41. Kyzen #2
She gestures to us one by one as she introduces us, and Anylah’s smile continues to soften.
“It’s so nice to finally meet all of you,” she says, then tilts her gaze up to the sky. “Annalise has been preparing dinner all day and it’s almost ready, but before we eat, I’d like to show all of you something if you’re okay with that.”
Every one of us nods.
Curiosity flickers through Thayla’s soul, mingling with my own.
Amick’s is overwhelming.
“Wonderful,” she says, peering over her shoulder and nodding at Annalise like the two of them already had this planned out.
I see a friendship on the rise.
That would probably be great for both of them, honestly.
The children groan in dramatic protest as Annalise begins shepherding them through the front door.
Riven chuckles under his breath as Rowden attempts to sneak back outside, and he scoops him over a shoulder without breaking his stride.
“I’ve got a runner.”
Laughter follows us into the house, and warmth immediately wraps around me.
The scent of fresh bread and roasted meat lingers in the air. Packed travel bags line one wall of the entryway, while wooden toys and tiny shoes remain scattered across the floor as though the children had abandoned them the moment they arrived.
It feels…
Lived in. Safe. Proof the war never found its way here.
Anylah doesn’t stop walking. She leads us through the entry, smiling at the mess like it’s everything she always wanted in her home before beginning the climb upstairs.
Only Thayla, my brothers, Val, Lambrit, Rose, and I follow.
The quiet settles around us with each step until Anylah pauses outside an intricately carved wooden door. She rests her palm against it for a lingering moment before gently pushing it open.
Even after everything we’ve witnessed over the past few weeks…
Surprise holds me still. Time slows.
A floor-to-ceiling window like a dome wraps around the circular room, revealing the Valorian Veil stretching endlessly in every direction. Beyond the glass, the sky blazes with the last strokes of sunset, painting the clouds in ribbons of amber, violet, and crimson.
As though the realm itself releases its breath, the sun slips beyond the horizon.
One by one…
Stars ignite across the sky. Thousands. Millions. Each one bursting into existence until the night sky glitters like scattered diamonds.
“The Eye of the Veil,” Amick murmurs, fascination and wonder clear in his tone as he turns in his place.
A flinch rushes through him as the sky shifts and the stars dance across the glass. They halt just as fast as they started racing and zoom in on a cluster.
“Those are our stars,” Riven breathes.
“That’s correct,” Anylah says. “I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to show all of you this together.”
“Miss the opportunity?” Thayla and Amick ask at the same time.
Anylah laces her fingers together as she stands in the center of the dais. Val senses the shift in her mood instantly and moves to her side, wrapping an arm around her.
“The Valories came to me the moment Thayla stepped through the Stargate.”
We all fall silent and still. Thayla’s fingers tangle with mine when her mother’s gaze settles on her. Emotion shines in her eyes, though pride outshines it all.
“They told me everything that was happening during the battle and they shared the demands you made for me. They…honored them.”
Thayla exhales heavily.
“You’re free.”
Anylah nods.
“I am.” A quiet laugh escapes her. “I rushed out of here in quite a tizzy. Poor Annalise, Rose, and Lambrit didn’t know what to do with me, but I’m so happy I wasn’t alone. I shared everything with them in that moment, though. I couldn’t stop the truth from spilling out.”
Lambrit smiles down at his shoes as Rose cuddles into his side. Pure, unfiltered gratefulness shines through both Thayla’s and her dad’s gazes as they stare at the two of them.
“Then the reality of that set in,” she says low.
“I didn’t know what that truly meant for me, the Eye, my future.
Without Thane having all his powers anymore, I didn’t know if the Valories would sever my ability to speak to him or my ability to move the stars.
I still don’t know if they’ll let me keep this. ”
Her gaze casts around the space with a tender fondness.
This place may fascinate us, but this…
Is her home. She’s spent more time here than anywhere.
