Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

R ose pulled out her compass as the group readied to leave early the following morning. Carter glared at her as he secured his saddlebags while she filled Arie in on their first experience tracking Aterra.

“I can’t believe he was at my cabin!” Arie said.

“Your cabin?”

“Yes—you were there. It’s not like there were others around to get confused about. My cabin is on the western edge of the continent. It was where I went to be alone—to hide away from everything.”

Rose lifted her hand to cover a small smile as she thought of Aterra in Aiden’s body, standing possessively in front of the fire when they burst in. “I think you might have to fight him for it.”

“This is not funny.”

“I would generally agree—a rogue god upsetting the continent’s balance isn’t funny—but somehow, him hiding out at your all-Arie alone-time cabin is kind of entertaining.”

Arie flew away from her as she looked down at the compass again to establish where they were going. Hopefully, he was going to talk to Carter. Someone needed to explain why they’d left dinner so abruptly and what they now needed to ask of him. She didn’t think it should come from her.

“It’s pointing northeast,” she said as Luc approached. “And, yes, that was my fault he flew away, but in my defense, it was funny.”

“You’re in a good mood,” Luc said as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“It’s good to have him back.” She tracked Arie’s flight as he landed on Carter’s shoulder. Good. “Even if he doesn’t have all the answers, having him with us is comforting.” Her face must have shown her concern as she glanced at Luc.

“I’m fine,” he said.

She wasn’t sure about that. He had convinced himself he was Aterra’s son—birthed to strengthen Aterra’s power to a level that the Compass Points or other gods couldn’t control. “Don’t carry it alone,” she said. He needed to work through some things independently, and she trusted him to discuss them when he was ready.

He changed the topic. “Didn’t we have questions for him while traveling? I can’t think of any of them now that he’s here, though,” Luc said.

“That reminds me, I did have one.” She looked at Arie. “Arie, I’m sorry. Can I borrow you for another moment?”

Reluctantly, the bird flew back to her. “This had better be important.”

“I think it is, but I don’t think you’ll like it,” she said as they finished saddling their horses and mounted. Her voice was loud enough for the others to hear, though she paused as she figured out how to ask Arie such a sensitive question.

“Do you know…” She considered her words carefully. Arie hadn’t shown much of the pain he carried during their time together, but she knew this topic would hurt. “Do you know what happened to Aurora?” she asked, taking a direct approach.

Startled, Arie flapped his wings, the left tip brushing her face. “What’s this about?” he said only to her.

Rose looked at Luc. She caught his nod and decided it was safe to share even if the Compass Points were listening. “We were talking more about Aterra’s artifact.”

“ Ahh, ” Arie said. “ You wondered how long Aterra has had it? And what else he might have done with it? ”

“Pretty much.”

“ What made you think he used it on Aurora? ”

Rose shrugged. “When I realized that Aterra’s artifact was the ring he used to stab Luc at the Solstice Ball. It wasn’t the first time you’d encountered it. You knew what it was. The method of his attack confirmed for you that it was Aterra inhabiting Aiden’s body.”

Arie ruffled his feathers. “ Unfortunately, you’re right. ”

“What happened?” she asked.

“ I’m not sure I could bring myself to tell you, ” Arie said. “ I think that I could show you, though. ”

“Show me? You don’t have mind shadow…” Rose meant it as a statement, but she couldn’t help that it sounded like a question by the end. What did she know about what the Vesten god was capable of?

“ You’re right. I don’t have the Suden gift, but I think I could focus enough on a memory that you would see it if you tried to evaluate my power. This is a strong one for me. There are few times I felt like I failed to protect those I loved. Once when Zrak sacrificed himself for the continent, and again when Aterra took Aurora. They’ve left their mark on my magic. ”

“You want me to evaluate you?” Rose wasn’t sure she understood. “The only time I’ve seen full scenes like that while making a weapon was for Luc.” She glanced at him as he got on his horse. “I thought I only saw his memories because of his power.”

