Page 9 of Fates of Monsters

Relief floods me. “That’s what I want to—”

“There will be a price,” the voice hisses in such a strange tone. “To win this war, for peace, you will lose someone you love. There will be a moment, Wyern Queen, when you will feel nothing but despair, and you will rise as a queen or you will die as one.”

My heart pounds. “Who is going to die?”

“Someone you love. Once you feared letting anyone get close to your heart. Now there are many within. Fate has planned an unkind string for you.”

Fear clogs my throat. I don’t know who it is, but I won’t lose anyone. There must be a way for me to save them. “No. The goddess knew death, and she hated it. She took the sword to your world. She took them both. They were sisters.”

The voice hisses. “Sisters that were then separated by worlds. One sword was kept. The other destroyed into crowns, the parts of the sister’s soul lost forever in seven parts.”

She sounds hurt, broken, herself. “I’m sorry.”

“Do not be sorry for me, Queen of the Wyerns. You will have enough power to reshape everything, to destroy worlds and remake them as you wish. With the two swords, you could make yourself and all your family gods. You could have the world bowing at your feet. Not just this world, but many. You had the power to travel between the worlds, destroying and creating. Infinite power.”

I shake my head. “No one should have that much power, and it’s not what I want either.”

The voice doesn’t answer me for a while. “The test is this. You vow not to use your power to save your loved one. They die and you let it happen. I have seen the future of this war, and if you choose to save them, then you will use the power to be as cruel as the ones you wish to stop. In fear, you will turn your friends and mate into gods so that they never die. This will set a path that ends in another war, and another, and another. I will give you the sword, and one more gift, if you vow in blood to not save the one that is destined to fall in the battle with the power of the sword.”

Posy, Lorenzo, Nerelyth, Zurine, Emerson. It could be any of them, and I couldn’t live with watching them die, but I need the sword. My voice breaks along with my heart. I couldn’t imagine watching any of them die and letting it happen. “Why? Surely one person’s life can’t matter this much. The goddess wouldn’t have left the sword here, for me, only to demand such a horrid price for taking it. I am not evil, I haven’t done anything wrong, and I’m trying to help. I’m trying to save the world, and you’re demanding I let someone I love die to do that.”

“The power of the swords should never have been created, and it would be safer left here, in the veil, out of the reach of mortals or fae or Wyerns or gods,” the voice answers, still a hiss, but clearer. “The old god in this world was a lover of the goddess, and she saved his life, turned him into a god, and with time, he turned into a monster. Power corrupts even the purest soul, even you. The old god is controlling the Rift Kings and Queens, and he used his power to age them with the crowns. He has corrupted their souls and they cannot be saved. If you reject my offer, they will destroy both worlds, but the other worlds I see will be safe. This choice lies with you and whether you are brave enough to have your heart broken to save the world you love.”

“I need the sword to stop him, but I don’t want to do what you ask. You’re asking me to let someone I love die? What are you? Do you even know what love is? Do you understand what you are asking from me?”

The stars seem to lose some of their light. “I am the sword and I am alive. I understand love, as I love my sister sword, and she screams in pain as she will never be able to rest while her soul is spilt within seven crowns. My sister and I came from a world far from here, in search of peace, and we found the goddess. She helped us, and everyone else broke us. I know pain and love and loss.”

Tears quietly fall down my cheeks, dropping onto the black ground at my feet. Snowflakes drop from above, falling onto the ground. I reach my hands out, letting some flakes drop into my palms. On my right hand, a blue glowing snowflake mark appears, and on my other, a pink flame mark glows brightly. “The power of fire comes from your father’s side, from the fae that he was born from. That’s who you got the fire gift from. It was nothing to do with the prince who turned you. Your ice gift, on the other hand, is from the goddess herself. Only those with the goddess’s blood can wield the power of ice. With these marks, your power will increase. A gift, blessed in sorrow, for what is to come. Whatever choice you make, you will lose those you love.”

“Thank you,” I whisper to myself. “Does that mean Zurine has goddess blood?”

