Chapter 7

• “What am I to do? “ Leona asks as they stand in front of the shrine.
• “You speak to her, and if she wishes, she will answer,” Veska responds. She starts walking away and Leona says, “How long will that take?”
• Veska shrugs. “As long as it takes.”
• She disappears from sight and Leona is left alone with her thoughts once more. She tries to control her breathing and relax, going from sitting down to standing, and then sitting down again.
• “Is that true, Goddess Verenia? Did Atlas imprison you?”
• She waits, and waits, until the hours pass, and no answer arrives from the deep. Her limbs are going numb, waiting patiently until she decides it’s time to go. “I’m afraid she doesn’t want to speak to a Dragon,” she mumbles to herself.
• She looks back and realizes that the thick mist is back. “What—”
• She turns her head frantically, seeing how the path is now obscured. She wonders, was that the plan? For her to get lost and probably killed?
• Her eyes grow heavy and as she tries to move her legs and hands, their weight prevents her from lifting them. “What is this—”
• She panics, as she continues trying to kick and stand, yet her body can’t obey her. She feels trapped—cursed by an unseen force.
• She gasps between words, shaky breaths come and leave, until she goes numb and darkness engulfs her.
• She turns, her eyes flickering around this room that isn’t where she was supposed to be. For just a second, she catches the glimpse of her reflection; this isn’t her. Two long, curved horns rise from her temples like antlers. Her hair falls in heavy waves down her back, deep green with streaks of gold. Her skin is earthly, and from her arms and shoulders patches of living plants grow—ferns, small blossoms, threads of moss.
• More Gods surround her, all placed in a golden dome. “I know this place,” she thinks to herself; this is Paradise.
• And as she looks ahead, there is the Creator; Atlas. His light seems weak from what she is used to, with his horns twisted in more ways that she remembers.
• “Atlas,” Verenia says carefully. “What have you done?”
• Behind her, she senses the others. They are on their knees, one by one, their powers bound by chains. Chains that should not exist. Chains only Atlas could create.
• He doesn’t look at them. His gaze locks on her and Leona realizes there's more between them that he lets on.
• “You lied to me,” he says, voice low. “All of you.”
• “We never lied,” Verenia says.
• “You hid her,” he claims. “The Light Dragon. You stole her from under my watch!”
• “It wasn’t us—”
• “Silence.” His hand lifts. The chains tighten around the Gods behind her. “You kept secrets from me. You let my creation be taken by one of you.”
• “That’s not what happened.” She rises to her feet despite the pressure pushing her down. “You know the truth, if you would only look without—”
• “Without what?” he snaps. “Without the lies whispering in my ear? Without the shadows showing me what you truly are?”
• Verenia steps forward. “Dark has poisoned your mind.”
• “I can’t trust you,” he says. “Any of you.”
• “Even me?” she pleads and for a moment, his harsh gaze softens.
• She falls to one knee—his power is great and she wishes not to harm him.
• “So what? You’ll keep us here? For eternity?” she whimpers.
• “You’ll stay here as long as it takes… to find who did this—who stole my Dragon,” he says through gritted teeth.
• And before he leaves, Verenia reveals, “Use Io. She will help you find what you’re looking for.”
• He turns. “The Watcher?”
• Verenia slowly nods—seeing him likes this pains her too deeply.
• The doors close—the seal is placed. No one can escape until he decides.
• “Leona?” Kaelith’s gentle voice brings her from the deep, waking her up. She flinches—this reminds her the night before. She wonders, is this knowledge everyone possesses? On how Atlas imprisoned almost every God?
• “Are you alright? You’ve been gone for hours!” he says, and she senses how worried he sounds.
• “Veska said… to get answers… to ask Verenia,” she says panting.
• “And?” He hangs on her lips.
• Her eyes—a gaze filled with shame and sadness—is enough for him to fill the gaps. “So it’s true… what Atlas did,” he mumbles.
• “Yes…” she whispers.
• “Are you still willing to forsake everything for him? After what he did… do you believe he is still kind?” he says, crossing his arms.
• She remembers Verenia—her feelings toward him. “Has she forgiven him?”
• Looking up, she hopes to see him reflected in the clouds. But nothing, she senses nothing.
• “It’s my fault.”
• “What is?” He raises an eyebrow.
• “What he did…” she says. “He did it because I was stolen by Anar.” She closes her eyes, then opens them slowly—seething hate in her gaze as she utters her name; “And Vena.”
• —***—
• Kingdom of Nora
• Aelira runs down the narrow alley, basket clutched tight to her chest.
• “There! Stop her!” the lead guard shouts.
• She doesn’t. She ducks under a laundry line, hops over a broken crate, and almost loses her balance as she turns around the corner.
• The guards go after her. “She won’t escape this time!”
• Aelira leaps onto a low wall, uses it to hop to the next rooftop. A guard grabs her ankle as she lands. She kicks back hard, escaping. Two more close in. She runs again. She is fast—faster than them, quick on her feet.
• She manages to lose the two of them, but one won’t budge. She turns left, and then right, until she leads him to a dead end.
• “You have nowhere to run, little fly,” he sneers.
• A smile that turns into a laugh.
• “What’s so funny?” he says, annoyed.
• She exhales slowly. “That’s the point, simpleton.”
• He tilts his head, grabbing his spear tight. “No prison for you this time. You’ll visit your dead mother today.”
• She growls. “This is the last time you mention her.” Heat curls beneath her skin, rising through her veins like molten lava.
• “What—?” he mumbles.
• Flame blooms in her palm, swirling into a tight, controlled pulse. “I said,” she murmurs, “you won’t be mentioning her again!”
• The fire erupts outward in a flash of light, blasting him back. He hits the ground, smoke fuming from his armor.
• Aelira turns, clutching the basket again, and slips into the shadows, before the rest reach. They find only scorched stone, and a body that once was.
• “Tell the Emperor,” the man whispers in fear. “Tell him, the Katsuya was right—we are in danger.”