“Violissa,” she spoke in a smooth seductive voice, “your path was chosen for you, yet you turned your back on it. Turned your back on us. We cannot force your steps, only offer guidance to direct your path.”
She had glided so that she now stood in front of Violissa. She smoothed her hand along Violissa’s cheek.
“Oh, my child, blood of my kin. You have so much of your makers in you. Too much apparently, you are too independent, too stubborn for your own good.”
“What do you mean, blood of my kin?” Violissa interrupted as the Fate moved away.
She paid Violissa no mind but waved a hand over the dried spot where the water had been. The water returned and in it she saw an image of Sinow. He was pacing a room running his hand through his hair in that distinctive way he had about him. She looked up questionably at the Fate who was watching her.
“The two of you were created to be as perfect as possible. Genes were manipulated, in the womb and out. Everything about you both was meant for your union. Your attraction for each other could not be avoided, you were literally made for each other, physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually you are each other’s equal. No one else can satisfy him but you and you he. You are two halves of the same soul.”
She ran a hand through Violissa’s hair as a tear ran down her cheek. “But alas, you were too frightened of your own destiny. What have you done, my pet? There is no avoiding the complications you have added to your future.”
“But the prophecy didn’t say there was a timeline. We can still go forward with the union.” She heard the doubt in her own voice.
“You know that’s not true. You realized that today. There is no turning back now, Violissa. You were meant to be wed before the ascension. Your Council knew that, they understood the consequences, but they would not go against your wish. Their loyalty runs too deep.”
“I don’t understand, why was it so imperative that we unite before the ascension?”
“Think, Violissa, what happens during the ascension? You fully come into your powers. Both you and Sinow were meant to be the most powerful immortals ever. A lot of our manipulation has gone into seeing this is so. You were meant to rule together. The binding ceremony incorporates a sharing of your blood and hence your Light and Dark powers. Thus, the true union of the realms. The Light power would have been running through Sinow at ascension, causing a more benign Dark ascension. His Dark powers would have been offset with the Light, a true balance. Now, there is no balance, he is an unstable threat to your realm, your people, the land, and to you. Before his desire for you overcame every other desire, you were what he needed and wanted. He’s craved you his entire life. Now that desire has been muted. It’s still there but dimmed by the intense need he has for power. He hungers for the Darkness, for violence and anger where before he only hungered for you.”
“This can’t be,” Violissa said, sitting down on the lip of the fountain. She looked down at Sinow. He had moved to a chair and was holding his head in his hands. She reached out and touched the water where his image was.
“He struggles. We gave him a good heart, and the Darkness of his powers overwhelms him. He’s strong, he may stabilize them soon, but it won’t be enough to overcome the Dark needs. You were the essential ingredient.”
“All is not lost, however,” the Fate continued, “it will be a long, painful road, but the prophecy still stands. Oh, its path has been changed, but the end remains the same.” She looked down at Violissa who remained seated. “Child of two worlds, you have an arduous road ahead of you. We will be watching.” She reached into the water, disturbing Sinow’s image, and brought her hand back up with the scroll intact. It flowed from her hand, and Violissa watched in horror as the words changed on the fine parchment. The prophecy, her destiny and Sinow’s, was changing before her eyes. She saw words like death, banishment, pain, and bleakness where before there had been rejoice, saving, love. She felt the tears running from her eyes as she realized what she’d done. Then near the bottom of the scroll she saw happiness. She looked up to question the Fate but found she had gone. The scroll was now held in her own hands.
Violissa woke with a start, looking around to evaluate her surroundings. She was back in her room.
“It was all a dream,” she told herself in denial. She lay back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. As much as she told herself it had been a dream, she knew better, knew that although the first part had seemed a dream, the conversation with the Fate had most definitely not been. She touched her cheek and felt the moisture of her tears. There would be no more sleep this night. Her mind was reeling with what had been revealed. With a sinking feeling, she knew she’d brought whatever was coming upon herself and her people.