“ I can’t be sure. And if this doesn’t work, I’m sure Luc could see it, but I’d like you to try. I think you saw scenes while evaluating his magic because of its strength and how much those individual scenes make his magic what it is today. I think it would be good for you to test this theory. ”

She had enough trouble evaluating Luc’s power—she wasn’t sure she was ready for a god’s. But would Arie recommend something he didn’t think she was capable of? She didn’t think so. “Okay. Just to be clear, do you want me to make you a weapon?” Rose asked as they started their ride. She knew academically that he had a human form, but she was so unused to the concept, she couldn’t imagine him with a sword.

“ I don’t want you to make me a weapon. I want you to want to make me one. It would be a nice token of our friendship. Think of it as a violent friendship bracelet. ”

Rose snorted a laugh as they rode out of Sandrin.

They took the same road east that intersected with the northern route—the one she, Luc, and Arie had traveled together before. This trip turned out to be a big circle of the southern part of the continent. Aurora’s compass still guided them. It started to shift north as they came upon the crossroads. They stopped for the night, a half day’s ride from the turn that would lead them to Bury. Instinctively, she knew the road and the journey they would be taking—Arie seemed to know as well.

“We’re going back to Lake of the Gods,” Rose said as they set up camp for the evening.

“You didn’t even have to see the memory?”

“I was guessing. You’re just confirming. I still need to know why. What happened?”

“Do you need me to help with a makeshift forge?” Carter asked as they settled the campsite.

“ I am the Lord of Flame, ” Arie said haughtily to all of them. “ I am sure I can handle it. ”

Rose rolled her eyes. So much for Arie and Carter bonding. The Vesten Point, dismissed, walked back toward the campfire to help Luc and Juliette with the meal. She unsaddled some of the steel she’d taken from the Suden forge. “Do you need me to explain what to do?”

“No, but I do think Luc should be over here.”

“He’s helping prepare the meal. Why do you want him here?”

“I assume he hasn’t let you further evaluate his magic?”

“You assume correctly,” Rose said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I think it would help him to watch this.”

“You think you throw off that much magic, Arie?” She cocked her hip to the side and put a hand on it. It was all bravado because she was undoubtedly nervous to search Arie’s power. “If I don’t pass out from the magic of a god, how could I pass out from the magic of a powerful Suden?”

Rose understood conceptually, but she was afraid this might backfire. If she couldn’t handle Arie’s power, wouldn’t that solidify Luc’s point?

“Powerful Suden indeed,” Arie said. “I see you’re nervous. Don’t be. You can do this.”

Her gaze shifted away from her work setting up the forge to Arie. “You haven’t seen how tired I’ve been after finishing the weapons for the Osten and Vesten Points.”

“Ah, but you finished them. That’s my point. You have more strength than you know.”

Not wanting to talk about this further without Luc present, Rose called him over. “Can you watch us? Arie asked that you join.”

Luc shrugged. “Sure.”

“Alright, let’s get started.”

They didn’t have to wait long with the Vesten god fanning the flame of the makeshift forge. The fire burned so hot Rose wasn’t sure she could stand close enough to work. “Could we tone it down a little, oh Lord of Flame?”

Luc coughed to cover what she was sure was a laugh.

“ Hmph, ” Arie said as he pulled back the heat.

Rose sank into her magic. She was getting faster. In this case, she wasn’t sure if it was the strength of Arie’s power or that she had been using her abilities regularly for the last few weeks.

She felt the flame and reached for it with her power as she fell into the rhythm, working the metal before her. Her ethereal magic sprawled around them. With Luc and Arie present, it seemed unsure of where to go. The pull from Luc was always strong. But he hadn’t agreed to be evaluated—Arie had. Rose sent her magic spiraling toward the black bird. His magic smelled of the forest floor and summer rain. It was like a run through the woods on a hot day, ending with a dive into a cool pond.

Fire flared around her—maybe not a cool pond, but relaxing into a hot spring. That suited the heat of his magic better.

Her magic sank into Arie’s bird form, searching for the heart of his power. Flames guided her forward. They were warm but not hot—she could walk through this fire and not burn. It kept her on track, pushing her toward a goal, a memory.

She finally arrived at an immense fire, though she stood in a hallway of flame already. Carter’s magic may have been a cozy campfire in the woods, but Arie’s inferno could only loosely be labeled as a bonfire. It was huge and untamed. It spat and hissed as it sent sparks in all directions. One landed in her palm.

