Chapter Sixteen...

“What just happened?” Elda muttered, looking between the spot Sypher had been standing in and the woman’s heartbroken expression.

“It’s not for us to discuss,” Gira answered, glaring at the woman. “I told you to stay inside, Lillian.”

“Wait, Lillian the Keeper?” Elda asked. The Fae nodded. “Is Arden here too?”

“No. Last we heard, Arden was in Bratus,” Gira said, rubbing a hand across his beard in a gesture Elda recognised from her father when he was angry.

“So, are you the Keeper Sypher organised to protect the outlands in his absence?” Elda probed, thinking of Edward in his tavern and Sorrel with baby Addie bouncing on her hip. “Who’s defending them from the demons?”

“Valdren sent soldiers after your selection was announced,” Lillian shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“What good are soldiers against Behemoths, Lillian?” Gira scolded. “You should be out there with them. You’re only here to speak with Sypher.”

“Of course I am,” Lillian admitted with a casual smile. “I’m sick of him running away from me.”

“No way,” Julian cut in. “You need to back off. Did you see what you just did to him?”

“He’s just having a temper tantrum,” Lillian decided, rolling her eyes. Julian ground his teeth and stormed back to Syd, obviously unable to come up with a civilised answer.

“You know it’s more than that,” Gira muttered, then turned to Elda. “Forgive me, Princess. I’m happy to begin your training today, but I’ll need a little time to prepare. Will you be alright for an hour or so?” Elda gave him an uncertain smile and nodded. “Julian, the stables are this way.” The pair disappeared further into the villa grounds with Syd, leaving her alone with the Fae. Elda shifted her weight awkwardly, unsure of how to react to Lillian’s unabashed scrutiny.

“You’re shorter than I expected,” the Keeper sniffed eventually. “A lot shorter.”

“Sorry to disappoint?”

“Is it true that you married him?” Elda sensed hostility, and her hand crept to the hilt of Sypher’s knife at her hip.

“Yes. He proposed to stop me being sent to Falkryn with Lord Horthan.”

“I didn’t think it would be for love,” Lillian nodded, smiling smugly. “He hasn’t loved anyone since me.”

“He loved you?” the Princess asked doubtfully. “That didn’t look like love to me.”

“What you saw was guilt. We were together when I was his Keeper.” The Fae flipped her hair back over her shoulder haughtily. “I spent about seventy years bonded to him, and when my husband and children died, he was there for me.”

“That doesn’t change the reaction he just had to you.”

“He left me alone once my purpose was met. Got me to trust him, took what he wanted and disappeared.” She cast her eyes down, lip quivering slightly with emotion. “I loved him so much. I never expected him to do that to me, but I forgave him. He can’t stand being the one responsible for our breakdown, so he acts like this every time he sees me.”

“Why would you want to forgive someone who could abandon you like that?” the Keeper questioned suspiciously.

“Because I love him.” She looked down at the wedding ring on Elda’s finger, laying a hand on her shoulder. The elf resisted the urge to recoil. “Don’t let him do to you, what he did to me. He left me for something trivial, and he still blames me, when I’m the one that was deserted. Be careful.”

The Fae turned and walked away without another word, leaving Elda confused and alone in the garden. The story didn’t sound right, but Lillian had real tears in her eyes. Had Sypher really slept with her and then left after so long being bonded to her? He could barely stand being touched with his armour on, let alone without it. It seemed impossible.

When Gira came out to train Elda, she was still standing in the garden waiting for Sypher to return. Lillian’s story didn’t make sense, and it consumed her thoughts so much she didn’t realise Gira was there.

“Your Grace,” he greeted, making her jump. “If now isn’t a good time, we can do this tomorrow.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just confused. I could do with something to distract me from...whatever that was.” She forced her features into a smile. “Sypher tells me you’re going to help me speak with Irileth?”

“I will, however, you need to be calm and with a clear mind. The first connection is the hardest.”

“Irileth has visited me before.”

Gira’s thick brows rose. “She has? Beyond Sypher introducing you?”

“Yes. She walked me to my wedding banquet when he stormed off. He came back to find her dumping a tankard of ale over one of my suitors.”

