Page 49 of Return of the Darkness
“There was one instance where they tore apart a tavern—just the same as a few drunkards might—but enough to show they didn’t intend to be pleasant guests in the city.” Sadira wore a worried frown as she listened, gripping Caellum’s hand while holding her pink gown in the other as the strong winds threatened to uproot her skirts.
“They were worse in Tabheri,” Nyzaia said, donning black leathers. She had added a few extras to her attire: a red sash secured with a gold pin and her crown. Farid and Jabir dropped from the ship and approached, with Soren sandwiched between them. Larelle widened her eyes and glanced at Sadira and Caellum. Sadira’s eyes watered as she made to move forward but seemed to think better of it, clenching her jaw. Caellum’s attention was fixed on Soren’s movements and unchained hands. She was not being treated like a prisoner. Although Larelle would have kept a prisoner under closer guard, it was not her place to decide another ruler’s actions, though she worried about what Elisara might doif she saw Soren walking so freely. “It’s why Soren is here. They heightened the…temperamentalstate of her mind. I couldn’t risk leaving her in Tabheri.”
Soren glanced away from the group. What must have occurred for Nyzaia to have beaten the fallen queen to the brink of death to where she now walked freely, unchained, while suggesting there was something wrong with her mind? The fallen queen's clothes were loose around her figure, and Larelle easily recognised the signs of malnourishment visible in the hollows of her cheeks and eyes. There was no scowl on Soren’s face. She simply glanced between everyone and the dark, sandy floor. Still, Sadira and Caellum did not speak.
“Is there anything else we should all know before we look for Elisara?” Larelle asked.
“I’ll scout ahead,” Vlad said, motioning for all the guards from each realm to follow. Farid and Jabir stayed on either side of Soren, who continued staring at Nyzaia.
“I found people whose memories had resurfaced since our crowning,” Nyzaia said.
“So did we,” said Sadira. Larelle and Alvan exchanged a look and nodded, recalling Father Zoro.
“There’s a cult operating in Keres; they worship other gods and act as though they may not be from Ithyion,” Nyzaia explained, holding the pommel of her sword at her waist.
“Were they all old enough to have hailed from Ithyion?” Larelle asked, and Nyzaia nodded.
“They were old enough to have travelled from Ithyion and remember it, but what if they weren’t from Ithyion at all? They mentioned a deity, not our god, Keres. What if our realm comprises of people from many places, but we’ve just been fed some made-up story about our homeland?” The other rulers frowned. Ithyion’s history seemed so certain. No logical reason seemed to exist as to why a made-up kingdom would hide those hailing from different lands. “We cannot trust anything the Historian ever toldus or our families.”
“But my grandmother was still alive, and she remembered Ithyion,” Sadira explained.
“How are we to know her memories weren’t altered too when she arrived in Novisia? Or the memories of the two Wiccans as well?” Nyzaia pushed. Larelle considered it.
“We saw a priest,” said Larelle. “I can’t be certain if he was remembering things, as he was far from sane, but everything he said was linked to Osiris’s words. He spoke of curses and wore a clear symbol of Garridon, a realm that existed on Ithyion.” Alvan pulled the priest’s amulet from his pocket and handed it to Caellum and Sadira, who shared a look.
“These symbols reside on three pins in my father’s belongings,” Caellum said, tracing a thumb over the images on the back of the gold emblem.
“It still proves nothing about Ithyion,” Nyzaia pushed. “I stand by what I said. Ithyion might have never existed. All our ancestors could have hailed from completely different lands, perhaps fourseparatelands.”
“But why?” Larelle asked. “What reason would there be to lie about where we came from or why they settled here in Novisia?” Nobody had an answer. The rulers all looked at one another as the wind whipped around them.
“We should head into the trees to find shelter from the wind before making our way in land,” Larelle suggested. “We can continue talking on route.”
“Mumma!” shouted a small voice from Nerida’s ship. “I need to come with you,” Zarya called as Lillian tried to tug her back. Larelle frowned at her daughter's wild eyes and frantic jumping. “Ineedto come with you!” Zarya emphasised.
“You don’t think she’d start using what Osiris said as an excuse to stay close, do you?” Alvan asked. At the mention of Osiris, all eyes fell on the pair.
“I don’t think so,” Larelle murmured, waving at Lillian to bringZarya down.
“When did Osiris speak with her?” Nyzaia asked.
“It’s a long story,” Larelle sighed. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
“Actually,” Sadira interjected, “Would you mind if we spoke to you first about something, Nyzaia?” Sadira offered Larelle an apologetic smile, but the Queen of Nerida took no offence. She trusted there was a reason Nyzaia deserved to hear it first. As Farid and Jabir guided Soren ahead, she glanced back at her sister and Nyzaia. Larelle followed as soon as Zarya grabbed her and Alvan’s hands, swinging in between the two of them after waving goodbye to Lillian and Olden on the boat.
When Sadira, Caellum, and Nyzaia caught up, Larelle explained everything about Osiris, and the maps and books they found in the church. With Vivian’s permission, not that a queen needed it, they took the books. The acolyte had not noticed when Alvan successfully slid the notes about Zarya into their pile. Currently, the books resided on the ship, ready for reading on the way back to land. Nyzaia revealed more about the cult in Keres, how they had tried to sacrifice her and Farid before seeing Farid’s wings and believing him to be the living embodiment of a different god, Nefere. Intrigued at first, Larelle’s fascination soon turned to frustration as she struggled to piece it all together—memories had been hidden, but why? Other lands existed, but their whereabouts remained unknown, while the truth about their ancestors and Ithyion remained a mystery. If the priest was correct, at least two curses plagued Novisia or all lands, but the rulers decided to focus on the curse preventing Osiris from revealing more information, a curse no one knew how to reverse. The Wiccan were at play—potentially shapeshifters, too, whatever that meant—and a third faction related to Garridon, all of which were linked to the prophecy they had now heard from Osiris, Athena, and Father Zoro. To add to it all, they still had no idea about Caligh’s whereabouts, despite his huge risk to Novisia and other lands. It was exhausting for Larelle to think about, especially while grappling to understandher daughter’s power. Eventually, Zarya grew tired, and Alvan carried the princess on his back, allowing Sadira to fall into step beside Larelle.
“I’m sorry. I spoke with Nyzaia first as it was directly related to Soren,” Sadira murmured, using her powers to clear their path of tree branches, scattering red leaves on the ground.
“Do not apologise,” Larelle said. “Is everything okay?”
Sadira shrugged. “I do not know. We found Caellum’s father and grandfather’s journals, which details the moments Caligh entered their minds and seized control.” Sadira stared at Soren’s back, who seemed to turn her head before thinking better of it and slumping her shoulders. “It shows them slowly losing their minds as a result.” Larelle nodded.
“Did that align with Nyzaia’s depiction of how Soren has been in Keres?” Larelle asked, and Sadira nodded. “How does that make you feel?”
Chewing on her bottom lip, Sadira twisted a curl around her fingertip as if coming to terms with her thoughts. “I do not know. I hate her for what she did by betraying us all and assisting in Kazaar’s murder. But now, knowing it was not entirely her free will, and that his control had been taking root for who knows how long…”
“Did Nyzaia give a reason as to why she believed this?” Larelle asked, surprised that Nyzaia, out of everyone, had been so lenient with Soren, having always been the most on edge in her presence.
