Chapter Eleven
Light burst out from two columns of crystal in the middle of the cave. But they didn’t just contain light. They also held the souls of Rey and Axxon.
I reached Rey first. His misty soul was trapped behind a wall of water. He seemed insubstantial, and yet I saw him clearly enough. He was choking and fighting, struggling for air. Axxon was in the column beside him, buried in earth. His glowing soul clawed his way through his element, but more dirt and grit descended around him each time he moved. Their bodies back in our world had looked peaceful, as though the men were sleeping. I couldn’t comfort myself with that lie now. Rey’s mouth was wide in a silent scream, hands outstretched in supplication.
I had found the kings, and my heart was breaking.
“Stand back.”
Fon’s voice shook me out of my stupor. I obeyed as he unsheathed his sword in a single, smooth movement, its cold steel glinting in the reflected light.
I twisted away, shielding my face as the weapon crashed against the surface trapping the kings. There was a clatter of metal hitting stone.
Fon swore.
I looked up. He was now holding the pommel of his sword with a two-inch, jagged piece of steel jutting from it. Shards of grey steel were scattered across the ground.
“Did you really think that would work?” Vashri asked. He pulled out his gem. “Goddess, help me,” he murmured. One hand clutching the Breath of Giera, his other hand splayed on the surface of the stuff trapping Axxon.
Air whirled around the chamber, sending one of the shards of steel skittering across the rock. The breeze traced up the wall in front of us. Vashri was trying to find a way in. The stuff imprisoning the kings was impenetrable to a weapon, but air needed only the tiniest gap.
But there wasn’t a gap. Inside the crystal prison, Rey twisted, writhing with a pain that gripped my heart. I flattened my hands. My fingers splayed, pressing into the unyielding surface. “Rey? If you can hear me, I’m here. We’ve come for you.”
No reply. I hadn’t truly expected one.
“We need water.” We had to hope this enchantment worked like the one that had kept Analee prisoner.
I turned to find Vashri was already halfway to the entrance to the cave. “Underway.”
“You won’t free them like that.”
We spun around, arms dropping to our sides. I knew who I was looking at immediately. Her skin was as dark as the earth, her hair bright like flames, eyes the blue of a summer sky, while the gown she wore shimmered silver as though she wore a river. The goddess had arrived.
Vashri dropped to his knees. I followed. Fon, naturally, strode right up to her.
“These are our friends. We have come to set them free.” He remembered his manners – or perhaps who he was talking to. “Will you help us, please?”
“Goddess Giera.” Vashri spoke in a tone of appeal, eyes on the ground. “The king of air kneels before you. I appeal to you for your help. Charnrosa is in grave danger. We need all four kings to counter the evil threatening the Empire.”
I looked up, to find that the goddess was watching me. I tried to look away but there was something captivating about her gaze. I couldn’t move a muscle.
“I am aware of the situation in Charnrosa,” she said. Her voice was soft and melodic, like a breeze passing over a field of corn.
“Then … will you help us?” Vashri asked.
I heard the thud that had to be Fon dropping to his knees, adding his appeal to ours. I couldn’t look to check, because the goddess’s gaze still held mine rapt.
“Your friends have been enchanted with powerful magic,” the goddess said, her focus intent on me. “It will require powerful magic to undo their captivity.”
“We know we ask a great deal of you,” Vashri said. “We ask not just for ourselves, but for the sake of everyone in Charnrosa whose lives are in peril.”
The goddess focused on me alone, as though she was asking just me. “What can you offer me?”
I swallowed. I’d only thought of reaching the goddess and getting the kings’ souls back. I’d expected her to be willing to help us, just for the asking. My impertinence made my face burn. It hadn’t occurred to me that there’d be a price to pay. And what could I offer a goddess?
“What do you want? What can I offer you?”
“What do you have to offer?”
My heart raced. I had nothing. My pockets were… I stilled. My pockets weren’t empty. They held the gems I’d kept safe with me, so I might give them back to the kings. Without them, Rey and Axxon would have only a fraction of their power. But getting them back was more important.
I emptied my pocket, opening my palm to show the goddess. “I have their gems. Are they payment enough?”
Her face went completely still. I knew my mistake a moment before she spoke. “You would offer me my own gift?”
“No! Yes. I don’t know.” I had to push more stupid, useless tears off my cheeks. “I don’t know what you want.”
Fon spoke up. “Whatever you want, gracious lady, just ask. All we have is yours.”
“The souls of your friends are precious. As is the future of Charnrosa. I will have a promise from each of you.”
“The next days of Charnrosa rely on you. The three of you, and your two friends who are trapped here. If you fail, Charnrosa is lost.” Her expression was solemn, her eyes pitiless pools of light against her dark skin. “All of you must commit to what I ask. I will look into your souls to hear the truth of your answer from your deepest being. There will be no half-measures. If you can do that, I will set the souls of these two kings free. Do you agree to my terms?”
My hands began to sweat. What did lie in my soul? What if I couldn’t promise the goddess what she asked? My gaze settled on Axxon and Rey, their stolen souls fighting their captivity. My heart filled as certainty stole over me. The marks on my palm burned, the signs for earth, air, fire and water that had appeared as the kings awakened. Kyann and the four kings had an Empire to save. I curled my fingers protectively around the marks. We belonged together; and we were lost without one another. I was the guardian, my role to keep them safe, to keep all of Charnrosa safe – whatever the cost. Whatever the goddess asked, I would do.
I turned back to the goddess, a strange calm overwhelming me. “I agree.” I swallowed, but the words were spoken now.
“Put your hands in mine.” The goddess was directly in front of me without moving.
I obeyed. Warmth and light flowed into me.
“If you wish Charnrosa to be saved, you must stand together in the sun at midsummer’s dawn.” The light inside me turned colder. “You will have to lose everything in order to gain all. Do you promise to accept the price of peace?”
“W-what does that mean? What will I have to lose?” Was the goddess asking me to sacrifice myself? Or did she mean I must lose Essa? Tears prickled and I blinked hard.
“Do you promise?” the goddess persisted.
There was only one answer I could give. I was the guardian. If I did not save Charnrosa, the Empire I loved was lost. That knowledge enabled my voice to be calm as I replied, “Yes, I promise that I will stand in the midsummer sun with the kings. I am – I’m prepared to lose everything.”
“Then all will be well. Your friends are whole once more.”
The warmth of the goddess’s touch left me. I blinked. The three of us were alone. Fon and Vashri looked equally startled by what had just passed.
I looked past them to the crystal traps holding Axxon and Rey.
They were empty.