Chapter 64
Chapter Sixty-Four
Solace
“Idon’t think that’s the best use of my resources. The rebellion is not of our concern at this moment. We need to be focused on Vespera and uprooting that seat of power first before—” Sasori’s whiny voice muffled as I covered my ears with a sound-blocking Air Shield.
The woman was insufferable.
I’d desperately tried to feign interest in her diatribes, but there was just something about her that curled my nose in disdain. How my brother’s last descendant hadn’t killed her was a feat I had to begrudgingly admit was impressive.
Even now, with her voice a low hum, the words indistinguishable, I had to consciously keep my power wrapped, lest it sneak out and unintentionally strangle the Pain Vessel.
The move would be . . . regrettable and not without recompense—she was the ruler of Samyr—but even mortal kings were beholden to the whims of the gods.
Sasori should know that better than anyone alive.
I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to watch her thin lips form word after word and only opened them again when I felt an aggressive tap on my shoulder. Sasori stood in front of my chair, her eyes hard and unblinking as her lip curled in what I imagined was unbridled disgust.
Her lips moved soundlessly again when I raised my eyebrows petulantly.
I could just kill her. Take her army.
The thought grew more appealing by the minute.
“What?” I dropped my Air Shield, and the sounds of the room rushed back in, disorienting me for a moment.
A brook ran through the center of the bone-white room, and water bubbled happily as it lazily flowed from one end to the other.
The ceiling was covered in blossoming trees, all in tones ranging from vibrant pink to a muted blush.
The fragrance was light and not nearly as overwhelming as I expected when we first arrived in Samyr.
Apart from the natural foliage that dominated the space, the rest of the room was militantly sparse.
A table in a matching white hue that resembled the twisting branches of the trees above sat in the middle of the floor, a spattering of chairs surrounding it.
While the room was clearly meant for a plethora of generals and men to sit around and discuss military tactics, I was the only one to fill a chair, and the only other here with me was Sasori.
I found it oddly poetic that such a male-dominated culture was now overpowered by two females, even if the other woman here was fraying my last nerve.
“I asked what you were going to do about your brother,” Sasori said flatly, her black leather armor creaking as she crossed her arms across her chest. For a country that valued color, it was odd that she chose to don the military blacks of Vespera.
Can take the whore out of the house, but she’s still a whore.
A serpentine smile coated my face as I propped my head against my fist.
“That is none of your concern.” I spoke with a finality that should have sent her scurrying back to whatever hole she crawled from.
Sasori grunted disapprovingly with a slight roll of her eyes.
“When you accepted my offer of shelter and use of my army, I expected that you would share your information and intelligence, not withhold it for your own personal gain,” she snarked.
“I wasn’t aware that there were conditions for my stay.” My eyes flashed dangerously at her impudence.
“Nothing is free in life, Solace. There is always a payment to be made. Mine is that I demand to be included in your plans, for you to share your information. Otherwise, perhaps my trust and offer will be rescinded.”
I felt a twinge in my chest, but not from her words. Sasori continued to drone on, casting lackluster threats in my direction, but they fell on deaf ears. A piece of my soul twitched and writhed, almost like it was in pain.
Frowning, I rubbed at my sternum, willing the feeling to subside.
“Solace!” Sasori’s voice whipped through the empty room, bouncing off the walls until it settled around us.
My cold, hard gaze slowly rose to meet hers, and I watched, satisfied, as her amber eyes widened a fraction at what she saw. Her chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, and she stumbled back a step, her back connecting with the war table, as I rose silently from my chair.
How dare a human speak to me that way.
Sasori’s mistake was written on her face, etched into lines of distress at the corners of her eyes. I could practically hear her heartbeat as I slowly approached, her body leaning back over the table as I towered over her.
“Yes?” I whispered, my voice low and threatening even as I felt that twinge in my chest again. The pain of it almost brought me to my knees.
“I—I—I” she stuttered, hands grasping for purchase on the wood behind her.
