Page 165 of Between Soul and Vessel
The emperor chuckled, the sound like rolling thunder. “Sure, sure, that’s what mortal parents do, but you see, I am not a mortal, and you, my darling daughter, are half of me.”
“It just occurred to me what you meant when you said you were sending me to find a princess,” Nockrythiam stated, his endlessly black eyes sliding to mine.
“Alas, you found her.” The emperor smiled, and it was more sublime than a dawning sun.
Gently, he took my hand and Nockrythiam’s, joining them together.
We both peered down, then up at one another.
Emperor Alaric’s voice was deep and resonant as he said, “She is your bonded, as you are his. Two halves of a circle, but together, you are complete. Without one, there cannot be another. Yin and yang. Black and white. Creator and Ender. Life and Death.”
When I awoke that morning, I had much to think about. My dreams had gone on and on and on, revealingalmosteverything from that day forth with blurring speed.
It was like I had opened a book to my past life, the pages empty at first, but as I flipped through them, all the words started to appear until the chapters of my story were nearly all there, right before me. Or at least, most of them were. The chapters at the very end were still missing, those pages blank. A mystery.
That day, when the emperor revealed he was my father, he also told me he knew the empress was plotting something. I told him why she had brought me here and said that perhaps I could try to get closer to her and gain her trust then share the information with him and Nockrythiam. At first, neither of them wanted me to do it, worried about my safety, but with a great deal of persistence, I convinced them both. I also made my father promise me he would protect my clan and my family, which he agreed to do.
So, over the next so many months, that’s exactly what I did.
I fed everything she told me to them.
Knowing how things turned out, I realized my efforts had been in vain—the empress had won the War of the Creators anyway. Which made me wonder about the information she had given me—had it been . . . wrong?
A sickening feeling washed over me as I heard a voice from the past—my voice—answer thequestion—
Yes.
Sage
The library in Clearwell Castle was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the one I stood in now. This library was a palace in itself, made up of grand rooms, sprawling hallways, and towers—every square inch of it saturated with books. So many, many books. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how many there must have been. Surely, it was the largest collection in the Mother Realm, if not the entire universe.
Which seemed fitting, considering its owner was the Goddess of Knowledge.
The library smelled musty and earthy, with the slightest tinge of dyed leather.
Von, Artemesia, Folkoln, Kaleb, and I followed behind Naia as she gave us a tour of the vast library. Each time she turned around to tell us what genre we’d find in this room or that tower, her eyes would twinkle with pride. After wespent the better half of the morning learning about the library, she led us up to a colossal set of oak doors, flanked by two guards.
“This is my private collection,” Naia said as the guards opened the doors and we all filtered inside. “Every item is the last of its kind. You will find them nowhere else.”
From wall to wall and floor to ceiling, there were custom-built shelves chock-full of ancient tomes. In the middle was a private sitting area, and to the right, a table surrounded by chairs.
Kaleb and Artemesia conversed with Naia. Earlier, we had a brief meeting in Kaleb’s room, deciding we would ask Naia about the energy stones, and then leave the palace after. Naia had been sad to hear we planned to leave so soon, but she said she understood.As the three of them chatted, Folkoln found a wall to brood against. Smoke drifted off him, disintegrating into bits of nothingness. He tipped his head against the wall, lengthening his masculine neck and exposing his prominent Adam’s apple. Through his black lashes, he tracked Artemesia like a hunter watching his prey.
Speaking of being watched . . .
I glanced over my shoulder.
Vivid green eyes, the color of leaves after a nourishing rain, met mine. The mountainous male stood with his heavily inked arms crossed, his muscular body clad in leather pants and a black tunic stretched firmly across the breadth of his chest. He was a demon of a god, a lethal, dark temptation, brimming with unrivaled power.
And hewasmine.
My pulse quickened as the rapturous memories of last night returned to me. His umbra twins had been an unexpected surprise, pleasuring me as I pleasured their master. Von had been rough with me in all the best ways, and yet this morning, I felt none of it, not a lick of pain. I suspected he had used his ability to heal me. Whether he did that last night or when he’d woken me with his head between my thighs this morning, I didn’t know.
Light footsteps sounded at the entrance, pulling my attention to it. A girl, carrying a tray with two teapots and six cups, walked inside. She bowed her head toward Naia and then scurried over to the sitting area. Gently, she placed the tray on the lower, oval table.
“Ah, the tea is here.” Naia clasped her hands together. She walked over to one of the wingback chairs and sat down. She gestured to the cups as she said to the girl, “If you would be so kind, my dear.”
“Of course,” the girl replied, her voice soft. She reached for one of the nearly identical teapots. As she poured the tea, Kaleb, Artemesia, and I joined her. The smell of cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and something else I couldn’t quite detect permeated the air. I breathed it in. With it, nostalgia bloomed. It reminded me of when life was much simpler—when Ezra and I would sit across from one another, a blanket draped across our laps, and hot cups of tea in our hands. I yearned to revisit those days sometime soon, with Ezra.
