His brother had a talent for making light of any situation, no matter how overwhelming or grim. He had a talent for paying penance, too...and it was why Arawn never dared behave like him.
“You stand before the Veil of the Gods,” his father said, holding a hand to the glowing purple light, and the archway that stood aloft as if by magic. “A gift given long ago, as a way for the Masters to communicate with the Five.”
Arawn stared at it with a gaping mouth.
Could the gods see him now? Could they hear the way his heart was beating faster than a war drum? Could they sense the goose pimples that had sprung up on the back of his neck?
Did they know that, deep in his heart...he loved them?
Please notice that,he prayed.Please see that I am honest and good and true!
Because what if they didn’t?
What if they saw the darkness he’d been warned of since birth, the kind that his mother promised slowly crept in, when one least expected it, and stole every ounce of the gods’ light from a child’s eyes?
The kind that stole their eternity from the Ehver.
The kind thatshatteredtheir very soul.
It’s not me,Arawn prayed.It’s not me and it will never be. I am loyal to you!
He prayed to them all by name, in the span of a breath.He was shaking, head to toe, even as he knelt on the cold, golden floor, right upon their sigil.
His father frowned down at him, as if he sensed the fear in his child and was disgusted by it.
“Of course, this Veil will remain dormant until Realmbreak. If it were awakened now...no one in this room would survive the sheer force of the gods’ power. It is only the King, only while wearing this very Diadem, that can commune with the Five. Only the king that can request a blessing from it, once every hundred years.” The flames on his Diadem blazed a bit brighter as that magical wind stoked them again. “That time is nearing, Arawn. And whether it ismeoryouthat will request the godsblessing... today, it is imperative that you learn of the future. Of what you must do when it is time for you to take my place, should I fall before Realmbreak.”
He nodded.
And when his father said nothing, he cleared his throat, and asked, “What I must do?”
“You will hear of it only once today... and never again. And should you fail, upon my final day? You will die. This Veil will take you as it takes me, and Lordach will have no king.”
His blood thrummed in his ears. His skin was suddenly itchy as beads of sweat rolled down his back, and he couldn’t feel his feet anymore, from where he still knelt on the floor. He wanted to stand; to turn and run away... but he knew that to rise without being commanded to would be a symbol of disobedience.
So, Arawn stayed. He had tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. If he did, he would be punished.
A future kingdid notcry.
A future kingdid not show weakness on the outside, no matter what sort of emotions he warred against within.
“On that day, when I die,” his father said, “You will not mourn. You will have no tears, no sadness, only strength. You will plunge my sword into the snow around the ancient tree, a sign to my people that my reign has come to an end... and then you will comehere.To stand alone before this very Veil and face a test.”
Arawn checked off the words on his fingertips, ones that werealready calloused from honing his swordsmanship at such a young age.
Sword, snow...no tears, no sadness, only strength.
“A...test?” he asked.
His voice was so small. He wanted to be older, stronger, wiser.
He also wanted time to freeze in its place, because he wasn’treadyto be king.
He wanted to be a boy a little while longer.
Justa boy... like Kinlear.
“You will place the Sacred Diadem upon your head,” his father said, the words coming out too fast.
