Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
The air thickened with humidity as she took the final step. Steam billowed in the room, and already, she was sticky with condensation. The rectangular pool was massive, taking up the entirety of the bottom floor.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“We disrobe over there.” Danae gestured to an empty rack as she plucked at the garment she wore—a blue dress similar in fashion to what Kerrigan was wearing but draped differently.
Kerrigan stripped off her own white dress, thankful to see it gone, and slung it on a hook. She put her sandals into a small cubby and then followed Danae to the pool. She couldn’t resist a groan as she sank deep into the water. She dunked her head under the water, letting her curls loose to their own machinations. It was bliss.
“I’m not sure how much you know about the Ando-Domaran War,” Danae said, running her fingers through the water.
“Andines lost.”
Danae nodded. “Yes, I suppose that is accurate. Nothing else?”
Kerrigan shook her head.
“Huh. I figured with your appearance, you would have been educated somewhere. Maybe at one of the universities.” Danae shrugged. “Perhaps I shouldn’t judge someone on their appearance if I don’t want them judging me on mine.”
“So far, it seems the only thing my appearance has gotten me is problems.”
Danae frowned. “Yes, I can see that. Well, I’ll start at the beginning then. In Andine, there were many kings. Each one ruled their own land and people as they saw fit. My father was one such king. He was fair and just. There was commerce between Domara and Andine for generations before any conflict erupted. We had our gods and idols. Domara had their gods. Their Doma. I was a child when the war broke out over who were the ‘correct’ gods.”
“Why would they care if you worshipped other gods?”
“Power and resources. The gods were an excuse to plunder our home, steal our women, and claim Andine for their own. We were richer in resources. Our fields grew more food than we could have ever needed.” She looked down at her slowly wrinkling fingers. “People covet what they do not possess.”
“And fear what they don’t understand,” Kerrigan filled in for her.
She had seen that time and time again in her own land. Anything that was deemed different, like a half-Fae with magic, was to be vilified and not revered. The human churches were burned not because the Fae disagreed with their worship, but to prove a point that they were in charge. It was a repeated cycle, and she was sad to see it existed here as well. The need for power was an equalizer across worlds.
“Yes,” Danae said with a sad smile. “Magic was involved, of course. The Doma had power unrivaled by our people. Our magic wasn’t small, but it wasn’t reserved either. The Doma hoard their gifts, handing out magic like prizes and shoring up their bloodlines. Whereas everyone in Andine had a little bit of magic. It was all cherished and coveted for the bounty it gave our world. We couldn’t compete when their gods were set against us. The Doma destroyed … everything.” She choked on the last word. “The lavender fields of my youth. The wheat fields that my mother grew just by looking at them. The castle where I was raised—sundered to its foundation. As much as I love Andine and would do anything to return to it, it is not the place where I was raised any longer.”
“And the Doma killed your mother?” Kerrigan intuited.
Her heart ached for this girl. For all the Andine people. She knew what it was like to be oppressed and abandoned. Danae had lost everything she loved and was still living among the ones who hated her. Kerrigan couldn’t imagine not wanting to tear them down piece by piece until there was nothing left, just for a spark of revenge. Even if revenge couldn’t bring her home or her mother back.
“Yes and no,” Danae said. “My father was on the front lines for much of the war. He brokered a peace treaty to end the suffering of his people, against the wishes of the other kings. They agreed that all the kings would relinquish their titles and relocate to Domara.”
“So they could watch them.”
Danae nodded. “Though I believe they didn’t think that any would do this, and they were right. The other kings banded together to try to kill the Doma, but they were slain, except for my father, who had agreed to the terms.”
“So, why?”
“They believed he was part of it. Or said they did. They demanded my mother in return for his treachery. To prove his loyalty.”
Kerrigan blanched. “Oh gods.”
“He refused, but my mother went in the dead of the night to fulfill the bargain. Lord Divillius was the one to accept her surrender. Tarcus’s father.” Danae ran her hand along the stone, drawing patterns in the condensation. “She was enslaved to his family and eventually took her own life.”