42. Raya
RAYA
“Waiting for the prophesy, Raya.”
- ELIAN’S CONFESSION
“What do you mean ‘there is no war in Zetka’? I have travelled through the barren lands; I have trained my entire life to fight in the war.” I stiffened my back and straightened my shoulders.
Elian rubbed his hands over his face, attempting to find the words to explain. Various pairs of eyes looked over to us from around the room, couples clasping hands stopped and stared, children playing paused their games. Unease clamped its teeth into my skin, my heart began to race, and my palms sweat.
“Raya,” Elian stumbled over his words, “there was once a war in Zetka, but now it is no more than a distraction,” he whispered into the damn air.
“Zetka is not at war, not anymore,” his words were hushed and hurried.
“But I-I…” My words tumbled blindly. “I am a member of the Sage Guard,” I whispered.
And the floor beneath us shook. Once.
“Raya,” Elian looked around the room, raising a hand to stop the approach of other Circle members. “Raya, let me explain. Please.” Elian began to step toward me, Khol stopped him with an outstretched arm.
I looked around at the crew circled around me, the friends I knew and the friends I didn’t.
They had fear in their eyes. Fear and Betrayal.
Just like Alias had.
I glanced at Khol, he was staring at Elian, trying to uncover his secrets.
Look at me, Khol.I wanted to beg. Show me you are not afraid of me.
The ground shook again. The water from Jameson’s open canteen lifted into the air. Bubbles swaying back and forth as though gravity did not exist. More water began to lift out of glasses and bottles, floating far above where we stood.
The fountain in the center stopped moving, all its water now up in the air.
“Raya,” Khol put a hand on my shoulder, attempting to cut off the power. I heaved a deep breath and the ground shook again.
“They are afraid of me,” I whispered for only his ears.
“Khol,” Rafael whispered, “stop her.” His face was a mixture of fear and confusion. Khol pressed his hand harder against my skin, bringing up his other hand to join it.
“I’m trying,” his words were clipped and hard.
“Stop talking about me like I am not standing here.” My fists flexed, my fingers turning white.
“Raya,” Joy spoke, and her voice cut through everything.
Every head turned toward her. Her brown cheeks pinking slightly. Anger began to coat my throat. No war in Zetka? A distraction? My friends, they had died for nothing. Had Captain Jala known about this? Had she sent my friends to die in an attempt to distract us, to distract us from what?
What were we really training for?
More water began to lift into the air, my own tears being plucked from my cheeks, until a small river floated above us. Cool air brushed against my neck as my hair began to lift. I faintly felt Khol’s hands leave my body, but it felt although he was a hundred miles away.
My eyes fluttered closed, and a deep breath filled my lungs, my muscles relaxed, my constant headache eased.
Peace at last. The feeling of home seeped into my body as I was able to be one with my magic.
“The Prophesy?” A circle member whispered into silence.
And suddenly arms wrapped around me, pulling me into an embrace. It was Joy, I knew without opening my eyes.
She rested a hand against my blazing cheek.
“Raya.” Her voice sounded as though she was underwater, or perhaps I was.
“Let it go.” Her words whispered against my skin. “You don’t need to hold the weight of the world in your hands. Let me help you, let me carry some of the weight.”
Relief overcame me.
Water fell from above, splashing down and soaking everyone around us. Heavy, wet hair stuck to my back. I looked over at Khol, his tunic now plastered against the defined muscles beneath it.
I swallowed, my arms still wrapped around Joy, her braids dripping but still completely intact. Small rivers of water washed over our shoes.
Suddenly, hands rested against Joy and I, on our heads, legs, arms, backs. Looking up, I saw the circle members, their heads bowed. Praying.
Fingers shook against my skin, lips moved as words were muttered.
Celestial Queens.
The words shot through me.
“You weren’t kidding,” Jameson whispered, daring to be the first one to break the silence. “I really don’t want to get on the wrong side of you.” He smirked, pushing the wet hair from his eyes.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Khol said, his eyes not moving from mine. The heat between us was ever present, despite the cold that lived there too. I slowly tore my gaze from Khol, turning to face the room. Every eye was on me, every breath held as the Circle members retreated away from Joy and me.
Turning to Elian, I smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be.” He turned to the room. “Now you have seen it with your own eyes,” he boomed, making sure no one could escape his voice. “You saw the connection between the two of them.” He turned to Joy and me. “You saw what they are capable of.”
“Elian,” Jameson warned softly.
