Page 68 of Steeling Light
“It is a sad thing for a Conduit to die, but it is for the best, I think.” His rhythm continues even as he speaks. “Your father would not listen to reason, Rhion Rahn, son of Gethin. The things he did were horrific. Do you follow in his footsteps? Do you wish to dominate the world of Nyth? Do you wish to destroy the Houses that dragons gave up their lives to create?”
I shake my head. “No. I was the one who killed him. Not to steal his crown, but to stop him.” I don’t say the most important part.To save the woman I love.
Sidon nods slowly and shifts uncomfortably, but this time he trembles a little. His expression shifts into a snarl, but no sound leaves. His head stays close to me, and his gray eye continues to dominate my view. The horns that extend backward toward his shoulders are long and straight, curling only at the tips. The silver scales that cover his body shimmer like freshly forged steel, gleaming in the bright light of this world.
“Your soul is not like your father’s. He did not wear the scent of a mate, but your soul calls to another, desperate to bind itself to her. But you doubt, Son of Gethin. You do not believe yourself strong enough to wear the Crown of Steel. Why? Your bloodline runs true.”
I clench my jaw at the direct question and shake my head. “I… I am not as strong as my father. He was the strongest of all the Conduits, and I know I will not be as strong as Cole Cyrus was. I do not even know if I am as strong as his…mate.”
A gust of hot air billows from Sidon’s nostrils. “Would you consider your father a good King of Steel?”
“On the one hand…”
“Yes or no. You will soon learn that I do not appreciate complicated answers when simple ones will do. Do not ruin good steel.”
I blink. Was my father a good king? I don’t know. We are the strongest House in Nyth. He was the strongest Conduit. Isn’t that what’s most important for Sidon the Strong’s House?
“I think so.”
Sidon nods. “This is a better answer. It is wrong, though. Your father was tasked with a singular job: protect Nyth. He failed to do this. He failed to return to the void when his time had come. He failed to do everything that was expected of him. It does not matter how strong a warrior is if he refuses to do what his people need most. This does not make a good King.”
I swallow hard. What do you say to that? “Rhion Rahn, the purpose of your House has been lost during your father’s reign. My House was one of inner strength as well as outer strength. You are weaker than Inni’s or Kasan’s Houses. You must find strength elsewhere, in steel, where they find strength with their powers. I gave you the gift of becoming who you needed to be. I gave you the gift of building the tools you needed. I did not give you the tools to dominate the world.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to speak as he continues, “The House of Destruction protected Nyth and the Anchors from enemies. Kasan gave his House the ability to shape the world to help the Immortals and the humans. Whether with magic or with strength. Vyran’s House was meant to be where they were needed most, whether in this world or another. And my House, the House of Strength, of Steel, was supposed to help with all of these things. You were given the tools to become whatever was needed. A warrior one day and a healer the next. A builder or messenger. You were not supposed to be the strongest, but you werealwayssupposed to be strong. No matter the task. And your father forgot this. Have you?”
I think back. Am I always prepared? Have I helped as more than a warrior? Maybe?
“I don’t know, Sidon. I was not taught to do these things.”
The world around me changes. We’re in a room so familiar to me. My workshop. A young version of me is standing at my worktable, burin in hand, while Grimnar stands behind me.
“You create, Rhion Rahn. You have embraced the enchanting gift to a degree that only your grandfather had previously.”
The world shifts again, and Ainslee lies on a bed, her skin burned seemingly beyond repair, and I breathe my power across a bridge of spellstones.
“You heal. You, a man who was taught only of war, learned to heal without training. You gave another the chance to breathe easier and took away her pain.”
Another shift of the world has us standing at the center of the Labyrinth facing down Morvael. “You are willing to fight against far more powerful enemies. You are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. You are brave when a thing of nightmares stands before you.”
Then we’re standing in a field looking at myself and Ainslee holding hands. Bits of flesh and light swirl together as we speak. “You love with all your soul. Even when you knew that pain could follow, you gave your heart and soul to another without any gain in power.”
Finally, we’re standing on the battlefield I stood on only three days ago. Cole lies dead at my feet, and my father is burned beyond recognition. He commands me to put down my weapon, and I refuse, but the pain never comes. “You defied what was wrong in the world, and your loyalty lies with one who deserves it. Not the one who claims it.”
The world changes just as my blade slides through my father’s heart. We’re back in front of the monument to Vesper, and I stare at Sidon, who is standing again. “You, Rhion Rahn, are strong. You are stronger than your father ever was, and you will be a far better King of Steel than he could have imagined.”
Interlude 6
Ainsleewalkedintothegeneral’s chambers with her head held high. Kieran, her father, waited for her. Rhion had arranged the meeting so they could be alone. This would be the first time that Kieran had seen his daughter since her mother had brought her to the Keep of Flames when she was six years old.
He’d been furious at how worthless she had seemed then. The House of Light was a place of flippant beauty rather than the strength that was so important to him. He’d paid her mother well to bear his child, and when he’d found out she was pregnant with twins, he’d been thrilled.
That excitement had been ripped away when he learned they were not from the House of Steel as he’d expected. A child born of two Houses would have the powers of both, but it would only feel the true calling to a single one. Until the child was old enough to have control of its powers, it was impossible to tell.
And it was during that singular visit to the House of Light that he learned both his son and daughter had fallen into Adelynne’s House rather than his own.
He’d been furious at the realization. He’d said things that were unbecoming of anyone, much less a noble from the House of Steel. He should have had more control, and he certainly shouldn’t have thrown Ainslee at that table or slapped Adelynne. It was no one’s fault that his children were born to be like their mother, but that didn’t take away the pain.
But he could redeem himself. Now, for the first time in nine hundred years, his daughter was willing to speak to him.
