Chapter 53 #3
“I’ll give you one more chance,” I say, voice low. He says nothing, nor does his hold on the egg falter.
“Suit yourself.” I shrug and slash the sword down his chest. Flesh shreds, muscle slices, bones crunch. The tip of my blade plunges through his chest, just shy of his heart.
Samkiel screams and his horror rises like steam into the night.
“As much as I’d love to rip your fucking head from your body, Samkiel Ashar.
I need you to send a message.” I step into his space, nose to nose, and twist my blade.
He groans and heaves around the wound. “Run back to daddy and tell him the guardian is coming for him. No matter where he runs to or how many Smoke civilians he hides behind, we will come. And I won’t stop until you and he are both rotting in the ground. ”
Jace throws him to the ground, growling and laughing with violent delight. Ashar folds over himself, gasping as he claws at the hole in his chest. Blood spurts from the wound, spraying my face when I kneel beside him. The egg rolls from Samkiel’s grip.
“Now” —I wipe the blood from my lips— “run.”
Samkiel drags across the ashen ground, finding his balance before hobbling into the shadows. I’m not certain he’ll survive the journey back to Smoke, but the message will be received regardless.
The lurkers gather around us, silent and still. They watch. They wait. No longer do they chatter or howl, ready to devour us soul for soul.
“They won’t harm us,” Jace says, his claws retracting and the crimson in his eyes fading.
“They’ve been waiting for the egg, slowing time to prevent it from stoning.
Back in Sea, they showed me their truths.
They are creatures sent from Morvayne. Monstrosities not unlike me…
or you for that matter. Nova, they’re with us in this. They have been all along...”
“They didn’t recognize me then, because I didn’t fully understand who I am.
Fuck, it makes sense…” I kneel beside the egg, watching its shimmering opal surface with bated breath.
This is the moment that changes the trajectory of our fate—the moment I feel the purpose given to me at birth.
In the past I’d run, hide, refuse to accept a destiny not of my choosing.
But the egg calls. She calls to me, waiting with outstretched wings and a warmth I’ve craved since the light within me was so violently snuffed out.
“Accept our bond, Nova,” she whispers, like a gentle caress across my cheek. “Choose me as I have chosen you.”
“I choose you.” I close my eyes and press my palm against the guardian egg.
The world ignites in shades of gemstones—amethyst, onyx, garnet, sapphire, emerald—all fragmenting time and space at once.
My lungs burst, my bones snap, every piece of consciousness unravels until I’m floating somewhere in the cosmos.
No longer in the clearing. No longer beside Jace.
My body is weightless, endless, stretching through space.
I can’t breathe, but I don’t need air here. My heart still beats and my skin warms. This place is safe, comfortable, like a sanctuary made from the truths of our gods.
Then there’s a being, faint and translucent. It walks toward me, approaching on elegant strides. A woman with silvery curls curtaining her frame. Her eyes are brilliant amethyst orbs, scattering stars across the cosmos.
Astora.
She smiles and places her hand on my cheek. My eyes widen, my chest heaves, but still there is only peace. Other figures appear behind her like a tide of silver and violet. Only one stands out, a long burly beard spread over a soft, content grin.
Yaris.
Peeking behind him is a girl no older than four—the daughter stolen from him by violence. He nods at me and the familiar warmth glitters in his eyes, but this time the shadow of grief is gone. He has found peace, beside our people. My people.
All of Sovereign. Safe beside our goddess.
I scan the crowd, hoping to see a pair of faces that match mine, but where one figure ends another begins. I know they’re there, watching me through the stars. Just as Astora, and Yaris, and the guardian hatchling…they’ve always been here. Tears stream from my eyes, but not those of grief.
“You’ve been angry for so long, Nova, it’s time to let go,” Astora whispers. Her voice is a cosmic melody of new beginnings and ends. I shudder as she brushes her palm across my cheek. “Be free.”
Then, as swiftly as they appeared, they’re gone.
The vision fades and my body knocks to the ground.
I open my eyes, having not realized they were shut, to find Jace kneeling beside me, concern etched through his features.
“The guardian…” I whisper. Jace helps me to my feet, and I stagger against his support.
“See for yourself,” he says, grinning.
I glance back to the Astralwing, expecting an intact egg with armored scales.
Instead, there are fragments of shell scattered about. At the center, with tiny snow-white wings and eager violet eyes, is a hatchling, no larger than my palm.
“I’ve waited lifetimes for you, Nova.” A little voice echoes through my head. “And finally, you’ve found me. You’ve found yourself.”