With a groan, she lifted herself out of the bed. Her hand smoothed the thin gown she was now wearing, the same she’d had on in the dream. Stretching, she grabbed her robe and walked toward her window. It was night still; blackness shrouded the land. She sighed and thought again about the dream. She understood what it meant, knew the decisions she’d made had not been hers to make and that what she’d done could not be undone. She’d been given the freedom to follow the right path but had fought to take the wrong one. Now she was on a path from which she could not divert, the Fate had made that clear. She must now deal with the consequences. She thought about Sinow, her heart ached at the image of him suffering so. She understood that she would not see him for quite some time and the thought left a lump in her throat. She didn’t feel he was a threat to the realm at this point and felt he would honor the treaty, but she wasn’t sure how long that would last. She hadn’t felt any threat when he’d addressed her after the ascension but from what the Fate had told her, he would be. She’d have to watch him closely. He had the power to bring down the boundary. Oh, what had she done? A part of her longed to see him, to flee to his realm and have him hold her, to say what she’d never allowed herself to say before, that she loved and needed him. She hadn’t realized this was true until tonight. It was all the work of the Fates. She now saw how deeply they’d interwoven their two lives. Well, she had played her cards and now she’d have to deal with the consequences. In her heart, she knew she’d overcome whatever they threw at her; she just worried that it wouldn’t be she who suffered but rather her people.
Sinow awoke suddenly. Another dream about Violissa. It had been so long since he’d dreamed of her. Although it had been very similar to the other ones, this time he’d felt removed as if it were his subconscious moving him and enjoying her rather than his own physical form. He wasn’t complaining, though, as he wouldn’t mind having dreams like that every night. He knew it was the closest he would come to being with her for quite some time. There was no doubt he wanted her, but since the ascension that desire was mixed with anger and hate for everything she was. It was as if his new powers amplified not only her rejection of him as a mate but everything for which she stood. She was the opposite of everything Dark, and that Darkness now coursed through every fiber of his being. It seemed there was still a part of him that longed for her as he had previously, but that part was being ambushed by the Darkness. Anytime he thought fondly on her, it was mixed with revulsion. After the ascension, when he’d looked at her and brushed her mind, he’d been torn by the desire to grab her and kiss her and the desire to attack her and watch her scream in pain. The latter were thoughts he wasn’t used to that had been more his grandfather’s thing. He was having a hard time adjusting to the purely evil thoughts and feelings that ran through him now.
He sat up and pulled the sheets back. There would be no sleep tonight, especially after ravishing Violissa in his dream. It stirred his longing for her. His head was racing, the powers within him conflicting with his will. He would go to his study, maybe do some reading to calm his thoughts and clear his mind. Pulling on some pants, he quickly shifted. Once there, he poured himself a drink. Moving toward the book shelves that lined the outer wall, he
sought a book to take his mind from everything, but before he could do so the powers flared within him, causing him to squeeze the glass into tiny fragments. His head pounded as the Dark thoughts ate at him. His father had warned him that this would be the hardest part, especially for him. Every Dark King battled with self-control to maintain their will against the immense Darkness of the powers. Some lost the battle and became the cruelest blood hungry rulers in their history. They’d also been the most insane. Many, however, had been able to find a balance within a few moons.
Sinow paced the floor, the only thing he could manage to do right now. He wouldn’t be able to see Violissa for a while, didn’t trust himself not to react terribly around her. She would deserve it. All Cirillians deserve the violence due them, his inner voice raged. That was the reason he couldn’t be anywhere near her right now. That voice. Unforgiving, uncaring, downright evil. It was his heritage, he knew that; he simply didn’t like it.
He sat down and ran his hand through his hair. It was at that moment he had the distinct feeling he was being watched. He looked up but didn’t see anything or anyone, just the feeling of eyes upon him. And then, he felt a light breeze down his face as if someone were running their hand over his cheek. It was a soft, pleasant feel accompanied by the sweet smell of lilacs. Violissa. He knew she wasn’t physically there, but somewhere, somehow, she saw him and had tried to touch him. He looked up, wondering what had happened to her after his part of the dream had ended. There was no doubt in his mind now that the dream had been shared again. The scent faded and the awareness of being watched disappeared.
“Goodbye, Vi,” he said quietly, hoping the rage would not flare in reaction. He closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of lilacs one last time.
Twenty
Sinow walked across the lawn that led to his castle. He’d just returned from riding and so was caught off guard when Odhran approached him from behind.
“Might I have a word in private with you Sinow?” he asked.
“I don’t like being disturbed this early, Odhran, it’d better be of importance.”
