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“I—I died?” Sienna swayed where she sat. For a moment, Idalia wondered if she might just faint. However, when Farah nodded, Sienna took the news rather well, only clasping her hands tightly as if she might pray, and stared into her lap.
“I know,” Idalia emerged from where she hid in the darkness causing both her sisters to jump with surprise, “this is all very confusing. I would love to take the time to explain it all to you soon. You’ll find your new bodies are much improved.”
Farah’s fingers were curling and uncurling into her palms at her side. Holy fire glowed behind her gaze as she narrowed her eyes on Idalia. Yes, she could feel the new strength under her skin.
“We’ve fought for our country once before but now I must ask that we do it again. This time as a whole family.” Queen Idalia let her gaze drift back to her parents.
Neither of their bodies had so much as moved but their skin was already looking more substantial and the fang marks on their necks were a stark white against their dark skin. They’d been dead for several years at this point; it may take more time for them to awaken. What a new world they would be entering into. One they could thank their eldest daughter for. Idalia was happily waiting for that moment.
“Is that…” Sienna finally stood, only to stagger back a few feet with her hand on her heart. The dress that fitted her form shimmered as she moved.
“You kept our parents’ bodies?” Frustration apparent in the tightness of her lips and the flick of her ponytail, Farah hurried to their father’s side. She looked him over from top to bottom before making her way to their mother.
Idalia took several slow steps until she too stood above her mother’s soon to be living body. She watched Farah with amused curiosity as her sister brushed back their mother’s hair. Farah gently touched the necklace their mother wore. It still glowed faintly. As though she’d just realized the heavy stone sat at the base of her neck too, Farah gripped the necklace.
“Why?” Farah demanded.
Sienna, finally working up the nerve to pull herself away from the wall, trailed after her sisters. All the blood drained from her face as she stared down at their parents. With the back of her hand, she swiped at the sweat on her forehead.
“Why not?” Idalia grinned. “When they wake they will have everything they’ve ever wanted. We are royalty now. They have daughters they can be proud of and every need will be fulfilled.”
“When will they wake?” Sienna asked.
“Soon, but it will take much longer to return them back to peak health and get them through the holy fire.”
Farah’s eyes wandered the room. With her arms folded over her chest and her jaw clenched tightly, she looked from face to face. What Idalia would give to be inside her sisters’ heads.
“No tricks. No games,” Idalia said as if Farah needed reminding. “This is all out of my love for this family.”
“Who is it then? Who can I feel taking up space inside my head?” Farah ruffled her hair. In turn, Sienna nodded, and rubbed at her temples.
“There is a god. He has long since been forgotten but I have learned his name. These necklaces help to connect us to him for he is far away and we need them to amplify our spirits. When all other gods have forsaken us, he has helped us build an empire.”
“Who?” Farah insisted.
Idalia’s smile only grew. “Invictus.”
Ambrose
You’ll finally see,the scratchy voice inside Queen Ambrose’s mind told her.Everything is coming together now, thanks to your sister.
If you like her so much why don’t you live in her head instead?Ambrose tried to reason with him.
Oh, I already do. Soon you and the others will all be connected through me.
You do not claim her,came another voice.
Ambrose closed the door to her sister’s sitting room, having already wallowed in the disappointment that was the meeting this morning for long enough. The guards that stood out in the halls gave her a slight bow as she passed. She’d only remembered at the very last minute to adjust the color of her eyes. That was probably the most bothersome detail she had to remember since returning from her death. Well, that and the fact that she’d be wearing high-neck dresses for the foreseeable future.
You are weak. I am winning,the first voice, who was indeed winning, said and somehow Ambrose knew he was smiling wide and wicked.
We will see, brother, who might win in the end. Even if you take claim of this mind you will still always be one of the forgotten gods.Ambrose liked the sound of this god’s voice much better, though she hadn’t quite identified who he might be yet.
Trying to remember that she needed to actually watch where she was going, Ambrose drifted through the halls, feeling something of a ghost. When the conversations in her head got too overwhelming it was hard to be present. It was getting better. Which meant that Invictus was closer to winning, and according to her sister, that was a good thing.
But the other gods didn’t seem to think so.
The voices she’d had in her head for so long before she’d been surprised with a knife right through her heart, were almost totally gone. She missed their warnings and their familiarity. At least soon it would be just the one god speaking to her, no matter how uncertain she felt about him.
