Chapter 67: When Gods Defy Fate

[The Temple of Lord Vaelthorn — Continuation — Midnight]

The sanctuary remained frozen beneath the weight of two ancient gods; only the faint crackle of dying flames disturbed the silence.

Shamash’s crimson-gold eyes remained fixed upon Lytharion, then, slowly, his voice emerged, low and gravelled. Heavy with the authority of something that had watched kingdoms rise and vanish.

"The child born from you and your mate...will bring the destruction in the Wolf Clan."

Lytharion’s golden eyes narrowed.

Shamash continued.

"That is what I saw." The golden aura surrounding his enormous wolf form flickered. "One thousand years ago, I witnessed the glimpse, and now...I have seen it again."

The shadows around Lytharion suddenly became still.

"The same vision."

For a heartbeat, Lytharion couldn’t breathe. Something flashed across his mind, a chamber drowned in crimson, a woman’s trembling body lying within his arms, covered in blood.

Far too much blood, a blade buried deep within her abdomen, and amber eyes staring at him with fading warmth and his own hands covered in her blood.

A broken voice whispering his name.

Lytharion.

His vision shattered as Lytharion’s eyes opened; the memory vanished, but the pain remained. His golden gaze became utterly cold as he looked directly at Shamash.

"And because you witnessed one glimpse..." His voice was terrifyingly calm. "...you decided that the child of my mate must become a monster?"

Shamash’s ears lowered slightly. "I witnessed the destruction."

"You witnessed a possibility."

Lytharion took one step forward.

THUD.

The ancient floor trembled beneath him.

"Do not confuse those two things."

Shamash’s eyes hardened. "The vision showed the Wolf Clan burning."

"And?"

Lytharion’s claws slowly emerged as his golden eyes burned.

SCRAAAAAPE...

"If the future showed fire...how did you decide who would light the flame?"

Shamash remained silent as Lytharion moved closer. "Did you see the child? Did you see his eyes? Did you hear his voice?"

The shadows climbed the pillars.

"Did you watch him choose destruction with his own hands?"

Shamash’s expression tightened.

"No."

Lytharion’s lips curled as his words struck through the sanctuary and his voice lowered.

"Then you know nothing.You saw an ending and you condemned an unborn soul for it."

Shamash’s golden-red eyes flashed.

"I saw enough."

"Enough?" Lytharion laughed once; there was no humor in it, only bitterness. "That is what you said a thousand years ago."

Silence.

Lytharion’s gaze became distant for a moment as his voice trembled with restrained fury.

"The same prophecy, the same warning." His claws tightened as he looked back at Shamash. "And the same fear.You delivered that future to me once before, Sun Deity."

The sanctuary seemed to grow colder.

"And now you stand before me..." Lytharion’s eyes darkened. "...and expect me to surrender my mate to the same fate?"

Shamash’s voice hardened. "You are allowing affection to blind you."

"No." Lytharion’s answer came immediately. "Love has finally made me see clearly."

Shamash froze. Lytharion’s voice became almost a whisper. "Kael is not that vision; he is the one who came after it, the one fate returned to me."

His eyes burned.

"And this time..."

Darkness erupted around his body.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The golden barrier around Shamash shook violently.

"...I will not stand aside."

Shamash braced himself.

"Lytharion!"

"I did it once." The darkness thickened. "I obeyed the gods. I obeyed the prophecy, and I watched fate take what belonged to me."

His voice cracked for the briefest instant.

"Never again."

The temple fell silent, and then Shamash spoke as his voice carried the weight of divine law.

"You are a deity, Lytharion. Your existence does not belong solely to yourself; you have a duty."

"I know."

"Your duty is to protect the Wolf Clan."

"I know."

"Not a mortal."

Lytharion’s expression became terrifyingly calm as he turned his head toward the ancient statue of Lord Vaelthorn.

"Then perhaps...the gods have forgotten something."

Shamash frowned.

Lytharion looked back at him as his voice echoed through the sanctuary.

"A deity may have a realm; a deity may have a throne." The shadows curled around his paws as his golden eyes burned brighter.

"A deity may have an entire clan kneeling before him, but even a god can have someone he would choose above all of it."

Shamash’s expression hardened. "You would sacrifice the Wolf Clan for him?"

Lytharion did not hesitate.

"If the world demands his death..." The darkness behind him rose like an enormous black storm.

"...then I will stand against the world."

Shamash stared at him. Lytharion’s voice dropped into a deadly whisper as his claws dug into the ancient floor.

"And if the heavens themselves demand his life...then let the heavens come and take it from me."

Silence.

Then Shamash’s voice cut through the darkness. "You still do not understand; the prophecy cannot be changed."

Lytharion smiled, a cold, ancient smile. "Then I shall be the first deity to prove it wrong."

Shamash’s eyes widened. "Lytharion—"

The Lord of Darkness turned away. "Step aside."

"You will regret this." Lytharion paused as his golden eyes glanced over his shoulder and his gaze became merciless.

"Perhaps,, but I would rather regret defying the gods...than spend another eternity regretting that I failed to protect my mate."

Shamash’s claws tightened. "You cannot protect him forever."

Lytharion’s expression softened for the smallest moment, as he thought of Kael, his amber eyes, and his quiet smile. The way he had held Lytharion’s hand and promised—

I will always protect you.

