REBORN

41

Vera Erdane knelt at the makeshift altar in her chambers, pleasantly surprised to find that her knees no longer groaned in protest like they used to. She focused her thoughts on the overwhelming presence she sought.

"Why must I wait until the equinox, all powerful one? I feel strong, I am capable… I have built the army you asked for. I have convinced my people to follow me. We are ready," she prayed, hoping her deity would answer.

"Quiet, my child ," the ethereal being echoed in her head. "My transition is not yet complete. You must wait until we are at our most powerful or risk losing the opportunity I have so generously provided you."

The cacophonous voice rattled down her spine. She looked at her hands clasped in front of her, her veins glowing like the sinewy cracks between molten rock. This was his power running through her. A gluttonous grin traced her lips at the idea of more .

But her own small, grating voice in the back of her head raised concern once again. This is not the deity you seek, it said. He is not who he claims to be. You are playing a dangerous game. Save yourself while you can.

She shook her head, hoping the motion would be enough to clear her doubts.

The voice spoke again, as if he could hear the uncertainty clamoring through her. " Do not worry, my child, we will conquer these lands once and for all."

Confirmation she desperately needed. She would finally get revenge for her parents' death, for the dragon who took them away from her and pushed her into ruling a kingdom at just twenty years old. So young . She was so young. So naive.

Her mind wandered to the days leading up to that moment. The moment she collapsed on the floor of her room, forgetting how to breathe. A dragon seer had come to their home, meeting with King and Queen Erdane for multiple long days. Vera had snuck into one of those meetings, still petite enough to fit under one of the desks in the study where they convened, sitting as still as possible so she wouldn't trigger vibrations through the earth that might alert them of her presence.

"Your Majesties, Mallium is in danger," the dragon woman had pleaded. "I understand the history between our realms, but this is much bigger than us. This vision… It was unlike any other any of the seers have experienced before. No seer I speak with can explain it, and I've talked to nearly a dozen across the entire continent now. But I know in my soul that our god is dying, and—"

Vera sucked in a surprise breath. A tragic mistake.

"Vera?" her father's voice bellowed toward her. "Is that you?"

She cursed, grimacing. He would make her suffer for this. Her eyes squeezed shut. "Yes, father." Vera crawled out from under the desk where she hid, revealing herself to the group of solemn adults seated around the long table .

"We will speak about this later," he threatened. The king of Erdane was embarrassed by her, his own daughter, his cheeks reddening under his thick beard. "Leave us. Now."

He will hang me for this, she thought. After scurrying out the door, she'd spent the entire day praying the meeting never ended so she wouldn't feel the lash of his anger.

But she never did get punished, because that was the last time she had seen her parents. They'd left the same day, accompanied by most of their Guard and some of the Erdanean reserve troops. It was nearly a week later when word came about the state of the land they'd traveled to, now nothing but ash.

No survivors, they'd said . Some sort of eruption.

One of her parents' advisors had come to her when Selene's words made it to their doorstep, a vision from Mallium about why he'd killed everyone on the land, disappointed by the feuding. About the call for people to help construct the Solstice Sanctum there. About how that land and the Sanctum would now be treated as neutral territory where his most dedicated acolytes would live and work to serve all the people of Wren as seers.

But the only thing she'd heard was a tinny ringing in her ears as her vision blurred. Her knees hit the callous stone as her chest ripped in two, realizing that her parents would never return. She would never hear her father's deep voice, his barreled laugh. She would never feel her mother's hands braiding her hair, or her words of wisdom as she taught Vera the history of their people.

Her prayers had been answered. She'd avoided her father's punishment. But now Vera was Queen. And she would have her vengeance against the dragon who had lured her parents to their death.

She would have her prayers answered once again.

For much of her life, she did not consider herself religious. Did not bow to anyone but herself—and her husband, she supposed, for the relative brevity of their union. Truthfully, she had only married him to continue her bloodline and uphold appearances that she wasn't a total tyrant. But once he passed, she was grateful to no longer uphold that charade of devotion and knew her opportunity had come to raise the army of her dreams.

Thrust into ruling her territory at such a young age, she was no stranger to pretending she knew what she was doing. But now was not one of those moments. She knew exactly what her god needed from her. What she needed to do to gain full control over all of Wren, as she'd wanted to do since that fateful day over three hundred years ago.

She'd never told her husband, or Joyen, or anyone else what had happened that day. What she'd heard while hiding in the study. Not the full truth of it. It would have made her efforts much less amenable.

