Chapter Fifty Seven
Before We Part
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Gallena’s Temple, Phaenon.
Gedeon.
The warmth of Maida’s healing chambers was a welcome thing on Gedeon’s frosted skin. She handed both him and Kyra a mug of tea: lemon and ginger spiced, and unlike the first concoction she had made him drink after his time in the ice cells, it tasted exactly as it smelled.
Before long, Gedeon shed his furs. Swiftly after the transport ship pulled into the Frozen Tides, they realised they would most likely freeze to death before they even made it to the city.
Broken from the inside out by Kyra’s earth magic, the unlucky sabre-toothed wildcat prowling the icelands had not stood a chance.
When it yowled into the night as it lay on the snowy ground, bones broken, Gedeon drove a knife he had swiped from the tavern kitchen in Ousca into its neck. A swift kill.
He had skinned it and lightly burned the hide so it did not rot on the journey north to Phaenon. Admittedly, rotting was unlikely in this climate, though he did not fancy smelling like a dead animal.
Kyra still wore hers. Sweat was beading at her forehead but she made no move to take it off. She sipped the tea and glared into the hearth, barely even blinking.
Naal entered, and Maida gently squeezed Gedeon’s shoulder before taking her leave. Naal sat in the healer’s chair behind the desk and silently surveyed them both. Before, when she had suggested they use the Council Room, Kyra had abruptly argued against it. No, she said. Anywhere else. Please.
Gedeon understood why.
So Maida had given them her quarters to use. A good thing too. He could not speak for Kyra, but he felt somewhat at home here. Maida was possibly his only friend in the Order, no matter if she still playfully denied the term.
‘Tell me what happened,’ Naal said. ‘Spare no detail.’
Gedeon glanced at Kyra. Her lashes flickered slightly as he spoke into her mind: I can do the talking. If you would like.
Without looking at him, she nodded.
In truth, Gedeon had never heard himself talk so much.
He recalled everything. From the moment he found a hole in the Council Room floor, right to the second they stepped onto the temple precipice just an hour before.
He told Naal about the Agni slave camps.
He told her about the death of Commander Ren, and how they had swindled their way into Dracyg Dominion undetected.
He told her where they had found Rosary, and of the hold Hossean had over her.
It took some time to explain that. Lady Lilion’s part in it all, and how Oslan had been used.
When he finally reached the part about the prophecy, and the reason for his mother’s interest in both him and Kyra, Naal interrupted him.
‘Can you recite it?’ she asked sharply, fingers scrambling on Maida’s desk for a quill and parchment. ‘Word for word?’
‘I think so.’
Quill poised, dipped in ink and ready to document, Naal gave him a nod.
He delved into his memory.
‘Four there are, connected as one,
But when Light and Dark come together, then will it be undone.
A male of Fire, of Night and royal blood,
Must await she who ignites an ancient spark.
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.
Bonded must Earth and Fire be,
For Light and Dark to once more be free.
Four there are, connected as one,
And the Fifth shall watch as it is undone.’
When he was done, Naal scribbled the last line down, the quill’s scratching the only sound, and just stared blankly at the page. For a long time, she did not speak. Her brow was furrowed, her mouth a thin line.
Gedeon said, ‘I assume without my explaining it, you understand what it means?’
‘I have been searching for this prophecy for a long time. People have died for this information. And here it is. Just sitting before me,’ Naal said blankly.
Her gaze was faraway. ‘The Earthling War was not just about dominance. It was the beginning of the end. She does not want the world to just renounce the Four. She wants to destroy them completely.’ She looked up. ‘And you two are the key.’
The silence that followed was painful. It crawled into the marrow of Gedeon’s bones.
Naal took a great breath. ‘Continue, please. After Azar revealed the prophecy, what happened?’
‘She tried to force us to make the bond. Naturally, we refused. But-’ Gedeon paused, noticing the hitch in Kyra’s breath at his side. ‘She… had leverage.’
Naal’s hands pressed together as if in prayer at her lips. Her eyes closed.
‘I would have done it.’
Gedeon peered at Kyra. Seamless, silver tears made her cheeks shine.
‘To save her,’ Kyra whispered. ‘I would have done it.’
There was a vat of pity in Naal’s eyes when she opened them. ‘Of course you would have, Kyra. No one can blame you for that.’
Kyra fell quiet again.
Naal shot Gedeon a look that told him she understood why Rosary had died. He needn’t explain what happened next.
