“H-how?” Deneya stuttered. The axe at Vi’s neck quivered and nearly bit into her flesh. Deneya was too startled to notice. “Begone elfin’ra specter!” She swung the weapon toward Taavin. It cut straight through him as though he was made of nothing but mist. It didn’t seem to harm him, but the sight was a phantom blow to Vi’s gut.
“I am not wicked. I am the eternal Voice of Yargen,” Taavin continued calmly. “I have served her for hundreds of years. In my last lifetimes, in this, and in the next.”
“You are not the Voice of Yargen. She is—”
“Fathima, and she has been the voice for the past two hundred years,” Taavin finished. “And she will perish in the next twenty to thirty years… depending on certain factors, which will give room for Ulvarth to make his power play against Lumeria.”
Deneya frowned, lowering her weapon—though she still held it so tightly, her hand trembled. Vi took it as a good sign that she had yet to brandish it against them again.
“Earlier, you saidhoolo.” Deneya looked to Vi. “One of Raspian’s words? Is this man his work?”
“No,” Vi said quickly. “You would feel it if it was.” She remembered the sensation of the elfin’ra using the word on Adela’s Isle of Frost. It was unmistakable.
“And the dark god is sealed away, unable to give new words,” Taavin continued for Vi.
“Then… what are you?”
Vi took a deep breath and Taavin remained silent, yielding her the floor. Deneya finally relaxed, releasing the axe. It unraveled into strands of light and disappeared.
“I realize that what I am about to say is hard to believe,” Vi began, working up her courage. “I am the Champion of Yargen, and I have been placed here by the goddess herself to defend this world from Raspian’s return.” Vi worked on bite-sized pieces of information.
“The Voice would’ve sent word if Yargen was giving us a Champion once more,” Deneya said cautiously.
“As far as this world is concerned, we don’t exist.” Taavin smiled bitterly.
“Think of us more as travelers, passing through,” Vi added.
“If you’re truly the Champion, prove it to me. Tell or show me something that only the Champion can do.”
“Have you ever met a Champion before?” Vi asked.
“Well, no…”
“Then how will you know it’s something only the Champion can do?” she challenged.
“I…” Deneya let out a low chuckle. “You’re almost drawing me in to this insanity, both of you.”
“Deneya,” Taavin said firmly, silencing the woman. “With the help of the proctor, you cheated your way through the written portion of your examinations to enter into Lumeria’s Order. You did so not because you couldn’t remember the information—but because the words dance on the page before your eyes, and you knew you wouldn’t be able to finish in the allotted time.”
“How do you—” Deneya took a step back, horror overtaking her features.
“Your tutor, the proctor, died in a skirmish in the south of Meru, leaving you alone with the truth of what you both did. Despite his assurances, you have always worried that you are not good enough for your post.”
“I…” Deneya looked between the two of them. Vi could see the hasty rise and fall of her chest as her breathing quickened, panic settling in. “I never told anyone that,” she whispered.
“You told her.” Taavin gave a nod at Vi. “In a past life. You trusted her because she is the Champion and because she is a woman worth trusting.”
Vi felt a frisson of heat rising to her cheeks at his praise.
Deneya took a step backward, her back meeting the wall. Slowly, she began to laugh, shaking her head. “This is madness. This is impossible.”
“But here we stand,” Vi said.
“Glad one of us knows where we stand because I’m not sure which way is up anymore.” She cast a wary eye over Vi and Taavin. “I need time to deal with all this.”
“Fine.” Mother above, even Vi was still processing what was happening to her. And she had the benefit—if one could call it that—of living through the goddess rebuilding her body to send her back in time.
“But while you do so, swear you will not act against the Champion. And swear you will not report back to Lumeria or anyone else on Meru of her presence here, or of my existence,” Taavin cautioned.
