Page 75 of Compass Points
She stopped running forward as the cracks in the earth expanded like shattering glass.
The sandstorm stopped as Aterra focused his magic on splintering the ground before them. Visible again on the beach, Rose glimpsed Luc running toward her just as the earth split around Aterra and pulled Aiden’s body down into the giant chasm.
Chapter Forty-Four
Luc and Rose both moved in stilted steps forward to the hole that had swallowed Aterra. They both knew it was too late. He was gone. He was not dead, of that Rose was sure, but Aterra’s power had opened up the ground and swallowed him whole.
Rose was sure she would see Aiden and Aterra again, likely too soon.
She leaned over the crack in the earth as she and Luc reached its edge. Luc gently took her hand as she surveyed its unknown depths, lacing their fingers together, anchoring her. She smiled at him even as guilt gnawed on her for not moving faster to strike when she had the chance.
He was still out there.
And if she understood Arie correctly, Aterra was holding Aurora hostage somewhere. With so much unbalance between the gods, she knew the Compass Points needed to act. She still wasn’t sure how it was connected, but she knew the plague of mists was a part of this. She knew that to remove the blight from the continent, she would need to rein in Aterra. She just felt like she was missing some connecting dots.
She looked around, her eyes searching for her own mischievous god.
Arctos, Lord of Fire.
Arie, her family.
“I know you missed a lot, but one thing I have to take care of before we plan our next steps.” She pointed at the raven sitting on a low tree branch. “That is Arctos, Lord of the Flame, and he owes me some answers.”
Luc’s mouth opened and closed before he shook his head. “Figures,” he replied. He squeezed her hand. “I’ll hold off the others then wait by the lake.”
She watched him go, then turned to stare at the bird. She knew he wouldn’t force their conversation but would not leave without talking to her, either. He’d give her the space she needed to decide what his being a god meant. She walked over to his perch.
“Why don’t you come down here, Arctos.” She drew out the syllables of his full name. “So we can talk.”
“Are you going to yell at me?”
“You are an ageless god, Arctos. Why don’t you grow up and come down here to find out.” She sat down, back to the tree in which he sat. He flew down, turning into a black cat before reaching the ground. He padded up next to her seat, sitting back on his haunches.
“Ok, I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?” she asked.
“For you to yell at me.”
“And why should I do that, Arctos?”
“Arie, please. You should do that because I…because…are you really going to make me explain it?”The cat tilted its head to the side, seeming to evaluate her sanity.
“Yes, Arie, why don’t you tell me why I should yell at you.”
He sighed deeply. So heavily she thought she could see the ageless god for once instead of the entertaining companion.
“I didn’t tell you who I was. We were family, but I didn’t share things with you and revealed the truth inconveniently.”
“Very,” she hmphed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not mad at you, Arie. You were always honest enough for me to know that you played by your own rules. You didn’t ask about my magic, though now I’m sure you were well aware of it, and I didn’t ask about yours. I just had no idea the scale of what you were hiding.” She looked into the cat’s piercing yellow eyes as she finished the thought. “Why didn’t we talk about it? You knew what I was, right? Was that why you were with me?”
The cat blinked a few times.“I did know who and what you were—all of it. At first, I was just focused on keeping you alive. You were too important of a player to leave to chance.”
“But then you and I had so much fun together. Even in your grief. Even in mine. We have a natural rapport, you and me. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed.”
It struck her then. His grief. His regret. His lost love.
“Is it Aurora?” she asked quietly.
