Carus’ brows rose, and Nya cleared her throat. “Right,” she said.
They hurried after Morgen, and though her father looked a mix between on-edge and enraged, he still teased quietly, “Don’t underestimate your mother, Nya. She’s quite scary when she wants to be.”
Nya gave a weak laugh, but it died in her throat when they stepped out onto the cliff, and she saw two figures standing at the edge.
The goddess, Bella, was tall and muscular, with an angular face and short, jet-black hair. A long sword was strapped to her back, and, unlike Morgen, she wore all her weapons in full sight. Fitting, Nya supposed, for a goddess of war. Janis, on the other hand, was dressed in loose blue robes, his dark hair a messy mop of waves atop his head. Where Bella looked agitated, he appeared almost bored, shifting on his feet and occasionally staring up at the sky. His nonchalance made Nya more nervous than anything.
“Are you two just going to stand there loitering, or did you come here to say something?” Carus called.
Bella snarled, the noise so feral, it was more animalistic than human. Janis put a hand on her arm, which she promptly slapped away, causing him to roll his eyes.
“Despite what you might believe, we’re not here for a fight,” Janis said dryly.
Nya felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, and she whirled as Janis’ voice whispered directly in her ear, “We just want the girl.”
Suddenly, he was everywhere, surrounding them with the same apathetic expression mirrored across each face. Morgen stepped in front of her, and Carus casually moved behind her, a hand resting on the pommel of his sword.
“Come now, you don’t need to make such a fuss,” all the Janises said with an innocent tilt of their heads. “Sol just wants to speak with her.”
“Then he should stop being such a fucking coward and come talk,” her father snapped, flames burning hot in one of his hands, a sword held in the other.
The Janises groaned in unison, hands rubbing at their temples. “My, my, you havenotdeveloped a sense of humor with time, have you, Vane? You know, I always found it odd you had absolutely none of your father’s temperament. It’s a shame. Vulcan can be so funny.”
“I’m not sure what’s funny about any of this,” her mother said. Shadows crept from her, crawling towards each and every Janis, and Nya swore she saw the sword and half-moon mark flicker on her father’s forehead.
The Janises watched the shadows warily and sobered a bit. “Ah, and Sora, I see you have not forgotten or forgiven.”
“And I never will,” her mother said in a deathly quiet voice.
“All of this talking,” the Janises mused, his voice echoing around them. “But I haven’t heard a peep from you, Nya Evva. You must know what an anomaly you are.”
A bolt of crimson lightning narrowly missed one of Janis’ duplicates. “She doesn’t need to talk to you, coward,” Morgen growled.
The closest Janis looked directly into Nya’s eyes. “No?” He smiled, and the cold, bemused expression he wore sent a shiver down her spine. “Have you even told her?”
“Told me what?” Nya asked, breath shallow with a sudden nervous anticipation.
Janis laughed softly. “That you, my dear, are the reason our world is slowly falling apart at its seams.”
Nya shook her head, an immediate jerk reaction, even as she felt her face go cold. “No… That’s because Kronos died and no one with embers took the throne.”
Janis glanced at Morgen. “Ah, so that’s what you told her. A small tip from someone who’s been in love more times than the number of years you’ve lived—if your lover is about to unintentionally destroy the world, you should probably let them know.” He paused, his gaze sweeping around and landing on Carus. “You knew, I think, based on your lack of confusion. But…” He snorted. “Sora and Vane, you had no idea. Did you truly think neitherof your children would find themselves tangled in the threads? Are you so unaware of the hand you were dealt by Fate? It would not let you go soeasily!”
Her mother was shaking her head, mouthing soundless words as she took a step back. Nya didn’t even look at her father, didn’t want to see the same horror play out on his face over something everyone but her seemed to understand.
But then, she heard him whisper hoarsely, “No… Her nightmares?”
Janis raised a brow, snorting softly. “It took you this long to understand?”
“Understand what?” Nya asked, her voice shaking. “What does this have to do with my dreams?”
Janis forms shimmered and morphed all into one more quickly than her eyes could track. He stepped directly in front of Morgen, completely ignoring the blade pointed at his throat.
“Before this world was born, there was a void. Nyx took form in the darkness, bringing with her Sol, who shed light upon the world she had created. We all followed, but Thanatos was the last to linger, because he understood what the void was. It was everything and nothing; death in its purest form, the very beginning and eventual end of this world’s cycle. It would never go away, though as time passed, Thanatos alone could still see that place. Some of us even forgot it existed. I imagine he had to be very careful, for it held a particular temptation to him especially. But you, my dear, have never been careful.”
Her eyes widened, and Janis nodded. “Yes, you have been there—many times, it seems—although we did not realize it was you until quite recently, thanks to your parents keeping you away from Arcadia. I imagine Sora could touch that darkness too, but she was always more of Nyx’s daughter than Thanatos’. Besides, she will never see in the darkness like you can, not without your fire. Had Kronos’ bastard not found you the night you reached just a little too far into the void, I daresay our world would be long gone by now. Instead, he sacrifices embers that will forever be lost to that darkness in order to keep you alive.”
He glanced at Morgen and uttered words that would haunt Nya for the rest of her existence. “They are not yours to give, nor are they hers to destroy.”
