by Eva Brandt
I shook my head, trying to dispel the stupid thought. The damage my mother had done had been very serious. It would take some time before the effects vanished. I knew that already. Why was my mind so unfocused and hazy?
Oh, right. My soulmate had just said she hated my guts. A part of me was still screaming in pain and disbelief. I wanted to go back, to speak to her again, to make her reconsider, but the idea was shelved when the memory of her angry eyes flashed through my mind.
It was the ice elemental who snapped me out of my trance. “Eranthe didn’t mean that,” he said. “She’s angry and upset. She’s always had a temper. It just doesn’t show a lot, not unless she gets very angry.”
His sudden words surprised me so much I froze in my tracks. In the process, I almost tripped and stumbled, but my natural instincts saved me from both utter embarrassment and pain. Even when I was at my worst, my lamia side maintained a degree of self-preservation.
My response was nowhere near as graceful as my physical movements. “W-What?” I stammered.
“Jack is right,” Pandora elaborated, having apparently noticed our conversation. “Eranthe’s always been a little more dangerous and temperamental than she seems. You should’ve seen the way she was when we were children. She was the sweetest girl possible, but when someone pissed her off, she could be more dangerous than me and Cassia put together.
“But even so, she’ll get over it. She always does. She’s a kind soul and she’d never reject you for something that is not your fault.”
“Thank you for saying that, your Majesty,” Cezar answered, “but her kindness were never in question. We realize very well that she’s angry, but that doesn’t make it any better. The anger is only making her say what she would’ve otherwise kept to herself.”
Adrian nodded. “Really, we should’ve known better than to push or make assumptions. This is our fault, so she’s entitled to hate us.”
My friends’ words provided me with an anchor, if not reassurance. I forced a smile I didn’t feel and said. “It’s fine, Your Majesty. Undead very rarely have soulmates. We understand why your sister wouldn’t want to have a relationship with us. We won’t hold it against her, and we still want to help her.”
“We all do,” Pandora said. “Let’s just hope it will be enough.”
Four
Kiss of Death
Eranthe
After my soulmates, Jack, and Pandora vanished back into the forest, utter silence fell over the grove. It was a dangerous, unnatural type of silence, alien to everything Chronikos stood for and represented.
I sank to my knees and buried my hands in the grass, trying to steady myself, seeking some kind of anchor in a world that no longer made sense.
Beneath the corruption left behind by the lamiae, the ground still answered me, helping me clear my head. Flowers still bloomed at my touch, their perfume just as sweet and potent as always. The grass still came back to life, verdant, vibrant and whispering songs older than time itself.
Underneath it all, I could feel the roots of the ancient trees in The Forest of Purity, tentatively reaching out to me. It didn’t help as much as it used to.
As my mind cleared, I finally processed the full extent of my actions, and I clutched my chest, struggling against the desire to hurl. Why had I said all those horrible things? Why had I been so cruel and brutal?
Yes, I’d wanted to punish the culprit behind the destruction of the forest. Yes, I’d been shocked when Baltasar had confessed the individual in question was his own mother. But none of that explained my sudden urge to torture Mormo and the other lamiae in front of me.
Something was very wrong with me. The Grand Lich had been right to warn me, and I’d been an idiot to ignore not only him, but also my own earlier actions.
I’d almost attacked my own mother at the palace. If Baltasar hadn’t stepped in, I might’ve hurt her. Was it really that surprising that I’d lashed out against someone I hated, someone who had decimated the unicorn herd?
The train of thought dragged me back into reality and chased away my panic attack. I needed to get a grip and focus. I didn’t have time to fall apart now. For the moment, my promise to my people still stood.
“The avatar of spring cannot afford to wither,” I said to myself as I struggled to my feet. “Above all else, I am a queen of life and I will fix this.”
There was no one there to argue with me, but the distant rustling of the dying leaves felt like mocking laughter.
I suppressed the insane urge to snap at the trees. Yes, it was a little pathetic to give myself a pep talk, but no one was laughing at me. I was imagining things. I wouldn’t let this alien power defeat me so easily.
The first step was quite simple, and I’d realized it as soon as I’d arrived here, before my horrible argument with my soulmates. I needed to clear the lake. Until I did that, I couldn’t go look for Veggie or help him in a more direct way. Sadly, to fulfill that particular task, I needed to touch the water, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.
It shouldn’t have been so terrifying. I’d swum in this lake countless times in the past. It had been my haven, a source of comfort and clarity.
Perhaps that was precisely the problem. I had no desire to scrutinize myself closer than I already had. I already found myself lacking. But I didn’t have much choice and feeling sorry for myself wouldn’t change a thing.
“At this rate, I m going to get hydrophobia,” I said to myself as I walked up to the pond. Holding my breath, I knelt once again, this time next to the water. Shaking, I reached out and brushed my fingers over the crimson, glowing liquid.
I didn’t know what I’d expected to happen, but it certainly wasn’t... nothing. My skin tingled where it came into contact with the viscous fluid, but it wasn’t unpleasant or unusual. It wasn’t much different from what I’d experienced in the past while coming here to meditate.
