Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The messenger god watched as the demigods discovered their power in the centuries to come. They aided the humans in a war, striking a devastating blow to the ruling gods, taking a kernel of their magic as they fled in the aftermath.
—Fabia’s Fables, “People of the Stars.”
“Where did you find those words?” Carina whispered from across the room. I glanced back at Lord Astraeus, still a breath away.
“Her heart,” he answered, voice rough.
I rolled my eyes as I gripped his wrist and slid the rubelline cuff off. He let out a soft sigh through his nose. He kept his eyes on me and ran a hand over his wrist, rubbing away the phantom grip of magic.
“You’re free,” I breathed, voice quieter than intended.
“Am I?” He raised an eyebrow, eyes darting to my lips. I cleared my throat as I stepped away, releasing myself from whatever trance-like state the air oath had put us in.
“Sorry we’re late to the party,” Nerissa crooned as she strutted into the small tent.
Astraeus’s hand gripped my elbow, and my heart leaped into my chest as I turned to find Nerissa and Vulcan standing in the doorway. I whipped my head back to Astraeus, and he blinked before dropping his hand from my arm.
I scanned my friends, searching for additional injuries.
The spattering of black tattoos cut across the irregular, raised scars that littered the side of Vulcan’s half-ruined face.
A pang of guilt slithered through my gut, realizing I just bound myself to the man who had done this to him.
Who had ordered him beaten, his crew so intentionally destroying the artful ink on his face.
I heaved a sigh and stepped away from Astraeus.
I gave Vulcan a soft smile and nod, relieved to be reunited with the elf. The permanent scowl remained on his face, but I thought I caught the softening of his eyes.
Nerissa stilled as Ronan appeared in the doorway, his sapphire eyes flashing against the dancing flames. Her eyes shuddered, and Ronan’s shoulders sagged in relief. Neither moved.
Lord Astraeus cleared his throat as he rubbed his wrist, that insufferable smirk forming on his lips.
“Took you long enough,” he drawled, stepping into the soft glow. Vulcan’s eyes held the promise of violence as they swept between us.
The air oath left me shaken. While I’d felt a connection form with Queen Antares, this was different. It was like a small strip of air in my lungs that could cause me to sigh or cough if pulled too hard.
I held my hands up between the two of them, briefly explaining what had transpired in the last few days, earning myself more than a few glares from Vulcan and looks of disbelief from Nerissa.
“An alliance once again,” Astraeus said through a grin, clapping his hands together once, nodding to Ronan. “Seems like we’ll be spending more time together.”
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I snapped.
“Wait,” Nerissa said, holding her arm out, the soft red glow of the cuff shining dimly through her jacket, “Take this off.”
“I don’t answer to you, sweetie,” Astraeus murmured, his swagger sharpening into steel.
Nerissa’s lips curled over her teeth as she let out a soft snarl, Ronan gripping her arm.
“Astraeus,” Ronan warned, his own voice dipping an octave.
“You answer to me,” I cut in, my eyes shooting between the two of them. “Take it off.”
The pirate’s dark eyes slid to mine, amused.
“I do not answer to you,” he said, “That is not what this is between you and I.”
I opened my mouth to interrupt, but he said to Nerissa, “But, seeing as we could use some of your special sun power in what’s to come, I’ll throw you a bone.”
Astraeus slid his hand over Nerissa’s cuff, dismantling it. I held out a hand for it, waiting.
“Not a chance,” Astraeus chuckled, tucking the cuff into his pocket and offering a curt nod to the others.
“Bonscaíh,” he winked at me, sketching a mock bow as he left our small group. Nerissa bristled as he strode away, his blue coat flapping in the icy breeze that blew through the trees.
Aquila’s massive form dove from the midnight sky outside the hut. An unobstructed wave of warmth and happiness crashed into me from the sea hawk as he blew a great gust of wind, sending waves of fresh powder into the small room. I returned it with my own, never more grateful for this reunion.
