Selene’s voice rippled through my mind as I took one final look at the far moon where I’d just been moments before at her temple. It was one of two massive moons that lit up the night sky—two moons for two moon goddesses. I’d been told stories as a child that there was a third moon, for a third goddess, Hecate—a dark moon, one you couldn’t see. Whether it actually existed or not, I didn’t know.
The stone was cold in my hand as I gripped it, the icy surface unaffected by my warmth. I couldn’t lose this; I didn’t have the ability to pass the stretch of distance between Elythia and Selene’s moon through the shadows—I’d be stranded. I pushed the stone into my coat pocket and lowered my gaze from the night sky.
Rolling hills stretched out for miles around me, no sign of any cities nearby. I wondered if Zeus had noticed my presence. Would he come for me? The Fates resided in his domain, but they didn’t answer to him. They answered to no one, so maybe he wouldn’t interfere with my visit. There was no time to waste, regardless. I couldn’t risk the delay. Time was running out.
I turned my gaze to the massive building before me. It wasn’t a complex structure of towers and great halls like many of the other castles I’d visited in the Godsrealms, but the carvings in the stone were the most intricate I’d ever seen. I’d never visited the fates, had never seen the stunning stained-glass windows framed out in carved stone pillars glowing in the darkness of night. The arched windows stretched up hundreds of feet, and I wondered just how big it was inside.
With each stone step, unease sank further and further into the pit of my stomach. Would the Fates be willing to help me, or would they turn me away? How difficult would it be to find them? Or would they find me first? Would they already know I’d come long before I decided to? I didn’t have time to dwell on the possibilities. Either they’d give me answers to save Cassie’s life or they’d end me for barging in uninvited.
Either way, she would live.
I steeled my nerves, stepping toward the massive glass doors. Before I could touch them, they opened, groaning as if they hadn’t been opened in years. I halted, looking for any sign of guards or beasts, but nothing appeared, the only scent the nearby rolling meadows.
A whisper brushed against the back of my neck, too quiet for me to understand, but it pushed me forward. I gave in, stepping through the door.
Elythian magic was nothing short of amazing, the very walls seemed to be alive. Massive stained-glass windows stood before me, but they weren’t like those of the Mortalrealm. No, the scenes before me breathed with life, each window depicting events across the history of Elythia, our continent within the Godsrealm, as if it were happening before my eyes. The inside of the Fates’ castle was a spiral of staircases, crossing and intersecting, ascending all the way to the ceiling and descending far below the surface. I peered over the railing. It seemed to tunnel downward forever.
Gods, how the hell would I find them in all this?
That whisper brushed over my shoulder, winding down my arm until it tugged at my hand.
Down.
My stomach dipped, old magic leaving goosebumps on my flesh. Was this the Fates guiding me to them? Or trickery? I hesitated a moment, unsure if I should follow, but I had no other choice. I didn’t know where they could possibly be, so I followed that soft whisper of power.
The stairs spiraled downward, on and on. I passed a scene of a black castle on a mountainside surrounded by death, life sprouting as gardens breaking from the ground overtook the dark castle, casting a domain that appeared once lifeless in an endless sea of blossoms and greenery.
I passed another glass scene. The image captured the motion of countless warriors charging for one another, Gods clashing in the skies above, a few falling to the earth below, never to get back up again. I frowned, looking to the one God falling from the sky, his form standing out from the rest. He was powerful, his battled scarred skin the color of a crimson sunset, as if war was woven into his very being. Ares?
My eyes continued over the scene, finding countless fae, immortals, and beasts, forever etched in glass moments from destroying each other. Was this the Godswar? My parents had fought in that war. I’d had nightmares of it as a child from the stories alone.
There were other moments in history, ones I didn’t recognize, unsure of when they’d occurred, such as one depicting a male and a siren reaching out to each other, the male cloaked in black garbs that nearly resembled the armor we immortals used to wear.
Another scene held my attention for a time. It was a female, an elf from the looks of the delicate points of her long ears. Her silken silver hair glowed against her black cloak, a pair of massive moons hanging high in the night sky behind her. The glass captured her mid-leap as she descended on a person below, their back turned to her, her dagger lifted and prepared to strike. I frowned. There was something different about this pair of moons. One was damaged, another embedded into it as if they’d collided, the mist of moon debris lingering around the point of impact.
The whisper of power urged me on, and I gave in.
I continued down the seemingly endless spiral of stairs. The stairway split into three paths, and I hesitated. I let slip an irritated sigh. Gods, I didn’t have time to navigate a maze. This was why I hated visiting this realm; everything seemed to be a game to the Elythians, something to entertain them in their boredom.
My eyes drifted to the left, and something drew my attention in the distance, a singular stained-glass depiction. It was darker than the rest, as if the glow didn’t light this window as it did the others. I wandered toward it, and that whisper returned, beckoning me away from the dimmed glass. Did it not want me to see it?
The closer I grew, the more that whisper beckoned me away. I pushed past it, and something icy crawled over my skin with each step, as if my body understood what the glass before me revealed.
Horror was woven into the very glass itself—true horror and dread. Cascading down the center of the image was what appeared to be a glittering wall. The wall seemed alive with magic, thriving where it was still intact, but it was shattering into pieces, darkness descending where it fell. On either side of the crumbling wall, the earth was ripping apart, castles and structures crumbling, the inhabitants screaming as they ran for safety where none was to be had. Gods, what was I looking at?
This way...
That whisper returned, more powerful, and I turned, expecting to find someone, but I was alone. I glanced back at the scene, to the horror-filled faces of the humans, fae, and other creatures on either side of the wall. Every instinct came to life, telling me to get away, the terror trapped in time seeping into my bones.
Come...
I listened, letting it guide me back toward the staircase. I couldn’t dwell on... whatever the hell it was I’d seen. Cassie didn’t have much time, and I needed answers.
The stairway stretched on endlessly, and I grew tired of the countless steps, the windows growing dimmer and dimmer, until I reached a point where the glass seemed void of any scenes. That whisper tugged at my arm again, and I turned from the empty glass. I assumed they were moments in time that had yet to be determined. I halted as a pair of doors appeared before me. My eyes darted around; there had been stairs spiraling farther down just moments ago. Gods-damned Elythians and their magic; had they sent me on a wild goose chase? Had they been delaying me?
This way...
I drew a deep breath, staunching the irritation growing in me. I had no interest in these games, but I knew I’d get nowhere if I didn’t play nice. The doors parted, and I stepped through, wondering just what awaited me.
