Page 41 of Steeling Light
I do not know. The Prince of Strength may have ideas, though. He is a clever one—cleverer than I think he even knows. The Lady of Brightness may have ideas as well. My place is on the web, and he is more at home there than I am. I cannot tell you how to defeat him, only that you can. The web does not lie.
I nod and close my eyes to center myself to accept this challenge. “I’ll do it, but when I come back, you will tell me where Vesta is.” It isn’t a question, and Maerlix doesn’t answer, merely nodding his head and splashing venom over the floor in the process.
I turn to Vellith, and without a word, she takes my hand and pulls me through the web back into the rest of the Keep. Rhion is waiting for me, a smirk on his face as he leans against the rough brown walls.
“Well, did you find out where Vesta is?” he asks.
I shake my head. “We have to do Maerlix a favor before he’ll tell us.”
He arches an eyebrow. “A favor? What kind of favor? What does the Spider King need from you?”
“Not a big deal,” I say. “He just needs you, me, and my mother to kill the God of Nightmares.”
And for the first time that I can remember, Rhion is left speechless.
Chapter 22
Destiny is a strange thing. I have experimented with the powers of Saelira too many times to count, and even so, I do not grasp them. Calyr’s powers, though, those are understood even though we still do not have access to them. Following the lines of cause and effect and estimating the future is a worthy pursuit. This is not destiny, though…
~Rhaskar Thorne, The Fifth Book of the Priests
Ainslee
Rhion spent an hour questioning Vellith about Morvael, and she seemed to expect it, having more answers than I’d thought she would.
It turns out that the silkies and weavers know a significant amount about Morvael. He’s made of darkness, and when in the light, he will disappear. That doesn’t mean that he’s dead, though. He just shifts to another bit of darkness. You can’t injure him with a blade, yet he can and will fight with tooth and claw. The Old Ones trapped him by removing every dark place for miles, something we can’t do. Even then, they couldn’t manage to kill him. He just hid under the rocks and within the trees. It forced him to give up enough power that they could contain him in mist. It has something to do with the refractive qualities of the mist preventing him from moving through it.
He was so drained of power for eons that he couldn’t even walk the roads of dreams, but as more and more people happened upon him and were devoured by him, he regained enough of the power he once had.
Then we found the most surprising bit. He’s right here in Selithar. At the center of the Labyrinth.
We’re supposed to navigate the maze, find Morvael, and drain the last bit of his energy. Then, with the power of Light, we must burn him to nothing.
At least that’s what Rhion thinks. I have my reservations. I cannot imagine gods dying quite as easily as that.
But here we are, my very unsure mother standing beside me in fighting attire for the first time, itching at every seam, and Rhion wearing what can only be described as the most expensive gambeson I’ve ever seen.
“Are you sure you want to wear that?” I ask for the fifth time. “It seems… fancy.”
He shakes his head, and my mother watches our bickering with a look of absolute terror on her face. “I had it made right after we left the Keep of Webs yesterday. It’s perfect. I even have space for a few enchanting tools since I have no idea what we’re going to be dealing with.” He opens a pocket, and I see strange blades and baubles inside. “Plenty of room to move in. Slots for wings and a tail to grow from. Enough space in the arms and legs if I need to be stronger. As perfect as I’ve ever seen. You have to hand it to the tailors in Selithar. They’re quick and do quality work.”
At that, my mother smiles. “We have more social events than any other place in Nyth, and excellent tailors are respected nearly as much as the nobility. When we get back…”
Her face goes pale again, and I hold her hand. “Mother, you don’t have to do this. I know you’ve never done any fighting. No one would look down on you if you…”
She shakes her head and stands a little taller. “I am the Countess of Light, Lee. And Light is what you say we need. I may be afraid, but for once in my life, I candosomething to help people. Not just talk and politic. Today, maybe I might even make you proud, and I won’t give up that chance just because I’m terrified.”
And of course, Rhion chimes in. “Half the soldiers I’ve trained have pissed themselves before their first battle, so it looks like you’re doing well enough.”
She chuckles. “Ask me again after this is done.”
Rhion’s smile is wide, and he puts his hand on my mother’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze. “You’ll do fine. Just point the shiny parts at the big, bad, terrifying thing, and we’ll do the rest.”
She nods, trusting him as much as she would trust anyone. He looks down at me and winks. I sigh and say, “Well, I guess it’s now or never. Time to figure out how to get to the middle of this thing.”
Wings grow from both mine and Rhion’s backs. He walks behind my mother and scoops her up in his arms like he’s carrying a child who fell asleep at the dinner table. Then we spring into the air.
Light explodes from me as I smile. Cheer fills me up as I think about the stories we’re going to tell after this. Darian will laugh, and Cole will be shocked. I bet his jaw will actually drop when he hears about this.