It also didn’t help the forest or the remaining unicorns, so I was forced into a course of action I would’ve preferred to avoid. Torn between dread and resignation, I slid out of my gown, left it on the grass, and entered the water.
I could do this. The power of Tis Ánoixis was still with me. No matter what I had become, I couldn’t lose that.
Just like I had earlier, I reached for the magic of Chronikos, only this time, I sought to do far more than soothe myself or track down my lieutenants. This time, I willed my power to connect with that of the land of my birth in a desperate attempt to heal the wounded forest and maybe myself.
In hindsight, I should have known better. The pool was a concentrated wellspring of magic that amplified the abilities of the people who swam inside. Under normal circumstances, that would’ve been great. But now, I was trying to cleanse it as well as the forest, so it stood to reason that the corruption lashed out.
When it happened, I didn’t even see it coming. The bloody waters flashed and just like that, reality faded, the forest dissipating into a hazy, crimson mist. It carried me through a shapeless nothingness, and I could do nothing to prevent it, to control the strange, hypnotizing power that dragged me along.
I couldn’t even remember how to fight it, not when the fog felt so warm, familiar, and comforting. It was only when it receded that I realized I should’ve been a little more cautious.
At one point when I hadn’t been paying attention, I’d been transported away from my homeland and into something that looked alarmingly like a... catacomb of sorts. The room was massive, it walls ornate and engraved with intricate images and glowing symbols. The light that emanated from the carvings flowed over the tall columns at a dizzying pace, making strange shadows dance over the onyx floor. A throne crafted out of white bone sat in front of me, and the eyes of the skulls on the armrests burned with a magic that was much too familiar to me for my comfort.
“What is this place?” I asked under my breath. “Where am I?”
I had a feeling I already knew, but even so, when the answer to my question came, I was still surpris
ed. “This is my crypt and my home in The Voievodat, or rather, a mental projection of it. Cozy, isn’t it?”
As he spoke, the Grand Lich emerged from behind a pillar. “You’re so careless with your mind and your power,” he added. “What did you think was going to happen if you tried to do this on your own, in your condition?”
“I can’t afford to be sick now,” I told him. “You’d never understand.”
“I understand better than you think,” he shot back. “I’m a ruler too, remember?”
“Yes, but—”
But what? He was a necromancer? That didn’t matter. I didn’t know enough about necromancy to judge him. In fact, if I took into account my experience with death magic, I could only guess that it was very easy to lose control of such powers.
“You’re right,” he said, having obviously gotten a glimpse at my thoughts. “It is very easy. When I was much younger, around your age, I had troubles similar to yours. It seemed like the end of the world at the time. Believe it or not, I was quite terrified.”
“Terrified?” I repeated. “You’re right. I don’t believe it.”
The Grand Lich laughed, and for some reason, I found the sound unnatural. “You will, one day. But that doesn’t matter right now.
“Eranthe, you have to understand something very important about your current situation. If The Forest of Purity is in this condition, it’s not just because of Baltasar’s mother.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.
“The water in the pool is connected to the core of Chronikos, but so are you. When you drank from the Lethe, you changed not only yourself, but also the realm of the living. The lamiae merely took advantage of it to come here and spread their venom. It would’ve never taken hold if the magic of Tis Ánoixis hadn’t received such a serious blow. But you already suspected that, didn’t you?”
“No!” I snapped at him. “Of course I didn’t know.”
“It’s all right. You don’t need to defend yourself from me. I’m not judging you, and I won’t say a word. Nobody but us will ever know about this conversation.”
His attempt to reassure me didn’t help. I tried very hard to not panic, but the only thing I could take refuge in was, just like before, anger. “You do realize that doesn’t comfort me in the slightest, right? Out of everyone I’ve recently met, you’re the last person I’m going to trust.”
“You don’t trust anyone, not anymore, not when you know how easily you can hurt them.” The Grand Lich’s voice softened. “That’s why you sent them all away. And that’s why your sister left. Because she understands where you’re coming from.”
I hated to agree with him, but everything he was saying was true. “Look. We’re going around in circles. I told you before that I don’t care about prophecies or secret powers. I just want to help my people. Can you show me how to do that, despite my... inconvenient new abilities?”
“Inconvenient.” The Grand Lich laughed again, the chuckles resonating around me in a maddening echo. Why did I find it so dreadful and wrong? “That’s a creative way of putting it.”
At first, I bristled, wondering if he’d been the one mocking me earlier, when I’d thought I was imagining things. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I needed his help and allowing my temper to get the better of me would make matters worse. “What can I say? I’m almost as creative as you are vague.”
“Indeed. Yes, Your Majesty, I can help you, but you’re going to have to do exactly as I say, at least for now. Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to obey me unquestioningly, but I will need you to trust that I’m doing what is best, not only for The Immortuos Voievodat, but also for you.”
I stared at his hooded, dark silhouette and wondered how in the world I was supposed to accomplish that. He was a stranger, one who had confessed to having ulterior motives and who didn’t want me to be the queen of Tis Ánoixis.
