“And the Void?” The word tightened my jaw as it came out. “You said that’s where the… Devourer came from.”
Lyralei’s expression shifted. Not fear exactly, but something close to it, respect for a danger that couldn’t be taken lightly.
“The Void is a dimension where darkness and shadow have ruled supreme since its creation. It has many monarchs, and the Devourer is just one of them.” Her voice dropped lower. “The Devourer is not a creature in the sense you understand. It is an entity, primordial, vast, and fundamentally incompatible with life in this dimension as we know it. It does not destroy because it hates. It consumes because that is its nature.”
I wrapped my arms around myself despite the warmth. “How did it get here exactly?”
“Through the Veil. Through fractures created during the War of Unmaking.” Lyralei’s hands moved in small patterns as she spoke, weaving illustrations from light and shadow. “For eons, the monarchs of the Void waged war against each other until the blood of voidlings lost its thrill. When our ancestors went to war with one another, they tore holes in reality itself. They reached through those holes, trying to pull power from other dimensions to use as weapons. They were arrogant, oblivious to the pains of their predecessors. Through their abuse of the Veil, they opened doorways that should have remained sealed.”
“When the rift was torn open, it gave the monarchs an opportunity, and an accord was struck between them. The Devourer would give up his territory to claim ours as his own.”
The light between her hands coalesced into shapes. I saw figures fighting, saw tears opening in the fabric around them, saw something massive and hungry pushing through.
“The Devourer seized that opportunity and made his move, corrupting the minds of the Veil-touched and bolstering the darkness in their hearts. By the time the surviving Veil-touched realized what they had done and how the Devourer had influenced them, it had grown strong enough to threaten everything.”
“But they stopped it.” I leaned forward, watching the images shift and reform. “They bound it somehow.”
“Yes. With the assistance of King Altheryn Thorne, Daemon’s ancestor. The remaining Fae of the Veil realized they couldn’t destroy the Devourer without shattering the Veil entirely. They had already channeled so much from the Veil that any further use would cause it to collapse. That would have doomed not just our dimension, but all of them. So they chose containment.”
“The Hollow Throne.”
“Yes.” Lyralei’s expression turned grave. “They anchored the Devourer to the throne using Altheryn’s bloodline as a livingseal. His soul became the lock. Every heir after him has carried that burden, all the way to Daemon. It keeps the Devourer trapped within this world, but it also kills them in the process. The Fae of the Veil needed to buy time for the Veil to heal so they could channel it once more to destroy this evil or send it back to the Void. The Thorne bloodline has guarded the Devourer for centuries, despite the gradual decay of both mind and body.”
I thought of Daemon and the conversation we’d had about his imminent death.
“The binding was meant to be a sacrifice. Altheryn understood what he was doing and the burden he was passing on to his descendants. He took on the role gladly anyway.” Lyralei paused. “But over generations, that truth was forgotten. The throne became a symbol of power rather than duty. Each king who sits upon it feeds the Devourer through ambition and corruption, strengthening it while shortening their own lives. Even the best of us cannot endure torture generation after generation.
“And we, the Veil-touched, have been reduced to just you and me. The Devourer grows stronger with each conquered territory, each abuse of power. Every Thorne king who succeeds in expansion strengthens it further. I doubt they even know they are being influenced at this point. Much of the knowledge of their clan’s history has been wiped clean, along with ours.”
The pieces fell together with nauseating clarity.
“So killing the king isn’t going to fix anything unless the Devourer is destroyed?”
“Yes, and unless the binding itself is broken and the Devourer no longer feasts in our dimension.” Lyralei rose, moving to the edge of the clearing where reality seemed to shimmer and bend. “That is where you come in, Seris. Veil magic can manipulate the boundary between dimensions. You could potentially send the Devourer back to the Void where itbelongs, or even destroy it entirely. We’re fortunate Daemon and his team rescued you the night your powers awakened. If the Devourer had access to your awakened powers, we would all be dead by now.”
“But I could also make it worse. I could lose control, and the Devourer could use it to free himself.” I stood on legs that felt like they weren’t mine. “When I was channeling the king’s weapon, I felt something. That same thing noticed me as well.”
“The Devourer is drawn to Veil magic like maggots to a carcass. Your awakening sent ripples throughout the entire kingdom that he has surely noticed. He’s most likely salivating at the idea of using you as a key and unleashing his malice on the rest of the world.”
She turned back to me, her face grave.
“Every time you use your power without proper control, you risk feeding it. Even now, his forces from the Void are waiting for their king’s call to come forth into our dimension. If a fracture in the Veil is made like before… we would have no way of fighting the Devourer and the Voidlings. During the War of Unmaking, only the Devourer was able to pass through. If his commanders and soldiers were to join him, we would have no chance.”
Terror crawled up my spine. “Then teaching me is dangerous. If I practice, if I try to learn,”
“Whether you don’t learn control or tear a hole in the Veil while trying to learn, we are doomed.” Lyralei crossed back to me, placing both hands on my shoulders.
“Right now, your magic erupts in bursts, uncontrolled and undirected. That kind of wild power is exactly what the Devourer needs to be free. But if you can be taught control and to shape it rather than simply lose yourself to it, you become the very weapon needed to end this cycle.”
I met her gaze. “Will you teach me?”
“That is why I brought you here, and I believe this is my destiny.” Her grip tightened, solid and reassuring. “Your mother asked me to watch over you if anything happened to her. I failed that promise once. I will not fail a second time.”
Something in my chest strengthened, though it was still tight.
Hope.
“Where do we start?”
