The smell in their tent was becoming unbearable. It wasn't just that evening's flatulence anymore. Over time, the tent's very fabric absorbed their collective body odors and the mustiness that set in when mildew took hold. Eya didn't know how Cefa could bear it. Until now, she either kept her discomfort to herself or shared a tent with Daijah. However, now that Daijah made his affection for her very clear to his father, her brothers, and every Kandumes marching with them, everyone watched her sleeping habits. Still it was time to speak up for herself. But how exactly did you bring up proper tent-sharing etiquette with an ancient goddess?
Eya reached out to give Cefa's sleeping shoulder a tap.
The old woman gave no reaction. If it weren't for her rather loud snoring, Eya would have to check Cefa for signs of life.
Eya gave her throat a loud clearing, but Cefa's sonorous inhale drowned it out. With a heavy sigh, Eya laid back down on her cot and chickened out. Just as she drifted off to sleep, Cefa made a loud sound as if she were choking on something. Eya bolted up to shake Cefa and save her.
"Ow!" Cefa cried out. "Get your hands off me!"
"Are you all right, Cefa?" Eya asked, her eyes wide with panic.
"I was fine until you woke me up!" the old woman grumbled. "What's wrong with you?"
"It sounded like you were choking…I thought…" Eya said and then realized it had only been Cefa's snoring that woke her. It wasn't as if the old lady ate in her sleep. "Cefa, we need to have a heart to heart."
"In the morning," Cefa replied, turning over.
"No. Now," Eya said. "If I can't get any sleep, neither can you."
"Fine, I'm up," Cefa complained.
"You are a goddess," Eya stated, "bringer of life and healing, creator of all human life on Telverin. Please, you must know some way to prevent yourself from passing gas and snoring. I just want to sleep in peace."
As Eya spoke, her frustrations piled up, and tears fell from her eyes. She sat back down on her cot and blubbered into her hands.
"Now, now, don't start crying," Cefa soothed, looking at the desperate expression on Eya's face. "The truth is that I have to make some sacrifices with my powers."
"Like what?" Eya asked, wiping at the wetness on her face.
"As you know, I can no longer access my magical source," Cefa explained. "That means that the only magic I have left is what this body contains. Once I run out, well, that's the end of Cefa. Stopping my aging body from doing what aging bodies do doesn't seem that important. I try to save my powers for things that are important now."
"Like healing the soldiers in battle…" Eya responded, and Cefa nodded. "So, we need to free your sisters and defeat Pecu then. Your life is on the line."
"Don't worry about me, dear girl," Cefa said, patting Eya's hand. "If I die, I die. I've been around long enough to know that the best things in life have an expiration date."
"I don't want to lose you, though," Eya whispered. "Since I lost my parents, it's been lonely. I love my brothers, and Daijah and Rhin are great friends. But, once you lose your parents, it becomes clear that you don't have a safety net anymore. My choices are my own, and so are my consequences."
"I never had parents myself, but I have seen what you are describing." Cefa sighed. "The loss of my sisters is like that, but what hurts more is the loss of my children."
"You have children?" Eya asked, her curiosity triggered. "Other than all the people of Telverin, that is?"
“Had,” Cefa corrected. “I’ve lived on Telverin as a mortal for a thousand years. You don’t think I experienced my share of love and loss in that time? I tried to see if I could get my power back to grant them my immortality, but…it didn’t work out. So, one by one, they simply grew old and died."
"Oh, Cefa…" Eya whispered, as she saw Cefa's eyes glistening. "I am so sorry."
"Looking back on it," Cefa continued, "I wish I gave them what magic I had left in me. I was so foolish, thinking I would figure something else out."
Eya put her arm around Cefa then and let the old woman lean into her to cry. Why did life have to be filled with so much loss? She was glad that events had at least brought them together. Cefa was almost a grandmother-type figure to her.
"I love you, Cefa," Eya said, squeezing the healer's shoulders.
"I love you too, dear girl," Cefa responded, wiping the tears only to sit up and look Eya in the face. "Don't do anything for me or Kandum or even Hicares. Do it for yourself. Put your happiness first. You must promise me that."
"Cefa, I…" Eya started, thinking of all the people she thought of as her responsibility.
"I mean it!" Cefa interrupted, forcing Eya to look at the sharp and serious expression on her face. "You want me to feel better? You will make this promise and keep it. You need to take care of yourself first. If something feels wrong, it is wrong. If it puts you in danger, look for another way."
