by H M Angues
She saved my sister and Jeriko, along with a few thousand others. I received one comm from Syn on the old datapad sitting in my kitchen. It was a gift from our former Grand Master, who, like my sister, is somewhere in the unfamiliar lands of Namari with a very powerful little emperor.
I’m happy for Syn. She and Jer get to have a baby now, start a life and family. Even though, based on her message, it doesn’t seem like it will be peaceful any time in the near future. Still, it’s better to be there than here.
“I feel left out. My sister is living with her, and almost everyone I know got to help in her training. What, did she not need a Metallurge? Did she just, like, skip the ability entirely? Seems a bit unfair.” I let my eyes fall to the small dagger still dancing between my fingers.
Cordran shakes his head, leaning it back against the wall beside me. “You should’ve seen her fight with those swords Jey’s family made for her. She didn’t need help from a Metallurge because she was already better than all of you.”
I scoff, and it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “That is heavily debatable. She couldn’t take on a Grand Champion if she tried.”
Cordran erupts with laughter, the sound echoing off training center’s tall ceilings. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Lian. But I’ll tell you, that woman could knock you on your ass with both hands tied, and without her abilities. She’s a warrior; don’t let the crown confuse you on that.”
“I really can't imagine that little one with a crown on her head,” I mumble, and Cordran chuckles again. “What? It just doesn't suit her. War, battle, and the nitty gritty seems more up her alley. Not pompous royal balls and fancy gowns.”
“Yeah, because emperors aren't allowed to be any more than pompous, gown-wearing ball-attendees. You realize she fought in the Great War, right? I love you Lian, but gods your dense.”
I reach over to whack the back of his head, but Cordran morphs into the shadows, my hand brushing right through them before he reappears. “Stop calling me that, Cordy,” I sneer, using his mother’s nickname for him. Which he very, very much despises.
“Fine, Gunner. Have you heard from your sister at all? How is she doing? I know Namari is going to shit at the moment, but it can’t be worse than this place.”
I tilt my head up toward the cracked concrete ceiling, lined with flickering fluorescent lights. “She’s doing all right. The emperor’s mate was murdered. Syn is travelling with them and stuff, and she says it’s nice there, despite everything. She also has a big ass belly now.”
“That’s good to hear. Maybe I’ll take off the next time the Underground comes around and find myself a cute little Namari girl. I’d like to live on the coast. What about you?” Cordran nudges me in the ribs. “Are you going to just stay here for the rest of your life?”
I shake my head. “My brothers are buried here. I don’t want to leave them, but my sister is in Namari and I want to be with her, especially once the baby comes.”
“Well, the emperor is also in Namari.” Cordran winks at me. “I think I can guess the real reason why you ask about her so often.”
“It's not like that. I admire her,” I murmur.
He nudges me again. “You good, Gun?”
I don’t respond for a breath, then I shake my head. “I feel like I could be doing so much more. I mean, my sister is with the emperor—they’re literally out saving the fucking world, and what am I doing? Sitting on my ass playing with knives.
“People are dying, Cordran. I want to do more. I need to.” With a flick of my wrist, the dagger I had been toying with flies into the target across the training center.
Cordran is silent for a while. “What are you going to do, then?”
“The first step is finding my sister. From there, I’ll just do whatever I can.”
“That’s pretty noble. Bullet and Truan and Eiza would be proud of you, you know. All big and tall and, what—like twenty-three years old, right? They wouldn’t be able to push you around and call you the baby anymore.”
Thinking of my brothers, though it brings a lot of pain, makes me smile. “Oh, they would still push me around all right. I’ll always be their baby brother, no matter what I do.”
Cordran reaches across the space between us, squeezing my shoulder. “I only worked with Calla a few times, so I didn’t know her well. But I do know she’s lucky to have you on her side and so willing to fight for her cause.”
I shrug. “What can I say? Saving the world seems like a pretty good cause to me.”
Epilogue
One Month Later
Stonefire Palace - Capital Province, Namari
King Ramsey, as she calls herself, slowly stalks through Stonefire’s palatial halls, bombarded by the overwhelming feeling that something sinister awaits her. Something even the immortal Sanguinus should tremble at the mere thought of.
Everything she has done has led her to this moment. From the Uprising—a pathetically weak and short-lived thing—to Calla’s death and resurgence. Ramsey has seen it all through the eyes of the Primori Psychic. All to get her to this very place, walking these halls. Even though she has seen this moment, that dread and unsettling feeling of unease do not vanish. The future is sealed, however. Nothing, not even Ramsey's own death, could change the end game.
Knowing that the outcome of all her efforts is now certain puts Ramset at ease. After years of being the goddess' slave, she has finally achieved the purpose of her servitude.
Eventually, she reaches the passage that will take her to the throne room. Not hers. No, Ramsey never desired the very thing that rotted her father's mind and turned him sour. What she desires is far larger than herself. Far larger than Amorré and Eterra, even.
