AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The words had barely left his mouth when I began to pummel him with one of the books that lay next to me on the side table. He lifted his hands in defense and we sparred—with me, ardently jabbing at the blank spaces of air where Kalen playfully skirted my advances.
“But!” he yelped out as I finally hit my mark. “But, I am sure you were praying for the faction’s protection. Not mine. You were in the Binding for far longer than I have been playing the role of false god. You couldn’t have known.”
I huffed back into my chair. It wasn’t the most seamless explanation he had ever given me, but it made enough sense for now. It had to. We had much bigger problems anyways. Soon, the Sages would arrive, and I would need the rest of my energy for that fight. Was it a fight? I was so unsure of this World’s current faction to faction relations. For all I knew, they could hate their sister just as much as they supposed I did. They might even be willing to help me find my stones. I began fitfully shoving stray bands of my hair back into their braids, mind spinning all the while.
As if I had said all of this aloud, Kalen answered my thoughts. “The Sages are loyal to each other, they value family above all else and the Shadow Sage is that. Even still, Ione, Gabriel, and Dario each have their own reasons for wanting to see you reunited with your stones. They also have many reasons to keep you from your soul. By our laws, a Sage cannot prevent any being on this Continent from pursuing their will. If you want your stones, you have every right to them. But that does not mean the Sages will not figure out a way to get around the law, to put a stop to you before you can even begin your journey. It is important that, tonight, that you persuade them from doing so.”
“And if persuading these gods is impossible? What happens if they don’t want me to have my soul? The family they value so much is the reason I am without it, are they not?”
The corner of Kalen’s mouth flinched downward. It was a small movement, but it said so many things at large.
My fingers, which were looping two locks of my hair around each other endlessly, started to shake, my mind and my body both unable to focus on the task ahead or the task at hand. How could I braid my hair when I might be dead in the next hour? Because that is what those gods would do to me, wasn’t it? To put a stop to me.
Some fear deeply rooted in my gut told me that the Sageswould view my death as the only way. How else could they keep me from my own soul, if not to have me killed? One of the pins I was wiggling into place slipped from my fingers, skimming across the floor. Before I could reach for it, Kalen swiped at the wood slats, gathering the small piece of metal into his hand. He stepped around my outstretched palm and marched to my back.
Hot breath swept down my spine as he spoke softly, but sure. “They will hear what you have to say, Gwyn. That is why they have come. And if it is your will to find your stones, the Sages cannot prevent you from searching for it without breaking a vow to this earth’s people. They also value perception. Our gods are seen by many.”
Pulling up the last misplaced strand of hair, Kalen fed it through the low braid at the nape of my neck, double checking that it held. His hands fell lightly to my bare shoulders, sending a rush of hot blood through my body. Kalen leaned down so that his lips were aligned to the curve of my ear.
“I see you, Gwyn,” he whispered, and my heart splintered at the softness of his voice. “They will see you, too.”
WE HAD BEEN WAITINGon the King of the Cosmos for the better part of an hour. The air between the four of us was sharp with energy; the power of two Sages and one Preserver flowed back and forth and in and out. With enough friction, I was sure we’d all be set alight.
I had felt Ione before I saw her, the way a bird feels the weight of a down breeze making way for bad weather. And if Ione was anything, she was a storm. Her pallid limbs drifted out on a phantom wind that carried her across the wooden floors. A strong and static current kept her long hair from ever settling, like swift clouds constantly ebbing against her tall frame. Ione’sface was the heart of the Sea and her eyes struck like lightning on the sand. Electrifying and just as fleeting. She had only looked at me once since entering the war room. Even with such a brief introduction—she’d hardly stalled long enough for me to bow to her—I could tell she wasn’t fond of me. Perhaps for some action I’d once taken but could not remember. Such was my life, now.
Ione was a storm, and by consequence, Dario was the long and vengeful drought that followed. I barely noticed him slip in quietly behind his sister, the full extent of his magic glamoured, hidden away, though immense power still radiated from him. His sharp chin never relaxed downward, his emerald eyes locked in a distant and arid stare as he gazed over Kalen and me.
