The Godswar Saga (Omnibus)

by Jennifer Vale

  At first, Elade had been apprehensive about stepping through a bizarre Aetheric gateway; the only portals the Vaeyn had ever seen were gateways between the physical world and the demonic realm of the Void. But evidently portals were reasonably common in Torsia with its massive, sprawling empires. The Alliance, the Imperium, the Talishites, the Izarians—they all used portals to connect their most distant cities. According to Tevek, their construction was incredibly expensive, and the conduits would immediately collapse without several Bound maintaining them at all times. He had once described them as “caves always on the verge of collapse,” which hadn’t done anything to quell her latent anxiety. Still, the cost was apparently worthwhile in some cases, and she was thankful for the ability to reconnect with their Solarian allies.

  The portal spit them out in Brackengarde, the former Solarian capital-turned-fortress inside the Avalon Mountains along the Crell border. The city was almost five hundred miles from Celenest, and it would have taken them over a week to make the journey on horseback. But that, naturally, was why the knights had brought Cyridius with them.

  For on dragonback, the journey was no bother at all.

  Elade could feel the great winged beast relax as they swept down upon Celenest. Like all of his kind, he was a truly magnificent creature, and his silver scales sparkled so brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight that she actually had to close her sensitive eyes. Dragons weren’t exactly sentient, but they were certainly more intelligent than most beasts. They were also the only natural beasts capable of channeling Aether. They couldn’t master the same array of techniques as sentient species, but they were able to enhance their vision, scent, and even flying ability when necessary. That feature, along with their size and strength, made them the most coveted mounts in Obsidian.

  Once they finally approached the golden spires marking the city gates, a pair of griffon riders fell into loose formation with them and waved their Solarian banners in greeting. In response, Tevek lifted their silver-blue Last Dawn banner and planted it inside their riding harness. The process was more of a formality than anything, given that King Areekan already expected them, and any other riders would have been intercepted miles before they ever reached the gates. The city’s defenses were impressive, especially for a land-locked metropolis well off the front lines. At least two hundred griffon riders were kept on standby at any time, with a reserve of nearly three hundred more in the case of an actual attack. Many of the tallest buildings sported ballista enchanted with spears capable of piercing even a dragon’s thick hide, and as they approached the King’s Tower, Elade spotted a full regiment of troops training at the expansive city barracks. Celenest might not have been a fortress like Brackengarde, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t well protected.

  Eventually they reached the tower landing zone, and Cyridius set down as gently as a massive creature could—which was to say, without the tight straps and enchantments of her harness and saddle, Elade probably would have been thrown halfway across the city. The beast craned its neck backwards to face them as they unstrapped themselves, understanding from experience that it wasn’t an easy process. A dragon rider’s harness, especially one designed for long-distance flight, was not always an easy thing to remove. Aether-infused leather straps held Elade’s legs in place, and another locked around her waist. There was also an enormous cushion vaguely resembling a chair which supported her upper body. Tevek, seated behind her, had to undo several of the straps so she could free herself and then turn about and do the same for him. It was an ingenious enough system she was glad to benefit from; she couldn’t imagine the saddles of the first dragon riders, and how many were likely flung to their deaths or simply crushed from the raw force generated from such a massive beast’s movement.

  Cyridius snorted and turned back forward, then relaxed his legs and lowered himself so they could hop off more easily. Ahead of him, a small entourage approached the platform with a dozen Alliance soldiers in tow. At the front was an aging human man in regal robes that Elade recognized as High Priest Kaeldar, the so-called “Voice” of Areekan. Behind him followed a man decorated from shoulder to waist with dozens of insignias and medals. Tall and muscular, with a gaze every bit as piercing as she remembered from Serogar, General Darius Iouna wore his ceremonial armor like a second skin. His youthful virility couldn’t have been a starker contrast to the stooped, withering man next to him.

