by K. A. Linde
“I’ve met her,” Elea muttered. “I’m sure she picked the summer solstice to prove that, no matter what day it was, it didn’t matter.”
Cyrene finished her meal and returned her attention to the portal. “Well, the summer solstice it is.”
Sometime later, Reeve showed up to watch the portal with his sisters. Others appeared from the camp to thank Cyrene for their new powers. Some just walked by to stare at her and the portal in awe. Word had clearly spread.
But no one else other than Elea had arrived.
No one else was coming. They had two days to increase their numbers so that they could stop Malysa, and reinforcements weren’t coming.
“Maybe we should send someone through to make sure it works,” Ahlvie offered with a grin as the sun disappeared on the horizon.
“Elea is proof that it works,” Cyrene said. “Unless she has a talisman that I don’t know about.”
“No talisman,” Elea said. “Just me.”
“Who are we waiting for anyway?” Orden asked gruffly. “We should all get some food and some rest and prepare for tomorrow. Watching this portal isn’t going to change a damn thing, Cyrene.”
She lifted her gaze to him. Thankful that he still spoke his mind so freely. “You’re probably right.”
“Course I am.”
Still, no one moved.
And they settled back into silence.
Waited.
Then the iridescent portal began to swirl. Cyrene jumped to her feet. It was what had happened with Elea. Someone was coming through.
She reached for her magic just to be careful. She didn’t know for certain that her enemy couldn’t come through that portal. Only hoped that all of her directions had been followed with her magic. It was half the reason that she stood guard. Though she didn’t voice that fear.
But an enemy didn’t walk through the portal gate.
Instead, it was a woman…with a baby in her arms.
Elea and Reeve moved to Cyrene’s sides. All three of them took a step forward as one.
“Aralyn?” Cyrene whispered.
55
The Answer
“Cyrene,” Aralyn said with wide eyes. “Elea. Reeve. You’re all here!”
“What took you so long?” Cyrene demanded.
Aralyn laughed. “I understood your message to me in the awakening, Cyrene. I brought you what you requested.”
Then she stepped aside. And through the portal came her older son, Laine, and his father, Lord Larsen Berg. His eyes found Cyrene’s, and he bowed regally to her.
“I have brought you my sword, Domina,” Larsen said.
And, when he stood at his wife’s side, more people came through the portal. Kelltic lords first and then the soldiers at their command. A full army from the eastern mountains poured into the foothills of the western mountains. A contingent beyond what Cyrene could have imagined.
“How did you ever convince them all to come?” Cyrene whispered.
“The lords all agreed after you removed the Guild from Kell. I don’t believe it’s ever happened before.”
Cyrene raised her chin and watched as the soldiers found her gaze. The way they showed deference to her. The way that she could see into the heart of each and every Doma that was a part of that army. They were home.
“Thank you,” she told Aralyn.
“But wait,” Elea said with a shake of her head. “Do you have kids?”
Aralyn laughed and pulled Elea into a hug. “I missed you so much, little sister. There is much I should tell you.” She gestured to her husband. “This is my husband, Lord Larsen Berg.”
Reeve held his hand out to Larsen, and Larsen shook. “Welcome to the family.”
“Reeve, right?” Larsen asked.
Reeve nodded. “I’m glad to see Aralyn happy.”
“And you’re…Elea?” Larsen asked, holding out his hand.
“Queen Elea of Byern actually,” Cyrene cut in.
Larsen dropped his hand and bowed deeply. “Highness.”
Aralyn blinked. “I’m sorry, what? You’re…the queen?”
Elea just smiled at her sister. “I suppose we all have a lot to catch up on.”
“You do realize that this is the first time we’ve all been together since right after my Presenting ceremony, right?” Cyrene asked.
She looked at her siblings from Reeve and his ruffled hair to Aralyn with not a hair out of place to Elea, who truly looked like a queen. Then, she pulled them together for a big hug. They laughed and held her tighter.
“I love you all so much,” Cyrene said.
“Mother and Father would have been proud,” Reeve said.
Aralyn swallowed hard. “They would have been.”
“They’re watching over us,” Elea said.
“They are,” Cyrene agreed. “How else would we have ended up in one place again?”
Cyrene finally released them and turned back to the army. She spent the hours in the dark helping them get settled. Tomorrow would be a long day, and she wanted to make sure there was enough room for everyone.
“Come to bed,” Dean said as they headed back to the main camp. “You haven’t slept in nearly twenty-four hours. You’re dead on your feet.”
“Maybe I’ll make you carry me again,” she joked.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Maybe I want to.”
As soon as they were back into Cyrene’s tent, she did just that.
She was donning her Hohl armor the next morning, bright and early, a satisfied smirk on her face.
Dean reached for her. “Do we have to get out of bed so early?”
“It’s been days since the army saw me. I need to be out there.”
“Cyrene!” a shout went up.
She finished buckling her breast plate and dashed out of the tent. Quidera was running toward her. Vera was right behind her.
