AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He has Rumir,” I said softly. “He bit him.”
“Find my temple, Natalie. The portal to release me is there,” Tedara said. "Release me, and I'll be able to end all of this. I'll be able to save Rumir, you, and everyone else. All you have to do is release me."
I was being pushed into a corner. I had no idea how far Cedric had gone in his quest. What if he’d already perfected the chaos so others could use it? I was being backed against a wall, and it was starting to become clear that if things continued like this, perhaps Tedara was the only one who could save us.
"Release me, and I will," Tedara said as if reading my mind.
I turned back to face Tedara and stepped forward. "And then what happens after the war?" I asked. "Will you seek revenge and punish all life for Cedric's wrongdoing?"
“No,” Tedara answered. "That would be the same as imprisoning all primordial gods because of what I did. I've had a lot of time to think over your words, Natalie, and think on my mistakes. Let me go. Give me the chance to make up for what I did."
I felt a tug as if someone was behind me, pulling on my blouse. I looked around and felt another tug, this time, it was my entire body.
“The Imperium will never let me go,” Tedara said with urgency, and she sounded closer. "They won’t give me the chance to correct my wrongs. Natalie?”
Something was tugging me out of the cave.
“Natalie?” Tedara called, and I was suddenly pulled back into the room I’d been sitting in.
The Goddess was hovering over me, her hold on my arm almost painful. She pulled me to my feet and pushed my sleeve up to reveal my arm, to reveal what I was hiding
Her eyes shone under her hood as she stared at my arm. Finally, she released me and took a step back.
“I knew you weren’t telling the truth. You aren’t okay,” she said, her voice low. “The chaos you consumed last night is killing you.”
“I’ve got it under control,” I told her, pulling my sleeve back down. “I’ll worry about myself when Rumir is safe and Cedric's dead. I can feel it, we're nearing the end. I just need to push a little more."
“The power you have is becoming toxic, Natalie," the Goddess argued. “It’s poisoning you.”
"I can't give up!" I shouted, sensing my eyes turning red. I walked away, so frustrated, I couldn’t think straight. “With all due respect, Goddess, I—I can’t back down. I know this power is poisoning me, but I can’t release it until the time's right. I just need to hold on.”
I turned to face her. “Has Yelena found them?”
"No," she replied, and I smiled weakly.
“There you have it,” I sat down. “Until they're found, I have to keep it together. I can't lose Rumir, I just can't. And we can't lose this war."
"We won't." The Goddess sat beside me, and we both stared ahead. "We won't lose the war or Rumir. But Natalie, no one wants to lose you either."
I didn’t say anything for a time. I didn't want to die—I had a lot to live for. But I couldn't pour all this power into a bottle and store it away.
I turned to the Goddess. “Tedara said Cedric is trying to lessen how potent her chaos is so he can give it to his dragons. That's his real plan. The needles he’s been distributing contain his failed attempts at creating a less potent version of chaos. That’s why, so far, when souls inject themselves, they go nuclear instead of becoming stable chaos users. And the virus continues to do as it wishes, consuming everything. Cedric’s end goal is to make more stable chaos users—dragon users.
“We won’t be able to handle even five dragons as powerful as Cedric,” the Goddess replied, standing up.
“That’s why we can’t let him do it." I got up as well. “We can't let him achieve his goal, or we will lose everything.”
She reached over and placed her hand on my shoulder. We knew what we wanted to prevent, but it was frustrating that we were stuck, unable to make a move. She nodded, as did I, and she left.
I sat down and slowly tipped over until I was lying on my side. I closed my eyes and exhaled, trying to mind-link with Rumir again. But once more, a barrier prevented me from reaching his mind, and I pounded at it relentlessly.
When my chaos stirred, I felt a sharp pain in my hand. I grabbed it and kept mentally screaming Rumir’s name. Once again, I had to deal with the possibility of dying when I was at odds with my chaos.
It was no different this time. Pushing forward was my only option—I had too much to live for. Death would have to wait.
* * *
Natalie
