Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

SELENE

B reathing the fresh, salty air through my nose, my wings arched as I came down for a landing on the rocky outpost in Gambriel. Blonde curls turned with a swift motion the second my claws dug into the stones, followed by a loud feminine shriek as Minka raced towards my shifting form. Calloused palms took shape from my talons and I rose from the boulder, completely naked besides the leather sheath around my thigh containing the Blade of Vita.

"Here, Selene," Minka stated while wrapping me up in her discarded, oversized wool coat. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the bitter cold but she was still smiling. A fresh slash from a blade on her bicep slowly bled through her linen shirt, but before I could question it, she stated, "We have clothes for you inside."

"Thank you, Minks." I shivered against the upcoming winter storm and looked up at the angry sky.

Lately, I hadn't had the best control over my emotions or powers while in my dragon form. Every time those scales took form, it was like the beast started taking over once more, the bloodlust seeping into my pores and demanding I keep taking life after life.

And my magic did the same.

The well within my being had no limit, so when those emotions took control, it was a frenetic influx of power that spread across our continent. Tornadoes, cyclones, earthquakes, and blizzards had increased not only in how often they transpired, but also in how violent they occurred. I didn't know if it was my own magic blessed by Eirwen, Kano, and Evander—the Gods of Ice, Water, and Storm—the High King gaining more power, or if we were just in for a brutal winter at nature's hand. But I knew that another storm was coming, could sense the incoming sleet and hail through that magic, and I needed to get Minka back inside and away from it.

With our elbows interlocked, I let her lead me further inland, where our most recent outpost sat within the Coast of Argyll. Minka's body was warm next to mine, my form absorbing the warmth and light that always seeped from her pores. She was the pure sunshine that the world needed right now.

White Galdur horses knickered outside of the stone keep as High Fae with an affinity for animals raced around with buckets of feed and pulled them back into their stables before the downpour began. Their white coats were slick and gleaming from the ocean's mist. Every time I had the pleasure of being near one, they took the breath from my lungs with their beauty and grace.

Keva had gone to the Castle of Argyll—where my horrid adopted aunt and her husband, the King of Argyll had once ruled—and took the Galdurs from the stables the minute her feet were on Argyllian soil. They were an endangered species, our closest descendent to the Pegasus, and were known to have been blessed with tenacious speed by Aither, the Goddess of Winds. Keva worried not only for her people but also the animals of Ladon and she couldn't bear to watch another species go extinct in her long life span.

Minka's grip tightened as she stepped over a large rock, pulling my attention back to our interlocked arms. "How did you know when I would be arriving?" Glaring at the mark upon her skin, I could feel my blood boiling and scales rising once more. "And what happened to your arm?"

She sent me a beaming smile, "Cord has her ways." Our new Siren friend—and Minka's significant other now—probably heard the news of my flight over the Circadian from her fellow Sirens or sea creatures. "Another run-in with some Argyllian soldiers." She looked down at the healing cut. "Don't worry, they're six feet under now."

"Good." The fire in my blood ceased and my shoulders relaxed. "One less person to destroy."

"There are always more assholes to kill, Sel." We were outside the towering stone building but Minka didn't go for the door; she tugged me down into a swift embrace instead. "I'm so happy you're back."

"Me too, Minks." Wrapping the coat tighter around myself, I sank into Minka's hug. Just that simple act of kindness always brought me closer back down to earth. I'd spent the last month scouring this realm for my Mate and covering myself in the blood of those who couldn't give me the answers I needed. My soul was shredding by the minute with every life I stole and I could feel myself being lost to the insatiable bloodlust that I had been cursed with by our Divine.

But when I was with Minka or Cordelia or Keva or Ric, I could feel those tiny shards being pieced back together in their presence and I knew that I wasn't completely lost.

Not yet, at least.

"It's freezing out, let's go inside and get you in some real clothes," she shivered against me before whipping open the wooden door.

"You're letting all the cold inside!" our human Commander's booming voice shouted over the wind. Ric's hazel eyes lit up when they met mine and he gave me that charming grin as he waved to his seat by the hearth. "Come on, killer." I gave the warrior a soft but fake smile while releasing Minka's hand from my bruising grip. "I've got a nice mug of steaming random shit that Keva put together for you."

Minka grabbed back onto my hand and tightened her hold as she murmured, "Don't actually drink it." She shuddered at the memory of the Queen of Gambriel's newest concoction. "It's repulsive."