Lytharion’s golden gaze hardened again as he turned towards the temple gates.

"I don’t need forever. I only need enough time to make sure Kael lives until the end of his life with me."

He began walking away, but behind him, Shamash’s voice came one final time.

"Lytharion."

The Lord of Darkness stopped. "If Kael bears your child...and the prophecy comes true..."

The temple became deathly silent. Shamash’s voice lowered.

"You will have to choose between your mate...and the Wolf Clan."

Lytharion stood motionless; for several heartbeats, he said nothing, then his golden eyes slowly narrowed as a faint smile touched his lips.

"Then pray, Shamash...that day never comes."

And the Lord of Darkness walked into the midnight darkness. Behind him, the ancient statue of Lord Vaelthorn remained silent, but deep within the temple...the god of wolves watched everything.

THUM.

And somewhere beneath the foundations...something answered.

THUM.

THUM.

THUM.

***

[Imperial Palace — Emperor’s Chamber — Midnight]

The candles had burned low, one by one; their flames trembled beneath the midnight breeze slipping through the lattice windows, casting long, wavering shadows across the marble floor.

Kael sat alone beside the window; he had been waiting far longer than he intended to.

His hands rested upon the armrests of the carved chair, but his fingers had been tightening and loosening for nearly an hour now. His amber eyes remained fixed upon the darkness beyond the palace walls.

Nothing.

No familiar shadow, no golden eyes appearing from the corridor, and no quiet voice calling—

Beloved.

Kael swallowed as he looked toward the enormous doors of his chamber again.

"Where are you...?"

His voice was barely a whisper as he had told himself not to worry. Lytharion was the Lord of Darkness, a deity who had existed long before Kael’s empire, long before mortal kingdoms had learned how to write his name into their histories.

There was almost nothing in this world that could truly threaten him, and yet... Kael couldn’t silence the uneasiness crawling beneath his ribs.

Something was wrong; he could feel it through the bond.

His fingers slowly rose to his chest, resting over the place where the invisible protection Lytharion had carved into his life force now rested.

It was warm, but tonight... It felt strangely distant.

Kael’s brows furrowed. "Lytharion..."

A soft flutter interrupted his thoughts.

FLAP... FLAP...

Veyrith flew from the chandelier and landed upon the back of Kael’s chair; the raven tilted his head.

"Caw..."

Kael glanced at him. "I don’t know what’s taking him so long."

Veyrith hopped closer, his black feathers brushing against Kael’s shoulder before he settled there. Kael instinctively reached up and stroked the raven’s head.

"I hope...he is fine."

But even as he said it, something inside him tightened because Lytharion had never left like this, not since Kael had finally stopped seeing the Lord of Darkness as merely a terrifying deity bound to him by an ancient bond.

He was his husband now, and somehow, that simple thought made the waiting infinitely worse.

Kael rose from his chair as he paced toward the doors, stopped, and turned around.

Walked back toward the window, then returned to the doors again. Veyrith watched him in silence.

"Caw..."

"Perhaps I’m worrying for nothing..."

A soft flutter interrupted him. Kael glanced toward his shoulder. Veyrith was perched there, unusually still. The raven’s feathers were slightly raised, and his dark eyes remained fixed upon the chamber doors.

Kael noticed immediately.

"Veyrith?"

"Caw..." The sound was low and uneasy.

Kael frowned. "What is it?"

Veyrith did not answer. Instead, the raven suddenly turned his head toward the doors. Kael followed his gaze but only darkness beyond the carved wooden panels.

The emperor slowly stood as his expression became cautious; the room remained silent.

Then—

FWOOSSSHHHH...

A thin strand of darkness slipped beneath the chamber doors. Kael froze; the darkness slowly spread across the marble floor like living smoke, curling around the legs of the furniture.

His amber eyes narrowed... It wasn’t moving like an ordinary shadow. It was creeping and searching. Veyrith’s feathers suddenly expanded.

"CAW..."

Kael’s hand instinctively moved toward the sword resting nearby.

"Stay calm."

The darkness continued to climb along the edges of the doors, not attacking, but something about it felt wrong. Kael took one cautious step backward.

And then—

Veyrith suddenly spread both wings.

"CAWWWWWWWWWW—!!!"

Kael’s eyes widened. "Veyrith, wait—?"

FWWWWOOOOOSSSHHHHHHH—!!!

Something shot through the open window, a flash of silver. Kael barely had time to turn.

SHIIIIING—!!!

A dagger flew directly toward him. Veyrith’s wings exploded with dark energy.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The dagger stopped completely. It hovered inches from Kael’s chest, trembling violently in the air as Veyrith’s power wrapped around its blade.

Kael’s eyes widened, his breathing stopped for one heartbeat, nobody moved, and then his gaze slowly lifted toward the window.

Three figures stood upon the balcony; their faces were hidden beneath dark masks, and their weapons glimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.

One of them stepped forward.

Kael’s expression hardened; the warrior within him awakened instantly as his fingers closed around the hilt of his sword.

"Assassins..."

Veyrith remained between Kael and the intruders, wings spread wide, his eyes burning with fury, the dagger still hung suspended in the air and somewhere beyond the palace walls...the Lord of Darkness was nowhere near his beloved.

The assassins had finally reached the emperor.