None of us moved. Even Farris remained quiet, watching.
We'd all been reshaped by the ones who were meant to care for us.
We stood in heavy silence, each processing what we'd witnessed. The pool had stripped us bare, exposing wounds we'd thought healed. But somehow, sharing them made the burden lighter.
Light skimmed across the pool and the images faded. Laphira and Dorion stood, her softly crying in his arms. When she stepped back, she gave him a nod and a watery smile.
Reyla and I joined them, Farris trotting at her side.
“It’s time to heal our bond,” I said, glancing at each of them. “Will Irridain and Halendor stand with the Evergorne king as they did so long ago?”
“Fuck, yeah,” Dorion said before anyone else could open their mouths.
The laugh that slipped out of me wasn't much, but it was real.
Laphira nodded. “I sense it must be now.”
Reyla handed me the tiny dagger.
Staring down at the blade, I sucked in a breath and sliced the sharp edge across my palm. When my blood hit the surface of the pool, it vanished, sucked it down.
I passed the small knife to Reyla.
A quick gouge, and her blood joined mine in the pool. The same ripple spread outward as if the pool drank it. It swirled, searching for more.
Dorion was next. “Don’t give me that look,” he muttered, shooting me a smirk. “That pity thing? It doesn't belong here today.”
I dipped my head forward to show him I heard.
His blood fell, joined by Laphira's, and the pool churned.
As a gust of wind jettisoned through the enormous cave, the pool lit up, dawn cracking open the sky.
The talismans rose from where Reyla had placed them within the golden circles.
Light exploded from their fusion, so bright I had to close my eyes. When I opened them, the three separate pieces had become something entirely new. Ancient power hummed through the air, making my teeth ache.
Essence.
Devotion.
Dominion.
They hovered above the surface, spinning slowly. Lightstretched from one to the next, weaving between them, threads pulled taut. Energy lifted the hairs on my arms.
The scales embedded in the walls began to glow, one by one. A low sound echoed from every corner, a steady thrum, like a heart starting to beat after a very long time. Farris's ears swiveled to track the sound.
The talismans spun faster. Light poured from the water, rising in streams that bent and curled, reaching, searching for something to bind.
Then the spinning slowed, and the scales’ light dimmed. With a snap, the threads between the talismans wrenched apart, and they dropped back down to rest on the stones, each within its golden circle.
“Something's missing,” Reyla said, Farris's whine following like agreement.
“We offered pain and regret,” I said as it dawned on me. “But the Iskar Cor wasn't created from suffering. It was meant to enhance love, not force it. Aricor corrupted its purpose.”
Laphira crouched in front of the pool. “It took our blood. Took everything we offered. Raked its claws across our souls.Whydidn’t it work?”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” I said. “We only gave what hurt.” Crouching, I traced my fingers above the water.
