34 | ACT II, SCENE VI

P R E V I O U S L Y

I did not stop, instead sending even more fire to feed the glowing flames. The Keep began to glow like an inferno, great and mighty and coated with flames which wound around the posts like giant serpents. Showers of sparks radiated as the walls began to spit and sizzle, devouring everything in their path. The gold finally began to melt.

CARLEIGH PALACE, SUNCAIRN, ELLESMERE.

ERIC

"YES, YES. IF YOU ASK me, yes. I definitely heard rumors of the existence of a device called the Goldberg Logogram," Helios ominously whispered to me, even though there were just three people in the room.

Helios being Cosmo's eldest and only son who had helped him in the Titanomachy against the dreaded Titans, I had invited him home to talk about the Logogram. The day god's help could be useful in this, besides he already had experience dealing with the terrifying members of House Tytos now locked away in Seattoria.

"It's not a rumor. We verified that it is true," I explained. I passed to him the ancient letter we had found under Steffith, clearly outlining Pandora's plan to complete the destructive device and kill Endollon.

Beside Helios sat his wife, Cosmo's eldest daughter, Nyx. With dusky skin, midnight black hair and lush hips, she was the goddess of the nocturnal night hours. Her pitch black eyes sparkled as they read the translation of the Cicada code I wrote out for the both of them.

"I... cannot believe it," she firmly concluded. "The stories of the Titans waking up are tales told to scare younger children. Jokes, in fact."

"Well, if you read this..." I glanced over it, "it is not a joke."

"It makes no sense," Helios said firmly, sitting upright. "Just like a joke."

"Obviously. What is this nonsense about this gate? Opening for ten moonlit hours when the hour strikes eight," Nyx stated with a glare. The night goddess was clever and resourceful, yet her eerie demeanor sometimes threw me off.

I willed myself to be calm and patient, and then took a deep breath.

"Let me explain to you both what the letter means. Apparently, a Titaness has been let loose from her chains in Seattoria. She supposedly found this letter which her mother, Pandora left her. Pandora created a backup device called the Logogram to bring her family back to Endollon in case they were killed. We know that the Logogram has three or four pieces - one hidden in Endollon, one in the mortal world and one in Seattoria-"

"But we already know all of this," Helios interrupted, chortling. His bright blue eyes sparkled as he snorted.

"You do not. The first piece is buried in Endollon. On Vezort Island."

"Are you serious, Eric? Vezort Island, of all places!" Nyx stood up, alarmed. "Three gods disappeared there. We cannot let you risk your life like that!"

"That is why I am asking you to accompany us when we go there," I said patiently with a smile. "The gate mentioned in the letter is the gate to Vezort Island. It opens for ten hours on a moonlit night - starting from eight in the evening to six in the morning."

"Damn it," Helios scratched his chin, and he began to glow brightly, filling the room with light. "That explains it. Erida, Atherton and Cymbeline just happened to get lost on a moonlit night. They must have been unable to find the way out before the time limit was up!"

"Precisely. The next moonlit night, we will be going to the Island to find the first piece of the Logogram. Do we have your assistance?"

"Yes," Nyx nodded, her eyes now profound and wide with deep understanding. "Yes. I will be there. And my brother too," she nudged Helios, who was lost in thought. "Won't you?"

"Yes, yes..." he muttered, counting on his fingers. Then he looked up with a smile. "When is the next moonlit night, Eric?"

"I consulted Celinette, the moon goddess yesterday. She said that she will appear in all her full, bright glory one week hence," I replied confidently.

"Very well," Helios got up happily, swinging his legs and giving me a firm handshake. "We will see you in one week, Eric. We will find the piece of the Logogram, we will find our siblings and we will find Erida as well... your mother."

I sadly gulped my feelings down my throat and tried to sound alright, ignoring the moisture gathering in my eyes. There were pangs of hurt in my heart, but I smiled at the couple.

"Of course. I'll suggest you dress warmly and carry your best weapons. It will be just the five of us gods on a whole island," I added, holding the door open for both of them as they sauntered out.

"Obviously," Nyx rolled her eyes and shuffled out. "See you in seven days, your Grace."

Then they both made their way out of the room, walked a few steps down the corridor and disappeared into thin air. I sighed and drank a glass of water. Then I got up to find my wife.

I found Amphitrite in one of the large balconies of Suncairn Palace, lounging on an exquisite swing. She was dressed in loose blue silks that gave her more freedom of movement in her difficult pregnancy. A blanket was draped over her knee, her busy fingers embroidering it. Constantly, she dropped a hand to her swelling belly, as if giving comfort to the three little lives growing in the warmth of her womb.

Edwina was sitting beside her on the cushioned swing. She was clearly busy writing some important business letter, her perfectly styled brows scrunched in a frown.

"And then I had to ask the seamstress to make another dress... can you believe it, it doesn't even fit me!" Amphitrite was animatedly chattering to her sister. "Speaking of which, what are you wearing to the wedding, Edwina?"

