The Aperios (Children of the Sun Book 4)

Nira had been hoping, wishing, that Enor had been bluffing, just like the time he’d said he’d attack Irithara if they fought him and then had done nothing afterward. And at first, it really had looked that way. There were no flashes or sounds of explosions, and none of those aircrafts were in sight either.

Nira could tell that Relioth had grown nervous after crossing over the Iritharian border though. He had taken the form of a much less flashy, smaller winged lion, presumably to be less visible because the version of this form he usually used would be incredibly noticeable, even at long distances. Nira was sure that was the idea, so despite having largely negative feelings concerning the Eternal, she was grateful he hadn’t tried arguing about this.

But as they kept flying, Relioth suddenly moved his head to the side, his pointy ears swerving around. And when she concentrated really hard, Nira could hear something too. Relioth beat his huge wings harder, heading for a mountain peak, so they could get a better look at the surrounding landscape.

Nira almost gasped when she saw the scene in front of them. There was a coastal town in the distance, smoke rising from it, which made it hard to see if any of the buildings were left intact. But from what Nira could see, there weren’t.

She swallowed thickly, feeling her eyes start to sting, and it definitely wasn’t just from the cold wind. But she needed to stay distanced from this. If she let emotions get the better of her, she wouldn’t be able to put together anything objective. They were here to determine if Enor had actually started bombing Irithara.

This town could have been destroyed because they tried to rebel against Enor’s control, and it could have been destroyed hours ago. There didn’t seem to be any aircrafts anywhere to be seen, after all. Not that this possibility made it any better.

“We need to keep going.”

“Sure thing, princess,” Relioth replied with a lot of amusement in his voice. Nira wanted to kick him, but she kept her face neutral. She couldn’t let this distract her when her country was at stake.

She hadn’t expected him to teleport then, but he had teleported from Enoria to Irithara as well, so she really should have. Relioth proceeded to teleport a few more times, seemingly following the coastline, jumping around to some of the larger islands as well. The towns and cities Nira could see seemed to be okay, and she almost started to hope that Enor really had done nothing.

But then Relioth flew over another mountain range, giving Nira a sight out of her worst nightmares.

A swarm of aircrafts was flying around cities as far as she could see, the sounds of explosions and smoke in the distance as they systematically destroyed one house after the other. This was exactly what it had looked like back when Enor had attacked for the first time, but with one major difference—there was no army to protect the dying civilians.

Relioth quickly turned, flying right away from the destruction as if he hadn’t seen it.

“Where are you going? We need to help them!”

But Relioth just flew faster, gaining altitude as he flew up into the clouds. Even though she’d taken Eternal energy from weapons they’d used against Enor’s forces, Nira could still feel the biting cold.

Relioth did another jump then, ending up on the mountains above Aleara. Nira’s heart clenched at the sight of the huge ship hovering over the city, still in the same exact place as it had been the last time she’d seen it. What she wouldn’t give to crush it.

And all around it were what looked like hundreds, if not thousands of aircrafts, flying back and forth and all around the city, the ship, and the landscape.

But at least Aleara hadn’t been bombed, it seemed. And none of the cities close to the Capital seemed to be on fire either. But that changed nothing about the destruction the more distant parts of the Empire were being subjected to.

“We need to go back. We gotta tell Kaleth,” Relioth said, already about to fly away, but Nira grabbed his wing. He jerked it out of her hold, looking back at her with an offended glare, but she just glared back.

“We need to do something. We can’t just let him destroy Irithara,” Nira argued. They were already here. Surely they could save some of the villages and towns, couldn’t they?

“We stand in his way, we get destroyed too,” Relioth snapped, shaking his head, making his mane fly.

Nira was about to continue arguing when a loud crackle was heard behind her. She immediately looked back, Relioth turning around as well. A portal had opened, out of which came through first the Umbra, and then everyone else, including Nef. What was going on?

Seeing Nef almost slip on some ice and most likely fall off this mountain and to his death, Nira jumped off Relioth’s back and rushed forward, steading Nef with her hands on his shoulders.

“Why are you here?” Nira hadn’t meant to make it sound like an accusation, but even to her own ears it had come out that way.

Nef huffed, adjusting his grip on the telepathy amplifier he was holding. “Enor decided to bomb our clubhouse.”

Nira stared at him with wide eyes. What? How could Enor have found them? But before she could ask anything, Mereria spoke.

“We need to hide somewhere,” she said with her usual commanding tone, looking even angrier than usual. “Immediately. Then we can talk.”

And so Nira climbed onto Relioth’s back again, ignoring how he narrowed her eyes at her, especially once she helped Nef get up to sit behind her as well. At least Relioth stayed silent as he took flight again, followed closely behind by everyone else, some having turned into dragons to carry the others. Except for Yorin, who was a hippogriff, as always.

