Sylfic

by Kenna Bardot

  "Stop!" I hissed, catching Anselm's attention. Caprice eyed me with interest as I stepped forward, coming off the dais to stand in front of Anselm. "I don't want this," I begged, diverting my eyes to the ground in a rare show of respect.

  "They must prove themselves worthy of Siring a Sylfe." His voice was deep, masculine and the sight of his chest in all his gilded armor reminded me of Ryle, of the glimpse of him I could see across the clearing, anyway. His armor matched his hair, glinting in the midday sun.

  "No weapons. Please. I don't want them to bleed for me." I held my hand against my chest. Imploring. If it was what took to be a God, I don’t know that I wanted it.

  There was a smile in his voice as he took my hand in his and placed it on his armor just above his heart. "That's very sweet, Mireyah Sylfe, but it is not just for your benefit." My eyes darted up to his, wincing at the all-knowing quality all the Core Gods seemed to possess. "You bled for them, did you not? You nearly died to become a Sylfe. They are Gods, and they will heal whatever injuries they sustain here today, but what they can never heal is the knowledge that you denied them this rite of passage. They must prove themselves worthy to us and to you, but more importantly, to themselves."

  "Take your seat, Mireyah," Char called from across the field, his left arm tied behind his back. There was no mistaking the command in his voice, and I watched Lathyn's eyes narrow on him momentarily before assessing my reaction. I'd never taken commands well when he gave them, always fought him in spite of myself.

  I knew if I sat, I would make a significant declaration to Ashric and Lathyn about where my respect fell. About who I trusted to guide me to the right course of action. It took me a second to make my decision. I stared back at Char for a moment, his white eyes holding mine even from the distance until he nodded, silently telling me to let them follow the tradition of the Gods.

  I clenched my eyes shut for a moment, wondering if this was how they'd felt in my final Challenge. If they'd feared for my injuries and my life, desperate to change the events they'd set into motion. When I opened my eyes, I released a sigh and turned for my seat. I held my head high as I gathered my dress and ascended the steps, before slowly lowering myself to sit.

  "Shall we begin?" Caprice asked, and Anselm nodded to her with a grin before taking his seat on her other side.

  After a brief discussion between Ashric and Lathyn, the Tovenaar stepped up to the circle drawn in the center of the clearing. Char met him after the five men lined up, and the black and white of their armors seemed so at odds, so opposing that I never would have guessed they came from the same Region. That their Houses were considered allies in the North, despite their ever growing disdain for one another.

  "Begin!" Anselm called, and Ashric charged with his long sword held high. I felt my entire body flinch when the metal of his sword clanged against Char's spear, and my eyes clenched tight.

  I felt myself tremble. I couldn't watch, couldn't-

  "Watch, Mireyah. See how they move. How quickly they dance around one another. You will be a Goddess soon, you must understand how to fight should the need arise. Gods and Goddesses have enemies everywhere within Demiorgo," Colm murmured, and I wanted to crawl in a hole. I wanted to resist, but I forced my eyes open to honour my men and the lengths they were willing to go for me, watching as their weapons clashed and they withdrew. They moved so quickly, I wondered if human eyes could track the movements.

  "Switch!" Anselm called, and they both vaulted back from one another. Shephard took the ring second, facing off against Lathyn. The two were massive, and both watched each other warily for a moment before they struck. Shephard held some kind of vicious hook in his hand, the entire thing bladed like it was designed to separate a man's head from his body. I knew there were many things Gods could survive, but I was fairly certain even a God couldn't survive that.

  Lathyn was far more skilled at fighting than Shephard, who for all his mass and strength couldn't fight the centuries of experience I knew Lathyn possessed. The Majele toyed with him, giving him hints of moments where he could strike, and then used them against Shephard to strike back. When Lathyn's dagger struck Shephard's cheek, dragging a line across his face in blood, I would have vaulted to my feet if not for Colm's hand holding me pinned by my thigh.

  "Switch!"

