Page 6 of Aryn

“I did.” The words hang heavy for a long moment before he swallows. “Two hundred years had passed since that damned day—centuries where I watched as he raised armies and took over Elyra. Anyone who opposed him was killed. He might’ve wielded the weapons, but their blood was on my hands. I felt every death. Soon, there was no one left brave enough to speak out. His rule was absolute, but it wasn’t enough.”

Xeni leans forward, brows pinched and lips slightly parted.

Sovran continues, seeming not to notice. “He had the entire world in his hands, at his feet, but he longed for more. One day he was in the forest, furious at being denied. Furious that the world would dare limit him. All that power brewing under his skin had driven him mad. It corrupted him into something unrecognizable and turned him into my greatest mistake.”

“Who—” Xeni starts.

Sovran speaks over him, the words tumbling out like he needs to finish before he loses the nerve. “I watched it from above as he fell to his knees and bellowed at the sky like he knew I was there. His cries weren’t for forgiveness. They were full of rage and resentment, and a desperate fury to feed the power churning inside him.”

He falls quiet. For a few breaths, the only sounds are the wind moving through the trees and the distant chirp of birds.

“It happened then,” he says at last. “The tiniest pinprick of an opening formed between the worlds. He couldn’t hold it for more than a moment, but the damage was done. He saw what he could do, and the call of the other side spoke to that desperate hunger to conquer. It fueled him for the next hundred years. He grew even more ruthless, overthrowing every small monarch and city in his reach. No one knew it at the time, but he was searching for the best scientific minds. He was determined to tear the barrier down for good, and he didn’t care who he killed to make it happen.”

“Who was he?” Xeni demands. There’s a sharp edge in his voice that makes me glance over. His single eye is narrowed, pale cheeks flushed dark as he stares, unblinking.

Sovran stays silent for a long time, shoulders hunched as he stares at the ground. When he finally lifts his head and meets Xeni’s gaze, he looks smaller somehow. “You already know who he was.”

“I want you to say it,” Xeni hisses.

“Why?”

Confused glances ripple through the group as Xeni bares his teeth. “Just fucking say it!”

Regret twists Sovran’s features, even though he doesn’t flinch away from the shout. His throat works in a heavy swallow as he gives his head a small shake and takes a deep breath. “His name was Zadeus.”

Aryn

Sovran and Xeni are locked in a silent stare as my heart slams against my sternum. My mind spins, replaying everything I ever knew about Zadeus and his unnatural power.

“Wait,” Cato says, breaking the standoff as Sovran turns toward him. “Zadeus as in Xeni’s fucking dad? Zadeus as in the motherfucker we gutted in that tunnel?”

“Yes,” Sovran says with an expression that battles between regret and relief. “The same.”

“Just…” Xeni starts, then scoffs and shakes his head hard. “You’re telling me my fucking asshole of a dad is…” He trails off and grips his thigh, squeezing tight as pain and anger war on his face. Bash pulls his hand free and laces their fingers together.

Xeni’s face burns deep red, and his voice comes out raspy. “This was him?”

Sovran drops his gaze again. “It was.”

“He did all of this?” Xeni demands.

Sovran grimaces as he stares at the ground. “The fault is mine. I gave him the power, and I stood aside while it destroyed his mind. He was only the vessel for my lack of judgment.”

“No,” Xeni snaps as he surges to his feet. “No! You don’t get to do that!” He charges forward and shoves Sovran’s shoulders. Ronan and Elas both shoot up, ready to jump in. Bash rushes over to pull him back, but for aloof as Xeni can be, he’s powerful. And right now, he’s angry enough to fight.

He shoves Sovran again as the others struggle to pull him back. “You don’t get to sit there after everything he did and tell me it wasn’t his fault,” he roars. “You don’t get to take that from me!”

“Xeni,” Bash urges, closing his hand around Xeni’s wrist and tugging.

“No,” Xeni shouts, voice cracking. “There’s no excuse for what he did. None! And it isn’t… it isn’t fair for you to paint him as a victim. Do you have any idea what he did to me? What he did to an entire world?”

“I do,” Sovran admits softly.

“Fuck you,” Xeni spits. “Fuck you for making excuses for him, and fuck you for trying to make him out to be anything other than the monster he was. He made his choices.”

Bash tugs his wrist again and this time, Xeni folds, twisting to bury himself in Bash’s arms. His fingers close around Bash’s shirt, squeezing and tugging to get himself under control while Bash pets his hair and whispers into his ear.

Pieces of my past suddenly lock together into a clearer picture. “We never knew how he did it,” I mutter, half to myself. Eyes around the circle snap to me, and Sovran tilts his head in that curious way.