Titus nods, peering at Zander, then heads down the steps to the boats. Zander and I follow.
Getting inside the cloaked Grotto isn’t like simply walking into a room. We could portal in but doing so is risky since we don’t know who’s inside. Being after midnight, chances of running into humans is low, which is likely why Seraya is meeting whomever here this time of night.
Casting my senses outward, I experience a moment of confusion. There’s a presence I haven’t felt in decades. Until yesterday, anyway.
“Helena’s here,” I say. “I don’t think they’re fighting, in fact I don’t sense any alarm. But let’s be careful, shall we?”
Titus turns to me, rage painting his normally placid face with narrowed eyebrows and a glare that could cut through rocks. “Helena’s behind this? Figures.” He sighs. “Let’s find Chayah.”
Part of me wants to caution Titus, but it won’t do any good. My suspicions of our Adversary are different since I’ve seen her recently on far better terms than he. Confusion and hesitation emanates from Zander as well. At least I only have to worry about one brother acting rash.
I hope.
“There’s no other way in. Create a portal, Cas. Your magic should keep us relatively unseen.”
I nod, opening a portal, and we move through into the caverns. It’s dark and would be hard to see for mortals. For us, our eyesight is pretty sharp, even in darkness. The cave is dimly lit from lights surrounding a few caverns further back where the tourists visit. That’s not where Seraya is.
Trying to ascertain her situation before intruding is a delicate matter. Helena will sense our presence, as will Seraya, if I don’t maintain my focus on a concealment spell. Without knowing what’s happening, we could either put her in danger or lose the element of surprise.
We don’t want either.
Words float along with the ocean air and undulate in volumes like the waves slapping the walls of the Grotto. Finally close by, I strain but begin to catch the gist of what they’re discussing.
About to round a corner, we’re close. I place my hand up, raising a finger to my lips for silence, then close my eyes and listen.
“Seraya’s trying to get information about the weapon’s origins. Something about a deal? A war coming, Gabrielle mentioned it earlier. Sounds like Helena’s actually trying to cooperate.” My whisper doesn’t carry far.
Titus’s scowl deepens. He mistrusts anything coming from the Queen of Shadows, as well he might. He’s known her since his inception.
Zander seems to be stuck in disbelief.
This could get ugly, fast.
Projecting calm in every direction with all my available mental capacity, I continue eavesdropping on the women talking, odd as it is to hear. This is the leader of the Shadowlands – of all the Demons and Fallen Celestials – the figurehead of everything we’ve fought against for so long. How can she be calmly discussing anything with Chayah?
Trust, I remind myself. Trust Chayah. Every time I’ve ever doubted the Eternal Mother, I’ve learned a lesson…
Don’t.
She may not do everything the way the rest of us think she should, but she always knows what she’s doing. Sometimes I’ve found this out well after the fact, so I’ve learned my lesson well.
Titus is fuming. His face reddens the longer we hide here. He nervously shakes his knee, and it’s a wonder the bouncing limb isn’t making a noise already. This is going to blow up soon, I just pray I can keep us hidden and ready.
My trepidation turns to astonishment as another presence materializes in a flash of golden light. A Celestial.
Seraya’s anxiety ratchets up enormously, buzzing in the back of my consciousness. She seems swamped by loss and rage again, based on the emotions filling the chamber. Like bees and hornets, humming a mournful dirge.
I peer around the weathered rock wall and she’s arguing with…Remliel? Why would Nova’s Gemini be here, and what are they arguing about?
His loss and grief are palpable, like a deserted canyon with a brushfire engulfing the floor. The golden light that is his aura, reminiscent of all the other Celestials I’ve known, fluctuates. Dims.
“No.”
It’s obvious now what’s happening. Shock causes my spell to falter, and the damage is done.
Helena’s eyes snap to the back of the cave as if she can see us crouching in the darkness. A wave of shadowy magic pulses toward us, and I construct a magical barrier strong enough to withstand the energies she’s unleashed, but almost too late.
