Page 65 of Soul Forge

“I know what it means,” she promised gently. “The Spirits showed me what you could become. I watched you slit my throat. I saw my parents dead beneath your boots, and my home burned to the ground.”

His dark brows rose. “And you still sided with me?”

“I don’t want to be responsible for putting you on that path. I felt that choosing to learn the Compulsion would do exactly that.” She paused. “It was hard for me to choose,” she admitted. “Seeing such carnage for the first time in my life was shocking.”

“So, what made you choose me?”

She smiled faintly. “Julian did. He reminded me that you’re more than just the Soul Forge. I couldn’t stand against you after that was made clear to me.”

He shook his head slowly. “You don’t even know me.”

“But I want to,” she beamed. “And I hope you’ll let me, now you know I’m on your side.”

He smiled faintly. “Sure, Princess.”

“Elda. No more titles. From now on, I’d like you to use my name.”

“Alright,” he nodded. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for acting like an ass. I’ll be better from now on, Elda.” Her name on his lips sent warmth spreading through her chest.

“You had your reasons. Now that I understand them, I forgive you.” She bent her head to smell the bouquet in her arms, her grin widening. “I forgot I asked for these.”

“I’m a man of my word,” he shrugged, plucking another blade of grass. She took in the hunched shoulders and the muscle ticking in his jaw. With his hood down and his head bent, she noticed another silvery scar along the back of his neck, partially hidden by the leather chord of the pendant always hanging beneath his clothes.

“Sypher?”

He tensed, sensing more questions. “Yes?”

“Can the wielders still use the Compulsion once you choose another one?”

“No. Once the purpose of each wielder is met, the Spirit severs the bond between us so that their monarch can take over. When I’m not bound to a wielder, I’m permanently bound to Aeon.” His head dipped. “My demon is too wary of him to act up when he’s in control of the bond. If Aeon were ever forced to use the Compulsion, he’d never release us from it.”

“He wouldn’t just kill you?”

“And lose his favourite weapon?” Sypher scoffed. “Of course not.”

Elda frowned. “Then why bother with wielders at all? Why does he need the Spirits to choose people if he can control you whenever he wants?”

“When Valerus is in a period of peace, there’s little need for the Spirits to intervene. I can handle the demons by working with the armies of the various kingdoms. I go for the Behemoths and Leviathans, and they take the lesser creatures.” She watched his throat bob when he swallowed. “But all things must end. When war and ancient monsters return, my life is at a much higher risk. My demon is needed more often, so Aeon feels I need monitoring directly.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he can’t be here himself.”

“Arrogance. That’s why. Aeon doesn’t need to get his hands dirty when he can have others monitor me. So, he transfers the power to someone else whenever something terrible happens. They get the fun task of helping me, and then the Compulsion transfers back to him when we’re done.”

Hearing him speak so harshly about the First – the creator of her entire world and everything in it – was uncomfortable. Worship of the Spirits was something she’d practiced her entire life. She prayed to Aeon each night for safety and good health. She attended the chapel each week to give thanks and would have given anything to be allowed to go to the temple with her people.

But there was no denying the tremble in Sypher's voice or the marks she’d seen on his skin. The dimming of the fire in his eyes was no lie. She could feel in her bones that what he’d said was the truth, and it made the world tilt around her.

“So, I’m… an errand girl?” she choked out.

“Basically.”

“And Aeon still chooses to operate this way even after the Corrupted were created?” She tugged at her braid, twisting it in her hands. “Abraxos and Malakai wiped out an entire battlefield.Cynthia and Malakai destroyed a wholerace. How can our deity choose to continue like this, knowing another Corrupted could be created at any time?”

“The bond I shared with Abraxos and Cynthia was severed the moment they switched sides. Aeon was concerned they’d try to use me to overpower him. But letting the other Spirits choose wielders is something he finds… amusing.”

Elda’s stomach pitched uncomfortably. “That’s barbaric.”

“Yes, it is.”

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