Nectar of War: The Song of Verity and Serenity (The Nectar of War Series Book 1)

Part 2 – PORTAL OF DERELICTION

ROANER KORSANA

VAIGON CITADEL

I SIT ON THE back of my Pegasus, Aryon, as we wait in the woods where Levora was last seen. Esme will arrive shortly so we may begin the course of pulling forth a portal.

It is more than discomforting to be in a place as this again. Although I have come here often to search and consistently hope for Levora’s appearance, it is different here now. It could possibly be because of bringing someone else here outside of Laven and myself. I would involve Laven, yet he too deeply blames himself for her disappearance. It would be unfair to make him consistently relive that trauma. I will not allow him to risk his sanity again, Wyendgrev took enough from him.

Before me and our brothers, the closest person in his life was his sister. These woods hold darkness and will only shine light when she is found.

I am not only searching for Levora for myself, but for Laven. Peace should be his and mine.

After our previous meeting I was allowed to keep the book that contains the information on portals. If I am going to successfully open the portal to the realm she was taken to, I am going to need to consume as much information as possible.

It was nearly overwhelming to realize how much material there is to remember when practicing opening portals, but to get Levora to come home, I will manage.

One of the many traits I learned from the book is that portals will not be seen when closed but are still felt due to the immense energy required for creation. Once a portal is created, it can never be removed. It will not be visible but will appear if channeled properly. The appearance of a portal is either a door or you are shown the land you are being taken to.

I can hear the distant soaring of wings overhead as I wait for Esme’s arrival.

Descending from the clouds in an expansive shadow, her Pegasus drives downward with Esme secure on her back. Esme looks below with eyes bright and silver, she is searching for open area on the grounds to land. When she sees me she directs her Pegasus to move to ground.

She is a rather large and muscular Pegasus with an entirely black body except for one small stripe of white along her nose. Whereas Aryon is walnut brown, solid, and sleek.

Aryon harshly stamps his hove into the ground, and I tighten the reigns to hold him from launching onward.

“Stay calm,” I say to him.

Her Pegasus swiftly lands to the ground in a run and slowly comes to a stop before us. Her wings are expansive and strong as they shake out after landing.

Esme unmounts and touches the Pegasus before their heads connect and they both breathe in deeply. By the way they interact, she has had her for years. Only the longest connections between a Pegasus and their rider are this synced.

“What is her name?” I ask as Esme approaches.

“Oveila,” she answers. “And yours?” Esme asks, looking over Aryon.

She is examining his muscles and stance as she stands before us, having left Oveila near the small flowing river. She sniffs the flowers growing near the water before hydrating after her flight.

“Aryon,” I respond.

Esme walks to a particular area of the woods and stretches out her hand.

She is foraging for the portal we found the last time we were here when we first met to begin the search.

She gently moves her fingers feeling the energy of the invisible portal. She nods for me to approach, and I leave Aryon to drink with Oveila.

Gradually, as I move closer, there is a radiation of heat that grows and wraps around us as I reach where Esme is standing.

She walks around the portal to stand in front of me and she holds her hand outward once more. “It is still producing warmth from this side as well.”

They created this portal to be accessed from both ends.

If the portal was created here, that does not mean that it is open wherever it led to. But, it seems that whoever opened this portal also created another in attachment on the other side to get back. The one way to know is that you will feel the radiation of energy from facing the portal, as well as standing behind it. This, fortunately, makes our task here easier to get there and come right back.

“Now,” Esme begins. “Have you ever attended a Sorcerers Academy?”

“I have not,” I shake my head. “Everything I know how to do was taught to me by my mother.”

“Did she ever teach you anything about portals? It is usually a course that is mandatory when attending an academy.”

“She did not.”

Esme nods. “The book will be enough, but you must be reminded that this will not happen overnight. Summoning portals can take prolonged periods of time and you will fall short of strength after practicing. Bringing forth a portal will render your powers short; you must be aware of how much this will take out of you.”

I do not have the time to fall short of strength. A life I promised to someone, and a life they promised me disappeared. This will be one thing in my life I will not allow to fail since she had never once in our younger years failed me.

Call it young love, pure infatuation, whatever people will say it was. Levora was the only thing to keep me from utter damnation.

‘Laven!’ That once quiet voice shouts. ‘Laven stop it!’

The large boy above me is ripped away. ‘Say it once more!’ Laven shouts as his friend Amias holds him tightly around the chest with one arm and carries him backward.

He is put down and Levora rushes over and shoves him by the chest. ‘What is wrong with you?’ She screams. ‘Hit him once more and I will tell papa!’

‘Tell pa! Call him here, I will beat him in front of papa!’

‘Laven!’ A strong voice shakes the ground as his name is yelled.

Laven looks back to a man storming forward with long white hair. He looks at me and holds his threat to his sister, and Amias cannot hold him; Laven lunges from his grasp with his fist held in the air, just before his knuckles connect with my face again his father catches his hand right before my nose.

