“Oh, I remember. You mentioned her during one of our talks,” she replied. Indeed, Taeral had spoken my name in his brief conversations with her over the comms line, though I could no longer remember when, exactly. Everything had happened so fast since Taeral had first come to Cerix. “Welcome to the Fire Star, darling. It is an honor to have a Hermessi child in our midst,” she said to me, and I felt my cheeks burn like eager tinderboxes.
“The honor is mine, I assure you,” I said.
“How is he?” Taeral asked, unable to take his eyes off Sherus. I would’ve held him in my arms, right then and there, if I could’ve, if it would’ve done anything to mend his broken heart. This situation was hurting him deeply, despite his strong and reserved façade.
“Same as yesterday, I’m afraid.” Nuriya sighed. “He’s stable, but we don’t know for how long.”
“We do, actually.” Taeral scoffed. “Once the Hermessi reach five million affected fae, he’ll be…” His voice broke. He couldn’t say the words out loud. Nuriya slipped an arm around his broad shoulders and held him close. Tears twinkled in his amber eyes, but none dared to leave and roll down his cheeks.
Looking at them both, I noticed new similarities. I’d always found it interesting how one person could stand next to one parent, then the other, and resemble them both in different ways. Yet on his own, Taeral was unique—the best of both worlds and, from my understanding, an exceptionally rare and unique hybrid. He had the shape of his mother’s eyes and the blackness of her rich hair. Peeking at the crystal casing, I noticed Sherus’s expression as he slept—tranquil, despite his condition, wearing a faint smile. I recognized it. Taeral had Sherus’s smile, down to the fine line that formed at the corner of his mouth, an ephemeral shadow that could only bring joy.
But something troubled me in this scene. Taeral exchanged a few thoughts with his mother and brought her up to speed on what we’d accomplished on Mortis and on our way back to The Shade. I listened carefully, while examining every detail around me. There was a faint sense of familiarity present which I couldn’t put my finger on right away.
“What do Derek and Sofia think about you going back to Cerix?” Nuriya asked, after having been told about Eirexis’s location.
“They believe we’ll get local support from the new prime minister, but that we need to keep a low profile, nonetheless,” Taeral replied. “We’ll use the pink water cave of Hellym to get there. It’s the most inconspicuous way.”
Nuriya nodded slowly, still looking at Sherus in his crystal casing. I followed her gaze, and only then did it hit me. The familiar vibe. It came from him, somehow. There was something about Sherus, or perhaps something inside him that… resonated with me, on a deeper level. As if we knew each other, as if we’d met before. Of course, that was impossible, but it did nothing to wipe away this feeling I had.
Without even realizing it, I touched the crystal surface. My bones hummed. The resonance was even more powerful and confusing to me.
“It’s a good idea, as long as you’re careful,” Nuriya said. “I suppose you’ll have to organize your search areas carefully, as far as Eirexis is concerned. Cerix is a pretty big planet, you’ll need a plan so you don’t waste any time.”
“Kabbah mentioned using my scythe for this,” Taeral said. Nuriya looked at the weapon resting on his leather belt. “It might help, apparently.”
“Like some sort of detector?” she asked.
“Could be.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question,” I said. They both looked at me, eyebrows raised, once more proving their familial similarities. “What kind of fae is Sherus? Is he a full fire fae? Or… I don’t know, is there something different about him?”
“Different? What do you mean?” Taeral asked, understandably confused.
I exhaled sharply, trying to find the right words to explain a feeling I didn’t quite understand, myself. “I feel something resonating from him, if that makes sense? It’s difficult to put into words. He’s not like other fae I’ve come across.” I chuckled nervously. “Now that I think about it, you’re not the average fae to me, either.”
Nuriya grinned. “Taeral is half jinni. I’m sure you know that.”
I nodded. “And that would explain why he feels so different to me. However, I can’t explain why King Sherus has this effect on me.”