"I promise Cefa," Eya said, hoping that she would never have to make a tough decision.
Cefa gave Eya a pat on the knee. “Now, I have had enough of this fusty old tent. I think I will enjoy the Spring night air and sleep under the stars."
Eya watched the old woman leave the tent, knowing that she was only leaving to give Eya some peace. It was another cold night, and Cefa hated those. She wanted to go outside and make sure that there was at least a fire to keep her tent-mate warm. However, she remembered her promise and laid down in her cot. Her eyes closed, and soon she was dreaming.
Cefa lit a fire and gazed up at the stars that she once called home, back when they called her Clesta. She remembered the joy she experienced there, when Pecu was a hero, the savior of all the gods. He saw her and her alone, making her feel special. They could have danced in the heavens forever if not for his ceaseless jealousy. Centuries later, his betrayal still twisted like a knife in her heart. Worse yet, she continued to love him. Despite his flaws and her human husbands during her mortal existence, she always thought of Pecu as her perfect match.
"You know," Rhin said, startling her as he sat close to her, "they say long ago there was a constellation in the sky of a woman and a serpent locked in a lover's embrace. One day, it vanished without a trace, and no one knows why."
"Is that what they say?" Cefa chuckled, not giving away her thoughts on the matter. "What are you doing up, Advisor? We battle in the morning."
"I suspect I'm awake for the same reason you are," Rhin answered and jutted his chin at the tent she shared with Eya. "Is she getting any rest?"
"She is now," Cefa said with a smile. "I may have sketched out a weak sleeping spell before lighting the fire."
"That was kind of you," Rhin replied and smiled back. "How is she handling everything?"
"War is difficult to absorb," Cefa answered. "But, I think she is starting to develop a tougher skin."
"That's not what I meant, and I think you know it," Rhin said, lifting his eyebrow.
Cefa let out a heavy sigh, taking a sip out of her flask and stoking up the fire in front of them. She wondered just how much Rhin knew about who she actually was. She hadn't exactly kept it a secret. She never made Daijah and Eya swear to keep quiet about it. Then again, she also didn't go around announcing she was a goddess to every person she encountered. Even if she did, most would probably think these were the rantings of a crazy old woman.
"Prophecies are not absolute," she answered. "They're estimates, based on how the gods think their grand plans will pan out. You plant a seed and tell everyone it will bear a certain kind of fruit. However, a squirrel could eat that seed, or its blooms could die in the frost. Maybe it wasn't even the kind of seed you thought you were planting."
Cefa thought of all the tomes she had seen over the centuries, most with images of a silver-eyed, black-haired woman. Hicaron genetics accounted for the coloring. Though, Eya's eyes weren't strictly silver. They had a green cast. There was hope in that.
"What kind of seed is Eya?" Rhin asked her.
"She's an unpredictable one," Cefa answered, her thoughts of Eya warming her. "Reminds me of myself."
"There could be a little Clesta in her bloodline," Rhin suggested, and Cefa caught the knowing expression on his face. "You still haven't answered me yet."
"She isn't ready to give in to it," Cefa said. "She will fight it tooth and nail. She wants the choices life has denied her."
"That might be in her favor," Rhin said and took a long draw from his flask. "It also might be what causes her to desire what she is fated to bring."
"What do you want?" Cefa asked, her eyes narrowed. She never knew Rhin's true motivations, and that deeply troubled her.
"I just want Eya to be happy," Rhin answered, looking down with a sad shrug.
Rhin got up and took a few steps back to his tent.
"How long have you loved her?" Cefa asked, causing Rhin to stop.
"She had a short sword to my neck." Rhin chuckled, rubbing his throat. "She thought I was a thief and was about to bring divine judgment down on me. I knew right then I would love her and worship her until the end of my days. Eya is my goddess."
"No, Rhin," Cefa said, shaking her head. "That's where you're wrong. Gods and goddesses are selfish and cruel. Eya is better than that. She is what the ancient ones call a hero."
Cefa stood up and stretched her old limbs. Eya would be fast asleep by now, and the spell should last a few hours. Cefa would get a little rest in her cot while she could. Before heading to her tent, she turned around to see Rhin gazing at the tent she shared with Eya.