“They don’t get to make that decision,” Thayla grits out.
“I hope not.”
Anylah whispers through her small smile and she laces her fingers through Val’s, then cups their joined hands with her other one.
“After that, the Gods Binding spoke to me. It…” She swallows, flicking her gaze back up to Thayla’s. “It told me I finally had a choice. It said, if I wished, I could step into the Veil.”
A rush of air leaves Thayla in a breathless laugh, a smile stretching across her lips.
“Mom…”
Anylah laughs softly at the awe in her voice.
“I know, my girl. But I think…” She glances back toward the endless sky beyond the glass. “I think I’d like some time before I make that decision. Going from the Messenger to possibly a goddess is a big change. I’d like to just…be for a little while.”
Thayla squeezes my hand, her excitement bleeding through our connection.
“That’s the beauty of actually having a choice.” She laughs. “You can decide when you’re ready to find out.”
Her mom’s expression softens for a fleeting second before a playful twinkle appears.
“I can, and before I make that decision and while I still have control over this place, I’d like to show you all something. Aside from your Starwoven stars.” Her eyes shine as she looks around the room.
Curiosity immediately replaces the emotion on Thayla’s face, and damn if Amick’s doesn’t race across my chest so fast it makes me dizzy.
“What would that be?” he asks, and all of us chuckle.
Anylah’s smile stays plastered to her face.
“The Eye has always shown me the realm, and there’s so much you’ve all never been able to see.”
She lifts her hands, and Val takes a step away from her, grinning like a man in love.
I can’t talk shit. I look at his daughter the same way.
The entire sky shifts before us, and I realize the stars aren’t simply scattering around or zooming closer to us. They’re fading away.
The room descends into darkness for a millisecond, then…seven stars appear. One draws completely into focus, and we all step closer to the glass unconsciously.
“Is this…” Amick trails off. “Val?”
“Yep,” he says low. “This is my creation.”
The beginning. A realm untouched.
A vast stretch of green beneath an endless sky.
No regions. No barrier. No wars.
Just land waiting to become something.
I glance toward Val. He’s wearing a tender smile and his eyes shimmer like he’s lost in the memory. Or maybe, for the first time in a long time, remembering what the beginning was like.
The stars shift again. We watch as the Beginning Gods stand upon the empty realm.
Obliteration carving away what couldn’t remain.
Creation breathing life into what could.
Boundaries shaping the spaces between.
Accord bringing agreement.
Consequence giving weight to every choice.
Seduction bringing desire.
Chaos bringing change.
These weren’t the gods we fought or the ones we know now. They aren’t the beings who lost themselves.
The realm forms before us in fragments.
Rivers find paths. Mountains rise. Forests spread. Life takes root.
Oh shit…
V spreads his wings.
Thayla races to the surface of the glass, and an amazed laugh spills from her lips. We gawk in astonishment as he leads the first Vedaryas to touch our realm.
The stars shift once more, showing glimpses rather than lingering.
The Court. The Sanctum. The Athenaeum. Their bedrooms.
The first souls arriving.
The first time the realm became something more than land and power.
It feels like we’re standing in time itself.
Slowly, the moments fade. Anylah and the Eye return us to the present, but the awe remains.
“The stars have always been beautiful,” she whispers. “But so few know that they are so much more than light.”
“That’s going to change,” I say and every head turns toward me. “In due time, it’s all going to change. The realm will know.”
No one responds. They know it’s true.
Standing here, surrounded by the history of every soul that came before us, I understand something more now than I ever have.
Time isn’t only what we lose. It isn’t only precious because it can pass us by. The time coming is just as special. It provides us with the chance to heal. To grow.
The chance to become something greater than what came before.
Thayla wraps her hand through the crook of my elbow and lays her head against my arm as my swelling emotions continue to rise. My brothers close in around us, pumping their own readiness down my soul.
For the first time in a very long time…
None of us are afraid of what tomorrow will bring.