Chapter Twenty-Four
Elysia
When I open my eyes, the sky outside the windows is streaked with orange and pink, the soft light painting the room in a warm glow. I don’t remember falling asleep. Only the pounding of my heart and the ache in my chest from last night.
Once again, I had no dreams or nightmares.
Is it because I don’t live amongst humans anymore?
Maybe because I’m the Queen. Perhaps it makes me off-limits.
Enari is already in the room, quiet as always, helping me into a simple silver gown the moment I sit up. She still doesn’t speak unless prompted, but when I murmur a soft “Thank you,” and add, “I hope your day is kind to you,” I catch the faint flicker of surprise in her expression.
Perhaps one of these days she will open up to me.
She hesitates, then nods. “And to you, my Queen.”
I follow her into the hallway, the hush of the castle broken only by the distant sounds of waking life. The air is cool, and the faint scent of citrus and smoke lingers, a strange but pleasant mix.
Voices drift from ten feet away, sharp and tense. When I step into their view, I freeze.
Rhune and Maerel stand just ahead, their bodies angled toward each other like twin blades about to clash. Their voices are low, but not low enough.
“I said, leave Zayvin out of it,” Maerel hisses.
“You already involved him the moment you—” Rhune cuts off the second his eyes meet mine.
Both of them straighten at once, their expressions smoothing into careful calm.
“My Queen,” Maerel says with a tight smile, stepping back from Rhune as if her proximity to him had been accidental.
Does she think I’m daft?
“Good morning,” I offer, my tone cool, but my curiosity sparking.
Why would Sorryn’s most trusted advisor be whispering about the Nithrin King?
Rhune falls into step behind me without a word. No tension touches his face now, but I can feel it rippling beneath his calm exterior. Whatever their conversation had been about is far from over, it seems.
Maerel gestures for me to follow her down a branching corridor I haven’t explored yet.
“There’s much to prepare you for,” she says.
“Before a queen receives the Goddess’s blessing when she chooses her king, it is common practice to determine if she carries the seed of magic within her. Many before you have.”
No pressure or anything.
I glance over my shoulder, eyes briefly catching Rhune’s. He doesn’t speak, but I don’t miss the look he gives Maerel, sharp and measured. Is it because he can’t speak of previous queens?
“Sorryn thought it best to begin familiarizing you early. The blessing can be …” she trails off, “overwhelming for those unprepared.”
My brow knits at the specific choice of wording and hesitancy.
“That’s kind of him,” I hedge and silence descends over our small group as we make our way through the castle.
Sorryn’s gestures so far have been gracious, but I still feel like a bird in a cage when I’m near him.
I keep my eyes low as we walk, uncomfortable with the number of elves who stare at us as we go, whispering amongst themselves. I’m not sure I’ll ever adjust to having such a focus on me.
The training wing is unlike anything I’ve seen within the castle. It’s spacious and warm, with slanted light pouring through clear skylights. Alcoves line the vast room, each one glowing with faint magical ambiance.
Waiting near the center of the room stands a Dromin cloaked in layered violet robes trimmed with gold threads. Her hair, long and white as frost, is braided down her back with rings of gold woven in.
She takes my breath away with her beauty, but it’s her inviting hazel eyes that draw me in the most.
“This is Serenath,” Maerel says. “She will assess your potential, and if any affinity presents itself, begin your training. You are in excellent hands. She has worked with more elves than any other alive.”
Serenath turns to me and smiles. “Welcome, my Queen. I’ve been expecting you.”
Her voice is soft but carries the weight of power behind it.
Maerel nods to me once, then to Serenath, before exiting the chamber without another word. It doesn’t escape me that she ignores Rhune completely.
When the doors seal behind us, a calm hush falls over the room.
“You’re nervous,” Serenath observes gently, the fine lines around the edges of her eyes crinkling. It’s the only trace of her age that I can find, and I can’t help but wonder how long she’s been alive—what she’s seen and the stories she could tell.
“Shouldn’t I be? This moment feels fairly important,” I reply, surprised by the steadiness in my own voice, belying the comforting energy she exudes.
She chuckles and pats my shoulder. “A queen with caution is a good thing. Come, walk with me.”
She leads me past several open archways. Each alcove pulses with distinct magical energy, but I’m at a loss for what each represents. I see mirrors rimmed in runes, trees growing from stone, and shallow pools with smoke curling over the surface instead of water.
“This is where our magical users come to train. Each affinity is unique, but all are sacred gifts from the Goddess.”
She brings me to a smaller door tucked at the back of the hall and opens it without hesitation.
Inside, the chamber is circular and dim, the walls carved with the same face of the Goddess repeated over and over. Identical and unblinking.
The sheer number of them makes my skin crawl. No matter where I turn, I feel her eyes following me.
“She sees all,” Serenath murmurs, stepping inside behind me. “But she does not judge. Not here.”
In the center of the room stands a raised dais, and at its heart, a flame glowing purple, with threads of silver winding through it like veins of starlight.
“This is the Calling Flame. If you have an affinity, it will respond in kind.”
She walks to the edge of the platform and turns to face me. “Come, my Queen. Let the flame meet you. It will not hurt you.”
I hesitate. Not from fear, exactly, but from the weight of this moment.