"Your wife waits for you," Cefa said. "So does your son."
"I know," he said, turning his eyes to Cefa. "I don't deserve them."
"Then change,” she said and then entered her tent for a full night's rest.
Daijah woke Cefa and Eya in the darkness right before dawn. The dew crept into the tent during the night, and they found themselves shivering as soon as they lifted off their blankets. Daijah helped them to the top of a hill, with Rhin walking behind them. There were no high cliffs or peaks near this Pescelean camp like the first three. Whoever decided on this location for a base had a better mind for strategy, setting up in a relatively open field. The Pesceleans probably had prepared for this battle as they could see the Kandumes setting up their camp in the distance. Their protective measures seemed pretty identical to everything they saw other Pesceleans use, however.
"I wish this hill were higher," Daijah muttered, his worried eyes darting all around them. "I feel like anyone could see the two of you here and try to…"
"We will be fine," Cefa said when Daijah trailed off, unable to vocalize his greatest fears. "Look, I'll cast a quick mist spell. They'll think there's a low fog here and be much more distracted by Eya's storm breaking down their defenses."
"How will you see?" Daijah asked, worrying his bottom lip between his nervous fingers.
"It's just an illusion spell," Cefa answered and winked. "They'll see a fog, but we will see what it is really there."
"Show me," he said after a torturous pause.
Cefa smiled and etched an interesting swirl of a spell into the ground, placing the four of them in a wide oval.
Rhin, Daijah, and Eya looked all around. Their underwhelmed expressions made Cefa cackle.
"I don't get it," Daijah said. "Nothing changed."
"Exit the spell," Cefa ordered, shooing him away.
Daijah took a step out, and his face shifted from skeptical to alarmed in an instant. Cefa had to stifle her laughter because she didn't want her echoes to wake the Pesceleans.
"Eya, Cefa, Rhin!” Daijah cried out. "Are you all right?"
"Daijah, we're right here!" Eya said, waving her arms in front of his face.
Cefa grabbed Daijah's arm and pulled him back into the oval.
He let out a sigh of relief before embracing Eya one last time. Sunlight was showing on the Eastern horizon, and dawn would come faster on this flat terrain. They watched him go and waited for the battle to begin. This would be Eya's fourth battle, the fifth for the Kandumes. Still, Eya looked nervous.
"It will be fine," Rhin said, comforting her. "We have this down like clockwork now."
"I know," Eya said, nodding. "It should be. I just have this…strange feeling…"
"Oh, well, I'm sure it's nothing," Cefa replied, but her stomach twisted in knots because now she felt something off as well.
“I’ll stay right outside of the circle to guard you,” Rhin said, unsheathing his sword. “Pull me in if you need me.”
Before long, Daijah led his troops in the same formation as before. Eya brought on the storm, popping the magical barrier like it was nothing. The Kandumes moved in swiftly, followed shortly by the Hicaron brothers. Eya saw the battle closer than ever before. At first, she liked it because it was easier to keep tabs on the people that mattered most to her. Then, the fighting became more chaotic and violent.
She saw Daijah, ruthless on his steed, his bastard-sword swinging with swift precision. She saw her brothers riding over bodies, their hooves splattering blood onto the muddy ground. Eya didn't like thinking of these kind men in her life like this. She wanted to separate this side of them from the people she loved. She tried to concentrate on striking down the lodges as the troops made their way further and further into the camp, but her uneasiness continued to grow. She couldn't figure out why she felt so apprehensive when everything flowed predictably and according to their plan. Then, a terrifying question formed in her mind.
"Where are the mages?" Eya asked, panic in her voice. She snapped her head to Cefa.
The healer wasn't etching a healing spell because they didn't need one. That was it. That's what was wrong. This was a larger Pescelean camp, once protected by an impressive magical barrier. There should be dozens of mages, at least, probably some priests as well. She turned her head back to the battle to see that the Kandumes and her brothers also seemed a little confused. This wasn't following their formula.
It was at that moment that soldiers on the outskirts of the camp, ones that had fled outward when Daijah's men barreled through, lifted wands out of their scabbards instead of swords. Before there was a second to react, they were flinging magical energy into the center of camp where Daijah and the Hicaron brothers stood, surrounded by only their own troops. The Pescelean soldiers ran toward the outside, standing side by side with the mages bordering the rim around the Kandumes.
