He had the same eyes as her mother.
“Hello, Nya,” the god said in a deep, well-mannered voice. “I don’t believe we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
They hadn’t, but she knew exactly who he was.
“Sol,” she whispered, echoing the name in her thoughts and sending it down the pathway.
His eyes flickered, ether mixing with a brief hint of gleaming gold light, perhaps the handful of embers he had kept for himself.
“You look quite like Sora,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Not your eyes, though. Those are most definitely from Vulcan’s bloodline. Not that there’s much to be seen for it. Shame he devoted himself so fully to a mortal, he never produced any other offspring.”
“Shame indeed,” she said quietly, “that a few of the principals actually figured out how to be loyal to the people they care for. I might even call it love.”
Sol chuckled dryly, taking a step closer to her. “They may think so, yes, but here is the truth none of them want to admit: we are not capable of such a thing, nor should we be. We are the results of power and obsession, and we seek those things above all else. Why do you think the void calls to you so?”
She retreated, and he glanced briefly behind her. “Because you, my dear, will never be the carefree mortal girl your parents so wished you to be. You are just like the rest of us, the principals you blame for the misfortune of your bloodline. But unlike us,you do not have the luxury of understanding what calls to you.” He leaned in, and she stiffened. “That is a problem, Nya,” he whispered in her ear.
The back door slammed open, and Sol grabbed her arm roughly, a hand outstretched in front of him.
“Sol, no!” Nyx shouted.
Sol smirked, and Nya tried to twist out of his hold as he mused, “Sorry, little sister, but you knew it had to be done. I simply possessed the backbone none of you did to do it.”
The portal formed, but even as he dragged her through it, Morgen bellowed down the pathway, his voice echoed by Varax’s shrill roar. The garden disappeared, and a searing pain blinded Nya, tearing the air from her lungs and pressing a suffocating pressure against her chest.
Seconds later, the portal closed behind them, and Nya found herself surrounded by the familiar craggy peaks of the Gods’ Aisle. Sol shoved her down onto the ashy earth, and she coughed violently, spitting out bright red blood. The pain was only getting worse. She could hardly breathe, gritting her teeth against the scream building in her throat.
“Interesting,” Sol said, crouching and looking at her with something like mild irritation. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been around someone stupid enough to bind their blood to their betrothed. I forgot about the matter of distance, though I don’t recall the discomfort usually being this severe.”
Her vision tilted, and she shut her eyes as her stomach roiled, as she tried to breathe through the pain and focus. There was a faint noise coming from… Where was it coming from?
“Up!” Sol barked, tapping her with his foot.
The noise… It was a voice. She was sure of it now.
Nya… Nya, please…. Where, where, where?—
A foreign pain lanced up her back, but she forced herself to focus enough to say two words.
Gods’ Aisle.
The voice faded after that, and Sol dragged her by her hair up a steep slope into a shallow cave, dimly lit with torches. As soon as they were inside, Sol restrained her with heavy chains hammered into the stone itself. There were four figures she could see in the cave, two of whom she recognized.
Bella andImeria.But…why? Why would she betray Morgen like this?
“Took you long enough,” Bella grumbled, picking at her nails.
“Patience is an attractive quality, you know,” Sol said lightly. “Though, regretfully, one you have never mastered.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Oh, now you’ve really insulted me.” Her gaze landed on Nya, and she snorted. “So that’s what happens when you mix Nyx and Vulcan’s bloodlines. Always wondered, but they’re both such prudes when it comes to reproducing.”
“You’re forgetting Thanatos. Heisher grandfather,” Sol mused. “Fates, Bella, it never fails to puzzle me how hung up you still are on him.”
Bella’s nostrils flared. “Oh, fuck you, Sol.”
The two gods bickered, and Nya tried and failed to get Imeria to look at her. The demi-god who hadclaimedto be Morgen’s friend stood silently in the corner with two others Nya did not recognize, her eyes downcast and her hands folded tightly in front of her.
Fine. She just had to hold on a little longer. It was only a matter of time before Morgen and Varax portaled here.
