Chapter Fifty Four
Confession
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Gallena’s Temple, Phaenon.
Naal.
The temple’s atrium was not usually this quiet.
Worshippers from the city would come to pay their respects to the Air Mother, lighting a candle at Her crystalised feet for a loved one that had passed.
Or to gaze at the dancing flames to still their minds before watching their breath for a period of time, connecting with the divine.
Talking was strictly forbidden here. It was a place of peace. A place to hone inward.
Since the attack on Phaenon, Naal had found the atrium near-empty most days. A cruel reminder that most had perished in the attack. She hoped it was that, and not a lack of faith in the Air Mother that kept the number of worshippers low.
Naal knelt at the Goddess’ feet now. An incense of sage and frankincense burned in a brass pot before her. Strands of smoke wafted up her nose as she closed her eyes and bowed her head.
Let it wash away the stream of bad luck that had plagued them these last months. Let it cleanse and make anew a path of good fortune. Goddess knew they needed it.
Gedeon’s deceit sat uncomfortably with Naal.
She had made the choice to trust him with Kyra, only for him to run off with her into the night at the Earth Warden’s command.
Then Takabah, the hawk who had done Gedeon’s bidding, had returned without Fire or Earth Warden upon her back, and Naal’s imagination had not stopped hurtling down darkened hallways of two rolling, bloodied heads delivered from Zarynth, just as Orro’s had been.
Nysari had tracked them as far as she dared.
But Gedeon had withheld another secret. He was a male of night who could bend darkness to his will.
The knowledge filled Naal with dread. A counterpart to Kyra’s sunlight…
she had no idea what it meant. Only that the part of the prophecy Orro Myrso had acquired many, many moons ago, before Kyraena Daeiros had even been born, eluded to her:
…For when the Earth cracks and the Sun hides behind the moon,
Then shall she of light and land be born.
Rage will blind and tear down what is known,
For her power to come forth to take its throne…
That had been all Orro had been able to hear.
Winvara knew of it too, at Naal’s discretion, though none of them had ever expected her granddaughter to be the female of ‘light and land’ that the prophecy spoke of.
Orro knew the risks by venturing back into Zarynth under a guise to learn the rest of it.
It had been that information he had sought, under Naal’s instruction, that had ultimately led to his demise.
Naal had not wept for him, for he would have scolded her for it.
But she missed her friend every day. She saw him in Mankar’s grins, in his kind heart.
She saw him in Nysari’s unwavering resolve.
If he knew of the guilt that haunted Naal in light of his death, he would have scolded her for that too.
She let a tear roll down her cheek. Tasted salt on her lips. ‘Orro, you fool, let me weep for you,’ she whispered. Alone, she would speak. She condemned that ancient, pretentious rule anyway. ‘I miss you, friend.’
‘Naal?’
Maida’s soft voice made her open her eyes. Her Second knelt beside her. ‘Does she speak to you tonight?’
Naal gently dabbed away the tear and beheld the Goddess’ face. ‘She is as quiet as this room,’ she muttered. ‘If only my mind were the same. I might not need to hear Her voice quite so if it were.’
‘You need not hear the Mothers voice to know it is there, Naal,’ Maida reminded her. ‘Us non-Warden folk get by just fine with that knowledge.’
‘Still… I fear I am lost.’
Maida took her hand. ‘There is someone here that might make you feel less so.’
Daring to believe was folly, and yet she could not help but ask, ‘Is it them?’
‘No. Not them.’
‘Then who?’
A smile pulled on Maida’s mouth. The first Naal had seen in a long while. ‘Come see for yourself.’
With each second she pursued Maida through the temple, Naal’s pulse became increasingly aflutter.
It was the smirk on Maida’s face, the slight spring in her friend’s step.
Even the faeries glowed differently tonight.
Naal tried to not let herself hope, but her hammering heart had an entirely different idea.
They paused outside the dinner hall. ‘Some good for a change,’ Maida said with a wink, before pushing the doors open.
By the fire on the far side of the hall, Winvara Daeiros glowed.
Orange flames offset the caramel tones in her brown skin, dappling over the crushed velvet of her long dress.
