Dark Swan Ebook, page 31
The Veil.
“Well,” Julna’s voice stabbed me. “I hope you understand.”
“I don’t understand.” My voice trembled, like a song gliding across a sour note. “Why did you do it?”
“I did what I needed to do.” Her eyes hardened. “To make the end goal a reality.”
“Why are you helping Tatum?”
“You think I’m helping him?” She laughed; a bitter, poisonous cackle. “Well, I suppose you would.” Her figure was a mixture of shadows and fabric, lifeless and threatening. “I wish to kill him—and the seasons. To take the magic and destroy it completely. There will no longer be predators and prey—only equals. The strong will survive, not the blessed. Magic is evil, Alecto. Magic is something no one should possess. Not even the Stars we call creators.”
Two opposites. The Silver Queen wished to destroy magic and free the humans, while Tatum wished to absorb all the magic and control them.
Yet I had the feeling they both wanted me dead.
“Julna, don’t do this.”
“You don’t get to call me that. Julna died the second we landed in Yamira.” Her eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. “I remembered everything. I remembered you aren’t my sister. I remembered why I exist—my past and future. I remembered who I am.”
“And is that bad?” I ventured a step closer, my fingers trembling. “We have a chance to rebuild this world together—”
“Your version and mine differ.” Julna’s eyes narrowed. “We would never agree. I tried to convince you once, and it ended with our deaths. It’s not meant to be.”
“Despite this, despite our past,” I took another step, my stomach hardening,“you will always be my sister. I would die for you…”
“You don’t mean that.” She flinched slightly, tendons in her neck stiffening.
“I do.” I meant it. I would take an arrow for her… the sharp claw of an ogarak to the gut for her. No matter what, she was my sister. The life we lived before didn’t change that. “I wouldn’t say it unless I meant it.”
“Then you’re a fool.” Her words were like a blow to the stomach, cutting into my flesh. “Because I would enjoy watching you die.”
It was as if my heart was torn out of my chest, thrown on the forest floor, and stabbed. I stumbled back a step; blood curdled in my veins. The pain bloomed in my breast, spreading over my bones and tendons like fire. I couldn’t see outside my burning vision. “Then do it. Kill me.”
She pulled a blade. Her smile was an angled thing, twisted and so unlike Julna. “Don’t blame me, Alecto. You were always destined to end like this, at the end of my blade, and I was destined to be alive, to end magic.”
I swallowed the thickness in my throat. “Maybe this is your second chance. Maybe you were given another chance in life—”
“No.” She angled her sword, her smile evaporating. But she didn’t run me through. Her arm trembled, making the sword waver.
Her eyes found mine, mahogany again, reminding me of what she was once…
“Maybe I’ll let you suffer here.” She took a step back, sheathing her sword. “Why kill you when the creatures of the Veil could kill you instead?”
“Julna—”
“That’s not my name!” Silver magic curled around her arms, sizzling up her fists and crackling at her knuckles. “It was never my name.”
Shadows licked at her heels as she strode through the opening into the Veil and vanished.
My heart shredded into a thousand pieces, tearing apart bit by bit. Hope splintered and vanished in front of me.
A thundering roar cleaved the air, jarring me to a presence within the dark forest. Massive claws pressed against the bark of the shade-trees as the enormous serpentine body slithered into view. Its scales were as black as coal, dripping with inky-wetness onto the earth. Wings made of shadow and nightmares spread high overhead as it craned its neck closer, angling it to the side as violet eyes locked with mine.
“Furie,” it breathed, its voice a mixture of a thousand beings speaking through one entity. “Fire bringer.”
I readied myself, fear pulsing through me.
A dragon.
My tongue was made of cotton, drying my throat as the beast’s yellow teeth began to show themselves. It spoke in a low tone, coursing through my bones with magic. “I have been waiting for you.”
My legs weakened. I was about to die.
“We have been waiting for our queen to return.”