In the seconds that follow, several things happen at once. As if in slow motion, Helena gathers her strength and focus for another attack.
Titus and Zander sprint around opposite sides of the cave in preparation for battle, and Remliel’s pure, golden aura fades to a murky, shadowy gray.
My heart falls as I watch my Genesis brother turn away from the light. No, please…not Remliel. Not now. My internal cries of anguish and loss go unanswered. He’s shadowed, now.
Lost.
Fallen.
Losing Nova pushed him over the edge.
Another wave of snarling darkness rips through the air, and I thrust up another barrier, one that extends to Seraya and my brothers. I must find a way to get them out, get us back to Aravot before anyone is injured.
“Titus…pull her back.” My telepathic plea refocuses him as his stance shifts from offensive to defensive. “Zander, distract Helena a moment while I open a portal.”
As soon as I send the thought, Zander’s shout and slicing daggers occupy Helena’s full attention. He’s not going to knife her, I assume, but not for lack of effort.
With Helena’s back turned to Seraya, Titus scrambles to pull our Gemini toward the back of the cave to safety.
“Let me go!” Seraya cries, fighting Titus, trying to break free from his hold.
Why?
And Remliel. He’s now unsheathing a formerly bright and glowing sword from his scabbard worn between rapidly darkening wings. It tears at my heart to see the aura surrounding his sword becoming murky and shadowed, much like his own.
With a great blast of air from powerful, yet changing wings, Remliel pushes Zander through the cave toward me. As if protecting him from Helena?
Having little grace, my brother’s head nearly bashes into a rocky outcrop. A quick incantation slows his flight, and the resulting thud is less dangerous than it would have been otherwise. Still, my worry for him grows as he slumps to the ground.
Turning to assess the threat from Helena and a newly Fallen Remliel, I’m shocked he’s attempting to hack and slice his way through her defenses. Sparring with blades of darkness, turning as they battle, each tries to find an advantage over the other.
I think it’s time to leave them to it.
Running to Zander, I look back to make sure the others are okay. Titus is clutching Seraya’s limp body to his chest, a portal growing in front of him.
My own portal should open right next to his, back in Seraya’s chamber. The scent of peonies faintly fills the air, confirming my supposition.
Gathering Zander, I help him stand and limp through the gateway to safety.
As Titus’s portal closes, I peer back through the hole between realms to see Remliel frustrated and trying to reach Helena before she slips through her own dark, swirling vortex.
Failing, watching her gateway close, Remliel falls to his knees, one hand covering his grief-stricken eyes while the other clasps the hilt of his sword. His choking sobs tear into my heart as I cautiously allow my portal to unravel and vanish. I can still feel his pain even though I can’t see him any longer, like a dull ache in my soul.
Fallen now, Remliel can no longer come home. The magical barriers woven into this reality forbid entry to anyone with darkness in their souls.
Offering up a supplication for an old friend, I turn to survey the scene before me.
Titus holds Seraya, who seems to be unconscious now on her massive bed. He’s stroking her hair and whi
spering soothing tones into her ear.
A groggy Zander shakily gets to his feet, shambling toward her as if to help. His step falters as Titus glares.
Get her a drink.” Titus snarls. Be useful for once.”
All of this barely registers as I look past them to Journey’s corner.
“Good Goddess, no.” My hands grasp my forehead.
Zander looks confused, so I point to the corner of Seraya’s room, the space where Journey, Seraya’s phoenix, usually camps out.
Nothing but a pile of smoldering amethyst ash lies there now.
“What is that?” he asks, panic in his tone. “Where’s Journey?”
“She’s gone.” I swallow, feeling the bile rising from my stomach. “It’s begun.”
Titus turns to look at the corner, his face now stoic and pale, realizing what I have.
Chayah will be reborn again. We’re about to be separated for 21 years while she transforms into a brand-new human incarnation, growing into a young woman with the responsibility of all creation lifted off her shoulders and placed onto ours.
For a little while, anyway.
