I stood there, watching as Rhodes calmly walked to his grandmother and pulled her into his arms. She sank into him for a moment before pulling back to look stoically like the queen she wasn’t but the lady she was.
I might have said calmly, but there really wasn’t anything calm about Rhodes. I could see the strain in his shoulders, the way his hands were still fisted as he held his grandmother close.
There was tension in him, grief, and all the pain that I could feel, though I couldn’t reach out and help.
I stood back, feeling lost and as though everything had once again changed. But could things actually change when I didn’t even know what my base was anymore? What if this was just life, the next breath, the next moment. Because everything altered with each breath these days, with each choice and decision.
And now, with each death.
The Lady of Water was dead.
The daughter of the Lord and Lady of Air was dead.
Rhodes’ mother was dead.
The Lord of Air looked at us, fire in his eyes, and just glared.
The heavy brocade drapes in the tall windows that were at least three stories high blew, and it felt as if we were suddenly in a tunnel, the Air moving quickly.
The Air didn’t touch us, it was only around us, threatening but not hurting.
“Holdar,” Lanya said under her breath. “Don’t.”
“I’m not touching a soul,” he growled, glaring at the world. It was like he wasn’t looking at any of us but rather seeing something far off in the distance that he couldn’t touch, that he couldn’t save.
“Did you know that I am almost two thousand years old? Two thousand years have passed, and I have watched this world crumble and rise and then crumble again. Two thousand years, and my daughter should still be alive. She should still be here at our side, married, happy, and not a casualty of this war. But now she’s gone. I want answers. Somebody’d better give me answers.”
Then the winds died down, and he swallowed hard.
Rhodes was standing in front of him then, one hand on his grandfather’s shoulder as we looked on.
Easton was by my side, and I hadn’t even realized he had moved so close. It was as if he wanted to protect me, but there was nothing here to protect me from.
Even in the height of the lord’s anger, Holdar hadn’t attacked us, hadn’t used his powers in a way that would have hurt anyone. He had lashed out and released all his anger, so much energy, yet he had been in control enough not to harm any of us.
That kind of power was breathtaking.
Teagan, Wyn, and Arwin were behind me, and I knew that they were ready to use their Wielding at a moment’s notice, but I didn’t think we would need to.
At least, not yet.
“Grandfather,” Rhodes whispered. “She’s been weak for some time. You know that.”
“She was never weak when she lived here. She was strong. Happy.” He beat his chest with his fist just once, but I saw the anger there, the strength of the warrior.
“Things change over time, my husband,” the Lady of Air said softly. I could hear the steel beneath her words though. There wasn’t anything calm about her.
No, she was ready to take a blade to the throat of anyone who dared to come at her family. Yet there was no one to attack here. We were hundreds of miles away from the Water Estate. Hundreds of miles away from their daughter. We had only just come here to tell them about their sick offspring. I didn’t know if we were supposed to bring them back to try and heal the Lady of Water, or maybe to say goodbye.
I hadn’t known the answer when we set out, and honestly, I didn’t think anyone did.
Now, it was too late.
And because they had just gotten a message about Áine’s death, that meant someone could have told the Lord and Lady of Air without Rhodes having to be away from his mother as she took her final breath.
I didn’t think I could ever forgive the Lord of Water for that.
I didn’t know if he was my enemy, wasn’t sure if he’d had anything to do with what had been attacking us over and over again since we neared the Lumière Kingdom.
But I knew that no matter what happened in the end, even if he became my most loyal ally in this new war, I would never forgive him for pulling Rhodes away from his mother in her final days.
Never.
“Help him,” Wyn whispered, tears streaming down her face. And then I remembered that she could feel emotion, at least sometimes, and she didn’t know how to help. But then again, neither did I.
“We’ll be right outside that door,” Teagan said, pulling Arwin and Wyn back. I nodded at them, grateful that they understood that the family needed privacy. I wasn’t part of this family either, and I knew I should probably leave. But one look from those silver eyes made me stop. Rhodes needed me here.
I looked over at Easton, who gave me a tight nod, his jaw clenched as he turned on his heel and walked out with the others, leaving me behind with Rhodes and his grandparents.
I stood apart from them, feeling alone in the grand throne room, a place that had once been filled with love. I could tell that just from the aching memories.
It wasn’t power, it was just a feeling.
And now, it was fading.
There was no daughter left.
Just a grandson in pain.
And more family members far away, like Rosamond.
The King of Lumiere’s family was tied to Rhodes on his father’s side, so none of those in the court would be grieving like this family.
Instead, it was just us, and I didn’t know what to say.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Thank you, Spirit Priestess,” Lanya said, not looking at me.
“Call me Lyric.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t have any words. I wish there were some, but there aren’t any.”
I moved towards them, unsure whether I’d be welcome, but they didn’t tell me to go away, didn’t stiffen or even look elsewhere. Instead, the family stood on the dais, the actual thrones empty, no one looking at each other, but grief so immense in the room I could taste it on my tongue.
“I should ready the airships,” Rhodes’ grandfather said, his voice hoarse. “Come with me, Rhodes. You can tell me about my daughter. Tell me about the years that I missed because her husband wanted his estate perfect. Tell me about your mother. And then we’ll go. We will say goodbye. And then I want answers.”
