Chapter 8 Kaos
Chapter Eight
Kaos
“Welcome to the end of the world, my Child.”
Fate’s words echoed throughout Meru, bouncing around in my skull, mocking me with every step I took over the dried and cracked earth.
I knew with nothing short of complete certainty that this truly was the end of the world; my sister and I had brought about the Second Sundering, the final battle for Elyria, and control of the cosmos was imminent.
I knew it was the end of the world, but the words were still ominous, especially coming from an immortal being older than time itself.
A shudder worked its way from my head to my toes, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end, as if I was struck by a bolt of lightning.
Inadvertently, my gaze flung heavenward, and my nose wrinkled at the sheer wrongness of the sky.
Magic was frozen, vibrating and writhing in place, but unable to release from its prison.
I knew exactly how the magic felt—restless yet restrained.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, none of it was. The gods were supposed to wander Elyria, interact with our descendants, and aid the mortals. Free yet contained.
Likewise, the magic in the sky was supposed to have the same constraints—able to touch Meru and bestow blessings upon creation.
We—Solace and I—had stolen that from Meru eons ago, and my heart thundered at the consequences we’d inevitably reap for our actions, at the vengeance Meru would exact once the Original Magic was returned to its rightful home.
I pushed my shoulders away from my ears, easing the tension from my taut muscles, and pulled my eyes from the sky in the same motion.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, behind the cracked peak of Meru’s sole mountain, and it felt like Fate was laughing mirthlessly.
My mind instantly refocused on my father’s warning, mulling his words over in my mind as I shook myself from my reverie and approached the thin, pale figure silhouetted against the darkened skies.
The most unnerving part was that I couldn’t discern if Fate’s warning was directed at me or the blonde creature watching him fade into the distance, hands perched on her narrow hips.
I supposed it really didn’t matter; we both heard it if Ellowyn’s furrowed brow and horribly abused lip were any markers.
I cocked my head as I watched her, hidden between a few of the dead trees, their leafless branches providing enough cover that I could melt into the background well enough.
She huffed a few times and scuffed her boot against the dry ground, creating little puffs of dust that clung to her disgustingly dirty pants.
The woman standing before me today was unlike anything I’d ever seen before; she was beautiful in a haunted way that was only accentuated by the blood and gore that covered nearly every inch of her.
Why had no one washed her? Was no one caring for her? I mentally sneered at the errant, soft thought. I couldn’t afford to feel something beyond mild apathetic wonder for Ellowyn d’Refan.
The Queen of Elyria muttered something to herself, only the dulcet tone audible from this distance, before combing her dirty hands through equally soiled hair and sitting heavily with a sigh. She rested one cheek on her propped fist, idly tracing patterns in the dirt with the other.
“Whenever you’re ready, Kaos, I’m here,” she called loudly, her voice rebounding off the dead trees. I chuckled dryly to myself as I watched and waited for another few seconds.
What an interesting woman.
“No need to call so loudly, I’m already here,” I said, stepping from between the husks of trees, letting a few of the branches scrape against my leather armor before snapping back behind me.
Ellowyn jumped at my voice, spinning where she sat to face me.
Where I expected fear and apprehension, I only saw fierce determination and . . . was that a hint of annoyance?
“You are not the girl who released me from my prison months ago,” I mused, cocking my head in observation.
Ellowyn rolled her eyes petulantly before pushing to a stand with a slight groan and dusting off her pants. When her hands came away with dried blood and other matter, she simply sighed and let her arms fall to her sides.
“Yes, I am,” she muttered.
“Physically, yes. You are still Ellowyn, but I stand by my statement; you are not the girl who released me from my prison.”
Ellowyn turned tired steel-blue eyes to me and quirked a singular brow.
“Is that what you called me here for? To tell me that I’m not the same girl you briefly met nearly a year ago?” Her tone was dry and a bit biting, and I found that I liked it. Maybe a little too much.
“Are you pregnant with my descendant’s child?”
Ellowyn’s eyes flew wide as her head reared back in shock, and a fiery blush coated her cheeks and slowly worked its way down her neck, where it disappeared beneath the collar of her tunic.
“What?!” Her screech was loud, and I winced slightly before shrugging my shoulders.
“It’s a fair question. You married my last descendant, fucked him, most likely. It’s a reasonable question to know if you’re carrying his spawn in your womb.”
Silence hung in the air between us before Ellowyn threw her head back, face tilted toward the sky, and laughed long and loud. The sound was a mixture of disbelief and pure humor, and I found the corners of my mouth involuntarily twitching.
“You think”—she gasped for breath—“that just because I married him and fucked him once that I may be carrying . . . what was it you said? ‘His spawn in my womb.’” She air quoted the last part before descending into further peals of laughter, delicately clutching her stomach.
I stood stoically, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised as she slowly regathered herself, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes as they ran down her cheeks, clearing a path through the grime.
“You must have been blessed with all of the humor; your sister got none, hmm?” Ellowyn mused quietly, gathering herself once more into a mask of haughty impertinence, though there was now an undercurrent of curiosity.
I didn’t deign her question with an answer.
“No, Kaos,” she finally sighed with a shake of her head. “I’m not pregnant with my late husband’s child.”
“You’re sure?” I pressed.
She rolled her eyes.
“Can’t you read my truth and lies? Yes, I’m certain that I’ve bled multiple times since I’ve had sex with Alois. If—gods forbid—I am pregnant, it’s certainly not with his child.”
“The other godling.”
Ellowyn blinked owlishly at me for a beat before nodding her head once.
