“You’re saying both women sacrificed something in order to create one weapon?” Killian asked with a perplexed look tightening over his face. “You?”
“I don’t think so,” I admitted. “I can wield her magic. That isn’t a question, but it takes a lot of effort for me to manage siphoning enough to do serious damage. It doesn’t come freely to me, which it should if Draghana sacrificed to create the second half of the weapon designed to force the goddess back to her tomb.” It was irrefutable. Acting as a conduit for Aria’s magic was difficult. If they’d used seidr magic to forge me, it wouldn’t be so.
“You think the one prophesied to be the conductor of Aria’s magic is within the new realm?” Brander questioned as a soft rap of knuckles sounded from outside the library. He waited until Lore and Greer both entered the spacious room before continuing.
“It’s possible, but in order for her to be what they prophesied, she had to reach for the crown. Once she reaches for her throne, it will set everything else into motion. Once Aria reaches for her crown, whatever the old gods promised Draghana will come to pass in all the realms. Her going there was inevitable. If it wasn’t, I’d have prevented her from leaving us.” Greer’s eyes met mine briefly before he sat down beside me.
“It’s rather amusing that you think you could prevent her from going, Knox. I assure you of this, that girl’s chaos in motion. Aria Prometheus is the chaos effect. What Scylla and Draghana did, it’s the butterfly effect. A small action that produced something larger. Aria is small, but her impact within the Nine Realms won’t be. Scylla wasn’t selfless. She was a great queen skilled in both warfare and seidr magic,” he said with a sly look in his eyes.
“That much I’ll agree with,” I uttered.
“After all, Scylla knew what she was doing when she set forth the prophecy pertaining to the child born of the first people. Scylla was among the first people within the Nine Realms. They’re mirrored after the nine worlds in Norse mythology. Her blood houses the gift of fertility through it, which is how she could influence and design the matter of Aria’s birth. Scylla didn’t blindly select Aria as a champion. Instead, she molded her from magic and carefully built her into what would be needed to end the suffering of her people. Everything Aria is, or will be, isn’t by chance. It’s by design.”
“How do you know that?” I queried as Lore picked up the volume I’d been reading earlier and began tossing the ancient tome into the air. “Lore, that’s older than you are. Put it down.” Greer glanced across the room at Lore, smirking as he begrudgingly placed the heavy tome back on the table.
“You’re not the only one who has access to the library, Knox. Do you think I waste away pining for you when you go out to safeguard against attacks? I pity you if you truly thought I did so. I enjoy history, but I love learning about the little queen driving you up the wall. Your pretty peasant is a mystery to even those of us who know it all.” Dusting an invisible speck of lint from his tunic, he returned his attention to me. “If you’d have been paying attention instead of fantasizing about Aria, you’d have read the part where Scylla didn’t merely call upon the old gods. She called on the Norns. The beings who shaped the course of destinies from two beings into that of one.”
“What does that mean for Aria?” I demanded, as emotion shot through me. Fear of losing her after I’d finally learned to see more than my anger. I’d never craved to be bound to anyone. Definitely not as badly as I wanted Aria to be tethered to me.
“It means, you dolt, that she’s destined to discover who she is and then, once she has, whoever is connected to her will grasp onto the thread. Once they do, it will either intertwine their destinies and souls together, or create inner turmoil until both rip it from their souls to free themselves of the connection. The Norns were both malevolent and benevolent maidens. Which one answered Scylla’s call remains unknown.”
“Are you telling me Scylla was unaware of which type of Norn answered her fucking plea before she sacrificed God only knows what in order to create Aria?” If that were true, it meant Aria could be malevolent, as well. If what Greer said was factual, it meant she might turn into the monster the Nine Realms feared she’d become. Which would leave us with a new, stronger, more calculated monster running rampant through the world.
“It’s impossible to know which type answered her call. I can tell you that the malevolent Norns enjoyed causing tragic events, while the benevolent Norns were both kind and protective. If you’re asking if either taints Aria, then the answer is no. She’s neither. That girl is the monster you and others created. They couldn’t influence her any more than I could. Who and what they are isn’t the issue at hand. It’s who they twined the thread of fate to, which should worry you the most. If the latter of the two held the thread, then Aria would know much more tragedy before she unravels it, severing the thread. Aria will have to decide whether she wants to intertwine her fate with someone else or cut the thread that connects them together. But if Aria breaks the thread, she may lose her own life.”
The blood humming through my veins stilled, then began thundering in my head. I wouldn’t allow her to cut shit if it ended her life. Nothing was worth that happening, even if it meant abandoning her. I wanted her with every fiber of my being. I knew I didn’t deserve her after the shit I’d done to her, but I planned to do whatever it took to ensure she remained mine. Unless the cost was her life.
Without that girl, the world held no value to me. I’d rather watch it burn to ashes than live without her light burning within the realms. If given the choice between her life, and saving this world? I’d choose her. If I couldn’t have her, so be it, then. I’d walk away to ensure she survived at all costs, even my happiness. I had been raised to become a king since I came into this world. But it had also forced me to sacrifice what I wanted for most of my life. It was ruled by a fundamental element, all pertaining to my reign. As king, my wishes and wants came dead last to the entire kingdoms. They had taught me that since my father had told me what would be expected of me. She’d be another thing I’d sacrificed for the greater good.
“Stop that,” Greer growled, forcing me out of my mind. “You haven’t lost her yet. I doubt you can easily sway her to give you up. The difference here is, you’re both fighting for one another. Aria didn’t leave you for another, Knox. She left to discover who she was and where she came from. Don’t you give up on her merely because you’re uncertain if she’ll end up tethered to another? I doubt she’d ever allow anyone other than herself to choose her path, let alone a preordained destiny not of her own making. That thread? It doesn’t attach to her pussy, either. It’s merely a connection, one she’ll decide how deeply embedded into her soul she’ll allow it to touch or link with.”
Greer stood, then sauntered to the whiskey where he poured himself two fingers of bourbon. Swirling it in his glass, he sniffed the amber liquid before pegging me with an arrogant stare.
“The issue at hand is this: Time isn’t the same between their realm and ours. There’s no telling exactly how much time has passed there. I’d also advise you to worry about her brothers. Not all will be so willing to step aside and let the youngest daughter of the Prometheus bloodline sit upon their throne.”