Page 5

EILISH

Mortal Ruins

I feel... happy.

The world is the same hunk of rock twirling around the sun and yet I think I might just float away if I don’t hang on.

I feel as though the first signs of spring have arrived—when the flowers begin to blossom.

The first kiss of sunlight against my skin is wonderful.

Silvanus stirs beside me. He reaches between my thighs and feels where Variant and Cambion’s seed still seeps from within me.

“How delicious you are.”

Though I can’t yet walk or stand, I sense power unfurling within me.

A smile creeps across my mouth. Muscled arms and legs litter the bed.

The heap of long limbs surrounding me is almost funny.

I would laugh if not for the fact that I have duties to tend to.

I untangle myself from Silvanus and Cambion lifts me into his arms. He kisses my cheek and wraps me in the discarded robes from the pile on the floor.

I walk over to the terrace that overlooks the courtyard.

Mages wander from one building to another, working to repair the damage time has inflicted on the ancient stone.

Theren walks along the path with a small satyr child on his shoulders, laughing and dancing around to make the child smile.

Dragan and Myerdoth stroll side by side, whispering among themselves.

Pyre and Baron are nowhere to be found, but Silvanus appears at my side.

“Take a walk with me, Eilish.” He waits patiently, sitting on the bed with a lopsided grin as I quickly dress myself.

“It is a pity to hide such a figure. Even if it’s beneath leathers that cup your rear and a corset that makes your breasts look delectable.

I still prefer you in this bed, wearing nothing at all. ”

Though I know him as my lover, as my first of many things, I still grow flustered when I hear his words. I try to hide the pink blush on my cheeks as I open the door and lead him out of my quarters. We move slowly through the courtyard, near the others, but they pay us no mind.

“I must tell you something,” he says. “It may change the way you see me.”

I look at him and frown. “Change the way I see you?”

He nods. “The last thing I wish to do is push you away, Eilish, but you must know I’m not who you think I am. It isn’t in my purpose to be your lover and your mentor, nor is it to care for you as I always have.”

I can’t help but laugh at that. “I haven’t seen you in a long time, Silvanus. I’m not sure how exactly I see you anymore. But I’ve learned we’re all contradictions to our purpose.”

“How do you suppose?”

“Dragan is a gargoyle, the King of Shadows, and yet he walks among us in the daylight. Theren is the Unseelie heir, but if you look at him with that child there, you see no evil in his heart.”

“Then I have nothing to lose, I suppose.” He casts a wandering glance towards Theren before turning his attention to me.

“After Morrigan and I trapped Abedon, I took her power away. In the beginning, I told myself I’d done so because of the darkness I sensed within her, but that was not true.

It was a different time then, I was weaker and. ..”

He pauses and I face him, smiling to get him to continue.

“With or without the prophecies, Morrigan was going to seek power beyond her understanding,” he continues.

“It was just in her nature. But if she’d been at full power, she could have defeated me and ascended as a god.

The world you know now would be a different place.

I took her power to protect myself, Eilish, not to protect the realms. It was selfishness that killed the gods and yet I was selfish in my actions against Morrigan.

She was heartbroken, alone, and without power for many years.

It wasn’t until Elioth took her in that she found herself again in teaching the young princes. ”

“Morrigan did find herself in teaching Cambion, Variant, Aima, and Theren, but she also plotted their demise. She taught them magic only to bespell Theren so she could turn him against his brother in a war she started.”

“Yes, and I often blame myself for what happened to Variant and Theren. I was an arrogant god, Eilish. I only saw my own suffering and not what was happening around me until it was too late.”

“Until my family died, you mean,” I reply.

“I know you were there the day the Cockatrice came to kill me, the day Morrigan heard the prophecy that Abedon wanted me at his side so he could use my power to further his plans of destruction. Out of jealousy, she sought to end me. And because I had no memory, it nearly worked.”

“What stayed her hand?”

“The other prophecies, the ones that she thought would lead her to more power,” I scoff bitterly.

“Once she saw herself standing before Abedon with enough power to overthrow him, her course was set. It didn’t matter who she had to kill or manipulate to get to that point.

Endless prophecies and rituals, sacrifices without results.

.. she wasted so much time trying to ruin us that she didn’t realize she was nurturing Variant to be her killer. ”

“Whatever Morrigan has done, my actions have been worse. Instead of coming to you and protecting you, I watched as your life was torn apart time after time and I remained in solitude. I kept myself safe rather than follow what my heart was telling me.”

“And yet, here you are. You could have stayed away. Whether you’re doing this for me or not doesn’t matter. You’re here to fight beside us and that’s all that matters.”

He shakes his head. “I carry the guilt with me each day.” He lowers his head and glances away in shame.

“I believe in second chances. If I hadn’t given Cambion, Dragan, or Baron a second chance, I wouldn’t be here. If I hadn’t offered Theren and Variant the opportunity to defend themselves, I would never be able to forgive myself, let alone anyone else.”

Silvanus kisses me softly and takes his leave as I head to the war room. Colors somehow seem brighter as I saunter through the dusty corridors.

Aima stops me as she passes. “Woah, Eilish... you look radiant . I mean, you’re glowing.”

I look down at myself—at my hands—and notice she’s right. I am glowing. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s an angel’s grace, Eilish,” she explains. “It’s been a long time since anyone other than Variant has been able to use angelic grace, but I’m sure you’re a natural.”

“What can I do with it?”

“I think it’s different for each angel. Some I’ve met were able to read someone’s soul and affect their emotions, others had the ability to heal…

like your mother. Angels can sense corruption and summon a cleansing light to help them in battle.

If most of your angel abilities have been suppressed all this time, there’s no saying what they’ll be. ”

Aima heads to the war room with me to fetch a few maps.

