20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A ya was going to fucking murder the syren.

She took a single step forward, but Nora raised a hand. "Your witch owes me a debt. It would be a terrible shame if I called it in now, wouldn't you say?"

Nora remained unflinching, a creature of stone and ancient power, regarding Aya with a chilling patience.

The air fell dead silent. Aya could hear her own heart, a storm in her chest, ready to unleash her wrath. She didn't like being taken for a fool, and the betrayal stung like venom on her tongue. How she hadn't seen it coming— of course nothing happened in Purgatory without Nora knowing about it— stung like bitter poison.

She pulled up straight, scowling with murderous rage. Beyond Nora, Sabra shook her head, quiet pleading in her eyes. The bond came alive once more. Sabra's voice whispered through, low and entreating, perhaps aware of how Aya's temper danced upon the edge of a very fine blade.

Listen to her.

I saw you in chains, Aya sneered. Flashes of their first meeting all those years ago came thick and fast, and the promise Aya had made.

"No more chains, never again," she vowed, her palm cut, blood dripping upon that cursed floor. The only blood oath Aya Sinclair had ever sworn. It burned even now, the brief flash of Sabra chained as she was, twisted like a knife into Aya's heart. Every breath was a war, straining against her ribs, splintering pain outwards.

Sabra's face softened. I was a little difficult on arrival. There were complications until they explained. Sabra tilted her head. Listen and see if you still feel the same.

And if I do?

Then we all walk out of here.

Aya's brow furrowed. The calmness at which her friend spoke drained the remaining anger away, filling the void with questions. Each loudly shouting, trying to force their way up her throat and beyond her lips. She picked through them before glancing toward Elaine. The color was still drained from her cheeks, but her eyes were narrowed. One palm was pressed hard against her thigh—holding back magic, perhaps?

As she lifted her head, she found Tobias watching her. He remained close by his mate's side but stared at her intently, waiting on her to act. And she knew whatever she decided, he was with her.

Sabra said we should listen to what she has to say.

Tobias shot Sabra a sharp, questioning look. His jaw twitched, a silent conversation playing out between the two. After a minute, he returned his attention to her and released a heavy breath. Reluctance dipped the sound.

Let's see what she has to say.

Aya bowed her head and cleared her throat. "What game are you playing at, Nora? Why did your demons attack the witch temple?"

"To protect our order. We had hoped to do it under the cover of night, have as little losses as possible but our hands were forced."

"Tell that to the dead witches," Elaine sneered.

Nora's eyes flashed with fiery defiance. "I will not risk the fate of my order on risking that the witches might've had a change of heart." A little of the fight bled away and Nora sighed, the weight of responsibility made her look older, exhausted in a way that should've made Aya feel happy—it didn't. Even as Nora spoke again. "Our order has lost too much."

Aya froze. " You're the Tyrenian order? But you're not, well, not—"

"A witch?" Nora smiled placatingly, like a parent speaking to a child. "The same could be said of your kind, Aya. Dedicated to the goddess but not of witch kind."

"And Yrene was one of yours?"

"She was originally raised in the temple of Vikra but never took the marks. When she came to this land as a girl of fifteen years, she was taken in by one of our own. Then she swore her oaths and became the guardian of many of our old texts."

Elaine stepped to Aya's side, her face pinched into a deep frown. "But you had one of your girls help us decipher Yrene's identity. She whispered of the Tyrenian order then but acted afraid of it. If you were behind it all, why not help us? Why the lies and misdirection?"

As the words fell from Elaine's lips, Aya saw the smile slip from Nora's face. Just for the flash of a fox's tail, so quick she nearly missed it entirely. But in that singular moment, she understood the lies and Nora's actions. Much as she hated the deception, she understood. The taste was bitter in her mouth, like honeyed wine left to ferment too long.

"Because you're still hiding from the spirits."

Nora nodded. "They hunted us until our order was forged of but a handful of souls. Current events, mercifully, have weakened them and so they no longer hold the power they once did. That has not made us complacent, however. We play the roles of others, embrace the lies we whispered. Biding the time until we had what we needed."

"And what's that?" Aya inquired, her stomach dropping as Nora's eyes slid to Elaine. Instinctively, she positioned a little in between the two. "Honoria said that she was the one who manipulated things with the spirits to have Elaine come to Purgatory."

Nora's smile widened, white teeth gleaming in a chilling grin. "And who do you think had a little bird whisper that into her mind?" The smile fell away as Nora leaned against her desk. "Before you go to accuse me of being in league with her, we aren't anymore. Once we learned she had little interest in saving the people of Purgatory, instead sparing only those loyal to her side, then we broke away. That didn't mean we stopped prodding her. She was still very useful in our own goals."

"But that changed, didn't it?" Aya sneered.

The smile fell. "As all things do and we needed to hide. Bide our time a little longer."

Before Aya could stop her, Elaine returned to her side, shoulders square in defiance. "Moving on from the blatant manipulation, what are your goals? You want the goddess freed but you don't want everyone to die. So, you either have a way around that little problem or you're working on it."

"You are correct," Nora conceded dryly. "We do wish our goddess freed. However, we would ideally wish the barrier to remain. The gods would still desire a way to harm her, and the barrier is the only thing keeping them at bay—and it is failing."

"The sickness," Tobias added. "Let me guess, it's not going to stop there?"

"What could be worse?" Alexios chimed in.

A little laugh broke from Nora's lips, like glass shattering upon stone. It bounced off the walls and no one else joined in. As it tapered into silence, Nora waved her hand. A shimmering mirage of Purgatory materialized across the floor and above it, a mirror version of the crack. She snapped her fingers and the crack widened.

