CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Renova and Ganmira Transcindiel, twins of the moon. Change and rebirth may cost more than they’re worth.
—Lock Scroll, the Arx.
“My cousin,” I croaked, as a strange and lost piece of me seemed to fit into place, answering an unspoken question asked long ago.Who was I?
Aeriden jerked upright, and time seemed to stop as the revelation sank into my bones. The spinning thoughts in my mind slowed, and emotions bubbled from below.
“When Enya died, her body and the Obscura Bone were secretly taken to Sultira to be hidden from the remaining monarchs of the world, from Saros and the dark king. One family, one ally in the War of Ruin, vowed to protect it. To guard its whereabouts until it was time. A family that honored Enya’s caeluma with their own unique weapons.A herd.”
Selvina pinned her eyes on Aeriden as Usra gave him a soft nod. A small tear formed at the corner of my eye.
“The Cantor name dates to the days of the Hidden Hero in Sultira. And has had a secret line of communication with theNatara clan for over a thousand years. We believe the Lord Cantor at the time of the War of Ruin swore his allegiance to Enya. Perhaps even giving an air oath of his own to hide her body and her power.”
“For blood and for bonds,” Aeriden murmured, running a hand through his ebony locks. His sapphire eyes softened as they slid to mine. He reached a hand to me, the gesture pulling a relieved sigh from my lips as I gripped it tightly.
“May the sacrifice of our house never be forgotten,” I finished for him. “The words from the Cantor Family Crest.”
My mind drifted to the vision Enya had sent me last year of an ebony-haired man in black armor, kneeling before her. He’d looked at her in devastation as she gave him his final mission. Along with a vial of her blood…
“And twenty-three years ago, a baby girl was born in the mountains of Nivis, in the middle of the night,” Ursa whispered, “on the first day of the year that darkness begins to outlast the light, the Autumnal Equinox.”
Maadon.
“I was there,” she continued, “I remember the night where blood soaked the snow-covered hillside of our peak. Rows and rows of nyxteria blossoms glowed in the moonslight as your mother brought you into this world. The next morning, Ganmira and Renova crossed each other, a dark shadow eclipsing the brilliance of Aelius for hours.”
I stopped breathing.
“We knew you were the one. Knew you’d be the one to harness Ordell’s Transcindiel power that we’d kept hidden for hundreds of years. Knew you’d find the Obscura someday. And we kept you safe, moving through the mountains. Until Daimos found us.
“Your parents had little training, and none in our clan had dared try to use the Transcindiel bone of power for a thousandyears for fear of Daimos finding it, finding us. But in the chaos that ensued when he did find us, they used it together on you, transforming you from elf to human.”
The truth of it crashed into my soul like lightning in the night, and I reached for my ears, their smooth, rounded curve. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drift down into the chasm, searching for the golden light.
A warmth surrounded me as the Transcindiel power nodded in confirmation.
“Our clan was destroyed, all of them killed on sight, except for me and Eira, who they brought to the Crystal Castle to be made an example of.” Ursa’s eyes slid to Selvina, whose frigid nature seemed to melt.
“Ursa and Eira suffered for years. And when she was marched into the halls of the Crystal Castle by the Tauruk, I sensed our tether. That soulbinding thread,” Selvina murmured, her porcelain hand pale as she squeezed Ursa’s. “She told me what happened, begging for my help, but before I took over the communication, your parents had already conveyed the most important piece of information. That one small, human babe had been hidden in a wooden chest at Elpis Point. And thatBlack Horsehad already come for her.”
Elpis Point.
Elp… is… Point…
Oh, gods.
Saliva flooded my mouth. Bile rose to my throat and surged up through my lungs as I realized the intention of my father’s last words to me… He’d tried to tell me about Elpis Point… Before I…
Aeriden’s chair crashed to the ground as he stood, reaching for me and pulling my hair back. My stomach emptied on the dark stone floor. I wiped my chin on my sleeve before looking up to them. The two of them eyed me expectantly.
No.
I wouldn’t say… Icouldn’tsay it.
They were silent for several moments. Aeriden stepped back as Ursa leaned forward and put a firm hand on my shoulder.
“I know it’s a lot,” Ursa said quietly. “But it’s not the only thing we called you here to discuss. Daimos has uncovered something. We fear he’s found a new gate.”