“Hmm. Can you try bringing her here?” Elda nodded. She closed her eyes, thinking of how Irileth looked in her physical form. She imagined the misty white dress billowing around her icy calves when she bent to stroke the petals of one of the lush pink flowers in the garden.

“You called?” The Princess opened her eyes to see Irileth waiting expectantly in front of them, hands resting on her hips.

“Welcome,” the other Keeper greeted her. “I didn’t realise you and Princess Elda already had a strong connection.”

“Gira, it’s nice to finally meet you. Aetheria has told me much about you.”

“I’m sure she has,” he smiled. “You already seem comfortable with communicating with one another. What do you need my help with?”

The ice maiden tapped one slender finger against her chin for a moment. “I need to bring Elda to my realm. I can visit this world, but she can’t visit mine. I know you mastered the trick quickly, and I was hoping you might help us too.”

“Of course. I believe I can help without troubling Aetheria just now,” he agreed. “Join hands.” Elda did as she was asked, marvelling again at how Irileth’s fingers never felt cold even though they were frozen. “Close your eyes. Irileth, project an image of your realm to Elda. Send it through your joined hands. Will her to see it through your eyes.”

At first, nothing happened. Then there was a small point of light behind Elda’s eyelids, growing steadily larger, as though she were emerging from a cave. She could no longer feel her body standing in the garden. Instead she was floating, pulled along towards the point of light that was now a window into another world.

Her feet touched down gently on the surface of a frozen lake, huge fish with bright scales swimming lazily beneath the crystal clear ice. All around the lake were trees and shrubs coated in a layer of frost and snow, though the air wasn’t cold. The sky was cloudless and bright, but there was no sun to shield her eyes from. In the centre of the lake, Irileth sat with crossed legs, one hand tracing the path of a fish beneath her.

“Welcome to my home,” she beamed. “I’m surprised it was so easy for us to get here.”

“Where is here?”

“Each Spirit has their own self-contained realm to reside in once entrusted to a Soul Blade. This one is mine.”

“And now that I’m here, what am I about to learn?”

“Must we talk about such sad things right away?” Elda folded her arms across her chest expectantly. Irileth sighed. “Come. Sit with me.” When they were seated on the ice, the Spirit went back to dragging her finger across the surface, attracting the attention of the fish. “I’m going to teach you about your future, little friend. Sypher’s demon soul is violent, and over the years it has become vengeful. He fights it constantly, trying to keep it at bay. One day, it will overwhelm him.”

“But he can stop it, right?”

“No.” Elda’s stomach flipped uncomfortably. “The cross from what he is now, to what he’ll become, is inevitable. Once it happens, he’ll never be the way he is now. All he does by fighting is delay the change. That’s where the bond comes in.”

“I don’t want to kill him.”

“Depending on the paths the two of you take, you may not have a choice. If the day comes when he threatens Valerus, you must do what you have to.”

“And what’s that, exactly? We’re talking about his life, Irileth,” Elda argued. Julian’s words haunted her. “He’s a person, he has thoughts and feelings. He’s more than just a potential threat.”

“I know, little friend. The lesson I’m about to teach you is one I’d rather not discuss, but Aeon demands it. The First Spirit is our monarch, much like your Kings and Lords. Every Keeper is required to learn.” Irileth sighed, casting her white eyes down to her knees. “If Sypher reaches the point of no return, the Compulsion can be used to control him.”

“The Compulsion?” Foreboding churned in Elda’s gut.

“The removal of his free will. Once you know how to use it, the bond becomes a mechanism capable of enslaving him. My job today is to teach you how. Once you learn, you can utilise it whenever you see fit, for whatever purpose you desire.”

“No.” Elda got to her feet, utterly horrified, and backed away from Irileth. “No, I want to leave. I don’t want to be here.”

“I know.” The Spirit tried to soothe her. “I know it’s awful. But you know the man he is now, not the monster he could be.”

“I don’t accept that any part of him is a monster!”

“I was afraid of that. Now I have to show you what he will be.” Before Elda could protest, images flashed up on the ice.

Black eyes. Sharp fangs. Wings spread wide. Burning, screaming, death, destruction. The demon that used to be Sypher, stood atop the remains of Eden, blood coating his sword and splattered up his wrist. She saw herself approach him, injured and bleeding, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stepped over the broken bodies of her parents, lying in the rubble of her home. He slit her throat the second she got close enough to touch him.

