Seren moves to him, her hand reaching out for him. It grips his forearm, firm and soft at the same time. Different than it was. Callouses and scars mar her hands now, and somehow, it only adds to her. His skin is alight under her touch, brought alive by her.
“She fooled everyone. And Teddy?” Seren’s voice drops low, like whatever she’s about to say will change everything.
“Ilyra is…” she trails off.
“What?” he presses, muscles coiled tight.
“She is Nyrielle.”
His stomach drops.
Bile rises in his throat.
“What? The Goddess of Light and Wonder?” His eyes narrow. He shakes his head trying to make sense of it.
“She paid the witches to keep her here in this place and exile the rest of the pantheon. We’ve been pawns in her game all along. She’s been waiting for the prophecy. For El.”
From nowhere, his body shakes. Trembling under the truth of what he’s done. Who he’s helped. How he’s fucked everything.
“No,” he breathes, his eyes closing. “How didn’t I know? How didn’t I sense her?” He drags his hands through his hair, down his face.
Seren exhales slowly, solemnly. “We’ll never know Teddy. She hid it somehow. A gift from the gods, the Stars playing a sick joke, or something as simple as Obsidian Shards.”
His breath snags in his throat.
Seren grips tighter. “Hey. Hey,” she soothes, pulling him to her, desperate to soothe his torment.
“I spoke to Ronyn—he’s found the dragons. I’ll make the witches join our cause. We have someone on the inside in Caeloria. There’s hope, Teddy. There’s hope.” The words tumble out, but Teddy can hear them for what they are: futile.
His eyes open slowly, dropping to meet Seren’s. “And Kael? Where is he?”
Something shifts in her stance. It turns rigid, like it’s the exact question she doesn’t want to answer.
“Seren. Tell me. Where is Kael?”
She tries to speak, but nothing comes out.
The little restraint Teddy has left snaps.
“Where. Is. He.”
“Maireth has him, Teddy. They have weapons of Aether—shields. They can withstand his magic. He’s… in Caeloria,” she grits out, finally admitting the unbearable truth.
Teddy’s mouth twists into a snarl. Not angry—pained. Tormented. Tortured.
“Maireth tricked them. Lured them there for the Orbs but she never had them. It was all a plan to capture him. Use him against….”
His eyes snap up.
“Elyssara?” he asks, like he’s cataloging everyone.
“Safe.”
Teddy nods.
“I need to get to him,” he snaps.
Seren grips his arms again.