He is picked up by his waist coat and thrown to the ground in the opposite direction of me. He does not let up, he runs again, and his father braces him—his arms hook under Laven’s armpits and his hands connect behind his head rendering him of all movement, but his legs still thrash.

‘Should not have said that to him.’ Amias stands in the distance with crossed arms.

Laven, the first, turns to Amias and Amias quiets quickly.

Laven’s father looks down at his son. ‘Are you done?’

He seizes all movement and is let go.

The large figure stands between us and looks between me and Levora as she sides by me as I come up from the ground.

He turns toward his son. ‘You are going to stand here, and we are going to solve this without you retaliating with aggression . . . what happened?’

I do not speak; I am embarrassed to repeat what I said, nor do I want to let this man hear what I said about his family.

Laven does not speak either.

I wipe the blood dripping from my eyebrow, and he waits for either Laven or I to speak.

Amias does instead.

‘He inappropriately called Laven out of his name and then challenged him,’ Levora looks up at me, I do not look at her. ‘And Laven retaliated.’

He is hiding a piece of the truth.

When our eyes meet, Amias looks away and says nothing more.

Levora leaves my side and walks toward Laven, she grabs his hand seeing the blood that does not belong to him, yet she gently wipes it away as if it is a cut on his hand.

The four of them look at me as I stand here.

‘I do not know what was said, I do not care to know what was said, but you,’ he points at me. ‘Will never speak to my son out of his name again, and you,’ he turns to his first-born child. ‘You and I will speak of your immediate need for self-validation through operation of physical violence.’

‘No,’ Levora speaks. ‘What did you say to him?’ She stays put as she continues to nurture her brother’s bloodied hand.

‘Vora,’ Amias steps over and pulls on her arm. ‘Do not.’ He warningly speaks.

‘Oh, but I want to.’

‘Do not burden yourself to care,’ Laven holds his sister’s hand. ‘He will not say it again.’

‘Where are you supposed to be, Roaner?’ The eldest of us all asks.

‘Walking to my dormitory at the academy.’

‘Then walk to your dormitory,’ he advises. ‘This is done.’ His hands motion between Laven and myself.

I should apologize before leaving, but I do not see it possible. Could one have so much shame that he cannot apologize because he knows it would not change what he said?

So, I do not speak, I only walk on the path I do every day.

When I look back I see the four of them ascending as a whole to go home.

I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head when passing by the others in the same dormitory as me. We are youth, meaning we are nosy and prone to staring. That is exactly what I avoided.

I wince as I press the cloth against the wound on my eyebrow. That small attempt at fixing the cut has angered me enough to stop.

The door to my dorm pushes open and I sharply turn to see who it is.

She is moving swiftly across the room and towards me.

‘I had a feeling you were too inept to comprehend cleaning a wound.’ Levora says as she yanks away the cloth and begins to properly care for the gash in my skin.

‘I do like you, Roaner.’ She continues to speak as she leans down and her light eyes hold fury. ‘But if you ever speak to anyone in my family like that again, I will allow Laven to kill you.’

I stare at her until I no longer see the anger in her.

Slowly, I smile. ‘You would never let him kill me.’

*  *  *

You never truly know how far you can push yourself until you hit the ground in defeat.

I thought I could reach the ends of the universe in search of Levora. Nothing, not anything, nor anyone would stop me from getting to her. Why when I have the answers and the resources to find her, I cannot summon the strength?

I wonder if I have this fate because there are chances we are not mates and the person she is fated to be with is not me. I could be cursing myself by pursuing a woman that is already taken by soul.

I collapse to the hard ground fully weakened of energy and almost hope.

“You must learn to conserve your energy.” A voice says through the darkness. They appear from ascension and the silver hues are recognizable.

Well, I knew her voice before she appeared.

“You cannot spend yourself so quickly. Take your time.” Esme kneels in front of me.

She is not in her armor, she looks like she just left a gala.

Her dress is long and thin, wrapping around her in all sorts of directions.

“You look lovely.” I say through heavy breaths.

“I know I do.”

I nod. “I figured.”

“And I figure you are ignoring what I am saying.”

“No, I was listening.”

“And are you still listening as I ask about your bargain with Vallehes?”

I nod again, still breathless. “My Emissary has found them. They were last seen in Terseius. They tend to be sporadic with their location, but they always return to the same Inn up North. Yet they have been hiding themselves, my Emissary will find out why they tend to fabricate soon.”

She stands and holds her hand out to me. “Get up.”

Our hands join and she pulls me from the ground.

As she tries to let go of my hand, I hold on tighter. “How did you know I was here?”

Her eyebrows furrow and slowly she looks upward. She shrugs. “I do not know; I just had an odd feeling you were attempting something stupid. And here you are.”

“And here you are.” I say back.

She looks at our hands just as I do.

Before I can speak again, she is gone.