The nightmarish, squealing shrieks started right away, including Eya’s. Fortunately, no one could hear her in the chaos echoing around them. Eya's fear intensified to the extent that she levitated higher and higher in the air, above even the illusion of fog that Cefa cast. Her lightning struck again and again, hitting whatever threatened the people she loved. She heard nothing as Rhin and Cefa called out to her to stop. She didn't see the Duke’s men stampeding in. Her lightning flashed everywhere, consuming her until her vision went black, and she plummeted.
In the black of her unconsciousness, Eya saw a handsome man staring at her. His crystal eyes locked onto her silver ones. He had short, pale brown hair. It looked dirty, but she wanted to stroke it.
"Who are you?" she whispered, mostly to herself.
"I am no one," he answered her anyway, moving towards her. "No one compared to you. Are you a goddess?"
"I'm just a woman," she answered.
They circled each other, growing closer and closer until Eya could feel his cold breath against her scarred cheek. The man reached up and touched with his soft, elegant fingers.
"What happened to you?" he asked, concern in his eyes.
"Nothing so bad as what happened to the man who gave me that," she answered.
"So, you are ruthless?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Only when I have to be," she answered. "Can I touch your hair?"
"My hair?" he asked, ruffling it. "Why?"
"It looks soft…like moonlight…" she said. "I love the moonlight."
He let her touch it, curiosity across his face. Despite its dirt, his hair felt like silk. His pale skin glowed in the darkness, luring her in like the light of an angler fish. She pressed her body against his, not thinking of any of the many reasons she shouldn't.
"You are more than no one," she said. "There is power in you."
"There is power in you, too," he replied.
She frowned a little. Something felt wrong. "Are you like me?" she asked. "Are you destined for something?"
"Aren't we all?" he answered with a crooked grin. "Can I kiss you?"
Eya wanted to say yes for some reason. She wanted to give her lips to his. He enchanted her and she had no idea why. Then, a vision of Daijah entered her mind, shaking her out of her mesmerized state. She had no idea who this man was or where she was. Panic replaced desire in a flash.
"Never," she whispered back, shaking her head and withdrawing as she would sneaking away from a serpent.
"Why?" he asked.
"You ask so many questions," she said, stepping back further. "You never answer any. No one ever answers me."
She felt herself drifting out of this dark place, and relief flooded her. The man ran after her. As fast he ran, she woke faster.
"Come back!" he called out to her. "I'll answer your questions! Come back!"
Sunlight flickered over her face, causing her lashes to flutter open. Even with her eyes open, she couldn't make anything out yet. Everything had soft, blurry edges and moved around too fast. Though she had impaired vision, her sense of smell sharpened. She smelled like blood, vomit, charred flesh, and antiseptics. She felt around her and realized she was lying in a cot.
"She's stirring," Simrin said from her left. She turned toward him. Her vision was focusing a little, but he was still hard to make out.
"Thank Pecu!" Novem sighed from her right. This time, she could identify the speaker visually.
"Simrin, Novem…" she whispered. "Where's Parvon? Where's Daijah?"
"Parvon is talking with the Duke." Novem answered. "Daijah is pretty busy right now. There's a lot of injured."
"The mages…" she said, remembering the gruesome attack.
"Cefa took care of that quick, actually," Simrin said.
"Then why…?" she began.
"It was just a bad fight," Novem interrupted. "The Pesceleans must have figured out how we operate. We'll have to strategize more flexible maneuvers for the future."
Eya sat up. Her head was swimming, but Novem wasn't the type to interrupt her, and that scared her. His answer didn't satisfy her, either. She looked around her. She lay in a large tent, filled with fallen soldiers bandaged up beyond recognition. In the distance, she could see Daijah bent over a patient.
"Why does it smell like burnt meat in here?" she asked, fighting back the urge to cry, afraid of the answer. She looked at Novem and then to Simrin. "Please, did I…did I hurt these people?"
Her brothers just looked at their laps.
Silent tears fell around her mouth, frozen open in a gasp of despair. She couldn't breathe. It was so clear what happened. She lost control of herself and collapsed in exhaustion. Killing truly seemed to be her destiny.
"It will be okay, Eya," Novem whispered, grabbing her tightly to him. "People die in battle. You were just surprised and trying to save us."
"I'm so sorry, Eya." Simrin sobbed as he came to embrace them from the other side.