I kept walking until I stood toe-to-toe with Sasori, my chest slowly lowering until it was nearly touching hers. Her rapid pants coasted over my face, warming my skin, as I loomed over her.
“You, what?” I asked again. My own heart was beating erratically, but, unlike Sasori’s, mine was not due to the tense violence of this moment.
There was something wrong in my soul. Like a piece of it was straining to connect to another . . .
The realization of what it was sent my eyes wide as I froze. My lips were practically touching Sasori’s, and I quickly moved my face to the side so my mouth was next to her ear. Sasori flinched at the sudden movement, but I couldn’t take the time to revel in her obvious fear.
“This conversation is not over,” I said lowly before pulling away and sweeping from the room.
My stark-white dress trailed behind me as I strode through the occupied hallways. Servants and Mages alike jumped out of my way, bowing as low as possible in deference with mumbled “Goddess” as I passed.
This cannot be happening. It was safe. Hidden for millennia.
I barely registered my pathway through the palace and out into the bright sunshine.
The courtyard in the rear of the palace was teeming with life—the sycophants that survived the Battle of Vespera mingled with Samyr’s Mage army, the differences between them distinguishable yet subtle after nearly a year acclimating to life in Samyr.
At my exit, the buzz of conversation ceased as they all kneeled as one, hands over their hearts, with a loudly mumbled “Solace.”
I blinked rapidly, the anguish from my tattered and broken soul screaming and writhing in my chest as its separated piece neared its point of creation. Sweat beaded on my forehead and back as I swept through the courtyard, not acknowledging the show of deference.
My breaths came in labored pants, and my hands shook as I balled them into fists, my long nails biting into my skin until slick, hot blood oozed between my knuckles to drip on the white stones under my bare feet.
Not even the gentle salty breeze that swept in from the surrounding bay could cool my feverish skin. I walked without destination, my feet drawn to a stone balcony that overlooked the bay. I placed one shaking hand against my brow and squinted my eyes, desperately trying to see the other side.
It was a futile effort; not even my enhanced senses could see that far.
It’s there.
For the first time in centuries, I was frozen with indecision, unsure whether to cross the water and enter the place of so much pain to find my tether or simply trust that whoever brought it to the Valley didn’t know what they possessed.
If they knew how to destroy it . . . no, I couldn’t think like that. There were two others who knew how to create and destroy artifacts, and both of them had a vested interest in keeping their own tethers intact.
I nearly scoffed at my thoughts—an immortal being with immeasurable power, and I was reduced to a shaking, sniveling girl.
Fire and anger burned through my veins at the thought of someone else in possession of a piece of my soul.
It would fare much better in my own hands . . .
The thought calmed me enough to think rationally.
I removed my hand from my brow and closed my eyes. The sun still shone bright through my dark lids, and I turned my face toward its warmth before spreading my arms wide. The breeze from the bay below picked up in strength, catching my dress and whipping it about my thin body.
On the next inhale, I tapped into the Water Magic that lived unhappily inside me and forced it to answer my call. After grappling with it for a few seconds, I grasped it and yanked as hard as I could, forcing it to bend to my will.
It will be easier when that godling is dead, I tried to convince myself, though even I was struggling to believe that lie now.
With a forceful exhale, I demanded that the water beneath my lookout part.
With a sloshing so loud that it sounded like a distant rumble of thunder, the deep waters of the bay parted, revealing the shell and bone-ridden sand below.
Once, millennia ago, this bay belonged to the sirens and the sailors they led to watery graves.
Now, it seemed that it was their burial site as well.
It would take a generous amount of power—nearly all of my Water Magic—to hold the watery walls in this position as I walked across the bay to the inlet on the other side.
I’ll simply collapse it behind me as I walk.
It was a necessary overuse of power. Traveling to the Valley by any other method would take days. Crossing the bay on foot would reduce my travel time to mere hours, and every second counted when my immortal life hung in the balance.