Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

SELENE

W ithin the deepest pits of my fractured soul, I could feel this place calling to me. A deep and beautiful vibration filled my being as I inhaled that pine-scented air and closed my eyes, basking in it. I'd never considered home to be a physical place but more of a mindset, a feeling of welcomeness that enveloped you. But here, with my feet sinking into Menodore's soil, I finally knew the feeling of coming home.

I knew I belonged here.

The night was cold and foggy, the lumbering pine trees dripping with dew. Compared to the portraits I was shown, there were many changes within Menodore's sprawling land, but the ways the stars touched the pines remained the same. We were right along the border of Gambriel and Menodore, endless fog looming in front of us and stopping us from exploring the cursed lands.

Despite the foreboding presence lingering in the air, I could still feel this place calling to me just like in every dream and nightmare. A beacon of light and hope called me home, telling me to claim this country once more. The muddied ground beneath my bare feet was mangled, decaying roots and broken stones cutting my flesh but its withering energy still reverberated through me.

Golden stars littered the sky, perfectly aligning in the midnight sky, but I could barely make out their formation through the cloudy fog that inhabited Menodore's now-cursed lands. A succession of thunder permeated the air as the earth shook and large scale-covered wings stopped beating as the Gods and their children landed around me.

Everyone was silent, golden eyes looking at the rotting terrain of Menodore. Rocks and debris shifted as Haco's taloned hand swept through the rubble, his onyx wings blending into the darkness. I wondered if he could feel his magic lingering within the earth, his essence like a trail from crafting this world alongside the other Gods.

Just like the Book of Divine had stated, none of the Gods nor their children had any recollection of a Godly war taking place within the realm of the living. They didn't remember creating our world or that they'd once had free reign to roam it as they please, no Blood Oath with a mortal needed.

Reombarth's ethereal voice echoed, pulling me from my thoughts as her purple scales shifted in the murky moonlight, "It is time."

Everything was on instinct, my intuition leading me as I withdrew the Blade of Vita from my side. Shivers went up my spine, traveling across my shoulders and down my arms like a phantom touch. That vigorous graze was guiding me, no, urging me to heed its command.

I let the shining blade glide gently against my open palm and watched the golden blood drip onto the cracked ground and dissolve into the earth. The scent of pine carried on a swift breeze, my dark brown hair with it. Squeezing my hand into a fist, the rich liquid cascaded quickly as I breathed in and out through the vibrations that were getting stronger, more potent than before.

Metallic blood pooled from the gash, the parched earth absorbing it with fervor. The shivers worked up into tremors, their chaotic quakes making my teeth clack against one another. It felt as if the whole realm was shaking but I locked eyes with Haco who was completely still, not moving a single muscle.

His golden gaze filled with pride at the sight before him as the cursed fog surrounding Menodore lifted and revealed the broken kingdom of my family.

Our family.

Tears blurred my vision as my heart began to ache in that sweet moment. After twenty years of despair and chaos and vile monsters plaguing this land, there wasn't much left except for the rubble and decay of those who dared to enter this forgotten kingdom.

The rotted soil pulsed beneath my bare feet as lines of gold moved throughout the ground. camellias, with their radiant pink petals, sprouted at the same moment as winterberry shrubs shot up, the red berries practically bursting from the vines. Spindly evergreen trees became plush once more as fresh needles pushed from the bark, their intoxicating scent surrounding us.

"The land is returning," Ragnar, the God of Earth, intoned in a deep timbre. Large birds with gray feathered wings soared overhead and rejoiced as they circled the great pine trees that were once withered into nothing but naked trunks. He gave me a wide smile, fanged teeth looking absolutely terrifying before his foliage magic surged forth, a lush green meadow bursting around him despite the frost.

"And so is its queen," Haco pronounced with a large step into the clearing now filled with bright wildflowers of every color imaginable. The land burst with life and completely disregarded the wintry season's bitter cold. Most of these plants would wither and die in this frigid temperature, only blossoming in the spring.

But with my golden blood pulsating throughout the soil, life would prosper here once more despite the elements. It'd been over twenty years since the essence of life had been present within Menodore, and now it was awake once again. Birds continued to chirp and whistle as they flew from tree to tree, searching for the best place to call home.

Their sweet symphony brought a trembling smile to my lips as a light dusting of snow rolled in off the Circadian breeze and coated my loosening braid along with the freshly grown grass.