“I don’t understand.” Zander’s mouth is open. His eyes are wide in disbelief, and of course, he doesn’t get it. He couldn’t, he’s never lived through this before.
“This is bad.” Titus’s voice cracks with emotion. He turns to me, eyes boring like steel. All I can do is nod, acknowledging what he has.
The storm has officially hit.
A hollow pit forms in my gut, fear growing into a thorny bush. Another Phoenix Cycle. With the fate of the three realms in delicate balance, why is it happening now?
Zander limps over, brows drawn together in consternation. “Journey’s gone? Is it really happening? Now?” He stands, staring blankly. “No, no, no. Fuck this.”
Titus stares silently, resignation lengthening his face.
Why so soon? And why now?
“De Bello Aeterna.” Gabrielle’s words from earlier fall from my lips.
Titus looks to me, his jaw drawn. “Where did you hear that?”
“Gabrielle. We read it in a tome. The Aeterna Prophecy.”
In this instance, everything makes sense.
“The Great Eternal War, they called it,” Titus says. “A catastrophic event was prophesied eons ago, but nobody took it seriously. Why would they? The allegations were insane.”
“Until they weren’t.” I look to Titus, accepting what’s fallen upon us.
May the Mother have mercy on us all.
9
~Seraya~
Kneeling in my Garden, I scoop up handfuls of dirt then drop them into a hole beside me. I do this over and over, filling the grave of Humanity’s First child.
Mine.
Tears are gone now. The time for crying has past, and now I just feel…numb.
Never in my life did I expect to lose Nova, the very thing that inspired this whole journey to begin with. A child who’s been with me from the beginning. Yet now I kneel, filling her grave.
All of Genesis stands just beyond the garden, staring at the crazy mother who’s refusing to allow anyone to help. No, this is my rite. My burden to bear. I just want to be left alone to grieve the loss I never should’ve had to grieve to begin with.
My entire world is gone. Crashed and burned, crushing what little heart I have left. I feel empty. Lost and numb.
How does a mother bury her only child? A person who’s been in her life for thousands of years? I think this is the first time I truly understand how humans feel burying their dead.
Nova’s not in another realm, she’s just… Gone.
And her Gemini? Fallen. Losing Nova was impossible. Then hearing Remliel’s words in the Grotto?
He shattered me.
My soul feels desolate. Buried in the dirt with Nova. No feeling resides in my fingertips as they mindlessly press into the black earth beneath me. I’ve been at this for hours, staring at a filled grave that I keep scooping dirt into anyway.
I stand. Finally.
Sighs and sobs behind me echo through the garden.
It’s a shock they’ve all stood there watching for so long. They don’t know what to do, we’ve never done this before. It’s new for all of us.
Love for my Gemini is something I’ve cherished. But love for a child – a being who grew in my belly, I labored to deliver – a life I created.
That love is something altogether different. Sacred, which is why I took responsibility for Humanity in the first place. Nova, her children. Her children’s children… they’re all mine, blood of my blood. I’m their mother just as Nova is.
Was.
I inhale a breath, and it gets caught for a moment as I hold back more tears, staring at the covered ground where my daughter’s body lies, cold. Alone.
Dead.
Collapsing to my knees, my eyes fall shut. The tears stay locked deep within me, but the grief, the rage, it all bubbles to the surface. My body starts to tremble, hardly noticeable at first, then stronger. More vigorously. As my anger circles out of control, fear and every other emotion I can’t place rises up.
The ground begins to shake.
I can’t hold it in any longer. I’ve kept my shit together for weeks now. No more.
Slowly at first, the hum in the air accelerates. A light breeze blows through the garden, rising to a gust. The usual twilight sky grows darker now, and raindrops fall from above our heads.
The usual lavender grows dark, not like night, but darker than twilight. Despondent.
Emotions swirling inside me let loose and the rain begins to pour. Thunder cracks in the sky from invisible storm clouds as the sun fades and the world, my world, goes dark.
