Chapter Fifteen

"You have no idea, do you, what she means to all of this, this hunt that you have placed so much concentration on," Dregh points out, turning to her creation as Kyril's lips are pressed together in a firm line. "You say she is merely a translator to your quest but have you no idea the symbol she bears on her soul." What does she mean? Does she know me to be the daughter of Heka? If she knows me to be the daughter of someone that the gods are too looking out for, then she would not hesitate to strike me down, but then again, Dregh seems like someone who loves to play a game. "So innocent you call her, so pure to this world of darkness, but that is merely her past."

I pull my eyes away from the goddess, seeing Duke Gravon with his head still bowed, knuckles white as his hands are fists upon the onyx dirt. He is straying his eyes from the goddess, looking towards me briefly as fear is mirrored in his eyes. His eyes show the same emotion my mother's did years ago when another well-known magician dared to do what my father did, but he did not know the fire he was playing with. I had attended the performance with my mother as it was a tribute to my father's passing, the elites of the entertainment industry surrounding us. That magician wound up in the hospital with internal bleeding, three broken ribs, and third-degree burns. No magician could recreate my father did because that performance of my father's was not an illusion or cheap trick, but actual magic without any extra affects. Gravon holds the terror in his eyes my mother did when that magician almost met his end, an indescribable fear that only grows in power. From the way Kyril and Gravon talked of the gods, I can understand why being in the presence of a god could be so terrifying, but yet it seems like the fear Gravon holds in his eyes is all because of me, and not Dregh.

"Tell me, Candice, how did you happen to wind up realms away from your home?" The goddess looks to me, her head tilted to the side as my throat runs dry. "Look at that, my dearest son, how she is brewing up a lie to lace your mind with as it takes hold and makes you believe her."

"She is my mate," Kyril snaps at his mother, taking one swift stride to place himself directly between his mother and me. "I trust her more than I could ever trust you. You had me just to show off to the other gods, to use for your own selfish needs because eternity is boring."

A laugh fills the air, causing chills to run down my spine as I look past the King before me and to the goddess who is now entertained. "If that is your reason for trusting a human, Kyril of Iduna, then I certainly overestimated all the intellect in that head of yours, all that logic." Dregh walks forward, her footprints leaving trails of a shallow fire, her presence only coming closer to me one again as she is watching me like some piece of art from a museum, as if some piece of work to be admired. Why? I am human, a mere mortal and holding no power in my veins like someone worthy of this world filled with the unreal. "Do you not recall why Iduna was created, Kyril of Iduna, why the gods crafted this world for your kingdom to have existence?"

A force pulls me upwards, the goddess holding out her hand as she twists it, my body following her control as I stand before the goddess, head held high as she inspects me further. "The realm of Iduna was crafted to shield us from the monsters of flame, of hunters lurking in the darkness, and of the fear of our kind being wiped from existence," Kyril contributes to the conversation, bring back words Soka once told me, of how humans were the hunters of her kind and others, the reason for isolation in fear of extinction. To think these people of magic fear the existence of humans, a species holding no power like those from this realm. "The gods wanted a haven for their kin and crafted Iduna, a haven to protect us from the monsters of the light. But those hunters died centuries ago when the last dragon fell, no longer training their kin as they saw we had disappeared."

"Tell me then, Duke Gravon of the Rolling Mountains of the Eastern Isles, since you have studied the creation of this realm, of the unreal power these hunters possessed," Dregh commands, speaking out to the Duke who has remained silent in all of this.

The Duke rises to his feet, looking up to me, fear reflected in his eyes. "The strongest family of hunters, they were known for their adaption to our ways of fighting, learning of the magic we possessed. They stole from the elves and witches, creating stones and grains that were used to defend and protect their lives, that were used in magical spells that could hide you from your predator, and even as teleportation devices. This family found a way to bind these materials into powerful weapons and were the reason for why the elves became a race of darkness and hate," Duke Gravon explains, switching his gaze back to the goddess who holds me in her magical grasp. "These people came from a land of sand and shallow trees. The mightiest warrior and hunter of their kin was called Heka of the Nile, a hunter who knew of the gods and goddess and that they had created Iduna. Heka of the Nile knew that the duty bestowed upon him was to silence the souls of the creatures of Iduna, so he worked on a way to reach the gates of Iduna and finish what his family had begun."