When she waves a hand, two of her guards run forward to open the magnificent doors. The only barriers between herself and what she has longed for since childhood.
The seat of the Namari Empire. Not for herself. For the young woman called Phoenix. The one Ramsey has waited eons for.
As she takes a smooth and effortlessly graceful step inside, however, she’s met by a shocking sight. A small woman, about the size of the former emperor, hovers before the Eternal Flame in what appears to be prayer. When the floating girl looks up at her unwelcome guest who just invaded the sacred room, she smiles fearlessly. There is a challenge in her gaze, one that Ramsey knows all too well.
“What are you doing in here?” she demands, standing proudly in the magnificent doorway.
“Waiting for you.”
Her eyes and smile morph into something that makes even Ramsey’s immortal blood run cold.
For the girl standing before her began to shed her outward appearance for something more sinister. Something Ramsey recognizes all too well and knows to fear above all other things.
Pale, tall and lean, with pin-straight hair as black as death itself tumbling down her back. A charcoal colored cloak is all that she wears to cover that grayish skin. Amorré.
“You’ve done well, but I can take it from here.”
“But you got what you want!” Ramsey shouts. “I gave you Augustus’ daughter!” This was not part of the plan. This was not in the Psychic's eyes those centuries ago. Ramsey can feel all her certainty and assuredness slipping through her fingers.
Ramsey's throat closes in on itself, gradually tightening as the Harbinger of Death glides toward her with a kind of grace that’s impossible for any Eterran or Primori to replicate. Her slender, bony fingers claw at Ramsey’s ebony skin, threatening to leech the life out of her.
“Your job is done now. I won’t be needing you any longer.”
“We… had… a deal,” Ramsey chokes out, barely able to gather enough air to form the words.
“Yes, we did. But that deal is over now. You lied to me, Ramsey.”
Ramsey’s eyes float with confusion. “I thought… I… Why, Morr?”
“Because,” her floating form sinks to the ground, “I am the most powerful being in the galaxy. I can do what I want.” She close
s her hands around Ramsey’s dark throat, her Mordan skin breaking underneath the pressure of her attacker’s nails.
“You’re wrong," Ramsey forces out.
“Wrong?" Amorré's laugh fills the throne room with a bone-chilling menace.
“You know… that you are… You know what she is, Morr. I know… you saw it.”
Morr’s fingers tighten, but Ramsey still adds, “She’s the Phoenix… She will destroy you.”
Before Morr can succeed, the Sanguinus disappears from her grasp, the extraterrestrial woman's fingers slicing through thin air at the sudden absence. So be it. Morr will find her.
When Amorré finally lifts her gaze to the guards, their faces are petrified with looks of utter horror. Not just at the sight of the pagan death goddess, but at what they witness behind her.
A second dark and mysterious figure with that same inky black hair appears at Morr’s side. He shoos the guards out of the throne room with a single gesture, and, out of pure fear, they obey him and sprint away. Alone now, he rests a pale hand on her shoulder and whispers, “Well done, Daughter.”
Normally, Morr would be proud to receive praise from her father, the Kronisian who bears the title of God of Misery, and blood brother to Thym. However, she finds herself annoyed, and even a tad displeased by her father.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth about the girl?” she asks in an eerily calm tone.
“Because, dearest Amorré, you’re terrible at keeping secrets. You also needed to find out for yourself that the blood-eyed Renald was deceiving you.”
“What are we supposed to do with her? She could destroy us, and you had me set her free.” Her collected demeanor almost falters, but Morr corrects herself before Kri can notice.
“She will not destroy us. She will succumb to the pain we cause her or watch everything she loves burn at the hands of the Kronisians. Patience, Amorré, and all will fall into place soon enough.”
Her father points to a spot behind Morr's shoulder. She spins around to face the pedestal at her back, and she is delighted by the sight.
The Eternal Flame no longer burns.
The end is coming, and the Phoenix will burn to ash.
Pronunciation Guide
Calla ‡ Cahl-luh
Kainan ‡ Kay-nen
Rysen ‡ Rice-en
Drakonis ‡ Druh-kone-niss
Mira ‡ Meer-ruh
Renald ‡ Ray-nawld
Haercayn ‡ Hair-sen
Laroiviel ‡ Luh-roy-vee-ell
Fayette ‡ Fae-yet
Gaitha ‡ Guy-thuh
Primori ‡ Prim-mor-ree
Helkyn ‡ Hell-kin
Cesairan ‡ Seh-zir-in
Tiladen ‡ Till-luh-den
Sanguinus ‡ San-gwin-us
Rorani ‡ Roar-rahn-knee
Daiena ‡ Dye-yee-nuh
Darinthe ‡ Dare-rin-thee
Wraike ‡ Rake-uh
Jurynn ‡ Jur-in
Bellamy ‡ Bell-luh-me
Jynna ‡ Jin-nuh
Gruyere ‡ Grew-yey