Lelyth’s dark wine curls bounced as she strode through a long wooden hall, a stable of sorts, with long iron bars lining the walls.
Massive, white bears peered out, many of them offering low growls or slashing with their curved black claws at the bars as we passed.
The Obscura thrummed beneath my skin at the presence of the threat.
Nivis’s mounted bears, a cavalry of sorts.
“Where are we going?” I asked, irritated at the young human’s cryptic comments in the weeks that had passed since Olienna’s Bellator gathering.
“Out,” she replied.
I bristled, following until we came upon the docks facing Nivis’s sacred island in the distance. I opened a cast to my caeluma, his warmth melting into me from where he munched on a bucket of oats outside the Crystal Castle.
“Fifteen hundred years is too long,” Lelyth murmured, her bright eyes staring across the azure sea that separated us from the green island. She twisted a shimmering band around her finger, its strange material casting little rainbows on her white tunic.
“Attalus said the Aeterna could do it,” I argued, uncertain why I was the only Bellator she’d brought along to have this conversation after the eight of us had agreed…
“Attalus has been wrong before,” Lelyth said quietly, still staring at the land mass ahead. “And is that what you want, Enya? To extend our lives so considerably? I’m not sure I do.”
I shook my head. Of course, I didn’t want this… Ordell had also questioned it… “No, but I’ll do what has to be done to fight if they return after this—”
“I believe Olienna’s plan is well-intentioned,” Lelyth cut in, turning toward me, “But will we even be the same people then? People change over time, Enya. Humans, and even elves, are not meant to live forever. Will we all stay the course? Or will that much time erode our good intentions? I’m not convinced. ”
She shook her head and turned back to the sea, her eyes steeling in determination.
“What choice do we have?” I asked.
“There is always a choice, Enya. Our ancestors escaped their wrath and found refuge here, taking their power as they did. We know they will return again. When this fight is over, I think our fight is over.”
I went still. “I am not going to sit by and let this happen—”
“I’m not suggesting that,” Lelyth snapped. “Of course, we fight. I’m not a coward. But I am suggesting we sacrifice now to save the future generations. To prepare them as best as we can. We’re not meant to live forever.”
“The Bellator powers are too slippery,” I murmured, shaking my head. “You make two dangerous assumptions. One, that our descendants will even survive after this war…”
I shook my head. “And two, that the ones that do survive won’t be wretched assholes.”
Lelyth frowned, her lips pursing.
“You should have more faith,” she murmured, “And who says the power needs to remain in our bodies?”
Lelyth’s eyes softened as they dropped to her hands.
She opened and then closed her pale fingers over her palms. She then sent a wave of something soft, knocking on the wall I’d thrown up before all the Bellators.
A wall to block their emotions, now that the bond of the Bellators was in place.
She knocked at it, softly, politely. I lowered it enough to feel a wave of unease, of fear, of dread. Lelyth was scared.
“There is a way,” she began.
Vulcan’s fingers snapped in my face as I blinked against the darkness of the cool ice chamber. I’d gotten little sleep the past few days. Anxious claws had sunk into me, as I failed over and over again at opening the small stone containing the Advetis Bone. I had one day left.
“You’re late.” His voice held that familiar edge of annoyance.
I groaned in response.
“What are you talking about?” I mumbled, pulling the fur over my face. He yanked it back down and answered, “I’ll meet you in the clearing outside the sparring ring.”
Godsdamnit. Were we really going back to these early morning exercises after everything that had transpired?
I groaned as I slumped off my cot and tugged on my boots and fur-lined coat. The air was cooler than usual, even with embers of the night fire still glowing softly in the center of the icy chamber.
I trudged into the darkness, taking my sweet time, fully aware of the irritation it would cause Vulcan. But today, of all days…
Icy avenues glowed in a soft orange light from the various torches lining the village. I hopped over the small fence leading to the sparring ring, bracing myself for Vulcan’s glare when I pulled up short, my boots slipping on melted ice. My breath hollowed out at the sight.