My gaze swings up to the top of the wall as a sickening thought enters my mind, and I shut my eyes at the impossible, but indisputable epiphany.
“I … I… I don't…” the guard stammers.
“A superior officer asked you a question,” I snap. “I suggest you answer him.”
“They were crawling on top of one another!” the guard bursts out, his words tumbling over themselves. “I know it sounds crazy, but they were. Some were lying on the ground while others were standing on their backs and shoulders. They were digging into the walls!”
“Not digging,” I growl, rolling my neck. “Climbing.”
Kace gasps. “You think they were trying to climb over?”
I nod and both Griffin and Kace stare back at me, their gazes unblinking. Griffin shakes himself from his stupor and places a hand on the wall. Kace joins him a moment later to scrutinize the slices more closely. But after their thorough inspection, neither one of them can voice an argument.
“But… but…” the guard stutters. “Soulless can’t do that! They only hunt and feed. They aren’t capable of this!”
“They also don't run away or work harmoniously with one another, but you witnessed both,” Griffin says on a long, drawn-out breath, scrubbing his hands over his face.
The guard frantically searches our faces, but upon seeing our grave expressions, he barks a laugh, manic humor overtaking him before he buries his face in his hands with a whimper.
“You’re dismissed, Private,” I sneer, no longer willing to deal with the sniveling fool.
He sniffles while performing a halfass bow before tripping over his own feet and scampering back within the relative safety of the walls.
Kace chuckles. “He couldn't get away from you fast enough, could he?”
“Reassign him to desk duty,” I order, ambling towards the arched east gate.
Did they only try to climb over? Or were they searching for another way to get in?
Sweeping my gaze over the barred gate and the surrounding area, I find deep gouges and crumbled rock in the stone where the black metal is embedded. Eyes passing along the solid slab of iron, I stop when they land on the slit where the two doors mesh, finding several scratches that, fortunately, only scuff the surface.
Palms glittering orange as I return to the wall, I tap into my Air Gifts. Fallen brown, orange, and yellow leaves rise steadily from the ground, coalescing into a spiraling column. The wind sweeps strands of hair across my face, bumps pebbling on my skin as the Fall air cools even more with the gust of wind. Rotating faster and faster, the cyclone of leaves soars towards the wall on a fluctuating wave, shaping itself to the triangular outline of the claw marks.
The others join me as I command the fire orbs to release their charges, zooming above the outline of the spiraling leaves.
If twenty Soulless can climb this high, how high could forty?
Illuminated in orange light from the roiling orbs of fire, the pyramid of leaves widen and rise to double their size. Calling forth a dozen more orbs, I listen to the crackling flames as they rise above our heads and whoosh towards the point of the triangle, watching as they scale upward one by one, dotting an illuminated path from the tip of the pyramid to the very top of the wall.
“That’s halfway up,” Kace breathes, slumping against a nearby maple tree and resting his head back.
“Darius, if forty Soulless can do that,” Griffin motions toward the wall with a wave of his hand, an urgency to his brown eyes that I feel within myself, “what could sixty do? Or eighty? Or a hundred?”
Kace pushes off the tree, tapping his foot on the forest floor and cupping his mouth, shaking his head. “Soulless don't behave this way.”
“They could,” I reply, sucking on my teeth. “If a Gods Cursed commanded them to.”
The sounds of rustling insects and windswept trees drown out their silence as I drop my head back and lift my gaze, following the trail of flamed orbs to the top of the wall that I once thought seemed so high, but now I fear isn't tall enough. I imagine what would have happened if those demons had made it over. If they managed to sneak into Seboia in the middle of the night while thousands of innocents were sleeping soundly in their beds, believing the walls would keep them safe. Very few citizens have ever seen a Soulless, let alone fought one. Most haven't even been taught the proper ways to defend themselves against them. Sheltered safely in the city as they are now, there was no need for them to learn. I now see our glaring oversight. Our arrogant naivety in the belief that the walls would always protect, when the truth of the matter is that the walls can also be a trap. A cage, if the Soulless were ever to breach these walls. Envisioning these ominous scenarios, my stomach hollows out as the bloody massacre plays out in my mind.
“What does this mean?” Kace asks, he and Griffin coming to stand beside me.
“It means,” I reply, grazing my palm across my enemies’ scores of intent, “that we now have our evidence.”
