Eternal Sacrifice (Mortal Enchantment Book 4) (3 page)

Kalin

The akasha was absolute.

Loved. Feared. The strongest of all of the elementals with control over the four elements. I possessed immeasurable power and knowledge that had been passed down through the centuries. I was the beginning and end to it all. And I’d been given one central purpose: protect the mortals by keeping the elements in balance. But why me? I wasn’t even a full elemental. The only halfling akasha in our history. Why was I chosen?

I’d spent most of my life preparing for my duties. I left the only life I’d known in the mortal world, at just sixteen years old, to ascend to the throne and become the queen of the air court. Avalon was supposed to be the picturesque realm my father had described. A peaceful place full of magical creatures that controlled the elements of nature.

But nothing that was promised came to be.

Instead, I was thrust into a world in turmoil on the brink of war. My father was missing, and I was forced to navigate my new home without him. I was untrained in my air element, and naïve to all the politics that went along with being a member of the royal family. Had it not been for Rowan and Ariel, I would’ve never survived. Mistakes were made along the way and we didn’t succeed in preventing the war. Many lives were lost.

My father was one of them.

Not long after his death, the full power of the akasha surged through me. I killed the elemental that had betrayed us, and claimed the throne. I wished I could say that was the end of it all, but the worst was yet to come. Thanks to his twin sister Selene, Valac’s intentions were finally revealed. He planned to use the stolen artifacts to claim control over all four territories. If we did not relinquish our courts to him, he threatened to cut the mist that protected Avalon—a move that would kill thousands within days.

Only the blood of the akasha could seal the hole.

I refused to believe that was my only purpose. I was more than a sacrifice. After all I had survived, I wouldn’t let this be the end. This power had been bestowed onto me for a reason, and I was going to figure it out. When I first became the akasha, thousands of pages of information rushed into my mind. It seemed nearly impossible to sort through it all. I needed to read through the akasha journals one by one. There had to be another way to stop Valac. Some means we could use to vanquish the power of these sacred objects.

And I was going to discover it.

Staring at the pathway, I feared for Rowan. In only eighteen years, he had been through enough anguish to last a lifetime. He carried a weight on his shoulders he doesn’t deserve. Somehow, he held himself responsible for all that happened with Valac. As many times as I tried to convince him otherwise, he believed it was his duty to end his madness. My stomach twisted in knots as I worried that the burden he put on himself would make him careless. Valac was much stronger now that he had Excalibur. I prayed Rowan could push aside the obligations he felt, and make smart choices. I didn’t want to imagine living in this world without him.

Every day we were together, I’d fallen more in love him.

I shuffled my way back into the castle. I assumed my mother was still asleep. At least, I hoped she was. She’d been inconsolable since my father’s death. He’d sacrificed his own life to save hers. It must’ve been agony for her, watching him die. Tears lined my eyelids. I brushed them away with the back of my hand. Since she wasn’t called to the meeting, she had no idea what had happened. I asked one of my guards to bring her to me along with any of my father’s ashes that remained.

Although elementals didn’t perform funerals—there was no body left to bury—I had to do something to honor him. He hadn’t been honest with me for most of my life, but he truly thought he was protecting me. And I loved him with all my heart. He hadn’t been gone for very long, yet I already sensed his absence. Losing him had broken me. I was told that time would heal the wound, but I wasn’t sure. He was murdered. Ripped away from Mom and me. We were robbed of the family we had waited so long to reunite. How would I ever come to terms with that?

That was a question I imagined I’d wonder for the rest of my life.

“Kalin, what’s going on?”

I turned around. Mom stood in the courtyard with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her red hair was disheveled, eyes swollen from many hours’ worth of tears. My chest tightened. It was painful to see her like this. Had I been stronger, I could’ve protected my father. Saved her from the pain of his loss. But I was the one who was deceived by Sebastian. I believed he was my friend, and that he had the best interests of our court in mind. It was foolish. A mistake I’d never be able to take back.

I held out my hand. “Come join me out here.”

“One of your guards said to give this to you.” She placed a gold thimble in my palm. All that was left of him filled the tiny container to the brim. “What is it?”

“Dad’s ashes.” I waited until her evergreen eyes met mine. “I thought maybe we could have our own private ceremony to say goodbye. If it’s too much, we can wait.”

“No, I think it’s perfect,” she replied, sniffling. “We both need to do this.”

We headed to the highest stone balcony in the castle. From here, we could see the clouds beneath us. The sun warmed our faces. It was the perfect weather. If Dad were here, he’d be outside the castle enjoying the day with members of our court. They all loved him so much. Since the news of his death, each smiled and tried to carry on as he would’ve wanted. But the pain of his loss was felt by all of us. Not to mention the fear of the unknown. He’d been their leader since the beginning. I was sure they all had their concerns.

“Let’s do this together,” I said.

With our hands joined, I held the thimble above our heads. A sizzle of power ran up my arm and into my fingertips. Air thrust the ashes out of the container, casting them into the wind. We watched the remains as they joined the skies. Seconds later, they were gone. I imagined part of Dad would float around Avalon forever. I glanced over at Mom. Streams of tears ran down both our cheeks. “What should we say?” I asked.

“Whatever’s in your heart,” she replied.

I paused for a moment. “I wish we’d had more time, Dad. But I’m grateful for the weeks we spent together. I promise I will take care of our court.” My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard. “I won’t let you down.”

Mom pulled me into a hug. We held each other for a long while, crying on each other’s shoulders. After a few minutes, she released me. “Goodbye, my love,” Mom said into the wind. “I know we will be reunited someday. I love you with all of my heart.”

