Page 73 of The Sins of Silas (The Otacian Chronicles #2)

Chapter Seventy-Three

LENA

U lric lifted his arm, and dark, shadowy magic emitted from his palm. Kayin attempted to stagger back, but there was nowhere for her to go. As the shadows surrounded her body, entering her mouth, she began to choke. Her hands flew to her throat.

“I loved you,” Ulric whispered, his nostrils flaring. “But everything was a lie, wasn't it?”

Her face began to turn blue, her eyes bulging as she tried and failed to take in any air.

“You took all I loved, so I shall do the same to you.” His lip curled as he spat, “Kayin.”

Her eyes rolled back as his shadows suffocated her, and she slumped to the ground.

Everything faded to black.

We were all left in the darkness for a few moments before we were back in Ames. Igon's saddened eyes widened as he beheld my Mother and Torrin entering our small village, the latter carrying my weak, pregnant body.

“What is it, Igon?” Osrel pressed, gazing as Igon's eyes glowed white.

Images flashed quickly. Fire. Darkness. Bright, white light and silver sparks.

“I've seen this before,” Igon breathed. “But now it all makes sense.”

I could hardly make out my surroundings, but a woman with bright white hair was surging her power toward something—some darkness. I couldn't make out her face, but it was like the paintings Igon commissioned were coming to life.

This meant the God of Rebirth was being subjected to her power, but I couldn't see him either.

More flickering, and we watched how Igon saw in his mind my reunion with Silas.

We saw as he witnessed his own death.

Igon swallowed. “That girl…my Gods.” The white light faded, and his golden gaze didn’t waver as he stared at me from his tower, even as it hardened. “A great battle is approaching. Six years from now.”

The vision showed Vicsin rushing toward us, a young Merrick and Elowen behind him, crying as they saw their cousin for the first time in years.

“I must teach her everything I know,” Igon murmured. “She needs to be able to piece it together when the time comes. She must be kept safe.”

My brows lowered, and the final visions passed rapidly.

My friends watched my miscarriage and watched as Torrin helped me once I got my fire .

It was a quick montage of how I trained over the years, getting stronger, and my friends watched as I discovered Silas had a wife.

We could see Torrin and me in the lake, kissing fervently, and the next moment, they could see my panic when he was gone the following day.

Tears filled my eyes as I watched my last moments with Igon…when he told me that he was the one who had sent Torrin away.

Igon winced. “Forced isn’t the correct word. Strongly suggested,” he said cautiously. “It is known who your Soul-Tie is, Lena. It isn’t Torrin.”

Past me let out a shaky exhale, my hands clenched to his desk. “Ames was his home, not mine. If you cared so much for who I ended up with, then it should’ve been me you suggested to leave.” I shook my head in disbelief. “The Prince is married. It doesn’t matter who my Soul-Tie is!”

They watched as Merrick and I set our dining table together, only to rush out and witness the chaos as the Otacian army attacked.

They watched as I got thrown to the ground, as I met the eyes of the man about to kill me.

Silas's eyes widened in the vision. “Lena?”

“Silas,” I breathed.

Once again, we were back on Mount Rozavar. When the vision became split, when we saw that desolate chamber again, I gasped.

There Kayin sat. Her skin was white, those inky black veins swirling around her flesh. The spider symbol had been etched into her forehead, and her solid dark eyes stared into nothingness.

Silas choked on a sob, seeing his mother in such a way.

But she then began blinking quickly, her fists clenching .

She no longer wore cuffs, because she was controlled by the necromancer. The Lord of the Shadows. The God of Deceit.

Ulric.

She blinked over and over until those sapphire eyes returned.

Panicked, she closed her eyes, searching.

Lena…we have work to do.

We watched my and Kayin’s entire conversation, and when our connection was severed, she sighed, coughing up black blood. She squeezed her eyes shut again, only this time, we had no idea who she spoke to.

Save them. Beg and plead with Aleyda if you must. But please, you must save them.

Kayin coughed up more blood, cursing as she did so, and her eyes went back to that solid black. She froze again, remaining seated like a statue.

The final memories that played were rapid, showcasing how the Prince and I had grown closer these past few months.

