Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 63

C HAPTER 63

GAbrIEL

A PHELION —T HE S UN P ALACE

I stand with my brothers, forming a circle in the throne room with Tyr at the center. We’re all shirtless, our bodies honed from decades of training, the golden tattoos on our necks exposed to reveal the glittering sinuous lines curving over our collarbones.

The Mirror sits uncovered, reflecting sunlight streaming through the open ceiling. We cleaned up the dome’s shattered glass but have yet to repair it. Add it to my endless list of shit to deal with. It isn’t raining for the first time in what feels like forever, and I tip my face up, closing my eyes, basking in the rays of the sun .

Hylene and Erevan wait in the corner, but no one else was invited to witness this moment. It’s too private. Too raw to expose to anyone but the people we trust the most.

The scuff of a boot draws my attention to Tyr, who clutches the ark in his hands. He’s looking at me, scanning my body from head to toe. I can’t decide what I read in his expression. It straddles so many lines—regret, sadness, conviction. What’s going through his head?

“The Mirror will assist,” Tyr says. “I have studied how to release you—”

His words cut off as he sucks in a breath that rattles in his chest, clutching the ark in his thin hands.

“I’m sorry,” he says in a hoarse whisper. “I’m sorry for all the pain I caused and for ever tying you to my will in the first place. I was young and entitled, drunk on what I believed was my right to power, confident I had every right as your king. I regret that it was only through my brother’s actions that I finally saw the light and the error of my ways. Had he not imprisoned me and used you against me, then we might have lived like this until the end of my days.”

He studies each of us in turn, his gaze unwavering. He isn’t asking for our forgiveness. He’s looking each of us in the eye and admitting his mistakes.

I watch my brothers as Tyr seems to have a silent conversation with each of us, their expressions a mixture of acceptance and resolve. Tyr’s gaze lingers on the scars that cover our arms and chests—the markings left by Atlas when he punished us for our defiance. I try not to look too hard. For so many years, I’ve tried not to look too hard. I also try not to notice that mine are the worst—that I paid this price so dearly in more ways than one.

“And even if I’d like to think I would never have done what my brother did, it is no excuse,” Tyr continues before he swallows. “What I did is unforgivable. What every ruler of Aphelion has done to their warders is unforgivable and a stain that will live on in our history forever. I do not ask for your absolution, only that you hear how much I regret every single day, and I’d do anything to start at the beginning of my rule when I would make so many different choices.”

When his gaze finds me again, tears shimmer in his eyes. As he says these words, I begin to understand what I should have known from the beginning. No matter what we might have felt for one another, he would always have been a king, and I would always have been his servant. We could never have been anything else.

There is too much pain and too much memory. Too much to overcome anyway.

Though he isn’t asking for it, I do forgive him. If only for my own peace of mind. If only because I deserve it.

Slowly, Tyr lifts the ark above his head and closes his eyes. We wait in silence, sharing looks around the circle. I glance over my shoulder at Hylene and Erevan. She tips her chin, offering me her silent support.

As I turn back to the center, the Mirror begins to glow, and I assume Tyr must be speaking with it. His body trembles as he holds the ark over his head, his lips moving softly as his ashen hair falls around his face.

A soft yellow beam arches slowly from the surface of the Mirror, hitting the ark. The object glows with gilded light before eight more beams spring from the ark and find their way to the centers of our hearts.

I tense as one hits me, bracing for the impact. But there is no pain, only warmth like a sunbeam through a window. Golden light spreads over my chest like I’m being dipped in bathwater before it ripples over my shoulders and down my arms, melts down my legs, and then rises up to my throat, where my skin tingles.

Tiny crackles spark against the lines of the marking that has kept me a prisoner for so many years. With my breath held, I feel it slowly burn away. I watch as the lines flare on my brothers’ throats until, a few moments later, the light dissipates before the Mirror returns to its usual reflective surface.

We stare at each other, and tears burn my eyes. The sight of their smooth, unblemished skin is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Emotion swells in my chest and a sob cracks out of me. A tear leaks down the side of my face, and I wipe it with the back of my hand. It acts as a signal because then we all move, circling together in a tangle of arms and wings, embracing each other as we share in the collective grief of our trauma.

“It’s over,” Rhyle says, and I look up. He hooks a hand around the back of my head and presses his forehead to mine. “It’s over, my friend.”

“Captain,” says Jareth, and we break apart as all seven of my living brothers stand in a line, pressing their hands to their chests and bowing their heads.

“Captain,” they murmur in unison.

“Thank you for everything you did to protect us,” Rhyle says, and I can barely respond over the pressure squeezing my heart and my ribs as I nod.

“Any of you would have done the same,” I answer when I can speak, knowing it’s true. These are good men, and every last one of them might have done great things. Any of them still could. “I am honored to have served at your side, and I would not have survived this without any of you. But from now on, there will be no more captain. From now on, I will only be Gabriel.”

Hylene and Erevan rush over, also wrapping me in their embrace. We hug for a minute before I feel Tyr’s eyes on me. I pull away and turn to him, walking over and falling to a knee.

“No,” Tyr says. “There will be no more of that either. For your service to Aphelion, you will all be granted anything you need or desire to live in comfort until the end of your days. I know it cannot make up for everything that happened, but you will never want for anything in this life again.”

I stand up and nod, dragging Tyr towards me in a messy hug as he wraps his arms around me. It’s been so many years since we’ve touched one another like this. I remember the strong man he used to be, but that man is gone.

I don’t know what the future holds for any of us, but as I pull away, I know I will always care for him. We walked a path so dark that we nearly lost our way, but together, we stumbled into the light, and no matter what happens, I will always be there for him.