When she leaves, I look over what’s next on my list but, before I even get to work, I find myself easily distracted.

My thoughts pull me in different directions as I wonder what we can use against Abedon.

With Morrigan dead, there’s no way of knowing his weaknesses.

“Mind if I interrupt?”

Kolvar ducks his head inside the war room and sits beside me. The happiness I felt dwindles instantly as I begin to sense his unease. “What is it, Kolvar?”

“Novak.”

“Yes? What about him?”

Kolvar drops a ring onto the table in front of me. “That is the King’s ring. It was found on a burned corpse strung up outside Oronrel. Novak went to the Unseelie Kingdom lookin’ to get revenge on Variant. He was killed on sight.”

I feel my shock as my mouth drops open. “I’m so sorry, Kolvar. Do the Sunder’s Might know?”

“Aye,” he replies. “They’ll honor him tonight.”

“Another bloodline ended over the thirst for power.”

“With any luck, there will be enough legends to keep King Galmer’s story alive. He was more than just my King, at one point he was a friend as well.”

“I hope he finds peace in the afterlife.”

“As do I.”

***

THEREN

Mortal Ruins

I lower the child from my shoulders and he scurries off to join his friends.

The mother of the satyr boy glares in my direction.

With my presence now known among the people, it’s a reaction I’ll have to grow accustomed to.

I give her a well-intended wave and she sneers.

A few of the creatures in the courtyard catch her reaction and look my way.

Some of them pity me while others are content to hate me on principle alone.

I know when I’ve outstayed my welcome. With one last glance around the flourishing courtyard, I retreat into the darkness of the library.

My quarters are in the loft above the endless rows of books and ancient tomes.

I pass Pyre as he flips through a book I can’t identify.

He spares me a quick glance and a sympathetic smile.

I imagine his presence makes the people just as uncomfortable as my own.

I acknowledge his smile with a nod and climb the winding iron staircase.

The mages created my quarters with Cambion’s instructions, giving me a place where I can be alone with my thoughts.

I summon my mirror to prop it on the dresser.

The black frame seems so out of place among the emerald curtains and brass fixtures.

Warm hues of wood and earthy shades of green and blue allow me to feel as though I’m at the heart of the forest and not nestled in a ruined city.

I stare into the mirror’s reflection, feeling the forbidden call of my magic reaching through the surface.

Bewitched eyes stare back at a reflection that’s no longer my own.

I feel the pull of the mirror and I allow it to take me within its glass, to hold me in its embrace.

I pull the cowl of my robes over my head to shroud myself in darkness as I walk through the Valley of the Unknown.

This place is neither life nor death, because spirits don’t dwell in the unholy heat of such shadows.

I hear the cries of those who lost their sanity to their mirrors, catoptromancers who never returned to their world from these forsaken halls.

Since I was a child, my greatest fear has been joining the voices in the dark.

Even now, I feel the sharp edge of fear gliding along my spine.

My hand lifts to a door unseen. It opens at my touch and I enter a dimly lit corridor filled with mirrors.

The way ahead is endless, stretching far beyond what my eyes can see.

I walk deeper into the dreaded depths of this place, feeling myself pull further and further away from my world.

Coldness seeps into my veins. My appearance shifts, becoming as reflective as the mirrors that surround me.

And then I feel him... Elioth.

I stop just before a particular mirror, one lined with fractured wood that appears rotted with age.

The surface is marred with greasy streaks and finger marks that fog the image beyond.

I don’t dare touch the mirror, but I sense my father’s power on the other side, all the same.

I close my eyes tightly. Power flows from my body and forces its way through the mirror’s glass. I see him in my mind’s eye.

Elioth stands before a council of men. Humans that have been twisted and corrupted beyond recognition, tainted to the depths of their souls until they became something sinister.

They’re black riders, priests within a brotherhood of darkness.

The ancient tongue translates their title as the Knights of Umbra.

Hideous, disfigured faces hide beneath tattered cloth.

I hear the clanging of their chainmail beneath the rotting cloaks that cover their bodies.

Shrill, hissing voices pierce my ears as they whisper to my father.

Obuqui birds rest on their rider’s shoulder, cawing and flapping impatiently.

The dark warriors are, no doubt, eager to release their master.

I must stop them.

My power forces itself into my father’s head.

He’s too powerful. The strength within him is staggering.

I see nothing, hear nothing but the taunting laughter of the evil man who sired me.

His magic shatters the mirror and I run for the door.

He’s felt me. Perhaps even seen me. Regardless, he knows I’m here.

Elioth is behind me, walking slowly as he follows.

“You defeated me once, Theren, but Morrigan’s spell has weakened you. Never again will you be victorious.”

With a final push, I shove through the door and slam it shut behind me. I manage to make it back to my quarters and break the connection before it can be traced. My head hurts and I stumble towards the stairs. “Pyre!” I shout.

The necromancer appears at the other end of the library. He makes his way over to me and helps me from the floor.

“We must find a way to stop Elioth,” I breathe, my heart pounding in my head. “The Knights of Umbra are in the Cogost Mountains. They’re preparing for a ritual…”

“How do you know this?” Pyre insists.

“I saw it,” I answer. “I went through my mirror and I saw it.”

He shakes his head and breathes in deeply. “That was the most foolish thing you could have done, Theren. What if Elioth finds us?”

“He won’t. I was careful,” I say with a grimace. “But he’s so strong. Stronger than the Chasm alone would have made him.” He’s too powerful. Strangely so. I look up at Pyre as something dawns on me. “Is it possible Elioth found a way to syphon excess power from the ethers?”

“Yes, I believe it is possible.”

Then hope is already lost.