Scorn of the Sky Goddess
Page 30
The goddess’s wings drooped while she tried in vain to swat the black thorns off her face. “I love you, Markus.”
He released the arrow with a thwack, flinching when it pierced Madhea’s heart.
The goddess gaped at him, blood appearing on her lips.
“You love no one but yourself.” He leaned down and shoved the arrow deeper into her chest, then drove her over the ledge.
Dianna stumbled to her feet, watching her mother fall without a sound, black smoke trailing from her fingers as she disappeared into the clouds.
Markus fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands. “What have I done?”
No doubt the effects of Madhea’s love spell still hadn’t worn off, and yet Markus had killed her anyway.
“Thank you, brother,” she breathed.
The mountain trembled again. She heard a snap above her.
Move! Sindri screamed.
But she didn’t move fast enough, and debris rained down on her head. Shielding her eyes, she fell to her knees. A sharp spike of ice drove into her back and through her heart. She coughed up blood, looking at the thick nail of ice sticking out of her chest. She thought she heard Markus scream, but she could only focus on the pain. Her heart ached so bad, she knew it had been cleaved in two. She slid to the ground, blood spurting from her mouth. Her eyes closed as her heart slowed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dianna awoke to a familiar face. She recognized her large golden eyes and smooth ebony skin. She’d seen her a few times when she’d crossed over the barrier into the Elemental world.
“Sindri,” she breathed. “Am I dead?”
“No, cousin.” Sindri stroked Dianna’s brow. “You are resting.”
A woman knelt beside Sindri. Though she was just as beautiful, and had a youthful glow to her skin, there was a look of sagacity in her eyes that told Dianna she was looking at the benevolent goddess, Kyan.
“Aunt Kyan?” She reached for her, brushing her fingers across a face that felt like real flesh and bone. “You are no longer stones?”
Kyan flashed a soft smile, one that made her eyes glow with warmth. “The witch who cursed us is dead. We have returned to our true selves.”
She released a pent-up breath of relief. Her mother was finally dead. She could no longer inflict pain and suffering on the mortal world.
“Dear niece, that spike mortally wounded your heart.” She grasped her hand. “I’m afraid we were only able to bring you back for a short while.”
Her heart leapt into her throat, and it felt like her world was crashing around her. She searched Kyan’s face through a sheen of tears. “How long do I have?”
“However long I have.” Simeon knelt beside her, taking her hand in his and brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Our souls have been tethered, like Feira and Tumi. It was the only way I could save you.”
She blinked at Simeon. “So when you die, I die?”
His mouth hitched up in a devilish grin. “Yes. Now you have no choice but to marry me.”
“I would’ve tethered your soul to mine, cousin, even at the risk of using dark magic.” Sindri said. “But not after listening to you mourn the thought of living an eternity without Simeon and your brothers.” Her shoulders fell. “We thought you’d prefer to have your soul tethered to Simeon’s.”
“Oh, cousin.” She sat up, her chest expanding as if her heart had grown thrice in size. “If you only knew how happy I am.” She leaned into Simeon, planting a kiss on his lips. “I think I said I owed you one after we defeated Madhea.”
“You do,” he whispered in her ear. “But not here. I’ll collect a proper one later.”
The walls shook, and Kyan fell beside her. Dianna clutched Simeon’s hand, looking at the alarmed faces of her six cousins and Markus. With Tan’yi’na gone, how would they get down the mountain?
Kyan sat up, whistling so loudly, she had to shield her ears. A giant, buzzing ball floated into the cavern.
Pixies!
Markus rolled his eyes. “Not these demons again.”
But she didn’t mind. She’d gladly accept the winged creatures’ help, as long as she got off the mountain.
DIANNA AND SIMEON LAY in the crook of Tan’yi’na’s wing, massaging the dragon’s thick membranes while he grunted his approval. The dwarves had taken them to a comfortable clearing in the shade of the mighty lyme tree in the heart of Adolan. The tree’s branches perked under the warmth of the midday sun, and the birds nesting there happily sang to their neighbors. ’Twas as if Madhea’s death had lifted the shade of doom that had befallen the village.
