Chapter 94
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Ragnar
The trial to break the oath is not going to be easy. Deep in the King’s Temple is a pit filled with what the scribes call the waters of destiny. It’s said that those who enter it see the fragments of their past. The loss that hurt the most and I don’t know what that may look like. Who I may see or what awaits me in there.
Seraph and Raena are here with me. I was instructed to come here in my pelt without a single belonging on my person. I left Sophia heavily guarded early this morning and wrote her note to apologize that I won’t be joining her in her run this morning.
“You seem a little less aggitaited this morning, my King,” Seraph says as I approach the pit. I glance in her direction as I hold my hands in front of me to try and show some modesty. She doesn’t seem to care that I’m completely naked, but I want to be respectful anyway. “How is Sophia adapting to her new role?”
“She’s a natural,” I admit. “She’s just having trouble with the outcomes.”
“It is only natural for her to feel guilty. She was civilian before this and was brainwashed into thinking that she nothing more than a mere mortal,” Raena scoffs. “Water affinities always adapt to their surrounding. We’re always changing and always moving forward.”
That describes Sophia perfectly.
The other scribes come down with blessed oils and red ribbons meant to signify my bonds to the dead. I look away when one of them lifts my arms to pour the oils on my torso. It’s warm and the floral fragrance overwhelms my senses. It’s not long before I begin to feel a little out of it. I can hear Seraph chanting as she moves around the cave lighting the extra big candles set up all around us.
I feel like I blink and when my eyes open again, every light has been lit and the scribes have formed a circle. They’re all holding hands and as their voices grow louder the water pit begins to glow. The light is coming from the bottom, a devine white brightnesses that completely catches my attention.
The sound of laughter echoes around us and my skin breaks out in goosebumps as every instinct in my body beckons me to move closer to the pit. Seraph and Raena release the circle to allow me to go in as I move forward instinctively.
My heart is beating a million miles an hour as I get to the edge. I look down to see blurry images of people moving just under the surface of the water. They are definitely not reflections, but I can’t tell who they are. The chanting continues as I take the first step.
The water is warm. I expected it to be cold. I step inside and make my way towards the center until the water is past my waist. I don’t know what guides me to do it, but my instincts urge me to drink from the it before submerging my body. I scoop some up and into my mouth and find that it tastes like regular water to me. I sit down. The water covers my body up to my neck and when I look over at Seraph, she nods.
I take a deep breath and lower myself until I’m completely under. For a few moments, all I see are the shadows of the scribes dancing with in the candle light and their chanting starts to fade under the water. I close my eyes and remind myself why I’m here. For a second, I feel like I’m free falling. My eyes snap open and I sit up taking in a deep breath.
When I look around, the scribes are all gone. I wipe my face feeling a little clusterphobic because of the weight of the oil on my skin while I’m in the water. I look around to find nothing but the candles.
“Did it work?” I ask unsure of what I’m supposed to do next. When I look towards the opening of the cave I see her.
My body tenses up with the familiar feeling. My chest tightens as wind coming in from the opening of the cave carries her scent. The part of me that has been dead for a very long time is staring back at me with fiery violet eyes that match my own.
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Chapter 94
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There’s a white veil covering her body. I stay still as she slowly makes her way to the edge of the pit. She sits on the edge and as the veil soaks up the water and oils it begins to dissolve.
“You have gotten very big,” are her first words to me. All I can do is stare at her. “Not who you were expecting, Ragnar?”
“No,” I answer honestly. “But it is most welcomed. I’ve missed you, mother.”
“I’ve been here with you all this time,” she says. Suddenly she’s in front of me with her hand on my chest. I groan when the burning sensation flares. “And I will never ever leave you. Neither of us will.”
“I’ve come to-”
“I know,” she smiles and looks down at the mark. The pain continues to get stronger, but I can see it slowly diminishing. Fading and for some reason, that hurts more than the physical ache I feel.
“Why isn’t Clarity here?” I whisper. When she looks up at me, there’s a sadness in her eyes that I’ve never seen before.
“Your bond with Clarity was never forged. Your connection was never solidified by or mark or consumated. She is with her ancestors as you are with yours.”
“I understand,” I nod. With her left hand she makes me look up at her.
“Clarity will always be your first love, Ragnar. That will never change. You were not wrong to respect her wishes to wait for the ceremony. You have been a good man long before you,” she looks me over again and laughs. “Became the monster you are now. How is Ivar?”
“We’re about the same size, I’m slightly taller than he is.”
“He’s suffering. A great deal,” she cups my face. “You are healing. You are once again finding your place to become the King you are meant to be, but you musn’t allow your brother to be alone in his grief as you and Sophia move forward. He is in a crossway that can guide him to greatness or a great deal of pain.”
“How do I help him?”
“You won’t like the answer when you discover it, son. You’re not as forgiving as he is. You take after me in that department and I apologize for that. Promise you will keep an open mind when the time comes. Do not deny the King his home for he will burn yours to the ground.”
I repeat those words over and over as I stare at her memorizing all of her features. Her soft jazmine scent is carried in the air around us despite the overwhelming smell of the blessed oils. As soon as the ache in my chest fades, I look up at her to see
her smile at me.
“Tell them I love them and that we all miss them a lot.”
“We know,” she nods. “Take care of Sophie, Ragnar. She is a strong resilient girl, but so much has happened. Tell her her father says pick the red truck up, Sophia.”
“Pick the red truck up?” I ask not understanding. She nods and stands up.
No water drips from her white flowy dress. The water doesn’t move with her and as she backs away to get out of the water, her veil begins to form once again as if it time has rewinded for her. She bows formally and begins to fade into the darkness off the entrance to the cave. I look down to see that the mark is gone.
I take one look around once again and I lay back. I close my eyes and fully submerge myself in the water. The chanting starts up again. I open my eyes and sit up taking a deep breath. When I look around Seraph and Raena are turning off the candlest one by one. They pause and then look back at me.
Chapter 94
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“Welcome back, my King, the two of them say in unison. I look down at my chest to see that the scar is still there.
“Did it work?” I ask.
“Only you can answer that,” Seraph says and comes over to me with a towel. “The physical will remain. A reminder of the oath you kept, but the rest is now up to you.
