Page 127 of Queen’s Gambit

‘Think long and hard about your next actions. I shaped this world from fire and stone. I would rather burn it to ash than let you take her. You want to rip my heart from this world? Try, and see what happens next,’ Cin hissed, and I fell back.

Something was happening to him. Coruscating flames replaced his scales; his form wavered. This was no longer Cinared the dragon. This was Fire Incarnate.

‘No, you can’t…’ I pleaded, but he wasn’t listening. Glowing saliva poured from his muzzle, burning through the granite below. Instead of wings, twin infernos challenged the sky with their terrifying beauty.

‘Hear us out. There is a way…’ Leshy interrupted.

‘What way?’ I asked, grasping at any chance.

‘To control your power until you choose to ascend,’ the Leshy said. I frowned at the sadness in his voice.

‘You wanted to save a dying land.’ Veles nodded towards Jurata. ‘You can bond it.’

‘Bond the land? Tangra?’ I asked, pretending I hadn’t heard Cinared growl. ‘You want me to leave Dagome forever?’

At my question, Jurata chuckled. ‘Oh, you poor, innocent child. Your power will be bound there, not you. At least not until matters progress.’

I clenched my jaw. Everything inside rebelled against surrendering the magic that had become a part of me.

‘How would this even work?’

‘Your essence will be tied to your new domain. Every prayer and everything people do in your name will feed your realm.’ Jurata looked at Veles, then the Leshy. ‘You’ll be human, a mage with a human power until the day you return to reclaim your future, Songstress.’

‘What the fuck are you saying…?’ My knees buckled, and only Cinared’s quick reflexes prevented me from collapsing into the molten rock.

‘They’ve planned this all along. Since your magic awakened, they’ve wanted to make you one of them. To take you away from us. I won’t allow it,’ Cinared hissed. ‘We can fight them, Sanika. I won’t let them take your magic.’

Black smoke curled around Veles, and I froze as the god of the underworld grew taller, his pitch-black eyes burning.

‘That’s why your kind should never bond with females, insufferable fool,’ he sneered. ‘Do not threaten me, Fireborn. Remember, even you can die.’

‘Then try killing me, and we’ll see what havoc I wreak in your realm.’

‘Stop it! Both of you! It’s my decision to make.’ Fuck the gods, their schemes and games. ‘Cin, I never wanted this power, and I promised to help Siras. As long as I come back to Rey and to you, I want to do it.’

The Leshy stepped closer and placed a hand on my cheek despite Cinared’s furious growl. ‘I’m sorry, Roksana. The Elderfolk cannot walk amongst mortals. When your mother gave up her wings to live in the human realm, I protested, but Arachne forced us to let her go. No one realised she truly loved that man.’

‘That man was my father. What am I? Was I nothing but a cog in your schemes?’ I grimaced, my chest heavy with loss. ‘Never mind. After I tie my power to Tangra, what will happen to me?’

‘You’ll live your human life while the pull of your domain intensifies each passing year,’ he said, stroking my hair. ‘One day it will become too strong.’

‘And?’

‘And you’ll return to embrace your fate. You gave yourself to the land, my child, and the land needs you. The Gate forged a connection between Tangra and Dagome. Shattered, the Aether now bleeds into the Void. Unless someone anchors the magic, both continents will wither and die. Not in a year, maybe not even in centuries, but eventually all magic will be gone and life itself with it.’

‘It’s your duty to guard the realm. Not hers,’ Cinared rumbled behind me.

I rested a hand on his muzzle and shook my head, then turned to the trio.

‘So how do we make this godhood happen?’

Veles’ laughter shook the cave. His eyes crinkled as he approached. The smoky tendrils solidified and wrapped around my neck. My mother’s necklace emerged, but the stone wasn’t the same emerald Reynard gave me. Crimson and black streaks now pulsed in its depths to the beat of my heart.

‘You have to give your land a heart. Something that connects you even in your absence. Find the oldest, deepest water in Tangra and drop the stone into it. Then sing. Tell Tangra what you want it to be. Gain its trust and fill the dead sands with your magic. The more people worship you, fuelling the heart, the more the land will grow and the gateway will heal. Your power seeks to create. Now it finally can,’ he said. Cinared growled.

‘Then I’ll bring her back home, and you will never interfere again,’ Cin asserted.

The three gods looked at each other.