When Tan’yi’na rolled over on his side, Dianna couldn’t help but laugh.
Scratch my belly next, little witches.
Simeon stood, puffing up his chest. “Who are you calling little?”
Tan’yi’na arched a brow, flashing a fanged smile. I can swallow you whole. You are little to me.
He sat back down, scratching the dragon’s belly. “Point taken.”
Dianna laughed and rubbed up and down Tan’yi’na’s smooth scales. She didn’t mind the intensive labor. Not long ago she’d thought him dead. After he’d fallen from the mountain and landed in a snowdrift, the giants had carried him to camp, giving him to the old prophets, who set aside their animosity for one another and worked together to help him. Fortunately, the layer of ice that had accumulated across the dragon’s chest scales was thick enough that only the tip of the arrow had pierced his heart. The brothers had applied poultices, keeping him alive until Kyan and Aletha laid their hands on his chest, healing him completely. Tan’yi’na said he bore no hard feelings toward Markus for shooting him, for he understood the strength of Madhea’s spell.
Markus slept beside them after taking a draught that Aletha said would rid him of all tender feelings for Madhea. Dianna feared her brother would have a brutal awakening when he fully realized he’d been tricked into loving the ice witch.
A familiar bark heralded Ryne’s arrival. He came into the clearing, his loyal companion trotting beside him, tail in full wag. Ryne grimaced at Markus before turning his scowl on Dianna and Simeon. “King Hogbottom has sent me with updates.”
“Well?” She gave the sour ice dweller an expectant look.
“The glacier broke off and flattened the gnull colony downriver. The goddesses were able to push it back before it went any farther. The mountain has stopped shaking, and the goddesses have freed the Elementals.”
“My sisters!” She jumped to her feet, her heart filling with so much joy, she felt like bursting. “They’re alive!” She’d thought Madhea had killed them.
When Markus groaned, she knelt beside him until his eyes opened.
“Sister?” Wincing, he leaned against the wide tree trunk and rubbed his head. “What happened?”
Dianna took his large hands in hers. “You don’t remember?” She fought back a grimace, doing her best to infuse cheer into her voice. “Madhea cursed your heart, but you fought back and killed her. You saved us.” She squeezed hard, waiting for the memories to hit.
“Boar’s blood!” He released her and fell on his side, flinging an arm across his eyes. “That cursed witch!” He pulled back his arm, looking up at her with watery eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
She kissed his cheek. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“She tricked me.” He turned away again, curling into a fetal position. “I betrayed my family, my wife.”
Tar sat beside Markus, placing a comforting paw on his arm.
Her heart broke for him. “We’re not angry with you.”
“I am!” Ryne pounded his chest. “Did you betray my sister and bed that heartless shrew?”
“No, but I kissed her.” He buried his face in the dirt as a sob wracked him. “And I held her and told her I loved her.”
She crawled over to him and wrapped an arm around his wide shoulders. “Don’t listen to Ryne. Ura will understand you were bewitched. Trust me. She only cares about your safe return.”
“Aye.” She smiled. “She is.”
“If the curse hadn’t been broken, I would’ve hated that child like my father loathed Alec.”
“But the curse was broken.” She rubbed his back, refusing to let him suffer for something that had been out of his control. “The evil witch is dead, the goddesses have been restored, and we’re safe. Now is a time for celebration, not tears.”
As if to emphasize her point, Tar licked Markus’s tears away, eliciting a chuckle from him.
“Not everyone is safe, cousin.” Sindri stood beneath one of the low branches, twisting the hem of her belt. “One of the Elementals sacrificed her life in order to save us. We must prepare a funeral pyre.”
THE ELEMENTALS LAID their sister to rest on an altar made of pine, clinging to each other while Tan’yi’na lit the pyre. Dianna’s heart broke when she saw her sister’s wrinkled, shriveled body melt like a ball of wax. The flames spread, consuming the entire altar and lighting up the night sky.