"Eya, you're awake," Daijah said, and Eya looked over Novem's shoulder to see her betrothed had come to her cot. "How are you feeling?"
"She's just realized what happened," Novem answered for her when it became clear that Eya couldn't speak. "She doesn't seem hurt, just shaken and tired."
Daijah came closer to her. He examined her head for the fourteenth time for signs of injury. He asked her to follow his finger with her eyes. He felt her bones, seeking out any bumps or swelling. When he felt satisfied that she was fine physically, he had to wrestle with the uncomfortable truth that he couldn't heal her ailment.
"The burns aren't so bad," he soothed. "The salve is taking well to them. The only people directly hit were the mages."
When she remained silent, he kissed her on the cheeks and forehead tenderly. He held back his tears, putting on a kind smile, willing her to believe he was fine. He asked her brothers to check on Cefa's progress with the injured and see if she needed any help.
"Sometimes," he whispered to Eya, "I lose myself in battle. The death is just too much. So, I sort of leave myself and become just a weapon."
Eya nodded a little at that, remembering how frightening he and her brothers looked in battle. He didn't look like the same man sitting in front of her now. He wiped her tears away with her blanket and sighed.
"At times like that, it can become difficult to come back to yourself," he said, trying to see if his message made its way through the fog of her grief. "You might do things you regret, but that doesn't make you a bad person. You do what you do to survive, to protect others. People get hurt and die during battles. You are not a murderer. You have power, but you are not that woman of prophecy. You only did what you did out of love."
"I-I…" she stuttered. "I thought I would lose you all, and then I was just…the storm…not me anymore."
"I know," he said, empathizing with her, wishing she didn't have to know this part of his life so personally. "Let's get you to your tent."
Daijah lifted her from her cot, carrying her like a doll in his big arms.
Novem and Simrin followed them.
As they passed the injured, Eya saw the burns on the soldiers around her. She found blackened limbs, missing digits, singed clothing, and charred faces. She wanted to look away from it in guilt and disgust, but she forced herself to take it in, to remember not to lose control like that again.
Outside, soldiers turned to stare at her as they passed. There was a mixture of reactions that she never saw on their faces before. In the past, they looked at her in mild annoyance or perhaps a little greedily. It was clear that they thought of her as a woman King Retam sent to boost their morale. Now, she saw awe, fear, and even hatred.
"Did they all see me?" Eya asked as Daijah laid her on her cot.
"You were pretty hard to miss," he said nodding.
"Do they think I'm a monster?" she asked.
"No," Daijah answered, sitting next to her. "I think it answered a lot of questions for many. Others may not be happy with how you acted today. Mostly, they are still trying to figure out how a person could do what you were able to do."
Daijah needed to return to tending the injured, but Novem and Simrin decided to stay by the entrance to her tent. They no longer trusted that Eya would be safe without a guard.
It was approaching evening, but the air felt hot and sticky. There was still smoke in the air from the lightning fires. Eya found it hard to breathe and get any comfort in her riding leathers. She pulled them off and felt instant relief out of their constraints. She slipped on a light nightgown to rest. She was almost asleep when a commotion at her tent roused her.
She peeked outside to see Novem and Simrin pushing a soldier away. The soldier's face contorted in anguish and loathing as he fought to get past Eya's brothers. His body twisted in their arms uselessly.
"That witch!" he screamed. "That was my brother! My brother! She was supposed to be on our side!"
Daijah flew over to the fight and saw Eya's face. He motioned for her to go back inside the tent, but she ignored him. Now, everyone seemed to see her there watching. Going inside now would show them that she felt superior to them and didn't care about how her actions affected them. Instead, she stepped outside of the tent.
Eya's entire body trembled. She felt so vulnerable in her light cotton nightgown among all these armored mountain men. How did she ever feel like she could sleep in a tent surrounded by violent men twice her size? Cefa might be a goddess, but they all knew her as an old healer woman. She took a calming breath to control her emotions, but her fear still called in a few storm clouds in the distance. If she didn't explain now, things would get much worse. She took another look at the despondent soldier held by her brother and inhaled deeply.
"King Retam sent me on this journey with you," she said to everyone around her, "not just because I am…Little Eya…but because of what I can do. I was sent here as a weapon against Pescel. The only way any storm ever comes is when I feel scared. Earlier today, I felt terrified because I saw you surrounded by mages. I meant to strike at our enemies to pull them off of you. But, as your screams grew, my fear grew."
