Page 118 of House of Dusk
It was still strange to be a part of such conversations. Yeneris was so used to standing on the edges. Being unseen. Being the watcher, not the watched. But these were her allies now. And there was too much at stake not to speak plainly. As her full self.
She turned to Hura. “Did your father ever tell you the story of creation?”
It was Ichos who answered. “His father? What does that have to do with this?”
“It’s an old Bassaran story,” Yeneris answered, seeing Hura nodding to himself, a grim understanding hardening his expression. “My mother told it to me.”
Her throat tightened. They all knew what she was. That this was a part of her. And the story was important. Still, she had a brief, terrible vision of Mikat, growling at her for every tiny lapse, every time she let a trace of her accent tinge even a single word. Slapping her hand when she started to make one of the old warding signs.
But she’d made her choice, and she would hold to it. She would show Mikat there was more than one path to a renewed Bassara. It was the kore she served, not Mikat.
“It’s the story of how the world came to be,” she explained. “All was churn and void, until Chaos birthed her five children, so that they might give order and structure to the world.”
“Five?” Ichos repeated. “But there are four children of Chaos.”
“The first one, the eldest, desired to shape the world to his own designs, alone. And because he was first, he was the most powerful. He devoured his younger siblings.”
Sinoe poked Ichos in the shoulder. “Remember that, little brother.”
Ichos rolled his eyes. “You’re only ten minutes older than me.” He looked back to Yeneris. “So then what? How did they escape?”
“By creating us. People. Mortals. The Scarab—or the Beetle, as you call her—gave us flesh, and the Phoenix gave us spirit, and the Sphinx gave us thought, and the Serpent gave us...” Yeneris hesitated, searching for the right word.
“Emotion is probably the closest word for it in Helissoni,” said Hura. “And yes, I have heard the story. How mortal warriors freed the four younger children of Chaos, who then joined forces against their elder brother and cast him into the abyss and sealed him away forever.”
“Not forever,” said Yeneris. “He promised he would break free. That one day he would rise again and consume this world, and remake it alone.”
“Fates.” Sinoe looked slightly ill. “So that’s who you think Lacheron is working for?
“It’s...one possibility.”
“A horrible, horrible possibility. Which means it’s probably true.” Sinoe pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can see why the Fates want to stop it. So that’s why the Ember King wanted the Serpent destroyed? Because he thought it would help the first one break free?”
“It would make sense,” said Hura. “If the four younger gods sealed the first one with their power, then breaking that power might break the seal.”
“Or weaken it,” suggested Yeneris, thinking of the hazy lines of ancient palaces hidden below the sea. Of a once-mighty empire, shattered and fallen.
Sinoe looked to her brother. “Ichos said there’s some mystic out there trying to bring the Serpent back. Would that help?”
“Lacheron doesn’t seem to think so,” said Yeneris. “He brought the dagger back here. He’s got other plans for it.”
“There are three more children of Chaos.” Hura’s knuckles had gone pale, gripping the spear.
“And if he has his way, one of them is going to manifest right here in three days,” said Sinoe. “The Phoenix.”
“It could be even worse than that,” said Hura, darkly.
Sinoe gave a high, humorless laugh. “Really? Worse than breaking one more seal unlocking a divine power that wants to destroy everything?”
“The kore,” said Hura. “She may not be the Helissoni’s Faithful Maiden, but Lacheron could have another use for her. She was from the House of Midnight. Dedicated to the Scarab. According to our legends—” his gaze shifted briefly to Yeneris, and she felt the warmth of thatour—“the kore bound herself to the god-beast of earth, to hold back the cataclysm. To quell the shaking earth and keep Bassara from falling into the sea like so much else of the old empire.”
They all fell silent then. Sinoe pressed herself closer to Yeneris, who fought the urge to sweep an arm around the other woman. Ichos and Hura wouldn’t care, but to any other eye she must be only a bodyguard. She cast her gaze across the training grounds, taking note of a handful of soldiers and servants. Any of them might be Lacheron’s spy.
“There are too many eyes here,” she said. “We shouldn’t linger much longer, princess. You’ll be missed.”
Sinoe made an impatient noise. “Yes, yes, no time for war councils when there’s a gown to be fitted. At least I’ll look dazzling for the end of the world. Right, so, obviously we need to stop this.” She looked at Hura then. “I know what my mother sent you here to do. But I’m not the one who needs to be rescued. We need to get the kore’s bones away from here.”
Her hand brushed Yeneris’s, fingers twining tight. Hura’s gaze slid from Sinoe to Yeneris, then back again. “We can do both. It would be the perfect opportunity for you to flee as well, princess. I can have my people ready to waylay the palanquin once it leaves the palace. Yeneris can return the kore to her contacts, and I can take you north. Your mother has already arranged safe passage, so long as we can reach Vigil Pass.”