Rhodes gave me one last look and then followed his grandfather as the Lord of Air stomped towards the doors.
I reached out, brushing my fingers along Rhodes’ arm, and he gave me a grateful smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Then I was alone with the Lady of Air.
I hadn’t meant to be. I didn’t know her, but I had a feeling she didn’t want to be alone. Neither did I, honestly. I had lost people, but never like this.
I could still remember the pain, the agony I had felt when I watched Brae turn to ash, when she died in front of all of us.
But now she was back in another form, and although it wasn’t really the same, and sometimes watching her reminded me that she would never be the smiling and laughing sweet girl I had known, she was alive. Though she’d never truly be my best friend again.
Maybe it would have been easier if she were gone forever, but even that thought was selfish of me.
I didn’t know what Brae thought, no one did. She was back in some form, and I had to be grateful for that.
Emory was gone too, but she was still alive, in captivity as far as I knew. Rhodes had said that he would help me save her, that he’d help me figure out how to fix her.
I just didn’t know if she wanted to be fixed. I didn’t know anything about her anymore.
It had been so long since I had seen her, that I didn’t think about her every day.
Maybe that made me a bad person, but with so much going on, it was hard to remember every single aching pain in my life.
“Did my Rhodes ever tell you how his parents met?” Lanya asked as she looked off into the distance at one of the windows.
I followed her gaze and watched as birds with double wings and long, flowing tails flew into the air, cascading down into a beautiful array of lights and sparkles.
There was a song in the distance, and it pierced my heart.
I knew that song. It was one of sorrow and pain, though I didn’t know exactly how I knew that.
“That is a sorrow dove,” the lady said under her breath. “The territory is learning of my daughter’s death, and the birds and those of the air are mourning with us.”
I cleared my throat. “It’s a beautiful song.”
“She was a beautiful girl. Stunning, and so sweet. She was never frail, not like she became later on in life. She wanted to be a warrior, and I was always scared that she would succeed. I was afraid that she would die in battle because of what the old king fought. And then the Fall came, and she stayed in her castle, safe. Or so I thought.”
I just stood there listening as the Lady of Air spoke, trying to imagine what it would be like to know thousands of years and have so many memories in your head that you had to shuffle through them to try and remember each and every detail. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that, but then I remembered that I might reach that age. Though I didn’t think so.
I didn’t think the prophecy of the Spirit Priestess would end well. But that wasn’t something I was going to think about right then.
If ever.
“My daughter wanted to be a warrior like that Aerwyna of yours. She wanted to be everything. But then she met Rhodes’ father. I hadn’t wanted her to marry a lord. There’s so few of us, only the four of the territories. The offspring get the titles as well, of course, but it depends on the family as to what they are called. The children lose their titles once they grow up or grow out of the territory itself. Or the title moves to the next person. It’s been five hundred years under the rule of the current King of Lumière, and changes don’t happen often. The fact that there is a new king in the Obscurité Kingdom is something far different. Further change.”
She looked at me then.
“Most don’t remember that with a new king comes change. Sometimes, for the good. I always liked Queen Cameo, though I probably shouldn’t have. She was kind to me, though she didn’t need to be. We were near the same age, and we grew up together—although far apart. She wanted change, and those around her didn’t. She was not like the Lumière king, my king, the twin to my son-in-law.”
She shook her head. “But all of those stories are for another day. As I was saying, your Wyn, the daughter of the Lord of Earth, is a warrior. She fights with that Frederic of yours,” the lady said with a wink.
I stiffened.
No one was supposed to know that Easton was under glamour, but then again, others with magic were always around us, and I remembered that Rhodes’ grandmother was a Truth Seeker, something that was passed down in Rhodes’ blood, just not fully. Lanya could sense the truth of others. Perhaps she could see through glamour, as well. And Rosamond was a Seer. I wondered what Áine’s power had been. Though I wasn’t sure she could have used whatever it was. It looked as if the life had been pulled from her. And in the end, it had.
The Lady of Air reached out and patted my cheek. “Don’t look so worried, my husband and I know who lies under that glamour. He didn’t see, of course, but I told him. I don’t keep secrets from my husband.”
Her gaze went far away for a moment.
“We were good people, and we tried to keep our territory whole and safe. But sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes, we have to make decisions that hurt others, and it takes part of our souls in the process. But we always try to be on the side of good, on the side of right. Though sometimes those two don’t end up on the same side.”
She shook her head as if clearing her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, but my mind is running in a thousand different directions today, and I’m not making much sense.”
“I’m following you. Say whatever you need to say.”
“Your Wyn is a brilliant warrior. That is who my Áine wanted to be. And so, we let her train, we let her learn. Because I refused to clip my daughter’s wings. My husband eventually learned to be understanding.”
She smiled then, but it didn’t reach her eyes. This poor woman. All I could do was listen, learn, and try to help.
