“Thank you for being here,” Alex told Kaiden softly, her voice still raw but not dead-sounding anymore.
He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, cupping his hand to her face as he just as quietly replied, “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
She leaned into him again, this time with her head resting against his shoulder, accepting his warmth and strength, letting it seep life back into her, bit by bit.
And then, before she realised what she was doing, she began whispering to him. Whispering memories and stories about Niyx, things she hadn’t shared with anyone since it hadn’t been safe for others to know about him.
Word after word poured from her mouth as she told Kaiden about the bravest person she’d ever known. As she told him about the fiercest friend she’d ever had. As she told him about the most loyal protector the world would ever see.
He listened patiently, trailing a soothing hand through her hair and along her back, asking a few questions but mostly just letting her talk.
It was cathartic. Like detoxing a poison from her body. In sharing Niyx with Kaiden, she was making the memories they’d experienced together all the more real.
And she didn’t stop at Niyx. She told Kaiden everything—all about her time in the past, all about her vaeliana bond with Xiraxus and her fears of what might have happened to him, all about how it was her fault Aven had turned into a monster. But while she reminisced quietly in the shadows of the cavern, Niyx remained in the forefront of her mind as she shared how he’d been there for her throughout everything she’d faced, both in the past and present. And when she trailed off into silence, it was with a saddened heart but a smile on her lips.
“I wish I could have known him better,” Kaiden said quietly.
“He liked you,” Alex told him. She wasn’t willing to share about Niyx supporting Kaiden in his quest to tear down her walls, but she did admit, “He told me to trust you.”
Kaiden let out a soft huff of laughter. “I’ve been telling you that for ages.”
Since that was true, Alex didn’t have a response. But she also didn’t have the chance to offer one, because Soraya let out a warning rumble—something she mysteriously hadn’t done at Kaiden’s arrival—and a new voice broke into their quiet, gentle moment.
“If you two are done with this touching scene, it’s time for you to get to work.”
Alex lifted her head from Kaiden’s shoulder and placed a calming hand on Soraya’s neck as the three of them looked up at Athora.
“You have a prophecy to fulfil, Alexandra. And you won’t manage to do so while sitting here and bawling your eyes out.”
Used to his caustic attitude by now and beyond the point of additional pain, Alex wasn’t surprised that once again Athora knew more than he should.
“The prophecy is a load of rubbish,” she replied. “Everything it spoke of occurred today, and nothing happened.”
“Tell me,” Athora ordered. “Tell me what occurred today.”
Indulging him, Alex recited, “When Day and Night combine and fight against one Enemy, then Dark and Light shall meet mid-strike and set the Captives free.” She wearily gathered her thoughts and explained, “‘Day and Night’—that was the Dayriders and the Shadow Walkers who fought together against Aven, their ‘one Enemy’. The ‘Dark and Light shall meet mid-strike’—that was Aven and me crossing blades. Me with A’enara, the Bringer of Light, and him with his new weapon, Vae’varka, which is made from traesos—pure darkness.”
Kaiden jerked at that, and Alex remembered that it was he who had first mentioned the name ‘Vae’varka’ to her, having seen it written in ancient texts while he’d researched A’enara. She’d presumed it was a name of a person, but it wasn’t—it was a weapon.
A’enara and Vae’varka. Two weapons of power, one light, one dark.
Moving back to her point, Alex continued, “All of that happened, all except for the last part—the freeing of the captives. Not one damn thing changed, Athora. Not magically from some prophecy, nor from me having any idea how to use my gift to help them.”
Athora waved a hand in the air. “Your gift wouldn’t have helped anyone. Free will is something everyone is born with. Much as you might wish it so, you will never be able to share with them what they already have.”
There was a ringing sound in Alex’s ears. A ringing so loud that, for a moment, she couldn’t do anything but repeat Athora’s words over and over in her mind.
When she spoke again, it was in a voice she’d never heard come from her before. A voice filled with such fury that Soraya’s hackles rose and Kaiden rested a calming hand on Alex’s leg. But it did little good.
“You told me I would be able to share my gift with others.”
Athora sniffed. “I did no such thing. I merely said I could teach you what you needed to know. You’re the one who misinterpreted my statement.”
Blackness dotted Alex’s vision, so encompassing was her rage. “You told me you wouldn’t waste your time on a lost cause!” she all but screamed at him. “You told me that!”
“And I did not lie,” he responded, frustratingly calm in the face of her anger. “But I was not referring to the impossibility of you sharing a gift that cannot be shared.”
Jumping to her feet, Alex yelled, “Then what the hell—”
A voice rumbled around the cavern then, interrupting her before she could finish her shouted demand. It was the voice of Athora, words he’d said to her after her first official task as his student.
‘You needed to fail, Alexandra, because you needed to understand that sometimes failure is unavoidable… You needed to accept that. You needed to embrace that. And you needed to take a step forward while knowing your actions were unlikely to result in victory.’
His voice continued to echo around the rocky cave.
‘On the path ahead of you, with the challenges you are yet to face, you will see your share of failure. It is inevitable. And when it comes, you need to have the strength of character to continue on, to rise again after you fall. Because you will fall, Alexandra. Of that much, you can be sure.’
