A world in which silence was not empty, but full.
‘I can see the threads of most p-paths,’ Ash said softly, his voice carrying that familiar stammer, though it no longer held shame. ‘Countless ro-roads stretch out before us, and with each choice, we f-follow one and leave another be-behind.’ He turned his attention to Adriana, his expression tinged with quiet apology. ‘But I ca-cannot see properly the paths of gods. Yours were hi-hidden f-from me.’ He nodded gently towards Adriana, Keir, and Cronan.
‘A hundred years ago, when Hecate cursed us, bound every creature to the land they stood upon, we happened to be here, in the mortal realm,’ Adriana explained. ‘At first, we didn’tunderstand what had happened. Not until it was too late, and we found ourselves unable to return home.’
Ash gestured towards their wyverian features, a question in his dark eyes. ‘Why wyverians?’
‘We’ve worn many faces over the past century,’ Adriana replied. ‘But when Mal Blackburn was born, we realised Hades was stirring something foul. We saw the signs. He was shaping a god-killer. So we shed our skins once more and took up these new guises, embedding ourselves within the wyverian court. We became Haven and Kai’s closest allies, always near enough to watch over Mal as she grew… but never too near. We couldn't risk King Ozul suspecting the truth.’
‘So he knew,’ Ash murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Adriana’s lips curled into a small smile. ‘And here I thought you saw everything.’
Ash gave a faint shrug, a rare trace of mischief in his tired eyes. ‘I like to m-maintain the illusion of b-being ordinary, now and then.’
‘King Ozul was visited by Thanatos himself,’ Adriana said, her voice soft, yet edged with gravity. ‘No god could tread upon mortal soil, not while Hecate's curse held. But Thanatos is Death, and death knows no boundary. He came as Hades' shadow, fulfilling his command. He planted the god's seed within Queen Senka’s womb, fully aware of the consequences once Hecate sensed what had been done. Afterward, he told them everything.’
She paused, resting her hand upon Keir’s with quiet reverence. ‘We chose the bodies of young wyverians, still soft in soul and bone, easier vessels for divinity. Children’s spirits are not yet fully formed, not yet hardened. They yield more easily, and rarely do they break beneath the weight of a god. Unlikeadults, they survive the taking.’ Adriana gave a small, unbothered shrug. ‘But most gods won’t suffer the inconvenience of infancy. They prefer a body ready to wield power. They do not care if that mortal dies in the attempt.’
‘We did,’ Keir said quietly. ‘We wanted it to feel… real. To learn what it meant to be alive. So we became these mortals. We let ourselves care for the kingdom, for its people, for those we called friends.’
‘But it isn’t real,’ Ash said, his voice heavy with the truth of it.
‘It is to us,’ Adriana snapped, her eyes flashing with something raw. ‘We’ve lived these lives. We’ve grown into these families, loved them as our own. We’ve earned their trust, their hearts. Haven was my dearest friend, whether she knew me truly or not. And we—’ she drew in a steadying breath, her fingers tightening around Keir’s, ‘we want to grow old in this life. In this borrowed skin, we’ve made something beautiful.’ She held Ash’s gaze, her words a quiet plea wrapped in iron. ‘So we ask you to keep our secret.’
‘What of the other gods?’ Ash asked quietly, though the weight of the question hung heavy in the air.
‘There are…’ Adriana paused, her teeth catching her lower lip in thought. ‘There are two in particular who would stop at nothing to find me.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I created the valkyrians,’ she said, her voice touched with quiet pride and old sorrow. ‘And they…well, they envied that creation. They demanded I share the power, that they too be etched into the fabric of what I made. So now, the valkyrians do not belong to me alone. They are part theirs as well. If I die…’ She hesitated, then met his glare. ‘If they succeed in killing me, the valkyrians will become theirs entirely. And they could mould them into a terrible weapon, one that might turn upon the rest of the kingdoms.’
‘Only the god-killer could do that,’ Ash said, hands curling into fists.
Adriana gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘And that is why we’ve watched over Mal her entire life.’
‘Mal has a good heart,’ Ash said, something fierce flaring in his eyes. ‘She wouldn’t hurt you.’
‘That depends,’ Adriana said softly. ‘Where is your wife, Ash?’
‘In the Underworld.’
‘With whom?’
Ash turned his face away, his jaw tensing. He didn’t answer.
‘If the other gods discover that you can see the threads of past, present, and future,’ Adriana warned, ‘they will come for you. They will use you.’
‘They can’t reach me he-here,’ Ash said with a scoff.
‘But Death can.’
‘He won’t come,’ Ash replied, waving a hand dismissively. ‘He’s far too occupied trying to s-seduce my wife.’
‘That doesn’t concern you?’
‘I trust her,’ he said, his voice firm and final. ‘I trust my wife.’
