To Isla’s surprise, Bri popped in. “I can answer that, I think. You skipped the part that said after the dagger takes someone’s powers, it ‘leaves them in their mortal form.’ I’m guessing if you gave your powers over, you’d become a mortal. Human.”
At a loud bang, Isla turned to see that Kai had dropped the canteen of water she’d been holding, her tan face now a ghostly white. Aidan’s fingers stopped moving across her shoulders.
“Kai?” Isla asked hesitantly.
The water elemental shot to her feet. “I—I’m sorry, I need…” She looked down at Aidan, swallowed, then hurried toward the cave entrance. “I have to go,” she said before running into the night.
Bri’s mouth hung open, her head swiveling back and forth. Jade cursed and rushed after Kai, but Aidan stood and put a hand out to stop her.
“What was that about?” Jade shouted.
“I’ll handle it. We’re not done with this conversation,” Aidan said, gesturing to Isla before striding out of the cave.
“Has everyone lost their minds?” Jade said with a grunt, putting a finger to her temple. She, Isla, Rynn, and Bri stared at each other, unsure how to proceed.
Bri cleared her throat awkwardly. “Should I…?” She motioned to the open book in her lap.
Jade let out a huff. “Yes, fine. Go ahead.”
“I think I’ve seen other entries that mention the dagger,” Bri said. “They never called it the Dagger of Volnus, but that must’ve been what they were talking about. Give me a second…” Bri’s tongue stuck out the side of her mouth while she gently thumbed through the pages.
“Oh, here’s one,” she said. She turned the book around and handed it to Isla, the spine creaking and groaning. Glancing at the bottom, Isla saw that the entry dated almost a thousand years after the one Bri had already read. Isla skimmed the words written in faded cursive script, and then re-read them slowly.
The secrets of the dagger continue to elude us. It remains as much of a mystery as it did when presented to the bloodline so many generations ago. The Primeval gods bestowed this weapon of great magic upon us, and I seek to understand its purpose. It calls to me like a beacon of unfathomable power, singing to me in the dead of night. I have heard of this happening to those who came before. We are the true wielders of its magic, after all. Like calls to like, and my fingers itch to go to it, to uncover its secrets and master the blade. The elementals have not yet learned of its existence, and in my darkest hours, my mind traverses the blackness of my soul, imagining the power I would command if I use the dagger on those immortals.
I fear it, and yet I crave it—the blade hungers for blood, as do I. But I must refrain. I will surely not be the queen who loses herself to the calling.
Long Live,
Queen Ariantha Vasileia III
Rynn, who read it over her shoulder, let out a hum of irritation. “I remember her. She never did like us.”
Isla felt itchy and uncomfortable, like something was lying beneath her skin that wouldn’t quite go away. The drawing of the dagger, its history and implications, the corrupted emotions it evoked in her ancestors…it all seemed much more sinister than it had before.
Bri nodded. “I thought her entry was a little bizarre. I’ve read through several others like this and I hate to say it, Isla, but your family didnotlike the elementals. Some are more extreme than others, and quite a few of them say they had this strong desire to use the dagger against them.”
Isla’s discomfort intensified, making her want to crawl out of her skin. These people—her ancestors—had such intense feelings toward the elementals. The dagger made them want tohurtthem. Her friends. Rubbing at the back of her neck, she pictured herself among those bloodthirsty monarchs. She didn’t want to becomethat, like this dead queen whose soul had blackened and hungered for blood and power.
The other three looked at her again, and their stares were a suffocating weight on her chest. Maybe she’d made a mistake in suggesting she use the dagger. Why had her ancestors felt this disturbing pull to it? She hadn’t asked for this curse, this legacy.
Isla stood abruptly and dropped the book in Rynn’s lap. He glanced up at her, startled. “I…I just need some air.”
As Kai had done not ten minutes ago, Isla hurried out of the cave, a buzz forming low in her ears as she pushed through the pine trees to the small clearing that contained the hot spring.
Under the cover of the moon and the stars, she fell to her knees and finally breathed.
Isla did not look up again until a familiar voice came from behind. She’d expected someone to come for her but was surprised by who appeared.
“You’re an interesting mortal, Isla Vasileia,” Jade said softly.
Isla closed her eyes and took in a breath of cold air. She let it run through her, reaching in and coaxing out the anxieties building inside of her. Directing her gaze upward as she got to her feet, she was greeted by the night sky, the pale moon shining through the thick trees.
On a cloudless night like this, the stars appeared closer than ever. They were her constant companions, shining even in the daylight when she was unable to see them. But when the twilight faded and the inky expanse of night stretched across the heavens…this was when the stars made themselves known, their brilliance awakened, their fervor unmatched. They spoke to her. Whispered their secrets. The stars too knew darkness, but they didn’t let that keep them from breaking through the black night to rise anew.
Isla silently turned to the elemental. Her brown hair lifted in the slight breeze, her bronze skin glowing like deep gold, and her curvy hips swaying with each step. She wore a burgundy cloak that rustled through the grass as she moved.
“I think you’ve been very brave. You’ve suffered much, and still, you keep going. I understand your priority is your family, but you didn’t have to offer yourself to help us. Not many people would be willing to risk their lives for the fate of beings they hardly know.” Jade made an amused noise in the back of her throat. “You must think us to be selfish, putting you and your loved ones in harm’s way simply to ensure we continue existing in a world that has long forgotten us anyway.”