It had been a few moons since the ascension, and he’d finally come to terms with his new powers. He hadn’t quite learned to control them but was managing to keep them in check. Although to most, the reality spoke otherwise, that his powers were bending their king to become the more corrupt and evil ruler they were used to from their experience with his predecessors. In attempting to control the Darkness within him, Sinow had created an internal battle that raged constantly. Lately the depth of that Darkness had been winning and the man they knew before his ascension was hard to find. He had lost any softness to his voice and to his self. The ascension had hardened him as it was meant to do. One could not be ruler of Tenebron without a nasty continence. It was a given. So, when his words came out demanding and impatient, Odhran gave it no mind.
“It is about your brother,” he said cautiously.
“And why would my brother be an urgent matter?” Sinow stopped walking, irritated in the fact that his breakfast would now be delayed.
“After his transgressions regarding the Light Queen, we had hoped there would be repercussions.”
“Transgressions? We hoped? So, you’re speaking for the Council now, Odhran?” Sinow was growing irritated already and started walking onward again.
“I suppose I am, and I’m referring to his contacting her Council about your visit to the queen prior to her ascension.” Odhran was running beside him, trying to keep up with Sinow’s quickening pace. Sinow slowed down and thought for a moment. He’d known the conversation would arise at some point and should have guessed Odhran would be the one chosen to initiate it. He was the biggest and strongest of his Council and so was a good choice to deal with Sinow’s wrath nowadays when sensitive subjects were to be broached. Sinow found humor in the fact that he was often sent to slaughter, so to speak, by his fellow Council.
“Ahhh, that. Yes, I was disappointed in his actions then, but have now come to realize they were for the best. This kind of power does not come from lying with a Lightbearer, Odhran. Her blood would have watered mine down, kept my power contained. I see that now, and I don’t put it past her Council to have known that would happen. That is why they pushed so hard for a union prior to my ascension. They planned to rein in my powers. To think they almost accomplished it, but they underestimated their own queen’s stubbornness. I really should thank her for it.” His eyes were pitch black. “No, what Tynan did was for the best. In fact, he should be commended for his actions.” He turned and began walking away once more.
Odhran sighed and walked alongside him. “That being so, have you thought anymore about the queen and the…”
Sinow grabbed him by the robes, lifting him off the ground. “I will have no more talk of the queen or the damned prophecy. Take that back to the Council.” He threw the man across the yard with full force. Odhran stood again, Sinow sensing the anger in him until he felt Odhran cautiously dampen it, knowing he couldn’t cross Sinow. He shifted and reappeared next to Sinow. Ire and pride shone in his eyes. If it had been anyone else, Sinow knew Odhran would have waged a bloody battle and would have won, but the king would not be defied. They stared at each other for a brief time, then Odhran backed, down saying, “Yes, my lord. I’ll see to it that they understand.” He bowed and shifted.
Sinow growled and continued on toward breakfast, hoping his appetite had not been ruined. As he rounded the corner upon entering the opening hall, Tynan met him.
“Brother,” Tynan spoke in the snide way he had about him, “I hear tell the Council is plotting against me.”
Now fully irritated that he had to stop and talk yet again, Sinow paused his step and turned to Tynan. “Why is it so many people are lying in wait for me this morning? It would make me suspicious if I were that type of king. Fortunately for you, I am not. Now, since I have many more important things to do than stand around and talk about you all day, was there some urgent matter that led to your delaying my breakfast more than it already has been?” He waited for his brother’s response as his anger impatiently grew.
Tynan’s usual smooth demeanor seemed to unravel slightly at the blight. He recovered quickly, however. “Yes, brother, in fact I do. Now that you’ve gotten comfortable with your kingship,” Sinow eyed him with suspicion not sure he wanted to hear the rest. Sometimes his brother’s ideas were extreme to say the least, “it might be a reasonable time to consider expanding the realm…”
Sinow cut him off. “You have seriously lost your mind this time, Tynan. Now step aside and stop your prattling.”
“No, hear me out, Sinow.” He grabbed Sinow’s arm as he had started to walk away but withdrew it as Sinow’s eyes darkened and blackness spread from his fingertips.
“Beg your pardon, Sinow, but listen. Our realm has not been expanded in many generations of kings. Why not define your reign?”
“It was decided that war would not be waged on another race for their territory after the last war. You know that, Tynan. It’s a law that’s been in place since our grandfather was king. I won’t go against law.”