I’ve had countless dreams, both while awake and asleep, as I imagined the mysterious and magical world of the elves living in the clouds above us. Never did I have an image of myself with … magic.
Is it possible?
The flame stirs as I approach, growing larger. I raise my hand slowly, hovering it just above the flickering energy.
The purple energy coils upward, reaching for me, and for a moment, it’s like the silver threads flare brightly. It’s almost like the beat of a heart and I find myself drawn to it, unable to look away as it pulsates over and over.
Finally the flame shifts beneath my palm. Shapes form inside it—a fox with many tails, a bird made of ash, a coiling serpent. One by one, they change, morphing and growing in darkness.
Then it appears.
A shadowed beast. Sleek and powerful. Its silver eyes gleam through the fire, familiar in a way that makes my breath catch.
The flame flares once more, until my entire hand is engulfed. I rip it out as a searing pain burns along my skin. As soon as I break contact, the beast is gone.
A tremble moves through me and I stagger back a step, heart pounding.
Serenath steadies me and I look at her with wide eyes, hoping she understands what just happened.
The warmth is gone from her expression, replaced by caution. I can feel it vibrating off her, the way her fingers tremble just slightly against my skin.
“You saw it?” I whisper, voice shaking as I continue. “You … you felt its power?”
Her hazel eyes are fixed on the flame, which has quieted again to a slow, natural flicker. “Yes,” she breathes. “Goddess above … yes.”
There’s no reverence in her voice, only fear.
Before I can say another word, Serenath turns to the door. “Summon him,” she commands, her voice as sharp as a blade. “Bring Rhune inside. Now.”
My breath catches. “Why?”
She doesn’t answer me. She’s already moving, muttering to herself in a language I don’t know. She glances at the Goddess’s carved faces as though expecting one of them to open its mouth and speak.
The door opens behind me and Rhune steps in, his shoulders tense, his eyes locked onto mine.
“I was just about to come get you,” I breathe out. “Serenath wants you here.”
“What happened?” His voice is low and guarded as his eyes do a sweep over my body, seeming to assess for damage. “I felt … I don’t even know how to explain what I just felt.”
Serenath doesn’t hesitate. She points to the flame, which now pulses faintly violet-blue at its base.
“It stirred within the flames,” she says, voice hoarse. “It’s … awake.”
Rhune goes completely still. His eyes snap to the flame, then to me, then back to Serenath.
“That’s not possible.”
“It shouldn’t be,” she replies. “Not after what happened at the end of the Blood War. Not after it was put to sleep with her death.”
Panic curls inside me like smoke, suffocating me from the inside out.
“What was it?” I ask. “What did you see?”
Neither of them answers.
“Tell me,” I snap, louder now, frustrated at feeling left in the dark. “Why is this so bad?”
Rhune inhales like someone bracing for impact, his wide chest expanding until he lets out a controlled breath.
“There was a creature long ago during the Blood War,” he says carefully.
“Born of nightmares and blood magic. They say it was harnessed by the right hand of our greatest enemy during the Blood War. She was a Nithrin who defected and swore fealty to the Dark God, yet she wasn’t twisted into Valgys like all the other elves that followed to his side. ”
Serenath’s voice is quiet now, almost reverent again, but with no comfort behind it.
“The elves called the creature Vayrith—the harbinger of death. It obeyed no master but the one who awakened it. It swept through the lands, killing humans and elves alike. The texts say that its fire was able to break through all magic, completely impervious to it. When its master was killed, Vayrith was never seen again.”
“It just …” I swallow hard. “Stirred. Because of me?”
They both look at me and suddenly chills cover my body from head to toe.
“I didn’t do anything,” I rebut, feeling as if I have to defend this connection to Vayrith that I didn’t ask for. “I just stood there and touched the flame as instructed. Can’t we just forget it ever happened?”
My tone has descended to a hysterical plea. “Please. We don’t even know if anything will happen.”
“You’re human,” Rhune finally answers, his expression pinched with deep thought. “You weren’t raised on these stories from our history. You don’t know what this means to our people.”
“I’m standing right here,” I snap, the fear shifting to anger. “So tell me! What does it mean?”
Serenath’s expression softens, but the urgency doesn’t leave her eyes. “It means no one can know outside of the three of us.”
She looks to Rhune. “If word gets out, if anyone learns that Vayrith stirred in her presence, some will want to use her to awaken it fully. Others will want her dead before it ever opens its eyes.”
The floor feels like it tilts beneath me and I stagger toward the wall with a hand up, trying to find my balance.
I always knew there would be dangers when ascending to the world of elves, but never could I have prepared for this.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I say, the words barely more than a breath. The tips of my fingers scratch against the stone carvings of the Goddess.
“I know,” Serenath replies soothingly. “That’s why we will protect you, but you must understand, Elysia, this can never be spoken of outside this room.”
Rhune nods once. “Agreed.”
Serenath exhales and pulls her shoulders back and glances at Rhune. “We need to take her to the library. If she’s to carry the connection to this creature, she needs to understand what truly happened during the Blood War.”
“What if I can’t stop it from waking?” I ask in a soft voice, feeling a pit of despair open in my stomach.
Serenath meets my gaze, unblinking. “Then the Blood War won’t remain a distant piece of history.”