Page 110

“I would very much like that,” he admitted in the sort of deep tone a male would use to lure a woman to his bedchamber. He crept closer to the other side of the dais.

I cocked my head, waiting. If it was indeed him, I would strike him down, and the chain would be ended. We could search for the missing piece and finally be free to roam together again. Then we could put an end to the threats of humans attempting to overthrow us and our dark brother, who had taken the opportunity our weakness provided to attempt to break free of his prison.

“I did uncover something,” he confided, eyes darting around now as though afraid of being overheard.

This was not something I expected. What sort of discovery would have anything to do with what I’d asked?

“Come, I will share it with you, Goddess. Only you.” He beckoned me toward the center door, behind where I stood.

I was tired of these games. I wished only to finish this and return home to my brother and sister. Yet, I followed him. As unlikely as it was, I had to know if he bore the bloodline of Illio.

Inside the even smaller chamber was a stone slab set at an angle like a tilted table. I could not fathom the purpose of it. But beside it on a small table sat a familiar shard of crystal, whose flat side and tapered tip immediately made my heartbeat quicken.

It was the missing piece of the godstone. The one Illio had hidden from us when we separated the dangerous object all those years ago. Perhaps this man was the one I sought after all. If not, he had at least brought me back our most important possession, missing for centuries. With it, I could restore the source crystal and return it, bringing an end to our exile with or without having found Illio’s heir.

Either Balram would be rewarded for this or die, depending on his bloodline. Meanwhile, he circled toward the stone, hands clasped behind his back. I tensed, wishing to grab it, but knowing I had to keep up the charade of doting goddess…for now. I needed the truth.

“You have found another crystal,” I said, attempting to mask any note of interest in my voice.

“Yes,” he answered, lifting between us both the crystal and his scepter, on which was imbedded the Illusion stone I’d given Centos myself so long ago—a third of the very same crystal I’d myself divided. Did he know the two were kin? “And I’ve noticed that when I use them in tandem, my power is magnified tenfold.”

The violet glow of the two together illuminated his face in a way that made me retreat a step. Immediately I chided myself. So, what if he had two shards of crystal? I was a goddess to these people. Even if he was the seed of Illio, he would not be equal to my power. Not without the rest of the pieces.

“But can you perform magic other than illusion?” I pressed, then held my breath, waiting for the answer I needed.

“If I take the ability from someone else,” he said, lips curling at the corners in an unnatural way.

“Take it?” I repeated, already disappointed. If he were the one I sought, he would be able to do it without the aid of others.

“Yes. Would you like me to show you?” he prompted, excitement lighting his face.

I would rather have returned to Synbari. But I should find out his meaning if whatever he referred to created yet more power than we had intended for the already troublesome humans. I nodded.

“I’ve never tried it on a god before,” he said with reverence.

Before I could intervene, he thrust the two stones together, and I was caught in a beam of violet ether so strong, I was immediately entangled inside.

“What is this?” I demanded, staggering.

I yanked my arms back, tugging on the strings as they grew in intensity and number, binding me securely. My own ether answered its call, flowing from my body unbidden back toward the stone he gripped so hard I thought it might—prayed it might—shatter. But to whom does a god pray?

My magic surged as I fought the beam, and only after too long did I think to stop fighting and rush toward the sorcerer. He’d taken so much, so quickly, syphoned it straight from my veins, my very heart. I’d never felt so weak.

With my own power, Balram forced me down to the stone slab and bound me to it with chains he’d had hidden behind it.

“You cannot kill a god,” I said. But I was no longer certain of that. Still, I tried to make my voice strong, though it came out far too meek. “You will be punished for this, Balram.”

“That’s King Balram,” he corrected, eyes glowing as I’d made mine do not long before to intimidate him. “And once I have all four stones, I will be as a god myself.”

He began to back from the room, the shard he held still pulling at my power, though less so now.

“I command you to stop!” I yelled, struggling against the chains that held me.

“Once I have them all, I will meet with you again, Revka, and we will see whether a god can die. Until then, you wished to see if I could perform other magic like that of a god? Sleep.”

I gasped for air, desperate to fill my lungs as I was lifted from the ether bath. My spirit returned to my body so suddenly that everything felt wrong for one awful moment as I clutched at Darvol’s shirt, desperate to right myself.

Grasping for purchase against the crystalline wall, I leaned over and retched. All that came up was a waterfall of rainbow threads of ether. But neither Zariah nor Darvol paid me any mind. They were too busy speaking in hushed tones.