children were hidden.
Beneath streaks of silky moonlight, she studied their pudgy faces and miniature hands. She wanted to kill them all and take yet another good thing away from her sisters and brother…but she did something else instead.
After hearing their plans, she knew a time would come when she’d be caught and forced into the eternal slumber Hassha mentioned. She could only run for so long, and Earth was out of the equation because she refused to live in weakness.
If she were to be forced into an eternal sleep, she needed someone with the purer parts of her energy to eventually tap into corruption so they could awaken her. Decius was born wicked and was attached to her completely (a privilege she had not given to the Original Tethered), so he would not do.
Seeing as Lehvine was her first, he was her strongest Tethered creation. That meant his child carried equally powerful genes.
She raised her hands, and the veil around her seeped away as she parted the lips of Lehvine’s child while he slept.
Just as the door of the cottage burst open and her siblings appeared, radiant in defensive color, she planted a seed filled with blood into his mouth and shoved it down his throat.
The child nearly choked but managed to swallow it down and awoke with a wail. Selah grinned at her siblings before vanishing once again.
“What did she do?” Korah panicked as she and Hassha searched the children for wounds.
Yuri stood above Lehvine’s and Oriah’s child who was still crying and attempting to sit up as he sought comfort. It took only a second for him to read the child’s new energy.
Selah had completely bound herself to him, just as she did with Decius.
This child would live a hard life, not only because Selah had tainted him, but because he would now be used as her pawn. His head would be full of whispers he could not control when all he longed for was freedom.
“She’s wasted so much energy here,” Hassha murmured. “Why would she do that?”
“Because she needs him ,” Yuri said, still staring at the crying child. “She heard our plans about the eternal slumber. She wants him to become just like Decius, but as a separate entity. One that will be able to wake her, no matter who he is reborn as.”
“We can’t spend the rest of our lives searching and killing a person whose only goal is to wake her.” Hassha gently shushed one of the little girls, but her heart was drumming faster.
“Yes, and that’s exactly what she wanted,” said Yuri. “But there is a way we can prevent it.” Yuri finally picked up the crying boy.
“How do you mean?” Korah lifted the twins and held each in one arm.
“We give him our blood.” Yuri pushed the boy’s dark hair away from his forehead as he rocked him in his arms to soothe him. “One single drop from each of us is all it will take. And to make sure he doesn’t become someone like Decius, I’ll give him all of my power and energy.”
“ What? ” Hassha gasped. “You’re willing to sacrifice all that you’re made of? Have you lost your head, Yuri?”
“You know that I cannot kill her myself, Hassha,” he said, meeting her eyes. “I cannot absorb her energy right now because it will kill both of you right away. Is that what you want? To die at this very moment with her?”
Hassha blinked at him, teary-eyed, while Korah’s chin dropped an inch.
“One day, you’ll have no choice but to let your energy go, but it won’t be now. You deserve to live, to create the life you want without constant threats.” He looked at the boy again, sighing. “I’ve stored my energy into many things, and I’m certain I can store all I have in him. If I do, there will be no room for her corruption because I am much stronger than she is. His blood may be the cure to waking her, but he will also be the very thing that will destroy her if she ever returns. By then, you’ll know it’s your time to prepare.”
“Yuri, no.” Hassha placed the baby down and walked to him, clasping his face in her hands. “You do this, and we’ll never see you again. It doesn’t matter what kind of life we create if you aren’t here.”
A smile swept across his lips. “I’ll always be here.” He gestured to the whimpering, dark-haired boy whose eyes were wide and wet. His cheeks were red, his bottom lip poked out. He looked so sad, so lost. He didn’t deserve his fate. His future lives didn’t deserve it either. He deserved safety.
“I’ll be in him,” Yuri went on. “You’ll know I’m there when the time comes. You’ll know which generation I’ve chosen. I’ll give you and Korah enough time to live a hundred lives if I must.”
Hassha’s eyes glistened as Yuri used his free hand to palm her cheek. He pressed his forehead to hers, and her tears dripped in streaks of silvery blue.
“Yuri, are you certain?” Korah asked, her eyes damp. “These children are not ours. We didn’t make them. We don’t owe them anything. We can leave them with good commoners, let them be raised by someone else. We can search for him and stop him before he ever has the chance to wake Selah.”
“I refuse to let you two waste your lives cleaning up her mess. Aiding the Olympians was always my plan, you just followed suit. I must now make this right. Selah may have spread her hatred, but this is our world, and I’m willing to sacrifice so Vakeeli remains alive.”
Yuri pulled his forehead from Hassha’s, kissed her cheek, and said, “This, I am certain. And as you said, Hassha, we do not want to be like the gods on Earth who kill the mortals and cause destruction. There are good people here, many of whom I believe will rinse out the evil that has plagued these lands. Regardless of whether these children are ours or not, we formed a bond with them. They are innocent and are counting on us, so we must do whatever it takes to protect them.”
