Polaris planted a soft kiss on Tethys’s brow before snapping her finger and dissipating into a misty cloud of night. The quiet morning settled around the table in shades of golden sunlight, and for the first time in a long time, Tethys could breathe.
“A boy?” Altair asked, his turquoise eyes glittering with delight. “You’re in trouble…if I have anything to do with it.”
“You willnotteach my son to be a brute,” Tethys laughed, sinking into her chair. “He’ll already be a handful enough if he’s anything like his father.”
“Your son will be loved, that’s for sure.”
His father. Araes. The morning report hadn’t arrivedyet, and with the outcome of the 15th’s invasion unknown, she could only envision the worst. Her eyes darkened with grim hypotheticals. She closed her eyes, searching for the second heartbeat through their tether. It was slow and steady with a sleeping rhythm. He was alive. That’s all she needed for now.
“I know you’re worried, but if something terrible happened, we’d already have heard about it. Keep faith, little sister. Lieutenant Araes is a fierce fighter.” Altair closed the leatherbound book and placed it beside him. “He will return to you. Whether it takes a month or a year or ten, I’m sure of it.”
† † †
Rubble and dust greeted the 15th when they arrived at Venia’s border. The wall, once jutting into the sky hundreds of feet high, now barely stood knee height. With the war in full force, the rebels managed to entirely decimate the city’s final protection. The council ordered the remaining city guards to retreat and keep the Antarean district secure, leaving the outer edges of Serpens and its lowborn people defenseless.
“Fuck,” Niko whispered as they marched past row after row of yellow townhomes, now stained with crimson spatter. “I knew the conditions were bad, but this is…”
Their battalion exchanged somber nods with another unit, searching the rubble for survivors. Araes knew by their grim eyes that their efforts were futile.
There was no life here. Not anymore.
They passed a flower shop, one he’d visited so many months ago. The tattered flag, now sun faded and shredded, floated in the lingering afternoon breeze.
“Most of the lowborn retreated north to the farming districts, but the camps are overwhelmed,” Haidee said, scanning the vacant streets as they traveled deeper intothe city. What few lowborn were able to evacuate were long gone, leaving shopfronts and fruit stands abandoned. He thought of the children—had Tethys been successful in bringing them home? Was there even anything left to return to?
The battalion were quiet as they serpentined through the city, hearts heavy under the silence of an abandoned city. By the time they reached the Eastern River, now fortified with patrolling guards, Araes’s pulse throbbed and his head ached. His city, his home, was no more than ash. His mother and sister, although far enough from Serpens, were left unguarded. The council they’d wholeheartedly trusted turned their backs and retreated to their pristine white homes and safeguarded neighborhoods.
“Welcome home,” the head guard said, guiding the battalion over the cobblestone bridge. This lifeless encampment of cold-faced highborn and upturned noses wouldn’t ever be his home. Maybe months ago Araes might find relief behind the eastern rivers’ protective rapids, but now it felt foreign. Without Tethys, Venia was merely a shell, a facade. Beautiful like a gilded statue with pristine golden curves, but hollow under its smooth, shining surface.
“Barracks are in the aviary. Get showered, get rested. Visit with your families. You’ve earned it,” Haidee said, crossing her arms. “Formation will be at the temple in two days’ time. Don’t be late. Half of you will be assigned to aid the city guards in re-securing the city, the other half will be sent to the lowborn camps in the north. The medics are overwhelmed and need more hands. Before I hear any‘but we aren’t healers’ bullshit, this is what our city needs. You are sworn sons of Venia, and your oath is to protect our realm and the people in it. If that means emptying bedpans and handing out soup, you’ll do it without protest.”
The soldiers grumbled exhausted responses and crept up the street toward their makeshift barracks. While Araes’s body begged for a hot meal and shower, he couldn’trest. Not yet. He turned on his heels and started north.
His feet led him through the winding cobblestone streets and past an overgrown garden that faced the sea. They carried him up the steps to a faded blue door. One with splinters down the center, both old and new.
“Hi, Mother,” he said, greeting the exhausted old woman who answered his knock, and collapsed into her embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and for a moment, Araes dropped his shields.
He was a boy again, sheltered safely in his mother’s comfort, and finally, he let it all go. Every last drop of violence and darkness and rage flooded from him as he sobbed into the crook of her neck. His chest split open, setting free the demons lurking there.
Maybe his heart was worlds away, but at least he was home.
Chapter 70
“Thank you for meeting with me, Lieutenant Araes,” Lord Ophis said, stepping aside to allow Araes into his townhome. Gone was the usual hazy smog of cigar smoke and intoxication. Just over three months had passed since returning to Venia, and with the daily missions from the head guard, the city’s epicenter slowly expanded toward the exterior borders.
“I only have an hour or so before my scouting unit gets suspicious. Do you have news from Aquilae?” he asked, shaking the rain from his cloak.
“King Altair sends word of their success. It seems the missing children were located in an abandoned salt mine with no recollection of their captor. Whoever took them had ties to the rebellion, but they’re safe. Only one of the group was orphaned during the invasion. His family was close to Lady Messene, however, and he’s been taken in by the copyists.”
Relief felt like a feather across Araes’s rain-damped brow. His goddess fulfilled her promise. The children weresafe.
“Great news. With the city re-secured, does our goddess intend on returning home soon?” he asked, feigning emotionless curiosity. Although Ophis and his shades were privy to the truth of their ongoings, Araes wasn’t sure just how deeply rooted the lord’s knowledge went.
“The goddess has a few loose ends to tie up in the southern city, but she plans on returning in a few weeks’ time,” Ophis replied, pouring a glass of brandy from the crystal decanter on the cabinette. He handed the drink to Araes, who took it reluctantly, then poured a second. “We may be at the tail end of this war, but there’s still much to be done. The city needs heroes like you, Lieutenant.”
Araes scuffed his boot against the stone tile floor. “Respectfully, my lord, I’m not a hero. I just follow the orders given to me.”
Ophis chuckled and settled into the velvet armchair opposite the door. The entryway to the townhome was immaculate. Every crystalline vase and ornate figurine was dusted and polished as if life passed by uninterrupted within these lavish walls. Even fresh cut lilacs adorned the central table.