It draped her body, finishing just below the neck, her soft collar bones just visible above.
Naal had left many kisses there, once. And though those dark eyes hardened as they fell upon her, Naal could barely swallow down the sob of relief that lodged in her throat.
Dovella leered at her from an armchair. Then another peered up from her cross-legged position in front of the fire. The youngest Daeiros had the round, sweet face of Winvara’s daughter, and it both pained and pleased Naal to see Eirinna through Aeliah’s wide, doe-like eyes.
‘I’ll give you some privacy,’ Maida said. Naal gave her a grateful nod. ‘Come, Dovella, Aeliah. Let me show you to a room.’
Aeliah jumped to her feet right away, shooting Naal a shy smile as she moved past her. Dovella’s eyes narrowed as she swept by, but the young earthling girl said nothing.
The doors closed behind them.
Every step Naal took toward her mate was deliberate. Winvara was a wild animal. Unpredictable. The slightest wrong move could be detrimental.
Only when she was by the fire, leaving a fair few paces between them, did Naal speak. ‘I feared you were dead.’
Win was statuesque. ‘Why would you think that?’
‘Kyra was in Avaldale over a month ago. She saw the manor abandoned following the terrorism from Valfell. She reported her findings.’ In the coldest way too, she need not add. ‘I feared the worst.’
‘I am not dead,’ said Win blankly. A ring of reflected light simmered in her eyes. ‘Where is Kyraena?’
A knife twisted in Naal’s stomach. How could she answer this question without inciting rage? Honesty was the only option, no matter how much she wanted to run from it. ‘She went to Zarynth in search of her friend who was taken.’
Win’s nostrils flared. ‘By your order?’
‘No,’ Naal promised her. ‘She acted of her own accord.’
‘Who was the friend?’
‘The same who begged for your help when Kyra was imprisoned. Rosary Talbot.’
‘I see,’ Win said tightly. ‘So, I am not dead. But it seems that Kyraena might be. I asked you to keep her safe.’
‘I… I tried, Win.’ No other words would come to her.
‘You tried,’ Win repeated. ‘You failed.’
Naal closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Winvara was looking at her. ‘Forgive me. My love, forgive me.’
Swilling the wine in her goblet, Win said in a low, trembling voice, ‘If Kyraena has died for a human, it will be on your head.’ Without warning, she lobbed the goblet across the room. Wine splattered the floor like blood. ‘You said you would protect her!’
Naal’s knees collided with rug-covered stone. ‘I know, Win. I know, I know-’
‘What do you know? You act as though you know everything, Naal. You act as though the world bends to your will. You act like nothing can go wrong if you are around. But I know the opposite to be true. Everything goes wrong where you are involved. I should never have let Kyraena leave with you. I should have locked her away, if it meant keeping her safe. That is what I know. It should never have been you, Warden or not. You know nothing, Naal!’
Silent tears wet Naal’s face. ‘You are right.’
Seething, Win collapsed into an armchair. For a long while, neither of them moved. Naal could do nothing but stare at her mate’s face, contorted with anger. She found herself wanting to reach out and smooth those furious lines. But she stayed put, hands firmly in her lap.
Sometime later, Win broke the silence. ‘I planted the girl.’
‘Who?’
‘Rosary Talbot.’ Win started speaking then as though it were a long kept secret.
Naal listened without interruption. ‘Eirinna met her on the streets of Avaldale on one of the many city runs she did without my consent or knowledge. Talbot was an urchin then, an orphan begging for scraps and stealing whatever she could find. Eirinna, Goddess damn her, had a heart purer than most. She talked to the girl. She bought her food and wrapped her in cloaks that would keep her warm in the winter months. She learned about her past. Learned how, at just five years old, this thin decrepit thing had saved herself from the house fire that took her parents. The streets had been her home ever since.’ Win blinked.
‘Rosary Talbot is a Warder. Strong protection magic runs through her veins.
She protected herself from the blaze without even knowing what she was doing.
Eirinna asked me to take her in. She tried to convince me that Talbot could be an asset to us.
That she might help us live amongst the humans in the city without fear, as Eirinna so desperately wanted for her children.
With Talbot protecting them, they would be safer. I refused.