  The third and final member of the entourage was a short blond woman wearing the regal golden vestments of Areekan’s priesthood. Her name was Krystia Tharule, and she had made quite a name for herself in the Alliance as a skilled healer despite the fact she was barely twenty seasons old.

  Elade and Tevek stroke forward, and she tried in vain to work out the lingering stiffness in her muscles. Her armor wasn’t helping any; she normally wore a much lighter plate than the other knights, but for a diplomatic occasion of this importance, Tevek had insisted she wear the full Last Dawn ensemble. It made her feel rather like a lumbering groll than a swordswoman.

  Once they drew close, Tevek removed his helmet and knelt before the Voice. Elade followed suit, immediately regretting not binding her hair into a tighter ponytail when it abruptly flopped in front of her face.

  “Your Eminence,” Tevek said. “We are honored to once again step foot in your great city.”

  Kaeldar smiled and gestured for them to rise. Once protocol was served, he immediately reached forward and embraced his old ally. “It is good to see you again, my friend,” he said softly. “Much has changed since your last visit.”

  “I can see that,” Tevek said with a wide grin of his own. After a moment he turned towards Darius and clapped the younger man’s shoulder. “I heard you were promoted again. You’re a full Legion General now, eh?”

  “Fortune has clearly taken pity upon me, my lord,” Darius replied. “That, or the Alliance is more desperate than it seems.”

  Tevek laughed. It was a powerful sound straight from the belly, and it always made Elade smile. “No one has earned it more, I’m sure. After Isen, I had a feeling you’d eventually amount to something.”

  “The Highlord is most kind,” Darius replied dryly. The two men shared another chuckle, and their eyes bore the weight of soldiers who had faced down death together many times. Tevek had always said that Darius was the smartest man in the Alliance military, and he hadn’t been surprised in the least to hear of his promotion.

  Eventually Tevek turned towards Krystia, but this time he didn’t bother to speak or even offer a hand; she leapt into his arms a moment later, and he waved her around like she was made of air.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, releasing him only after a long moment. “You promised to visit once every few months. I thought paladins never broke their word?”

  “Only when they must,” he told her, running his hand through her hair. She was probably the closest thing he had to a real daughter, and he had never bothered to hide his feelings for the young girl. “It’s good to see you, my dear. It’s very good to see you all.”

  There were plenty of knights, Elade knew, who secretly despised traveling with their Highlord; his very presence made them virtually invisible, both because of his stature and his outgoing personality. Thankfully, she didn’t mind in the slightest. Even after years spent living among them, she still found the opportunity to watch “normal” human reactions fascinating. The vaeyn taught their children from a young age to distrust humans; they were considered a selfish, short-sighted race who had done immeasurable harm all across Obsidian. Watching Tevek and people’s reactions to him was a sober reminder that not all childhood lessons bore truth.

  Still, Elade knew she wouldn’t go unnoticed for long, and while Tevek spoke to Krystia, Darius stepped forward and offered her his hand.

  “Dame Devarath,” he said, grinning. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Good to see you, General,” she replied, shaking his hand and smiling back. Ever since Tevek had first told her about this
trip, she had been wondering how her inevitable reunion with Darius would play out. She had met him during the Serogar Gate fiasco a few years ago, and they had battled together against a score of demons and the warlocks who had summoned them into Obsidian. Darius was a brilliant commander and good soldier, and Elade had enjoyed fighting alongside him. The problem came when she realized he had wanted more out of their relationship.

  The revelation had taken her completely off-guard. Human prejudice against the vaeyn ran deep, especially in Solaria, but Darius obviously hadn’t cared. He was clearly attracted to her even now…and Elade would be lying to herself if she denied that she felt the same way. He was smart, driven, and especially handsome for a human. A younger version of herself would have taken him to her bed in a heartbeat.

  But not after Tauros. Not after she had watched those humans rape and torture her lover, Varess…

  “I’ve thought about you a lot recently,” Darius said into the pause. “In relation to the ongoing conflict with the Crell, I mean,” he added hastily. “I wanted to ask your opinion on the subject.”

