“I’m telling you the truth,” I insist. “Lord Krokan and Lady Lellia must be allowed to pass the Veil and join their godly kin in the world beyond…” I tell them of all we’ve seen. Of the ancient histories forgotten by mortal minds for thousands upon thousands of years. I tell them of Krokan and Lellia’s love. Of her sacrifice.
I try and lay everything out as openly and honestly as I can manage. It might all seem impossible. The truth might be the last thing they want to hear. But they deserve to know everything.
“… the late Duke Renfal spoke with the old god and knew some of these motivations. He wasn’t able to understand every word from Lord Krokan since he wasn’t anointed, but he captured the general idea. That led him to harvest from the tree under the guise of protection. But in truth, it was to weaken the tree to try and free Lellia. Lord Krokan attempted to help the process, from the rot to refusing souls and causing the buildup in the Abyss that led to more wraiths, which, in turn, led to more trimming of the tree. That is, until you stopped it.” I glance at Ventris, but continue before he can react to the slight. “Free Lady Lellia, return her to Lord Krokan, let them return to the Beyond and reunite with their other godly kin.”
“I will not sit idly while she disparages my father’s name with her lies.” Ventris rises. Ilryth moves slightly in front of me.
“Sit, Ventris,” Remni commands. “You must keep your outbursts under control or we will never get to the truth, much less decide what to do next. Now tell me, could all this bepossible?” Remni asks Ventris. The fact that she’s asking him when I’m standing right here, telling her everything she needs to know, makes me want to scream.
“I would need time to consult the tomes. But in the meantime, we should send her back.”
“There is no time.” I practically speak over Ventris. “There is something called the Blood Moon. Leading up to this event, the lines between the worlds are thinning. If Lord Krokan and Lady Lellia are going to join their brethren on the other side of the Veil, they need to leave on or before this day. It will happen before you can send another sacrifice—there is no more time.”
“Blood Moon?” Remni looks to Ventris.
“The holy astronomers have mentioned this,” he begrudgingly admits. “But it is more the way of the vampir and has never been particularly important to our traditions.”
“How could I have known of such a thing without Lord Krokan telling me?” I raise a hand to my chest. “It only happens once every five hundred years.”
“But it is not for a couple years yet,” Ventris objects. “Plenty of time to—”
“Do you really intend on gambling with Lady Lellia’s life. She certainly will not survive until the next one; she might not even survive until this one. It’s this or nothing, now or never, and that’s why Krokan has resorted to drastic measures.”
“Let’s say we believe you,” Sevin says. I wish he sounded more genuine and less hypothetical. “What are we supposed to do? Let you cut down the Lifetree?”
“How dare… Are we just… Are we going to let her talk us into destroying the anchor for life and one of our last old gods in this world with little more than convincing lies?” Ventris blubbers.
“That is a worthy question.” Crowl rubs his chin. “What of the rest of mortal life if we free Lady Lellia from the Lifetree and she leaves this world?”
“Lord Krokan said that there is a possibility of another anchor…but I would ask her myself, if given the chance.” I hold out both of my hands, wishing I could make them understand the emotions and machinations I barely can make sense of myself. “I’m sure that if we can speak with her, she would guide us. She loves this land more than anything—enough to sacrifice her very essence for it for centuries upon centuries.”
“You presume to be able to speak to Lady Lellia?” Ventris scoffs.
“I do.” I meet his gaze and am pleased when he looks away. “Maybe I can’t promise what happens after, but I do know this…if you all fail to believe me now, then it will result in a great calamity.”
“How can we trust you?” Fenny asks. She has an expression I can’t quite read. It’s almost…smug? While the rest of them are panicked or angry, she’s worn a slight smile this entire time.
“Because I’m telling you the truth,” I say. “I admit there was a time when I resented—hated, even—Ilryth and all sirens. But I have come to understand you. I have shed my human skin and have been anointed by your songs. Even now, having gone to the realm of death and back, your markings are still on me. So, I fully understand that what I’ve told you, what I’m asking you to accept and do, is no small measure.”
“What you are asking for is the ending of those ways you say you understand.” Sevin leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We have thousands of years of history, passed down in our songs. But not one speaks of this danger you foretell—of our gods dying.”
“Did anyone sing of the rot before it began seeping from the Lifetree? Or the rage of Krokan churning the seas? Or the increasing frequency of wraiths?” They’re all silent. “I know, it is terrifying when the world you thought you knew, thought you had control of, is suddenly crumbling apart. When the things you’ve always counted on—the foundation you built your world on—crumbles.”
Lonely nights. The illusion of safety, gone. Harsh words, heavy enough to break a young woman’s back. A barren beach.
“I know what it’s like when you’ve lost everything, and the terrifying realization that it was in no small part by your own hand, even if it wasn’t what you ever intended. But youmustkeep going. Even if you don’t know the headway…or even if you’ll make it to that distant, hopeful point at all.”
One muddy footprint at a time, pulled away from a cold, dark beach. Down a road you’ve never traveled. To a city you’ve only ever heard talked about. To a life you haven’t even dared dream of.
“We owe it—youowe it to everyone to take history in your stride and chart your own course. You can’t let your future be chained to the past. Claim your own destiny,” I finish.
My words reach them, I think. I hope. They all remain quiet. Expressions pensive.
“Listen to her.” Ilryth swims forward slightly. “If you ever held any love or respect for me, listen to her. Victoria is the best among us. She is good and honorable. She has never lied or deceived any of us. If anything, she has always acted in our best interest.”
Don’t speak so highly of me, I want to say.Don’t say these things.
But he doesn’t stop. He continues his noble crusade that wars with my heart. “Men and women followed her in the Natural World because of her goodness and virtue. I have witnessed souls of the dead turned from rage just by her mere presence. She has swayed the heart of Lord Krokan himself to allow us to return. If she gives us her word, then it is so. And we—”
