AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He waved a hand. “I’ll have a replacement in mind for that. An untimely death, great sadness, and a successor that will make it his lifetime goal to carry on in my name. Perfect, really. Will give us time to find a real Supreme for what’s to come.”
They made it to the meeting place—a hidden alcove butted up against a cave wall that led up to one of Odessia’s impressive waterfalls.
There stood Esta, her headdress glittery and exotic, like the birds that hailed here.
“Demos, Phobius. I’ve come to tell you that it is done. Your father is in stasis.”
Demos let out a sigh of relief. He’d known the elementals would do it, but his fear had been too great to put much hope in anything. For months, he’d been waiting on the sidelines, knowing others were handling something so crucial, at their mercy. But he’d known it was something he couldn’t do himself.
“And Boriel?” Phobius asked.
Esta bowed her head, acknowledging Phobius’ concern. “She is recovering.” A lovely sigh escaped her ruby lips. “Love can fool us all. She is embarrassed most of all, but still she mourns. Still she loves a man who can never love her back. Not without destroying her.”
Demos didn’t really know the history between the winter element and his father, only that, long ago, they had been lovers, before, in a time and land that was so very different than today. Childhood friends, young and innocent. Greed and power had poisoned his father at some point, slowly eating away what we once was, that boy Boriel the girl knew and loved.
“And there is no way he—”
She held out a hand, cutting him off. “None. This time… This time was different. Because of Sierra.” Her intense eyes softened. “She healed my sisters, brought us together again. Our bond is unbreakable once more.”
He looked at Phobius, who nodded back.
“Thank you, Esta,” Phobius said. “For letting us know.”
“Yes, thank you.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it, before changing her mind. “There was a lot we got wrong, my sisters and I. Some of which Fate had hidden from us, like your father, the omegas, even Lucius’ paternity. And of course, some things we couldn’t share with you as these events unfolded. He played a good game, your father. Using the Owl as his means to play things out, weaseling in, embedding himself there, tainting Servants, even hiding Boriel there in the dungeons. Seems he had been whispering in the Servants’ ears for quite a while before he… escaped his thrall. Promising them eternal youth and power in the guise of Omega blood. There is no such power, only his he gave to them. And it almost worked. He knew the coming of the White Queen, knew he had to find a way to stop it from happening. ‘Eternal winter’? He was never an ignorant man. But many Omega were lost because of it.”
She looked at us in turn, eyeing us like a mother to her sons. “You both have grown to be good men, with true hearts and true wisdom. Like your mother and her people. We thank you for all you’ve done.” She touched their arms. “Demos, take care of her. She is still the heart of everything. And Phobius, don’t be a stranger to your brother. Trust me, you need one another.” She eyed him and smirked. “You’re going make a fine Supreme, handsome. And I wish you luck.”
And with that, she was gone.
“Wonder what that smirk was about,” Phobius mumbled, sounding affronted.
“Obviously something she saw in your future amused her.”
He scoffed. “I can’t think of a single thing. And luck?”
But Demos could. That “handsome” bit she’d said. Phobius finding his own mate possibly? A mate who could tear down that arrogance? That was definitely something Esta and her sisters would find amusing, as well as Demos.
Together, the two brothers headed back, their own healing having taken place, bonding them back together little by little, and just like with the elementals, they had a white-haired Omega to thank for that.
THE END