“We have been waiting for a sign, we have been waiting for the right moment to stake our claim, to attack.” He clasped our hands together and lifted them into the air.
Unease scratched against my skin.
“And now our prayers have been answered. After hundreds of years, The Prophesy is fulfilled at last!” His last words echoed around the chamber as Joy and I snatched our hands back.
A beat of silence passed. And then another. And then another. And just when I wished the earth would swallow me whole, the cavern erupted into deafening applause. People began praying, crying, dancing, and singing. Friends embraced, lovers kissed, and I stood still, dumbfounded, and used. Again.
“Elian!” I spat through gritted teeth. He turned, a smiled plastered on his annoyingly perfect face.
“Get me out of here now! We need to talk.” A flicker of fear flashed in his face so quickly I thought I might’ve imagined it. He nodded, leading us into one of the twisted stone tunnels, to what looked like a makeshift council chamber.
Circle members bowed as we exited into the tunnel. Jameson chuckled to himself.
“I could get used to this,” he waggled an eyebrow at Rafael, who nudged his elbow and winked.
“Tell me about Zetka,” I spat as soon as we walked into the room, shutting out the cheering and applause.
“Raya—” Elian began.
“Tell. Me. About. Zetka. Now.” I seethed, barely able to keep a lid on my Sorcerer abilities. Staring at the fiery look on my face, Elian finally began speaking.
“There was a war in Zetka once, it started hundreds of years ago, when a family split in two. Just as we were told when we were younger.” His voice was hurried.
“I’ve heard the stories, Elian, how about the truth?” I paced the room quickly. Elian nodded.
“But you don’t know the whole story. A few decades before the war broke out, a Sorcerer was born into the family and its arrival woke the power in several other members of the family.” I swallowed a gasp as Elian spoke.
“One half of the family was appalled, hating that it was linked to Sorcerers. The Sorcerers hated how differently they were being treated and so a war was born.”
All of us sat quietly, swimming in the information.
“After a few hundred years, the opposing sides called a truce.”
He spoke again before heaving a sigh. We all leaned in closer, desperately clinging on his every word.
“But the humans, they didn’t want a truce. They wanted every Sorcerer wiped from every universe. The war stopped but the humans continued murdering Sorcerers, they still wanted them to be the villains. They were filled with so much hate.” He ran his hands over his face. “They kept the story the same. Telling everyone that the war raged on, the truth only passed down between certain individuals.”
“But what of the festival of sacrifice? What of the children of nineteen that are offered up to war?” I couldn’t help the words that fell out of my mouth as I choked on a sob lodged in my throat.
“Tell me, Raya, when you were in the Sage Guard, did you ever see the war? Did you fight on the battlefield?” he asked and I held my breath.
“No,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“The humans still celebrate the festival of sacrifice, they still take the children of nineteen from training facilities, but they don’t train them for war, they train them to hunt Sorcerers, they train them to hunt us.” As the words let his mouth, I felt my knees go weak.
“The Sage Guard,” I whispered, “are hunting Sorcerers?” Elian’s silence pounded against my skin.
My mind immediately went to Alias, was he out hunting Sorcerers? Was he hunting me?
“Do they know?” I almost whispered, Elian stared at me softly.
“The soldiers, do they know they are hunting Sorcerers?” I asked, hope pawing at my skin.
“Not in the beginning, but yes, once basic training is over. They are told,” Elian spoke, looking as though he wished to cram the words back in his mouth. I nodded slowly, sitting heavily on the velvet chair in front of me. I thought of all the Sorcerers had been slaughtered because they wished to be the most powerful beings in the world. Jagged memories filtered into my brain; my mother being slaughtered. Her empty eyes.
My mother being taken from me when I was only seven.
I pushed the memories away and heaved a shuddering breath.
“Okay,” I nodded, trying to convince myself. “Okay, what do you want us to do?” I kept my voice as level as possible. “How can we put an end to this?” The seven of them stared at me. Khol nodded along with my words, Joy’s gaze lit with fire, Jameson and Raf looked from me to each other, Erin and Jodie’s hand clasped together.
I barely knew any of them, I had only known Khol for a few months and the others for a few days, but I knew they would stand with me. We were all Sorcerers or fighters.
We were all survivors.
“We need you to fight for the truth with us, to help us with the war against the humans. We need you to spark the match.” Elian’s voice was clear and crisp, his words soaked into my skin, seeping into my muscles, giving me strength. I nodded.
“We will burn them to the ground,” I spoke softly, all my ancestors standing with me, pushing me to go on.