But on the other hand...
I remembered my earlier outburst, the heartbroken way my soulmates had looked at me. “If this works, will I be able to fix my relationship with them? I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with your connection with your soulmates. It’s just your inability to communicate properly that is standing in your way.
“Sometimes, there are no grand obstacles or enemies that prevent a relationship from succeeding, just your own fears and doubts. You haven’t had time to get to know one another before you changed like this, and they don’t have a lot of experience with the concept of soulmates.”
“So is that a ‘no’?” I whispered. “Did I mess things up permanently?”
“No, of course not. You had one argument. It was bad, but not a tragedy. They’ll understand.” His dark-clad figure glided to my side and a gloved hand emerged from his right sleeve. “I’ll help you. It’s going to be difficult, and it might not always seem like the kind of help you need, but I’ll lead you on the right path. And when your power is under control, yes, you’ll be able to build something solid and real with them. After all, Your Majesty, you know as well as I do that you can’t erect a long-lasting structure on unstable grounds.”
“And I’m nothing if not unstable.” Despite myself, I leaned into the touch and hated that I found it so comforting. “I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand you.”
“All in due time. First, I’m going to keep my promise. Close your eyes. I’m going to temporarily bind the wild necromantic magic inside you, until such a time that you’ve learned to handle it better. Don’t worry. It won’t hurt you in any way.”
A voice at the back of my mind was screaming to tear myself away from him. Subjecting myself to magic-binding rituals cast by dubious individuals was even dumber than trying to cleanse the pool on my own.
I closed my eyes anyway. Maybe I’d lost all sense, or maybe I was clinging to the last shards of hope the Grand Lich had given me. But I didn’t actually want this power, and if I could just have my peace of mind back, I could heal my broken realm.
“That sounds perfect,” I answered as I tried to clear my head and relax. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I don’t intend to let you ignore this, not ever. This is only a temporary solution, to keep you from blowing yourself and Chronikos up.”
My eyes shot open once again. “Wait, what? That’s a possibility?”
It was not my intention, but the proximity between me and the Grand Lich had an unexpected side-effect. In the light of his fiery gaze, I caught a glimpse of pale human skin.
I froze, the sight shocking me almost as much as the concept of my sudden ability to wield death magic. Liches didn’t go around exposing their bodies, but the widespread belief was that they were desiccated skeletons, turned into nothing more than shadows of their former selves by the powerful dark magic they wielded.
The Grand Lich covered my eyes before I could get a better look. “No, you don’t, Lady of Spring. You’re not ready to see me. I know you’re curious, but you’ll just have to wait.”
“Right,” I said, still shaken, but realizing the mistake I’d made. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“I’m not offended.” The Grand Lich laughed again. “It’s sort of suitable, considering that I’ve just seen you naked, even if only in an astral space. I’d show you, but now is not the time. Now, relax. This isn’t about physical bodies, but about power, and I need you to concentrate.”
Once again, it was strikingly easy to listen to him. I made a mental note to ask him about my concerns later and set aside everything that wasn’t the here and now.
In the end, if I was as dangerous as the Grand Lich claimed, taking steps to fix it was the best possible course of action. I’d look into everything else once I was confident that I wasn’t liable to lose control of my new power again.
“That’s it,” the Grand Lich whispered, his voice soft and light. He removed his hand from my eyes and pressed them to my temples instead. “G
ive me your burdens. Let me carry them in your stead.”
I thought about the moment when I’d drunk the water from the Lethe and claimed a magic I’d never been meant to have. I remembered the anger I’d experienced earlier and the way I’d attacked my loved ones. I recalled how easy it had been to torture someone and plan their painful demise.
I gathered all these thoughts into a single, glowing diamond and clutched it close to my heart, scanning it on each side with a critical eye. The images still flickered underneath the surface of the gem, and they felt as sharp as the edges of the diamond. Every second I spent dwelling on them cut deeply into my soul. Even so, it was worth the effort.
This thing—this power—was part of me now. I couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t kill it. But I could bury and leash it, trap this strange beast, until after the war was over and I mended my relationship with my soulmates. For now, I could trust the Grand Lich with this, far more than I could trust myself.
Once again, he seemed to read my mind. “Yes, you can,” he said as he took a step back. He stopped touching me, and I immediately felt the absence into my very core. A renewed feeling of restlessness chased away the peace and relaxation that had settled over me. Ah, yes. This must be the Peace of Death, the blessing similar to the spell the Grand Lich had cast on Baltasar’s mother to keep her from losing her mind.
How did I know that? I wanted to ask, but I got sidetracked when he extracted the diamond from my grasp and pressed it against his chest. The gemstone faded into his body, and the shadows around him turned darker and colder.
All my other dilemmas faded when I realized I’d never thought about the side-effects this process would have on him. Was he going to be okay after liberating me of the burden I carried?
He probably had no need for my concern, but I couldn’t help myself. “Are you well? Was that uncomfortable?”
“Not uncomfortable. A little overwhelming, but I’ll be fine. I have experience with this type of magic. Don’t worry about me.”
