I blink back the tears that threaten to fall and take a steadying breath. “When will he be here?”
“Three days hence.”
I turn away, facing the back wall where a map of Ashonera stretches from floor to ceiling. My beautiful world, now fractured by wars. Villages burned. Forests scorched. Souls taken. “Why do you tell me this?”
She turns to me, showing the scars that mark her now. “A present from him when I wouldn’t allow him to lie with me like I did with Khaysus.” She says simply, as if that’s all I needed to know, but then she takes a sigh. “Before this world, I knew nothing but Khaysus. His touch, his anger, his flames.” She holds out her hands, those flames spiraling around her fingertips. “I thought that there was nothing more to it … but this world, Drahenå. It’s been two years since I first stepped foot on it, and it’s beautiful. Even through the horrors, the people … they find hope and love.”
I say nothing, listening intently as she turns her amber eyes back to me. “I don’t want to go back to that life, nor do I want Khaysus to come here and, if you would grant it, when this war is over, I would like to stay here on Ashonera.”
She falls to one knee. “I’ll pledge myself to you right now if that’s what you want.”
I step closer to her, studying the network of scars across her cheek, pink and raw.
“Stand up, Kya.” I say.
She hesitates before rising; her gaze never leaving mine. The flames still dance around her fingertips, casting flickering shadows across the war tent.
“I will never force someone to kneel before me,” I tell her. “Especially not someone who has suffered under their hands.”
Something passes between us, much like understanding.
“Your warning about Atlas may help save many lives,” I say, extending my hand. Water pools in my palm, clear and cool. “For that alone, you have earned sanctuary here. Forever.”
Kya looks at my offered hand, then slowly extends her own. When our hands touch, our elements dance together, steam rising between us like a promise.
“Thank you.”
eleven
Iwatch as Selene prepares theShayi Makafor what will happen in just two days after the newest reports confirming what Kya said. The rumors of a retreat. The lie. Atlas is coming to meet me here, with Thesix in tow. I hold up my hand, a few snowflakes falling from my palm as I open the ripple between us, making sure he is still alive.
When Selene finishes the training, she comes to stand beside me, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“I’ve lost myself, Selene,” I admit quietly. “I created this world to escape the conflicts of Mohasha. To escape Khaysus, and now everything is threatening to fall around me. Khaysus knocking on the door. I can only assume he is not here because of my siblings. Maybe Tiyo … but it’s only a matter of time.”
“You did nothing wrong, Drahenå.” She says. “You didn’t bring this war.”
“But I’ve perpetuated it.” I turn to her. “I’ve led my people – my children – into battle. I’ve watched them die for me. I’ve unleashed tidal waves that have drowned entire battalions.”
Selene puts her hand on my shoulder, “You have done what is necessary, just as we all have.”
“Have I?” I gesture to the soldiers, knowing some of them will not be here at the end of two days. “Look at what has happened, how many we’ve lost. The northern plains of Midaeliea are nothing but sands and ash now. Scorched. The central valleys are battlefields strewn with the bodies of those I swore to nurture.”
“Then end it.” Selene says.
I laugh bitterly. “If I could end it with a thought, don’t you think I would have done so already?”
Her words, however strike something inside of me as I think about the cycle that Ashonera has fallen into, almost the same as Mohasha. The endless struggle between the elements – fire consuming, water quenching, earth containing, wind spreading.
She looks at me, “I think you’re stronger than you think, Drahenå. You created this world with the four elements, yes? What could you create – or uncreate – with that same power?”
“Use creation as a weapon?” I consider her words, feeling something shift within me. Not hope, but a possibility. An idea that something could be changed.
The sand beneath my feet shifts and yields as I approach the water’s edge. I shed my boots, leaving them haphazardly on the shore and wading into the shallows. The cool embrace of the water welcomes me, recognizing its creator. My home since thebeginning. I continue forward until I’m waist-deep, then close my eyes.
I reach outward with my consciousness, sending wavelets across the surface that extend far into the waves. My call travels through currents and depths, a silent summons that only one creature will understand.
“W?ngesk,” I whisper to the waters. “Old friend, I need you.”
