Part One
Echoes of Betrayal
Prologue
The Below
Year Unknown, Age of the Cosmos
Ascreech tore through the dark caverns of a new world. Theyoung fae woman collapsed to the ground, pounding her fist on the stone. Sira, she had been called once. It had been a long time since she’d heard the name. Down here in the dark, they referred to her asmy lady.
Or Mother.
“Hideous!” Sira wailed. “Demon! Disgusting, vile, pathetic monster!”
Movement stirred amid the wet pile of sludge before her. Two large yellow eyes blinked up. Moss and muck still cocooned the creature’s small body. Its new lungs gasped in breath, and it looked around, terrified, eyes seeing for the first time. Its gaze found hers.
“M-Mother?” it rasped.
Repulsion roiled in her gut. No, impossible. How could she beMotherto such a revolting creature? Everything from its sharp claws to the mulch making up its body stank of rot.
It blinked, huge ears twitching. “Mother?”
“I,” Sira snarled, “amnotyour mother.Youare a monster. A goblin!” A sob escaped her as she snatched the little beast’s head in her hands, then slammed it repeatedly into the stone.Slam. Slam. Slam.
Now, she was alone with the blood of yet another one of her creations painting her hands.
Sira fell back and wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking. Rocking and sobbing. What else was there to do? She wassurethis time, so sure. This one was supposed to be beautiful. Divine.
Yet again, it had come out all wrong.
The space between her shoulder blades ached with phantom pain. She resisted the urge to reach back and scratch at the scarred skin.
There was flapping overhead and scared chittering from the corners of the cavern.
“Shut up!” she screamed. “Shut up!”
I’m surrounded by failure. Despite the sobs racking her body, her inner thoughts were calm. She could command them to kill themselves. A simple amount of will poured into the rose, and they’d do it. Every disgusting one of them.
Through her tears, she looked up. It was easy to make out the outline of the stretched wings, the bodies more bone than skin. She’d captured a herd of deer that came to drink from a pool at the edge of the cavern and dragged them down here to the dark. Just for a little while. She’d give them wings—wouldn’t that be beautiful?—and bring them Above. Imagine these glorious creatures cutting through the clouds and revealing the starlight beyond. How everyone would marvel!
Sira dug her hand into the collapsed skull beside her, squishing brain matter beneath her fingers. Except it hadn’t worked. Instead of feathered wings, they’d looked like broken bones ripping through a membrane. The lovely white of their fur had sickened to gray. Their flat teeth had turned sharp, and the only thing stopping them from tearing out her throat was her will pouring through the rose.
If it wasn’t these hideous gargoyles, then it was the goblins: creations she’d molded herself from the very earth.Shehad created this place, torn a hole in the world and carved herself a spot. And from the loins of the earth, she crafted beautiful little beings. Yet every time she used the rose to will life into them?—
Sira looked down at the dead monster beside her.
Repugnant demon.
She stood, wiping her hands on her black silk dress, and paced. How, how,howcould she bring these back home?
For this wasn’t home. This dark hole in the ground, this wet cavern. Yes, it had a bed and a mirror and a wardrobe with all things she’d taken from the Above, but it wasn’thome.
Everyone up there needed to see what she was capable of. Shehadto show them she could do it. Create something not justgoodorbeautifulbut more than that.
Something divine.
Something worthy of the Above.