“Mother,” I call her name aloud, eyes still closed. “Gaea.” I scream louder, fists clenched, beating on the covered grave beside me. I sit up on my knees, lean back onto my heels and lift my chin, feeling drops of rain pelting my face. “How could you do this to me?”
Gaze skipping overhead, I know somewhere up there, Gaea’s crying with me. Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t release her from responsibility.
“Talk to me, Gaea.” I stare, feeling the anger growing into rage. Rage at her. At humans for not keeping their shit together. For fucking things up so bad that Gaea decided there was no other choice but to eliminate them. Nova’s gone, and mortals are to blame. Humanity did this.
They don’t deserve my sacrifice.
Deep down, I know humans didn’t literally kill Nova, but Gaea could’ve stopped it, and she didn’t. No wonder mortals stopped praying. Prayers aren’t answered.
Nobody’s listening… not anymore.
“Coward!” I scream at the sky as it continues to pelt raindrops onto my face, masking the tears seeping from my eyes. “You’re a fucking coward.”
The decibel of my wrath shakes the ground beneath my knees. My breath hitches, and my heartbeat spikes to an unhealthy level. If I were human, I’d be in deep shit medically speaking. But as I’m not… yet, it’s the three realms that are in trouble now. My fury affects them. I’m sure as I think these unholy thoughts, the other two realms are feeling it, too. Somehow.
Good. I’ve been placating them far too long. It’s time I truly embrace who I am. Firstborn daughter of Gaea, the Mother of all life and creation.
“Fix this, Gaea,” I say it softly at first. Quietly, half thinking pleading with her will make a difference though knowing damn well it won’t. “Fix this, or so help me, I’ll wreak havoc on everything. Everyone,” I say louder. “Fix this.” I scream to the heavens above me.
“Give me back my daughter!”
Rising to my feet, I close my eyes once more and focus on Nova. Her beauty, physically and spiritually. Her soul. I reach out to the Universe, searching, trying desperately to connect with her, but I can’t.
Nova’s gone.
My body begins to shake once more, but this time, I control it. Stopping the madness before I destroy anything else, which all of Genesis knows, I’m
more than capable of.
Calming myself, I reach out to my Gemini.
“Come to me,” I whisper in their minds. The void that was once filled with Nova is destroying me, and I can’t be here much longer.
Titus, Cas, and Zander stand behind me now, each setting a hand somewhere on my body to ground me, to connect with my soul, to fill a void that we all know will always be a deep chasm of emptiness from now until the end of time.
“Will I ever feel joy again?” I ask nobody in particular.
Of course, nobody answers because what would they say? The deep chasm that is the loss of my child consumes me. At least in this lifetime, the six or eight weeks left until I die and am reborn, there will be no shred of happiness. No happy ending.
Just anger, contempt, and heartache.
I take in a final breath, inhaling the sweet smell of the flowers surrounding me. A final tear falls, and I vow it will be my last.
“Humanity is crumbling, and I have a choice.” I say it out loud because I’ve permanently shut out my Gemini, at least for the remainder of this lifetime. “Do I even want Humanity to continue?”
Gasps ring throughout Aravot at my question that wasn’t meant for them. Every Celestial and Eternal within earshot now knows what’s at stake.
“Guess now we know.”
“Know what?” Zander asks.
“What happens when an Eternal loses a child.”
Having the same gift as Raz and Gabrielle, Cas places his hand on my shoulder, hoping to calm my nerves, but his attempt is in vain. I’m calmer than I’ve been in a very long time. Perhaps calm isn’t the right word.
Hollow. That’s the word.
“What kind of Universe will this be without Nova?”
While this legacy, this ritual I repeat when the realm below us is falling to pieces was a choice I made long ago, it’s still a choice. One I have to make again.
Before now, before losing Nova, it was never a choice I had to contemplate. Abandoning my children wasn’t a choice. But now? As I stand here, contemplating how the darkness that’s taken over the realms has taken something so dear to me, I’m at an impasse.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 131