AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eager to forget the eerie sound, I turn my thoughts to the nearest distraction I can grasp. I recall the words Evya spoke a few moments ago, pondering them more closely. One phrase sticks in my mind.
You are meant to undertake the challenge, even if it does not end well for you.
I frown. Either Evya has uncanny insight, or she is more familiar with the fate of my family than I expected.
I turn to her. “How much do you know about the prophets and judges of Dalzana House?”
“I know you bring tyrants and fools to reckoning, and that most of you die in doing so.”
Her words are like icy water poured over my head. “I thought you were at least a little hopeful about my chances of survival.”
Evya wraps her bare arms around herself as if to fend off a cold wind. Her gaze is distant with thought—or perhaps foreboding. “Hopeful, yes. I have no doubt now that the Creator sent you here for a purpose. But I also know His purpose and ours are not always the same.”
I nod slowly, hearing in her words an echo of the declarations I made to Falamar last night. “You’re right that many of my kin have been slain. If you marry me, you’ll share in that peril. Does that bother you?”
Evya shrugs. “I have faced death every day for years. At least, as a Dalzana, I would face it for better reasons. I’m not afraid to die. I’m afraid to be trapped in a world that is always red with blood.”
Amazement sweeps over me. She speaks so calmly, with the resignation of someone who has already lost so much. The haunted look in her eyes mirrors my own soul, my own story.
“I think I understand,” I say. “My life and homeland were destroyed so thoroughly that there’s little left to heal. All the great families were either undermined by Raith or fell along with him. This”—I gesture to the ruins around us—“sums up the state of the great elven houses, no matter how proud we seem.”
The silent stones around me echo my thoughts. The deeper we walk into the circles of crumbling pillars and broken pavements, the more its sadness sinks into me. I’m not old enough to remember Seyr Orthira when it was alive and filled with splendor, but I knew the other three ancient cities of friendship. I was raised in glorious Armith Liel, studied at the university of Lanta Koriashen, and trekked through the jungles to Tal Daraveya where Falamar’s family had once ruled. I watched as each city fell into darkness thanks to Raith’s treachery. Even here, deep in the Atathari homeland, I can’t escape the sorrow of my past or destruction my own family caused. The realization settles on me like a great weight, especially as I remember I still have not told Evya the full truth of who I am. As we walk, I try to organize my thoughts into a coherent narrative so I can explain everything to Evya.
In the silence that stretches between us, my ears are filled with another sound. The unsettling roar swells in the distance, this time unmistakably real. Perhaps it’s only the sound of waves, thrown into strange echoes by the surrounding stones?
A chill crawls up my spine as the sound drones on. It does sound like waves, but deeper and more sinister. Whatever we are walking toward, it is not ordinary sea.
Evya breaks the silence at last. “I’ve been making guesses about you.” She gives me a shrewd glance. “You speak of kings and lords as your equals, but they do not trust you. You have little interest in politics and negotiations, yet you’re skilled with them, as one who has trained for many years. You have the strength and cunning of a warrior, but you speak with longing of peace and beauty being restored, as if you once knew these things well.” She pauses. “You were part of Raith’s court in Armith Liel.”
A mixture of relief and dread courses through me as she makes her guess. “Yes. Yes, I was.” I let out a long breath, bracing myself for what I need to say next. “Although it is even worse than that. Oraithian—Raith—was my older half brother.”
She turns to face me, staring incredulously. I wait for the fear and distrust to creep over her, the way it usually does when someone finds out the full truth of my heritage. “Your brother—”
“Was the one who destroyed the world as we knew it, yes.” I clench my free hand into a fist as memories flood my mind, released from the dark corners where I like to hide them.
“And Ruwa?” Evya’s voice drops to a reverent whisper. “You knew her?”
“I did. She was a wonder.” Deeper sadness washes over me at the thought of my brother’s wife. Ruwa, the oldest and most powerful of the tuath, who was like a mother to all her people. I’d wondered if the tuath still held her in reverence. Evya’s eyes, glistening with a sudden hint of tears, give me all the answer I need.
“When Armith Liel fell,” she begins hesitantly, “you were there? You saw everything?”
“Yes. Everything, from the moment Raith murdered Mae’thara the Voyager to the day the shadows swallowed the city whole.” My voice quavers, and I fall silent.
Evya reaches out and takes my hand, prying my clenched fingers apart and curling her strong grip around them. The touch feels protective, as if she’s trying to shield me from my own sorrow.
“Tell me about them,” she says. “Raith and Ruwa, and the fallen city. The merroc tribes broke ties with Armith Liel long before the end of Raith’s reign. When he betrayed the forest tuath and slaughtered them to claim their lands, we suspected he would turn his malice on the seas next. We knew we could no longer trust him or the lords who ruled under him. I’ve heard only rumors of how his realm fell, each tale more terrible than the last.”
I can tell by her soft tone that her words are a request, not an order. Still, if I am going to dredge up the past, I might as well get everything out at once. I brace myself and begin.
“Oraithian and I were close once. He was much older than me, and I was raised in his household after our father was killed.” I clench my fingers, then flex them, trying to dispel the conflicted emotions that always cloud my memories of those years. “There was a time when I believed he could do no wrong. He brought about so much prosperity and security for our people throughout Tandith, and even in the worlds beyond. It took me a long time to realize his schemes weren’t always what they appeared. When he and Ruwa married, most of the elves thought they’d bound our two peoples together in peace for the rest of time.”
“I remember,” Evya says. “I was only a child, but I remember the shock that ran through the seas when she took Raith as her mate. Some said they were bound by destiny. Others said she was bringing about her own doom.”
“True on both counts,” I say sadly. “She loved him greatly, but I don’t think Raith ever valued or respected her as she deserved, even when he claimed to love her. He only wanted to use her for her magic.”
Evya gives me another piercing look. A sudden thought sends alarm flaring through me.
“Do you worry that I’m going to do that to you?” I ask in a rush.
