The Forsaken Hero

The next few days passed in a blur as I was caught between studying magic with Emlica, preparing the Devoted to enter Haven, and using the Oracle of Eternity to help Elise and the Last Light Company prepare for their return. The day before their departure, I spent the entire night in vision, searching fate for anything they might have missed, any plans destined for failure, and any tragedies that might befall them.

Monsters still roamed unchecked, and demon gates opened across the continent. The apostles were quick to snap up their hordes, but sometimes it took days for them to arrive, and the locals’ destruction was catastrophic.

As the morning neared, I couldn’t resist and let my mind rest on Luke. No sooner had I pictured his face, his deep violet eyes, and the thin scar that crossed his cheek, than I was whisked away, appearing in the midst of a demon horde. And there he was, dressed in black, the archon’s sword strapped to his back. He sat on a felled log, staring at the ground. His beautiful violet eyes were dark and depthless. His aura manifested as tendrils of dark mana, keeping the demons from treading near him.

”Luke,” Jessia said, stepping out of the shadow of a nearby tree. Her eyes sparkled as she sidled around him, her hand trailing over his back, coming to rest on his shoulder. For some reason, my hands clenched.

”What do you want?” Luke asked, sounding even more tired than he looked.

”Why so morose? Can’t you be happy to see me?”

He stared at her, expressionless, until her playfulness faded, and she dropped onto the log beside him. Luke shifted, subtly spacing away from her, causing her to put on a small pout.

”Did you find what I asked?” Luke asked.

She shrugged, her pout vanishing into a smile. ”That depends. Are you willing to give me that secret?”

He scowled. ”I don’t see why it’s so important to you. It doesn’t matter now.”

”Maybe not to you, but don’t underestimate the power of a secret. Secrets build trust. Secrets expose vulnerabilities.”

”And what vulnerabilities are you going to learn from how Xiviyah and I met?” He let out a long exhale. ”Just tell me what you learned.”

”Oh, you’re making me go first? How bold.” Jessia leaned back, resting on her hands. ”Turns out you were right. The hordes are loyal to you and the council, but those pesky demon and beastkin have been wavering of late. Not surprising, given their leader’s been off gallivanting with an escaped slave. They’re after revenge, and don’t much care for who leads them to it.”

Luke’s tail bristled at the off-handed insult, but it went limp again just as quickly. The corner of Jessia’s lip quirked in a sly smile.

”What, not going to defend her? I suppose that’s progress.”

”Who was it?” Luke asked, and edge to his voice. ”No, just show me. I’d like to see who dared betray us.”

He stood, his aura smoldering, but Jessia didn’t move.

”Not until you fulfil your end of the bargain,” she said.

Luke looked at her, his eyes narrowing. She casually, if deliberately, lifted one leg and crossed it over the other. Luke took a breath, and his aura soothed, albeit barely.

”Fine,” he muttered, crossing his arms and scowling at nothing in particular. ”But then we’re settling this.”

My heart beat a little faster as he opened his mouth again, his eyes filling with a wistfulness that caught me by surprise. Just what did he remember? More than me, certainly, given that most of my memories before the slave crest was removed were rather fragmented, damaged by the botched teleportation spell.

But Fate had other plans, the vision dissolving. Even my soul space vanished as a sharp rap jarred me out of it, startling me from sleep.

I blinked groggily, rubbing my eyes as another knock broke the quiet darkness. The edges of the curtains were gray, dyed by the first hints of morning light. The room, despite my enchantments, was cool and drafty, kissed by the frosts that dusted the gardens outside.

Rolling out of bed, I slipped my spatial ring on and withdrew a cloak, drawing it over my shoulders, as much for warmth as modesty. I sensed Luxxa’s aura even as I creaked the door open. Light spilled through, framing her worried face.

”Forgive me, my Lady,” she said, pressing a gauntleted hand to her breastplate and half-bowing. ”I didn’t wish to wake you, but it seems there is a matter that requires your attention.”

I blinked in the light, looking past her at the small lobby that proved the entrance to my chambers. The others were already similarly dressed, and Elise was with them. She wore a beautiful white dress with long sleeves and a flowing skirt that brushed the ground. Her hair shone, matching the glimmering yellow of her eyes.

”Xiviyah, I’m sorry for waking you, but...” She hesitated, fidgeting with her sleeve. Something about the way she didn’t quite meet my gaze caused my heart to skip a beat.

”What is it?” I asked, slipping past Luxxa and taking her hand. She gripped me tightly, almost painfully. Forgetting, perhaps, how fragile my body was compared to hers.

