by Ali Winters
Nivian looked up and gave her friend the biggest smile she could. “Thanks, but I think I’ll be okay.”
Camira’s umber eyes clouded over for a second before clearing. “Well, in that case, there’s probably something I should be doing.” She stood and waved to Nivian as she jogged away. “I’ll see you around!”
Not wanting to put off her handler right away, Nivian stood on tired legs and hurried her way back through the halls and up the wending stairs toward the uppermost spire.
The stairwell felt a bit darker than before, the building quieter. Her breaths seemed louder to her own ears, her foot falls a little heavier. Though, that was most likely due to nerves.
Before she was ready, Nivian stood before the two large wooden doors to the office. She rolled her shoulders and clenched and unclenched her fingers, trying to shake off the tension humming through her veins.
She lifted her hand to knock, but before her knuckles made contact with the dark mahogany, a deep voice rumbled from within.
“Come in, Nivian.”
CASPIAN
He could feel her power as she neared the office. So familiar, yet it lacked the warmth it once held. Now it was cool and powerful and fierce. She was right outside the door, standing there waiting. She did not advance into the room, nor did she knock.
“Come in, Nivian,” he said.
Caspian cursed inwardly as the doors opened and she stepped through. He probably had sounded too eager. His breath hitched in this throat at the sight of her. Nivian’s appearance startled him, though he showed no outward sign. Would he ever get used to her snowy hair or piercing blue eyes?
Nivian crossed the space between them, stopping in the center of the room. “You summoned me,” she said, then a beat later, “my lord?”
So formal. No hint of the care or humor he was used to. Caspian pushed down his disappointment. He could have sworn she had recognized him back in the courtyard. The way she’d looked at him for a split second…
Caspian rounded the desk and met her where she stood.
“There is no reason to be so formal with me,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Nivian kept her chin up, but her eyes remained downcast. A light shade of pink bloomed across her face. Her familiar power rolled off her and caressed his own. Was she even aware?
He raised his hand, about to brush his fingers across her cheek and barely managing to stop himself. Silas’s warning rang through his memory. This would be harder than he imagined. The desire to be closer to her had not changed or lessened, even with the breaking of the connection they’d shared. He could still remember everything he felt since the moment he had seen her in the marketplace.
He couldn’t think of her as his anymore.
It would be for the best to act as though she were someone else… and she might as well be. She had no memories of him. Some small part of him had to believe that the Nivian he knew was dead. This Nivian was another Guardian, someone who shared only her name. Gaia help him and his split heart.
“I have an assignment for you.” Caspian turned and headed back behind the desk, needing to put distance between them, to allow himself air, to not be so close to that soft jasmine scent, which seemed to be part of her. It was stronger now than it had been before. Now, it was almost sweet, as if there was a hint of vanilla added to it.
Nivian brought her ice blue eyes up to meet his gaze. Whatever shyness had been in them moments before was gone, replaced with determination.
“Normally, we have each Guardian start as a Timeless, but Silas asked me to try you out as a Silencer,” he said. Though he tried to keep his tone casual, he could hear her breathing catch for a long moment. “With your powers as they are, we believe you will have no issue with this mark—if, you choose to accept this assignment. If not, there will be no blame, we will simply assign you an easier—“
“No,” she interrupted, worry shadowed her eyes, then, in a blink, they were gleaming with excitement. “I’ll take it.”
Caspian fought the urge to smile at her willingness. He’d wanted to test her, wanted to see if she’d lost everything about who she was, or if some small part remained still.
Yes… there was that much of her left. Her will, her determination, and stubbornness.
Caspian opened the Tome of Fate and waited for a name to appear. Then he scribbled it down on a spare piece of parchment. “Here, I will show you what to do with your mark.”
He balled the paper in his fist and pushed his powers into it. Dark smoky swirls seeped from between his fingers, and when he opened them again, a pocket watch sat in his hand.
Nivian stared at it, her jaw slackened. She took the mark and shoved it into her pocket.
“Return to me when your assignment is complete.”
“Yes, my lord,” she said, bowing as she backed up a few steps, and turned around.
“Oh, and Nivian?” He couldn’t stop the words from tumbling from his lips. He wanted her… Gaia he needed her. Keeping himself in check might very well destroy him by the end of everything. He searched for something to say… anything. “If you need help, please don’t hesitate to come to me. A solo reaping is far from standard for your first assignment, so it will be understandable.”
One corner of her mouth tilted up as she glanced over her shoulder. “I think I’ll be okay.” But she didn’t move, she stayed still. Watching him. Her head listed to the side. “Was there something else?”
Caspian ignored the beat of his heart as it sped up. There was still something of her left inside. No matter how hidden. That at least gave him some comfort. She had not been destroyed from the inside.
“I would like it if we could be friends,” he said.
Nivian blinked. Her surprise at the request apparent in her expression, though it quickly faded to a warm smile. “I would like that.”
And then she was gone, leaving him at his desk and feeling like a Guardian created only minutes ago. He collapsed in his chair and rested his head in his hands, propped up by his elbows on his desk. This was not keeping his distance…
Silas would have his head.