Never would I have imagined a Sage looking so young. He was almost juvenile when you added in his less than sunny disposition.
“The literal personification of Time, and still the concept of punctuality escapes him,” Dario scoffed from the permanent residency he’d taken up on our lounge, skipping the royal pleasantries altogether.
The deep red fabric of the chaise complemented the forest green collared shirt that lay without a wrinkle over his lean torso. Light from the fire glinted off the golden rings stacked onto his forefinger as it twirled a copper strand of hair. Cropped in a peculiar fashion I hadn’t seen before, the curl snapped back in place just above the nape of his neck with asproing.He was a portrait of mortal youth, I thought.
As if summoned by the words of his brother, Gabriel burst into the chamber without so much as a glance at the two Guardians Kalen had posted just outside the doors. They both remained stiff bodied, ignoring his attempt to catch them on uneven footing. Kalen was right to have chosen them from the group of Yielded Guards—those who had found partners and given them their lives. My heart let out a small thump of pride at theimmortals. They were holding their own better than I suspected even I would.
Two oversized men flanked the Time Sage, emotionless but vigilant as they scanned the room. I recognized them immediately. Owen and Abdiel looked exactly as I had seen them in my vision, though it had been more than seventy years since they must have stood in front of me. Each wore enormous, silver-plated armor draped over plum leathers, long ink spilt hair, and brilliantly violet eyes. Sharp jaws and tanned muscles unaffected by time; they were gallant and forever beautiful as protectors of the Astral plane.
Gabriel broke from his companions, his deep purple cloak rustling as he moved elegantly across the floor, the wide lapels of his collar stiff around his jaw. He pivoted towards the small circle the four of us had unintentionally formed at the far end of the room. I remained strong in my stance, refusing to let myself become unnerved as he drew near. That is, until he froze at the sight of me, and I found myself falling through worlds looking into his black pitted stare.
Gabriel’s hand reached for his mouth, the olive tone of his skin stark against the flush on his face. For uncountable moments, he did not do anything but look at me. Then he advanced, ever so slowly, taking each step as if the floor might fall through, a wet shine in the waterline of his eyes. I didn’t dare to step back when the tips of his sandaled feet met the soft velvet of my slippers. I tried in vain to keep still when the palm that had covered his lips reached out slowly to my cheek and held me there, the warmth of his touch burrowing into my skin. Strong fingers gripped tightly at the angle of my jaw, and the melting feeling fled from me instantly.
Oh, how stupid I was to let him take my face.
It would be so easy for him to kill me right where we stood. I still had no idea if that was what Gabriel actually wanted. Ifthe wet in his eyes was preemptive remorse or the result of a wayward speck of dust. Kalen had said these gods would hear what I had to say, but Kalen had also said a Sage’s intentions were never clear. Looking up into his torn face, I could only confirm that was true.
“Mother above...” Gabriel spoke softy, his cadence as smooth as stars gliding through the night sky. “It truly is you.”
I took in the sharp breath that he exhaled, unable to reply. As if my wordlessness amused him, his rose-colored lips parted with a smile, and there was the briefest moment where I recognized him. A boy with the weight of mountains on his shoulders, a crackling laugh, and an almost always crooked mouth.
“You believe, now, Gabriel, having seen her with your own eyes, that what I told you was true?” Kalen spoke from the left of our embrace. In a blink, the boy I recognized in Gabriel was gone, and the King of Cosmos turned to face Kalen with a wry grimace.
“Yes, Preserver, I do.” The words bit their way out through his teeth. “Too bad you weren’t lying. I’ve been looking for a reason to pull thos mortal guts from your body.”
“You may make your best attempt,” was Kalen’s reply.
Whatever warmth the two of us had established in the moments of our embrace vanished as Gabriel’s hand dropped from my face. I felt my cheeks blanch, but kept my attention trained on him. Still I could not stop thinking,mortal guts. Mortal. Kalen was a mortal? How? I had seen his crystal skin, the magic that whirled in his eye. Then it hit me, hard and fast.
Kalen was Yielded.