“Yes. Did you keep me trapped here simply to interrogate me about my sex life? Because if that’s the case . . . I think I’m going to go take a nice jump off the top of that mountain back there.” She jammed her finger over her shoulder in the direction of what was once my prison.
I chuckled at that, and Ellowyn’s eyebrows nearly hit her hairline as her hand came back to rest by her side.
“You did inherit all of the humor,” she remarked quietly as I shook my head, braids bouncing against my back.
“No, Ellowyn,” I rumbled, “I did not come here to interrogate you on your sex life. Though I do find it rather interesting. Have you ever tried it with a real god before?”
Her cheeks heated for a second time as her eyes went wide.
“That’s—that’s . . . no. Obviously. You’re the only god and . . . no.” It was amusing to me how she stuttered over her words.
“Relax, Ellowyn. I’m not going to fuck you. You’re not exactly my type,” I said dryly and watched as her mouth gaped open before closing it quickly. “I much prefer my partners to have a cock.”
“This is simultaneously the most bizarre yet the most informative conversation I’ve ever had,” Ellowyn said with a slight shake of her head.
I smiled at her, a terrifying sight usually, but she just shrugged her shoulders and sat back in the dirt.
“Seems that I’m stuck here for a while, so why don’t you take a seat, Kaos.
You can tell me more about your partners or maybe finally get to the fucking point of why you’re here.
” Ellowyn gestured to the space next to her.
With a grace that belied my size, I sat close enough to Ellowyn that I could read the minute changes in her expression, but with enough space between us that I wouldn’t be touching her.
“There was a point of my question—about you being pregnant,” I said, eyes fastidiously fixed on her face.
“And?”
I sighed. “I needed to make sure that none of my Original Magic was left in this realm. And, to answer your question, no. I cannot read your truths and lies.”
Ellowyn was silent for a moment, a thousand thoughts flickering in her eyes while her body remained still.
“Why?”
“Why what?” I countered.
“Why can’t you read my truths? Why must your Original Magic be eradicated?”
Both astute questions, and I grunted a noise of begrudging appreciation.
“Because you have Original Magic in your veins”—I held up a palm to hold off her impending tirade—“and I cannot read the truths and lies of other original deities. It’s quite unfortunate, actually.
Really made the whole First Sundering unnecessarily bloody and violent.
” I shook my head at the memory as Ellowyn stared shrewdly.
My palm fell to the space between us as I leaned back on my hands.
“And because it’s time to return the magic to Meru. ”
Ellowyn rolled her lip between her teeth, watching my face for something before turning back toward the mountain.
“I carry Creation and Destruction,” she said, and I nodded my head before interrupting.
“As well as Pain and Pleasure.”
Ellowyn closed her eyes on an exhale and rolled her head from side to side while grumbling beneath her breath.
“Your Original Magic is truth?”
I grunted in acknowledgement.
“Solace’s is visions and memory.” I stayed silent at that speculation, unable to guide her any further.
“I’m a godling with four magics,” she continued, eyebrows furrowed, “Torin has four other magics.”
She chewed her lip, thinking hard.
“Think on your own time,” I growled. “We have more to discuss, and you’ll be leaving soon.”
“How do you know that?” she asked absently.
“This is how I portal—I walk through Meru to get from one place to another in Elyria.”
Ellowyn’s eyes widened, and she turned to face me.
“You are just spilling all of your secrets today, aren’t you, Kaos?”
The corners of my lips twitched again. I could see why Fate chose her—she was fearless, indomitable, but still carried a hint of na?veté. It was the flicker of that softness that I wanted to protect more than anything else.
“Secrets can be heavy when carried alone,” I said quietly as Ellowyn hummed in response.
“Why are you here, Kaos?”
I exhaled forcefully, recalling a similar conversation I’d had with one of Fate’s acolytes outside the collapsed mines. Unlike that conversation, Ellowyn’s question held no double meaning, no trickery or puzzle. I felt compelled to answer her, like my secrets were safe with her.
“Fate was not wrong—the end of the world is upon us. My relationship with Solace is . . . strained.”
“Because you saved me in Vespera.” Ellowyn said it with such solemnity, such conviction, and I inclined my head slightly. “Thank you for that, by the way.”
There was a fresh earnestness in her voice, like she was actually grateful for whisking her out of my sister’s path of destruction. Something almost human inside of me warmed at her thankfulness, never mind the fact that I’d also done it for this moment right here.
“You can repay me for it,” I said, the words souring on my tongue even though I knew it was necessary.
Ellowyn nodded her head once, grey-blue eyes whirling.
“Anything.”
“Be careful with your verbiage, little one. I will not take advantage of it, but others would,” I admonished harshly, but Ellowyn simply shrugged.
“I’m a godling, and I owe you a life debt. Seems pretty reasonable to promise anything,” she said dryly.
I sighed, feeling her connection to Meru tense and relax as her physical form began to awaken. I turned to face her fully, holding her gaze with my own, letting her see the darkest pieces of my soul and the seriousness of my words.
“When I find you again, I will ask you to do something. But I need you to follow my instructions exactly.”
“And if I don’t?” Ellowyn asked, though it wasn’t out of petulance, more curiosity.
I smiled ferally at her. “Then you sacrifice Elyria simply to save yourself and the other godling.”
Recognition flashed in her eyes as she muttered something just before the representation of her soul in this place faded completely, returning to her body in the physical realm. Her muttered words drifted in the air as she disappeared.
“The lovers at the end of the world.”
I chuckled to myself as I pushed to a stand and opened a portal that would lead me back to Elyria and my hunt for the two remaining artifacts that tethered the souls of the gods to this plane.