Chapter 39
LYRA
We’d been here before. But would this time be different?
Even with the new information we’d gathered—and Rowan’s revelation—the mood inside the Temple was as somber as after the last failed attempt, as if none expected it to work.
There were other differences, though.
Mev and Galfrid had once again switched places. And this time, Mev’s attire was distinctly… human. As was Kael’s, as if they both dressed expecting success.
Terran stood beside me, glaring at his brother. The sight of him in such attire was, I was certain, jarring. It was possible, if this worked, it could be the last time he would see Kael. If it opened, none could predict the Gate’s stability.
The arch, and its runes, remained cold and silent.
“Bring them forth,” Mev called, her voice strong.
As before, the artifacts were brought to her and placed in the shallow basin. When Galfrid, Nerys, and Terran stood back, only one remained.
Rowan stepped forward, briefly squeezing the decidedly worried-looking queen’s hand.
Taking Mev’s outstretched one, Rowan faced the artifacts with her.
Without hesitation, she began.
“By the blood of kings and queens, with the artifacts of each clan, including Estmere’s Keeper, and the memory of the first sealing, I call balance once more. Let the Gate be opened, that Elydor and the world of humans might be joined.”
For a moment, nothing. But then, as if the slumbering giant needed time to wake, one by one, the runes began to glow. My heart raced, the outcome already ordained. I’d spent many years on the Gate’s Council and knew how it appeared when opened.
Its runes, glowing shades of blue and deep green and turquoise. Within the archway, a swirling veil unfurled, its surface alive with stars that belonged not to the Elydorian sky, or the human one, but a combination of both.
This was how it appeared for many years, while the Gate remained open. But with one difference. As we watched, a new rune etched itself into the marble Gate. A key, distinctly of human origin.
Mev had dropped to her knees, surrounded by her father and partner.
The king stared, as if not believing what he was seeing.
Nerys embraced Rowan, whose eyes glistened with unshed tears that were unlikely to remain so.
Issa and Marek, neither of whom had ever seen the Aetherian Gate this way, inspected it, fascinated.
“It worked,” Terran said beside me, as if he too could not believe it.
“Will it remain this way? We still don’t know,” I reminded him, “how Mev was able to slip through.”
“No,” he said, “but perhaps we never will. Perhaps she was simply… meant to do so.”
My next words were cut short as Kael walked toward us. Mev was in her father’s arms, crying openly, unknowing if this would be a temporary parting, or a permanent one.
“Brother,” was all he said as the two embraced.
I stepped aside, or attempted to, in order to give them a moment. But as Terran let Kael go, he pulled me toward his side.
“Thank you for showing me the path from hate,” he said. “Be well, Kael.”
“And you, Terran. I’m proud of the king you’ve become. When you meet resistance, remember how difficult it was for me. For you. Perhaps she can help you.”
“Me?” I asked.
“You will do well in Gyoria, Lyra.”
I looked between the brothers just before I was nearly knocked to the ground by Mev. She hugged me as only a human could, without reserve or restraint. “Thank you. A thousand times, thank you. I have no idea what I would have done here without you, Lyra.”
Smiling, I hugged her back and pulled away, looking into the eyes of a princess.
“You’ve exceeded all of my expectations. With luck, this is a temporary goodbye.”
She nodded. “I’m going to bring her back.”
There was no need to ask who she meant. Mev’s plans had always been to reunite her parents.
“I look forward to that day.”
With more goodbyes, and a forlorn king standing witness, Mev and Kael finally stepped up to the Gate. Another step, and they were gone.
Silence.
Everyone looked to Galfrid, who watched the Gate.
“A celebration for some, but this will not bode well in Gyoria,” he said, turning to Terran.
“I’ve begun to prepare my clan for this possibility. My hope is that with more transparency, I can begin the slow march back to an Elydor before my mother’s death.”
“A good start,” Rowan said. “We have been accepted by some, but let those outside this Temple know Estmere has been welcomed by Elydor itself.” He motioned to the rune.
“I will do my part as well. A meeting with my fellow Keepers, and leaders of Estmere, is in order. Perhaps it’s time for all secrets, including those of the Harrows, to be revealed. ”
“There is a reason for them,” Nerys reminded him.
“Aye, and there will always be those who seek to exploit others. Seek to increase their own power or worse, abuse it. But we cannot let fear be our only guide. Secrets may protect for a time, yet they also fester in the dark. If Elydor is to heal, if our people are to truly unite, then light must be shed on what was hidden. Even the truths that wound.”
“Much is about to change in Elydor,” Marek said. He’d been mostly quiet—unusual for him, according to Kael. Grinning, the Navarch added, “I look forward to letting you all sort it out.”
“You are impossible,” Issa said beside him.
One by one, the group began to splinter. Issa and Marek agreed to escort Rowan to Estmere and Nerys to Thalassaria where they would speak, respectively, to both clans. Agreeing to wait a few days to determine if the Gate would remain open, they filed one by one out of the chamber.
“I will wait here,” Galfrid said. “With time moving differently between realms, she may return sooner than we expect. If she finds the courage to step back through, I will see her the moment she does.”
I nodded, going to him. “She will be back. The Gate is as it should be.”
As of yet, there was no indication it would close without some sort of intervention. And with Balthor dead, that seemed unlikely.
Galfrid took my hands. The gesture was so unexpected, I stood motionless. Waiting.
“You have served me, my court, and my daughter well, Lyra. I regret only that your parents were not here to witness first-hand what a fine Aetherian warrior you’ve become.”
My parents had long since retired to the Haven Isles, a place for Aetherians weary of courts and wars.
“I whisper with them—keeping them informed, gaining advice—often,” I said. “Thank you for your kind words, my king.”
Squeezing my hands, he released them, looking over my shoulder, but Terran was gone.
“There are many ways to serve. Perhaps the time will come that you might do so by bridging a gap between our clans?”
“I know not what the future might bring,” I admitted.
“Perhaps.” He nodded toward the Temple’s antechamber. “You should usher it in yourself rather than waiting for it to unfurl before you.”
Wise words.
Perhaps I would.
“She will be back,” I said again, with a final glance at the now-opened Gate.
“They must,” Galfrid said. His voice barely a whisper.