My nose crinkled at that.

Keva had been a tremendous help, working hand in hand with Ric to recruit more people into the Rebellion. When we killed King Harrington in Jindera, all those souls he'd trapped with Medies had been freed from his hold. So she not only had an army of the people she'd freed behind her but also a cavalry of those who held the same ideals as her.

Those who wanted a free world—a world worth fighting for.

She was now the Queen of Gambriel, but only after weeks of fighting off the corrupt nobles and High Fae who didn't want a better world. With each short visit I had with her, only about three times within the past few months, there was always a new transition she was implementing into her Kingdom. There would still be endless changes to be made, and laws to be passed and abolished, but she saw the future and how great it could be.

In between all of her duties and appointing new advisors of the crown, she'd taken up making herbal teas that were supposed to be remedies but probably caused more sickness from the haggard flavor of mixed herbs from her lush gardens. But it was an outlet for her elemental magic and her escape when the crown got too heavy.

Fingertips tingling from the sudden temperature change, I grabbed the change of clothes and dressed quickly in a long-sleeved tunic and cozy breeches that Minks had waiting for me. She may have only been my chambermaid for a short period, but she still made it her personal mission to take care of me every step of the way, no matter how much I objected.

I thought I had lost her during the Siege of Jindera but luckily Minka, Ric, and Cordelia were still in the Qalat, knocked unconscious from the powerful blast of the High King's power. Minka would rage through hell itself if I was in trouble and I was thankful that she didn't get a chance to storm through Jindera while I was restrained by that dark magic because the High King would've struck her down in an instant.

And because of my long stints of absence, Minka and Keva had taken over communication with Jindera's King and Queen, Siraj and Mersana Chiru, who had also survived the High King's blast of power. The unbiased rulers had not only given the Rebellion so many resources such as weapons, food, and clothing, but also continued to shelter those not able to fight alongside us.

I popped a kiss atop her golden curls with a thank you and sank into the leather chair in front of the roaring fireplace. Keva's colorful braids swayed across her back as she added another green, leafy herb into the steaming cup before bringing it to me with a wide grin. "I call this one the cold killer."

I took the mug graciously and Minka watched me with wide eyes as I held it under my nose and inhaled the musky, putrid scent. Withholding my reaction, I smiled at the Queen. "Thank you so much, Keva. It smells…" I gulped back the horrid odor filling my nostrils. "Interesting."

"It's really hot, so don't burn your tongue, dear," she chided like the mother she was. Her blue eyes danced in the firelight, the twins to Wesley's, before she sat next to Ric whose tattooed arm slung along the back of it. Her body melted into his easily as I took a large gulp of her tea and forced myself to swallow it.

"This will warm me right up." It tasted like grass with a hint of gritty dirt but I held my mug up in gratitude, "Thank you, Keva."

Ric snorted and Keva elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to grunt in pain but he was smiling down at her. White hot jealousy flared inside of me at their teasing relationship. I didn't know when their relationship developed from friendship to that, but I was happy for them. They both deserved love and happiness but I was also bitter that Emrys wasn't here.

Every touch, giggle, and look of love was just another reminder of how truly alone I felt. There was so much hate in this world, so much pain, but there was only love in this room. I was surrounded by happy couples and my closest friends who kept me grounded, but I couldn't stop the sour feeling of envy lingering within.

The door burst open in a flurry of wind and snow as two cloaked figures stomped out their snowy boots and hurried inside. "Selene, you're here!" A light, feminine voice came from the bigger bundle of scarves and a fur cloak. She pushed her hood down, revealing umber skin, sleek black hair, and striking cinnamon eyes.

"Phaedra," I breathed out as I stood from my seat. Ausra took off her hood as I embraced her wife, the front of my fresh clothes getting damp from her wet cloak. Ausra's brown eyes stared down at me when I released Phaedra, glittering with the same look of love that her twin Evia, my nursemaid from Argyll, used to give me when I was a child.

It was still hard for me to separate the two from each other. Evia no longer walked the mortal plane, her life taken by Radha's hand when I left for Gambriel, but each time Ausra entered the room, my mind was thrown for a loop. I was filled with anger, guilt, resentment, and grief. Just a flurry of confusing emotions because I still felt the sting of betrayal from Evia withholding from me who and what I was.

