Chapter 5 Aethra
Aethra
I’d been captured three times in as many weeks. At least all of my kidnappers had been gentle. The Oracle’s gilded gold men had only shoved me twice, thus far.
Commander Aeacus’ lion had hit my ankle hard—I’d walked with a limp since the battle. Stumbling on a rock, I lagged behind and received my third punishment. The towering knight behind me shoved me forward, and I tripped over my feet. Spinning around, I scowled at him.
The knight at the head of our procession held up a torch to illuminate the tunnel we descended. I couldn’t see any of the others; several paces and armored men separated us. Rock walls closed in on me, funneling me down a narrow corridor into doom.
What were the trials of Duat, exactly? The question gnawed at my mind. A musty scent clung to the cavern walls—an underground water source must be nearby.
Torchlight illuminated an ancient, eroded arch at the end of the hall. Grabbing my arm, the knight escorting me dragged me through the door into the chamber beyond. A pair of knights awaited us inside, standing by Seraphim’s side.
She flashed me a grin. Ever the optimist, that one.
My captor shoved me one last time for good measure, and I crashed into the wall. Wishing my hands weren’t bound so I could rub my aching nose, I glowered at his retreating form, resisting the urge to say something I’d regret.
One by one, the rest of our group was led into the chamber and similarly sent off with a parting shove.
Seth’s guard threw him roughly, tossing him to the ground before kicking him for good measure.
Spitting at his face, the golden knight turned around and departed, the rest of his cohort streaming out behind him.
Rock scraped in the darkness as a door sealed us into the gloom.
Blinking, I tried to see anything, but the world had turned as black as the Empty.
“Is, uh . . .” Percy’s voice echoed in the cavern. “Is everyone alive?”
“Yes,” Phaedrus’ rich voice answered. “Thank you for asking.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Fire erupted across the chamber as Seraphim’s blood swirled around her, catching alight. She balanced the orb of flame above her shoulder, casting dim light across the room.
A high ceiling reaching into darkness, and stone walls surrounded us on all sides. A single metal door barred the entrance from which we came.
Even Ainwir would have trouble escaping from this cell.
Still, beauty painted the walls. Duathi runes covered every inch of the stone, swirling toward a statue rising from the center of the floor. A woman reached for the ceiling, a stone grasped in one hand, and a flower in the other.
Limping, Eleos approached and examined me. “Are you alright?” He asked softly.
“I’m fine,” I said, gaze drifting to Seth.
Eleos must have heard the bitter notes in my voice. Eyes narrowing, he whirled around and stalked toward Seth. “What were you doing at the Oracle’s tower?”
“That can wait,” Seraphim said, traipsing toward Phaedrus. The red-headed siblings faced each other, wrists bound behind their backs. “You tried to kill me last time we met, brother.”
“Yes, unfortunate, that,” Phaedrus said. “Had I known we’d be meeting again so soon, I would have waited to stab you in the back.”
“Ha!” Seraphim threw her head back, but I saw pain laced with the humor. “That might have been funny, had you not tried to kill me.”
Phaedrus exhaled, closing his eyes. “My path brings me no joy, Sera.”
“Mine does,” she spat, spinning on her heel and stalking away. Stopping before me, she tilted her head. “You were not in Naunet. How did you end up with my brother?”
Swallowing hard, I looked at Seth. He stood alone across the cold chamber, staring at the floor. His eyes flicked to the side, meeting mine for a moment.
“Seth gave me to him,” I said plainly.
“Ah.” Seraphim lifted her chin, “We were mistaken to trust the hound. Seems Whisper is trained to follow his master’s charade.”
Snarling, Eleos leaned toward Seth. “You did what?”
Raising his head, Seth finally spoke. “I did what was best for her. Seraphim knows exactly what happens to women like her in this place.”
“So you returned her to the man who tortured her?”
“A psyche’s torment is nothing compared to—”
“Nothing?” Eleos hissed. I blinked in surprise, seeing the darkness dancing in his tone and shadowing his eyes.
“What happens?” Percy interrupted, stumbling forward. “What happens to women like her?”
Seth narrowed his eyes, staring daggers at Seraphim. Her eyes widened. “Oh, you have venom for me? You could have aired your grievances before betraying us.”
Phaedrus watched the brewing tension with raised brows. “He has a point. You hid the truth from Aethra.”
Seraphim’s fire dampened. She glanced at me, mouth tugging down. “I was afraid . . .”
I gleaned the remainder of her words. “That I’d run away?”
“Yes,” she confirmed quietly.
Phaedrus chuckled, hand twitching as he tried to brush back his hair before remembering his shackles. “Look at all of you, manipulating and lying to one another. And here I am, the only soul who bared the truth to the poor girl.”
