Page 11 of Aryn

Sovran softens his voice as he looks at Nyx. “You were able to do it twice, yes?”

Nyx nods. “Once with the guards. The other… in the after.”

“What were you thinking when it happened?”

Nyx considers the question for a long moment before his brows lift slightly. “Home. I wanted to go home.”

Sovran nods. “The magic requires the combined strength of multiple mates. Nyx’s power alone couldn’t force the portal open, but his intentions were pure enough to stir it awake. The prophecy responded to his call, even if it couldn’t complete the connection.”

Bash shakes his head. “This seems too easy. A few mated couples is all it takes? Just… bam, everything is right as rain again?”

“Hardly,” Sovran counters. “A few mated couples can temporarily open a single passageway. Permanently lifting the veil will take hundreds—maybe thousands—of mates working together.”

Xeni releases a harsh scoff and flaps his hands, vaguely gesturing at the couples around the circle. “Mates that don’t exist because my father was capturing and killing them.”

“They are out there,” Sovran insists. “Scattered in the wilds and hidden in the cities, but they are there.”

“That’s your big plan, then?” Ronan demands. “Hunt down these hidden mates? Cross over to a world none of us have touched in almost a century? We don’t even know what remains of it, or whether anyone left would join our cause.”

“They will,” Sovran responds, eyes boring into Ronan’s. “They must. The world wasn’t ready before, but it is ready now. It has to be soon. Fate has shown me this. Two among this group must be the first to travel back to Elyra.”

“Who?” Ronan demands, but Sovran only stares at him. “No,” Ronan snarls. “I will not drag Cameron into danger because you had a dream.”

“You and Cameron must go, Ronan. That much is clear.” Sovran shifts his gaze across the circle and finally locks eyes with Aryn.

Aryn’s eyes widen, his mouth parting just enough to flash the fangs beneath his plump lips. “Me? The Fates demand… me?” he asks.

Sovran nods. “They do.”

“But I… do not have a mate.”

“That matters not,” Sovran answers.

Ronan whirls to face Aryn. “You accept this so easily?”

“Ro—” Cameron starts, but Ronan talks over him.

“You, who have nothing to lose and everything to gain? You may bow at the feet of your precious deities, but I am not willing to risk my mate for the promise of a tomorrow that’s been kept secret from me for a century!”

My hands fist at my sides, ready to jump in and pull Ronan away as he inches closer to Aryn, but Sovran stands abruptly. His wings whip out in a rush of wind strong enough to smother the fire, and smoke curls up in angry tendrils from the glowing embers beneath the cauldron.

Aryn bows his head so low his forehead nearly touches the ground. The urge to submit crawls through my body, urging me to bend the knee right along with him.

“You would let the world burn to ashes then?” Sovran demands. His voice has changed, vibrating through the air like dozens of him are speaking at once. Every version competes with the others, overlapping and fighting some invisible battle that scrapes against my eardrums. The golden veins in his wings pulse with power, and his eyes burn with holy light. “You would let it be destroyed, and your mate along with it?”

“Of course not,” Ronan grits out, forcing himself to stay on his feet while clearly fighting the urge to submit. “I will go if I must, but I will not bring him with me.”

“You do not have a choice,” Sovran fires back. “It is the only way.”

Ronan’s knees slam into the dirt, and his face tilts up toward Sovran in a desperate prayer. “Please,” he begs.

Sovran reels his power back in, lifting the oppressive weight in the air until I can draw a full breath again. He sinks to his knees in front of Ronan, bringing them eye to eye, and reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. “It is the only way to save him. Everything depends on it.”

“Why?” Ronan pleads.

“I cannot tell you more than I have seen. I can only prepare you for what waits beyond.”

Ronan glances around the circle, throat working in a thick swallow before he meets Sovran’s eyes again. “This will work?”