“Liar!”
“Thief!”
Taryn yelled out into the void as each word clashed into him, reminding him of who he once was. Each word was accompanied by a memory that flashed in his mind.
He saw himself homeless at thirteen, stealing from another family, barely making ends meet.
He saw himself at fourteen, killing another man to join the Guild.
He saw himself at sixteen, alone and drunk, wandering the streets as he tried to fill a bottomless void.
A void he now knew was Airess. Airess, his light in the darkness. Airess, a star holding up the moon. It was always her. It would always be her.
He stopped resisting the memories, his goal becoming suddenly clear. It was about more than him now. This was about his Mate’s life. He faced the ugliest parts of himself and accepted the shame. Accepted the regret. He could not change the past or who he once was. But he could shape his future. Taryn would become the person his Mate needed.
A Godling.
The memories faded, and in the distance, he saw a figure sitting upon a silver throne, floating in space. The being wasmassive, the body made of pulsing energy the colors of black and silver. It had a face, but the features were unreadable. Two silver glowing eyes stared at Taryn. In the palm of the being’s hand, it held the moon. Taryn sank to his knees.
Gealach, the God of Moon and Storm.
It was an innate fact Taryn knew without thinking, felt in every fiber of his being. HisGod. The one who Touched him at birth. The God Taryn shared his spirit with.
Gealach’s gaze upon Taryn was heavy with an energy so strong, he felt it pulsing through his astral body. Taryn stilled at the sight of the God.
‘You are ready.’ The God bellowed, its voice a plethora of beings all meshed into one. Taryn heard the voice in his mind, despite not seeing the God's mouth move. Gealach extended a hand, sending tendrils of silver light towards Taryn.
Taryn reached for it and touched the light. His vision turned white, astral body fusing with the Moon God. He screamed out, not in terror, but because the power was overwhelming.
‘Go.’ Gealach commanded. Taryn was sent barreling forward, flipping through space. His spirit fell back to earth, back to Rune, back to the prison cell his body was in.
Taryn opened his eyes.
Wind whirled around him as his eyes began to glow, his brown hair fading into an iridescent silver from root to tip. His skin turned a glowing metallic, and when he yanked his chain from the wall, the entire prison cell began to crumble.
He pumped air upwards, blasting the skylight bars into the sky.
Chapter 41
‘Soul slaying is forbidden. If you destroy a soul,
you destroy your own as well.’
— Excerpt from House Moros’ book of Minds
Airess
Arzhel unsheathed his dagger at her words.
Act.
Act.
Act.
“A threat from the grave,” he mused. “I think I’ll give you a slow death for that statement, put on a show for our crowd.” Arzhel turned to face the audience and raised his dagger in the air, their chants growing as her death neared.
Airess closed her eyes when a thought struck her. She had saved Taryn,hovering over his body as she reached into his heart and pulled him out of his curse.
