Page 45 of Stone Sentinels

Silvanus.

My eyes dart around the room in search of the primordial being, but he remains hidden from my sight. Still, he’s here with us. He saw what happened the day I died. I return my gaze to Variant as he raises a cocky eyebrow in my direction.

“What would you do if you could have it all, Baron?” he asks. “If you could hold the power of the gods in your hands and do with it what you please, what would you choose to do?”

His questions give me pause. “I believe I would restore the humans. They were once part of these Realms and deserved to be here as much as us and the fae. Why shouldn’t they be restored? Humans were a perfect neutral of light and dark, corruption and compassion. I believe losing them was what threw the balance.”

“And what if I told you you’re wrong?” he whispers. “That the events of today have already happened before and the result is always the same. A world crumbles and chaos reigns so that a new king of darkness may rise above it all... a force beyond our comprehension.”

“Variant, I may not particularly like you, but I still know you well enough to understand that you’re not yourself right now.” I watch myself move closer, as if to reach out to the other man. “What dark force will rise? What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you, Baron. You will kill the others and take the power for yourself, destroy the balance and rise as a dark force that will bleed these lands dry of all life. Morrigan has seen it; she knows what evil lies in your heart.”

I back away, putting some distance between us. “Those are serious accusations to apply to someone who has not yet made a mistake of such magnitude. The verdict of guilt should only be placed on those who commit the crime, Variant. Why would I destroy the balance when I’ve done nothing but uphold the oath?”

“But you won’t uphold the oath. It’s foreseen, as our rise to the thrones was foreseen…”

I continue to move across the floor, feeling the prickle of cold against my face, hands raised as if to ward off a rabid animal. “Whatever you’re thinking, Variant, it’s false. I’m your ally. I would never do anything to harm you or the others.”

“You say that now, but the only way to be certain is if you’re no longer a threat.”

“Variant, listen to yourself! You’re not thinking clearly!” My back hits the wall and a blade of pure ice appears in Variant’s hand. I leap out of the way as it slashes toward me. Morrigan stands at the center of the room and I run toward her. “Morrigan, tell him your vision was false!”

She doesn’t speak.

Variant chases after me. “Don’t fight this, Baron. The others were in the vision, as well. They will bring the extinction of the elves and the fae races. Only demons and orcs and creatures of shadow will remain in the aftermath of your rule.”

When I come to a stop, Morrigan’s gone... an apparition. As I turn to face Variant once more, the blade of ice plunges into my heart. I gasp for breath and grip his arm to keep the blade from penetrating any further. The doors open and I sense the presence of Cambion and Dragan just as the dagger twists in Variant’s hand.

My vision goes dark and I feel myself fall to the floor with a sickening thud. The last thing I hear is the roar of my allies mingling with the taunting laughter in my mind that belongs to the Midnight Queen.

She did this... she was the one who poisoned Variant against us…

White light flashes and I fall from the past, catapulting back to the present. My chest heaves and I feel as though I’ve been kicked by a horse and left for dead. I sit up slowly, feeling the bones in my body begin to mend themselves as I look around the clearing. Everything is gone. Bodies litter the ground, some burned to a crisp while others remain unharmed. The cottage is no more, the forest a barren wasteland of ash and debris.

What have we done?

I hiss through my teeth as a searing pain lances my body. When I stare down the length of my torso, I see a chunk of shrapnel lodged in my side. My fingers wrap around the shard and I clench my jaw hard, yanking it out one inch at a time. Blood pours from the wound, causing my hand to slip a little. My grip tightens and I give one more pull with all of my strength. The shrapnel slides free and I toss it to the side, coughing roughly as the taste of copper floods my mouth. I roll onto my belly and press my palm flat against the soil, trying to feel the pulse of The Veil. It’s faint, but still there.

My legs buckle as I slowly climb to my feet and scan the area in search of my companions. I see Pyre first. He lies in the only patch of grass remaining. I go to him, and he winces as I grip his shoulder and help him to his feet. He appears unharmed, but drained of his magic. Another trip to the Echoing Spire will be in order. The blast took everything he had. Sightless eyes stare back at me.

“The creatures are gone. They flew away after the blaze.” He grows quiet for a few seconds. “It’s hard to sense life forces within The Veil after so much death... this... this was not a victory.”

“No,” I agree. “It wasn’t. This part of The Veil will need time to heal, and so will we.”

“Cambion?”

“Gone, and so are Theren and Aima. I saw them run through the forest when the dragon appeared.” Pressing a hand to my side, I grit my teeth. “This shit shouldn’t have happened. If Cambion had just talked to us, we could have told him what we already knew about his brother. Running off into the trees every night didn’t help anything.”

“With Aima there, they may stand a chance of surviving.” Pyre reaches over and touches the wound on my side, batting my hand away. He prods around the cut with a frown. “You’ll heal, so long as you feed properly. Where are the others?”

“I haven’t found them yet. I was too busy feeling like shit and hauling your fat ass off the ground. By the way, if I find you laying in a bed of grass one more time, I’m officially calling youPrincess Pyre,” I snort, earning myself a death glare from my sour friend. He must have the world's worst headache after wielding that sort of magic.

“Help me find them.”

I move through the scattered limbs and decimated trees.

A swatch of pale hair stands out among the blood and gore. I run to it, pushing aside armor and clumps of something I don’t wish to characterize. Eilish groans and blinks open those stunning eyes. I lift her from the chaos, relieved beyond belief that she’s still alive. She pushes me back a little and points to a gash on her leg. It’s not fatal, but one inch lower and she would have bled out within seconds. Eilish trembles in my arms as she looks around the aftermath of the explosion.

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