“You are law now, Sinow. What you decide is the law. Maybe it’s time to change that.”
Sinow stopped and looked his brother in the eye. Wondering where he was going with this, he decided to let him continue. “You have my attention, Tynan, go on.”
“The forests to the east of the realm are massive. It is said that no one lives in them and they are never used by their people. It is fertile ground, and our crops have been poor this season. We could make better use of the land and with your powers you could easily take down the border…”
Sinow cut him short as it dawned on him whose land that was. “Clearly you jest, brother. Most of that land belongs to Violissa. It is considered sacred to both our peoples as the last war was fought there. Even the forest that passes into our realm is sacred and protected. Violis
sa’s people especially cherish those forests and hold deep beliefs that the spirits of their old king and their fallen kin are held there. You cannot possibly expect me to do such a thing.” Just saying Violissa’s name brought a burning to his chest. It led him to wonder why he was being so protective of her land. “Such a move would not only violate the treaty but also wage a war which I refuse to begin.”
“You refuse, or you fear the queen’s wrath for damaging her sacred lands? You have the power to transcend the boundary and take that land. I thought you were over that wench, yet here you stand basing decisions on the whims of your heart again. The ascension clearly did not change you as I had thought, brother.”
Sinow erupted, throwing a blast of power at Tynan that sent him flying into the wall behind him. The force shook the wall and left an indention where he’d hit. “How dare you question me or my powers! Brother, you cross the line far too often, and I have been the only one to defend you in the past, don’t force me to stop. It will be a day you will regret. Now, there will be no attack on the queen’s land and no more talk of claiming territories. You will not touch any of our land that lies along Cirillia’s border either. Leave the task of ruling to me, brother, and remember your place.”
With that, he stormed off, not wanting to look at Tynan any further. Having lost his appetite, he bypassed the dining room and continued on to his study. The door shook on its hinges as he threw it open with the flick of his hand. This was the only place he could think without interruption. No one dared disturb him here.
He angrily threw a fireball at the shelves with one hand then froze it in place with the other as he realized he’d cause too much damage if he let it hit. He wasn’t anywhere that his anger could be vented in such a way. He moved over to the large window that overlooked his desk. Winter had come and the bare limbs of the trees creaked like old bones in the frigid air. He brushed his hand through his hair as he thought about how he’d reacted to Tynan’s suggestion. Tynan wasn’t as out of line as Sinow’s reaction would lead one to believe. In fact, it was not a bad idea in terms of growing the kingdom. Sinow was the most powerful of his line. Why not make some advances to a realm that had been static for so long? The striking point had been the thought of taking Violissa’s land. He’d used the excuse of avoiding war, but the reality was he had truly been upset by the thought of destroying the sacred forests of her people. Many of his own thought the forests on his border held the spirits of fallen warriors from the past war and in turn some considered the lands a shrine to the dead while others thought them haunted. Sinow knew the truth of both sides, that the border had been drawn down the same land that had once housed the seat of the Cirillian King. It was a land of legend to Violissa’s people. His reaction to Tynan’s idea had been a softening of his emotions, something he hadn’t experienced since prior to the ascension. He wasn’t sure what this meant. Did he simply have a moment of weakness or was this a glimpse of his former self? Was there a bit of balancing happening within him? Would his powers reconcile themselves with his feelings for Violissa? Those same feelings he’d tucked away for so many moons to avoid enraging the Darkness within him? He ventured a small hope that this might mean he could see her soon. He so missed the sight, the smell, the feel of her. He longed to call her to him and ravish her as he’d done so often in the dream realm. Although he doubted she’d ever agree to such a thing, the thought of it sent his pulse racing. Anger seethed within him; he’d let himself go too far in thought. He quickly set thoughts of her aside again and cleared his head. He looked back to the frozen ball of fire that remained levitated before the books lining his wall. The flames licked at the spines of the books but did not burn them. Walking over to the fire, Sinow watched it, mesmerized by the movement of the flames within the frozen sphere. He hadn’t truly frozen it as the flames were still alive; he had simply stopped its momentum. He reached his hand out and touched the flame, welcoming the pain. He felt so numb now that pain seemed the only reminder that he was alive. He pulled his hand back out and turned the flame to dust, watching as it flittered to the floor. As it did, his mind wandered to Violissa again.
Ascension (Unbound Prophecy Book 1) Page 14