And Phaedra could sense those emotions simmering inside of me. She wasn't High Fae nor did she have any magical affinity but she had a natural gift with people and could tell I was struggling. The last time I came to visit weeks prior, she had sat me down and told me that I couldn't think of Ausra as Evia, and that it was unfair to Ausra. That she was her own person and not her sister.

And Phaedra was completely right.

Evia and Ausra were twins but vastly different. Ausra was blessed with the healing affinity whereas Evia didn't possess any elemental magic or power like that at all. Ausra had short, blonde hair cropped to her shoulder and more of a quiet, soft demeanor while Evia wore hers long and was very outspoken, making her opinion clear on everything.

Ausra took off her snow-covered coat and hugged me next, "It's so good to see you. You've missed so much."

I squeezed her quickly and kept the fake smile on my face as more of that familiar guilt consumed me. I had missed a lot. There were new people, new alliances and friendships, new enemies, and an endless list of shit I didn't know about. I'd been so caught up in getting Emrys back that nothing else had mattered to me. He had been my only fixation while everyone around me focused on the politics of our realm, freeing those who were enslaved, fighting off the High King's armies that kept appearing in Ladon, and trying to stop his dark magic from spreading further.

I'd been selfish but I also didn't know how to stop it.

He consumed my every thought and breath. Each moment without him was like breathing in glass, its jagged shards cutting into my throat and lungs with every inhale. I was torn in two, having to choose between helping our realm as the High King got stronger, or finding and saving my Mate.

Sinking into the plush leather chair, I gripped the hot cup of tea and hoped its warmth would eventually bleed into my soul. Cordelia was pacing in the corner, still not acknowledging any of the conversations around her, a matching undrunk mug in her brown hand. A goblin named Crodic sat at the desk, his green fingers tracing over the map of the Circadian where Cordelia had left her markings as she burned a hole through the carpet with her booted feet.

I'd only gotten to speak with Crodic a handful of times but he knew the ins and outs of Gambriel's library like the back of his moss-colored hand. He had access to endless maps and books that Keva's country kept stored away at the command of King Harrington. But now that he was dead and Keva ruled in his place, those records were ours to freely use.

He'd known Igor, the goblin who had helped me find a book on symbols when I stayed in the Gambriellian Castle. Igor had been the longest-working goblin within the library, his knowledge invaluable to us, but during all of the chaos of this fucked up war, he had gone missing.

Cordelia and Crodic were both in their own worlds, worrying about the increasing numbers of Sirens and sea creatures being turned by Medies . The goblin took a long drink out of his own cup, grimacing at the taste before his black eyes locked onto me. He gave me a kind smile and a nod that I returned before he focused back on the map, making his own marks upon it.

Minka grabbed the mug from Cordelia's grasp and set it on the wooden table that was covered in herbs and flowers, different glass containers scattered about. Cordelia's eyes met my own with a surprised expression as she shook out her blue ringlet hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't even hear you come in, Selene."

I waved her off, "We're all very preoccupied right now with everything."

The Siren grabbed Minka by the waist while she was tidying up and dragged her over to the fire where she made her sit and wrapped her in a red woolen blanket. "Sit, darling," she stroked Minka's cheek and that tender touch had my heart aching all over again. "You need to rest."

"Says you, Miss I-like-to-run-circles-around-the-room-until-I-pass-out-from-exhaustion," Minka shot back with a scrunch of her nose and Crodic smiled but kept his eyes on the map, holding up a green hand to cover his grinning mouth.

Cordelia ignored the jab and placed her hand on Minka's shivering thigh. "Any news, Sel?"

Shaking my head quickly, I took a rapid sip of the bitter liquid and held back my own grimace.

Someone needed to tell Keva that this concoction was horrendous but I already had enough bad news that I needed to relay to her. "I only got answers out of the Commander in the Umbran Court but it was very weird and cryptic." Chills went up my spine when I played back the echoing chorus he had rasped at me. "I also tried the tracking spell again like Keva suggested but the High King's new power is too strong and cloaked Emrys' magic." Looking back down at my lithe hands, I could still feel the ghost of those burns lingering. "His magic burned me ."

Minka's gray eyes went wide and I shivered against the painful memory of my seared flesh. "What answers did you get at least?"

"He said a lot of odd things. The first thing was ‘Chaos ends where it begins. All will ultimately answer for their sins.' And then something happened—it was like he was possessed, but not by Medies . At least, I think… I don't know," I sighed and folded my arms over my chest. "It just… It felt different. Darker somehow. More vile."

