by Tigris Eden
“She’s someplace not here.”
It took two strides to be in front of Aurora. where he wrapped his hand around her delicate throat. She might be like him in the sense that she couldn’t die, but he’d make her suffer. Lifting her off her feet, he sneered. “Where is she?”
“There’s nothing you can do for her now.”
Enri squeezed her windpipe.
Aurora choked.
“She’s been iced kissed. If you want her back, you’ll have to take me with you.”
Take her with him? Was she nuts?
“Why?”
“I want out.”
“Why?” he gritted out. He was losing patience, and quickly. The clouds above him gathered and rolled as thunder clapped and lightning lit the sky. Aurora looked up and smiled.
“This is who you are, brother—it’s who we are. But unlike you, I don’t get to be in this form very often. Both you and father can take any form. Because I am the Dawn, I mostly exist as light. But like you, I have feelings—I have wants and desires.”
He had wants, but all that other stuff? It was headache-inducing.
“Give me a reason why I shouldn’t end you now?”
“Because I can help you get the Throne and—simply put—you can’t. Like you, I am unending. Omnipresent.”
Enri was growing tired of the lies. He wanted the truth. The whole truth, not bits and pieces here and there. If he had to endure her company to get what he wanted, he would. But he’d make sure she’d suffer along the way. She’d been hell-bent on him not triggering the damn Recommence, but now she wanted to help? Not likely. She’s trying to take you for a fool. Well, that would be her fault for thinking she could. Another piece to his board game. If she wanted to join in, who was he to deny her?
“How?”
“I can tell you how you lost the throne. I can help you get your memories back.”
“I don’t care about past memories.”
Ora held tight to his wrists as she tried to adjust herself.
“You want them back, trust me. Nothing is how it should be, and Father made sure you wouldn’t remember who you truly are. He’s jealous. Angry that it was his own son that sparked the never-ending cycle of life.”
Slowly, Enri lowered Aurora to her feet. “Go on.”
“Father came to you because he likes to gloat. He wants you to try to take the throne from him. He wants you to initiate the Recommence.”
“Why would he want that?”
“If you initiate the Recommence, it will be the beginning of the end, and it will result in your death. Things will start anew as if they never were.”
Well, hell. That threw his plan of taking the Throne if what she said was true.
“Why do you want to help me?”
“Because I despise Father as much as you do. I’m talentless and without a true purpose. You, on the other hand, have sparked life. There are vast, infinite numbers of lives in this existence, and it’s all due to you.”
“So, what you’re saying is, I’m kind of a big deal.”
“You are the deal, big brother. There is no other like you, save for the Primordial, and he slumbers eternally.”
“Take me to her, and then we will talk of your release.”
Could he believe what she was saying? He’d need proof, which meant he still needed to make a trip to the Isle of Skye. The sisters, although they hated him, could not give him false information. He’d dangle a carrot in their wake if he had to.
He was Chaos.
Creator of life.
The one that held the spark.
It sounded a hell of a lot better than the Black Prince, that was for fucking sure.
“I warn you now, brother, where we’re about to go is going to be more than uncomfortable for you.”
“I don’t care how uncomfortable I am.” He didn’t. If what she said was true, he was unending. A little pain to gain the knowledge of his true self was worth it in his book. Especially if he was the creator. That wasn’t something he could pass on.
Chapter 10
Yewa had no idea where she was, but she knew it wasn’t a good place. The jacket she wore did nothing to stave off the ever-chilling room. It grew colder and colder until it hurt to breathe deep. It wasn’t like the other realm she’d been in with the ice and stone. Everything around her was white, as if hoarfrost were settling in. Her hands were covered in ice. Her lashes—even her hair—coated in tiny crystals. She could hear footsteps as someone entered the chamber she occupied. Where had Ora sent her?
“It isn’t every day we get visitors,” a voice said.
“We never get visitors,” another voice whispered.
