Page 68 of Bright Soul

Even seated, she loomed over him. “Do I seem fearful to you?”

“Fear comes in many forms. It would be disconcerting if you were looking for any other reason,” he answered.

She propped her chin on her fist, stirring a circle of light with her other hand. “So long I have known you, and yet there is still so much for you to learn. My ascension is soon.”

He was the picture of happiness. “Yes, my lady.”

With a flick of her wrist, that circle of light spun toward him, popping against his cheek like a soap bubble. “And you shall ascend with me. To ensure our success, why not harvest the Void? Why not have its greatest wielders tell me what could go wrong?”

She laughed, a great shriek of wailing souls. The Vess flinched, as did I.

“I didn’t know what she meant, Phaeron.”My brother’s voice was in my head as the memory continued to play out.

“You were the one closest to her. You never asked for specifics?” I asked aloud. My voice echoed hollowly in the vault of his memory.

“Just watch.”

Hands curling into fists, I did. The Vess had extinguished the Void in the room and gathered her skirts to kneel before Myuna. “Please, great goddess of light, spare me in exchange for the knowledge I have found for you within the Void.”

“So there will be something to interrupt my ascension. Speak freely, my child. I will reward you for your candor.” Myuna wove light between her fingers as she spoke, easing into her throne more. It seemed to put the Vess at ease.

She closed her eyes and spoke with the echoing power of the Void behind her. “A tide of souls will wash Soiluire clean.”

Myuna’s fingers froze for a moment. Her secret was there on the tip of this female’s tongue…there for Endaeron to unravel.

So why hadn’t he?

“You shall swell with great power and hold everything you desire in your palms.”

Light pulsed under the goddess’s skin as she leaned in, a grin spanning the pit of her mouth. “Go on,” she purred.

“But this planet shall be your last.” The Void giggled around the Vess. She bowed her head nearly to the ground as the pulseof Myuna’s light heated the air. “Another shall ascend to rival you, and she will bring about your death.”

The goddess wasn’t pretending to be at ease anymore. She stared at the Vess with white-hot fury. “Who would dare?” she thundered with the voices of hundreds.

Dread tingled along my scalp as Endaeron whispered to Myuna, patting her lustrous arm. Of centuries of memories,thiswas what he’s chosen to show me…

“It’s okay, my lady. You were right to ask for a warning. Now we can handle it,” he soothed.

“Who?” Myuna whispered to the frightened Vess.

With a swallow, she forced out the rest quickly. “She who would mate the son of night and fight you alongside his daughter. She will defeat you before you have a chance to spread your influence on a new world.”

No. It couldn’t be,I thought. A sick feeling rose in my stomach as I eyed the patterns on Endaeron’s horns. He’d worn these marks late in his life, with his last mate…around the time Keshora and I welcomed Ravai.

Thiswas why Myuna had targeted my mate and daughters.

“And that is all the Void whispered?” Myuna asked.

“Yes, my lady.”

With one intake of breath, Myuna had the Vess’s soul in her mouth. The body slumped pitifully to the ground.

“Myuna!” Endaeron exclaimed, shocked. “She was only doing as you asked!”

The goddess’s skin shimmered from the infusion of power. “As always, you shall breathe no word of this, as you yet live,” she stated. “This Vess simply…disappeared.” She lassoed the woman’s discarded form with the rope of light she’d woven, consuming it whole to leave no evidence behind.

Endaeron stared at her in defiance. “Eating those who bring you bad news isn’t going to solve your problems, my lady,” he said through gritted teeth.

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