"And his head was cut from his shoulders by an elf, a beautiful elf who seduced him," Dregh adds, her eyes meeting mine as I am released from her hold, my feet stumbling back a little as the name hits me. Heka of the Nile. The name my father has taken and the Nile River in the name of that hunters, meaning he was from Egypt. My father spent much of his time in the Middle East, even focusing five years of his life to that country as he was constantly on digs there and making connections to find certain pieces for his work. Mother said that my father found his true potential in Egypt. "Heka of the Nile, his children lived on, passing down stories for their own children and soon enough, after the story of the world of Iduna was seen as a silly children's story, one of these children believed it to be true."

"So Heka, the one roaming Iduna right now, is a descendant of the original Heka who wished to destroy Iduna?" I ask, "What did this Heka of the Nile do?"

Kyril steps forward, eyes reflecting the fear that the Duke too holds. "He murdered a god, something that was thought no mortal could ever do." Kyril turns back to his mother, shaking his head. "What are you implying about Candice? That she is a hunter? That she is a relative of Heka of the Nile?" A smile pulls across Dregh's lips as she lifts her chin, shoulders rolling back.

"No, she is not here to murder us all, to slay us, no, for that is not why she has stepped foot in Iduna. She looks innocent, my dearest Kyril, like an innocent flower plucked from their home and in new territory. She is still learning of Iduna, taking it all in, and she does want to leave."

"What are you implying?" Kyril asks, voice stern as my throat dries.

The goddess lays a hand on my arm, sparks flying through my skin as smiles. "She was born to seduce any powerful being of Iduna, my son, to determine the fate of your very existence. And my, she will lead you to Heka, she will indeed."

"You do not know me," I snap to the goddess, my voice stern as the goddess pulls away, shocked at my lash out to her. "I just want to go home."

"And you are home," Dregh informs, her voice a mere whisper, as if to keep it away from the ears of Kyril of Gravon. She holds out her hands, a glossy bubble forming around us, sheltering our existence from that of Kyril and the Duke. "You have been gone for so long, Candice of the Nile, daughter of Heka, and descendant of Heka of the Nile. My, oh my, how the bloodline of the world's deadliest hunters has changed. You were born to return back to Iduna, to finish what your long-lost relative started. You came here to find your father, to hunt down the hunter of demi-gods." My jaw is clenched as the goddess smiles. "But your father merely hunts demi-gods, unable to truly take on the battle between a god and a mortal. He is not strong enough, but you, my dearest little Candice, hold such a strong loyalty to your flesh and blood, that you will soon pick up a sword and taint that soul of yours in crimson red."

"That is not true, I am not some murderer. I am here to find my father and return home," I refute, arguing with a goddess who could easily kill me. "Why not slice off my head already, make sure I never get the chance to murder a god?" I question, as if taunting the goddess as she takes a step back from me, taking in my appearance.

"Why would I end the game before it has even begun. I am sure you have heard of my reputation in the ring of gods, how I am feared most, how I love to play a game."

"I figured you liked to play games the second I heard of you," I reply, watching as the goddess flicks her wrist, golden mist circling her hand as her eyes glow gold."

"And you think yourself incapable of killing a god," Dregh points out. "I have feuds with gods and goddesses who have upset me for centuries. I know their weakness and their limits. I know what will happen to you when you find your father, how you will slay your first enemy before nightfall as you would do anything for family." Dregh flicks her wrist again, the golden mist in her hands forming the shapes of people, one holding a sword as they strike another down, the body turning into mist that falls to the ground we stand on. "You are part of a family whose loyalty was never underestimated. Stories of your bloodline still live on in Iduna, how one hunter took down an entire army just to find their sister, how one slayed a dragon to avenge their husband's death, and now, another child of Heka has emerged, to find her father lost in a world she will soon come to know as her duty to destroy."