  I heaved a sigh of relief when the men separated, and my eyes followed Shep as he scurried back to the group and wiped at his face. Colm leaned down to whisper to me, "He did well, Mireyah. Lathyn is a very difficult opponent to beat." My eyes turned from Shephard, going to Lathyn, who watched me as Ashric stepped into the ring. I tried to communicate my silent plea, my desire that he not hurt them, but he only turned his attention away from me. Tate stepped up to fight Ashric, and it reminded me of the day in the hallway when Tate had rescued me, when Ashric's hand had wrapped around my throat.

  "If it is so important that Goddesses understand how to fight, then why do you not teach them as Sylfes?" I asked Colm, wincing from the sound of metal clanging. Tate's short sword seemed an unfair match against the reach of Ashric's long sword, but I knew from the quick way Tate parried that it was easier to wield with one arm. Already, Ashric's arms seemed to struggle to control the longer weapon, like his opponent was too close to really strike.

  "It is customary that your Sire teach you after you Ascend, as they help guide you into understanding your powers better," he answered, and I resisted the urge to jump for joy when Tate swung his sword around quickly and caught Ashric in the side of the neck. Though he stopped the blade short of decapitation, Ashric's bellow of outrage told me he knew just how kind Tate had been in giving him the shallow cut he did.

  "Switch!"

  Lathyn and Ryle darted into the ring, and Lathyn's face twisted in glee when Ryle struck hard and fast with his axe. I brought my hands up to my face, watching as Lathyn outmaneuvered my strongest man, striking and making shallow cuts all over his arms. They healed quickly, one of the quirks of the Karfi line, but the sight of his blood drawn still made me flinch with every blow.

  "Switch!"

  The rounds were so brief, just a few moments of action. But when Hollis stepped up to fight Ashric, I felt my heart in my throat. I knew, I knew that Hollis wasn't a fighter. He valued his face too much, so the sight of the brutal-looking club he held in his hand seemed impossible. Like he could never control it.

  He waited, letting Ashric strike over and over. Always narrowly missing, until the moment he didn't. The pommel of his sword struck Hollis in the face, making blood burst from his nose. Hollis stilled immediately, and the men behind him froze, helpless as they watched.

  And then a change came over him and Hollis shocked me, letting out a savage roar and nailing Ashric in the side with his hammer once then swinging around to hit him on the other side. And again and again, until the Tovenaar collapsed to his knees and dropped his sword to wrap his hands around his torso.

  "Enough!" Anselm called. "We have seen enough." He turned and met Caprice’s eyes and there was a quiet so tense I had a feeling the four Core Gods were conferring in some unreachable pain.

  I looked to see my men - Shep touching Hollis’ face, which was bruised, blood dripping from his nose he tried to mop up with the corner of the top he wore.

  "By a narrow margin, we've no choice but to declare the five the victors. Lathyn, you performed well, but you also were stuck with the weakest link." Ashric's eyes narrowed at Caprice's words, and I knew he didn't appreciate being called the weakest.

  My joy at their decision had me surging to my feet and there was nothing more I wanted to do than rush to them, congratulate them for winning and check if they were okay. "As the victors, your prize will be spending time alone with the Sylfe you are fighting for. This will be done at a later date, but for now, we congratulate all of you for surviving your first Trial. Farewell and be well, my children.”

  At the end of her speech, Colm stood and held out a hand for me, guiding me down the steps and to climb the hil
lside once again. I looked over my shoulder at them, feeling in that moment like I was being escorted back to my prison. Taken from everything I wanted.

  The separation we'd endured had been brutal. I wouldn't suffer a permanent one.

  I tugged on Colm’s hand a little when he pulled on me to go forward. "Please, can't I speak with them? Just a moment?"

  "No. You'll see them when we decide it is the right time," Caprice answered, and only her presence at my side kept my feet climbing the hill when all I wanted was to turn around one last time. To run to them and be in their arms. It reaffirmed my need for strength, my need to be single-minded in my focus of what I wanted for my future. Nobody would take them from me.