“What’s happened?” she asked, immediately getting down to business.
“There have been reports from scouts,” Quidera began. “Gwynora wasn’t sure what to make of them.”
“What reports?”
“It looks like there are water seekers coming in from the Tygh,” Quidera said as a matter of fact.
Cyrene released the tension in her shoulders. “Water seekers from the desert?”
Quidera nodded. “But…I know Dalwin would not permit it. I don’t know if they are working for her.”
Cyrene put her hand on Quidera’s shoulder. “They do not. Are they nearby?”
“Yes, nearly to the river.”
“Let’s greet them before I have to go into battle,” Cyrene said.
“I…I don’t know how they will react to the river. They have never even seen that much water before.”
“We will help them.” Cyrene turned to Vera before she could follow Quidera. “Do you need me as well?”
Vera nodded grimly. “Byern has called for a cease-fire. For the next two days. No fighting. We are all permitted to bury our dead and rest.”
“Why would they do that?” Quidera gasped.
Cyrene closed her eyes in frustration. “Because they don’t think it matters.”
Vera nodded. “I think we should use our time wisely. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Cyrene agreed. “I trust you.”
Vera took Cyrene’s hand and squeezed. “It warms me to hear you say it.”
Cyrene watched Vera step away, off to let the rest of the army know that they had two days more to train. Then she turned and followed Quidera toward the desert. She could see nothing when she peered out toward it. Just the sun beginning to heat the sand and rocks. But, if she stretched her magic, she could sense what her eyes could not tell her.
Magic.
Hundreds of people with magic.
And, as they waited, Hulen appeared. Then, Jenstad, Alchia, Cambria, and his friends. Then, the entire Tygh contingent of her army. The ones who remained after all the fighting.
They all watched with Cyrene as a
group of people walked out of the desert for the first time. And at the head was not Jenstad’s father, Councilman Dalwin, as she had predicted. But a water seeker in his own right.
Kirby strode forward as if he were guiding his flock to the promised land.
And, between them, being dragged behind them, carted there by camels and trolleys…was the entire expanse of the Hohl arsenal.
“But…I thought they wouldn’t bring it, except for the god,” Cyrene whispered.
Quidera looked at her, but it was Jenstad who spoke, “You are the god, Domina.”
Cyrene shook her head. She was no god. Yet she had wielded power like a god. And, in doing so, she had fulfilled their prophecy to come out of the desert once more. Now, they were here with enough weapons to outfit her entire army. Blades that were as strong as steel, light as a feather, and immune to magic.
Kirby stepped up to her. In his palm was a pool of water.
Then he dropped to one knee. And like a ripple, the rest of the Tyghan people all fell to their knees before her.
“I present this water as a sacrifice to you, great Domina. May you forgive our transgressions to not follow you out of Tygh when first you spoke your gospel. Allow us to right that wrong with the gift of our arsenal that we have made all these years in your honor,” Kirby said.
Cyrene swallowed and looked to Quidera. But it was up to her to decide how to respond.
What made Malysa a god? Or Benetta? Or any of the people in Domara?
It was just that they had infinite power and believed it to be so. Cyrene knew who and what she was. But these people needed her to be what they believed. And she could give them that.
“I accept your offering and sacrifice,” Cyrene said. “Please, join the Doma. Find water in my home.”
Quidera nodded approvingly. Even Jenstad looked relieved.
Kirby handed her the gift of water. She dipped her head to it and took a drink.
The Tygh returned to their feet and cheered at her acceptance.
“I will guide them from here,” Quidera said. “Thank you.”
Cyrene nodded, knowing full well in that moment how Malysa had succumbed to this need for power. Because staring it in the face like that was equal parts disconcerting and addicting. If she had never been humbled by her magic the last two years, she didn’t know where she would have been after that interaction.
The Hohl armory was distributed throughout the armies, and still, there was more to go around. More than enough. Their prophecy had clearly expected her to have more soldiers.
Even though people had started pouring in through the portal from all over Emporia, it still wasn’t as much as in the arsenal. Each person was outfitted as best they could. Moved into other positions if they weren’t fighters.
And Cyrene oversaw as much as possible. Wanted to welcome every single Doma who had stepped foot into her army. Who was risking themself.
Manasa from the bar in Tiek. And Nandina and her fiancé, Roby, from Byern. Even though he had no magic, he was willing to defect for Cyrene and for Nandina. Freya, who was an old seamstress from Carhara. Rita had immediately put her to work in the infirmary.
There only seemed to be one person who was hiding their magic. A person who sat through the war council as if Cyrene hadn’t watched her heal Darmian’s leg. Cyrene waited until everything was settled for the next day, missions were distributed, and plans were made before she stepped up to Brigette.
“Can I speak with you in private?”
Brigette frowned. “Right now?”
“Yes.”
Dean stepped up to them. “Is everything all right?”
