Empress of the Gods

Atarah

The next day, they decided to search for more information about the Dimneas dagger in the library. Its entrance had two statutes that were on each side of the front door with the shape of a woman wearing a long dress, with a book in one hand and the other on the handle of a sword. The moment she entered to the library, the sunlight touched the stain glass windows that reflected on the stone floor and part of the library walls, covering them with bright colors. She stared at the windows, realizing each one of them was different.

“The gods of the Asteria castle,” whispered her sister on her side while they were walking through the bookshelves lines that were in there. It almost looked like a haze labyrinth where someone could get easily lost. And she was willing to get lost in that paradise. There were only two guards at the entrance.

They split up so they could find more information about the dagger, only that her head was not on that anymore. She took book after book, turning their pages without paying attention to what she was doing until she perceived the same citrusy and earthy scent she smelled in her room and in the ballroom in the other hallway.

“Tarah, you have to see this,” Myrah called her from a table that was near one of those stain windows when she was about to go to the other hallway. Her sister turned the book on the table so she could see it properly while she had her eyes on her. Atarah walked towards the table looking at the painting in the book that was covered with the light of the God Dimneas stain window. She didn’t move for a moment, thinking that maybe her eyes were deceiving her. Then she ran a finger over the soft page of the book where a female with black hair like hers and golden leaves between her hair that looked like it was undulating with the wind, as it was her white dress with golden embroidery. Something resembling to the sun was placed like a halo behind her head, and she was standing between bushes with blooming daffodils in them. A tiger with white fur and golden stripes was on her left. Then she noticed a mark on her wrist that she couldn’t properly see.

The painting occupied an entire page of the book without any description anywhere in it. “I don’t know if it’s a coincidence that she looks like you or if she has anything to do with you,” Myrah whispered.

Atarah couldn’t take her eyes off that page. “It’s must be a coincidence,” she replied as she placed a finger on the page so she could close it and see the title, but the golden letters on the brown leather cover were barely visible. “What is this book about?”

“I don’t know. I was looking for something about the gods and I found that.” She pointed to the book with the palm of her hand.

She opened the book again where she had her finger to see the next page, but there were meaningless scribbles, and the next pages were torn off. It was not possible that the female in the painting was her. That book seemed to be older than her. Still with her eyes on the book, she asked her sister: “What did you find out about the dagger?”

Myrah looked around before she could speak. “The dagger was forged in the Dimneas firepit. I didn’t find much information about it here, but what I found is nothing good. The dagger actually absorbs the power of the creature that uses it by trapping it in the gemstone. It says it also absorbs a part of the soul.” Atarah looked at her sister, confused. “The power is linked to the soul, and that is why whoever uses it begins to lose their mind. That is why everyone thinks the dagger is cursed,” she explained to her. “It was used in the battle of Calithea to imprison Erebus, and after that, it disappeared. No one knew of its existence until they heard about the strange events that happened in a fae realm with a strange name. Something like Terryn ... Ter…?” She tried to remember.

“Terrwyn,” she corrected. “And where is the dagger?” she whispered before she looked around them.

Her sister touched the bag, and Atarah looked at her, shaking her head in denial. “You’ve got to be kidding, Myrah,” she scolded her in a lower tone of voice as she closed the book.

“You never know when you will end up running away from one place,” she replied and glanced behind her. “Tarah, what is Galad doing outside?”

A book fell to the floor, letting them hear an echo in the entire building. Galad didn’t pay attention to it and even stepped on it.

“I don’t have control over him,” she whispered back when she tried to move Galad the moment he started sniffing the books. When she heard the steps of one of the guards, with silver armor and sky-blue details in it, approaching them.

“My lady, I’m sorry to bother you, but he can’t stay outside. It’s only a precaution to prevent the books from being damage,” he explained to her.

“I’m sorry. I will instruct him to get inside right away,” she told him with a smile on her face. She was trying to use her driadae beauty, only that she forgot she was in a driadae kingdom, so it didn’t work with him. His face remained serious, and he didn’t move, waiting for her to instruct Galad. “My lady?” the guard insisted when another guard approached to them.

“Relax lad. She is one the blessed ones that is visiting us from another realm,” the other guard put a hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Enjoying your stay, my lady?”

She nodded with her head. “Yes, very much, thank you,” she quickly replied.

