Chapter 78: The Land Between Worlds

[Imperial Palace — The Hallway — Continuation]

Kael’s hand remained wrapped around the hilt of his sword; he did not lower it.

The stranger for Kael, standing before him, was no ordinary priest. Even now, with his golden hair falling like threads of sunlight across his white robes, there was something profoundly unnatural about his presence.

The palace itself seemed to recognize him; the flames within the bronze lamps burned brighter whenever Shamash breathed.

Kael did not like it, not even a little. Shamash noticed the suspicion in his eyes and gave a faint smile, and his voice came too gently.

“I understand your caution, Emperor, but I did not come here to challenge your throne.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here?”

Shamash slowly inclined his head as his gaze settled upon Kael. “I told you…I came to speak with the Queen of Shadows.”

Kael’s fingers tightened around his sword.

“You are speaking to him.”

“No.” Shamash’s answer came immediately. “I am speaking to the Emperor. I wish to speak to the soul beneath the crown.”

Kael felt an uncomfortable chill move through him; the Sun God took a single step closer as his expression became almost courteous.

“If the Queen of Shadows permits it…may I have a conversation with you?”

Kael stared at him; the request sounded respectful, but something beneath it was not. There was an invisible pressure in the corridor, a weight that Kael could feel against his skin.

This man was a deity, an ancient one, and Kael knew enough about the gods to understand that gods did not cross the boundaries of mortal kingdoms merely to exchange pleasantries.

His first instinct was simple: call Lytharion. Kael’s lips parted. “I will call Lytharion—”

“I need to speak with the Queen of Shadows alone.”

Shamash interrupted him; the words were quiet, yet they struck with the force of a command. Kael went silent, his amber eyes hardened.

“You are asking me to walk away with a deity I have never met.”

Shamash smiled faintly. “A reasonable concern.”

“You entered my palace without being detected. How should I trust you?”

. . .

. . .

Shamash’s smile disappeared. “I did come without being detected, and I know the queen of shadow would not trust a random walking deity…but…I believe…we need to have a conversation.”

Kael’s heart gave a hard beat; for some reason, the memory returned—the black desert, the blood-red moon, that terrible scream, and the woman lying in Lytharion’s arms.

Kael did not answer. Shamash placed his hand against his chest, and his golden eyes became solemn.

“By the light that bore witness to the first dawn…I swear to you that I shall not harm the Queen of Shadows.”

The corridor fell silent.

Kael watched him carefully as Shamash continued, and his voice was calm and deliberate.

“I shall not raise a weapon against you. I shall not spill your blood.” He lowered his hand. “And I shall not betray the promise I have made.”

Kael’s gaze sharpened. “You expect me to trust the word of a god, where even my mate does not believe?”

Shamash’s expression almost became amused. “You need not trust me; you need only understand what a divine oath means.”

Kael knew; every ruler of Qashmar knew.

The gods could deceive, they could manipulate, they could speak in riddles, and they could conceal truths behind half-spoken words, but a god could not willingly break a sworn divine promise without paying a price far greater than any mortal punishment.

A divine oath was bound to the essence of the deity who made it, to break it was to invite the judgment of the heavens themselves.

Kael slowly lowered his sword, not completely; his hand remained upon the hilt. Shamash watched him. Kael’s mind raced.

Something about this was wrong; every instinct within him screamed that it was wrong, yet there was another thought, a more dangerous one.

If Shamash, a deity of light, has approached him…at a time when he is alone without his mate, it means something is important that he cannot let go.

Then perhaps he possessed answers that even Lytharion did not have.

Kael swallowed. “Very well.”

Shamash’s expression changed; a small smile appeared upon his lips. “Then you accept?”

Kael nodded once. “I will speak with you.”

The smile remained for only a heartbeat, then it vanished; something harder entered Shamash’s eyes, something ancient and something that had been hidden beneath his courtesy from the moment he entered the palace.

“Good.” Kael watched him carefully. Shamash turned toward the corridor ahead. “Then let us go somewhere private.”

Kael frowned.

“Where?”

Shamash looked over his shoulder. “Somewhere…where your mate cannot find you for a little while.”

Kael’s heart thundered; for one terrifying instant, his entire body went cold.

Shamash knew exactly what he meant.

The Shadow King could sense Kael from distances no mortal could comprehend. Darkness answered his call. Shadows carried his will. There were few places in Qashmar where Kael could truly disappear from him.

And Shamash had just said—

where your mate cannot find you.

Kael’s mouth went dry.

He stared at Shamash. “You know that Lytharion will come looking for me.”

“I know.”

“And you believe you can prevent him from finding me?”

Shamash’s eyes gleamed. “For a time.”

Kael’s heart beat harder; the sensible part of him told him to turn around, to call the guards, to summon Lytharion, to find Veyrith, and to end this conversation before it began.

