Echoes of Light by Daniel Arenson

Author:Daniel Arenson [Arenson, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Published: 2017-10-31T23:00:00+00:00

OFEER

As she walked down the dark street with Atalia, there was so much Ofeer wanted to say. She wanted to tell Atalia how sorry she was—for how she had been, for what she had done. She wanted to speak of Ariel, explain how he was a child born of war and incest, born ill and dying, saved by Luminosity and destined to be emperor. She wanted to ask Atalia so many questions—about her ship sinking, about her wars in Gael, about her days as a gladiatrix.

Yet Ofeer struggled to speak, and for long moments, they walked in silence through the dark streets of Aelar.

We were never friends, Ofeer thought. Even as children, I shied away from Atalia, afraid of her strength, her courage. She fought with swords as a child, while I cowered at the port. She looked up at her taller, older sister. May we now become what we could not as children.

"And you have no news of the others?" Ofeer finally asked, softly. "The rest of our family?"

Atalia shook her head. "Not since we left Zohar on the same fleet. But . . ." Her eyes darkened. "Rumors speak of devastation. Of countless dead. Of Claudia's forces raging through the kingdom."

Ofeer shivered. The houses along the road seemed to close in around her.

"There is a lumer here in Aelar," Ofeer said. "One that I know. She once served Porcia. You might have seen her back in Gefen on the day . . ." She swallowed. "The day you were taken. Her name is Noa, but Porcia called her Worm. I've pleaded with Noa before to use the Sight, to gaze across the sea to Zohar, but she refused to spend her dwindling reserves of lume."

Atalia sneered, and her fists clenched at her sides. She looked so fierce that an old beggar, slumped on the street, scurried into an alleyway.

"I would have made her," Atalia said. "I would have pounded her face in until she used the lume."

"She needed that lume for Ariel," Ofeer said softly. "To heal him." He still slept in his sling, warm against her chest. "He was very sick for a long time. She saved his life."

Before almost killing him, Ofeer added silently, not yet ready to share that tale.

Atalia's eyes softened and she caressed the baby's hair. "He's beautiful, Ofeer."

As they walked, Ofeer slung her arm around Atalia and leaned against her.

I was never a true sister to you, she thought. Let me be one now.

"We'll take him home someday," Ofeer said. "We'll raise him in the villa on Pine Hill. When he's old enough, you'll teach him how to use the sword, and Maya will teach him letters and numbers. And on Lel Urim, we'll all walk together through the dark house, singing and holding candles. Remember, Atalia? Like we used to."

Atalia nodded, and her face softened. "Like we used to."

Ofeer paused from walking. They stood in a dark street so narrow they barely fit. The walls of apartment buildings rose at their sides, eight stories tall, revealing only a strip of sky.

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