My mind numbed. “What?”
Indigo fire spun through its nostrils. “We have spent many years waiting for you, our High Queen of the Day. The Dark Swan.”
I stumbled, my back pressing against a tree. Other creatures entered the clearing, their figures a mixture of horrors and imagination. “I’m not a queen.”
“You are Alecto. Daughter of Time and Earth.” The dragon’s eyes flared into a furious fire. “The creature of chaos stole you from us, and caused you to forget your destiny. Rumors spread of the dangers here. That death only comes to those who visit our forest.” Its wings folded close, tucking against its scales. “Many have come nevertheless. They sought the true legend.”
Two wolf-men bound into view, their hairy bodies covered in red cloaks. They drew a circle around me, etching three smaller ones within. A line extended outward, pointing north. The circle in the earth glowed silver, shooting beams of light up around me. Beyond the light I saw land—farms and villages spreading across a beautiful countryside. At the end of it was a gleaming castle made of gold crystal and white stone.
“This is your land. Knowledge of this place has been forgotten, and we have kept it hidden from those who would wish to plunder it.” Creatures which looked like Jack tended farms, interacting with women made of shadows and men with skin as transparent as a stream. “It has been safe, locked from those who should seek its power until you were to open the gateways once more.”
My wings trembled. “How many lives have I lived?”
A dazzling stream bubbled off the side and the scent of fresh-picked lemons prickled my nose. Sugared lemons. “Many lives, my queen.” The dragon’s tail flicked to the side. “All but one has been lived to rewrite your first life.”
“And which life is that?”
The dragon’s teeth flashed through the beautiful scene. “This one.”
61
With the magic of the dragon, my memories returned. I couldn’t explain it… the feeling of remembering everything. Remembering who I was—where I came from. That I wasn’t alone. That I wasn’t just the last of the furie.
The tangled yarn of memory snapped tight, the timeline no longer intertwined with each other.
This was who I was: Alecto, High Queen of the Day, and the first furie created by the Stars. I had died many times in my years, and found only one love who I have returned to more than once—a love I would never abandon.
I was raised in my last life by the Changeling, Tatum, in his attempt to take back what the Stars took.
And he’d nearly won.
Fire crawled over my feathers, charring the white plumage silken black, the tips of each feather dipped in the red of anger—the red of revenge. I needed to find Tatum and end this once and for all.
To end his immortal life and unmake him.
Spreading my shadowy wings, I snapped them down, and ash rose from the ground. The tree’s dark leaves burst to green, and the coal-hued wood rippled to rich mahogany. Sunlight penetrated the clouds overhead, shining down on the lush forest floor. A gateway formed in the clearing made of crystal and gold, sun streaming from the arch. My kingdom laid just beyond the barrier, ready for my return.
Biodru breathed in, their eyes narrowing. “You wish not to return?”
“Not yet.” I closed my eyes, pressing my hand against the gateway. Armor, as black as the midnight sky, appeared on my body. “Not until the rest of the realms are safe.”
Biodru smiled a fangy grin. “That is my queen.” Their body pulled into view. “What is your command?”
I looked into the portal I’d opened, to the glittering beyond calling my name. “How long would it take for you to assemble the army?”
Biodru cocked their head. “An hour at most.”
“Good.” I turned, facing south. “Speed them along. I will do what I can in the meantime.”
Biodru’s form shifted, and they turned into a humanoid creature—a leviathan. “Remember, My Queen.” Their voice lowered. “Remember who you are fighting.”
I nodded. Yes, I remembered all too well.
Tatum, otherwise known as the Changeling, was a creature bound between heavens and earths. A being of everything and nothing. I was right to be afraid of him. He was the emptiness willing to be filled.
Tatum and I went back—far, far back. Back to the first time we’d met when he’d tried to steal my powers and it killed me.
The next time, he’d raised me. He’d called me his own…
And I’d loved him like a father.
