“It’s easier with you here. I’ll be fine,” he offered, as if answering the unspoken question. She swallowed and reached for his hand. They no longer were safe in the privacy of the manor, yet she didn’t care if someone witnessed their fingers interlacing. He connected their palms and brought the back of her hand to his lips.
Once inside, the pair retired to Araes’s old bedchamber. A steaming bath not only wiped the grit and grime away, but also allowed for a moment of silent introspection. Tethys soaked in the lavender-scented water until it became too cold to bear, and only then was she ready to face the reality of the morning.
She dressed quickly, shivering in the cool dawn air, and twirled her hair into a plait that fell along her spine. The tunic and matching black pants Penelope set aside for her scratched against her tender skin. She sighed, retrieving the orb from her discarded gown, now stained with soot and charred along the hemline. It crumpled in a heap as she tossed it in the corner.
Once dressed and safely tucked under a thick down comforter, Tethys exhaled the breath she felt she’d been holding since before the attack. A tear escaped down her cheek, but she swallowed the heartache. She’d allowed herself a moment of weakness, and now it was time to look forward. There was still too much to be done. The prism key’s discovery was the highest of priorities. Once she figured out its location, she’d deal with the rebels that placed their bombs.
Their execution wouldn’t be swift. She’d ensure that, at the least. For now, though, there was a bigger threat demanding her attention.
“I brought breakfast and coffee,” Araes said, interrupting the vengeful thoughts cycling through her mind.
“I’m not sure I have an appetite yet, but I’ll gladly take the coffee,” Tethys said, offering a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Violent whispers of fury licked up her neck. Even if she’d intended on returning to the manor, what was left for her? Nothing but ash and dust.
Araes sat at the bedside, his eyes fixating on hers as she sipped from her mug. Finally, when he’d settled with his own mug and an empty plate, he recounted the letter and the shocking discovery of Captain Theos’s betrayal.
“It sounds like the Theos you once knew has long sincedeparted this world,” Tethys said, sipping her coffee. “You should have told me what you’d found months ago, Araes.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Seeing Enyo’s name written there made his death feel so final. I’m not sure what I expected to find, but I wasn’t ready to accept it. I’m sorry I hid from you. I see now my feelings left me blind. You’re not the one who could’ve prevented this. I am.” Araes glanced at the floor. “I’m sorry, Goddess.”
Tethys laced her fingers through his, letting his rough calluses scrape against her palm. “It’s alright. Thank you for telling me now.”
She tipped his chin and pressed a delicate kiss to his lips. He smiled sadly and pulled her close. It was the two of them against the world. The shields they built around each other now encircled them both.
Her head spun with the news, but she grounded herself before continuing to recall her conversation with Phosphora and Polaris’s discovery thereafter.
“There’s something else, Araes. I think I know where the prism key is,” Tethys said, reaching for the orb that now rested quietly on the bedside table. She traced the runes engraved on its side with her thumb as she spoke. “The night before last, I had a dream unlike any of the nightmares I’ve had before. I believe it was a vision of the past, in a cliff slide cave somewhere along the coast. I’m not certain, but I think I’ve been there before. It smelled like salt and sea moss.”
“In Aquilae, perhaps? During our military training we learned of the old salt mines along the Centaurian Cliffs. The ancient Venian army used the underground caverns as headquarters for naval operations in the eastern sea,” Araes replied, placing down his mug.
“Immortal dreams are never just from the imagination. They’re conduits for primordial energy that connect us to our people of the past. The key could be hidden in one of those mine shafts,” Tethys suggested. Time wasn’ta straight line as the mortals perceived it to be, but a tide that ebbed and flowed around them. Dreams were the bridges that connected the past to the present. If her mother came to her when she’d closed her eyes to sleep, then she was certain it was truth, and even more certain it was significant.
“I’ll notify General Otto of Theos’s rebellion ties when we return to the manor. The city guards will track his whereabouts, and he’ll be brought to justice,” Araes stated before placing his mug on the nightstand. “After the rebellion is under control, we’ll search the Centaurian Cliffs.”
Tethys looked up at him through her coffee’s steaming aromatics. “We aren’t returning to the manor, Araes.”
“What?” He raised his brow. “What do you mean we aren’t returning to the manor?”
“Exactly what I said. For all the realm knows, we perished in that fire. While we have time, we need to focus on locating the prism key. Phosphora was adamant about it, and the missing children are still out there somewhere. If Randall’s account is true, their disappearances must be linked to Vorthal. We find the key, and we’re one step closer to finding them.”
“Tethys, Phosphora’s mind is broken. We cannot hold her ramblings in such high regards. As prophetic as it sounds, it’s best we shift focus to what’s directly in our path. The rebels. With Theos still at large, the whole realm is at risk,” he argued.
“There will be no realm to protect, nor a rebellion to stop, if we don’t prevent Vorthal from returning, and what of the children? What of the lowborn families still waiting for their return?What of Leda?” She gripped the comforter in her fist.
“I cannot allow you to put yourself even more at risk than you already are. Goddess, please. Not only is it safer to remain here, in Venia, but we don’t know what we’re up against. Those mine shafts are ancient, and probablyhaven’t been used in centuries,” Araes pleaded. His lips creased into a thin line as she simply stared at him in response.
“My decision is made, Lieutenant. You’re either with me or not.” Her words sliced through the argument like Aquilaean steel.
She knew she’d forced him into a choice of loyalty, but she stood between her people and the darkness that now threatened to swallow them whole. Would he follow his oath to the realm or to her?
“You would leave your realm in pieces to chase nightmares?” he asked, his voice an arctic blast as he closed the distance between them.
“I don’t have a choice, Araes. Please, come with me,” she whispered, her nose brushing his.
“Goddess…” he whispered, intertwining their fingers. The golden flecks in his eyes flashed with a desperate plea. “I cannot choose between my honor and my heart.”
Her blood turned to ice as she ripped her hand from his.So he’d made his choice.
There it was again, the whole weight of the world pressing on her. She was no stranger to rejection. Disappointment was a close friend, but this felt worse than even the deepest of betrayals.
