Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

S andrin was alive around them, abuzz with activity as they entered. Rose hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been that it, too, had been impacted by the mist plague while they traveled. It had been over a week. She wasn’t sure what news they had missed once they’d left Loch. Being back in a city brought other creature comforts like books to choose from, easy access to a forge, and, of course, a bed.

The forest floor hadn’t been as accommodating to her new relationship as she would have liked. Even with the discomforts, the thrill of waking up next to Luc every morning wasn’t waning. What little time they had alone left her breathing easier. His steady support grounded her in a way she’d never before experienced.

Luc caught her staring, and she quickly turned her attention back to the city. She wasn’t embarrassed—she just wasn’t one to gush over her feelings. They would have time to figure out their communication style. They would have time to be together after Aterra was dealt with. The pull she felt toward him was only growing stronger. It was a physical force at times, encompassing all her senses—even her magic.

They wasted no time heading straight for the Vesten Quarter. It was funny that they called it that. The Norden Quarter, the Suden—it implied that the city was divided neatly among the four fae courts. It was clear that this naming convention was created by the fae given its complete disregard for the fact that humans also lived here. Sandrin was a city run by humans. The fae courts only held a few buildings in each respective section of the city.

Her mind roamed to what Luc had learned of Carter’s magic. Spirits—Carter could see spirits. Luc unraveling Carter’s mysteries was a surprise. Not so much the secret itself—that fit perfectly. No, the interesting part was that Luc had been the one to pull the information from the hesitant Vesten Point.

She bit her lip as they rode. Would she have figured it out without Luc’s breakthrough? It didn’t matter, she guessed. She knew it now, and it felt like exactly what she had been missing. If flame and shift were two sides of the same coin, life and death—existence—was the cycle on which they connected. She may not have known precisely what was missing in her evaluation of the Vesten Point’s magic, but she had been right that there was a third piece, like the spike she wanted to use to sit between the double-headed ax she would make him.

The Vesten library loomed before them. They needed to conduct their research quickly while continuing to practice uniting their power. With Carter, the Compass Points were instantly recognized and ushered through private halls into a large open room filled with books and shelves. He led them with an expertise that spoke to years working in the stacks before assuming his position as a Compass Point.

“Will the Vesten elders be unhappy that you shared these histories?” Rose couldn’t help but ask as they walked. The library staff had been cautious noting the fae leaders, but were eager to please the Vesten Point by letting them through. They were certainly unaware of what texts the group intended to read.

“I find this to be the perfect situation in which we should ask forgiveness later, instead of permission.” Carter shrugged.

Guiding them to a specific corner, Carter let his finger brush along multiple spines before pulling a handful of well-worn journals down. “Here they are,” he said, handing volumes to each of them.

“You don’t know which one we should read?” Rose asked.

Carter shook his head. “It will be faster if we each start reading one and share any interesting passages. These five cover Kenna’s tenure as Vesten Point. That is where we should start if we’re looking for information about the Covenant.”

Rose took her volume, sat on the floor, her back against a shelf, and carefully leafed through the pages.

“You trust us to read these documents?” Juliette asked. A variation on Rose’s line of questioning, but an important difference. Carter’s actions indicated a new level of conviction in the goal to unite the Compass Points. One Rose wasn’t sure Juliette had yet reached.

“I think I’ll take a page out of Rose and Luc’s book.” Carter shrugged again as he flipped through the pages himself.

Juliette eyed Luc suspiciously before taking the volume she was given and going to find a chair.

“Shall we reconvene in a few hours and discuss any pertinent entries?” Carter asked.

“Sounds like a plan,” Rose said, barely looking up as she started reading.

Five Days After the Covenant

The gods were clear in their direction, but I felt I was the only one who heard them. The others would have surely objected otherwise. Today was the Lake Refilling Ceremony. It was only days since the Covenant, the day of our creation, and this ceremony would cement our relationship with our makers. The gods and fae leaders gathered at the newly formed Compass Lake. A ritual was performed with the elements. For this first ceremony, the gods took our places. Aurora shot the lake water like a geyser into the sky, and Aterra, Zrak, and Lord Arctos used their earth, wind, and fire elements to reinvigorate the lakebed. From here out, the fae leaders, the Compass Points, would be expected to take these actions as our commitment to the Covenant.