Spreading my wings, I took another breath in. The air was stiff and cold with impending war. I leapt, my wings grasping the wind and propelling me upward. Lighting cracked in the distance, rolling over the horizon like a creature damning the world.
Inanna’s army would be right behind us.
Over the rumble of thunder screams and screeches echoed—the sound of a thousand ogarak in the air. I clutched my sheath, checking my weapon. With a deep breath in, I augued.
Fire burst around me, wrapping along my arms and legs as I shot through the atmosphere. Light, darkness, and stars wrapped with fire.
It stopped, and I was flying above Setizar’s palace, above the sprawl of lush gardens and wintery maze. It was as still as death. I folded my wings, dropping like an arrow. And just before I hit the ground, I opened them again.
Leaves swirled into a spiral, lifted into a maelstrom of autumn fury as I drifted to a landing, crunching the foliage below my boots. The world was as silent as the grave; not even the wind made a noise as I began walking down the uneven cobblestone steps toward the entrance. Ice nipped at my heels, dread blooming in my chest.
I continued forward, ebony armor glinting in the scattered sunlight. Flowers began to wither as I walked past, coating the garden in a deathly emotion. Light shuddered around me as I threw open the door, washing the area in shattered light. The clank of my armor against the marble floor bounced off the walls, rippling through my skin and bones like a chorus.
A clock ticked in the corner someplace, the seconds marked by the click of the gears. Time flickered in my muscles, pressing hard against my armor.
“Meris?” Setizar’s figure filled the doorway; his wide shoulders gilded in amethyst plates which looked like stones, pleated together and folded to cover his body. His armor. Of course he would wear something so beautiful.
My pulse raced, flooding my stomach with butterflies. I could die a thousand times, and no matter how many times I did, I would still find myself loving him.
Because in every life I had, I’d loved him. From afar—a girl wide-eyed and bewildered by the mythical creature—to close up, stealing kisses in between the tresses of the weeping willow. And I wouldn’t allow myself to lose him again.
Together we’d change the realms and free magic, as it once was. No more hiding in the shadows of the past. Tatum wanted to strip this world of magic and control everyone. Inanna wanted to do the same. Julna—Belenia—she wished to take magic and destroy it all.
I wanted us all to be whole once more. To become the united realm we could be. Where the gateways were open and magic flowed freely. I took a step toward him, closing the space between us.
“You look fierce,” he said, looking me over. “I like the old look.”
I smiled, angling my head. “Same to you.”
Seconds bled by, dripping between us like sand in an hourglass. “Meris, if this is the last minute we ever have together…” He took my hand in his, taking in a long, audible breath. “I need to tell you—”
“I love you.” I tightened my grip, tugging him closer. Our armor clanked together, scraping metal and gemstone like the raw grate against my heart and lungs.
“Exactly.” His eyes searched mine. “I love you too, Meris. Maybe in another life we could have lived without war, or death.”
If this was the last moment we had, then I was going to remember him the best I could. I would etch this moment in my mind. I wouldn’t forget him.
“You better go,” I whispered after hearing the distant howl of the ogarak. “We need to win this war, Setizar.”
“We will win this war. One way or another. We will win.”
The way he said it, with reassuring clarity, made me wonder what he was up to. “Setizar…”
A grin spread on his face, and he took my hand. “I think you need to see a pet project of mine.”
“Now isn’t the time to be showing me your pet project, there’s a war outside.”
“You’re going to enjoy this thoroughly.” He tugged at my arm, leading me through the labyrinth of his palace, up toward the east wing. The east wing.
Guilt poured into my heart, and a stuttering panic surged upward in my gut. Where was he taking me?
We entered the obsidian darkness, stopping atop the glimmer of starlight below. The beasts—feral gigantic tigers bred with dragons and darkness—were frozen below, claws out and fangs bared, made only of thousands of tiny stars.
With Setizar standing beside me, looking down, the creatures began to slowly move, releasing growls which vibrated the floor below.