Dianna turned to Simeon, wrapping her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest while Kyan and her daughters recited the prayer.
“Through life these dreams we make. With magic, these blessings we partake. In death our spirits wake. To the Elements we ask our souls to take. Amen.”
After the funeral, Dianna sat beside her sisters while they stared at the dying embers in stony silence.
“Will you join us, sister?” Ariette reached for Dianna’s hand, giving her a watery smile. “Take Kia’s place in our coven?”
She shook her head, feeling bad for letting them down. “I’m sorry, no.” She sought Simeon, who was standing under the lyme tree, helping Alec comfort Markus. “My soul has chosen a different destiny.”
Ariette laid a hand on her knee, solemnly nodding before turning her gaze back to the pyre. “We wish you and Simeon much joy and happiness for as long as you both shall live and well into the afterlife.”
“Aye, for as long as we both shall live,” she agreed, the break in her heart slowly starting to fuse back together. “For we will pass to the Elements together.”
AFTER RETURNING TO Aya-Shay, Markus, Dianna, the Goddess Kyan and her daughters received a hero’s welcome, though Markus felt anything but. King Hogbottom allowed everyone into the beautiful town of Aya-Shay. Markus was hardly aware of the flowers and coins that were thrown on the street as he stood stoically on Borg’s shoulder, the goddesses flying above them on Tan’yi’na’s back.
Cheers rolled through the crowd when Kyan and her daughters circled the village, repairing rubble with simple sweeps of their hands. By night’s end, Aya-Shay had been restored to a mystical village with ivy-covered cottages, bright cobblestone paths, and a clear stream running through town, jumping with colorful trout.
After Borg set Markus, Dianna, and Simeon down, they were presented with chests of gold and silver. Kyan promised them more jewels from the Shifting Sands. Markus cared nothing for treasure, but he knew he could trade the jewels for provisions to make a new life for Ura and his family.
“Now all I have to do is convince Ura to take me back,” he whispered to Dianna.
She placed a hand on his back. “She will take you. Of that I’m sure.” She nodded at something behind his shoulder.
Ura stood beneath the soft glow of an overhead lamp, wringing her hands and looking at him with a longing in her eyes that nearly shattered his heart.
“Ura,” he breathed, taking a hesitant step forward. He’d not expected to see her here.
“Markus!” she cried, running to him.
He stood there like a deer in a hunter’s crosshairs, too stunned to make a move when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Oh, Markus.” She looked at him with tears in her silver eyes. “Do you still love me?”
“Of course, I love you, Ura.” He barely choked out the words. “More than anything. I’m just stunned you’re here.”
“King Hogbottom and the giants brought us. They passed through Aloa-Shay on their return home. They told us the ice witch had been killed and Kyan and her daughters had returned.” She touched his face, frowning. “You look like a land dweller again.”
Too ashamed to look into her eyes a moment longer, he cast his gaze to his feet. “The ice witch changed me.”
“Oh.” She released him, taking a step back. “I was afraid she would.”
He felt as if Ura had ripped out his heart and taken it with her when she pulled away. “My heart is still yours.”
“She hasn’t poisoned you against me?”
He splayed his hands in surrender, wishing there was some way he could erase the memory of his adultery. “I will admit she blackened my heart with dark magic for a time, but the curse has been lifted.”
Ura’s hand flew to her throat. “Words cannot describe my relief.”
“Forgive me. I was not myself. I kissed her—” He hung his head as a new wave of shame washed over him. “And told her I loved her.”
“I don’t care.” Her shoulders fell as she released a long sigh. “You’re safe and returned to me, and that’s all that matters.”
Emotion tightened his chest. “So you forgive me?”
“Oh, husband.” She launched herself into his arms again. “There’s nothing to forgive. You cannot blame yourself for falling under the witch’s spell.”
“I fought it—so hard.” He coursed his hands through her fine hair, knowing he didn’t deserve her.