YEVA
YEVA STUMBLED AS the world tilted out from under her. It felt like—she pressed a hand against her chest but it came away clean when she looked at it. It had felt like a knife had been plunged into her heart. The dwellings nearby blurred out of focus. The sky alight with the afternoon sun that now seemed blinding.
“Yeva, are you all right?” Kain’s voice asked quietly in her ear. His strong hands gripped her shoulders, keeping her upright as she found her legs again. “What’s wrong?”
Where had he come from? She hadn’t seen anyone a moment ago… they were all out in the human village or on assignments, and those slated for night patrol were in their homes resting. It was a rare day where their village was quiet, nearly abandoned.
Yeva pressed a clammy hand against her forehead, where a layer of sweat beaded. Kain was supposed to be… she couldn’t remember, her mind fogged up her thoughts. It didn’t matter. She was grateful for his steadying hands. She could barely breathe, let alone answer.
What had that been? A surge unlike any other. She took a moment to assess herself and flexed her powers. Yeva felt for each and every Watcher to make sure there had not been some massive attack upon them.
She had known it could be a possibility, but it would take more guts than Silas had to do it…
“No,” she whispered as she finally located the source of her pain.
It had not been an attack, no Watcher had been slain. She could not identify what had changed, but something had. And it was by Silas’s hand. No doubt it had to do with the one he’d taken from her.
“You’re not okay? Tell me what I can do to help you,” Kain pleaded.
Yeva took a step to the side, and he let his hands drop. She met his gaze, making sure he knew she was as strong as ever with steel in her eyes. “I am fine.”
Kain did not question her, but instead, contin
ued to watch with those expectant and patient forest green eyes. He was the perfect soldier. If only she’d been capable of creating all Watchers with his strength and power and loyalty. Though she supposed she was content that Silas could not replicate his Second either.
“Gather the others and meet me in the temple,” Yeva ordered.
“The temple?” he asked slowly. “What happened?”
“All will be explained in due time.” Then Yeva turned from him and walked away.
Silas had ended Nivian. Yes, she was a traitor, she had betrayed them all, but Nivian still belonged to her. Yeva hurried through the rest of the small village, past the outskirts, and headed toward the meadow.
Silas not only turned one of her own against her and compromised the girl’s family, but he took away her chance at seeing justice done. It was not his call to destroy her.
Yeva swatted at stocks of long grass, gripping the tall flowers and crumbling them in her fists. They slipped through her fingers, creating a trail of bruised petals in her wake as she headed for the altar at the top of the hill.
Yeva arrived breathless, her teeth grinding until her jaw ached. She looked down at the smooth stone surface and slapped her hands down atop the dais.
Silas had ruined everything. It was because of him that one of her own Watchers had betrayed her. It was because of him that her sacred chalice had been stolen. It was because of him that she was stuck trying to right the balance on her own again and again.
How much longer would she have to endure this power struggle? Things had been fine, then for some reason still unknown to her, he had to change everything.
Yeva dug her nails into the stone, her rage blinding her to the sting as they bent back. It wasn’t fair. He had betrayed her over and over again… and had broken her heart in the process, as if he had never even cared for her. Her gut twisted at the thought.
Yeva shook her head, chasing away the thoughts of her broken heart, how she wanted to cry, how she wanted nothing more than for him to come to her and apologize and to right things between them again.
She wanted to forgive him and have him hold her. And she loathed that weakness inside her.
“Enough,” she whispered. “Enough of this. The balance must be maintained.” It was a mantra she repeated over and over in her mind. There was only one way for the power to be made even between them again, and as soon as her Watchers arrived, she would set her plan in motion.
Stepping back, she waved her hand over the dais. Stone scraped against itself, the only sound echoing through the meadow. It stretched up from the ground, reaching for the sky and widened, just enough to allow three people to walk abreast through the arc it formed.
Yeva peered over her shoulder at the faint murmur of voices.
Good. Kain had worked fast in gathering them. Without waiting, she stepped through the arch and hurried down the stairs. It had been so long since they gathered in the underwater realm. There hadn’t been need for the safety it provided in decades, or perhaps even longer.
The ground sloped smoothly, wending from side to side as she made her way down. Rocky cave walls formed a tunnel through the earth. It would have been pitch black were it not for the glowing green and white crystals, which sprouted from the rock at random intervals, giving off a soft light.
Ahead, a soft cerulean glow appeared. The end of the tunnel. Soft murmurs echoed behind her as her Watchers continued to follow.
She passed through the mouth of the cave and took in a deep lungful of air. Light shimmered through the ocean above, held back by a force field of her powers. Lines of sunbeams danced across the ground and over the buildings. Through the thin layer of water above, she could see the clouds rush across the sky.
It was good to be home in her domain again.
Before her, a city of stone and marble stretched out in an array of arches and columns. A shadow passed overhead, drawing her eye to the large school of fish flitting past.