  “I’m always willing to speak my mind,” Elade told him. If he had noticed her sudden distress, he didn’t show it. “Just as Tevek or any of the other knights.”

  Darius chuckled. “The king wants to speak with the Highlord personally I believe, but I can fill you in on the rest if you’d like.”

  More than you know. “As you wish,” she said instead.

  “Perfect. We should head to the tower garden, then. It’s the best place to chat away from the eyes and ears of the court.”

  Krystia suddenly appeared at his side. “That’s a great idea,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again, Elade.”

  The petite woman leaned forward and embraced her, and Elade awkwardly returned the hug. This bulky ceremonial armor wasn’t exactly conducive to close physical contact, but she also wasn’t used to such…intimate greetings. Human females tended to be a lot more “touchy” than their male counterparts, at least with one another, but vaeyn culture was more standoffish.

  “I’m glad to see you’ve done well for yourself,” Elade commented. Krystia had a powerful aura about her, and not just because she wore too much perfume. The girl was even stronger now than she had been just two years ago when she had served as one of the healers at Serogar.

  “Thank you,” Krystia said, smiling and wrapping her hand almost protectively around Darius’s.

  “His Majesty is honored by your presence, Dame Devarath,” the Voice said, acknowledging her presence for the first time. “Personally, I am just grateful that Lord Dracian has finally realized the wisdom in traveling with others.”

  “He’s getting old,” Elade chided. “Soon he’ll be half my age.”

  The two older men grunted in mock annoyance, and Kaeldar waved a hand forward. “Come, my friends, there is much for us to discuss.”

  Tevek and the Voice eventually split off towards the tower, but Darius and Krystia beckoned Elade into the guardian. The girl hung off the general like a second cloak, and Elade couldn’t help but smile inwardly. She had always found human courtship rituals fascinating and ridiculous all at once. Most societies seemed obsessed with the promotion of sexual exclusivity, as if somehow having multiple lovers was a great sin against the universe. They wouldn’t have survived a week with the vaeyn or even their faeyn cousins; both societies were much more open and flexible with their relationships.

  But in this case, it was probably for the best. If Darius and Krystia were betrothed, it would certainly make things easier. They could all concentrate solely on the task at hand and ignore these unnecessary distractions.

  Yes, that would definitely be for the best. Elade repeated the words to herself all the way into the garden, and by the time they arrived she almost believed them.

  Almost.

  ***

  “I almost feel like I should apologize for His Majesty,” Darius said as he, Elade, and Krystia walked into the garden. With a meaningful glare, he sent the groundskeepers scurrying off to find something else to work on for a while. “But I’m sure you understand his close relationship with the Highlord. He doesn’t mean to be rude and ignore you.”

  Elade waved a hand dismissively. “It takes more than that to offend me. I’m mostly here in case Tevek needs another sword.”

  Darius smiled and gestured towards one of the more impressive collections of flora from the eastern provinces. The kopal trees in particular had turned a particularly vibrant shade of orange over the past few weeks. “With winter on the way, the garden will be closed down soon. I thought you might to see a few of the sights while you visted. Somehow I doubt the Dawn citadel has a private arboretum.”

  “Not so much,” she said, removing one of her gauntlets and wrapping her fingers experimentally around a pink flower he couldn’t identify.

  He couldn’t help but notice the dark blue tattoo on the back of her gray hand. Like all vaeyn, her body was covered in symbolic markings. She had explained them once as “wards against possession.” It was a cultural tradition that marked a rite of passage as much as anything else; vaeyn warriors showed their resolve by weathering the pain and their aesthetic sense by choosing their own personal designs. It was also an intrinsic part of the connection between the Bound and their Matriarch Queen: through the glyphs, their bodies were sealed against demonic intrusion and offered as vessels for her power.