“You… feel something resonate from him, you said?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at her husband, probably trying to make more sense of what I’d poorly described. I nodded. “Sherus is a powerful fire fae. His heritage spans millennia; his bloodline is strong. Maybe as a Hermessi child, you are reacting differently to him.”
“That… That would make sense, yes,” I replied, accepting the idea but still unsure as to whether it offered a full explanation or not. As a Hermessi child, I did notice my whole being reacting in the presence of fae. Some shone brighter than others in the back of my head, with Taeral at the very top. But Sherus was something more.
I’d felt like this before. I just needed to figure out when and how and why. It was frustrating. As if a word had gotten stuck on the tip of my tongue, refusing to let go. Nuriya brushed those thoughts away by bringing us back to the main topic.
“Taeral, whatever comes next, I need you to remove yourself from this picture,” she said firmly.
“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.
She let a deep sigh roll out of her chest, also careful with her choice of words. Judging by the pained look on her face, she was struggling. “Your father might die. You know it, and I know it. It’s an awful thing to say, but it’s the truth.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“I need you to not let these thoughts of him get in your way. Take whatever you’re feeling about this and use it to fuel your energy,” Nuriya said. “Don’t allow yourself any emotional distraction.”
Taeral cleared his throat, a nervous smile trying his lips. “Mom, you don’t know what you’re asking. I can’t put my own father out of my mind.”
“You have to,” Nuriya replied firmly. “For the sake of all of us, you have to. Whatever happens, it seems as though our fate is in your hands, darling. I need you to concentrate and pull through. I need you to remember your military training. You’re a soldier, first and foremost, here and now.”
I understood where she was coming from and why she was telling him such things. It couldn’t be easy for a mother and wife to say such things, yet she’d found the strength to say them. Taeral thought about it for a few moments. Deep down, I knew he agreed with her—though what son would ever simply accept that he should not think of his father when it’s his father’s life he’s trying to save?
It was an emotional conundrum, to say the least.
“I will keep a clear head, I promise,” he eventually said. “Thank you.”
Nuriya cupped his cheek, blinking slowly, her amethyst eyes glowing with nothing but love and despair. “It is in times of war that great characters are shaped, my darling. And this is a conflict of cosmic proportions. Your father and I, your friends and loved ones… we don’t matter. No one matters, except your objective to bring Thieron back to Death. I know, it sounds cold and cruel, but it’s a truth few of us are truly able to face.”
“If you’ll forgive me,” I interjected, “I think it’s the thought of you and King Sherus, the thought of all his friends and loved ones, that has kept Taeral going until now. Maybe it’s this thought of you all that will help him win this war of cosmic proportions, in the end. I don’t know Taeral as well as you, as his mother, obviously, but I’ve learned enough about him to understand that he’s fueled by love, not by a mission objective.”
I worried she might take it the wrong way, but she didn’t. She took a deep breath and smiled at me, wordlessly telling me that she knew. What truly baffled me was Taeral’s expression—the way he looked at me had suddenly changed, and I didn’t know what to make of it. Fires glimmered in his irises, his pupils dilating slightly.
He quickly shifted focus back to Nuriya. “I would love to be more optimistic in this case, but let’s face it. There’s still a fifty percent chance we’re screwed. But if there’s one thing I know, no matter what, it’s that everything you tell me comes from a good place in your heart. However, Eira is right, and I’m glad she brought it up, because it reinforces what I feel. Whatever comes at us next, Mom, it’ll be my love for you and Dad to push me through, to help me fight it with all my strength, until we prevail or until we go down swinging.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She hid her face in his chest, and I could hear her soft sobs. It only lasted for a moment, enough to make me realize how badly she was hurting, despite her elegant and controlled appearance.
“I love you, my son. And your father loves you, too,” Nuriya said as she stepped back. “So, you be careful. You all be careful and come back to us, you hear?”
She looked at us both, this time, and I felt compelled to nod. The way she’d said it made me want to do whatever it took to please her. Nuriya had a magical allure, no doubt. She conquered the hearts of all, including this humbled, terrified, and also angry Hermessi child.