“This is what you will do once a year to honor the gift we bestow upon you,” Zrak said. “In addition to a piece of our magic, we also grant each of you an artifact to carry on this continent. They are amplifiers of our power, given to show our favor and assist you as leaders.”

“What are these tokens?” the Suden Point asked.

Lord Aterra stepped forward and handed a ring to the Suden Point. It was shaped like a triangle, with a dark onyx stone as the centerpiece.

Lord Arctos stepped toward me, placing a coin in my hand.

Lady Aurora stepped toward the Norden Point and placed a dagger in his.

Lord Zrak stepped toward the Osten Point and handed her an empty vial.

We all said our thanks, though I suspect none of us knew precisely what these artifacts were for. What else were we supposed to do? All I could think about was finding somewhere to establish my court—far from Compass Lake. I would travel here once a year if needed for the ceremony, but I wouldn’t be tied to these other fae while they figured out their powers.

“I hear your whispers, each of the fae leaders amongst their court,” Zrak continued. “You mean to leave this area. You mean to establish territories for your courts and rule over them, fighting any who seek to enter the land you claim.” Zrak had looked to Aurora and Lord Arctos. “That is not the continent we would have.”

I held my breath. We had all heard the whispers. Lord Zrak was not long for this world. He would make his sacrifice any day now. It may not be the continent he would have, but it would be the one he got.

“You are made to serve the continent together. Not to build walls and go to war to claim territories from one another,” Aurora said as she stepped forward. “You must remember: The Covenant obligates you with responsibility as much as us.” She gave a solemn nod and gestured to the lake. “You will live here.” Her voice rang loud and clear.

I bristled immediately. I couldn’t help it. The lake was too small for four fae to establish their territories.

As if reading my thoughts, Lord Arctos spoke. “You will not need space. You will not have your own domain over which to rule. You will each be granted your cardinal direction position on the lake. That is the only place on the continent that each of the four fae courts should consider their own.”

“Where will we live?” I asked timidly. We hadn’t been presented with many opportunities to question our creators.

“The fae will spread far and wide across the continent. They will live among the humans—intermingled—in villages and cities.”

The Compass Points looked uneasily amongst ourselves. I had spent the last few days planning the Vesten’s moves—planning what place we could call our own on this continent. Members of my court had roamed on our behalf and found a wild forest on the continent’s western edge. We were planning to make it our own. It was defensible. It was beautiful. Why wouldn’t Lord Arctos want this for us?

“Why would you keep us together in this way?” the Suden Point asked, echoing my thoughts.

Zrak answered. “Your purpose is to hold us in balance. Should the need arise…” Zrak looked at his fellow gods. His gaze lingered on each of them. “You would need to hold one of us that may seek to unbalance the continent accountable.”

And how are we supposed to control a god, I wondered. It seemed an impossible task, even for four gods-gifted fae.

“You will wonder how you can achieve that,” Zrak continued. “But that is why you must all be here at Compass Lake. To uphold your task, you must work together. The powers we bestow you with must intertwine—a bond that strengthens and does not break. They must be as united as the water in the lake, unable to tell which drop has touched which shoreline.” Zrak looked at each fae leader. “Lest you think you can ignore us, we will never be far from you. Your power is connected to the lake. The land here will be your seat of power—this is where you will be strongest.” He paused. “And we’ll know if you weaken,” he added as an aside. “You cannot allow walls to be built nor battles to be fought among the courts. If you do, all will be lost when the time comes.”

This was exactly what Rose had been looking for. No, it wasn’t a list of steps they needed to take to capture Aterra, but the imagery was clear. Rose could tell that their individual powers were stronger when they were using them around each other. This was evidenced by the fact that they had made progress on closing the hole in Loch together, before Rose had inadvertently pulled Juliette’s magic. How many times had Luc said he tried to close it himself? It wasn’t until their magic was working side by side that any movement occurred. Each of their magics had been strengthened simply by the fact that all four Compass Points were wielding their element.

Zrak painted a picture here where all the Compass Points’ elements were as merged as Rose and Juliette’s shared wind. Their power should be so tangled together that it would be impossible to tell which element had come from which wielder.