I put my arm around her, and she tilted her head onto my shoulder. She’d always been the strongest person. To see her truly fall apart was agony. She tightened her grip on my waist, leaning her weight into me. For the first time in my entire life, I was the one holding her together.

“I should go,” Ariel said, eyes nervously roaming the room.

The council meetings were attended by the highest ranking elementals in our court. All the decisions pertaining to daily life were made by this group. Some members had been on the council for centuries. Others had replaced older relatives who no longer wished to participate. It was considered the greatest honor to be part of such a regal group. Ariel had previously never been invited to attend, so I understood why she felt uncomfortable. “No,” I replied, the corners of my lips turned up. “I need you to be here.”

I’d asked the staff to put something casual together in the throne room. With everything going on, I wanted to keep things simple. I should’ve known that wasn’t possible for elementals, even in the air court. When I first entered the room, I saw that a dark wood rectangular table had been set up, with matching chairs. An exotic fruit and cheese centerpiece took up most of the table. Red wine had already been poured into long-stemmed crystal glasses. Small ceramic plates, napkins, and utensils took up the remaining space. I sat down at the head of the table, and motioned for Ariel to sit next to me.

The council members arrived soon after. They wore their yellow ceremonial robes. It was no wonder why I stood out among them. I was the only one without wheat-blond hair and lavender eyes. One by one, they glanced at Ariel with perplexed brows. Not a single one questioned why she was here. Since my akasha power ignited, their attitude toward me had changed substantially. They were courteous and polite. None of them had challenged me in any way. I’d finally received the respect from them that I should’ve had from the beginning.

It was a long time coming.

I wasted no time with pleasantries. As soon as they all were seated, I made them aware of Valac’s plan, the attack we anticipated on the woodland court, and our need to mobilize our knights. The emotions were mixed. We were all still saddened by my father’s death. Many on the council had been close friends.

One of the older female council members stood. “What happens if Valac succeeds? Are we prepared for that?”

“If Valac cuts the mist, my blood will seal the tear.” Many of them relaxed after hearing my words. “But it will mean that I have to sacrifice myself. Which is why I’ve called this meeting.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, sitting back in her seat.

I stood. “If I die, I want to formally appoint Ariel as my successor.”

Several of them gasped. Whispers broke out among the group. None objected. I glanced over at Ariel. Her eyes were wide and fixated on me. Complete and utter shock would’ve been the best way to explain how she looked. Because her mouth was open, I waited for her to say something. A minute went by and no words came out.

“I guess I should’ve asked you first.” I tugged at her arm until she stood. With my hands clasped around her biceps, I asked, “Do you accept?”

Shaking her head, she replied, “I don’t even want to think about you dying.”

It wasn’t something I wanted to think about either. “Trust me, I’m going to do everything I can think of to avoid it. But just in case, I need to know you have my back.”

She met eyes with each of the council members. I noticed a few jealous scowls as well as a few frightened faces. “I don’t know.”

“Ariel, you can do this.” She stared back at me like a deer caught in headlights. “If something happens to me, I need to know my court will be all right. You’re the only person I trust to do this. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and I know you’ll be a great queen.”

“This is just a formality, right?” She swallowed hard. “I mean, you don’t really think Valac will succeed?”

“Yes,” I answered firmly. I wasn’t as sure as I sounded, but I believed it was possible. I had to exude confidence in front of my court. In times of war, they needed a strong leader they could follow. It was the only way we were all going to get through this. “I think we can stop him.”

Ariel let out a sigh of relief. “Okay then, I accept the position.”

A few unenthusiastic claps broke out. I ignored them. Now that I'd made my formal announcement, there was nothing they could do to stop it. Beaming, I pulled her into a hug. “Thank you.”

As I was about to sit back down, she grabbed my arm. “Do me a favor.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

She squeezed my hand. “Don’t die.”

Rowan

My muscles burned in anticipation for the battle.

The portal opened about a mile away from the woodland caves. If the attack had already begun, we didn’t want them to see us coming. The faeries were likely fighting them around the exterior of the caves. It would’ve been better for us to come in from behind so that two forces were hitting them from different directions. With that strategy, we had a chance of surrounding them. That would’ve prevented any planned retreat, and we’d eliminate them once and for all.

But first, we had to get there.

I gripped my sword tightly as I scanned our surroundings. I wasn’t going to take the chance that we might be surprised. The vision I saw was clear. Valac stood on the edge of the woodland territory with an army of his own. We already knew he was coming for the Green Armor. According to legend, the person who wore the enchanted metal could not be defeated. An entire army could attack all at once and it wouldn’t matter. The armor would still protect the wearer.

Orion and Marlena remained at the front of our group surrounded by their personal guard. The air court knights made up the cluster in the middle. I remained in the back, giving me the best view. Twigs broke beneath our feet as we marched through the thick brush. Lush greenery surrounded us in every direction. The forest was eerily silent. That meant either nothing was happening or something had already happened and everyone had fled. But it wasn’t in the nature of the woodland faeries to run away.

They were much too curious for that.

Leaves in the trees above our heads rustled as a strong wind current blew through. I kept my eyes on the tall, twisted tree trunks as we passed by. Valac could’ve had soldiers hidden on the larger branches. Many elementals had the ability to fly, making an air assault a possibility. I wouldn’t put anything past him at this point. The rumor going around was that he had supporters from each of the courts. The more power he gained, the more people questioned the supremacy of the royal families. Fearful of the future, some had joined his side.