The air grows colder by the second. “Yes, your friend with the pale hair is another descendant. She was a mortal descendant of the goddess, just like you. Mortal turned fae. You are cousins.”

I had family the whole time, right in front of me. “Your mate’s time is dimming in his fight. What is your answer?”

“I…”

A sigh echoes around me. One of the lights fades, and there is an outline of a female in front of it. She slowly walks into view, the light disappearing behind her. Her long white hair falls down to the floor, trailing behind her, and she holds two daggers in her hands, one set on fire, one covered in ice, but that isn’t what makes me go still. Somehow, I know her. I’ve never met her, I’ve never spoken to her, but something in my chest is screaming at me that she is someone I know well. She is wearing torn grey clothing, and there is a fae royal symbol on her chest. There is also blood pouring down the side of her head, and she is pale, too pale. “My name is Aurora. I am you.”

“Why are you showing me this?”

The voice doesn’t answer, but soon more of the lights go out until only the moon is left. Five more women fall behind Aurora, and they are all me. The lives I lost. Aurora steps closer and offers me the daggers. “We died for you, for him, for a world of peace. You live, and you have a chance. Take these daggers and cut your hands. Mark the ground with your blood and vow. Then leave.”

I’m sorry. Whoever it is that I’m going to lose, I’m so, so sorry. I don’t have a choice, and I knew my answer right away. I can’t let my world fall and millions more die because of Louie. He has tainted everything and broken a part of me that I will never be able to fix. I take the daggers and she fades into a star full of light, along with the others. “I make the vow. I will not use the power of the sword to save the one I love in the war.”

If it is to be Emerson, I will go with him to death. I don’t say that personal vow out loud, but I know I mean every word as I cut my hand. There is no life, no happy ending, nothing for me without my mate. We are together, in life, in the end, and I dare any gods beyond death to try and part us. The second the blood falls on the ground, the daggers shake in my hands, and I’m forced to let them go. They disappear in a blast of light, and when the light fades, there is a beautiful sword hovering in front of me. It’s gold, from hilt to tip, and smothered in glowing pink flame symbols and blue ice symbols. I grab the hilt, and I can barely breathe as its power rockets through my body and soul.

I hear her voice, one more time, and I know I won’t hear her ever again. “It is a pleasure to be at your side, Queen of the Wyerns. We will make history and then you will set us both free.”

“I will.” Lifting the sword high in the air, I cut through the veil, right as I hear my mate roar in pain.

ChapterSeven

The veil fades away like a tidal wave of magic mixed with water, spreading in every direction and casting a blue light upon the once grey world. I land on my feet, the weight of the sword in my right hand as I search for my mate. I find my mother first, in my father’s arms, as he shields her in a sphere of fire from the grey magic still attacking them. I follow the magic to find Emerson and the Rift Queen fighting. His dark magic is lashing at her shadows. The pair of them seem equally matched… but Emerson’s arm is bleeding. A protective wave of anger washes over my vision until all I can see is my mate injured and being attacked. I barely feel my feet moving—I only know that I am—as I channel my powers through the sword in my hand. Emerson passes me by as I head for the Rift Queen, easily cutting through her magic with my sword in front of me until I’m right in front of her. She stumbles back, her black eyes bleeding black tears down her pale cheeks.

She looks right at the sword, her hand reaching for it, but it’s too late for her. She hurt my mate. I don’t even flinch before swinging my sword and swinging it straight through her chest, through her heart. The crown tumbles off her head as she gasps, looking down at my sword as I pull it from her. Emerson’s hand rests on my lower back as he steps to my side, and we both watch as grey shadows around us instantly vanish, the magic gone, and the Rift Queen crumbles to her knees, her whole body disappearing into grey ash spread around the crown.

The ash rises in the air, and everything pauses for only a second. The ash glows a sea blue and slowly forms a small female child with long brown hair and bright white eyes. The child smiles at me just briefly before disappearing into glittering dust that blows away on a breeze I can’t feel. I know that face. I’ve seen her before. That was one of the fae children that was taken, and now she is free. Death is the only way to free them. I turn to Emerson, touching his arm. “Are you okay?”

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