She placed a finger on his lips. “Let us not speak of the past again when we have so much to look forward to in the future.”
He clutched his bride, searching her eyes. How in Elements did he deserve such a loving wife? “I love you, Ura, and only you.”
“I love you, Markus.” She looked up at him with heartfelt eyes. “I’ll always love you.”
LATER THAT NIGHT ALEC, Markus, and Des were with Dianna when she married Simeon. Kyan officiated. After blessing their union, Kyan threw sparks of magic into the air, lighting the sky with myriad colors. Everyone laughed when the sparks dissipated and flower petals fell on their heads. The dwarves picked up their instruments, and Dianna danced the rest of the night with her husband and brothers while passing around goblets of wine and platters of food.
She had wished the Elementals had joined in their revelry, but they refused to leave their home in Ice Mountain, insisting on a year of mourning for Kia. Though she was sad at the loss of the sister she never knew, she also had much to be thankful for. The celebration in Aya-Shay lasted two straight days and nights before the benevolent goddesses decided it was time to fly back to the Shifting Sands.
Before leaving, Kyan negotiated a pact between the dwarves and giants, allowing the giant children the option of staying or returning home with their biological kin. All giants save for Borg decided to remain with the dwarves, and Kyan promised them she’d return every spring to fertilize their soil, so they could continue to feed their adopted children. As their deity, Kyan said it was her duty to ensure the dwarves lived in comfort and safety. Besides, she’d need to check on her sons, who’d both disappeared sometime during the festivities, no doubt in search of the stones, not remembering they had been found and restored.
Before Lydra followed her mate to the Shifting Sands, Dianna said goodbye to the ice dragon, wrapping her arms around her cold scales and trying not to cry. Though Kyan promised she’d provide cool sanctuary for Lydra, she couldn’t help but worry for her friend. It was short-lived, though, when Tan’yi’na nuzzled Lydra’s scales while hovering over their egg.
Dianna and Sindri shared emotional goodbyes as well, both promising to write to one another. Kyan assured them she’d reopen trade routes between the Shifting Sands and Aloa-Shay.
She watched her aunt and cousins fly away with joy in her heart, for she knew the goddesses would ensure safety and happiness for generations to come. Should she and Simeon be blessed with children, they’d gr
ow up without fear of being persecuted for their magic.
Walking hand-in-hand, she and Simeon strolled through the town, squinting at the brilliant morning sky while smiling and waving to passersby. They found her brothers at Zier’s spacious cottage, sitting by the hearth, breaking their fast. Luckily, Ryne wasn’t with them. He’d disappeared before the wedding, and she hadn’t seen him since. Not that she missed his scowling face.
She leaned over Des, who was sleeping soundly on his cot, and kissed his cheek, sticky with sugar and berries. Then she and Simeon took a seat beside her brothers, gladly accepting offerings of palma juice, and fresh meat and berry pies.
“Now what?” Alec asked, leaning against a bench, his sleeping wife in his arms.
“Ura and I are returning to Adolan.” Markus smiled at his wife, who was licking her fingers after greedily eating a pie. “We’re bringing her brother and father with us. Won’t you come, too? We can all build homes on Father’s land.”
Dianna shared a look with Simeon, knowing already what the answer would be, for they’d discussed the future on their honeymoon night—a future that Simeon insisted be without Ryne. Dianna had agreed, as long as she wasn’t too far from her brothers.
“Simeon prefers a warmer climate,” she said, “and I love the ocean. We were thinking of making our home in Aloa-Shay. We’ve sent a letter with Sindri to Simeon’s sister, Jae, asking her and her betrothed to join us.”
Alec sat up, beaming. “You can build a home near us.”
Markus looked from Dianna to Alec as if they’d shot him in the heart with poisoned arrows. “You’re leaving Adolan, too, brother?”
“I’m able to breathe by the sea.” Alec nodded at his sleeping wife. “And I do not wish to take Mari from her home.”
Markus’s shoulders fell. “Then I suppose this is goodbye.”