I heard a few muttered curses from Kaos before the telltale sounds of the crunching of sand beneath his stomping boots as he, predictably, followed me back to what was the tent housing the Last Keeper’s commanders and plans.
“We’ve lost half, if not more, of her followers. She obviously can no longer serve as a figurehead. The Bondsmith is missing. We need to find those artifacts before someone else does,” Kaos pleaded.
I sneered in thought of our half-breed sister barely escaping us yet again.
Run now, little sister. Your time will come soon enough.
“And that is why we must pivot,” I said as I threw open the flap leading to the tent. Both commanders had left beforeour arrival, taking with them a vast majority of followers, maps and charts, recorded prophecies, and, most disappointingly, the Bondsmith.
I turned in a slow circle, carefully inspecting the walls of the hut as I put together the pieces of a plan. It was rough and risky. But it could work.
It had to work.
“Kaos,” I mused, not taking my eyes from the wall of the hut where a ripped corner of a map still hung. “I think it’s time you paid your last descendant a visit.”
Kaos was silent for a moment, and I held my breath, thinking he would defy me in this request.
“Of course, Solace,” he murmured before there was a feeling of immense pressure followed by a smallpop. The quick dissipation of the pressure and the lack of presence that was so uniquely Kaos told me he had followed my request.
I blew out a breath of relief I didn’t realize I was holding.
Kaos’ last descendant was causing more trouble than he was worth in the north. My brother would never admit it, and would never take the steps necessary to eliminate the issue, but the last Truthsayer was becoming a bit of a problem. But it was a convenient excuse to get Kaos out of my way.
I needed time to plan. Time to turn the humans against the gods—at least the ones that weren’tme.
Eventually, I would have their complete loyalty. Eventually, I would control Elyria and absorb my brother’s powers.
And then, Fate would fall.
Chapter 10
The Girl
Time passed strangely for the girl as she laid buried beneath countless furs that reeked of piss, sweat, and feces. Though the girl couldn’t remember the last time she’d had to pee or shit—was it days? A week? More?
It wouldn’t be long now before she was reunited completely, body and soul, with Solace. Her being would return to the ether where it was born, and her collective consciousness would join with Solace and the Keepers that perished so long ago.
“Not long now, my daughter.”The voice was sweet and cajoling, taking on the tone of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all at once.“You’ve been so brave. It’s time to let go soon, sweetheart.”
If the girl had any water left in her body, tears would have formed in her eyes.
She didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
Not when those who destroyed her village and people sixteen years ago still lived.
Not when Solace had finally returned to Elyria.
A keening sound erupted from the girl, but no one responded.
No one was there to comfort her, to assuage her fears.
To assure her that what she did wasright.
The girl faded from consciousness again, and she was certain that this time she wouldn’t resurface. That she would join her ancestors in Solace.
And when the girl opened her eyes to a dark nothingness, the rotting stench of decay and death absent, she was sure that was the case.
But the voice that rang through the space surprised her.