  Chapter 19

  Mireyah

  "Mireyah!" Astraea called out as soon as I set foot inside the doors of Sylfeshire. I worried she would ask me about the Trial. Bound by secrecy, I would have to deny her the information I was desperate to speak about with someone else.

  It turned out that I needn't have worried. Astraea's news was far more pressing than my own. "Oryn Declared for me!" she spoke under her breath, eyes wide as she dragged me down the hallways and towards my room.

  "When?" I asked, feeling the first real smile spread across my face since the men had bled each other in my name. Bleeding for a wife seemed like such a barbaric concept.

  "Today, silly!" she said as she swatted at me. "I hadn't wanted to bother you, but after you gave me that note," she sighed. "I realized he wasn't going anywhere. That he really would wait for me as long as it took. So I went out today knowing he would be there as he’d written."

  "As if that wasn't made obvious by all the years he has already waited for your stubborn ass?" I teased her, letting her guide me into my room. I plopped down on the bed, uncaring about the dirt on my silk slippers at that moment. Astraea tutted, sliding them off my feet like a mother.

  "Hush you," she giggled even as she put my slippers away neatly. "I went out to speak to him, and I'd barely said hello before he marched up to Fintan Leven, who was by the fountain to serve as witness and made his Declaration!”

  “Wow!” I gushed even as I pulled at the closure of my gown. With every passing moment, it had suffocated me as I’d watched my men, and I only wanted to breathe.

  “I was so surprised but,” she stopped and looked down at her hands with a small smile. “I didn’t mind. He came to talk to me after, of course, but he said he knew there was no other reason I’d have gone up to him. He knew that I was finally accepting that we were inevitable." She perched on the edge of the bed, toying with my pink hair and loosing it from the clip they'd used to gather it up on my head for the trek through the woods.

  And also because it would have been a crime to cover up the detailing of the gown they’d made me wear.

  “And he was right,” I teased her with a knowing smile.

  "Yes, he was and before you say anything,” she said, holding out a finger, “yes, you were right. Now tell me, how was today?" she asked, running fingers through my hair.

  "It was harsh," I admitted. "Hard to watch, but it will be worth it if they win," I answered. But I also knew that at some point I'd come to care for Lathyn in my way. I didn't want to see him hurt, even if that desire paled compared to the way I needed the others to not be harmed. I couldn't stomach the sight or thought of them in pain. Even though I knew the injuries were minor, I still wanted to run back to the woods and be with them until I knew they would be okay.

  "I'm not sure I'm ready for what you've gone through. You don't discuss what happened with Caprice, and I have a feeling you're not allowed to, but I saw how it affected you for days after your conversation with her. Was it as bad as the first one? Where she determines if you're ready for Declarations?" Her voice broke and I could imagine what Caprice would show her - what she had been, or even the future she could have had if she’d stayed and Ascended as a Tovenaar.

  I hoped it would not break her.

  "Yes. It's not pleasant, but it isn't physically painful or anything of the sort as we know how Caprice is. Because I can’t say much, it’s more it just makes you see yourself, look at yourself. It’s not something we’re fond of doing.” I laughed, trying to brush off the seriousness of the conversation. I wanted to warn her what would come, but I also couldn't truly predict what it would be like for her. Especially if she only had one God Declare for her, because Astraea never got much serious interest given her fall from Descendant and her reticence to put herself in front of any Gods. How could Oryn compete against himself?

  I hoped no other Gods Declared for her though, because my friend would never survive witnessing Oryn fight against the others who might desire her. No matter how she protested the relationship, it would have taken an idiot not to see that she did that because of how much she cared for Oryn. She wanted the best life for him.

  She just hadn't thought she was it.

  ✽✽✽

  The next day, I stepped into Colm's office after being summoned. He didn't bother to waste time pretending he hadn't been waiting for me, or that our private meeting wasn't significant. I’d rushed over the moment I’d been asked to go since I'd mostly expected the guys to be waiting there for me, but they were unfortunately nowhere in sight.

