Page 51 of Tangled Power
Juliette eyed Luc suspiciously before taking the volume she was given and going to find a chair.
“Shall we reconvene in a few hours and discuss any pertinent entries?” Carter asked.
“Sounds like a plan,” Rose said, barely looking up as she started reading.
Five DaysAfter the Covenant
The gods wereclear in their direction, but I felt I was the only one who heard them. The others would have surely objected otherwise. Today was the Lake Refilling Ceremony. It was only days since the Covenant, the day of our creation, and this ceremony would cement our relationship with our makers. The gods and fae leaders gathered at the newly formed Compass Lake. A ritual was performed with the elements. For this first ceremony, the gods took our places. Aurora shot the lake water like a geyser into the sky, and Aterra, Zrak, and Lord Arctos used their earth, wind, and fire elements to reinvigorate the lakebed. From here out, the fae leaders, the Compass Points, would be expected to take these actions as our commitment to the Covenant.
“This is what you will do once a year to honor the gift we bestow upon you,” Zrak said. “In addition to a piece of our magic, we also grant each of you an artifact to carry on this continent. They are amplifiers of our power, given to show our favor and assist you as leaders.”
“What are these tokens?” the Suden Point asked.
Lord Aterra stepped forward and handed a ring to the Suden Point. It was shaped like a triangle, with a dark onyx stone as the centerpiece.
Lord Arctos stepped toward me, placing a coin in my hand.
Lady Aurora stepped toward the Norden Point and placed a dagger in his.
Lord Zrak stepped toward the Osten Point and handed her an empty vial.
We all said our thanks, though I suspect none of us knew precisely what these artifacts were for. What else were we supposed to do? All I could think about was finding somewhere to establish my court—far from Compass Lake. I would travel here once a year if needed for the ceremony, but I wouldn’t be tied to these other fae while they figured out their powers.
“I hear your whispers, each of the fae leaders amongst their court,” Zrak continued. “You mean to leave this area. You mean to establish territories for your courts and rule over them, fighting any who seek to enter the land you claim.” Zrak had looked to Aurora and Lord Arctos. “That is not the continent we would have.”
I held my breath. We had all heard the whispers. Lord Zrak was not long for this world. He would make his sacrifice any day now. It may not be the continent he would have, but it would be the one he got.
“You are made to serve the continent together. Not to build walls and go to war to claim territories from one another,” Aurora said as she stepped forward. “You must remember: The Covenant obligates you with responsibility as much as us.” She gave a solemn nod and gestured to the lake. “You will live here.” Her voice rang loud and clear.
I bristled immediately. I couldn’t help it. The lake was too small for four fae to establish their territories.
As if reading my thoughts, Lord Arctos spoke. “You will not need space. You will not have your own domain over which to rule. You will each be granted your cardinal direction position on the lake. That is the only place on the continent that each of the four fae courts should consider their own.”
“Where will we live?” I asked timidly. We hadn’t been presented with many opportunities to question our creators.
“The fae will spread far and wide across the continent. They will live among the humans—intermingled—in villages and cities.”
The Compass Points looked uneasily amongst ourselves. I had spent the last few days planning the Vesten’s moves—planning what place we could call our own on this continent. Members of my court had roamed on our behalf and found a wild forest on the continent’s western edge. We were planningto make it our own. It was defensible. It was beautiful. Why wouldn’t Lord Arctos want this for us?
“Why would you keep us together in this way?” the Suden Point asked, echoing my thoughts.
Zrak answered. “Your purpose is to hold us in balance. Should the need arise…” Zrak looked at his fellow gods. His gaze lingered on each of them. “You would need to hold one of us that may seek to unbalance the continent accountable.”
And how are we supposed to control a god, I wondered. It seemed an impossible task, even for four gods-gifted fae.
“You will wonder how you can achieve that,” Zrak continued. “But that is why you must all be here at Compass Lake. To uphold your task, you must work together. The powers we bestow you with must intertwine—a bond that strengthens and does not break. They must be as united as the water in the lake, unable to tell which drop has touched which shoreline.” Zrak looked at each fae leader. “Lest you think you can ignore us, we will never be far from you. Your power is connected to the lake. The land here will be your seat of power—this is where you will be strongest.” He paused. “And we’ll know if you weaken,” he added as an aside. “You cannot allow walls to be built nor battles to be fought among the courts. If you do, all will be lost when the time comes.”
This was exactlywhat Rose had been looking for. No, it wasn’t a list of steps they needed to take to capture Aterra, but the imagery was clear. Rose could tell that their individual powers were stronger when they were using them around each other. This was evidenced by the fact that they had made progress on closing the hole in Loch together,beforeRose had inadvertentlypulled Juliette’s magic. How many times had Luc said he tried to close it himself? It wasn’t until their magic was working side by side that any movement occurred. Each of their magics had been strengthened simply by the fact that all four Compass Points were wielding their element.
Zrak painted a picture here where all the Compass Points’ elements were as merged as Rose and Juliette’s shared wind. Their power should be so tangled together that it would be impossible to tell which element had come from which wielder.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
AYear After the Covenant
I can’t believethey forced us into such close quarters. I can see the Norden Point as we work on our respective houses. If our power is strengthened here, if all four of us are to live on this lake, we’ll see who can make the most intimidating fortress.
I’ve already covered the ground in seedlings. We’ll have a forest on our property—a remnant of the one we wanted to claim. Whatever I must deal with living so near these other fae leaders, I’ll ensure my successors will not. I will give them a cover under which to hide—woods to roam. Keeping our additional gift of shifting a secret was a lost cause. Just last week, the Suden Point saw my brother coming out of his bear form. He was so angry, raging that Lord Arctos snuck us a second gift. That he somehow cheated the power balance. It proves how little he understands the connection between our element and our animal. Two sides of the same coin, like Lord Arctos’s gift to us.