"I have no need to destroy a world made of the unbelievable, for your world does nothing to my own. I wish to leave it as soon as possible. I will not become someone to be known for slaying gods and goddesses because that is impossible."

"And yet you thought that a world like Iduna was impossible," Dregh points out. "Soon enough, things will awaken within you, for Heka of the Nile did not just stone that helped give him a leverage to his hunt, but he stole the soul of a goddess, cutting it from her body before it could escape, allowing the soul to be consumed by his through a darker magic than any other, his bloodline carrying the soul of that goddess. That is the mark you bare upon your soul."

I find my heart races, the sound of drums banging in my head as a headache begins. "And what was this woman the goddess of?" I ask, looking back to Kyril and Duke Gravon who stand parallel to time.

Dregh smiles, opening up her palm as her flesh becomes crimson red on her hand, as if blood is covering her flesh. "The goddess of war."

The bubble surrounding us comes down, allowing for the King and Duke to become back into our conversation as I take in a shaky breath. "Soon enough, Kyril," Dregh begins, turning to her son, "you will not be protecting this female from Iduna, but you will find yourself under her as she takes your life from you."

Dregh goes up in flames, blue and white flames consuming her body as she fades away into the sky, the weather becoming a heavy rain as I am left alongside a King who thinks I am his soulmate and a Duke that fears me. They have been told I am to be feared, but Kyril does not believe that, not yet, not the way he looks at me like I am someone he has sworn to protect for all eternity. As the wind blows and the rain beings to soak my clothes, my head spins as thunder rolls in the distance. Dregh wants to play a game with me and she wants Kyril to be another piece of entertainment in it.

"She often says things to mess with your head," Kyril comments, as if trying to persuade himself that he does not believe what his mother has said. "We will return to the camp and head in the direction of Heka. Going to Dregh was just a waste of time and she took advantage of it," he includes, grabbing my arm, sparks flying through it as he holds me close, eyes staring into mine, the appearance of hopelessness shown in his eyes as they trace over every detail of my face. "She wants to pin me against my mate because her mate left her for a mortal back in the realm of humans." He holds me close, an arm wrapped around my waste as I want to push it away and run for the hills. Unlike him, I find myself accepting every word that Dregh told me, but that does not mean I believe every word that goddess spoke. I will not murderer. I will not taint my soul in crimson red. "We shall return you to the palace, to keep you safe from these darker places of Iduna." I shake my head.

"I am here to find Heka, to return home-

"Your home is here, with me!" Kyril shouts, the ground rumbling beneath my feet as my eyes widen and skin becomes pale. "Where my home is, so is yours."

"And if my home is with you, then I am to go with you on the hunt," I reply, taking his hand, squeezing it as I know what I must do to see my father. If Dregh was correct about my family being related to the line of a powerful family of hunters, then I am screwed. "I stand beside you." I know the words I must say, how to word my every phrase to make this male believe that I trust him and will be beside him as we find Heka. I may be insane, but I wish to return home, to see my mother, and to make my family once whole again, even if it means placing myself in terrible danger.

"You do?" Kyril asks, his free hand moving up to cup my face as my throat dries and become sore. He looks into my eyes with a sorrow matched with a sense of happiness or relief. He looks at me like how I would imagine my father to look at my mother when they are reunited after so many years of isolation from one another. He looks at me as if we have been in love for ages and have finally renewed the love we have for one another. "You will stand beside me?" He asks, coming in closer as his eyes begin to slowly shut, his lips only coming in closer.

"I will," I whisper, moving my lips closer to his as I know this is for my family, for my family to become whole once more. "Because we are mates," I add, giving Kyril false hope as we seal our conversation with a soft and short kiss, and as he holds me only closer, I find a darkness growing within my soul. A darkness uncontrollable and just waiting to be released.