Page 53 of Glass Wings
“What if they kill you right there? What if they are just waiting for you to bow before them like a berated child? I can’t lose you. This baby needs its godmother.” Allienna smiled, her eyes big and watery.
“If it takes some focus off of you and this miracle child, then I will die one thousand times,” Reign said, throwing her arms around her best friend.
“Enough with the dramatics,” Djoser scolded, tucked in the corner. “Let’s fucking get this over with.”
Arryn strutted forward into the center of the room, head held high. He slowly turned, making eye contact with his clan and nodding in approval, signaling all to go through the hallway and the opposite door into Mrilyosis.They had no backup, there was not a Waihema army as he had hoped. It was all on him, now. Arryn would solely have to take responsibility for them all. He would not fail.
He watched Reign, Amis, Djoser, Precession, and Roksana walk ahead, ready to put their lives on the line. Arryn took one last meaningful glance at Allienna, who was still rooted to where she stood, before following the others. He stepped through the portal door and sank into the snow.
The others had their wings out and walked down the peak on high alert. Arryn looked around at the quiet carbon copy of Earth. This place haunted him. He wasn’t welcomed there, where he threw his magical creations in hopes that they would die out naturally. He knew that they didn’t. He knew that whole cities formed and intelligent life blossomed, hating him, wishing for his demise.
You will not fail.
Arryn stopped moving, letting his feet sink into the hard snow while the others continued to trail in front of him.
“We are here,” he whispered into the soft breeze, his eyes uptoward the sky. Reign turned around, noticing his tactic, and looked up, tugging on the others to join.
“Is no one else here sick of all this snow?” Djoser complained.
Arryn felt the fire light under his skin from his irritation. This washissnow. He poured his power and heat into the storms, creating a sea of white and ice.
“Please go back to Egypt, Djoser,” Roksana jumped in, her body underneath Precession’s right arm, helping to support her weight as they continued moving downward.
“You don’t even know where you are going,” Reign said at their backs.
“Karmakara,” Precession whispered. The breeze picked up the name she uttered and carried it to the mountain peak. She then gave a high-pitched cry, like the first notes of an ancient song.
“Mother,” the word poured through her lips, her eyes focused but not seeing. Arryn watched as her feet began to disconnect from the ground, her back arching and head hanging as she levitated without using her wings.
“This is weird, right?” Djoser asked, staring up, mouth open.
“She’s saving you time,” Roksana snapped back at him while Amis moved up behind her, enveloping her small frame with his while they both watched the red-headed beauty hang in the sky, calling out for her goddess, her creator.
A physical heaviness pressed onto Arryn’s chest, though there were no visible changes from Precession’s call.
“Is that because . . .” Reign trailed off, looking all around her as if expecting to see someone.
“Yes,” Roksana confirmed, “if she ever uses any abilities, she disconnects from the realm’s moon. There is no tether right now. The rotation is slowing.”
“What is supposed to happen?” Amis asked, “Are they supposed to appear?”
A louder cry and a melodic siren call escaped from Precession while her wings dramatically hung limp, as if they were made out ofheavy blankets, emphasizing the strange pull of her body towards the sky.
Though sunshine kissed the realm and not a cloud painted the sky, a crash of thunder roared through the mountain peak, and droplets of rain fell from the heavens. A spectral color that could not be found in nature shimmered through each particle as the drizzle thickened into a gentle storm. Precession was caught in a cascading downpour of divine light that blinded Arryn.
He began to shield his eyes and looked away until he saw a gentle hand supporting Precession’s back, pulling her upright. Another hand cradled the floating Kinnari as the rain and the light continued to paint a figure, a goddess holding onto her child until she was there in physical form, bringing both bodies down towards the ground gently.
“Mother,” Roksana stammered, taking hurried steps towards the celestial being that stood there holding Precession's hand. Arryn’s breath calmed as the instant connection Precession had to the moon brought the realm back as it should be.
Karmakara stood regal and wise in human form before them. Her gold and silver hair seemed to dance in the realm’s light and was woven into an intricate braid, symbolic of the destinies and fates she oversaw. A trail of starlight fell around her every movement while the air surrounding her was melodic, full of the understanding that ballads of stories not yet lived danced against her very essence.
“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Karmakara’s voice energetically rang through the mountain peak, high and sweet. Arryn could listen to her voice for eternity. He stared in awe, never having met this being before, though knowing that Allienna, Precession, and Roksana grew up with her voice guiding them as children. Arryn did not get the same treatment from his creator, the Life Gifter. He and Djoser had to bear the weight of their abilities alone.
“I call down Ayurveda,” Karmakara announced to the group before her, smiling and calm. Arryn did not hide the suspicion on his face as he snuck a few steps to stand closer to Reign, ready to protect his dear friend and his family.
Light continued to radiate off of Karmakara despite the sky's darkening, creating a bubble effect around the celestial.
“Breathe,” she sang into the sky, though Arryn felt strongly that her words were wisdom directed toward them, while ashen smoke began to waft in through the peak.