Yewa turned in the direction of the voices. Standing in front of an opening that wasn’t there before were two women. Their skin, whiter than snow, was almost translucent. They looked to be related, or almost identical in nature. They were covered in some type of fur Yewa had never seen before. The coat, itself, appeared to be silver—or maybe it was from the ice crystals, she couldn’t tell. Each woman had long, white, flowing hair dripping with colorful crystals that made a chiming sound as they approached. Their eyes an arctic blue, but instead of the pupil being round, their pupils were oblong, like reptiles.
“I am Vaine and this is my sister, Draga.”
Vaine was taller, and on her shoulder sat a creature that resembled a snow owl. Its beak was longer, it’s face more pronounced and its eyes were wider, almost taking up most of its head. The wings of the creature were draped over the woman’s shoulder. It sat perched atop Vaine’s shoulder, intelligent eyes assessing. Vaine’s face had intricate patterns that reminded Yewa of fine lace. Draga also dressed in similar fashion to her sister. Scales made of ice covered her skin as if she were not in her true form.
“I am Yewa.”
“We know who you are,” they said in unison.
“Why am I here?”
“You are here because Ora has gifted you to us. It’s been a long time since we’ve received any presents from our sister queen.”
“Your Queen?”
Both women nodded their heads. Yewa had no true means to protect herself from the two females. If they wanted to do harm to her, they could. Vaine stepped forward, hand outstretched. The tips of her fingernails were made of ice. Yewa stepped back. She wasn’t going to touch either woman. A strong sense of harm emanated from both women. Deep down, Yewa knew if she touched them, there would be no hope for her.
“Where am I?” she asked instead.
“Despina.”
“Despina?”
“Yes, Despina is a sister moon, and orbits our father, Neptune.”
“As in the god, Neptune?”
“As in our father, Neptune.”
Yewa wasn’t scholarly, but she wasn’t without a brain either. Neptune was the god of the sea, which meant he would also be Poseidon, but to her people, it was Yemaya, Goddess of the Ocean. The one who comforted Yewa when held captive on the ship traveling for the Americas.
“Yemaya?” Yewa asked. Yemaya was Poseidon, the feminine part.
The two women looked surprised at her words.
“Is she a gift for Father, Vaine?” Draga asked.
“Don’t be foolish, Ora gave her to us.”
“Ora doesn’t have the authority to give you anything, let alone someone who belongs to me.”
Enri?
When had he arrived?
Yewa hadn’t realized how relieved she was at hearing Enri’s voice. The arrogance he never hid was turned all the way up.
“Lord Chaos,” Vaine said smiling wide. “It’s so good of you to return. I knew you would.”
Enri looked at Vaine as if trying to place her. “I don’t know you.”
Draga smiled and Yewa had a very bad feeling. These women were from his past. A past he didn’t remember. It was clear to her, but maybe not to him.
“How could he remember you Vaine, you’re not as memorable as me, isn’t that right, Lord Chaos?”
Enri’s gaze swung in Draga’s direction, who preened in front of him.
“Don’t know you, either.”
“That’s because I’m not in my true form.”
Draga stood in front of Enri as a woman, before she turned into something else—something more. Something Yewa had never seen in all her long years, and she’d seen plenty of creatures. Knew of creatures that existed elsewhere. Even in Fion, there were things she’d seen, but nothing prepared her for the sight of Draga.
The scales on her skin grew and covered her body until the woman was gone completely and replaced by a large beast of some kind. Beneath her scales, a light pulsed a fiery blue. Atop her head, were two large ice horns that pierced the ceiling of the room they were in. It wasn’t a dragon. It was something else. Something not of her own world.
Yewa stepped back. The creature took up so much space, and it didn’t look ready to stop growing. Enri reached out his hand, and Yewa walked the short distance, placing her hand in his.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
“Aurora sent you here, why?”
“She said I took too long to answer her question.”
“Which was?”