  He gave me a sad smile when he saw me looking around. "Not today, Mireyah. Sit." I did as told, though I considered protesting for the sake of it. All these Gods thinking they could tell me what to do, and I'd just jump was annoying the fuck out of me.

  "No time for pleasantries since I’m certain you want to know. You'll see them in three days," he said, perching on the edge of his desk as he looked down at me. "While the time you spend with them is a reward given to them for winning the Trial, I wanted to explain to you how their reward time with you will work. These rules will apply to all the subsequent ones for the next three tests.”

  I nodded, sitting up a little straighter. I could do anything with my men and be happy to just be around them, but considering the fact that either Lathyn or Ashric could likely win a future test, I wanted to be armed with all the knowledge at my disposal before we reached that eventuality.

  "The victor chooses the location, and the activity with some restrictions. The location may be private or public, but you can take comfort because just as with your initial times that you spent with all the challengers, you will be protected. Sex is permitted, but you must state your explicit consent before it can be done. They cannot force you, not even given the fact that they have Declared for you. You are not their wife yet and thus have not yet earned you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes. I'm in control of the sex aspect, but nothing else, essentially?" I asked, reaching up to toy with the gems that adorned my ear.

  "Correct." He nodded.

  My finger touched the shard that topped my earcuff, and I pulled it back."So what if Ashric Tovenaar wins a test and he wanted to go skinny dipping in the pool. Am I required to take part in that?"

  "You would be required to meet with him at the pool, but he cannot make you get in it or take off your clothes. However, were he to send over clothes that he wished you to wear for your time together, you would have to agree. You have free will to make your own decisions within the situations you will find yourself in, but you must at least spend time with them. Victors earn the right of your time," he sighed, and I knew he considered the possibilities of how to get me out of what may be an inevitable meeting with Ashric. "If they're smart, they'll use the opportunity to show you a romantic side to them, not try to get you out of your clothes."

  I laughed with a snort. "Romance is dead."

  "Not for all of us," Colm challenged. "Perhaps Lathyn will surprise you. He's more experienced with the world of dating than I suspect the Descendants were when you were with them in Godsvail. At any rate, your time with them will be limited. After, if you wish, you'll have the opportunity to address all the competitors. Would you like to do that?"

  "No! Gods, no! The last thing I want is to be the
center of attention. No way I will stand up in front of the seven of them and make a speech, I’ll leave that to you. I want nothing to do with this bloody ritualistic sacrifice bullshit, anyway. Zeevar, I'm just fortunate that you didn't rub their blood on me after the battles yesterday."

  Colm chuckled, shaking his head and turning to sit behind his desk once more. "Very well. Still, keep in mind that they are allowed to be there when the winners drop you off after your victory time. It is your choice if you wish to ignore them. That's all, then. Do try to stay out of trouble between now and your meeting with them."

  “I can’t promise that,” I chided him with a teasing smile.

  He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “At least don’t look for it?”

  “Fine,” I said as I closed the door behind me and began walking towards the outdoor areas.

  After the stress of watching my men get their asses threatened and damn near handed to them, I intended to spend three days relaxing so I wouldn't be an anxious pit by the time I saw them again.

  Chapter 20

  Mireyah

  I was almost late for our time together. Even though I’d tried to relax as much as possible, I’d still fallen asleep late the day before. It was a mixture of anxiety, nerves and just pure excitement.

  So I’d had to run to get to our appointed meeting area at the correct time. When I arrived, I rested against my knees as I bent over, panting a bit from the exertion of running down the long, stone hallways. I reached up to swipe at my brows where sweat had gathered before looking up.

  They all watched me and my eyes met red that sparkled with amusement. However, unlike the first time I'd seen them in Godsvail as a human, I was thrilled to see them now because they belonged to a face that I had missed holding in between my hands.