Page 88 of By the Flames of Her Fury

She froze. Her eyes narrowed slightly, scouring over him with that guarded, skeptical look of hers. The entire room stilled, waiting with baited breath for her to act. I knew my Vera. She rarely trusted easily, and I silently begged her to share my wariness. To be careful.

But then she smiled at him. It was small—a simple curve of her lip, hesitant but hopeful, transforming her entire face.

With that single look, my stomach sank.

41

Vera

You are not alone.

The words settled into my core. I looked between Arcadia, Julius, and Maeve with cautious wonder. “Does everyone in Pyraeth have our magic?”

“Everyone has some level of Fate blood in them, yes, but each magic can vary in strength. That is why Aramanth is a healer—her magic over nature and the body is much stronger than others.” Arcadia gestured toward me. “We always knew the one destined to free us would be powerful, but how is it that you have come to possess similar magic?”

“We’re from a place called the Veridian Empire. Well, some of us are.” I pointed to Everett, Tessa, and Kieran. As succinctly as I could, I told the Pyraethis how several hundred years ago, the Fates issued a challenge to the Veridian Empire and our southern neighbor, Mysthelm, saying that whoever could conquer the uninhabited land holding the magic of the Fates would be granted their power. When the Veridian Empire bested the kingdom of Mysthelm, our ancestors received the magic.

“Our empire was split into six provinces,” I said, “and each province got one type of magic. Sort of like what you were saying, about light and dark, mind and nature, all of that. We just call them different names. Everett is an Illusionist, and both Tessa and Kieran are Shifters.” At my words, Tessa shifted her hand into a paw and waved it at the Elders.

“And you, daughter? What are you called?” Arcadia asked.

Heat rose to my cheeks. “I—I don’t have a name. I’m somewhat of an…abnormality where I’m from.”

Freak of nature. Monster. Unnatural.

Arcadia’s warm smile melted those thoughts away. “Not with us. Here, you are just like everyone else.”

It was such a small, simple concept, and yet it made something new stir in my chest. Something I’d never felt before. Something like belonging.

Arcadia continued, “But there is a difference. It sounds as if your people, these Veridians that you speak of, actively sought their magic. They desired it so much that they were willing to wage war for it, yes?” I nodded, and he said, “That is not the case for Pyraethis.”

“The Fates didn’t know what they were putting into motion when they conceived with the humans,” Julius added, “and once they realized how powerful their offspring was, they grew to hate their own creation.”

Arcadia shook his head. “Demithes did not ask for this power. It’s through no fault of our own that we’re born with it, and yet, we are who suffer the consequences.”

Behind me, Tessa spoke. “So the Fates punished your ancestors just because they were jealous?”

Arcadia nodded. “The Fates gave life to the first beings because they wanted a sentient creation that would worship them. A people they could rule over. But when their own children proved to be just as mighty, the Fates became envious. They wanted sole dominion over magic. They tried to annihilate their creation, but were unprepared for how powerful the demithes had become.”

Arcadia began to pace in front of me. “They failed to defeat them, so their last resort was to send the entire kingdom into nothingness. To isolate them in a separate world, on a parallel, unreachable plane, away from even the very sun that rules over the rest of the world.” He looked up, as if trying to see into the black sky. “They wanted to start creation anew with a species that wouldn’t inherit their Fated power. A lesser, non-magical people.”

“I suppose that would be us,” Starke said gruffly.

“Please don’t misunderstand,” Maeve said. “We don’t mean to demean your kind. We know next to nothing about you or the outside world. Our people have been banished here for nearly a thousand years, only able to send scouts to your world every century. Anything we have learned comes from the records these scouts passed down to us, if they even made it back to Pyraeth.”

Something about that piqued my curiosity. “So you can send people to the real world?”

Maeve nodded. “Every one hundred years on the spring equinox. It was the single favor the Fates bestowed us: the chance to leave Pyraeth for twenty-four hours and find someone with the power to come here and raise our kingdom.”

Julius cut in. “The last crew to return from their search was three centuries ago.”

“What happens to the ones that don’t return?” I pressed.

“They are presumed dead,” Julius answered.

“You have seen for yourself the lengths the Fates would go to in order to prevent someone from finding us,” Arcadia said. “The kraken you spoke of, the skeletal guardians, sirens, even the quicksand are all myths brought to life to ensure nobody can infiltrate us. All weapons in the Fates’ arsenal.”

The quicksand. My heart stuttered. “Arcadia—Your Grace, there’s something else you need to know. We weren’t the only ones who came through that portal. There was another, a man from my empire who must’ve been tracking me to find Pyraeth.”