But another part of him—the part that had seen the red moon—wanted answers.

Why had he seen that woman? Why had Lytharion cried? Why had another version of Lytharion begged him to wake? And why did he have a feeling that it was related to shamash?

Kael slowly released the hilt of his sword; his voice was quiet.

“Then lead the way.”

Shamash turned fully toward him; for the first time, there was something almost triumphant in his golden eyes.

“Of course, Queen of Shadows.”

Kael’s expression tightened; he did not like being called that by him, not when Lytharion spoke the title; it felt like a vow from Shamash, it felt like a warning.

Kael took a step forward, then another, and the two gods’ chosen paths began to converge, and somewhere deep within the Imperial Palace…a shadow moved.

Kael stopped as he looked toward the darkened end of the corridor, nothing.

Only silence, only the faint flickering of bronze lamps. Yet for the briefest moment, Kael could have sworn he felt Lytharion’s presence.

Watching, searching, and waiting. Shamash noticed the hesitation.

“Come.”

Kael looked at him, then toward the corridor behind him; his heart continued to pound, and then finally, he followed. Neither of them noticed the tiny black feather lying upon the stone floor several paces behind them.

A feather belonging to Veyrith, and it was not there by accident.

***

[Somewhere in the Desert—Later]

Light swallowed them for one breath; Kael could see nothing, only the endless brilliance that seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of the world itself.

Then his feet touched sand. Kael staggered slightly and immediately steadied himself.

He looked around, and the desert was vast. Far vaster than any desert he had ever seen in Qashmar.

Golden dunes stretched toward an impossible horizon, but the sky above them was neither day nor night. One half was bathed in a pale, eternal light, while the other disappeared into a deep violet darkness. There was no sun.

Only an immense horizon where light and shadow seemed to meet without ever consuming one another.

A strange wind moved across the dunes… It carried no heat, no scent, and no sound of life.

Kael took several cautious steps forward. Shamash stood several paces ahead of him. The Sun God’s golden robes moved gently in the wind, his hair flowing behind him like a river of molten gold.

He looked completely at home.

Kael did not; his hand instinctively drifted toward his sword. Shamash glanced over his shoulder.

“This will be a suitable place; here, your mate cannot find you.”

Kael’s heart struck hard against his ribs as he looked around again. “Where are we?”

Shamash’s expression remained calm. “Somewhere beyond the reach of mortal kings.”

Kael’s gaze hardened as he said, “Come to the point, why am I here?”

Shamash looked at him for a long moment, then he chuckled under his breath. “Straight to the matter.”

Kael’s patience was already wearing thin. “I did not come here to admire the scenery.”

Shamash stopped smiling; for several moments, he simply stared at Kael, then he turned away.

“Do you know what kind of place this is?”

Kael looked toward the strange horizon.

“No.”

Shamash walked slowly across the sand. “This is not a mortal desert. It is a place between worlds.”

Kael followed, though he kept several steps of distance between them.

“A place between the mortal world…” Shamash continued. “…and the realm of the immortal.”

Kael’s gaze sharpened. Shamash lifted his eyes toward the divided sky.

“When the first breath of creation was born, there was nothing but silence, and then came light, the first flame, and when that light appeared…shadow was born beside it.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “Lytharion.”

Shamash nodded.

“Yes.”

He looked toward the horizon. “We were the first twins.”

Kael stopped walking.

“Twins?”

Shamash turned toward him. “The heavens named us many things throughout the ages. Sun and Shadow. Light and Darkness. Dawn and Night. Creation and Silence, but before we were gods…we were simply two halves of the same beginning.”

The wind moved through the desert.

Kael stared at him. Shamash was telling him that the Lord of Darkness had been born alongside the light, not as an enemy, not as a rival, but as his twin.

Kael’s voice was barely audible. “You’re saying you and Lytharion…”

Shamash nodded.

“We’re born together.”

Kael’s chest tightened. “But why have I never heard this?”

Shamash’s expression darkened. “Because the gods do not tell mortals every truth and because Lytharion does not speak of the beginning.”

Kael studied him.

“Why?”

Shamash looked away.

“That is not why I brought you here.”

Shamash’s expression changed; the warmth disappeared from his face and something ancient replaced it, and something almost sorrowful.

“As his brother…” He paused, and his golden eyes returned to Kael. “…I cannot allow Lytharion to commit the same sin again.”

Kael froze; the wind seemed to stop.

“What?”

Shamash’s expression remained solemn. “I cannot watch him repeat the mistake that destroyed everything once before.”

Kael’s heartbeat became louder. “What sin?”

Shamash did not answer. Kael took a step toward him. “What are you talking about?”

“I would ask the queen of shadows to step away as the mate of Lytharion, the deity of darkness.”