"As the barrier weakens, their reach into this land will grow. A sickness is an easy thing to push in, courtesy of Dianera. After that, I would say more physical threats will come. Weather changes, perhaps even the ground opening beneath us—or a fire that will destroy all that we love."

Aya wandered to the edge of the room, eyeing a framed map of Purgatory on the wall. It detailed the territories of every respective party, every road and passage, and even marked the ruins she died in. Her mind churned with Nora's words. She'd believed for so long that she could read the syren, know so easily when she was lying. Now, doubt crowded in where confidence once burned. Uncertainty clawed at her skin.

Aware the others were watching her, she turned around, arms crossed over her chest. "Why the change of heart? They imprisoned her before but now they want her dead."

Nora didn't answer at first, leaving Aya to wonder if all of Nora's games were based off thin evidence. She certainly hoped not, prayed even that there was more to this, and that she understood a little of the game the gods were likely playing. She wondered if it might even offer a little insight into whatever plans Akaria had, whispering the resurrection of Aya's people in exchange for the freedom of her goddess.

"Akaria came to us many years ago. She told us of the gods learning of her love affair with Aurora and becoming fearful of the union, of what a merging of their powers might create—what, apparently, it did create. Something they couldn't, at the time, destroy."

Across the room, Elaine gasped. "A child?"

"Indeed. It was said that the child kept Aurora alive. The gods did try to execute her, but it failed, so banishment was decided, and Purgatory was born. When the child was born, she was not marked as those few first residents were, and so once she was of age, she was able to leave. And she did and she was able to use her magic to hide herself. We don't know much of her life. What we do know is that she married a necromancer—"

"Hold on!" Aya held up a hand. "Necromancers are direct blood descendants of Akaria and you're saying, this daughter of Akaria, married one of them?"

"The child was not blood. She was created from pure magic of both parties, and the breath of life came from Aurora. She might've been carried by Aurora, but she was not a child in the sense of how all other races produce children."

Aya pinched the bridge of her nose, an ache forming behind her eye. Of course, the whole damn thing got messy. The gods were involved and now she had to deal with the fact that one of her ancestors was, whatever that woman was. Her gaze dropped to her hands, trembling a little with the news. She supposed that meant some of Aurora's magic flowed through her veins. It was a disturbing thought, unravelling what she understood of her people.

"Ignoring how weird it still is," said Elaine with a shuddering breath, "you're saying that's without the child and the weakening barrier, the gods are going for her now? But what of Akaria?"

Aya's hand fell away. "She claims there is apparently little she can do for now."

She was beginning to understand why Akaria asked her in the first place. She was a descendant of the child that kept her lover safe before. Perhaps she hoped that history might repeat itself once more. Even though time had diluted her blood, she wondered just how much of Aurora's power was left in her. She certainly never felt it; granted, she wasn't entirely sure what the power was meant to feel like.

A frown returned to her brow. Akaria had known this whole time but hadn't said a damn word. Just one more lie taunting her, a reminder that she was still little more than a pawn in a grand game she was only beginning to understand. Lost in the dark she swore she knew so well, grasping for control in something slipping rapidly through her fingers.

"Ok, so let's confirm a few things so I understand. Your order is trying to free your goddess without the barrier coming down and exposing you and Aurora to the gods who would slaughter us all. You did work with Honoria and her little team until you realized she had no intention of saving anyone but those loyal to her. And the reason the gods are even coming for us now is because Honoria has damaged the barrier enough that they can come in and try to kill one of their own."

Nora nodded.

Aya leaned against the wall and pushed hand through her curls. "Ok, so do you have any idea how to fix this barrier problem? How long we have until we're facing the gods are at our door? Or, better yet, where your goddess is?"

A shadow passed over Nora's face. "I'm afraid I can only answer one of those questions. At the rate of degradation, I suspect we only have two weeks—maybe three—before the barrier falls."

"Well, fuck. "

The room was too fucking small. Aya paced the office, head down, one foot in front of the other. Blood roared in her ears.

Two weeks.

That was it.

Two fucking weeks.

An invisible noose squeezed around her neck. How the fuck was she meant to become strong enough in two God damn weeks? This was madness. She was used to doing the impossible—every day she lived was in defiance of those who wanted her dead—but this new challenge loomed before her. A mountain she wasn't entirely sure she could climb.

Hours later, Sabra appeared, thankfully without her new shadow. No new wounds marked her blue skin, nor was there any indication that she was hurt in any other way.

"Thank you for listening," Sabra murmured as she shut the door.

"It's a hell of a story."

"It's true."

Aya stopped. "I…believe you. It is just a lot to process."

And to learn how little time they had left.

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of Sabra's mouth. "I threw up after they told me."

"I might just do that soon."

Across the room, Alexios's brow furrowed. "One thing is still bothering me. The disease that is afflicting my people, that began five years ago when I met Tobias. Long before the barrier was ever damaged."

Sabra dropped into one of the chairs with a sigh. "As far as we can tell, that was either Honoria's doing or whoever this unknown council member is. I mean, you never were able to trace exactly who was behind it."

Alexios's jaw clamped shut as he shook his head. "I'm going to murder whoever it is."

Aya wondered if turning the vampires into crazed beasts was a two-fold attack; dividing Purgatory whilst also creating a wild army, lacking any kind of leader. Vicious and blood-thirsty, killing machines, completely unbound. She certainly saw the appeal of the chaos, how it reeked of a godly plan behind it.

She cleared her throat. "So, where does this leave us? Does Nora have any plans she wants to include us in on? And how are we going to explain this to Tarla? Because we've been working with her, and she is going to ask questions if we suddenly go quiet."

"Nora is handling it," said Sabra calmly. "I think she means to explain the situation herself. She's heading out in an hour or so. Once we do so, it's going to become very clear to the spirits that the order isn't as dead as they thought."