Page 22 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“I do not care,” Tessa said. “I have been forgotten and discarded, used and abused. You think I have any care for what you are? For my own wellbeing at this point? I have nothing to lose anymore. I’ve already lost it all. I am the villain in everyone’s story, including my own. I am the excuse for everyone’s actions, and I am the power everyone seeks. I stand at a crossroads. Salvation or destruction. So either tell me why you chose your path or leave. I will make a choice either way. You can decide if your knowledge is valuable enough for me to consider before I take that next step.”
Serafina didn’t move. Didn’t blink as she studied Tessa. And Luka found himself drawing closer. He hadn’t even realized hisfeet had moved, but he needed to see her face. He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t the cool iciness that he found. There was no hesitancy. There was fury, but when wasn’t there anymore? And her words? She’d once said things so similar, but she’d been different then. Beat down by a world full of the wicked. She was a villain because this realm had turned her into one.
The difference was now she didn’t seem to care. She was embracing all that she was.
Wild and untamed.
Chaotic and uncontrollable.
Powerful and vengeful.
“So much like your father. Wild and stubborn,” Serafina murmured.
“He abandoned me. I could not care less about him,” Tessa spat.
The goddess leaned in, as if she wanted to whisper into Tessa’s ear. “You are powerful, but you are not immune to my gifts, Tessalyn. Is that what you believe happened? That he wanted nothing to do with you? That he left you to the Fates?”
“Worse,” she sneered. “He left me alone. Everyone did. It is what I have lived and what I know. Alone in a damned world. Wishing someone would care…”
She trailed off, waiting for Serafina’s response, and Luka glanced at the goddess. Her lips were pursed, eyes glowing even brighter now, as if they were starlight themselves. Silver flames flickered in them. The same silver flames Scarlett could wield.
“Arius and Achaz used to be quite close. Like brothers,” Serafina said. “The first to emerge from the Chaos, they worked together in harmony, as was always meant to be. Keeping the balance.”
“You would have tipped the balance either way,” Tessa said.
Serafina’s answering smile was anything but joyful. “We were not the only beings to emerge from the Chaos. Arius and Achaz may have been the first, but other beings emerged after them. Some before the rest of us.”
“You speak of the World Walkers,” Razik cut in, drifting closer. The draw of new information pulled him in like a moth to a flame.
“The World Walkers were one of them, yes,” the goddess agreed.
“Who else?” Tessa asked.
“The dragons. The seraphs.” Her gaze moved from Xan and settled back on Tessa. “The Fates.”
“Are there more?” Tessa pressed.
“They are the main players,” Serafina replied. “We all emerged with our own strengths. We were all meant to be a balance, but… We created. New stars. New worlds. But the World Walkers were the ones who could move most freely among the realms. The rest of us could do so, but there are costs for magic that is not inherently yours.”
“What does any of this have to do with choosing Arius over Achaz?” Tessa cut in.
“The World Walkers were just as powerful as the gods. While we had our own powers, so did they. They could also create worlds, and they could shift forms at will. The Fates warned of a coming imbalance, and as happens when one tries to figure out fate, destruction befell us all. War erupted between the gods and World Walkers.”
“The Everlasting War,” Eliza clarified.
Serafina nodded. “We were losing, and in our desperation, we thought if we could create a powerful child, stronger than any other being to exist…”
“You and Achaz were going to create… Why didn’t you?” Tessa asked, inching a little closer.
“It is a long tale. One we do not have time for this day,” Serafina answered. “But there came a time when we disagreed with Achaz. He was consumed by victory and power. We knew the balance was going to tip either way. The Fates stepped back and provided a choice.”
“Salvation or destruction,” Tessa murmured, her hands opening and closing at her sides.
Serafina nodded again. “Two could come together and change the course of history. A terminus and a genesis. It was left up to them to choose it. Since that time, there have been other crucial moments offered to two souls that could alter history. Some chose the genesis. Some did not. Some do not realize they have even chosen it. But the Fates do not intervene beyond ensuring their paths cross.”
“It was always more than a bond.” Tessa’s words were so quiet, Luka was sure no one else had heard them. She had taken a small step back, her hands once again in her hair. Then her eyes flashed to him. “He knew?”
“I don’t…” Luka started, still trying to wrap his mind around things, but an image flashed in his mind. A term circled over and over on a sheet of paper in Eliza and Razik’s rooms.
