Queen of Chaos (Legacy of the Nine Realms, #5)(64)
The heady scent of earthy undertones with citrus filled the chamber. My mouth watered as I continued to study the trickle of dark water as it journeyed to the glass below.
“These herbs are from my homeland, Alfheim.”
“Scylla was from Vanaheim, though. Right?” I countered curiously.
“Correct,” he stated, smirking when I chewed my lip, waiting for more. “I was a gift to your grandmother from Freyr. The Vanir and Aesir were often gifted and captured in raids on one another. Freyr, who bound me to Scylla before she was even born, raided my village. Since I held Aesir blood, warriors trained me to fight tactical battle strategies, and once I’d mastered warfare, they then sent me to the harem of an aging elf lord who couldn’t satisfy the needs of his concubines. There, I mastered the art of…loving. After, they gave me to Frejya. She forced me to drink the flames of Muspelheim.”
“The primordial realm of heat and flame? She forced you to drink flames?” I asked in a horrified tone.
“It is the same flame her daughter housed, which I needed to be immune to in order to serve at her side, but also to protect her. They tethered my life to hers, after all.” As a slave. He didn’t need to elaborate the last part. I felt his anger of being one within me.
“Your grandmother wasn’t born a phoenix, Aria. She was born of a dragon, but never took dragon form. When the Queen of Dragons first changed, then burned through our realm, Scylla refused to retreat. I searched for her for a long time. On the sixth day, she rose from the ashes. Your grandmother was gloriously lovely in her rage, which compelled her to transform into what she became.”
“The first Rise of the Phoenix,” I said with a sad smile. “On the seventh day, she demanded those who’d perished join her rising. One by one, they rose as if born from the ashes. On the eighth day, they erected the palace. A palace which was created from the sand and ashes forged into glass, from the intensity of the dragon’s flame that consumed the lives who failed to rise.” I felt a shiver racing down my spine as he nodded, but there was agony in his eyes that told me he’d lost someone in that battle. “On the ninth day, the Kingdom of Fire rose from the same sand they’d waged war on.”
“Your love of reading anything you can get your hands on is paying off, princess.” Zyion poured a cup of tea, then added something sparkling from a jar he’d retrieved during my recital of the Rising Phoenix.
“I get the history, but I don’t understand why you killed my grandmother.”
“She forced me to make a vow to her days before it happened. I didn’t agree, which caused her to remind me of how she’d received me. I wasn’t merely a slave, Aria. I was magically bound to do as she ordered, even if that meant doing things I didn’t want to do.” My face tightened with disdain, which had him slowly exhaling. “Scylla only reminded me of my position in her life twice. Once on the night I was sent away to spy on the Karnavious dragons, then again when she bid me to do the unthinkable.”
“I’m going to need you to tell me more than just that, Zyion. I need to know why you and I are now tethered together.”
“Fine, then you can drink as I explain from the beginning of your creation. The tea may make you a little dizzy as the land fuels you with mana. Unfortunately, I cannot remove the bitterness of the tea leaves. It cannot be altered or it won’t undo the nasty binding spell Vane nullified. The link between you and the land won’t be removed again.” My lips parted, but he shook his head slowly. “I don’t know how he managed to do it, but once you drink the tea, he won’t be able to use it on you again. You’ll be immune if he attempts any magic on you, princess.”
Accepting the tea, I lowered my lips to it, blowing on the steam spiraling up from the delicate glass cup. A small sip revealed the bitterness Zyion had spoken of, which caused my stomach to rebel against indulging in any more of the tea.
“If I were you, I’d drink it one drink instead of sipping it, Aria.”
Moving away from me, he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms to wait for me to do as he’d instructed. Once I had, he began to explain from the very beginning.
“Scylla was skilled in the old ways of foretelling the future. She’d asked the seers if a champion would be born to end the suffering of her people. The answer was grim when it came. No one was coming to save us from the monster who’d created darkness in the lands. There was no balance to the dark swelling over the realms. Scylla asked what she could barter to create a being of light. One to push the darkness from our land, returning the balance lost when Hecate was sealed inside the Nine Realms.”
“Her life for mine,” I whispered against his palm.
“Not just her life, Aria. Scylla used seidr. A type of magic that can determine the outcome of the future, while shaping it as well. In order to achieve her prophecy, she needed something from both the Vanir and the Aesir, which, when combined, would make a worthy sacrifice that not even the old gods could ignore. No one else knows what I am or where I came from. They only know I served Scylla because she was of the Vanir. I am not of her people, Aria. I was born with Aesir blood within my veins. My sacrifice couldn’t be the same as hers. I had to forgo what I wanted most.”
“What did you want most?” The question escaped with sadness crushing my chest.
“I wanted to find love with a woman of worth, to watch her grow round with my child growing in her womb. I wanted to have a family of my own. I sacrificed any chance of that to bring forth one who would drive the darkness back into the shadows so that the light could once again shine in the Nine Realms, which is my home.” Tears slipped from my eyes as heat seared behind my nose. “Are you crying for me, princess?” he asked, stepping closer, even as he wiped away the tears falling down my cheeks.