“Yuri, please ,” Hassha pleaded, her face stained with tears. “We can think of something else. It does not have to be this way.”
“This is the only way, Hassha. Selah will not stop wreaking havoc if she’s awake. She will set this whole world on fire if we don’t stop her. Would you rather be left with nothing?” he demanded.
Hassha’s head shook as Korah swallowed down her emotions.
Yuri looked at the boy again before placing him back down. Stepping back, he raised his hands to produce a spark of red between his palms.
“I will make it my mission to keep Selah’s energy in this child at bay. Even if it takes two millenniums, I will hold. But with this power given to him, one of his reincarnations will be worthiest. I will make sure he is strong, a leader. He will be one who searches for the light, no matter how dark this world may become. He will be a product of the gifted creations in this world that have a beating heart. Mythic. Monarch. Tethered and Cold Tethered. This reincarnation will have no fear and will reach his greatest power when he’s fully bonded to his mate. She will help him reach the light he’s searched long and hard for to help him rinse away Selah’s darkness. And she will be his, just as you are mine , Hassha.”
The red spark grew in size as Hassha battled tears.
“When this worthy person arrives, meeting him will be inevitable for you both.” His eyes shifted from Hassha to Korah. “You will know it is me within him because I will unleash all the power I’ve carried to him. And when he is here, the time of Selah’s rest will come to an end because it will be his blood that wakes her. She will know he’s here too, and she will do everything in her power to make him come to her. This I cannot prevent, but to counter it, he will have the power to strip Selah of every ounce of energy and form it into his own. He will be the strongest being to rule Vakeeli, stronger than any Regal or god. He will be exactly what our world needs when we’re gone.”
The spark between Yuri’s hands formed into a star with four points and bathed the cottage red. He spread his hands apart and grunted as the light brightened.
“Find Selah,” Yuri wheezed as wafts of red spilled from his body. “Put her to rest and send her far away to a place where no commoner, Mythic, Council, or Gilded can reach her.”
A red double-edged knife appeared, and Korah set the twins down to lift her hand. The blade sliced the center of her palm, but she didn’t wince. She watched as droplets of her blood floated toward the star.
The knife moved to Hassha next, and she reluctantly opened her palm too, allowing the knife to slice. Her blood did the same as Korah’s, and in seconds, the wound was healed.
Their blood merged within Yuri’s star, and he studied it before speaking again. The color was fading from his skin, his face growing hollow.
Yuri gestured weakly to the dark-haired boy. “When Selah awakes, we know that she will not go down easy. That is when you must teach him everything you know about being a Regal.” He lifted the star higher in the air. “Let him know that his power is infinite. He is our chosen one, and he will be Vakeeli’s savior. Until then, enjoy your lives, Hassha and Korah. Find your peace. It is what you deserve.”
The cottage hummed with light, and Yuri’s skin paled even more. When he dropped his damp eyes to Hassha, he murmured, “I love you, my moon and stars.”
Korah appeared at her side and clutched her hand.
“I love you, my Crimson Warrior,” Hassha whispered. It was the first and only time her voice cracked.
With those words lingering in the air, Yuri stretched his arms higher and roared at the top of his lungs as he transferred all his energy into the star above. Blood dripped from his eyes and ears, and his cries of agony did not come to an end until the cottage rattled and the blinding light disappeared.
The children startled and a few of them cried, but all Hassha and Korah could do was watch as the only male Regal disappeared, leaving behind a floating star in the center of the cottage.
The Seed of Yuri.
Before her tears could fall, she hurried for the seed and held it in her hands. It was hot to the touch, and to avoid it burning the child, she blew on it. When it was cooled enough, she handed the seed to Korah so she could pick up the dark-haired child.
Cradling him in one arm, she scanned a hand over him to keep him rested, then she took the seed back and pressed it into his chest. The child cooed as the seed melted into his skin. Glowing red veins spread throughout his body. One of Hassha’s silver tears dripped onto his bare chest.
To this day, Hassha wasn’t sure why Yuri had made such a sacrifice for a child he hardly knew. For people who hunted them continuously, who disrespected them and tarnished their names; it made no sense to give up such power for them.
But as time passed, she was thankful for Yuri’s sacrifice because had it not happened, she never would’ve created the paradise for women and children that is Kessel.
And had it not been for his power to store energy in Vakeeli’s soil, she never would’ve been able to birth her twins.
As he’d promised, his presence would forever remain. She felt that presence swimming in her children’s veins. And she felt it more than ever now, activated and beating in the heart of a man too afraid to let Yuri take control.
Caspian Harlow of Blackwater doesn’t believe he’s the savior Yuri promised them. He allows his anger, sadness, pain, and grief to rule him.
Despite what his mind tells him, though, The Regals know his heart, and they will make him see that he’s worthy of being the strongest Regal that has ever lived.