Aquila’s massive form dove from the midnight sky outside the hut. An unobstructed wave of warmth and happiness crashed into me from the sea hawk as he blew a great gust of wind, sending waves of fresh powder into the small room. I returned it with my own, never more grateful for this reunion.
Lelyth’sdark wine curls bounced as she strode through a long wooden hall, a stable of sorts, with long iron bars lining the walls. Massive, white bears peered out, many of them offering low growls or slashing with their curved black claws at the bars as we passed. The Obscura thrummed beneath my skin at the presence of the threat. Nivis’s mounted bears, a cavalry of sorts.
“Where are we going?” I asked, irritated at the young human’s cryptic comments in the weeks that had passed since Olienna’s Bellator gathering.
“Out,” she replied.
I bristled, following until we came upon the docks facing Nivis’s sacred island in the distance. I opened a cast to my caeluma, his warmth melting into me from where he munched on a bucket of oats outside the Crystal Castle.
“Fifteen hundred years is too long,” Lelyth murmured, her bright eyes staring across the azure sea that separated us from the green island. She twisted a shimmering band around her finger, its strange material casting little rainbows on her white tunic.
“Attalus said the Aeterna could do it,” I argued, uncertain why I was the only Bellator she’d brought along to have this conversation after the eight of us had agreed…
“Attalus has been wrong before,” Lelyth said quietly, still staring at the land mass ahead. “And is that what you want, Enya? To extend our lives so considerably? I’m not sure I do.”
I shook my head. Of course, I didn’t want this… Ordell had also questioned it… “No, but I’ll do what has to be done to fight if they return after this?—”
“I believe Olienna’s plan is well-intentioned,” Lelyth cut in, turning toward me, “But will we even be the same people then? People change over time, Enya. Humans, and even elves, are not meant to live forever. Will we all stay the course? Or will that much time erode our good intentions? I’m not convinced.”
She shook her head and turned back to the sea, her eyes steeling in determination.
“What choice do we have?” I asked.
“There is always a choice, Enya. Our ancestors escaped their wrath and found refuge here, taking their power as they did. We know they will return again. When this fight is over, I thinkourfight is over.”
I went still. “I am not going to sit by and let this happen?—”
“I’m not suggesting that,” Lelyth snapped. “Of course, we fight. I’m not a coward. But I am suggesting we sacrificenowto save the future generations. To prepare them as best as we can. We’re not meant to live forever.”
“The Bellator powers are too slippery,” I murmured, shaking my head. “You make two dangerous assumptions. One, that our descendants will even survive after this war…”
I shook my head. “And two, that the ones thatdosurvive won’t be wretched assholes.”
Lelyth frowned, her lips pursing.
“You should have more faith,” she murmured, “And who says the power needs to remain in our bodies?”
Lelyth’s eyes softened as they dropped to her hands. She opened and then closed her pale fingers over her palms. She then sent a wave of something soft, knocking on the wall I’d thrown up before all the Bellators. A wall to block their emotions, now that the bond of the Bellators was in place. She knocked at it, softly, politely. I lowered it enough to feel a wave of unease, of fear, of dread. Lelyth was scared.
“There is a way,” she began.
Vulcan’s fingerssnapped in my face as I blinked against the darkness of the cool ice chamber. I’d gotten little sleep the past few days. Anxious claws had sunk into me, as I failed over and over again at opening the small stone containing the Advetis Bone. I had one day left.
“You’re late.” His voice held that familiar edge of annoyance.
I groaned in response.
“What are you talking about?” I mumbled, pulling the fur over my face. He yanked it back down and answered, “I’ll meet you in the clearing outside the sparring ring.”
Godsdamnit. Were we really going back to these early morning exercises after everything that had transpired?
I groaned as I slumped off my cot and tugged on my boots and fur-lined coat. The air was cooler than usual, even with embers of the night fire still glowing softly in the center of the icy chamber.
I trudged into the darkness, taking my sweet time, fully aware of the irritation it would cause Vulcan. But today, of all days…
Icy avenues glowed in a soft orange light from the various torches lining the village. I hopped over the small fence leading to the sparring ring, bracing myself for Vulcan’s glare when I pulled up short, my boots slipping on melted ice. My breath hollowed out at the sight.