”I, um...think I had a vision,” she whispered.

I gasped, my tail going rigid. ”I’m sorry, I try to control it, but I--”

”No, it’s fine. It’s actually happened a lot. And not just to me, but the staff and guards, too.”

”Even you?” I asked, looking at the Star Guard with wide eyes. None of them was looking at us, looking around as if the walls were the most interesting thing they’d ever seen.

”Don’t get upset with them,” she said, taking my other hand, holding them both. I got the feeling she wasn’t the one being consoled anymore. ”Aerion instructed everyone not to mention it. Called it an unintended benefit of housing the Oracle under his roof. And it’s not like it’s often or anything. Apparently, it’s something to brag about if it’s happened twice to them.”

”I...I had no idea,” I said, biting my lip. Visions weren’t inherently bad, but...they were mine. They were all I had to give to my friends, the only way I could repay them for the light they had shared with me.

”Don’t look like that. They’re nothing big, just glimpses here and there, usually of a distant day or something related to whatever I was thinking about before I went to bed.”

”Usually?” I took a breath, steadying myself. ”Something happened tonight? Something important enough it couldn’t wait till morning?”

She nodded gravely. ”I...I felt someone else there. It’s hard to describe, but remember how you said you actually have a soul...soul...”

”Soul form?” I supplied.

She nodded, giving my hands a grateful squeeze. ”Yeah, soul form. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, and no one I’ve heard gossiping about it has either. I just...see it. Like looking at a painting. Not like I’m actually there.”

”It’s probably unique to the Oracle of Eternity, not just my aura. Technically, they’re different, and so are the visions they give,” I said.

”Regardless, I saw someone. They were faint and shimmering, like one of the liches Connor summoned. Or a remnant. I couldn’t see any of their features, and they vanished soon after. But it just felt...wrong.”

I pursed my lips, falling into thought. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what she was talking about, as I’d seen Verity myself more than once, but Elise was distancing herself from the war. What interest could she possibly have in her?

”What did you see?” I asked finally.

”I was in Brithlite, looking at the ruins of the old palace. The one Fyren destroyed when he was looking for you and Master Al...Alverin. There was Commander Joel, and a few other soldiers, and they were discussing supplies and plans, or something. It didn’t really feel important,” she said, pursing her lips. ”Like it wasn’t the point.”

”Then what could be? You seeing Verity?”

Elise’s eyes widened. ”The Fate hero? You think it was her? But...why?”

”That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I muttered, letting go of her hand to rub my horn. ”But it’s not good. I haven’t heard or seen anything about her since, well...I suppose you wouldn’t know, but she was probably afflicted with a Heart Crest.”

She gasped, covering her mouth in horror. ”That’s terrible! Why would the church do that?”

I shook my head. ”It’s only a guess, but I’m pretty sure. She’s maintained her wards, and I maintained mine, so we haven’t crossed paths in fate. But for some reason, she was interested in you.”

”Or the church is, if she’s really cursed. And, well, based on what you said, I wonder if it’s not about me, per se. If you’ve really locked down fate around the city, then she can’t spy on you, so maybe she’s just looking around, trying to hear anything?”

I pursed my lips, the tip of my tail twitching. ”That...could be. Luke’s demons also know Silent Stars. But so does the Last Light Company.”

”They probably lowered their guard,” Luxxa interrupted, causing us both to turn. ”Given that in Brithlite, they’ll be far from the schemes and strategies of the war, they probably didn’t see a need to continue.”

”And they’ll be split up, home with their families, on the battlefield, or enjoying the comforts of civilian life,” Jenna added. ”That’s the reason they’re leaving in the first place. So they dn’t have to live, breathe, and eat war anymore.”

”That’s inconvenient,” Elise muttered, frowning deeply. ”But I don’t suppose there’s much we can do about it,” she straightened, giving me a slightly strained, if reassuring smile. ”I’m glad we could figure something out. It was really creepy to see her appear like that. I’ll do what I can to remind the Company not to discuss anything about your powers or movements without casting the spell. Hopefully, we can keep her from seeing anything too damaging.”

”We can only pray,” I agreed. ”But at least now we know part of her strategy. And they’re desperate enough to look everywhere for anything.”

”Right. You’ll have some advantage in the espionage department,” She said, chuckling lightly. ”I suppose I should get going. There’s much left to do before we depart today. Are you certain your spell will be ready?”

I gave her what I hoped was a confident smile. ”It’s time, isn’t it? One way or another, I’ll make sure it works. You’ll be sleeping in Brithlite tonight.”