They were flying away from Aleara, and while Nira’s heart longed to go back there, she couldn’t argue that this was the right thing to do. Aleara was quite possibly the most dangerous place on the planet right now, and while they might surprise Enor by their lack of fear or common sense, it would probably be the last thing they did.

They flew for about an hour, staying far above the clouds, which meant that both Nef and Nira were shivering within minutes. Nira was far too stubborn to say anything to Relioth, even though she knew he could help them with this, but clearly Nef didn’t feel the same way because he’d asked Relioth to ‘turn on the heating’ five minutes in. Nira was secretly glad for that, but she was still annoyed, even though rationally she wasn’t even sure why.

What they eventually found was a small cave, relatively well hidden between mountain edges, where they all regrouped. And finally Nira got to hear about what exactly had happened.

It hadn’t occurred to her at all that Enor could have tricked them like this, but he clearly was attacking Irithara anyway, so this wasn’t as much a trick as just using the situation for his own gain. Whatever gain that was.

“Well, he is attacking Irithara, anyway,” Nira said once Kaleth finished recounting what had happened. “We need to stop him.”

“I agree.” Nira blinked. She hadn’t been expecting Kaleth to just agree with her, especially since how adamant he’d been about saving Enoria first. “We can’t just go back to Enoria, hide, and plan our next move if people are dying.”

Nira didn’t say anything, just glad that they could finally find some common ground. Her eyes found her father as if automatically, but he was standing in the corner, staring at the ground. She sighed. She needed to have a talk with him when there was time.

“However,” Kaleth continued, making Nira sigh again. Of course there was a however. “I don’t think we should rush into this without the telepathy amplifier finished. If we fight Enor’s soldiers and kill them, lives are still being lost.”

He did have a point there, so Nira just nodded. No one seemed to want to disagree either, but Nira wasn’t stupid. She knew that most of the people here didn’t care nearly as much about Irithara as her.

“Is it finished, Yorin?” Kaleth asked, turning around to look at the Eternal in question. Yorin actually flinched at being addressed, as if he hadn’t been listening.

“Ah, yes, it is, but it needs to be tested before being used in the field.” He shot Nira an apologetic grimace and cleared his throat. “Which reminds me—Rayni, would you mind trying it out?”

Rayni stepped away from the cave wall she’d been leaning at this whole time, looking baffled. “What? Why me?”

Now it was Yorin’s turn to look confused. “You are the strongest telepath we have. I thought that was obvious.”

Rayni continued to stare at him incredulously. Nira watched the exchange with a frown, also surprised by this. She didn’t want to presume anything, but the way she’d thought Eternal powers worked was that the stronger the Eternal was, the stronger the abilities got. That had been her own experience as well, apart from the few skills she had yet to master.

The point was that Rayni was definitely not the strongest Eternal in their group.

“I am?”

“Why do you think you are overhearing others’ thoughts without meaning to?” Only Yorin would manage to make this question sound earnest and sincere. And seeing as his eyes had started to sparkle, he had definitely gone into his science mode again.

Nira found it very hard not to say something given that her people were dying this very moment, but she managed to stay silent. She didn’t want to fight with the others, but she couldn’t just sit back and discuss things.

“I just thought I was crappy at it,” Rayni replied, shrugging, now looking thoughtful.

“Well, you do need some help with controlling it, definitely,” Yorin continued, taking the telepathy amplifier from Nef. Nira focused on her boyfriend for a moment. Was it just her or had he been strangely quiet throughout this whole discussion? And maybe even before that.

“But this should help with that as well.” Yorin raised the amplifier up, putting it onto his head. It glowed immediately, casting long, dark shadows over the walls of the cave. “See, Eternals can use telepathy, but are very bad at it.”

“Hey!” Of course it would be Relioth who would get offended by a completely general statement coming from one of his own kind. “I’m good at it.”

Yorin shook his head, looking like a parent annoyed with his kid’s antics. “You extracted information while tearing minds apart in the process. That is exactly my point.”

Then Yorin dramatically pointed at the glowing device on his head. “Amplifier might be a slightly misleading name for this device because what it actually does is make it much easier for Eternals to focus their telepathy precisely. And that makes it practically impossible to defend against it, as well.”

Nira wondered if she could manage telepathy with this thing as well, but she could live without it. She did need to absorb more energy from someone before going to fight again, though.

“Well, now I wanna try it,” Relioth said, his eyes practically glinting. A chorus of protests followed.