I walked to my wife and put a hand on her shoulder. She gave me a comforting smile and worriedly turned to her sister.

"Edwina?" she called again. The fire haired woman seemed to have not noticed, furiously busy writing the letter.

"Edwina?" I echoed, and her head snapped up.

"What?" she looked up. "Were you talking to me?" I sighed.

"Don't you women need to talk about how to dress to impress for Vanessa's wedding?" I teased her, tugging at the long plait of her red hair which she'd swung over a shoulder.

"I don't dress to impress, LeVane. I dress to depress. I look so fucking good that it makes people hate themselves," she snapped, rolling up the letter and wiping the smidgen of ink on her fine nose.

"You could dress as an eclipse. Just wear black and stand in front of everything," Tristan's voice drifted into the room all of a sudden as he materialized out of thin air next to me. He had a proud smile on his face for no apparent reason, and an envelope sealed in his hand.

"I have a question," Edwina argued, getting up and storming to him. "Who died and left you in charge? And what the hell are you looking so smug about, Valmont?" she asked with fire in her eyes. She seemed to be highly upset about something today.

"Try me," Tristan said with a smirk.

"Did you get laid?" she hissed. "How much did you pay her?" I chuckled to myself as I heard the slightest undercurrent of jealousy in her voice.

"I don't need to pay women to have sex with me," he replied with a flourish, unclasping his cloak and taking off his riding gloves, hair still ruffled from the wind.

"And why is that?"

"Aren't my looks enough?" he quipped in jest. Amphitrite pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh, but a giggle escaped her lips.

Vanessa timidly walked into the room, her face morbid and eyes drooped and red from crying. I tried to put an arm around her, but she gave me a mutinous glare and shook me off.

"You called me, pumpkin?" she asked Tristan, who turned around.

"Yes," he said with a satisfied smile on his lips. "Consider this a gift from me, little cousin," he proudly drew himself up and placed the letter in her palm. It was emblazoned with the black and white unicorn of House Rotavelle, raising my curiosity.

Nessa unscrolled the letter eagerly, and I reached out to wipe the tears off her white cheeks. My sister swatted my hand off, shaking with anger. Amphitrite gave me an angry look, and I slowly backed off with a sigh. Vanessa has been at it for days. I knew that my decision to marry her to Favian had upset her. The misery of losing her was so great, I could not even begin to tell her how much I cared for her.

"Oh lord, are you serious?!" Nessa's high pitched scream pierced my ears all of sudden, and tears of joy leaked out of her eyes as I stared at her in amazement. She was clutching the letter to her heart, and Tristan gave her an indulgent smile.

"What - what is it?" Edwina and I questioned Tristan at the same time. "What have you done?"

"Nothing, only freed me from marrying that horrible beast!" my sister jumped joyfully, flinging her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Give me that," I frowned, trying to pry it out from her hand. She refused to let it loose and I gave her a glare.

"What did it say?" Edwina curiously asked me. I let out a laugh of satisfaction as I tugged the letter out of my sister's hand.

My jaw dropped.

"LeVane?" she demanded. "I'm waiting."

"He... Tristan managed to annul Nessa's marriage to Favian?" I gasped, my eyes widening. How in hell had he done that?

"But... wasn't the marriage fixed to settle the rivalries and make an alliance between the three Monarchs and the Rotavelles? If there is no marriage, are we going back to war?" Amphitrite worriedly called out from across the room.

"No," I breathed in, reading further. "He has agreed to wed Llewellyn to Favian Rotavelle's younger sister, Celestina Rotavelle. That way, Vanessa won't have to go anywhere, she'll be safe. And Llewellyn will be staying with his new bride right here at Stormholt. He'll be close to Nessa too. And-"

"-no war as well!" Vanessa jumped joyfully, wringing Tristan's hand up and down as he pulled her into a warm embrace. She sniffed happily but then drew back, a single tear on her cheek. "But I... I liked Llewellyn. He was a little bumblebee," she said in a small voice.

"Come on, Nessa. Things can't go the way we want always. It's true that he'll be married to another woman. But it's just an alliance. You can be with him, you can love him still," I encouraged. She gloomily nodded her head. Then she gave Tristan a wave and disappeared.

He muttered something to himself as he got up, putting on his gloves and fastening the clasps.

"Speaking of letters..." Tristan mused, "I received one earlier in the day. Something about a castle in Normount catching fire?"

"Hmmm... Normount you say?" I asked. "It was about time someone taught that Deimos a lesson. Perhaps I'll reward that person instead of punishing them."

"The castle didn't catch fire. It was set on fire," Edwina said from the other side of the room. She drained a glass of wine as our faces widened in smiles. Tristan was very unsuccessfully trying not to grin and hid his smirk behind his goblet of wine.

"Can't argue with your logic," he muttered darkly.

"I burned down the castle and distributed the gold among the people," she continued.

"Clever. That bastard didn't need that much of gold anyways," I agreed, still marveling at her presence of mind. "Any mortal casualties?"