The fire touched her skin, but she knew she was safe.

She peered at the spark. It didn’t go out once it touched her. It kept flaring. A scene played out in the dying light’s yellows, reds, and oranges. Rose blew on it, coaxing it to burn brighter. The flame expanded, bringing the scene to life.

Three stone tables sat in the depths of a mountain cavern.

A test for each remaining god to claim the vial, holding their magic, atop them.

Aterra’s failure…the results more devastating than Zrak had led Arie to believe. A mountain explosion—a volcanic eruption from wild and unbalanced magic. Flashes of red cascaded—Arie and Aurora barely made it out of the cavern as it filled. Aterra, as usual, slipping away beneath the earth…

Later. The scene flashed to something new.

Arie shook his head as he and Aurora arrived at the crater that used to be Mount Bury. No matter how often they returned to it, it always looked sad. Jagged features dotted the crater’s bottom. A single larger formation reached up in the center. This must be the external representation of the cavern in the heart of the mountain.

“I can’t believe the test failed so spectacularly,” he said.

“I don’t know if we can consider it a failure. It did point out that one of us was striving for imbalance. That is what Zrak intended.”

“I guess…” Arie started.

“We can’t give up.” Aurora took his hand and squeezed it. “I know you’re disheartened that we haven’t been able to find Aterra, but we can’t stop looking.”

Arie nodded, though he wasn’t sure he agreed. If Aterra didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t be found. Arie wasn’t sure what they could do about it. He would follow Aurora anywhere, though, and she knew it. “Humans and fae used to come from all over the continent to the temple atop Mount Bury. What have we done to it?”

Aurora conceded the point. “I’m not sure we could have expected such a violent explosion from the test.”

“Is there nothing we can do to make this better? Aterra would be the one—” He cut himself off at the thought. Aterra’s earth magic would have been precisely what they needed to clean up this mess. Too bad he was also the one who’d caused it.

Contemplating his words, Aurora searched the crater. She seemed to find what she was looking for as she said, “I think I can do something.” She stepped away from him and focused on whatever she had identified.

Arie peered into it with her, trying to see what she was looking at. Ah, he saw some water droplets. Barely. A mountain spring must have found its way into the bottom of the barren and desolate crater.

She called her water. Aurora was calm and commanding as she drew more than droplets from the springs beneath the mountain. They stood on the crater’s edge, and the water filled the empty basin before Arie’s eyes, covering all of the rock features.

“Almost…” she murmured to herself as she worked. She opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the lake she’d created. It was deep blue and beautiful—a marvel.

“It’s missing something,” she said. Closing her eyes again, she pushed the water away from a section of the lake. As the water moved, the large rock formation became visible. Arie understood what she was doing—exposing an island. The water rushed around the newly excavated land, the small hill its distinguishing feature.

“I think that’s much better,” Aurora said.

Arie took a deep breath. The mountain air smelled a bit fresher already, with the lake water covering all manner of their sins. “I agree.” His hand slipped into Aurora’s, their fingers intertwining. They’d admitted their feelings for each other long ago. It was a comfort to have her strength when he started to worry about the continent’s future.

Zrak was gone.

He had planned for so much, but in hindsight, Arie realized he’d told them too little.

From the test, they knew Aterra had done something to unbalance the continent—trying to bring himself more power—though they couldn’t confirm how. As Zrak had warned, it was already too late when they proved he was disrupting the balance.

The Compass Points, the fae leaders they had created, were supposed to stop him, but they were more isolated than ever, each court pettier than the next. How could they be the continent’s salvation? No, it was up to Arie and Aurora to do something.

“Well, isn’t this a horrible picture?” a deep voice drawled behind them.

Turning, Arie saw Aterra walking the crater’s edge. “Where have you been?”

“Surprised I wasn’t destroyed in that explosion you caused?” The Suden god looked at his cuticles like he had no care in the world.

“That’s not quite how?—”

“No matter,” Aterra cut him off. “I’m sorry to disappoint. I’ve been looking for you.” His gaze moved to Aurora.

The hair on Arie’s arms stood on end. He didn’t like wherever this was going.

