“Bullshit,” Nathan said.
“I saw her, Nathan. While she didn’t look like a lot of the statues, that’s mostly because she’s a horse beastkin.” Sunstorm mimicked two beast ears using her hands. “What she did have were glowing golden wings, a huge golden sword that incinerated a Champion whole, and invulnerability. She fought five Champions at once and was unscathed afterward.”
“Yes, but she’s Fyre.” Nathan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Or maybe she’s not anymore.”
“No, she’s definitely still Fyre. I caught her briefly. Same smile. Same odd look in her eyes. Same creepy fixation on you and suppressed jealousy that I’m sleeping with you and she’s not,” Sunstorm said.
Several other Champions nodded sympathetically.
“Then she’s not the prophet of the goddess. I felt her mind earlier. There’s something wrong with it, but she’s as likely to be related to the goddess as I am,” Nathan said.
“About that…” Anna said.
He looked at her, confused.
“Nathan, Fyre is your Champion. She’s spent the last two years declaring how amazing and great you are, and a lot of that has been in a religious context. I don’t know if she’s said as much, but if she’s the prophet, what does that make her Bastion, who she won’t shut up about?” Anna explained.
Oh no.
Nathan blinked.
“Wait,” he said, holding up a finger. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course not,” Maura drawled, arms folded behind her head. “Because your glowing golden goddess isn’t here. Why is everybody so impressed by some glowing wings? We just fought a dude who thinks he’s the god of death.”
“I’m pretty sure he called himself the apostle of doom,” Nathan corrected.
“He stole the name of a god of death from my world. That’s what all the bones are about, and all the black. I’d call it a phase, but he’s been going through it for all eternity by this stage,” Maura said.
As always when these topics came up, everyone else looked confused.
“Where’s the little goat, anyway? She should have an opinion on this.”
“Missing. Given what she said, I think this is the chance she’s been waiting for,” he said.
Both Twins stared at him. He didn’t need them to say anything to know they found Kadria’s absence suspicious.
“Look, I don’t think this has anything to do with the goddess,” Nathan said. “I didn’t feel a connection like that. By contrast, I felt something in Astra’s mind. If that was the goddess, then I think we’re dealing with something else in Fyre’s case.”
Especially given Fyre was helping him.
Although the implication troubled him. A beastkin prophet of Omria, fighting back against the Nationalists of the Empire? That had the potential to upend all of Doumahr.
Omria had vanished twice in history. The first time, her disappearance had heralded the ruin of the faeries, ending their reign over the world. Creations such as the Spires and cairns had never been reproduced.
The second time had only been over four centuries ago, when she abandoned the Empire. The gap this time was smaller, if it were true.
But the pattern remained the same. Omria might be hopping between races. But why?
Nathan finally noticed that Astra had stiffened in response to his mention of her mind. He stared at her.
“That’s not her, is it?” he asked Astra.
“No,” she said.
“Oh yeah, I’ve always wondered why you’re immortal. Like, you went super weird when Jirou flooded the portal with demonic energy,” Maura said.
Jirou?
“Who?” Nathan asked.
“Thanatos.” Maura shuddered. “I hate calling him that.”
Nathan suspected that Maura was making fun of Thanatos in a way that he fundamentally didn’t understand.
“A voice,” Astra said, staring at the ground. “I was weak. It made me strong. I thought…” she trailed off.
The Twins stared at her with unusually sympathetic expressions.
“You thought everything would get better after he helped you,” Laura said.
Astra nodded.
Maura let out a low whistle. “Well, that explains why your immortality is so fucked up. Our boss hooked a tendril in you. He loves building women up and then knocking them down. I wonder if there’s a Messenger-version of you out there?”
The room erupted into chaos. Nathan shouted everyone down.
Sitting perfectly still, Astra held a hand against her opals. Her face hadn’t shifted.
Had she always known?
“Nobody is to speak of this outside this room,” Nathan said.
“You don’t need to tell us that,” Seraph said. “But I would like to know who this ‘boss’ is?”
“A being of chaos that can’t exist in reality, but likes to mess with it anyway,” Maura said. “He eats worlds. The goat knows more about him. Apparently he has lots of stories about him in our world.”