Yewa shook her head and looked at what used to be Draga, who was now in some sort of dance, as she turned in a circle repeatedly. She was showing off her new form to earn Enri’s praises.
“I’m not concerned with the show in front of me Yewa; what did my sister say to you?”
Aurora appeared. Yewa hadn’t noticed her before.
“Brother, you should pay attention to your wives. They have been too long without you.”
“Wives?” Enri spat.
He turned to look at Vaine, who bowed, and Draga, who looked down on them after she was done spinning as if waiting for Enri to give his praises.
“I don’t have wives.”
Vaine was the first to refute his response. “Lord Chaos, we are your mates. You created us to follow your every command.” The owl at Vane’s shoulder shook out its feathers, turned its head in Yewa’s direction and said, “But this one here will be a problem.”
The owl spoke. Actually, formed words. It shouldn’t have shocked Yewa, but it did. Enri’s hand tightened on hers and he took a step back, glaring at his sister.
“Get us out of here,” he hissed.
“Sorry, but that wasn’t part of the deal. I said I’d bring you here. I said it would be painful, and I said I would help you get your memories back. But I also promised them things, as well. I never go back on my promises,” Aurora informed him, before walking away. A door opened and she stepped through, sealing it shut behind her before they could get through.
When she turned to face them, there was a wicked gleam in her eye.
“You can’t leave this place unless you speak true to Despina, and since your memory is all but lost, you will be here for quite some time, brother. Enjoy making up with your wives, and Draga hasn’t eaten flesh in almost three hundred millennia. That’s quite a long time to go without a meal wouldn’t you say?”
This would be one of the times that Yewa knew Enri and even her brother Omari would say, they were fucked.
Enri cursed out loud. Yewa, as ever, looked calm.
“Are you not scared?” he questioned. He had no right to ask her. Of course, she was scared. She was the only one that wouldn’t survive whatever the hell was about to happen to them. He’d go on, like always. End up in his place of quiet, recuperate, and then return. He’d return all right. With a vengeance. Then he’d undo the two bitches who stood before him. The situation irked him on all levels because he wasn’t familiar with the situation. Enri picked his battles, and each one was carefully orchestrated so that he’d come out the victor.
“I have no reason to be afraid, Enri. I admit, the situation does not look good.”
There wasn’t really time to contradict her illogical thoughts. Draga reared up on hind legs, she resembled a dragon, but one made of ice and crystal. You created her, then you married her? Go figure that one. In her human form, she was something to be desired, but the creature that stood before him, although majestic, was not something he would have been into. At least not sexually, anyway. The other female, the one holding the animal that resembled a snow owl, looked on in amusement.
“Your name?” He asked her, as Draga took a step back, her eyes tracking his every moment.
“Why, my Lord Chaos, how easily you have forgotten me.”
“It is because you’re very forgettable my dear. No offense.” He tapped the side of his skull with his index finger. “Memory loss, apparently.”
“You promised to never forget us. We were your most prized possessions,” the female said, softly. It could have been her indoor voice, and he had a feeling he knew why. The cavern they were in was one large glacial tome. Above and below them was the crackling of water and ice as it made its rotation around the cavern.
“My apologies, um——,”
“Vaine, it’s Vaine. You named me so because you said I possessed all the qualities of one who prided themselves on their appearance.”
That sounded like him.
But in retrospect, he’d probably given her that name as a cruel joke, or some sort of reminder for himself. Yewa’s cold hand tightened on his, and when turned to look back at her, he noticed that her face was getting colder the longer they stayed. What the fuck does Despina have to do with any of this? When he got out of this mess, he was going to choke his so-called sister, until she pleaded for death.
Draga stepped forward, and when she did, her glass claw pierced the ice floor. Her large head dipped low. She was now eye level with Enri. He didn’t want to think about what it would feel like to be ripped into pieces by her claws. He may not be able to die, but he was no stranger to pain. Yewa, on the other hand, was already suffering. Draga’s nail dug farther into the ice, releasing some sort of gas. Vaine clapped her hands and the owl flew above the vapor circling over and over again as if looking for a place to perch.
