Page 62 of Legacy of the Heirs
“Star,” a voice whispered in the wind. Elisara shot forward and spun slowly, surveying the four paths: the three ahead and the one in which she had just exited. “My star,” the voice whispered in the wind. She recognised that voice. It was the voice of a man who tucked her into bed at night as a child and read her stories until she fell asleep, a man who defended Elisara every time her sisters poked fun at her expense. She would never forget her father’s voice. “Help me,” the voice whispered from the middle path. She took off in a grief-stricken run.
“Father!” she called hoarsely, choking back her tears. There was no indecision in her turns but only an innate sense of knowing that it guided her towards her father. “I’m coming!” she cried, following the breeze as it steered her closer. Elisara halted abruptly in a small circular opening, panting. Here, the ice held a sheen, creating an iridescent mirror-like effect as she stared at her reflection. Her hair fell loose from her braid, and the sheen of sweat on her forehead had frozen over. When Elisara raised her eyebrows, the thin layer of ice cracked off in flakes.
She hung her head and breathed in deeply.You are imaginingthings. The maze is driving you mad.Your father is dead.She raised her head and cracked her neck, waiting for her breathing to settle. When it did, she turned and faced a nightmare she had endured far too many times. Her hand flew to her mouth to keep in the sobs trying to escape. With her other hand, she reached for the wall and pressed her palm against an ageing hand in the reflection adorned with familiar silver rings that had always brought her solace. Her eyes trailed up the sleeve of a dust-covered blue jacket to the silver Vala sigil that glinted despite the little light filtering through the opening. Elisara closed her eyes again, wishing to feel the warmth of his hand for one last time. She delayed looking at the all-too-familiar blue in his eyes when she finally opened her own.
“Star,” the voice said, but it lacked the love and comfort her father’s tone held. This voice sounded raspy, distant—dead. Elisara opened her eyes and met his pale-blue gaze, the last thing she saw of him as she held his dead body in her arms.
“Father!” Elisara sobbed, but it became a strangled cry as his eyes hollowed, and his laughter lines faded, his skin crumbling to ash.
“You did not save me,” he croaked before his hand fell away from hers.
“You did not save any of us,” a woman sneered. Elisara spun to find the icy mirror behind her showed her sisters, Daeva and Katerina, walking hand in hand.
“I could not,” Elisara cried. “I did not know it would happen.” Elisara reached for them as if the reflection would offer more love and affection than her sisters did while alive.
“I’m disappointed in you, Elisara,” said her mother. Elisara whirled, shivering at the plummeting temperature. A fog crept up and around her legs. Elisara frowned at her mother’s scrutiny, who peered upon her with her hands clasped in the same regal manner as always. She wore a red gown like those from Keres.Keres. King Razik.
“Disappointed inme?” Elisara snarled, striding toward her mother. “Me?” she screamed, yet the reflection merely looked herup and down. “You planned all of this!YOUleft me. You all left me!” Elisara screamed and circled back around. The reflections multiplied, trapping and taunting her as she forgot the path in which she came.
“You knew what you were doing!” Elisara shouted.You knew.Her chest rapidly rose and fell, and her throat tightened, yet she found no escape from their stares. Elisara reached for her dagger again and pulled it from her side. “You planned this! Why would you be disappointed in me?” Her sisters’ laughter bounced off the icy mirrors, and Elisara clasped the sides of her head. “I was never meant to save you,” she whispered.
Elisara stopped spinning and lowered her hands. She willed air into her chest to even her breathing. The ghosts of her family stopped their taunting, and as Elisara strode to the wall, the multiple reflections disappeared until only one version of them remained: her father, mother, Davea, and Katerina stood before her, watching. Elisara’s eyes tugged on her father’s one last time, memorising the shade of blue that was no longer her own. She raised her dagger.
“You’re not real,” she whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
She plunged the dagger into the ice. She did not shield her face as the ice exploded but motioned her hand, letting the shards fly around her as light bathed her once again. The warmth brushed her face, ebbing the chill in her bones. She stared at the clearing.
The sun had risen enough now that it shone upon the icy structure in the centre of the grass-covered circle before her. Standing beside it was Vlad, who rushed towards her with wide eyes.
“Eli,” he said, grasping her arms. He frowned at the tear rolling down her cheek. She reached up and wiped it with her sleeve. “Are you okay?” he asked. She felt numb but nodded. They flinched at the sound of crashing ice behind them.
“Elisara!” Kazaar cried out before stumbling from a shattered opening on the other side of the maze. A light rain fell over himfrom where he had melted the falling shards as he leaned on the tower for support. Elisara rushed over and grasped his face, inspecting him as his hands gripped her forearms. His eyes mirrored her own before the panic in them faded.
“You’re okay,” she breathed, resting her forehead against his. He nodded and gulped.
“I saw…” he trailed off and cleared his throat. He stepped back yet his hand lingered on her back when Vlad approached.
“Good to see you’re okay.” Vlad nodded towards Kazaar, and Elisara knew by the way he awkwardly stood with his hands behind his back, shifting on his feet, that his statement was sincere; his worry had not only been for Elisara.
Elisara blinked; the light was blinding as it shone on the icy pillar before them, which formed a frozen cage adorning the same intricate patterns from earlier. In its centre was the other half of the Vala talisman. The transparency of the ice offered a clear view of the frozen talisman floating in the centre. Elisara peered closer at the rough edge of stone, a clear match to the ridges on the half around her neck. She trailed her thumb over it. Other than the broken edges, it appeared as smooth and polished as the stone on her half. The break was clear. A half mountain was engraved at the edge, sitting below two stars. When she connected the two halves together, it would form a complete picture: three mountains and three stars.
Elisara reached for it, sensing the same hum of power from when she first picked up the half that had never left her neck. Yet the pull to this piece was stronger, as though desperate to be reunited with its counterpart.
“You’re up, Commander,” Vlad called, inspecting the thickness of the ice. “Let’s hope melting it works this time.” Kazaar scowled at him and stepped forward. Vlad flashed him a grin.
Kazaar approached the cage, and Elisara frowned as the talisman became less clear as the stream of sunlight faded behind the clouds gathering overhead. The orange flicker of Kazaar’s flame pulled hergaze back to him, and she watched intently as he wielded flames in his palms and aimed them at the talisman sitting within. Vlad crouched to meet the talisman at eye-level.
“Is it working?” Elisara asked, shouting over the sudden wind. Vlad turned his head to her and nodded.
“Slowly, but the ice is definitely melting!” he shouted. Elisara’s fingers tingled. “This isn’t you, is it, Eli?” Vlad called over the gale that began whipping at her face. She shook her head and widened her stance, bracing against the wind. She frowned at the dangerous sway of the snow-capped trees. Even the flames Kazaar directed at the talisman offered no warmth as the storm blew. Elisara tried to counter it, but the wind refused to listen. Something was wrong, and she did not wish to wait much longer to find out what other defences protected the talisman.
“How much longer?” she called.
“It should have worked by now!” Kazaar shouted back. Elisara stepped towards him to see for herself, yet the flame was suddenly the only light source under the blanket of clouds. She reached for Kazaar’s shoulder and was pushed back as lightning struck the pillar, forcing Kazaar to withdraw his flame and shake his hand. As he did, the wind settled, and the clouds cleared.
“I don’t think it likes you,”Elisara said.
“I think I can chip away at the rest,” Vlad offered, pulling a dagger from his leg. He began hitting the curved indent where Kazaar had attempted to melt it. It did not take long for the ice to give way beneath Vlad’s efforts, creating a small enough opening to reach for the other half of the talisman. “After you,” Vlad gestured, stepping aside.