"The Everlys have no mortal servants. None of those wretched fools are dead, possibly just a little... burned out," she muttered.

"Serves them right."

"Well then," Tristan gave me an idle smirk and got up, putting on his cloak. "Seeing that the matter has resolved itself, seems that my work here is done."

"Of course, Valmont. Congratulations," Edwina said sweetly, her voice laced with a tone of anger once again.

"Thank you," he said sarcastically, giving her a mock bow. Then he vanished into thin air in a whirl of his black cloak.

"Why are you both always so pissed at each other?" I asked her sarcastically. "Did he hurt you? Or... touch you without your permission?"

In my mind, I knew Tristan Valmont would never do such a thing. He might be an asshole. But there was one thing his mother had taught him well. His manners.

"You need to stop harboring so much anger, my sweet," Amphi coaxed her. "He is a good man, Edwina. I know that his father killed our mother... but from all I've seen, your husband is a much better, a much thoughtful, a much cleverer man than you give him credit for," she said with a slight sob.

Edwina rested her chin on her fingers after taking a sip of sparkling water. Her gaze was distant, swimming in blue green pools of anger.

"Tristan  is the first of us. Apollo never paid attention to Elodie, but when it came to his son... he taught him history and law and arms. Apollo taught him everything he knows, and so did Helios, and so did Cosmo. He knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. He knows what it is like to lose family and suffer the consequences of it for eternity. He knows what it is like to grab a castle and title from a king's hands. Cosmo believed that kingship was his right. Tristan knows that kingship is his duty, and that even his life is not his to own because it belongs to his people."

"Try to make your peace with him," Amphitrite suggested to her sister. "Please," she whispered, "for I cannot see you in so much suffering."

Edwina said nothing, lost in thought, her lovely features as still as stone. After two minutes, it was as if she woke from a dream and stood up suddenly.

"I have work to do," she muttered, placing her hand on her sister's head. Her eyes softened as she gently kissed her forehead. "Get some rest, okay? I need to be going, my love."

• • • • •

HARTINGTON CASTLE, ALNWICK, STORMHOLT.

EDWINA

There was someone in the darkness.

A hand was constantly latched onto my shoulder, shaking me. I shoved it off, rolling to the other side of the bed. Goddamn it, I needed sleep.

Whoever or whatever that thing was, it didn't stop.

"Wake up, woman," a voice spoke in the darkness. I groaned and pulled my eyes open, nearly falling over the bed as I saw Tristan lingering near my head in the darkness. "Get the bloody hell up," he demanded cheerfully as my sleepy eyes adjusted to night vision.

"The heck are you doing? Waking me up in the middle of the night!" I hissed angrily, stuffing myself into the blanket again.

He pulled it off in a single movement, and for a slight moment, I saw his breath catch at the sight of my slender body under my ivory shift.

"I'm praying that your swordwork is not as pathetic as than your sense of time. It's four in the morning," he said dryly.

"But why?" I wailed. "I'm sleeping!"

"Look woman, if you cause a racket waking the whole Castle, you can forget about learning to fight with your left hand."

Suddenly, my body shot straight up from the mattress as I regarded him eagerly.

"What?" I gasped, "you'll teach me?"

"Get your ass off this bed. I'll leave if you take more than five minutes to get ready," Tristan smirked evocatively.

"But that's not fair - I have to change too... stop staring, Valmont!" I exclaimed, watching his deep blue eyes observe my body with unconcealed gleam.

"It's my Castle," he muttered darkly.

"Stop. Staring. What if I had been naked?" I screeched, getting out of the bed slowly, stretching first and then smoothing out my petticoat.

"So what? You think I've lived four and a half centuries without seeing a woman naked?" he asked sarcastically as I weaved my fingers through my hair, sorting out a stray tangle. I flung open the doors of the dresser, taking care not to look to excited.

But the truth was, I was so damn excited, I could have jumped right at him.

He decided to give in!

"And it's not like I'm interested in you either," Tristan was continuing in an unconvincingly bored voice, pretending to look interested at the pillows.

"Says the god whose jaw dropped lower than his standards?" I quipped joyfully, selecting a pair of clothes and then putting my hands on my hips, staring at him. "I need to change."

"So?" he asked mischievously, lips pulling up in that characteristic smug smile of his.

"I need privacy. Have you ever heard of personal space, Valmont?" I chided.

"Ah..." Tristan chuckled under his breath. "I would like to be in your... personal space," he finished with a lick of his alluring lips, causing my head to move to and fro between him and the bed.

"You're drunk," I shook my head hopelessly.

"Shut up. Remember, no more than five minutes. I'm counting the seconds," he airily waved a hand at me, gesturing to the clothes, leaving and closing the door behind him.

• • • • •

Are y'all ready for some cute Tredwina action next chapter? Btw, that quote from Eric about Tristan was inspired by a paragraph about Rhaegar Targaryen from ASOIAF!!