Do not tell her about me, the voice whispered in the back of my mind.It is not yet time. You must help yourself before you can help anyone else.
I frowned.You didn’t mention this before.
The king was coming. Time was of the essence. Tell your sister you found nothing, and tonight, we will do what must be done to save you both.
I did not like lying to my sister. In fact, I couldn’t remember a time I had, even when I knew she’d rather believe a falsehood than face the truth. And she had always done the same with me. It was just how things worked between us. It was how our bond stayed so strong, even when the world had tried to pull us apart.
How can I be certain this isn’t some kind of trick?I asked the gemstone.
Faith is a tricky thing, the voice replied.I have no proof to offer you. Either you believe I am your god with the power to save you, or you do not. If you have faith in me, you will be greatly rewarded. If not, you will continue to exist as you do now. You must decide if the risk is worth it.
I pursed my lips. I didn’t much like that answer. I’d always been the practical one. While my sister loved to daydream about the natural energies of the world, I’d never believed the Druids had any true power. They said they did, but they never demonstrated them.
“Our powers are not for show,” they liked to recite.
Orla leaned closer, her brow pinched. “What’s going on, Fiadh? You’re starting to scare me.”
I blinked, then shook my head. I’d sat here in silence, talking to a voice in my head, for far too long. “Everything is fine. I just…well, I was worried the king might follow me and discover you here.”
Her face softened. “He wouldn’t know who I am, Fiadh. I doubt Star Isles has sent word to Talaven to keep an eye out for me. Why would they think we’d travel here?”
“Because it makes the most sense. If we stayed in Aesir, someonewouldhave tracked us down. They know we’re too clever for that. So where else would they think we’d go?”
“Perhaps.” She shrugged. “But when has Talaven ever done anything to assist Aesir? Never, that’s when. Don’t you remember those rumors? I don’t think peace between the realms is as solid as they want everyone to believe.” She leaned forward and took my hand. Her skin was hot from the fire, blazing like the color of her crimson hair. “We’re safe here, all right?”
I nodded. Safe, as long as I did what the gemstone asked. Then we’d either be safe or we’d be dead.
* * *
Istared wide-eyed into the darkness, the heat from the dead embers at my back. The fire was nothing but ash now, thanks to my insistence we douse the flames. As much as Orla wanted a warming fire to get us through the night, I wouldn’t risk it, not when the Talaven king might be out there somewhere. I would not tempt fate by having a beacon lit all night.
When Orla’s snores finally reached my ears, I pushed up from the ground and stalked into a nearby copse of trees. Then I pulled the gemstone from my pocket and frowned at it. The thing had stopped speaking, but I knew it had been listening all day.
“Well?” I asked it. “You said we’d do the thing tonight.”
You are an impatient one. That could be interesting.
Unease skittered down my spine. “Keep talking like that, and I’ll bury you here. No one would ever find you.”
She laughed, louder now than she had before.I would soon be found. I have not been here long, but I can already tell the people of this world are easily drawn to power.
“I’m starting to think you’re not a god at all. You’re the opposite. The anti-god, for lack of a better name.”
You have such a mortal perception of things. Black and white, right and wrong. Power—true power—is far more complex than that. There is a ‘dark side’ to me, yes, but there is also what you would call light. I am good. In my own way.
I ground my teeth. “So you lied to me. You’re not a god.”
“To this world, I am. You will be, too.”
I gasped and stumbled back, clawing at my throat. This time, the voice from the gemstone had not echoed inside my own mind. It hadspoken through me, using my mouth, my tongue, my lips. I tried to scream, but no sound escaped. Laughter echoed in my mind, a swelling sound that drowned out my own thoughts.
Darkness flooded my vision. I could see nothing—nothing but a brilliant night sky full of a million shining stars. The stars called for me, beckoning me into the void.
And so I went into the aether.
Eighteen
Tessa