Yeva walked forward, stopping when she reached the center of the main square. The city curved in a crescent along the outer edges, leaving the middle open. When she and her Watchers had lived there, it was where they would hold weekly markets and meetings.
Covered with time and disuse, the stone looked dull and brown, but, up close, the gold veins still glittered against the white marble, even through the thick layer of dust.
She folded her hands in front her and waited. Within minutes, Watchers filtered through the cave opening, their murmurs filling the air. They sat among the rounded steps that edged the square and, as they took their places, their murmurs quieted.
Yeva didn’t move or speak until the last one settled.
It was then that one stood to address her, worry etched on his handsome face.
“What has happened?” Holter asked.
She took a step forward and spread her hands out to her sides. “My dear Watchers, you may have felt the recent shifts in the balance…”
They all spoke at once, talking to each other, throwing questions to her. But Yeva waited patiently. Yes, the recent shifts had clearly been noticeable, to even the weakest among them.
Kain got to his feet and walked to her side.
“We have…” He looked over his shoulder at the others before turning back to her. “Though I haven’t seen the Guardians doing anything. I have been watching out for strange activity since the second shift.”
Another Watcher stood, but she couldn’t name which, her eyes remained locked upon Kain. It was only the shadow of movement that caught her eye.
“What is causing it to happen?” a girl asked.
Yeva raised her hands, motioning for them to settle and quiet once more. She went through what she knew, trying to figure out how to explain to them, but the rage burning in her chest turned her blood into an icy river inside her veins and brought stinging tears to her eyes. She dropped her arms and closed her eyes. But still the tears managed to escape.
She let out a shaking breath and opened her eyes. “It is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you that one of our own is missing. Try as I might, I cannot locate her, nor can I feel her power. I fear the worst has happened.”
Kain gripped her hand. She turned toward him but didn’t meet his gaze.
“No… please, tell me it’s not—” He swallowed. A look of thundering pain crossed his face. “Nivian,” he said her name, only loud enough for her to hear.
She nodded. Kain let go of her hand and stumbled back a few steps. “You may have noticed her absence. At first, I thought she had taken it upon herself to travel, but now I worry that Silas has taken her and holds her captive.”
Gasps filled the city, but Yeva continued on before anyone could speak up. While she had not been overly fond of the girl, her Watchers had, and telling them all the truth of her betrayal would distract them from what she needed them to do.
“They will hunt us down, one by one, and destroy us all if we do not take measures to stop them immediately.”
Talking broke out, loud, questioning, demanding. Some stood, others began to pace. She’d lost them.
After several minutes, tired of questions being thrown and no time to answer, she raised her voice. “Please, settle down!” Her words rose above the din, thanks to the acoustics.
“Yeva?” Kain whispered, his hold on her hand tightened.
But she continued on as though she hadn’t heard him. “There is more. It seems that Nivian’s family is…” she cut herself off. The lie she would tell was sour on her tongue, but it was necessary. It was what they needed to be properly motivated. “Missing. I fear they have taken it upon themselves to go look for her. I worry for them, that the Reapers might get to them before they return.”
Yeva looked out among the crowd, taking in the sight of Watchers, the sheer amount of power that was gathered around her. They could do anything. Her heart pounded in her chest, pride overflowing at those who remained loyal, those who the Reapers could not steal away, those who Silas could not touc
h.
“We will not let them destroy us. We will uphold our duty in the face of their power hungry deceit. Their greed for power has driven them mad, but we will destroy them as we find them, until the balance has been restored and the power between us is once more equal.” Yeva stepped forward until she was only a few feet from the bottom step. “They look to torture us, to end us, to hunt us. They have lost their way, but we have not and we will not lose ours.”
“You want us to destroy the Guardians?” Holter asked.
“Guardians? They shame that title,” Yeva spat. “They are nothing more than killers, slaughtering life. They deserve to be known as nothing better than what they are: Reapers. We will not be victims of their madness. It is they who will be the hunted!”
Calls of assent filled the area in a deafening roar.
“From here on out, we will no longer sit back and watch as they ruin everything. We will hunt them and be known as such. We will end their plague on life and humanity!” Her voice came out raw and burning, but it was worth it to see her children stand and cheer, their purpose on this earth renewed.
Yeva’s chest heaved from the spike of adrenaline that coursed its way through her. She felt more alive now than she had in a long time.
Her Hunters swarmed her, grabbing her hands to kiss her fingers, holding each other and vowing revenge for their fallen brethren.
Yes, things were finally going right. But as her eyes snagged on the blonde Hunter with emerald eyes, she knew she had to plan for a contingency. She had to protect a precious few in case Silas found some way to turn the tides against her. She looked at those nearest her and said, “I will need a few volunteers.”
“Anything,” Jack said.
Yeva smiled, then leaned forward and whispered her instructions into his ear. His eyes flicked once toward Taliha then back to her. He nodded once then turned and grabbed Taliha’s hand, motioning for several others to follow.
Finn pushed his way through the crowd until he stood before her. He looked from her to Kain, then he closed the distance between them, shielding the three of them with his body.