Cyrene nodded. “Just wanted to talk to your sister a minute, alone. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Dean scanned her face before tipping his head at his sister and walking out.
“My tent?”
Brigette sighed. “Fine. But we should make this quick.”
Brigette followed Cyrene to her tent nearby. She looked around at Cyrene’s sparse accommodations with surprise before letting the emotion disappear off of her face.
“If this is about you killing my parents, I really just want to move on,” Brigette blurted out. “I’m tired of hating you about it.”
Cyrene shook her head. “I appreciate that. Since I didn’t do it. But no, that’s not why I asked to speak with you.”
“Oh.”
“I know that you have magic now, Brigette.”
Brigette frowned. “I do not.”
Cyrene raised an eyebrow. “You think that I didn’t touch every person whose magic I awakened?” She stepped forward. “You think I didn’t know their names and faces and feel their hearts before I brought it forth from their blood? You think that there is a Doma alive now who isn’t mine? Doma are my responsibility. They are my people. Past, present, and future. You are Doma, Brigette.”
Brigette stumbled backward a step. “What do you want me to say? I’m not going to throw myself into danger on the front lines just because you gave me powers. I already have power. And Eleysia will need a queen after this war.”
“I don’t want that from you,” Cyrene said. “You misunderstand me. I want…I want you to stay safe.” Cyrene’s throat bobbed. “Stay safe for him. You’re all that he has left. He once had a giant family. You both did. And because of Byern…because of me in some way…it’s just the two of you now. He’s been through so much. He won’t tell me everything that happened to him. But I know that it was horrible. And he can’t lose you, too. So, do what you can to not be on that battlefield tomorrow. Delegate your duties. Find a way to help in the healing tents. Do what you must. But…survive.”
Brigette tilted her head. “You know, you’re not what I expected.”
“I get that a lot,” Cyrene said with a laugh.
“What did happen to him? He used to be so different.”
“That’s not my story to tell,” Cyrene told her. “One day, he might be ready to tell me all the details. But I don’t need to know them to know that I love him and plan to marry him. And I’d like you to be there for it. For him.”
Brigette nodded. Something came over her. Something Cyrene hadn’t seen before this moment. “I think…I’d like that, Cyrene. I think I’d like that very much.”
Cyrene dipped her chin once. “Thank you.”
Brigette stepped toward the exit, but Cyrene stalled her one more time.
“Are you and Darmian…”
Brigette flushed. “Don’t tell anyone. Dean would kill me.”
“I think he’d be happy for you.”
“Maybe. But…he’s not exactly…fit to be with a queen.”
“You’ve gone your entire life being told who and what is acceptable. You were ready to marry for an advantage. Perhaps, after this, you can make your own choices about who is fit to be with you.”
“Perhaps I will.” Then she ducked out of the tent and was gone.
Cyrene sank down onto her cot, which felt incredibly empty without Dean occupying it with her. But it was the first downtime she’d had in days. The first time she’d been alone.
Tomorrow, she would go up against Malysa.
She would end this war. One way or another. It’d all come down to this.
56
The Solstice
Cyrene barely slept.
She knew that she should be saving up her reserves. But there was nothing she could do about it. Today was the summer solstice. Malysa waited for no one.
She kissed Dean before changing into her fighting leathers and walking the camp. It had doubled in size since the awakening. Still smaller than what they estimated Kael’s forces to be. And that was without the beasts that Cyrene had yet to see enter the field of battle. Malysa seemed to be holding it all in until the last moment. She wanted to be there when she wiped them all out.
Cyrene trekked toward the portal and saw some last-minute stragglers stepping in. They still had a guard on duty, directing people after they arrived.
Cyrene didn’t disturb Rhea as she stepped up to pay her respects to Fenix.
Rhea stiffened at her approach regardless. “What are you doing?”
“The same thing that you are doing.”
Rhea rose to her feet. Then she faced Cyrene. “You will kill Malysa for this.”
It was not a question.
Cyrene nodded. “I will.”
“I won’t ask for a promise.”
“I shouldn’t have given you the first.”
Rhea winced at the memory. “I should not have asked for it.” She turned back to face Fenix’s grave. “But I can’t believe he’s really gone.”
“Me either,” Cyrene whispered.
“I love you,” Rhea said, taking a step closer and entwining their fingers.
“I love you, too.”
Rhea rested her head on Cyrene’s shoulder. They didn’t say anything else. They didn’t have to. They had known each other their entire lives. The silence was full. It was enough.
Cyrene finally parted from Rhea as the sun began to crest the horizon. She left her to mourn and grieve. She didn’t know when or if Rhea would recover from what had happened. But Cyrene knew that she wanted to build a world that she could do that in. For everyone. Including herself.
She had just returned to her tent when Dean appeared in a hurry.
He came to an abrupt stop. “Where were you?”
“Rhea.”
He nodded, needing no further explanation. “A scout just appeared, looking for you.”
“For what?” she asked.
“Another army has been seen coming from the east.”