In fact, she wondered if she was the last person alive who knew what that dragon seer had truly sought aid for. As far as she knew, everyone privy to what really happened had been wiped away by molten rock that day. And she would keep it that way, even if it meant she took the truth to her grave.

"I understand," she said finally to that deity answering her prayers. Mallium or not, he was giving her what she wanted—what she needed —to right the wrongs committed against her family.

She had tried to do it her way, but the Zephyrs kept getting in her way, unwilling to participate in what she deemed inevitable. Unwilling to see the pain the shifters had wrought upon their kingdom. The Zephyrs had lost warriors too—why hadn't they seen through that dragon seer's obvious lies? That she had acted as a martyr for her people, luring the fae leaders to certain death ?

It had to have been a trap. She wouldn't let herself believe otherwise, the implications that came with the possibility of Mallium's power draining away. Gods couldn't die, could they? No, she told herself, it was a trap .

It didn't matter, at the end of the day. As the years passed, people forgot about it, moved on, unwilling to anger Mallium further. They'd taken the event as a warning whilst Vera interpreted the eruption as proof his power was still very much alive. And she intended on figuring out how to use that to her advantage.

The success of her mission to kill General Fulgara at the border had given her a little bit of satisfaction, but it wasn't enough. She had anticipated the shifters moving against the Zephyrs, giving her an opportunity to strike while both of their forces squabbled amongst each other. But for whatever reason, the shifters hadn't taken the bait.

Molden Fulgara's death was little retribution, it only whet her appetite further. So when that border wall had sprung up, dividing the continent and making it harder for her to act, she did the only thing she could think to do.

She started praying.

Vera began visiting her local temple weekly and then daily, waiting for a sign that he listened. She was set on convincing Mallium she was just as devoted as those damned seers he loved so much. But she didn't hide her intentions. No, she boasted about them, hoping to appeal to that violent power he displayed every so often. Stroked his ego with words of admiration at his power and ability to quell violence with violence—something she'd learned to do during years of verbal lashings from her father.

The first time she knew he'd listened was when her husband's heart finally stopped beating. He'd been worthless to her, only getting in the way of what she truly wanted. Never seeing things her way. But twenty more years passed without change. Her health was beginning to fail her. Well over three centuries old, her time was running short.

It's now or never , she thought as she traveled to the Sanctum on her own this solstice, no guards to accompany her for fear of them leaking what she planned to do.

It had been a long, arduous journey, but worth every muscle strain, every cramp in her wings along the way. She had offered herself—her body, her soul—in exchange for health. For power. The ultimate sacrifice.

"This world needs a fresh start, and I can give you that," she'd begged. And whatever she'd said had worked. He'd agreed to her proposition, on the terms she must wait until the equinox for the full strength of his powers to course through her.

She'd walked out of those pearly gates a new woman.

Now, as she contemplated the way his powers manifested within her, she pushed that dragon seer's words—that Mallium was dying—to the back of her mind.

Throughout history, their god was not known for his fire, for his violence. Only in recent history had he become easier to anger. Perhaps that should have concerned her, but right now, she didn't care. She would finally get what she'd wanted for centuries. And she would get it by whatever means necessary.

When her granddaughter had appeared at her estate that afternoon, something gnawed at her. Aria looked so much like herself, had that same fight in her. Somehow she'd turned out more like Vera than Joyen had. And Vera wished it needn't be this way, but all great things came with sacrifice, as she had learned for herself with much delight.

It was no surprise they had figured out her plan. Honestly, it should have been obvious the moment Selene's decree crossed her wrinkly old lips. She'd always hated that woman and her self-righteous morals.

When she'd sat down with Joyen, she had fully expected her daughter to raze her for her plan. To have put two and two together. But luckily for her, Joyen had remained oblivious until very recently.

The leverage it gave her was addicting.

Her daughter had grown lazy, complacent, during her time with Arach. And even worse, they were now taking the side of the shifters, working with them . Her lip pulled up into a snarl at the thought. It served them right to be scared of her.

She recognized what the invitation to this Equinox Ball meant—an opportunity to change her course. To back down from the power she sought, the need for true revenge that still seeped out of every pore. Perhaps it was another trap for her, but that didn't matter.

Soon, she'd have enough power to wipe them off the map if she wished. If what coursed through her now was still only a part of what awaited her, she had no concerns about walking into a room of enemies.

If her god wouldn't allow her to act now, while they weren't yet prepared, then she would wait. Hear them out, get their hopes up. And then squash them like the traitorous bugs they were.