A woman that looked the same age as her with ginger hair in waves and sea-green eyes with a white snake as a birthmark in her arm walked towards them with an open book in her hands. She looked at her with curiosity and inspected her from head to toe and back. “Sorry, I heard something about blessed ones and I was wondering who was getting in trouble, only I didn’t recognize the voice,” she innocently said. “You were at the ball in the stunning white gown, right?”

“That was me,” she awkwardly replied.

“But why haven’t I seen you in the palace?” she asked, closing her book at once as she put it on the nearest book shelve.

Myrah tensed on her side while Atarah tried to say something clever to get out of that mess. William and Robbie approached from behind while the guards and the woman waited for her answer.

“I was visiting a friend and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her, so that’s why you haven’t seen me much in the castle,” she tried to look nonchalant.

Myrah and Robbie were surprisingly calm while William observed everything around them. She didn’t doubt he was even seizing the guards.

“But I never saw you presenting yourself to the newest Queen and King of Ekkirah.”

“It was in a moment where you were not present.”

“You must be from Xylina, right?” She continued questioning her.

“Yes, I am.”

“I thought their ship sailed this morning.”

“Yes, it did, but I’m also here to see other matters for the Queen of Xylina.” She tried to remain calm, but the woman was fishing for information. Somehow, she knew who she was.

The two confused guards looked at the woman, who nodded with her head, which was weird for her when she felt someone trying to get inside her head. The guards gaze changed as if they were realizing who they have in front of them.

“I’m sorry, my lady, but you will have to come with us,” said one of the guards when he got closer to her, taking her by the arm.

Myrah started walking backwards while William put a hand on the guard’s wrist and the guard easily throw him to the side with his wind power, lifting the sleeve from the arm where William had the hunter’s tattoo. The woman looked at him, changing her expression from indifference to anger and before she could use her power with him, Galad threw a loud roar that rumbled the windows close to them and threw the woman and the guards.

For an instant, a white light covered the woman, and a leopard instantly came out, growling to Galad, who roared again, only this time, breaking a couple of windows with his wind.

Robbie helped William to get up while her sister was already on the door, waiting for them. “Time to leave,” Myrah told them before they started running out of that place.

They found Elysia on their way while they kept running, trying to escape from them. “The moment I heard a loud roar I thought Galad was responsible for it, and I was not wrong,” she said when she tried to help them escape. “Over here,” she told them, and they followed through one of the streets, passing some stalls.

“Should I give a reward or congratulate you for it?” Robbie said as they ran.

“If I were you, I would be careful with my words because I’m not the one on the run.” Elysia replied.

“Ouch,” Myrah complained.

“Sorry,” Elysia gave an apologetic look to Myrah and her when they got inside a house to get to another street.

“Does anyone care to explain what the hell just happened? I leave you for a moment, and then this happens,” Elysia asked while she surveyed the house they were invading.

“A blessed one was in there and looked nice at first, and then she lost it when she saw Willi’s tattoo, and then everything went to shit,” Robbie explained to her. Those guards, fortunately, didn’t have protectors, but the blessed one did.

“That pretty much summarizes it,” Atarah replied to Robbie’s vague explanation.

“Tarah, could you please ask Galad to remain silent?” Myrah asked her.

“Galad is not the one making the noise,” she replied while her gaze was on Galad, who positioned his paws on the ground to attack the other creature outside.

William pointed outside where the sound came and Elysia glanced to her friend. “You need to keep Galad inside and run to the port. There is a ship that is sailing as we speak. I will try to distract them as much as I can, but it’s time you get out of here,” Elysia whispered to her when she got closer to the door.

“What about you?”

“I still have things to do here.”

They were separating again, and she knew there were things in motion as they spoke, so the new Silverclaw leader had to continue with the plans no matter what.

Atarah gave Elysia a hug before she got out of that house. She knew Elysia could take care of herself, but that didn’t mean she stopped worrying about her.

Elysia, the leader of the coven, looked at her and nodded before disappearing into the street to create a distraction. The only distraction Elysia could create. Chaos.

The new Silverclaw leader was using the language of spells to create small fires, so the guards centered their attention on that while they tried to escape.

As soon as they reached the port, they took a boat that was on the shore. William and Robbie pushed it until it was in the water while Atarah waited for her sister, who was looking at the city she was leaving behind.

“It’s time to go,” William said behind her.

Myrah barely looked at them when she got on the boat.

The sunset was on the west and Atarah got on that boat away from a city she hoped one day she would be able to discover all of its secrets. William and Robbie took the oars when Myrah began to move her hands to move part of the water under the boat.

