Kael’s figure emerged from the shadows, his tone allowing for no argument. The guards returned to an at-ease position but said nothing as we silently climbed the marble staircase together, making our way through the towering glass-and-gold doors into the chamber.
Inside, the Gate loomed at the far end, a vast arch of cream-colored stone, its surface carved with constellations and sigils that seemed almost to breathe with their own faint light.
“My only other memory of being here never felt like my own.”
Kael knew me well enough to understand I didn’t expect a response.
I’d been little more than my father’s shadow then, another blade at King Balthor’s command. Though it was so long ago, my memory of the relics flaring was vivid.
“I understand the runes carved into that arch as little as I do the power that thrummed it for so long.”
Kael approached, pointing to one. “Aetheria’s mark, the breath of sky, running through a current that carries life. And this one,” he said, “you know it as Elydor’s crowned arch, but its center is hollow since it’s meant to hold the symbol of all clans. Without unity, Elydor is empty.”
I didn’t remember that particular rune glowing that night my father closed the Gate, only the crushing certainty that whatever light burned in all of them, collectively, would never shine again.
The weight of that day suddenly pressed hard against my chest as I was unable to look away. Whether that arch opened once again, or remained locked, my fate, all of Elydor’s, was bound to it.
“We didn’t know.”
Those whispered words from Kael carried more weight than anything he’d ever said.
“We knew enough.”
He didn’t disagree.
I turned from the Gate’s ominous presence, concentrating instead on what I could control.
“You sent her under false pretenses, at best. I never knew you as a coward, Kael.”
Part of me wanted a fight. Expected one. Surprisingly, my brother didn’t accommodate. His hand didn’t twitch. His temper didn’t flare. Instead, he stood before me, as calm and collected as Lyra might.
“If I’d come, I would have been locked up as a traitor before I even stepped foot on Gyorian soil.”
I resented the implication. “I would not have allowed it.”
“You wouldn’t have had a choice. He’s lost, Terran. He’s been lost for some time. We just didn’t see it.”
Anger welled within me. Unlike my brother, my fingers did twitch. My fist balled. Kael noticed, but said nothing. I wanted to disagree with his words, but even I wasn’t that much of a fool.
“She lied about her purpose for being there. Worse, I allowed it.”
Kael’s brows rose. “Did she? You’ve not felt The Unbalance?”
I snorted, an unprincely sound and one I fully welcomed. We were no princes but two outlawed brothers with less true power than anyone in Elydor.
“Does it matter? Our father is king. What are you proposing, Kael? Short of killing our own father, he will remain so. None are more powerful than he, even in his current state.”
Kael’s eyes darkened. “I never proposed to kill him, or aid another to do so. But I disagree that we are powerless. Taking a stand is power. Defiance is power. Truth, unity, refusal, hope… these are power. And they are weapons Father cannot strip from us.”
“You sent her.Her.To prove a point.”
Except, he didn’t. Kael had no notion what I was talking about. No idea how I’d felt about Lyra, before. And certainly not now.
At least he’d not stooped that low.
Before my brother could ask any questions, I forged ahead. On a different topic.
“What do you propose we do?”