Elda fell backwards, scrambling away from the horrible scene with tears pouring down her cheeks. Bile rose up her throat and she wretched onto the ice, sickened by the sight of her lifeless parents. Irileth stood silently behind her, waiting for her to accept the inevitable.

Sypher is part of my family, Elda. My bloodkin. Julian’s voice cut through her fear, reminding her why she had to be shown the images in the first place - the reason she’d refused. Her chest heaved as she struggled with her panic, forcing herself to rationalise what she’d seen when all she wanted to do was scream.

She remembered the many scars, how Sypher flinched at the mere thought of being touched. His hatred for the Keepers suddenly made sense. They’d all used the Compulsion on him. She didn’t know to what degree, but she was certain most of it had been unpleasant. Perhaps her treating him like everyone else did, enslaving him like they must have, would be exactly what led him down the horrifying path she’d been shown.

“I know what you’re thinking, little friend. Is it really worth the risk to your home? To your parents?” Elda’s palms were pressed against the ice, arms trembling. The glassy surface reflected her frightened expression back at her. The same expression she’d seen on Sypher’s face before he fled.

“Yes,” she whispered, standing on shaking legs. “Yes, it’s worth the risk. You might not see what the Spirits and the Keepers have done to him. You might not care about how his life has affected him. I do. I won’t add to the pain he’s already gone through.”

“If he succumbs-”

"I don’t care!" Elda roared, more tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt such inexplicable pain at the realisation that he could easily become as frightened of her as he was of Lillian. “I don’t care what stories you have to tell me! Have you seen how he is? How much he has to go through just to be touched? You did that to him, you Spirits and your perfect Keepers! If the Compulsion didn’t exist, he wouldn’t be that way! Anybody should be able to see how insane it is to enslave someone out of fear! And if this world disagrees with me, then maybe it deserves to burn!” Her chest tightened with emotion. “I will find a way to avert what you showed me, and I’ll do it without the Compulsion. Let me leave this place. Now.”

Irileth stared at her for several long, heavy seconds, head tilted at an angle. After a moment, a small, sad smile appeared on her face. “So be it,” she murmured. She waved a hand, casting Elda out of her realm and back into the body still standing in Gira’s garden.

“You’re back!” Gira gasped, catching her when she staggered. “You’ve been in Irileth’s realm all day. What happened?” Elda looked up to see the sky was creeping on towards night. Her limbs ached and her throat was parched.

“Where’s Sypher?” she croaked.

“Right here,” the Soul Forge said from behind her. She pushed away from Gira’s grip to face him.

“I will never do what they did to you,” she choked out. “Sypher, I won’t. I saw it, I saw what she had to show me. I know what they think you’re capable of.” His expression hardened but she continued on, taking his gloved hands in hers. Moisture clouded her vision and she blinked it away, determined to see his face. “I, Elda Gild, swear an oath before the Spirits that I will never use the Compulsion. I will never learn it, and I will never take your free will. I seal my oath with my life.” Magic crackled across her skin, branding the oath rune into the inside of her wrist.

Sypher stared down at it with wide eyes, turning her hand over and touching it like he thought it might disappear. She waited, still trembling from the shock of seeing her world destroyed, and the anger she’d felt towards Irileth and her ilk. Her deities, the creators she’d worshipped.

“You sealed it with your life?” He looked up at her in utter disbelief, his hard exterior stripped away to reveal the vulnerability underneath. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, hard.

“I did. As long as I’m your Keeper, you don’t have to be afraid of being forced into anything.” He touched her cheek, cupping it gently, like he couldn’t quite believe she was real. When she didn’t turn to dust under his touch, he sucked in a sharp breath. She saw unshed tears in his eyes. She didn’t know if they were from shock, fear or gratitude.

“Do you have any idea of the risk you’ve just taken?”

“I do.” He seemed oblivious to the others gathered in the garden, his attention fixated on her. When he took her hand and laid her palm against the bare skin of his neck, right over his pulse, she gasped. He was showing her that he trusted her.

"Thank you," he whispered fervently, leaning his forehead against hers for just a second. “I’ll be back soon.” Once again, he disappeared into the sky.