They saw when Merrick found out, which was the exact moment that Erabella began to cry.

They saw Silas and me argue. They saw us fight.

They saw us kiss. In the tent. In Faltrun. In the Valley of Awakening.

Here, in Nereida.

And then the glow of the pentagram vanished, our surroundings blurring back to the underwater chamber.

Kismet, Valter, and the clerics were frozen in fear.

“Holy shit,” Dani respired. “Ulric is the God of Deceit.”

“Kayin is alive,” Torrin breathed. “She is Undead, but somehow she is still in there. ”

Era's tearful gaze slid to Silas, then to mine. “You…you two were…” she whispered, backing away. “Oh, my Gods. I'm a fool.”

My guilt-ridden eyes filled with their own tears. “Era,” I began, walking to her. “I am so sorry—”

She slapped me across the face, and Silas grabbed her wrists. “Be angry with me,” he insisted. “Not her.”

Her face twisted in contempt before her glare shifted to me. “I considered you my friend,” she spat, lip raising. “Both of you can go to hell.”

As I lowered my hand from my stinging cheek, she stormed out of the room, leaving down the passage herself. My eyes drifted to Merrick, the Empath shaking his head as he left to follow her.

I swallowed down my shame as I turned to Silas. His eyes were still wide and reddened. “Are you okay?”

“I…I need to go somewhere to think,” he whispered, then left out of the passageway. I went to follow him when Viola grabbed my arm.

“That’s why you saved him, why you trusted him so easily.” She held her forehead. “Gods, Lena. I can’t believe you kept that from us this entire time.”

I turned to the group, taking in everyone’s wide-open eyes.

“I found out a couple of nights ago, but seeing it all is still crazy,” Roland added.

“You knew?” Elowen asked him, then tilted her eyes to Torrin. “As did you and Merrick?”

Dani winced, raising her hand. “And me.”

Viola whirled to her, and the Warlock gave her an apologetic smile.

“I’m so sorry for lying to you all. It wasn’t easy…I just knew how it would sound.”

“So, you knew him when we were younger…” Hendry voiced.

“I did.” I smiled weakly. “He actually told me about you and Edmund when we were younger. Told me how you were his best friends.”

“This is so crazy,” Edmund said. “I mean, I always felt this weird chemistry between you two, but—”

“Merrick figured it out and didn’t say anything…” Elowen whispered.

I sighed. “I know my and Silas’s history is surprising, nor am I proud of how I've handled things. But we should be focusing on the fact that it was King Ulric who killed the Queen…that he is a literal God.” I fetched Kayin's necklace from the ground, clasping it back around my neck. “This could be huge in convincing those in Otacia to turn on him.”

“That is if they believe us,” Roland expressed with crossed arms. “We saw it firsthand here, but if we had just been told it, we would have had trouble believing such a thing.”

“If it came from Silas—”

“The kingdom views him as a traitor,” Hendry said bluntly. “They may even think you’ve used magic to warp our minds, that you control Silas and want the crown for yourself.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It is, but you know how it is in Otacia. Since the Prince has betrayed his father and sided with the Mages, I can only imagine what story is being spun now.”

“Our families,” Roland whispered, voice trembling. “Gods, we need to get them out of there.”

“Amatta was a human, yet Ulric raised her.” Edmund's eyes drifted to his carbonado arm. “I thought that humans touched by the Undead's magic died, and that was that?”

A cleric answered for me. “If touched by the Undead's magic—one of his creations—yes. But a necromancer themself can raise anyone they'd like.”

“There were gaps in the memories.” I voiced to the cleric. “We didn't see anything from Igon's early life, and it felt like there was fuzziness in between.”

“Yes,” one of the clerics responded gravely. “It seems those are memories they wish to remain unseen. They must have taken measures to block it from this spell.”

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Damn seers.”

“And Kayin—Ryia—she is in Otacia, trapped by that necromancer bastard.” Torrin clenched his fists. “We have to save her, but how?”

“How was she able to communicate? Even with your blood…” I began. “Dani, do you know anything about what spell he and Kayin performed?”

One of the clerics stepped forward. “I wrote it down—here.”