“Your first lesson with me was to prepare you for everything that would come,” the real Athora said, his monotonous voice uncaring as to her raw, emotional state.
“But—” Alex swallowed against the lump in her throat. “But everyone has been counting on me and the idea that my gift will free those who are Claimed. Why would you—” She swallowed again, this time to hold back fresh tears. “Why would you let me think it was possible if it wasn’t? What were you training me for, if not for that?”
“The prophecy,” Athora said, holding a hand up when Alex opened her mouth to demand he stay on topic. “You were wrong in your assumption that nothing happened.”
She snapped her mouth shut, waiting to hear what he might possibly say to convince her.
“At least two captives were set free as a result of the events in Graevale,” he said. “Aes Daega has long since known her time was at hand. She was sent to Medora as a gatekeeper, a sentinel to watch over those who were cast out of Tia Auras, tasked with assisting the Meyarins to thrive in this world despite their being exiled here. But as meaningful as her task was, she did not come willingly.” Uncharacteristic emotion filled his voice as he lowered it to say, “One does not live a single day amongst the splendour of Tia Auras and then choose to leave.”
Hearing the longing in his words, Alex looked at him. Really looked at him. “She’s not the only one who was sent here, was she?”
For the first time since she’d met him, Athora pushed back his hood, the dark material falling to his shoulders.
Indescribably ancient. Those were the only words Alex could think upon seeing his face for the first time. Just like Lady Mystique, his entire being radiated wisdom and knowledge beyond anything Alex could comprehend.
“No, she was not,” came his quiet answer. “The two of us were exiled with the Meyarins to watch over them. But being away from our world
for so long took its toll on Aes Daega.” He paused. “It has taken its toll on the both of us.”
He raised a hand to his milky eyes that stared unseeingly out from his dark, ageless face.
“Long ago my eyes were stolen from me,” Athora said. “But I am an Oracle of my people, and he who was responsible could not truly steal my sight. Which is why, when Aes Daega was given the prophecy by one even older than we, I knew that a time would come when both she and I would be free of this world.”
There was so much there for Alex to process. But Athora didn’t give her time to do so.
“Her freedom came today, just as mine will soon follow.” His ancient face held an echo of the peace Lady Mystique had worn in her final moments. “And as for the other captive who was freed today, you already know who that was.”
A stuttered inhalation. That was all Alex would allow.
“Niyx Raedon spent a lifetime imprisoned by a cause he believed worthy of those chains,” Athora said. “Today, he was set free.”
Alex couldn’t deny the truth of his words, awful as they were.
“However,” Athora said, and Alex looked at him, hearing the strange tone to his voice. “Despite everything I’ve just said, prophecies are fickle things, and while the one we have just interpreted is valid, I do not believe it is correct. In fact, I am certain of it.”
It was Kaiden who spoke then, standing beside Alex in a show of support. “What do you mean?”
“The prophecy hasn’t yet been fulfilled,” Athora said simply, “because the key components haven’t been met.”
“But they have,” Alex argued. “Everything it said happened today.”
“They haven’t,” Athora disagreed, “because the prophecy is not regarding the Shadow Walkers and the Dayriders.”
Alex just shook her head. “You’re clutching at straws. ‘Day’ and ‘Night’—who else would it be about?”
Athora raised his hood again, covering his face, but his voice was deep with mystery when he answered. “There is a language far older than anything you can imagine, older than time itself. It was that language that called the stars into being and spoke the worlds into existence. One of those worlds was called Medora, a name that, in the ancient language, means ‘Night’. Another of those worlds was Tia Auras, a name that translates to—”
“Day,” Alex interrupted as disbelief washed over her. “You think the prophecy—the ‘Day and Night’—you think that means—”
“The reason I have been training you, Alexandra,” Athora cut in to finally circle around and answer her earlier question, “was not so you would strengthen your gift. It was so you would be prepared when the day came for what you must do next.” His hooded head tilted downwards, and she imagined his blind eyes would be capturing hers if they could. “With so few days spent training with me, you are not prepared enough for what you will face. However, the time has now come for you to step into your destiny, prepared or not.”
“Are you—Are you saying—”
“You must go to Tia Auras, Alexandra,” Athora said. “You must convince my people to join the fight for Medora. Aven is their nemesis as much as yours, the Meyarins being eternal enemies to my race. Only with their help will you be able to fulfil the prophecy and set the captives free, defeating Aven once and for all.”
Silence in the cavern, and then a strangled sound left Alex’s throat. Soraya nudged her muzzle into her limp hand, sensing her inner conflict. Kaiden on her other side remained quiet, but she could feel his tension like a tangible force.
“You—You want me to go to another world?” Alex finally managed to say. “To Tia Auras?”
In answer, Athora raised a hand and trailed it through the air. As if he’d waved a magic wand, a ripple fluttered in the empty space and an opened doorway appeared, a doorway unlike any Alex had seen. The view beyond revealed a sky full of bright, shining stars but nothing else.
