Chapter 35
Eldri c
S ound and noise blurred together, the hair on his arms prickling as the bleary world swam into focus. He blinked, then blinked again, his eyes adjusting to the soft glow of the full moonlight illuminating the temple's skylight. One moment he was in the divine realm, the next he was here. He shouldn't be alive, not unless they were both back. Eldric lifted his hand and the sight of bare skin instead of the trailing dark ink of their bond struck fear into his heart.
No.
He couldn't make out the shouted words around him through his ringing ears. He turned onto his side, gasping for breath, and reached out with his empty hand, desperately searching for her. The air was filled with the familiar metallic scent of magic that made his limbs quiver with power. As if lightning were about to strike. But it didn't matter as his fingers tightened around hers. His blurred world sharpened as he squeezed it again. Her hand was there, beside him, still and cold. Lifeless.
No.
The word echoed throughout him as he forced his eyes to focus on their entwined fingers. Eldric crawled on his forearms, feeling the strain in every muscle as he pulled himself towards her. Every movement was torture. He didn't care, pushing past the burning pain until he was at her side. Ignoring the shouts and magic that filled the room as he gazed down at her frost-kissed skin. He couldn't find even a thready beat of her heart, and he felt his shatter.
Her once radiant freckles, which dusted her cheeks like constellations, now appeared dull, as if she were still trapped within Athanasios' realm. A chill entered the air and he couldn't tear his eyes away as frozen fractals crept across the ground, radiating from beneath Lorali's body. Tendrils of dark ice crawled outward, stopping at the edges of the salt circle. Emitting an iridescent, otherworldly glow that shimmered in the moonlight.
A roaring wind swept through the room—a magic he was all too familiar with—and he glanced back to see Daeson, lost prince of Athera, with magic pounding through his veins. The archcleric, so focused on their opponent, couldn't spare even a glance toward the cleric and the convict with burning cold seeping into his bones. Their shouts were garbled, as if he were underwater and swimming toward the surface.
"No," he whispered, the small puffs of his breath visible. His hands trembled as he gently caressed her cheeks, as if his touch would bring her back. Her arm was bare of their gallows bond, upturned palm smeared with their blood. With a surge of magic, Eldric cursed under his breath as the building shook around them, protesting in the face of power. Pebbles rained down, air growing heavy with the scent of dust and ancient stone that mingled with the sharp tang of magic. His arms caging her, he dropped to shield her body with his own. Unwilling to leave her, hands tightening in her hair. Eyes closed, praying it wasn't true. Praying that she would come back to him.
When the rumbling finally ceased, he cautiously opened his eyes, his heart skipping a beat as he saw her eyes wide open, locked onto his own. Unseeing. Desolate as the void. The overwhelming presence of a god that made his stomach drop and his breath catch.
Move . The voice was simultaneously Lorali's, but not. Mixed with the masculine undertone of Athanasios. Eldric stumbled to his feet as Lorali, or rather the god channeling himself through her, sat up and slowly eyed the salt circle surrounding them with displeasure. He stepped backwards, outside of the circle, careful not to disrupt it.
"Promise you'll give her back," he whispered to the god, their eyes locked.
Lorali's raised eyebrow and smug smirk were unsettling, so unlike her, it sent shivers down his spine. I would not separate you. She could not bear it .
As Eldric looked down at the salt circle, his heart raced, pounding loudly in his ears. Could he trust that the old god would release her, bring her back from the depths of his realm in one piece? Between shaky breaths, he looked back to the chaos unleashing itself behind him. Daeson and Sage were evenly matched. Would they ever stop unless someone forced them? He didn't know what could, outside of divine intervention. So, taking a deep breath, Eldric slid his foot forward and disrupted the grains, breaking the circle and releasing Athanasios into the world.
The chill in the air intensified, wrapping around him like a spectral embrace as that dark ice burst into the rest of the temple hall, transforming it into a frozen realm. It was over before Eldric could even blink as the two sorcerers stilled in an instant.
Much better, the deity remarked with a lilt so reminiscent of Lorali's that it almost fooled him, except for the subtle dissonance. Eldric watched as she descended the stairs with light steps into the surrounding disaster, following at a cautious distance. Wooden planks from shattered pews were strewn across the stone floor. The large stained glass windows completely destroyed. Paintings, vases, statues, art—all of it had fallen and crumbled during the fray.
What the archcleric has done in the name of my beloved has been a source of grief for her all these years , the god murmured, circling a finger in the air as a dark tendril wove itself around Sage's body, restraining them with a frown. I wish she had let me interfere, but she had hope that things would change. How unfortunate that they didn't .
With a curious expression on his face, Athanasios stopped in front of the archcleric's frozen form and tilted his head from side to side, as if he were trying to figure something out.
She won’t let me end them , the god murmured, fascinated and perplexed. When the silence continued, Eldric cleared his throat, voice catching on itself.
"Ostara?"
No, her little star. The god was quiet, thoughtful for a moment. As if he were listening to something no one else could hear.
I would grant her any request as a token of gratitude for allowing me to inhabit her mortal vessel despite the dangers. Revenge, power, ascension to the divine. And yet… Athanasios smiled with a hum. All she asks for is to return. To you.
Eldric's breath whooshed out of him. Lorali was in there—alive. And she wanted to come home. He nodded his head over and over as a stupid grin spread across his face, his chest filling with hope.
"Good. She made a few promises to me that she needs to keep."
Athanasios chuckled, shaking his head. Breaking the spell that paralyzed Daeson with a snap, the god watched him crumple to the ground. The fae prince gasped for breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he looked around with wide eyes.
Complete your conveyance, child of Sylvene, the god said with mild annoyance. The former archcleric is yours to do with as you please. A gift from my vessel .
Daeson looked to the altar where the circlet of Sylvene waited. Sensing the shift in Lorali's power, Daeson asked no questions as he swiftly moved towards the diadem.
Then the god turned to Eldric, giving him a knowing smile. Take care of her.
Eldric nodded as Lorali's vacant stare transformed. She blinked, disoriented as the light returned to her eyes and chased away the darkness that had consumed her. He caught her as her knees gave out, guiding them to the ground. He held her there and watched her light hair darken, as if forever changed by the god that had inhabited her. Eldric watched the rise and fall of her even breaths, felt the beating of her heart beneath his palm; she was ok. She was safe.
He shielded his eyes from a sudden, piercing light as he turned and saw the silver and moonstone circlet glow beneath Daeson’s touch; a bright and radiant light enveloping him as he lifted it. The crown fit as if it were made for him, shining bright against his dark hair.
A surge of energy coursed through the temple, air crackling with anticipation as everything fell into place. The land's magic righting itself once more as its rightful heir took the crown.