Page 47

ALICE

From the moment I saw the globe, a warm feeling spread through me—a feeling of homecoming. Zapharos, his name repeated in my head. Somehow, this globe was the key to contacting him. I knew it—I felt it in my heart, bones, and soul.

But then Hannah's sudden outburst sent doubts through my stomach. They said Hannah had been a priestess in her previous life, and probably the life before that, and so on. A High Priestess. Out of all of us women, she remembered the most on her own. Sloane's memories had been a gift from Zapharos, but Hannah's had broken through because of who she was in her previous life.

Deep down, a voice told me that Hannah was wrong. This globe wasn't evil. My entire life had been dictated by logic—a logic that had taken a serious hit during the past weeks and was cracking even more now. There was no logic to how I knew that the globe was anything but evil. But I did.

"Trust me," I told Xyrek, watching the emotional war tearing at his features. He nodded, but the pain and worry in his eyes nearly stopped me from doing what I knew I needed to do.

My hands grabbed the globe. It felt strange, not solid at all, yet heavy. The golden light and crystal glitter inside swam around my skin. It was as if my hands dove right inside it. Yet, there was enough resistance for me to hold on to and lift it out of the box.

It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen, like being inside a diamond. The warm glow emanating from the globe began to spread all around me.

"No," Hannah wailed.

Xyrek looked like he was ready to grab me, but then the golden glow began to leave me. It swirled like a small, benign twister. Everyone who had surrounded us automatically stepped back; they didn’t want to come in contact with the golden glow, especially not once it began to form a shape.

"You summoned me?" Without a doubt, I knew this was Zapharos, even before Sloane cursed.

"Zapharos!"

A devilish smirk rose on his lips. "Well, well, well. You finally figured it out. Good job, little engineer."

"Figured what out?" Xyrek took a step forward, murder written all over his face. I threw a warning glance at Zaarek since I couldn't put the damn globe down to stop Xyrek. Thankfully, Zaarek got my message and stepped in Xyrek's way, stopping him.

"Later," I heard him whisper. “You can kill him later. Let's hear what he has to say, brother."

Zapharos stood in the center, turning in a circle. He made eye contact with each one of us. His commanding presence ensured absolute silence despite a few growls from the men. But I was sure they, too, saw what I did. There was something deeper in his gaze—something ancient and burdened.

"Is this the Ohrur place? It feels evil," he said, looking around.

"It is," Sloane said.

"I told you not to let her activate it," Hannah lamented.

Zapharos took a deep breath and walked toward her, but Tharaax stepped in his way, "Not a step closer." He warned.

Zapharos' smile was enigmatic. "Hello, little priestess. It's been a long time."

"We've never met," Hannah said.

"Oh, but we have," Zapharos assured her. "Unfortunately, at the time, you and your brethren took my brothers' words over mine." He shrugged as if it didn't matter.

"You are evil," Hannah declared, and Tharaax stiffened, ready to defend her if necessary.

Zapharos laughed, "That's true. Good point, little priestess, but sometimes it’s the evil that you should listen to because it's the voice of the truth."

Hannah shook her head, but his words seemed to do something to her because she stilled.

"My brothers had their own agenda, you know that."

"I don't. I don't remember," Hannah cried.

Zapharos raised his hand, palm up. He jerked it forward, not directly touching Hannah, but I thought I noticed a ball of light coming for her.

"Hannah!" Tharaax yelled.

Hannah looked stunned but held Tharaax back. "I'm okay, Thrax. I'm okay." She took a deep breath and steadied herself by fisting Tharaax's shirt, who stabilized her by placing his hand on her waist.

He glared at Zapharos. "What did you do?"

"I only helped her remember," Zapharos defended himself, and then he looked at Hannah. "Now you see?"

"How do I know you just didn't make me believe that this is what happened?" Hannah demanded.

"It's called trust." Zapharos smiled.

Sloane snorted, but he ignored her.

"What did he do to you?" Tharaax asked. "I'll kill him."

Hannah shook her head. "It's alright. Really. It's okay."

"Well, don't leave us hanging. What do you remember?" Nova almost yelled.

Hannah looked perturbed, like someone who had seen life in black and white and suddenly saw colors for the first time.

"That I'm a terrible person," Hannah cried, burying her face in Tharaax’s side, who mouthed, you're dead , to Zapharos before he simply held his mate tight and whispered words of encouragement to her.

All of us exchanged startled glances; nobody knew what to do or say, but Tharaax wasn't the only one who looked ready to end Zapharos.

"You can give that to me now, love," Zapharos nodded at me.