“Lord Chaos, you remember our children, don’t you?”
“Children?” He’d father offspring with these women?
“Yes, my lord, our Ice Horde.”
When the gas cloud settled, there were hundreds of ice-like warriors with glowing green eyes and glass horns atop their heads. They were quite beautiful but in a desperate kind of way. Like there wasn’t enough time for them to fully gain their true forms, so what stood in front of him were images of what could have been his likeness, in the beginning, he guessed. They were strong in form, each of them with wings in varying states of deformity. They were hideous and mesmerizing at the same time.
“Bring me the female,” Vaine said to Draga.
Enri clamped an arm around Yewa’s waist. She said nothing. Why wasn’t she speaking, screaming, something?
“The female stays with me.”
“She has been marked by our Queen. She’s been iced-kissed. She will remain here,” Vaine said in a singsong voice. “Unless you know of Despina’s words and will.”
He didn’t know jack shit but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying to get them both out unscathed. In any other circumstance, he would have been all about what he needed. What he wanted. Yewa would have been a foreseeable causality that he could have parted with. Everyone and everything was just that to him. Collateral damage. Something to be used and disposed of when they no longer served his purpose.
The Ice Horde along with Draga moved forward. Advancing on Enri and Yewa. They were surrounded. The Horde at their front and an ice wall at their back. He wasn’t afraid for himself but found his heart beat rapidly in overtime at that thought of harm coming to the fragile woman clinging to his arm.
“I order you to stop.” Enri’s voice echoed loudly into the open cavern.
“We do not follow orders from you Lord Chaos, only Ora can decree this end.” A vicious smile cracked, yes, cracked across Vaine’s face. The skin, not
really skin, but ice and glass. “She will not go back on her word. We were promised our time, our retribution. We seek solace for the wrong that was done to us.”
“Won’t you just take an apology instead?”
Vaine cackled.
This cracked her face even more, unearthing her true visage.
“You always made me laugh, Lord Chaos, it was one of the reasons I allowed you to take my sister as your second mate. Tell me, how many other women have been fooled by your beguiling nature?”
Every single last one of them. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.
“I have not taken any other mates that I’m aware of.”
At this, Vaine’s eyes widen in surprise. Even Draga seemed to be a bit shocked by his admission. At least, he hoped he wasn’t lying. Not that lying to them mattered much, but Enri made it a point to never kiss and tell. He could fuck and tell with the best of them. But kissing? Well, that wasn’t his thing.
Vaine’s face on one side was fully exposed, and instead of skin she had white feathers. I obviously had a thing for girls with wings. The Horde wasn’t moving farther, and Enri used it to his advantage. He smiled at Vaine, hoping his change in demeanor would coax her into offering up information, while at the same time stalling the impending doom that would befall Yewa if he didn’t figure out a way to get them out of their situation.
Yewa’s skin was growing colder. Without giving it too much thought, he allowed them to appear. He turned in Yewa’s direction, and offered her a tight smile before saying, “I don’t know how long my wings will keep you warm, but it should help a little.”
She didn’t say a word, only nodded her head, and allowed him to enfold her in his massive wings. The tips touched the cavern ceiling, scraping against the ice.
“Have you figured out what you wish to say to Despina?”
“No, I haven’t figured out what the fuck to say to Despina because I’m too busy trying to figure out what to do about you two.”
Draga snorted at his comment.
“Why don’t you try being nicer?”
“Why don’t you try not talking Vaine? Your voice irritates me. This whole situation fucking irritates me. And the worst part of it is, I wish I could remember why the fuck I took the likes of you or your sister as my mates. I just can’t it get right for some reason. But I know one thing—I’m sick and tired of all the back and forth.”