“We’ve been looking for you too,” Aurora said, stepping toward Aterra. “We need to discuss the results of the test.”

Aterra waved away her comment, stepping closer to her. “Zrak wasn’t thinking clearly when he set that up. He didn’t know what he was doing.”

“That’s not—” Arie tried to interrupt. He’d been there when Zrak had created the test. He’d known exactly what he was doing. Aterra ignored him, moving closer still to Aurora.

Arie was increasingly uncomfortable with Aterra’s proximity. Aurora was a goddess, though. She could hold her own.

“The test did what it was supposed to,” Aurora continued. “It exposed that you’ve created an imbalance. You need to come clean about what you’ve done so that we can work to rectify it.”

“Isn’t that what your precious fae are supposed to do? Let them worry about the imbalance. That was the plan, after all.”

Aurora sucked in a breath, and her eyes narrowed. “You agreed to the plan. Submit yourself to the Compass Points if that’s what you prefer. We need to take care of this before things get worse. We’ve already seen a village taken by a dark mist in the north. Whatever you’ve done, it needs to stop.”

“What have you done?” Arie asked, curious if Aterra would answer.

His gaze narrowed at Arie as he inched ever closer toward Aurora. He was too close to her. Arie knew it—a cold shiver ran down his spine. Aurora also seemed to realize it a second too late.

Aterra struck, his hand snaking out to her wrist.

Arie moved. He didn’t know what Aterra intended. He couldn’t physically hold Aurora—she was too strong. But that didn’t mean he could just grab her. To Arie’s shock, Aurora slumped into Aterra’s grip. A slim needle sticking out of a large onyx ring on his finger drew Arie’s attention, the tip sliding out of Aurora’s arm.

“What did you do?” Arie yelled as he reached for Aurora.

Aurora straightened as she stood. “I’m fine, Arctos.” Her voice sent another chill down his spine.

“Aurora?” he asked. She hadn’t called him Arctos in hundreds of years.

Aurora was already moving past him, her hand braced on Aterra’s arm as they walked toward the water’s edge of the lake Aurora had created.

“Aurora, what are you…” Arie trailed them. He only had seconds to figure out what was going on. He couldn’t formulate words. He didn’t know what to ask. Aurora appeared to be walking of her own volition. She couldn’t want to do whatever this was, could she? Should he stop her? He knew he was too late when Aurora stepped into the water. She used the same ring to prick Aterra’s finger. Blood dripped from it to the lake, the water seeming to seal where it fell, rippling out across the water.

Then, she and Aterra disappeared beneath the surface, leaving no trace.

Arie ran after them, only to ricochet off an invisible barrier, the magic throwing him flat on his back on the crater’s ridge, preventing him from following.

Rose was flung from the memory. She stumbled back from the forge into Luc’s waiting arms.

“Rose?” her name was a question as he caught her.

“I’m fine,” she said, her fingers moving to her temple, then to her face. She felt tear tracks on her cheeks like she’d been crying. Her gaze shifted to Arie, who still sat perched on the edge of the forge. As a bird, his face was so hard to read. She was too distracted by what she’d learned to examine his appearance. He did have a human form, though.

“Arie?” she asked.

“Yes. That’s how I knew what had happened to Luc at the Solstice Ball. The same ring, the same action, took Aurora from me. Even though it appeared to be of her own free will.” Arie spoke into both of their minds, although Luc still worked to piece together what he was hearing. He hadn’t watched the scene by the lake like Rose had.

“But then…” She was trying to sort through what the scene meant—what memory had Aterra created for Aurora? What memories had he changed to make her think going into the lake with him was a good idea?

“We can only guess.” Arie ruffled his feathers. “He must have created a memory that made her believe she needed to go in and seal it off from anyone else using Aterra’s blood.”

“I can’t say I’ve tested those attributes of mind shadow, but I do think that would be possible with what I understand of the power,” Luc said.

“Well, we confirmed something helpful from this horrible memory,” Rose said, straightening herself. “We’re definitely headed back to Lake of the Gods.” Her gaze fell heavy on Luc, suddenly glad the others were at the campfire preparing the meal. “And if Aterra’s blood sealed the lake…”

His brow furrowed as he replied. “Maybe it can open it as well.”