He did recall how Kyra’s power had become her. How the Black Castle was now likely nothing but a steaming ruin. How they had escaped, what they had learnt in Taru. And all the revelations that came with it.
‘Quite the ordeal,’ Naal said when Gedeon concluded the tale. ‘It is a miracle you both made it back unscathed.’
‘Naal.’ Kyra looked up at the Air Warden. Naal met her gaze. ‘I’m sorry. For everything. I’m so sorry.’
Sincerely, Naal said, ‘You acted out of love, Kyra. Love for your brother, love for Rosary. I will not condemn you for that.’
Kyra wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Azar has the Eye of the Fifth.’
‘Yes,’ Naal said, looking disturbed. She glanced at the prophecy, scrawled by her hand. ‘Though, I would assume even Empress Azar cannot unleash the horrors within without the two of you fulfilling this prophecy?’
Gedeon nodded. ‘We thought the same.’
‘Then, for now, it remains a very real, yet dormant threat.’ Naal leant back in the chair, hands folding on her lap. ‘Though going forward, certain precautions must be taken. These words cannot come to pass. I think you both know what must be done.’
Even at the vague words, Gedeon felt a pull behind his naval.
A crack of lightning repulsed by the suggestion.
Not many in this life had the privilege of finding their mate.
The one person that a divine, unexplainable force beyond any God or Goddess entwined their soul to.
Gedeon had found his. The daring, audacious, filthy-mouthed, passionate female next to him.
And yet their union would cause unthinkable devastation. There was no other option but to be apart.
He did not love her, as she did not love him. Not yet, anyway. But those fateful, ancient words that had spewed from his mother’s mouth meant he never could.
The cruel irony was not lost on him.
‘Will you send me away?’ Gedeon said tightly.
‘Yes,’ Naal said with regret. ‘Though I would talk with you alone about this. It is best if neither of you know where the other is. I… am sorry. I understand the bond between mates. The sacrifice you must make is not an easy one. Perhaps, if we find some way to stop the prophecy coming to pass, you might have a chance together-’
‘If one of us died, the prophecy can’t come to pass.’
A growl rose in Gedeon’s throat for he knew Kyra was not talking about him. ‘Don’t speak like that,’ he said none too gently.
‘It’s true,’ Kyra said blankly. Her eyes were misty. She absent-mindedly picked at the skin around her fingernails, which were already red raw. Gedeon found himself wanting to reach out and stop her. ‘Azar’s plans are ruined if she loses one of us.’
‘She would find another way, Kyra,’ Gedeon said, a little more aggressively than he intended.
‘Prophecy or not, she will not rest until she restores the Old Gods to power. Everything she has ever done has been for this cause. One of us dying will only be an obstacle she will overcome, in one way or another. She has sacrificed her life for this cause. Nothing will deter her.’
Kyra looked at him then, an unreadable expression on her face.
‘That aside, Kyra,’ Naal interjected, ‘you are both Wardens. If we lose either of you, we become more vulnerable than we already are. Azar may have slaves, High Wielders and two imperi at her disposal, but we are four Wardens united and strong. We should do everything in our power to remain that way.’
It took a few seconds, but Kyra eventually nodded. It wasn’t entirely convincing.
‘Gedeon, if you will walk with me,’ Naal said, standing from behind the desk. She folded the prophecy and tucked it into the folds of her robes. ‘Kyra, we can talk more in the morning. For now, I would like you to find some rest.’
‘Can you find Maida?’ Kyra asked. ‘I haven’t been sleeping. If she can help…’ She sounded so lost. So broken.
‘Of course. I will fetch her for you.’ Naal hesitated for a split second, and then moved around the desk to stand in front of Kyra.
A tentative hand lay on her fur covered shoulder.
‘Kyra, we are no strangers to loss in this temple. We know what it is to grieve. The ebb and flow of life and death is the cruel reality of our mortal existence. But know this: when we lose those we love, they can never be truly gone. You, above all others, should understand the potent power of memory.’ Kyra’s chest began to rise and fall.
She gripped a hand over Naal’s as a tear rolled down her face.
Naal crouched so their eyes were level. ‘These are dark times, full of uncertainty and despair. But you are not alone, Kyra. You have never been alone, nor will you ever be.’
Naal touched a hand to her cheek, her thumb wiping the tear away. Kyra swallowed hard.
When Naal stood, she looked between them. ‘I will give you a moment to say goodbye. Gedeon, when you are ready, I will be outside.’
Gedeon nodded, and Naal swept silently from the room, leaving him alone with Kyra for what was sure to be the last time.