Chapter 73 Fragments of Power
SERA
The wraith was only the start.
Three further breaches happened within the next week.
Smaller. Easier to contain. But constant.
"The timeline is destabilizing," Arianna said. We stood in her workshop. Maps of time spread across tables. "Nyx's erasure created a wound in reality. Things are leaking through. Trying to force their way back."
"Can we stop it?"
"Only by filling the gap. By bringing Nyx back." She looked at me. "But she cannot return until she is born. Until the moment arrives naturally. Forcing it earlier would tear reality apart completely."
"So we wait three years."
"We survive three years. While reality falls apart around us. While things from the old timeline hunt us. While Daemon builds power unopposed." Arianna traced symbols on the maps. "This is what sacrifice costs. Not just what was given up. But what remains after."
I wanted to argue. There must be another way, I wanted to say. However, I was worn out. I'm exhausted. I said, "Teach me more." "The wonder of time. When I halted the wraith, I sensed it. I sensed Nyx's gift within myself. I'd like to get proficient with it. "It's not your magic.It is hers. An echo left behind. If you use it too much, you drain the echo. Make it harder for her to return."
"Then I use it carefully. Only when necessary." I looked at Arianna. "But I need to know how. must be capable of safeguarding us in the event of the next breach."
She gave a nod. Slowly. "Excellent. However, the Vault is where we train. Stay away from people. At least the damage is limited if you lose control.
We trained every day. Hours of reaching for magic that was not quite mine. Learning to touch time without breaking it. To slow moments without stopping them. To see threads without pulling them.
It was agony. Every use of Nyx's gift felt like tearing pieces of her away. Like losing her again. Over and over.
But I did it anyway. Because she gave me this gift. This protection. And I would honor that by using it to keep everyone safe until she could return.
Kael watched one session from the doorway. "You are pushing too hard."
"I am pushing exactly hard enough."
"You are bleeding. From your eyes. Your nose. Your ears." He moved closer.
"Whatever you are doing, it is destroying you." We are staying alive because of it. If you die in the process, what good is it to stay alive? He took hold of my shoulders.
"Stop. Rest. Let me help carry this."
"You cannot. You do not have the gift."
"Then I find another way. Hire more guards. Build better wards. Seal the Vault completely."
His voice broke. "But I can't watch you slowly kill yourself to protect us from a threat I don't get." You don't have to understand.
You just need to trust me."
"I do trust you. But I do not trust that you will survive this. Not the way you are going."
He was probably right. I felt it. The magic burning through me. The curse taking more than it should. The exhaustion that went bone-deep.
But I could not stop. Not when Nyx was out there. Scattered. Waiting.
"I will rest," I lied. "After this session. I promise."
He did not believe me. But he nodded anyway. Left me to my training. To my self-destruction.
Arianna spoke once he was gone. "He is right, you know. You are burning too bright. Soon there will be nothing left."
"Then I burn. As long as I keep everyone safe until Nyx returns."
"She wouldn't want you to die for her." She died for me.
Fair is fair."
"That is not how love works."
"Maybe not. But it is how survival works." I stood. Wiped blood from my face. "Again. Teach me to hold time longer."
We trained until I collapsed. Then I got up and trained more.
Three weeks after the first breach, Lyra came to me with news.
"I found her. Mira Morweth. She is in the southern provinces. Working as a healer."
"Does she have family?"
"A husband. One son. She seems happy. Normal. Nothing suggests she is a threat." Lyra's eyes narrowed. "But you said in the other timeline she was key to Daemon's plans. That she would betray us."
"In that timeline she lost her son. Daemon killed him. That broke her. Made her willing to help us for revenge." I stood. "In this timeline we need to make sure that does not happen. We protect her son. Keep him safe. Then she has no reason to turn against us."
"Or we eliminate her now. Before she becomes a problem."
"No. She is not evil. She is just grief-stricken in a future that has not happened yet. We do not kill people for things they have not done." I looked at Lyra. "We protect her family. Quietly. Make sure Daemon never has reason to target them."
"That requires resources. Attention. Guards posted on people who have no idea they are in danger."
"Then we make up reasons. Say we are expanding protection to all noble families. Say it is new policy." I grabbed my cloak. "I want to meet her. See if the echo of the other timeline exists. See if she recognizes something."
"That is dangerous. If she is already working with Daemon in this timeline, approaching her reveals we know."
"Then we approach carefully. As concerned rulers checking on our people. Nothing suspicious."
We rode south three days later. Me, Kael, me, and a small guard contingent. Reached the small town where Mira lived.
Her house was modest. Nice but not extravagant. A healer's home. Herb gardens. Clean stones. Normal.
She answered the door, looking surprised. "Your Majesties? I did not—what are you doing here?"
"We are visiting the southern provinces. Checking on our people. Making sure everyone has what they need." I smiled. Tried to look harmless. "May we come in?"
"Of course. Please." She stepped aside. Nervous. Confused. "Forgive the mess. I was not expecting—I mean, we do not usually—"
"It is fine." Kael's voice was gentle. "We are not here to judge. Just to meet you."
We sat in her modest sitting room. A boy ran in. Maybe six years old. Mira's son. The one who would die in the other timeline.
"Mama, who are these people?"
"These are the king and queen, darling. Be polite."
The boy's eyes went wide. He bowed. Awkward. Adorable. "Your Majesties."
"Hello," I said. Smiled at him. "What is your name?"
"Torin. Torin Morweth."
The name hit me. I had seen it. On the memorial wall in the other timeline. One of the names. One of the people Daemon killed.
I would not let it happen again.
"Torin is a strong name," Kael said. "Your mother must be very proud."
"She says I am trouble." Torin grinned. "But good trouble."
"The best kind." Kael looked at Mira. "He seems healthy. Happy. You have done well."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Mira was still nervous. "Is there something specific you needed? Some reason for this visit?"
"Yes." I leaned forward. "We have received intelligence about threats to noble families in the southern provinces. Nothing confirmed. Just rumors.
But we are being careful. "Giving extra protection to anyone who wants it." What are you protecting from? Dissidents. Rebels. People who want to make the realm less stable.
All true. Just not in this timeline yet. "We want to ensure families like yours feel safe."
"We are safe. I am just a healer. No one wants to hurt us."
"Probably not. But we would like to assign guards anyway. Discreetly. Just in case." Kael's voice was firm. "It would ease our minds."
Mira looked between us. Calculating. "This is about Daemon, is it not? My brother-in-law. You think he is a threat."
"Should we?"
"I do not know. He is ambitious. Ruthless. But so are most nobles." She glanced at Torin playing in the corner. "If you think we are in danger, I will accept protection. For my son's sake."
"Good. Guards will arrive tomorrow. They will be subtle. You probably will not even notice them."
We left shortly after. Rode away.
"That went well," Kael said.
"Too well. She agreed too easily. Like she expected us."
"Or like she is genuinely concerned about her family and willing to accept help."
"Maybe." But instinct said otherwise. Said Mira was playing a longer game.
She said she knew more than she let on.
I sensed it when we were halfway back to the capital.
A pull. More powerful than before. Coming from all over and nowhere.
Time bending. Reality cracking.
"Something is happening," I said. "Something big."
"What?"
Before I could answer, the sky split open.