Seraph stared at the Twins. “Why don’t you say his name?”
“Because names hold power. We’re powerful enough that saying the wrong names can summon the being, or allow them to summon us. When we meet our boss, we try not to even think his name. He’s that bad. His tendrils crawl into your mind.” Maura shuddered.
“But we’re fine?” Seraph confirmed.
“I mean, you are. Nathan can’t anymore. We sucked his cock too much and made him too strong.”
Everyone stared at Nathan, and more than a few glares were sent his way.
“She’s joking,” he said. “About the last part. But she’s right that I’m careful about the names I say. It’s why I only call her the goddess.”
“I’d wondered,” Narime said.
The meeting broke up shortly afterward. Too many things to do for everyone.
The Champions needed to respond to the many requests for help. Anna needed to command her duchy. The Twins had to nap.
But Nathan took in the current situation. Seraph stood with him in his office, as they both looked at the map.
“As much as you might hate to hear this, Fyre turned the tide,” Seraph told him. “All of those beastkin she recruited into her movement rose to the defense of the Empire. The emblem they wore made for a strong rallying cry. Lots of others joined in as well, as it’s associated with you, Alice, and Anna. She’s been working toward this for years.”
“I realized,” he said. “I underestimated her. Do we know where she is now?”
“Heading toward Aleich. After she put out the fires in Amica, she vanished. Then she reappeared up north, between Tharban’s and Leopold’s territory. Word is that she’s heading south.”
“This is going to turn into a huge battle over the capital,” Nathan mused. “Tharban is heading there and will get there first. But Fyre and the archdukes are also heading there. Then there’s us.”
“Isn’t this whole war over the throne? Whoever controls it, controls the Empire.” Seraph tapped Aleich on the map, before brushing her fingers to the west. “Falmir’s armies haven’t moved. I think we were right about the timing.”
“And Trafaumh?”
“They’ve contacted Anna. We’ll need to hear them out. But their armies have massed on the northern border, near the Pearlescent Canyon.”
Nathan frowned. “Anna…” Then it hit him. “They want to know more about Fyre.”
“Most likely. They are the Order of Trafaumh, and even more religious than the Empire. You’re going to need to handle that eventually.” Seraph looked him in the eye. “The Twins are happy to play along with you, but they stick out like a sore thumb. If you think they can truly be tamed, I’ll trust you. But don’t forget what they are.”
“Given the way they look, I won’t forget anytime soon.”
They both laughed.
When Seraph moved to continue the planning session, Nathan stopped her.
“Tell me, is this all you want?” he
asked her.
She stared at him. “What do you think I want?”
“I try not to guess the whims of my women. It tends to go badly.”
“You could stand to guess more often,” she replied drily. She ran a hand through her hair and looked away. “Nathan, can you call me Lia? In private.”
“Of course, Lia.”
Seraph’s breath hitched. She closed her eyes and placed a hand over her chest.
“I thought I wouldn’t recognize my name after so long,” she said. “I… don’t even remember the last time somebody called me it. But I trust you with it, Nathan.” She gulped and looked him in the eyes. “Again?”
“Lia.”
Seraph wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a deep kiss. Her leg snaked him, rubbing against his calf.
“Whatever happens, know that I will never regret this,” she said. “Never.”
The planning session continued, but the atmosphere felt different. His loyal Champion wrapped herself around him as she helped him plan their response.
Nathan knew he had a mountain of work in front of him. Enemies pressed against him from every direction. Falmir’s schemes threatened to undo everything he had done. He still had no clue what was up with Fyre.
Despite that, he looked forward. Everything that had been thrown at him had failed.
Once he crushed the rebellion and united the Empire, Doumahr would have a military power capable of holding its portals.
The light was brightest at the end of a tunnel. Nathan could see that light. He only needed to reach it.
END OF BOOK 3
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Books by K.D. Robertson
Demon’s Throne Series
Demon’s Throne
Heretic Spellblade Series
Heretic Spellblade 1
Heretic Spellblade 2
Heretic Spellblade 3
An Empire Reforged Series
Emperor Forged (Book 1)
Emperor Awakened (Book 2)
Heretic Spellblade 3 Page 47