“And then we went to the court under the old king’s guard because there was a ball that we had been forced to attend. We were the Lord and Lady of Air then, as well. Therefore, we were required to attend. The current King of Lumière was the Lord of Water then, his father being the King of Lumière at the time. It’s all very incestuous when you think about it, but titles go to eldest sons or daughters if there are no boys. And so, we went to the court with the others and brought Áine with us. She couldn’t wear her battle gear because the old king hated the idea of women in power.” She snorted. “It would have been a surprise to him that the King of Obscurité’s daughter, Cameo, would one day become queen. He would have hated it.”
Lanya smiled then, and I smiled with her.
“My daughter Áine was forced to wear clothing that spoke of a daughter of the Lord and Lady of Air. She was a lady in her own right, a lady of the Lumière. A simple title that is often called a princess—or prince for the males—although only in hushed whispers if they aren’t actually within the court. All the words mean is that you’re somehow connected to power. It doesn’t really mean anything in the end.”
Lanya shook her head and then continued. “Áine was forced to dance with all of the noble brothers then. Brokk, the former Lord of Water, now king of the Lumière Kingdom, was already courting Delphine, Rhodes’ aunt. But Áine didn’t have eyes for him. Instead, she had eyes for Durin. The other twin. The younger brother.”
“It’s odd to think about them as young…as people finding their loves,” I said softly.
“They were your age at the time, it was that long ago. Áine had eyes for Durin, and there was nothing I could do. He was sparkly and a warrior and he made her feel like no one else ever had—or so she said. And so, she fell for him. And we could do nothing but stand back and let the marriage happen. Brokk and Delphine married around the same time as Áine and Durin. It was the idea that their children would grow up at the same time and be like siblings. Although they didn’t have Eitri, Rhodes’ and Rosamond’s cousin, for many years. My daughter had Rosamond first, over four hundred years ago. And then she had Rhodes two full centuries later. But Rhodes and Rosamond are as close as twins, no matter their age difference. My daughter was a good mother. And she tried to be a good wife. But I know that every time we tried to visit, seeing her became harder as the centuries passed.”
It wasn’t lost on me that the Lady of Air spoke of her daughter in the past tense. It was as if she’d lost her Áine long ago and time had finally caught up.
“Áine was no longer the daughter of Air, no more a future warrior. Instead, she was a centerpiece, a piece of lace to be strewn upon Durin’s arm as he showed her off to his brother. She didn’t fight in the Fall, none of us did. Not really. My husband and I tried to fight you see, but the king wouldn’t let us. He banned us from unlocking our powers, so we couldn’t actually fight and save our people. You see, he wanted to keep the blood pure. And that was why we fell. Why our power broke. Why the kings died, and there was nothing left but ash as we tried to rebuild.”
She shook her head, and I reached out and ran my hand down her arm. She took my hand tightly in hers, and then loosened her grip, though she didn’t let go.
The lords and ladies hadn’t fought in the Fall? The great war that had split the realm as it was so the crystals had to work harder? No wonder the realm was failing. Their leaders had been held back, bound by their kings to surrender to the nothingness.
“My Áine became a shadow of herself. I knew she was becoming frail, so unlike the girl that I had raised, the daughter I loved. But there was nothing I could do about it because she still loved Durin. And she loved her children more than anything. She told me once that she felt more for them than anything she could have felt as a warrior, and I believed her because I loved my daughter more than any power I could have as a lady of the Lumière.”
Lanya turned to me then, tears falling down her cheeks, but her chin raised. “I never wanted my daughter to marry a lord. I wanted her to have peace. But maybe she found peace.” She shook her head and looked at me. “Peace. Such a small word for a rather momentous thing. You are the Priestess, Lyric. You can be so much. You could be the one who takes out the rot that has overtaken our kingdoms, our entire realm. You could be so much and save us from ourselves. The Spirit Priestess is more than a title, it’s a calling. You are not meant to be a queen. Not a king. You are not a leader. You’re a savior. But in order to know what you need to save, you must know your people.”
I swallowed hard, transfixed. This was the most anyone had ever said to me about what I needed to do. I couldn’t look away. “I’ve seen the territories, the people, and I know they need hope.” I hadn’t meant to say the words, but they seemed right.
“You are that hope. And when you find the right time, the key, you will be able to unlock the final two elements and save us all. Because, yes, the realm is dying. The people are doing much the same. My daughter is dead. We need you. You need to ensure that Rhodes and Easton find a way to repair the rift. Because they need to be the future.”
I blinked, wondering what on earth that could mean. They were the future? Then what was I?
She must have seen the confusion on my face because she continued. “You are our future, but so are they. Easton is the King of Obscurité, he is one of our paths. And Rhodes will be the other.”
I shook my head, trying to keep up. “But isn’t Eitri the heir to the Lumière Kingdom?”
Lanya nodded. “But Rhodes is the future.”
And then she squeezed my hand and left me alone to my thoughts on everything that she had just given me. She wasn’t a Seer, and yet she spoke of truths and futures that didn’t make any sense to me. Had Rosamond told her something? Or had she seen the truth somehow?
There was so much history, so much depth within this realm, but it was fracturing, turning to ash as she had said.
Rhodes and Easton were the future of the realm, but I was the savior.
If only I knew what that meant.