Page 220 of The Lands Defying
“This is Vahaliel,” Rhea says, holding her hand out and wiggling her fingers like she can feel its magic. She looks at me. “The plane of the Gods.”
“How do you know that?” I ask, but it would make the most sense.
She looks ahead and points. “That.”
I follow her gaze and see a single tree in the distance that I can only describe as the size of a mountain. No, maybe taller. It’s so wide and thick, with long, twining branches expelling from its center. It’s full of large blossoms, however, these ones glow.
“Zahariss,” Rhea whispers, looking at the tree. “Are you here?”
I can hear the slight desperation in her voice. She wants to know how to make things right within the lands, and what better way to know than to speak to one of its creators.
Apprehension swirls within me as Drax stands alert. I don’t know if the Gods are here, I don’t even know if they are alive. We could be walking into danger and we don’t even know it.
I’m alerted by twigs snapping to my left, and I stand defensively in front of Rhea, power extending out.
A paw comes into sight first, then another, but this is no ordinary wolf.
“Solvier!” Rhea gasps, and then she’s running.
The golden-eyed wolf steps forward, lowering his head, he accepts Rhea’s hug.
She cries into his fur, her arms wrapped as tightly as she can around his neck as he nuzzles into her.
I loathe her crying, it makes me want to grab what has upset her and take it away. I eye the wolf. I don’t think she would appreciate that.
“Hello, Rhea.”His voice sounds in my head.“Dark one.”
My nod is stilted, instantly remembering what he said to me that day in Eridian, but more so, because now I understand it.
“How?…I don’t understand,” Rhea says, clutching him tighter.
“This is where I am allowed to be,” he says.
“I’m so sorry,” Rhea hiccups. “I couldn’t protect you, I didn’t know what was happening until it was too late, I’m sorry—”
“Hush, now,”he says and takes a step back, looking directly into her eyes.“I knew my fate. I had lived a long time within Eridian without my chosen family, it was time for me to rest with them.”
Just then, another wolf comes out of the forest, and a smaller one follows.
I instantly remember the story Rhea told around the campfire that day, about how his chosen mate was pregnant, but they both died in Eridian when she delivered the babe.
“Oh, Solvier.” Rhea sniffles, bowing her head in respect to the other wolves. “Your daughter?” He nods. “She is beautiful.” She looks at the other wolf who sits and watches them, clearly nervous.
“You have created a new barrier it seems,”he asks, pride in his voice and she nods, smiling when the younger wolf, his daughter, comes up to him, nuzzling his side before going back to her mother.“You are doing what you must, your path is true.”
“It doesn’t feel like it, I feel useless.”
He shakes his head and growls low. Rhea’s breath hitches, and I’m about to go to her and demand that Solvier tell me what he just did, but then Runa is there, shaking her fur out.
I stand to attention with Drax. He will not hurt her.
“Calm, dark one. I will not hurt her.”I relax…a little.“You think this is useless,”he says, nudging a wary Runa’s side affectionately as she sniffs him.“You are doing well, you are on the right path.”He looks down to Runa.“It is so good to see you rather than just feel you.”Her tail wags.
Rhea strokes Runa’s head. “But what does that even mean?” Frustration bleeds in her voice. “I am supposed to right the wrong. Make it all better, but how?”
Solvier looks to Rhea and then me, huffing slightly.“You will know.”
The other female wolf makes a sounds and Solvier looks toward her.“I must go. Follow the wolves to where you need to go.”