Eleos shrank away from Seth, eyes darting down. Percy took another step forward. “Water under the bridge. Here we are, stuck together in a hole. What better time to share our darkest secrets?”
Exhaling, I released the growing frustration in my throat. “Someone tell me, then. What’s so horrible that you needed to drug me and throw me to the wolves?”
Jaw tightening, Seth ground his teeth before answering. “Maidens of Elpis serve one purpose in Duath Nun. They bear the royal family a child, and then they are sent into the Empty to die.”
“To die? But we—”
“But you feel pain when you use your magic,” Seth finished, eye twitching. “Don’t you? Because it cannot defeat the Empty. Once you birth an heir, you’re thrown a grand parade and forced into the Acheron.”
I whirled around, searching Seraphim’s face. She nodded. “None of them have ever returned. Duath Nun believes their sacrifice keeps the Empty at bay.”
Digesting the information, I stared at the ground. A religious sacrifice was something I could make sense of. But why force them to birth a child?
“Why the heir?” I asked. “Magic isn’t hereditary.”
“We think it is,” Seth countered. “The child might not herself wield magic, but when twinned with divine blood, the seed of Elpis returns to the world.”
“A tradition they have carried on for centuries,” Seraphim added.
Wandering toward the statue, I studied the woman’s features, the flower, and the stone. The Maiden Brizo. Or perhaps one of many Elpis maidens who had come before me.
“Seraphim,” I said. “Did they take the bloodstone?’
“No.” She twisted her wrist to pat her pouch. “It’s right here.”
Odd. Why wouldn’t they have seized such an important relic?
“I told you it’s useless,” Eleos said. “They must have realized that already.”
“Just a rock,” I murmured. But why had it shimmered when my blood dripped onto its surface?
A memory swirled in my thoughts as I dwelt on its scarlet hue, the same as Seth’s eyes. His parting words on the beach returned to me.
‘I hate my father more.’
I gasped, spinning to face Seth. “Your father’s the king of Duath Nun?”
Percy gasped with me. “That’s why she called you Prince Set!” He paused, confusion swirling in his gray eyes. “Wait! You made up a fake name by just adding an H?”
Seth closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “When I first arrived in the Merchant Isles, someone misheard my name as Seth. I figured it was more natural to your ears, so I went by it from then on.”
“That’s a shitty fake name! I can’t believe your real name was always an H away!”
Phaedrus snorted, but bit his tongue when Seraphim glared at him.
Seth had lied to me about his true name, his origins, and his family. Instead of trusting me and allowing me to make my own decisions, he’d betrayed me, not knowing if we’d live to see one another again.
Eleos laughed. “And you accused me of keeping secrets?” His face darkened. “We should have never trusted you.”
“Hold on.” Seraphim joined my side and looked at Percy. “Who called him Set?”
“The Oracle.” Percy shifted from one foot to the other, knocking dirt from his boots. “They knew one another. Friends, or something.”
“Cousins,” Seth answered in a low voice.
“Oh, even better.”
Seraphim’s brow wrinkled. “You said you overheard their orders. Another lie?”
“Yes,” Seth admitted. “I wanted to ask Cer—the Oracle for aid. Supposedly, the divines whisper to her the future. Instead, she told me my father’s men were about to capture Aethra.”
“True enough.” Phaedrus nodded. “But the two of us had it handled until you ran in and attacked them.”
Seth exhaled with frustration. “She lied to us. The Oracle told me she’d described Aethra to them—told them where she was. But when Cerys arrived? She acted like Aethra and I were nobodies. Mere bandits.”
Seraphim tilted her head. “Why?”
“I don’t know!”
“Reckless idiot,” Eleos spat. “If you had stayed your blade, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I wasn’t going to risk that vile man touching her,” Seth growled. “Commander Aeacus is a monster.”
“Oh, you know him, too? Sure would have been nice to know.”
“I didn’t hide myself because I wanted to deceive you.” Seth’s voice wavered. “Had everything gone to plan, none of it would have mattered!” His eyes flicked to me, and his voice fractured. “None of it should have mattered.”
A deeper meaning hid in his words, betrayed by his tone and gaze. I shouldn’t have mattered to him.
Seraphim sighed, facing me. “I never would have let the nobles touch you. I recruited criminals for a reason—I always intended to sneak into the Acheron.”
“But,” Phaedrus articulated. “The king knows we’re here. His fancy knights came looking for us. And yet—” He gazed at me curiously. “The Oracle fed them the wrong description. That, or her visions are riddled with errors.”
Seth paced away from Eleos. “There won’t be any sneaking in. Not now that my father knows we’re here.”