Guards appeared on the port, trying to catch them with one of their boats. They used their power to reach them with water and wind when Myrah began to move her hands to throw them some waves to block the wind attacks. Another line of guards stopped the waves before it reached to port. Then, her sister created a wall of water that later became ice while William and Robbie rowed against the current, trying to reach the ship before it crossed the forgotten nereid’s territory.

Purple tones were beginning to appear in the sky, and a salty scent invaded her lungs. She couldn’t stop playing with her necklace that hung from a leather strip around her neck.

The ship entered the forgotten nereid’s territory, making her feel anxious about it. They needed to reach it before the passage closed, and they had to face those creatures again.

They almost arrived when she no longer felt the weight of her necklace on her neck that forced her to look for it on the boat, and then she stared at the deep blue ocean. Without even thinking about it, she threw herself into the water so she could recover her necklace that seemed to be lost in the immensity of the sea when she saw something swimming towards her. It didn’t matter what it was because even if it was a forgotten nereid, Atarah would continue swimming, knowing that she wouldn’t hurt her.

Atarah did not want to lose something so precious to her, and possibly the only thing she had from her parents.

She tried to reach her necklace, but instead of getting close to it, she was getting close to the forgotten nereid as if the water was pulling her towards her. But the closer she got to her, she realized she looked different from the ones she’d seen before.

The nereid’s gentle silver eyes stood in her beautiful face with a slight light that surrounded her like the one her mother had, and her curly brown hair floated to the sides. The nereid took her hand and placed the necklace in her palm, instantly closing it.

Atarah felt her lungs slowly start to burn, screaming for air. She needed to get to the surface as soon as possible, but that nereid didn’t let her go. She tried to swim, but the calm nereid had more strength than her.

Suddenly, a small bubble of air came out from the nereids’ mouth, and with a movement of her finger, the bubble began to grow until it covered her head and hers, allowing them to take some air.

“Don’t trust him,” the nereid said with a silvery voice that echoed in the air bubble.

“Who are you talking about?” she asked, confused.

“He works for the one who seeks to shed the blood of those who once rejected her,” the nereid replied, ignoring her question. Atarah tried to say something, but the air bubble was starting to get smaller and smaller. “When the time comes, trust your heart. Listen to it carefully,” she added before the air bubble completely disappeared, and the nereid started swimming away from her.

Atarah floated there for a moment when she felt the lack of air again. The moment she reached to the surface, the cold air covered her head. She took a deep breath, feeling the air in her lungs that made her feel relieved to be back on the surface.

William put a hand on her waist while she had her hands on the edge of the boat, resting her head on the wood, feeling the water move. He helped her to get on the boat before he got on. “Are you alright?” he asked as he placed himself next to her.

She only nodded her head as she laid on the boat, trying to normalize her breathing and with her fist resting on her chest, feeling the almost unnoticeable weight of her necklace.

“The next time you feel like swimming with the nereids, we’d appreciate a heads up before you jump into the ocean,” Myrah told her.

“We thought you had been caught again,” added Robbie as he helped her sit. “At least you got it back?” he asked, making her remember that before she jumped into the water, she told them that she couldn’t find her necklace. In response, she showed her fist, letting them see the leather leash that came out of it.

“For Sonneus,” expressed William, who was on his back, slightly raising his head to see the necklace before he sat to continue paddling while Myrah moved the boat with her water gift.

“It’s important,” she replied, placing her fist in front of her heart. When she put it on, she helped her sister to move the boat so they could reach the merchant ship.

The ship headed to the golden city shores—a fae city. The captain let them step into his ship with the condition to work on it as if they were temporary part of the crew.

Robbie did his best to not to throw up on the ship, but most of the times he had his head on the edge throwing up; Myrah looked like she belonged to the sea, as if it didn’t affect her while William was trying not to think about it. There were moments Atarah felt nauseous, she didn’t know if it was from the movement of the ship or what the nereid said to her.

Different tones of colors covered the sky, but she preferred the night sky to the heat of the sun. Sometimes, while she lost her sight in the vast ocean, she hugged herself and felt like she was being watched. Sometimes it was someone from the crew and William who took care of her in the distance, giving her space.

The eyes of the Asteria Castle were on her and were making sure she knew they wouldn’t let her escape from her fate; whatever it was. She felt the weight of the Dimneas dagger in her bag, only she didn’t know what to do with it. Without mentioning the painting in the book she took from the library. She could not stop thinking about it, making her have more questions than she already had. Maybe Wylan’s friend had the answers she was looking for. She wished he did.

Part IV

The night flame.