They were alive.
The wings above moved, slithering from iron to starlight and dissolving into the air around. Shadows wavered, flickering and shuddering gently as the beasts moved steadily upward. Light flashed, followed by a hissing explosion. The sensation of pickaxes driving into my ears shot pain through my skull. Heat licked at my skin. Screams cleaved the air.
Silence.
A screeching ring.
My eyes adjusted to the wreckage —the once splendid east wing of the palace wrapped in destruction.
I couldn’t breathe. My skin was taut against my bones, crawling up my muscles like electricity. Wind lapped at my unbound hair, spinning as a chaos of air peeled through the now destroyed palace.
Setizar.
I stood, pulling my sword despite the protest of my body. “Setizar!” I yelled, looking around. “Setizar!”
“Here, Meris.” He stood mere feet away, unharmed, with an expression of glee on his face. His eyes were locked onto something behind me, to the source of the ethereal glow washing though the area.
I spun, standing face to face with two beings made of stars and night. Their bodies were translucent, like water or crystal, with only starlight etching out their figures. Wings, like those in the hall, were bound to their backs, made entirely of stardust and dreams. The hulking tiger creatures regarded me for a still moment, eyes like black holes, holding a mystery within their gazes.
“Meet the twins, Vega and Rigel, my own magical guardians gifted to me by my parents. I’ve worked long and hard, and finally got them wings.”
I gazed at them. “They’re…”
“Perfect, almost.” Setizar smiled, though his expression darkened as soon as a silvery light exploded in the sky above. “That was a leviathan blast. Inanna’s army is here.”
I turned heavenward. Something akin to a thousand bats flying through the air met my vision. “We need to find Tatum.” I ignited my sword, fire billowing upward and licking the blade with smoldering heat.
Setizar took a step back, raising his hand for Vega and Rigel. “I should have taken more precautions against the Changeling’s escape.”
I slid closer, angling my head. “However you and the Seasons accomplished trapping him, I would like to know.”
His grin cut through me. “Get me my powers back and I’ll show you how I did it. Otherwise, right now I’m good for nearly nothing.”
My tongue became a desert. “You can still mist, right? In case of danger?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Stay safe. Your powers will return.” Fire burst around me. Starlight, sunlight, and echoing darkness clambered along my skin.
I flew in front of the ogarak army; a sea of thousands upon thousands of red carapaces and fangs. Their wings clapped against the air like flags in a fierce storm.
This ended today.
62
There were once rumors about the High Queen of the Day. Tales the humans would tell their misbehaving offspring. They said her wings are those of darkness and shadow, ready to bring death. She would kill with a gleam in her roguish eyes, thirsting for the blood of those who disobeyed their parents. This, of course, wasn’t true. Only the men who kill and harm the innocent—those are the ones she judges.” Biodru’s eyes slid toward me, bright and burning. “Remember, My Queen, you cannot allow yourself to forget who and what you are. Do not forget why you have breath in your lungs, a beating heart, and fire in your soul.”
I watched Biodru carefully, holding my tongue. Perhaps they sensed my reluctance to speak.
“Alecto, the reason you have those things is because you were chosen to change the worlds.”
Anger swelled in my chest, and a burst of fire exploded around me. The fire illuminated the heavens like the brand of an angered god. Searing. Brutal.
Hundreds of ogarak screamed, falling from the heavens, while others swarmed.
I readied my weapon, my fingers trembling as I angled the sun-licked sword. A clap of roaring thunder broke on the horizon, signaling another wave of enemies. Power ripped through the sky, and I pivoted, throwing a fiery shield around me. It connected with a dozen Ogarak, frying their leathery wings. The air smelled like smoke and burnt hair.
My head lightened.
The source of the power–Biodru–cast rings of fire down the ogarak’s ink-black scales. Their eyes, as violet as vervain, rippled across the ogarak.