“I am the last gatekeeper to my world,” Athora said. “I would go myself, but my exile forbids me to return upon pain of death.”
He made a flexing motion with his fingers and suddenly A’enara was summoned into Alex’s hand without her consent, arriving in a blaze of blue flames.
“You hold the Balance of Power in your hands,” Athora said in a quiet voice, using the name Kaiden had discovered in his research. “You were born for this task. And you must see it through.”
So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Alex couldn’t stand the idea of facing more, not now, not ever. But if Athora was right—if there was the slightest chance that the prophecy could still come to something, that those who were Claimed could be set free with or without her gift, then she had to do what she could to bring it about. Even if that meant venturing to a new, unknown world.
Sensing her rising determination, Athora nodded, and A’enara was banished once more without her deliberate decision.
“You will have to leave your wolf behind,” Athora said. “My world is no place for a creature born of both shadows and light. I shall watch over her until you return.”
His offer was unexpectedly thoughtful, but Alex still hated the idea of travelling to a world she knew next to nothing about on her own.
Kaiden reached for her hand, and when she turned to him, he said, “If you think I’m leaving you to do this on your own, you’re crazy.”
She knew the right thing to do was to object. To tell him how dangerous it could be, to come up with an excuse for why she had to go it alone. But when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She felt the weight of Niyx’s note in her pocket and the knowledge that he had trusted Kaiden to look after her in his stead. She recalled how Kaiden had held her through her grief, listened to her stories, dried away her tears. He hadn’t left her side—and she knew he wouldn’t. So all she could do was entwine her fingers with his in silent gratitude.
Athora caught her attention again when he reached into the folds of his cloak and withdrew a ring, holding it out for her.
“You must wear this at all times,” he said, indicating for her to put it on.
Having had some experience with rings that were more than they seemed, Alex eyed it warily, but she could see nothing special about it. It was simply a dainty gold band shaped into a figure of eight—an infinity symbol—similar to the Beacon tattoo that had vanished after activation.
Still slightly hesitant, Alex released Kaiden’s hand and followed Athora’s instruction, sliding it down her right ring finger.
“Cantara des finn,” the cloaked man whispered, his lyrical words translating instantly to Alex as, ‘Hide what is’.
With wide eyes, she watched as the ring disappeared from sight—and so too did the glimmer of her golden skin.
“What…?”
She touched the space where the ring was, only to find it still there, just invisible. She pulled it from her finger, and instantly her flesh was shimmering once more.
“While amongst my people, it is imperative that you keep the ring on to hide the evidence of your vaeliana bond. At least until you no longer need to do so,” Athora told her.
“Don’t worry, I plan to always wear this from now on,” Alex said, slipping it back onto her finger and marvelling that she was no longer a radioactive freak of nature.
“There is a reason I didn’t give it to you before now,” Athora warned. “The ring draws its energy directly from you. You can wear it for a few days without consequence, but much longer than that and you will begin to feel its effects draining you. Long-term use will weaken you significantly, perhaps even lead to death. As soon as you no longer have to hide your bond, discard it and do not use it again.”
Alex blanched, wondering why he had given it to her in the first place. But he explained without her having to ask.
“It would not do well for my people to discover you have bonded with a draekon before you have proved yourself worthy of such an honour,” he said, and Alex felt a spike of anxiety at just how she was supposed to ‘prove’ h
erself. “They will deem you an abomination before a single word has left your mouth.”
“They sure sound friendly,” Kaiden said dryly. He, of course, couldn’t see the difference in Alex’s skin with or without the ring, but since she’d explained her bond to him earlier, he knew about it in theory.
“You are not going there to make friends,” Athora returned. “You are going there to seek aid in saving the mortals of Medora from certain death.”
Kaiden gave a quick nod, conceding his point.
Athora paused a moment, as if to make sure Alex and Kaiden truly understood the gravity of what they were about to undertake. But he needn’t have worried, since Alex certainly knew—as did Kaiden—that their mission couldn’t be more serious. The fate of the world was literally resting on their shoulders.
“As you know, in this cavern”—Athora waved a hand to the space around them—“time continues on as it does in the outside world. The same rules apply for however long you remain in Tia Auras, with time passing as is normal for both worlds. I therefore need not tell you that you’d best make haste in completing your task. Now that Aven has begun his campaign, I fear he will not wait long to move forward in carrying out his plans.”
Alex felt the same urgency, so she took a moment to wrap her arms around Soraya’s soft neck, whispering a promise to return soon—and hoping her words were true.
“Oracle I may be, but even I do not know what you will face on this path,” Athora said once Alex released the wolf. He stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder in an uncharacteristic show of support. “But I also do not know anyone more capable of facing it than you. Believe in yourself, Alexandra Jennings. And whatever you do, do not fail.”
With those Athora-style words of encouragement, he disappeared with Soraya, leaving Alex and Kaiden alone in the cavern, facing the most daunting doorway she had ever considered stepping into.
“Are we really going to do this?” she whispered.
Kaiden reached out and tangled his fingers with hers again. When she looked at him, he was staring at her with calm, fearless eyes. Exactly what she needed to see.