Page 140 of Of Shadows and Blood

“Tea?” she asks, rising and moving towards the stove in the corner. I nod, trying to breathe in the safety of this location. I can’t hear any commotion outside, which means it must be secured well. Cedric will be here soon and we will find retribution for the war Rolan has unjustly waged on Lux with the Nyxian forces.

The war can’t be that far along. Rolan never left. The torture never stopped.

“Do you know much about the Nyxians?” I ask, trying to avert my mind to other things. Grace stops pouring elys into a sachet. She looks over at me tentatively before returning to her task.

“That is a loaded question.”

“Anything you know would be useful. I think they are rising against Lux with Duresden.”

“The Nyxians are certainly not doing that,” Grace responds. She fills a kettle with water and lights the fire beneath the stove.

I turn to examine her more fully. The kitchen is filled with very simple, dainty decor. But the wallpaper is filled with stars. Her cess robes look different than what Avonde wears. Where Avonde’s are simple, Grace’s are dotted with faint sparkles.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” I ask, thinking about the symbols.

Grace shakes her head as she busies herself with wiping the counters down.

“How many are there? Do you know?”

She stops and turns to me, leaning against the counter. “Not a lot, I’m afraid. The lineages between Lux and Nyx are so blurred now and a rift split them, the last I heard around these parts. They’re underground, very underground. But your parents, I believe, are descendants of Nyxian royalty.” She points to my hair. “The pale hair is a dead giveaway.”

The echo of Rolan’s sentiment hits harder now. I stand up and walk to the rusted mirror next to the short hallway that leads to another room. In this room, I see how my features are so different from Cedric’s.

“And Cedric…” I start.

“Is as pure as Luxians can be. From Martine’s line.”

“Why is there such a stark difference between the two kingdoms, yet they are mirrored opposites of one another?” The symbols all around the kingdom come to the front of my mind. Stars, moons, dark and light.

Grace pours two mugs, adding a fresh sprig from the basket and takes a seat. I join her.

“Nyx and Lux were sister kingdoms. Imagine the map of Lux as you know it split into two balanced halves, Nyx to the west and Lux to the east. Lux, being primarily vampyr, honed the continent’s magic wielders. Their cess trained to be fighting forces with spells and magic under the Light Kingdom. Nyx, on the other hand, trained their cess to be healers and their vampyr to be policy makers and ambassadors. Magic wielders with an affinity for healing completed their rounds in the capital, Ithille, in the Night Kingdom.”

I sip on my tea, imagining the history.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what happened to Nyx,” Grace says, sadness clouding her features.

I nod, preparing myself for the story I’ve only heard in passing.

“Over a thousand years ago, the line to Lux’s seat brought an evil man to power when the kingdoms began to fully divide and establish after the great war. King Martine grew tired of the infant mortality rates of Nyx. Our people, you see, could not reproduce healers or apt men of the state fast enough for the wars Martine was waging. He had a great army, no doubt, but a great army without sustainability is a weak one.”

“Martine is Cedric’s grandfather,” I state because I know this. She nods.

“Who was the king of Nyx?”

“She was called Queen Cala Starleen. Your grandmother.”

I look down at my tea, immediately thinking about what she looked like. Did we look alike? Was her hair nearly white like mine?

“Cala fought the amendments Martine proposed. Conscripting humans to fight in vampyr battles, more blood suppliers to Lux, border shifting, you name it. Anything to satiate his need for power.”

Sighing, I understand what happened before Grace finishes. “He invaded.”

Finishing her cup, she sighs. “Yes, he invaded.”

“And the Nyxians? What happened to them?”

“Some joined ranks willingly and the cess merged into both healers and magic wielders. The vampyr spread out. Some were able to escape to Duresden and other kingdoms, some became willing citizens, others were executed.”