Page 63 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

“Dear Gods! Rain, you frightened the life out of me.”

“I—sorry. I saw you in my dream. Or… heard you.” Rain fumbled for the right words, his voice rough and ragged. He glanced around the room, taking in the open boxes scattered everywhere. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes. I called you here.” Isarion sealed a box as he spoke. “I was able to influence your dreams and share a vision with you before asking you to come find me. Let me just—where did I put that tape?” He shuffled items around.

Rain spotted it first and lifted it into the air with a flick of his power.

“Ah! Thank you. Do sit down, you look unwell.”

Rain grumbled at the observation but dropped onto the worn brown leather couch by the window. The night sky outside was still deep and star-bright; it had to be the early hours.

“There. Done.” Isarion rolled his chair over and settled in front of him. “Drink some water. Now—do you recall your dream vision?”

“Sure.” Rain pinched the bridge of his nose. Thinking hurt. “I was someone else. On horseback. His father gave him something important—some mission. Then these creepy vines turned into thorned walls and trapped a… Rainbow Kingdom behind them? I felt like the world as I knew it was ending. Then your voice told me to wake up.”

“Good. I hoped you would remember.” Isarion folded his hands. “Rain, I am leaving tonight. There is much I must share with you and very little time. I must depart within the hour, and I will not be informing the Blue King. If you could help me, get as many boxes as possible into a cart on the driveway, I would be eternally grateful. I wondered if you might use your power to lower them through the window. I know it is a strange request after the night you’ve had, and you may not be physically capable in your current state.”

“Of course I’ll help,” Rain said slowly, the weight of everything beginning to settle. “But why are you leaving? What about my lessons? I haven’t even spoken to you about my visions yet.”

“Your Grace, you no longer require my tutelage. You now walk the path of your own destiny. I can only hope I have adequately prepared you for what is to come. It is imperative that I return to the Order and ready everyone for the day you come to claim what was in that satchel.”

“What?” Rain blinked, stunned. “That vision is connected to the ones I’ve been having, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Grace. The Gods have shown me the truth of who you are.”

Rain frowned. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Your Grace’? I am not yet king.”

“Oh, but you are.” Hope sparked in the elder’s eyes. He pushed his chair back, lowered himself to his knees before Rain, and bowed his head. “And I hereby swear the allegiance of myself and the entire Order of Aurora to you, King Rain Beau Royal—regent of the one and only Rainbow Kingdom.”

“What the fuck!” Rain shot upright, immediately regretting the movement as pain spiked through his skull. He should have grabbed the pills. “I don’t understand. How can I be a King of a kingdom that doesn’t exist? Is that a joke because of my name? I am Blue Aetherial, Heir to the Blue throne. I cannot rule the White Kingdom, never mind a Kingdom that doesn’t exist.”

“Your Grace,” Isarion said gently, “the Order of Aurora was founded exactly one thousand years ago by the prince you embodied in the vision. Every initiate of the Order receives that same vision upon their first successful channel—though ours is silent, and we must interpret it ourselves. That was the first unusual thing about sharing it with you.”

He paused, ensuring Rain was following.

“The satchel he was given—only one member of the Order can know of its contents. The Sacred Brother or Sister. The title passes through the ages. Until now, the Gods have kept our ancestors’ secrets hidden. What knowledge we have is scattered, interpreted, debated by the greatest among us.”

He rose slowly, joints clicking, and sat beside Rain on the couch.

“I believe powerful magic was used to protect us from something that awakened the day of your birth. That same magic has kept an entire kingdom hidden. Until tonight, I knew only prophecies—cryptic, overlapping—speaking of the return of twin royals and the beginning of an ending. We were never certain whether they referred to you and your sister or another pair born around the same time. There were similarities between both sets.”

A soft smile touched his lips.

“When your father’s guard found me returning from pilgrimage, I took it as a sign. For a time, I believed your sister was our saviour—she embodies all the good in you. Intelligent, compassionate, successful, yet unburdened by the pain you carry. Which, in hindsight, should have been the obvious clue. I feel foolish for not realising sooner.”

He exhaled, reverent.

“I meditated this evening. The Gods finally revealed the missing pieces I have searched for all my life. We believed we were waiting for a king capable of overthrowing all kings, uniting the realms into one—a Rainbow Kingdom. And while that may still come to pass, the Gods know you are powerful enough to do so. But now I see the truth: the Rainbow Kingdom is not a metaphor. It is the heart of Aerth. A mother Aetherchrome, pulsing with exceptional power, designed to channel through every other Aetherchrome.”

He looked at Rain with awe.

“The last true Rainbow sovereign was Queen Skylar Royale—your many-times-great grandmother.”

“Skylar?” Rain whispered. “I saw her as a child, in my first vision. I… I don’t understand the significance. Why does it matter if I’m her descendant?” Rain’s face remained a mask of confusion.

“The Gods are trying to tell you that you are of a ninth Aetherial bloodline,” Isarion continued. “Like Queen Skylar, you are a Rainbow Aetherial—of her royal line.” He looked at Rain with something close to reverence, as though Rain himself were a sacred relic. The elder’s astonishment pressed against Rain’s senses, making his nausea churn again.

“Yes, you also have Blue and Green ancestry, of course. Your parents are still your parents. But it appears both of them descend from the Rainbow bloodline. It has lain magically dormant for generations, waiting for twins born of two carriers. It is miraculous—the genetic mutation for twins, combined with a hidden blood type. Only the Gods could orchestrate such fate. Had we known of another lineage, we could have tested your blood at birth, as we do when unsure which parental line is dominant. I imagine your blood will interact with all Aetherchrome unlike any other. I implore you to test this yourself, to override your scepticism.”