  Elade wasn’t a shadow knight anymore, of course, but Darius knew the markings remained regardless. This particular glyph traced the back of her right hand, spiraled up her arm, and ended on her right shoulder blade. Back at Serogar, he had caught a glimpse of another on her left thigh, and the prospect of seeing more continued to entice him even now.

  It was a foolish thought, of course, especially given Solarian custom. Tattoos of any kind were forbidden as a matter of law. One of the True Tenets of Sol was to revere the inherent divinity of a body’s flesh, and the “desecration” of skin in any way was considered sacrilege. He had also found the ceremonial tattoos of Asgardian women disgusting, but on Elade’s bluish-gray they just seemed right. He imagined them spiraling up and down her athletic frame, and suddenly his armor became much less comfortable…

  “I’m sure Tevek shared the latest reports from the front with you,” Darius said, clearing his throat.

  “He did,” Elade confirmed. “You believe the Crell are preparing for war?

  “They are always preparing for war,” Krystia said, sitting down at a nearby bench and crossing her legs. “I doubt the Sovereigns think of anything else.”

  “They’re solidifying their positions along the border,” Darius said, crossing his arms over his chest. “After Ishthare’s Rebellion in the west and the stalled Talishite Offensive in the south, they’re vulnerable and they know it.”

  Elade nodded. “And you believe it’s time to seize your advantage.”

  “I don’t think we can afford not to,” he replied. “If we give them time to rebuild, we’ll regret it sooner or later. Unfortunately, the Lord’s Council doesn’t seem to agree.”

  “Your people have a long tradition against drawing first blood, and it has served the Alliance well over the years.”

  “In some ways, yes,” Darius conceded. “But the Council treats it as dogma, and I fear it will take more than a buildup along the border to convince them to act.”

  “There’s also the Resistance in Lyebel,” Krystia said. “The Council seems like they want to wait and see what happens there before committing to anything. But without our help, I have a hard time believing a few rebels will actually steal a whole city.”

  “Do you know where Tevek stands on all of this?” Darius asked.

  “If you’re hoping he’s here to convince Areekan to go to war, then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed,” Elade said, sitting down on the bricks. “He wants to avoid another war as much as anyone.”

  “That will change once he sees things for himself,” Krystia said
quietly. “It might take some time but eventually he’ll come around. Besides, I wouldn’t count out a Crell attack just before winter. Our reprisal would be slowed badly enough by the weather that they’d have more time to prepare.”

  Darius nodded idly. “The other generals and I all believe it’s a strong possibility, especially with His Majesty’s failing health. If they think for a moment they can gain the advantage, they’d pounce on it like an enraged chagari.”

  Elade seemed to ponder his words for a moment when they caught the sound of footfalls approaching from down the path. A few moments later an old man with a decorative royal tunic and steady gait rounded the corner and favored them with a tight smile.

  “Lord Alistan,” Krystia said, standing and offering an awkward curtsy. “Is there something you need?”

  “I heard the king’s guests had arrived, and I wanted a chance to speak with them myself,” he replied coolly. His face was difficult to read, but considering how fervently he continued to argue against the idea of a preemptive strike, Darius assumed he was now here to make his case in front of the knights. “I assume His Majesty is already meeting with Highlord Dracian?”

  “He is, though I’m certain the Highlord would be willing to speak with you afterwards,” Elade told him.

  Alistan grunted, and his eyes narrowed as he sized her up. “So, you are the new squire I’ve heard so much about.”

  “Knight, actually,” she corrected with a forced smile.

  “Ah,” he murmured, shifting his gaze to Darius. “General Iouna, I had hoped to speak with you. I don’t mean to interrupt your…gathering here, but I hope you aren’t too busy discussing state secrets to grant me a few moments of your time.”

  “There’s no need to be confrontational, my lord,” Darius warned. “We’re old friends who bled together defending your lands at Serogar—I would think a bit of respect would be a small thing to ask.”