She handed Dani the piece of parchment, and the Warlock studied the symbols. “Coniungere,” she muttered. “A siphoning spell.” Her eyes flicked up. “This one isn't listed in Potestas Verae Maleficis. I have no idea where they learned such a thing.”

“I need to speak with Lucretia immediately,” Kismet urged. “You were right, Supreme. We have lived in comfort for far too long. Seeing what we saw…” She shuddered. “His power is a plague. One that needs to be eradicated before he takes over everything.”

We all rushed through the passageway and back into the main area of the temple. I had asked if anyone had seen Silas, and I was informed he was in the sanctuary.

I ambled in to see Silas sitting on one of the benches, his head buried in his hands.

I walked over slowly and sat down beside him, my hand on his back.

“This is all such a shock,” I whispered. “Worse than I imagined.”

“It is.” He slowly lowered his hands. “Ulric…he is the necromancer. He is a fucking God.” Silas shook his head. “This whole time, I had been slaughtering those I thought hurt my mother—hurt you—and it turns out that those were the good people. It turns out I was being influenced by the evil one all along. The entire time, I was doing his bidding.” Tears fell down his face. “I…I fucked up.”

“There was no way you could have guessed this, Silas. No possible way.”

“I should've seen it…should have known by his cruelty that something was wrong.” He buried his face in his palms once more. “My poor mother…she would be so ashamed of me.”

“No.” I held his face in my hands, turning him to face me. “She would be so proud of you. After everything you endured, after everything taught to you, you chose right over wrong. Good over bad. Hard over easy.”

“There were many times I did choose wrong, Lena. ”

“We have all made mistakes.”

“None like I have.”

“None have endured what you have,” I said sternly and kissed him. “If I can forgive what you have done and am proud of you, then I know Ryia—Kayin—would be, too. I know it.”

He was silent for a while.

“I killed so many of your kind…I killed my grandfather.”

“Igon knew, Silas. He forgave you for a reason.”

His eyes looked to mine in desperation. “How can we save her? How can we… fix her?”

“I don’t know.” I ran my hand along his thigh. “But it’s a good sign she was able to talk to me, able to break free from whatever trance he’s put her in.”

“Does that mean all the puppets we’ve killed…the original soul is still trapped inside them?”

I thought back to Igon in that form, swallowing down the pain. Was he in there? Could we have saved him? “I think it means they must be brought back to life fully.”

Silas dragged his hands down his face. “The problem is, Ulric is the only necromancer.”

“There must be an answer of some kind…something we can find,” I insisted softly. “But that’s something to worry about another day.”

Silas continued to stare at the ground. “I have always been so unworthy of you.”

Just as I went to protest, a voice filled my head.

“Lena.”

My whole body jerked at the sound of Kayin's voice in my head. Silas sat up straight, brows drawn tight.

“Kayin,” I breathed. “Ryia. ”

She laughed through her nose. “So, you finally know the truth,” she murmured. “That's good.”

“My mother is speaking to you?” Silas whispered.

I knew we didn't have much time. “Tell me what to do,” I pressed. “Tell me how to save you.”

“There is so much suffering to come. And there are answers I am not allowed to give you. You have to find them yourself in order to stop him.”

My frown deepened, and I stifled a frustrated groan. “I need direction. Just tell me where to go.”

“Temple Ravaiana.” She choked on a sob. “I wish things could go differently.”

The tempo of my heart quickened. “What does that mean?”

“Lena, are you talking to my mother?” Silas asked impatiently.

“Tell Silas…tell him I love him so much,” she wept. “Tell him I'm sorry for the hell he has been thrown into. Tell him I am proud, so proud of him.”

“Kayin—”

I felt the connection sever, felt the silence.

“Godsdamn it,” I growled.

“Lena.”

I turned to Silas, facing his broken expression.

“She told me to tell you that she loves you so much and that she is so sorry for all you've been through.” I cupped his cheek, our faces both crumpling. I kissed his lips softly, then smiled. “And she told me to tell you that she is so proud of you.”

He began to cry. “No, she doesn't actually feel that way.”

I kissed his tears, stroking the scar on his face. “She does. She just told me so, I swear it.” My eyes bore into his. “I will never lie to you again.”