He seems to understand what I’m saying without words and nods before the first smile I’ve seen in so long barely creeps to his face .

“It’s time to destroy it,” he reminds me. “This will never happen again.”

As my brothers and I dress in our tunics and shirts, Tyr places the ark on the floor. We all circle around him, staring at it. So much power and destruction are contained in that small object. If Herric had never gifted it to our first king, then all of this might have been avoided. It occurs to me how the tiniest acts can ripple over time, changing the entire course of our destinies. What might my life have been had I never been bound to Tyr?

Maybe now I’ll get the chance to find out.

Tyr watches me, waiting for a signal to proceed, and I nod.

Another reason no others were invited is that we don’t know what will happen when we destroy the ark. I was hoping Nadir would send more information, but no further letters have arrived, and I worry about what that might mean.

Erevan continues refusing his help, and I’m trying not to be angry with him. I understand his convictions, but sometimes I wish the bastard weren’t so damn noble. Our gazes meet, and I’m sure he can read my thoughts. Neither one of us agrees with the other, but this isn’t new for us.

“Everyone back away,” Tyr says, and we do, but only by a few steps. I can’t fight the instinct to protect him, that deep-rooted need to throw myself over the explosion if it would save his life.

Tyr shakes out his hands and then rolls his neck. He hasn’t allowed anyone else around him while he’s tried practicing his magic. I have no real sense of how much control he has. But he told me he was ready, and all I could do was trust that .

I’m almost shocked when Tyr lifts his hand and golden sparks dance at his fingertips. His shoulders lift with a deep breath, and he concentrates a beam of light into the ark. It sinks into the surface. My brow furrows when nothing seems to happen, but Tyr doesn’t stop. After another second, the ark begins to glow.

I take a step back, my arm crossing over Hylene as I shuffle her behind me. Though she makes a sound of protest, she stays where she is, rising up on her tiptoes to peek over my shoulder. Her body presses against mine, and I wrap an arm back around her waist to keep her safe.

Tyr continues filtering magic into the ark as sweat beads on his brow, his mouth pursed in concentration. The ark jumps and twists, and then a plume of smoke billows from its surface, forming into the shape of a woman wearing a long flowing gown.

“Zerra,” I breathe. I recognize her likeness carved into the ark. Tyr flinches in shock, nearly releasing the control on his magic. “Don’t stop!” I shout. “Keep going!”

Gritting his teeth, Tyr hangs on as the ark glows brighter. Zerra turns around, and I almost choke when she faces me, her eyes filled with loathing and her expression twisted with pain. She doubles over, clutching her stomach before her back arches and her arms fling out. Her head tips back and to the side as her mouth opens wide in a soundless scream.

I press Hylene harder against me as black veins form across Zerra’s skin, climbing up her neck and down her arms like a crystal vase cracking into pieces. She twists, her body bending like a blade of grass blowing in the breeze .

I’m so focused on Zerra that I almost don’t notice Tyr clutching his chest, his body also curling inwards. “I can’t . . .” he croaks out as his magic stutters and flashes.

“Tyr!” I shout. “Everyone get out! Hylene! Go!”

They begin to make their way towards the door as I run to Tyr, catching him as he stumbles. “Don’t let go! You can’t let go!”

Some instinct tells me that if Tyr releases his magic, Zerra will have the ability to hurt him. He shakes as I cling to him, trying to offer whatever inadequate strength I can. “Tyr! Hang on! You must hang on!”

But he isn’t strong enough. He groans, the sound tearing out of him with a roar, as his magic flickers one last time, and then he falls against me and collapses.

Zerra’s form solidifies, a grim smile twisting her face. She lifts an arm, white sparks gathering in her palm.

And then she hurls a ball of crackling silver light in our direction.

I’m clutching Tyr, waiting for the strike, when everything seems to reverse in slow motion as a beam of pure golden light spears into the center of Zerra’s chest.

She bends back and screams before the sound cuts off, and she morphs back into her previous, barely there form. Gaping, I stare at her. It takes me a moment to realize it’s Erevan, his jaw set as he holds out his hand, funneling magic into the ark, his light brighter and so much more vibrant than Tyr’s.

He moves closer, the ark glowing brighter and brighter as Zerra continues her silent scream. More and more cracks form on her skin while she claws at her face and chest and arms. Her hair rises from her head, fanning out as static streaks of lightning surround her in a flashing, throbbing column.

The ark explodes in a blinding flash, splinters arrowing through the air.

Again, I brace myself for the impact, but Erevan spins up his magic and encases us in a protective shield of golden light. I see the pieces crash against it in bright flashes before they fall to the floor.

A moment later, he releases it, leaving the three of us alone in the silent throne room.

We stare at each other.

Childhood friends. Boys drawn together by chance. Boys whose positions and responsibilities pulled them apart before fate forced them back together again.

A king. A prince. A slave. And a revolutionary.

A broken crown.

A traitor.

A free man.

And Erevan. The future of Aphelion.

He watches us with a wary look before he stares at his hands as if unable to believe what he’s just done.

“You fucking asshole,” I half growl, half choke out.

That breaks the tension in the room and then we both start laughing.

Erevan falls to his knees, throwing his arms around me and Tyr as the sky booms with the promise of another storm. We all look up to witness streaks of silver lightning flashing overhead, and a scream echoes in the distance.

We did it. Whatever Lor and Nadir are up to, they’ re on their own now, but at least we helped with this. I say a silent prayer that they survive, and I see them again.

Erevan looks at me, and we both smile.

Finally, we can move forward.

Only three of us are left, and I hope we survive this too.

I think we all deserve that.

That’s when the clouds roll in to the crash of thunder, and the sky opens up before the rain, once again, starts to fall.