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“Aria, are you well?” Aden asked, which caused a hush to fall over the people nearest enough to overhear his worried words.
“I’mverywell, Aden. Thank you for asking, though.” My tone came out more clipped than I’d intended it to, but my point was crystal clear. Before he could conceal it, malice flashed in his cobalt-blue eyes. As fast as it appeared, it vanished behind a veneer of polished politeness. Unease slid through me as he bowed low to Griffon, then took his leave.
“He means well, Aria. Aden has waited a long time for you to return to us. He’s one of my fiercest warriors and is devoted to restoring our people to power.”
“Aden might mean well, Griffon, but I don’t intend to entertain a courtship with him. That isn’t why I came. I came because I want to know you, and what the people are like here.”
“As I said, I’m very happy you came. But I wonder if you’d be more open to Aden if you hadn’t been wed to King Karnavious?” His question caused a flurry of emotions. If I was being honest, then it was partly that.
“Honestly, no. I didn’t come here to be mated, nor wed to anyone. Even if I did not have an attachment, I wouldn’t be interested.” And definitely wouldn’t be interested in Aden’s pushy, related ass.
“Admittedly, Aden was upset that you chose another. As I’ve practically raised him from a babe, I do prefer him over King Karnavious for you. But I also understand that you’re not a child, and I’ve not been in your life. That places me in a precarious position. I only want whatever makes you the happiest, Aria. If I’d raised you, I’d raise a much bigger argument about the choice. However, I did promise Aden I’d at least put in a good word for him. Honestly, I’ll be fine either way. So long as you’re treated with the respect that you are owed for the position you hold. After all, you are the granddaughter of Scylla and Tirsynth Prometheus. I’ve also made it clear to everyone that you and Esme are not to be harmed, or touched in any manner unless you invite them to do so.”
“Thank you, Griffon.” Not that I’d abide by him trying, or anyone seeking to force me to do shit here. I didn’t need anyone to save me.
Knox would honor my wishes and wait for me to emerge. But not if I stayed past the time he’d allotted me, he’d break his promise not to retrieve me. The precarious position of them being enemies was bothersome. It made me wonder if at the end of this war, we’d be able to gather without bloodshed.
Knox was the crowned king of Norvalla. But my father,my people, werehissworn enemy. I couldn’t promise him they wouldn’t try to capture him, or worse. And if that happened, if they tried, Knox would cut them all down. I’d lose any chance at discovering who I was the second Knox took Griffon’s head.
“Where was I? Ah, yes. The Vanir were fleeing from those who sought to persecute them for their differences. Freyja, who is your great-grandmother, was one of them. They used magic to turn the realms of fire to a land that could sustain life through the bond and connection to nature as well as everything connected to it as well.”
“You’re saying thatwe’refromFreyja’sbloodline? Freyja the Valkyrie?” I questioned in confusion. Not entirely certain that I’d understood what he was trying to tell me.
“My mother, Scylla, is the daughter of Freyja, and Freyja helped form the lands to mirror the Nine Realms of Norse Cosmology. Freyja made each land equal to the next, ensuring no race was above another, and all the Vanir lands were connected. Each was ruled by a lord or lady who’d vowed to uphold the founding ideals of equality and prosperity. Back then, there were no kings or queens, only lords and ladies who helped maintain peace and prosperity throughout every realm. But then they began to change, as everything does. Power corrupts and greed leads to wars for land superiority.”
“They’re beautiful,” I announced, taking in the power that radiated from each. Clear quartz crystals drew energy directly from nature, but these were humming with power unlike any I’d encountered before. “What is feeding them power?” I probed cautiously, edging forward, allured by the energy they held.
“As far as our scholars can discern, they seem to pull from whatever power source is nearest to them. Though it must be incredibly powerful to fuel them without draining the source. They, like the land, never pull more than the supplier can safely give. So, to answer your question, right now, you are the source they’re drawing from, daughter. They’re recharged throughout the day by selenite, but right now? They’re pulling directly from you,” Griffon admitted softly.
Spinning on my heel, I stared at him with confusion tightening my face, but his mouth tugged into a boyish smile. “How canIbe feeding them power?”
“According to my mother, only the females from our lineage who’ve been blessed by Freyja to rule, have a special connection with the land. They’re linked in such a way that they share power with each other. Freyja’s domain included the natural world, and similarly, you feel a connection to the land that reciprocates. That’s the soul of it, crying out to you, which only a few have ever truly felt.” A quick glance at my face made his eyes sparkle with mirth before he continued his explanation. “As it comes from the land, the crystals are also a part of the world. However, the largest, hollowed cylinders are connected to the Queen of Witches.”
“Hecate is the Queen of Witches,” I emphasized. Griffon’s silvery head tilted as if he were awaiting me to figure something out.
When I offered nothing more, he spoke with patience. “She is, but so is Freyja. They condemned Freyja for being the Queen of Witches. Hecate was the Goddess of Magic. One Greek, the other Norse. One helped forge the Nine Realms into a world while the other is a parasite exiled here for crimes committed against vengeful gods. The power you feel from these cylinders is the same magic that your grandmother and great-grandmother carried. I believe your birth was a true blessing.” For a moment, we watched a group of children playing before he continued.
“I’d like to believe it brightened this blighted land. If you decided to do so, I think you’d be able to change the world for the better. Even with your hands bound behind your back, blindfolded if you chose to, Aria. Some people are born to brighten it, while those like you are born to set it ablaze from the fire burning within. I didn’t know why my mother desired for me to couple with Aurora, or sent me to the ruins where I found her the day of your conception. I thought she was going mad from seeing too much war, or aging. But I still went and I’m glad I did. Not as a father, who’s biased about you, but as a king, I’d still choose you to save us all.”
“No pressure, right?” Esme’s chuckled response was faint, her bluish-purple eyes lingered on a group of men, then roamed around us with curiosity.
“Go big or go home, right?” I asked before lifting my hand to the large, hollowed-out cylinder.
“Aria, I wouldn’t—” My hand touched the crystal, and a sense of falling rippled through me. Then pain tore through my abdomen, legs, and arms until it felt as if my skull was being cleaved in half. Spots dotted my vision. Then everything went dark.
Chapter Two
Aria
Painforcedmyhandsto my forehead, where I applied pressure. The groan that burst from my lips had my eyelids lifting. Bright, staggering light forced my hand lower, to shield my eyes. What the hell had happened? I felt like someone had beaten me up, stomped on me, and left me on the side of the road to be eaten by scavengers. Forcing my limbs to work, I struggled into a seated position. I’d either fallen through the cylinder or I’d just become Alice, and stepped out of reality, into the fantasy that was Wonderland.
I’d done a lot of stupid shit in my brief life, but I’d never thought I’d add falling through a quartz cylinder to my list.
The marble floor I’d awoken on wasmoving,and sparkling silver orbs were sliding across it. Shifting my hand, I captured some of the sediment material. It sent a burst of pain into my palm, and a yelp of surprise escaped, echoing down the length of the moss-covered hallway as the silverish material sent pain into the fleshy part of it.
“What in the Alice-fell-into-an-acid-trip shit is this?” Rising to my feet, while avoiding touching the strange orbs, I squinted at the hallway as it slowly widened until I could see light at the far end. “I better get a Cheshire Cat. That’s all I’m saying,” I muttered crossly.
The moment I stepped forward, the silver that covered the marble floor merged, forming several mirrors. By the time the orbs had finished, they lined both sides of the hallway with the reflective surfaces. Then I looked into one, and instead of my face reflecting back at me, a scene was unfolding.
