Chapter 5 #3
“Report, sir. Lost two cadets during sparring today. Alec Crow and Deanna Cook.” The tension in his shoulders eased.
Not relief, but something else. As if he’d been waiting to hear if Rynlee had, he always seemed to care for her as though she were his own, and that grinded on my nerves. He finally looked up.
“Very well. Their belongings will be gathered, their names etched into the stone.” His voice didn’t waver. He’d said the line a hundred times before. “I’ll be gone for a few days. The capital, Celestaris, requires my attention.”
That made me look up, my jaw tightening. “Celestaris? Why?”
“Business with the High King. There’s been movement near the Eastern Encampment.” His tone was too even, too measured, like he was telling me only half the truth.
“Movement?” I pressed, stepping forward. “What sort of movement?”
His gaze lifted, sharp and cutting. “I’m honestly not sure yet. That’s why I need to visit the High King, to find out what’s happening.”
“Send me. The Eastern Encampment is only two days’ travel from here.”
“No. You have a unit to lead. And one of the first years may be bestowed the Sun Goddess’s power. Right now, finding that is more important than our borders, especially if it turns out to be nothing.”
I almost laughed, but it came out rough. “Who cares about that? I don’t need some Sun Goddess vessel. I’m strong without it. You made sure of that.” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. To him, I was a soldier. But I was also his son.
His stare never faltered. “No, you will stay here, Aiden. That’s final.” The silence stretched. Respect warred with the anger churning in my chest. My fists curled behind my back, nails biting into my palms. Finally, I forced out a sharp breath.
“Yes, Commander.” I turned and left, the door clicking shut behind me, his tobacco and ink still clinging to my lungs like smoke. “Fuck,” I muttered, raking a hand through my hair as I stalked down the hall.
He’d sent me into battle before, bled me half to death, trained me harder than anyone else, so why hold me back now?
Just because some first-year might get the Sun Goddess’s power.
What the hell did he know? I shoved the thought aside and hit the showers, stripping down and stepping under the spray.
Hot water hammered my shoulders, steam rising into the air.
It should’ve cleared my head. It didn’t.
The Eastern Encampment had enemy lines pressing in.
I needed to send word to Derek, find out what is really happening over there.
Because my father never left for the capital on things like this.
He sent soldiers. Reinforcements without question.
Something was not adding up. I shut the water off and wrapped a towel around my waist. That was when the world shifted.
The tiled walls blurred, dissolving into black sand and jagged craters beneath a star-scarred sky.
The Moon Realm.
“Khonsu,” I muttered, dragging a hand through my damp hair. “You really do have the worst timing.” The Moon God stood at the crest of a dune, onyx eyes glinting as a faint smirk curved his lips.
“Funny. Last I checked, you weren’t exactly drowning in good company.”
I snorted. “Depends. You bringing answers this time or only riddles?”
“Perhaps both,” he commented easily, rolling a polished black gem between his fingers. “How are the whispers?”
“They’re always there,” I replied flatly. “But I’m able to ignore them.”
“Are you able to?” His brow lifted. “Or are you too damn stubborn to admit they’re getting louder?
” I glared but said nothing. He had a way of seeing straight through me, and he knew it.
“You’re restless,” Khonsu continued, his tone sharpening.
“That edge in you isn’t just about your father. It’s her, right?”
My chest tightened. “Ruin has nothing to do with this. It’s the Eastern Encampment. My father’s heading to Celestaris to discuss it.”
“Hm.” His smirk faded, his eyes cutting into mine. “That’s strange. Why wouldn’t he simply send men to investigate?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “I asked him to send me, but he refused.”
Khonsu tilted his head. “Why?”
“Because he thinks one of the first years will receive the Sun Goddess’s power.” I scoffed. “Like I need that to defeat our enemies.”
“The Moon and Sun were never meant to stand alone,” Khonsu replied calmly.
“Together, they are stronger.” I exhaled sharply.
“Besides,” he added, flicking the gem into the air and catching it without looking, “I have it on good authority—from Hemera herself—that her power will pass to a cadet this year.”
My jaw tightened. “Did she say who?”
“No,” he said. “But it won’t be random. This one was destined, just as you were for mine.
” The black sand dissolved. The showers snapped back into place around me, steam clinging heavier to my skin than before.
My heart hammered, Khonsu’s words sinking their claws deep into my thoughts.
The Sun’s vessel was already here. And if by some cruel twist of fate, it was Ruin who received that power…
I curled my hands into fists. Gods help this academy.
Because I wouldn’t.