Stepping forward, I could see stone arches off in the distance, still sitting high and proud among the ruins of Menodore's border. Without even noticing, my feet kept moving towards the boulders until I came right up to them, my healed hand tracing the letters in the old fae language reading:

Fortis Et Fidus

There were two dragons carved upon each side of the lettering as if they were holding it up with their outstretched claws. The arches were warm to the touch despite the winter coming in full force. A deep voice filled my mind, so solid and pure and full of love. I'd heard that voice countless times as a young child before the Siege of Menodore. My heart beat faster as I repeated the translated saying I'd heard my father chant time and time again as a child. " Strong and faithful. "

As a Choryrth and the King of Menodore, he had made a vow, like every ruler before him, to be strong for his people and faithful to his country. Tears welled in my eyes along with the memory that the Sibyl showed me of my father defending his country and his people in the siege before being murdered at the hands of the High King.

He had died for what he loved, for what he believed in.

I had made no such vow but I could feel it in my bones, feel it in my blood that I was meant to protect this land and the people that would soon inhabit it once more. I was a Choryrth through and through, as was Emrys the night we accepted the Mating Bond. Emrys was my Mate, my love that I had sworn to honor, but Menodore was my country.

My parents' country and my home .

The Sibyl had said a sacrifice of love would have to be made to save this realm and I didn't know if I could make that kind of sacrifice again, even for the country my family died to protect. I knew I was strong enough to save my Mate, especially with the Gods at my side—but when it came down to it, would I be strong enough to save the entirety of the realm at the expense of my Mate's soul?

My stomach churned as that hateful voice lingering in the back of my mind spoke up, At the expense of Ric's soul?

No matter how firmly I tried to center my thoughts on a calculated plan, a true decision to appease the Fates, my mind kept drifting back to the fate of Ladon and Atrium. What would happen to the world if I decided to defy fate and hide away both Emrys and Ric, with no sacrifice taking place?

What would happen then?

Or was that even an option?

My head was a muddled mess despite months of preparing, thoughts reeling around in circles and making this moment in Menodore bittersweet.

A dark shadow flew over us, wings flapping in the icy air towards the north, pulling my view from the arches of Menodore. "We have to go, Selene," the Goddess Aither pronounced, her immense power allowing the dragons to travel quicker on the wind. Her golden scales were one shade lighter than the gold of our eyes, with stripes of opalescent blue raking down her sides. Her long neck turned upwards, towards the almost full moon coasting our sky. "Bruma will be here by tomorrow."

Clenching my fists, I fought back the continuous tears that were building in my eyes. "Okay…" I whispered back, barely loud enough for any to hear. Tracing the warm stones with my fingertips once more, I tried to let that warmth flood my soul. Tried to feel any ounce of closeness to my family but much to my disappointment, nothing came.

I didn't know what to expect from coming here and awakening the land once more. And I couldn't stop the disappointment from filling me, like there was something else, something more . I didn't know if it was more answers, another prophecy, or for the Sleepless Dead to rise the moment my blood hit the dirt.

Tipping my head back, I looked up at the clear night sky glittering with stars. My healed palm still lightly trickled blood, hitting the newly awakened earth. The instructions were vague at best; the book on Menodore's cursed warriors was more about their stories of battle and how they came to be rather than their awakening, because my father's line was presumed dead.

It was another shot in the dark, another beckoning chance at hope as I called out the words from the leatherbound book, "Sleepless Dead, I call upon you to fulfill your oath!"

There was no rustling in the wind or soft whispers of response. It would've been utter silence if not for the wintry animals bounding about. My words were clear and precise, intent fully present but even that wasn't enough to awaken my father's cursed warriors. I didn't think it was possible to feel more disheartened, but this was just another chip at my battered soul.

Another lost shot at hope.

Haco's voice was a deep timbre, the earth vibrating beneath my boots as he spoke, "Come little moonlight."

I let out a shaky breath, another tear hitting the still blossoming soil as I turned to follow the King of Gods.

Time had run out and we still didn't have Emrys or the answers on how to defeat the High King while the Crown of Daemonium was within his grasp. We had the prophecy from the Fates, the Gods and their children, armies teeming with thousands of warriors, and a shit ton of hope.

But even that wouldn't be enough because daunting choices still had to be made, and I didn't know if I was ready to make them.

Or if the one I planned to make was the right one.