The Goddess of Life loves all her children, but it is said that immortals and fae are her most favored, her crown jewels. More specifically, Cascadonia and its people, whom she considers her proudest and most beloved creations besides the gods. Some would even argue that she loves Cascadonians more than the gods, but no one would dare to disrespect the gods by speaking that thought so openly.
Yes, Urielle loves the Cascadonians, but after she created them, she realized that although she cherished her new children, she would never be able to forge a true relationship with them. She is a goddess and does not belong within our realm, and we would never belong in hers. Saddened by this, Uriella went in search of a way to establish a bond between herself and the faes and immortals. A way to express her love even if she wasn't present. That was when, while in the gods’ realm, Uriella came across the aura crystal – an opaque, white crystal speckled with flecks of shimmering sapphires, dazzling emeralds, glowing rubies, glittering golds, and sparkling tourmaline.
While mesmerized with the glittering, rainbow-like colors from the effervescent stone, an idea popped into Uriella’s mind of the most perfect gift. Elated with her newfound discovery, she dismissed her godly Gifts and unearthed these divine crystals with her own two hands, digging and digging and digging until she had more than enough to create this special present. Once finished, she portaled all these crystals to Seboia, melted them into liquid, and began to sculpt. Flowing like water, the liquid crystal created walls and ceilings, formed roofs and beams, framed doors and archways, and molded turrets and pillars to create a grand, opulent palace out of the prismatic stone. Yet, once the Goddess of Light completed her task, she still was not pleased with her offering. She thought the palace was beautiful and lavish, but felt a god's gift should be a bit more splendid, more majestic.
With that thought, Uriella then added liquid gold to the walls and domed rooftops, veining the gold with crushed starlight. But what elevated this gift, what made it a true masterpiece, was the glorious royal blue sapphire that she magicked to hover indefinitely in an open archway of the largest pillar. With the addition of this massive jewel, The Mother of All was now satisfied, knowing all Seboia could bask at the sight of the Gods Touched palace and could now truly appreciate the honor the Goddess of Life bestowed upon them with such a sacred gift. And in doing so, forever sheltering Cascadonians in a home constructed of the very crystal native to the gods’ realm, the Goddess of Life forged a spiritual connection that's been felt for thousands of generations.
It's always baffled me how that story has been passed down from one royal to the next, how every royal throughout the ages has sworn they’ve sensed the Goddess of Life’s presence within the divine crystal. Yet when I touch these walls, I only feel cold, hard crystal. No presence of a goddess. No divine, spiritual connection. Only a frozen, unfeeling void. An absence of warmth and life unlike the wooden walls in the homes of Seboia where the wood almost pulsates in an echoed remembrance of the repurposed trees’ once beating heart.
No, this palace wasn’t a gift from the gods. Only a prismatic frozen tomb that gave plausibility to another tale concocted by the Cascadonian royals.
Climbing the last step to the royal wing, my boots clomp against the marble floor as I stalk past the former quarters of my mother and the late King’s. Ignoring the physical hum from the ward placed on the forbidden room, I drift past it and open the door to my mother's private dining area within her chambers.
Dark, earthy colors greet my eyes. Smooth oak wood walls blend seamlessly with segments of molded honeycomb and copper latimer panels. A suitable accompaniment to the Gods Light sputtering from the decorative copper sconces interspersed throughout the dining room. The rollicking flames cast the room in a warm, ambient light, along with the glow of the moons beaming through the floor-to-ceiling arched windows. Fortunately for this room, as well as all the chambers and meeting rooms throughout the palace, they’re now composed of only wood. Not a crystal in sight. I can only imagine that before the renovation, it was quite frustrating for my forefathers to be blinded by a rainbow of colors reflecting off their fork while trying to eat. Or to have to squint from the metallic sheen while speaking to a visiting royal.
Fresh rolls, cheese, bottles of wine, and a decanter of spirits are arranged in the center of a long, maple wood table along with a lavish bouquet of peonies, sweet peas, and lilies. Six place settings are laid out on a table that seats twelve, but only one seat is currently occupied.
All but for the messy topknot and a streak of soot on the back of her neck, Aurora is almost unrecognizable, dressed in a fitted red gown and ruby studded heels while she nibbles on a piece of cheese.
“I see that you changed,” I say. Dragging the highback chair out, I seat myself beside her.
She eyes me up and down. Seemingly unimpressed, she reaches for a roll. “And I see that you didn't.”