Almost like it was from another world, but I didn't let that part slip out.

Closing my eyes, I conjured the memory of his convulsing form and repeated back his chant. "‘The Devourer of Light will come for you. The Destroyer of Worlds will come. They will come with eternal night.' At the last second, he said my Mate was here in Ladon before dying."

"‘Chaos ends where it begins?' And what sins did he mean?" Ric repeated and looked at Keva with questions in his hazel eyes. "The Destroyer of Worlds? Isn't that the name of the Ruler of Infernum?"

Nodding, I said, "Yes but if the High King binds himself to the Crown of Daemonium, wouldn't he be the new Ruler of Infernum?"

"I don't know if that's how it works." The Queen of Gambriel leaned forward, the large tunic that was not hers bunching at her waist as she repeated, "‘Chaos ends where it begins. All will ultimately answer for their sins.'" I've heard that before, but I can't remember where." Her light brown skin gleamed in the firelight as she tapped her fingers against the wooden table.

"At least we know he's in Ladon, right?" Minka asked, always looking on the bright side of things just like the sunshine she embodied.

Cordelia nodded, "That narrows it down to this continent, but what about the Gods? Where has he locked them away? Are they even in this realm?"

"I was able to track down some of their children that survived after I burned down the Umbran Castle." I tried not to think about the iron cages that lined the walls within the Umbran Castle's lowest level. How stuffed inside each one was another child of our Gods. Their wings were tied and bound behind their backs and they couldn't even stand up fully in the cage. Muzzles adorned their faces, the leather straps digging into their scales with every breath.

It was barbaric and heart-wrenching.

Some had only been down there for a few months to a couple of years, and those were the lucky ones. The others… Well, they hadn't talked all that much when I freed them but I could only assume the worst given the countless scars and lacerations.

"They're still out searching for their parents but unable to sense the Gods' locations." I took a small sip of the tea and forced myself to swallow it. "They said that it feels different from when they were cast out years ago. They know they're alive and in this realm, but not the exact location."

"That narrows it down to the entire world," Ric huffed with a cross of his inked arms.

"We can access them in this world." I sat up in my seat, "It does narrow it down, if only slightly."

Elric nodded in agreement at the same moment Minka cleared her throat and nudged Cordelia with her shoulder. We all turned and watched as the Siren's head drooped. "There's something else."

Setting my mug down, my voice came out worried. "What is it?"

"I still can't locate my parents, and," she shuddered at the memory of something horrid, "the darkness is spreading and growing in power. I almost lost Nerida the other day but I was able to pull her out of it at the last moment." The Siren's cerulean eyes were alarmed, "It's in our ocean, our land, everywhere. "

"Fuck." Shaking my head, I felt like it was going to explode. There was nowhere for us to run and hide, and the High King was growing stronger with every passing day. He wasn't bound to the Crown of Daemonium yet but that didn't stop his power from spreading throughout this realm at an exceeding pace.

"There are still some books on Medies in that hidden office in the Castle of Gambriel," Keva countered. "I know you need to find him, Selene." I closed my eyes as she spoke, not wanting the hurt to show through my seemingly strong exterior. "But we're losing more people and we won't have anyone to help in our fight if they're all taken by that magic. The High King has to be building an army of some sort with all the souls he's been taking, or if the rumors of him trying to build an alliance with Insulam are true."

I didn't know what rumors Keva was referring to but I knew of all the souls we'd lost and how those numbers were growing by the second. But if the High King was trying to build an alliance with the small southern island of Insulam, that was news to me. With my studies, I never learned much about that little island but I did know that it was ruled by High Fae with no ties to Ladon or Atrium.

Until now, apparently.

Keva went on, "We need to be preparing for the possibility of another war, or at the very least trying to find a way to keep him from taking more of our people."

My being felt fractured in two, a jagged, rough line down the middle from this unending chaos. Emrys was everything to me and I couldn't lose him too, but the Queen of Gambriel was right. We couldn't keep losing the people of Ladon, or there would be no more Ladon.

And I had a feeling that war was truly coming.

"So we go and see if there's another way to stop him?"

"We might be able to find answers on where Emrys is too." Keva's eyes softened as if she could see my internal struggle of choosing between Ladon and finding my Mate. Ric's arm cocooned around her as she melted into him once more. "We can't reach the High King yet but maybe there's something else we can do to slow his takeover."