Eya took a long look around her. The men appeared to be growing more frightened of her now, their towering frames cowering and stepping back from her. This was the opposite of what she wanted. She didn't want them viewing her as a threat within their camp. She thought back on what Daijah discussed with her in the healing tent.
"Have you ever been in battle and felt lost?" she asked them. "Felt like you couldn't be there in the pain and terror, that you had to become someone else to fight this fight? I may be a woman, but I am a warrior. In my fear of losing you to the Pesceleans, I replaced myself with the storm like a coward. I am so sorry."
Eya fell to her knees in front of the angry soldier, locking eyes with him. She covered her heart with her hands to convey her sincerity. "I am so sorry that I gave in to my fear," she said to him alone now. "I am so sorry you lost your brother. I should be protecting you. I want to protect you. I will do better. I must."
"Yes," the Duke's gruff voice called from her left. She hadn't noticed him standing there during her speech.
Parvon stood beside him, scowling. "You must. My tent. Now."
Eya followed the Duke and Parvon.
Daijah held her hand. They made their way into the Duke's rather large tent. There were maps of Hicares strewn about. It was obvious the Duke and Parvon argued here earlier.
"I can't believe I have to say this," the Duke growled, towering over her small frame. "We are at war, Princess Eyanisade. You are a weapon. Your job is to damage what we tell you to damage. You are not here to change our maneuvers last minute. You are not here to seduce my son. I tell you to blast, and you blast. Do you understand?"
"My brothers and your son were about to die…” she explained.
"No, they weren't!" he yelled back. "If you followed instructions and let the men do their job, you would have seen my troop coming from behind the mages to take them out. If you trusted that the most esteemed soldiers in all of Telverin wouldn't let themselves get ambushed so easily, then perhaps we would have more soldiers to fight the next fight!"
Eya backed away from the Duke. He knew the Pesceleans were planning something different. Of course, he did. He was a world-renowned general. Eya's guilt grew, consuming her.
"If you told us, this wouldn't have happened," Parvon admonished the Duke, defending his sister. "She acted protectively."
"I didn't tell you because I wanted the Pesceleans to think they had us," the Duke replied. "I didn't trust you not to give us away. It turns out I was right not to trust you."
“Didn’t trust us? I wasn’t aware that my general doesn’t trust the King of Hicares and his royal siblings,” Parvon snapped back, his anger increasing. "Eya exhausted herself to the point of collapsing to protect your soldiers!”
“She let the Pesceleans see her!" the Duke hissed back. "It's not just our men who now know that she is the one that brings the storm. I nearly convinced them all it was some fancy Serenchean machine before today. If you don't think a Pescelean soldier or two didn't flee to the next camp to tell them everything about your sister, you're a bigger fool than I took you for!"
“How dare you talk to me—“ Parvon started.
"It was going to happen eventually," Daijah interjected, wanting to diffuse the moment. He knew his father didn’t consider Parvon or his siblings real royalty at all, because King Retam had made it clear they were nothing but a tool for Kandum to gain power, and would never hold any real throne unless it was granted to them by Retam. "This morning, I feared they might see her, just because she was so close. The only reason why no one saw her right away was due to an illusion of fog that Cefa created. Eya won't always have a convenient place to hide."
"She certainly won't now," the Duke seethed, turning his ire on his son. "Every camp we battle will be looking for her after this."
"There's nothing we can do about that," Daijah replied, keeping his cool in the tent full of hotheads. "You can either choose to send your best weapon back to Kandum or work with what we have."
"You're right," the Duke admitted, sighing and wiping his face. "We all need to rest. Tomorrow, we begin strategizing for the next battle. We need some new maneuvers."
The Duke dismissed them all with a wave, and they made their way out.
Parvon gave the Duke a cutting glance before exiting. No love existed between those two.
Eya felt a little afraid of what would happen if this hostility grew.
After the group left, the Duke wrote his latest update to King Retam, explaining that their royal pawns were becoming difficult to control. As long as the Hicaron brothers were around to support their little sister, Kandum’s most powerful weapon wouldn’t be totally under their control. Parvon needed to step aside and realize that Eya was no longer his sister. She was a freakish monster, only suitable for what Kandum ordered her to do.