"Oh… oh good." Carefully, I put the globe that seemed to be getting heavier into his hands.

"Alright, Zaph , storytime." Sloane glared at him.

He exhaled slowly and seemed to choose his words carefully. "You're looking for answers." It was more of a statement than a question, so he continued, "you want to know who the Arkhevari are, what they are, and why we do what we do. But answers come at a price. Some truths cannot be spoken—only understood in time."

Zaarek folded his arms. "You sound like you enjoy keeping secrets."

A smirk tugged at Zapharos’ lips. "Oh, I do. But this is not about pleasure. It is about survival. Some knowledge burns the mind when it is revealed too soon."

Sloane narrowed her eyes. "Then tell us what you can ."

Zapharos inclined his head. "Very well. You know the Arkhevari once had mates. What you don't know is that it was the Archegene that bound us and gave us our Soulweb Glyphs. It's a gift that we spread across the stars. And what you do not understand is that we lost them."

His amber eyes darkened like the void between stars. "We reached too far. We sought to understand too much. There is a place beyond the black hole, a place you call the Black Abyss—a space without time, without gravity, without limit. It is where we listened and learned. It gave us wisdom beyond measure; knowledge from every world was consumed. And for a while, we believed ourselves invincible, untethered from the constraints of lesser beings."

His voice lowered, torn between anger and incredible sadness, "But we were wrong."

Silence spread throughout the room as Zapharos continued, "The Archegene is not merely a gene—it's balance . It binds; it anchors. And when we abandoned our physical being and drifted too long in that weightless place of endless knowing, the Archegene did what it had to. It severed our tethers. We became...unmoored."

Noodar frowned. "Unmoored? From what?"

"From them . Our mates. Our very destiny. We lost the resonance of their souls. The bond we took for granted became an echo we could no longer hear. Some say the Archegene did it to protect itself. Others believe it was a punishment." He exhaled. "Perhaps both."

Zaarek’s expression was unreadable, but Sloane was watching Zapharos closely. "You said some truths can't be spoken. What aren’t you telling us?"

Zapharos chuckled, but there was no amusement in it. "You assume I have all the answers. If only that were true."

Nova leaned forward. "Then tell us—why only Darlam? Why only Earth? Why are those the last places where the Arkhevari can find their mates?"

Zapharos was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Because we are running out of time. Because the cycle is closing. And because, whether we like it or not, you are part of this story now."

Luph shifted uneasily. "What about me? I'm not a human. And there were some others too that we know of."

Zapharos stepped toward Luph. Noodar was ready to interfere, but Zapharos only gently touched her cheek. "You and the others are very special. My species mixed with yours a long, long time ago. So long, the Archegene has all but vanished in your species, but every now and then, a spark ignites, and one such spark became you."

Zaarek’s voice was edged with distrust. "Why are you telling us all this?"

Anger flared through the golden gleam around Zapharos' edges; Vraax stiffened as black bolts of lightning could be seen, but before the Space Guardian could do anything, the blackness retreated, and Zapharos took a deep breath. "Because it amuses me?"

"I'm calling bullshit," Sloane crossed her arms in front of her chest.

A smile tugged at the corners of Zapharos' lips, as if he liked her. With a wry smile, he amended, "Because you deserve to know some of the truth. Your part of my story is over. We will go our separate ways from here, but now you have the means to summon me if you need me." He kept a tight hold of the globe but placed something else into the box.

Sloane snickered, "Here, little genie."

Zapharos glared at her. She laughed and spread her arms in surrender, saying, "Only when absolutely necessary, I swear." Then she cocked her head. “How is Ella?”

“She will be safe now that I have the globe.”

The golden glow around him turned brighter, so bright, it was hard, so hard, that I could barely make out his form. And then he was gone, and the golden shimmer dissolved.

We all stared at each other. "Well?" Zoe asked.

“Why do I feel like we shouldn’t let him have the globe thing?” I asked no one in particular.

Sloane’s eyes met mine. “You feel that way, too?”

I nodded; I did, but for some reason, I also knew that the globe had nothing to do with us. I shrugged, trying to play off my unsettling feeling. "At least we know a little bit more now."

"Hardly," Sloane snarked, her eyes turning to Hannah and Tharaax. Is she okay?"

Hannah freed herself from Tharaax and rubbed her eyes. "No, but I will be." She turned to me, "I'm sorry, Alice."

I creased my brow, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

She exhaled loudly, "Trust me, I do. To all of you and mostly, to the people living in the Vale."

Her statement was as enigmatic as Zapharos's, but we decided to give her some room for now.