“Over my dead body, Relioth,” Kaleth told him, his tone surprisingly dark, even by the standards he usually addressed the Eternal. Then he turned his attention back to Yorin. “You can make more of these, correct? After the testing, I mean.”

“Yes, of course. I did bring the synthesizer specifically for this purpose.”

“Great. Then start testing it immediately, if you can. And if anyone isn’t completely sure they want to be here, decide where you stand.”

With that Kaleth excused himself, dragging Relioth away, deeper into the cave to presumably yell at him. That did seem to be all they ever did.

But Nira didn’t care. She needed to talk with her dad, especially after what Kaleth had just said. Her father clearly didn’t want to be here, that much was obvious just by looking at him. He looked both dismayed and unsure, which wasn’t something a king should ever look like.

It seemed Mereria had been right. He really wasn’t cut out for this, was he? It seemed Nira had ignored a lot of things that seemed obvious in retrospect when it came to her father, and none of it was pleasant to think about.

As she headed over to him, he only briefly looked up to meet her gaze and then nodded, keeping his head down as he walked farther into the cave. Nira could hear Kaleth’s voice in the background as she followed her father.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, unprompted. He looked so ashamed it was hard to watch.

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s okay,” Nira said immediately, putting her hand on his arm. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to fight.”

He looked surprised but proceeded to give her a grateful, if a little sad smile. “No, no, I will fight. It’s my duty to our people, after all. I just wish you didn’t have to.”

“I don’t have to. I want to.” As he’d said, it was their duty. And while it was still better than Nira had left Irithara, given who her mother had ended up being, she still couldn’t help but regret abandoning her country. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Her father sighed, his smile growing sadder. “You’re so much like your mother.”

Nira had no idea what to say to that. It just made her heart heavy.

“But that’s not what I meant.” Her father closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I’m sorry I disappointed you. I stand by my decision to surrender. The Iritharian army couldn’t hold back Enor for long, but our soldiers could have held on for much longer. But the moment Enor contacted me….”

He smiled again, the expression turning ironic rather than sad. “I’m a coward.”

Nira frowned at him. She was about to argue that he wasn’t. Of course he wasn’t. He’d stayed behind when Nira had left Irithara, fully knowing he’d have to withstand Irif’s fury at her newest host escaping her grasp. That was the opposite of cowardice. But he just took her hand and sniffed, which for some reason shocked her into silence.

“I’m proud of you, Nira.”

Tears gathered in Nira’s eyes, and she was wrapping her arms around him before she could even think about it. Her father embraced her back, sniffing again. She’d been expecting some long conversation where they’d both possibly yell at each other, but Nira definitely didn’t mind.

She did feel like she’d start crying, though, and she didn’t want that. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she let go. Even though she didn’t want anything to happen to him, knowing that her father would be fighting alongside them made her feel better. And in some ways worse.

But overall she felt lighter, and if possible even more determined to fight. She smiled at her father, who smiled back, stroking her shoulder.

With this tension gone, she could focus on what she needed to do to help in the upcoming fights as much as possible. Which meant she needed to absorb more energy. Maybe Relioth could take her back to those ancient tunnels. Maybe Sylari had left those energy injections there. And her father would need those too, presumably.

But before she could think about this further, there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, coming face to face with Nef, who shot her father a smile before focusing on her again.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Nira frowned at his serious tone but nodded, following him to the other corner of the cave, close to the entrance. She waited for Nef to say whatever he wanted to as he took in a breath and then immediately let it out, sighing heavily.

“Don’t take this as a criticism, but I think you’re in over your head.”

Nira frowned, folding her arms. “What are you saying?”

He grimaced, putting his hands together and gesturing towards her with them. “Well, I just think that a war between ancient superpowered beings should be, you know, fought by ancient superpowered beings.”

Nira frowned harder, unable not to feel a little insulted by this. Was he trying to imply that she was useless in this conflict? Was that it? Because that was about the last thing she’d expect to hear from him.

“I’m just as strong as some of the other Eternals,” Nira argued, making Nef grimace again. He gave her his best pleading look.

“Look, I just don’t want you to get hurt. Or worse.”

Nira shook her head. “So I should just leave and pretend my people aren’t dying right now?”

Nef cringed and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, that is what I implied, isn’t it?”

“You can leave if you want, Nef, but I’m staying until Enor is dead.”

And with that, Nira walked out of the cave, shaking her head. She could hear him call after her, but she was feeling far too angry all of a sudden to be around anyone. She needed to calm down, and hopefully no one would find her out here before she managed that. She couldn’t believe Nef wasn’t supporting her. He always had before, and surely he understood how important this was to her. And this was coming from the person who’d tried to kill Irif with a knife and died for it.

But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to let him undermine her resolve. She was going to fight, and she was going to free her home.