“Seasons,” I realize. “You’re talking about the seasons.”
Eldas nods.
“When I leave for midsummer in Capton, it will be winter again in Midscape because my power will have grown too weak to keep charging the earth.”
“It will be Yule, specifically. Midscape will swing closer to the Veil than the Fade—closer to death than life. But this is part of a necessary cycle to sustain our world that mirrors yours, but in reverse. We are in the process of resetting the balance now, but it will find its equilibrium soon and everything should be better then.”
Nature requires balance, I think. I feel more powerful than I ever imagined. It is because of me that the seasons will turn in Midscape—there can be life itself.
“Our time apart will also be when I reaffirm my power,” Eldas says.
“How so?”
“You are my antithesis, Luella. You are the queen of life.”
“And you are the king of death,” I whisper, staring up into his frozen eyes. Not for the first time, a twinge of fear blooms in me at the power this man holds. Of course, like the completely sane person I am, I decide to turn it into a joke. “Good to know that we were never meant to get along.”
A flicker of amusement alights his eyes. It’s the first real emotion I think I’ve seen in him and it brings a smile to my lips. At least until he steps forward; then my expression falls.
But Eldas brushes past me to stand before the large stone tablet. A pulse of magic thrums through the air like a winter’s wind as his fingers lightly sweep across the etched words. Liquid silver magic, mixed with the deep blue of twilight, spills across the carvings and pushes back the moss. The air around us grows thicker.
“So you understand, now,” he says. It takes me a moment to realize he doesn’t mean whatever magic he just performed. “You cannot be free of this any more than I can. We are held in tandem, you and I. That is why we must learn to live and work together, as you so aptly put it.”
“No, I don’t understand,” I say.
He looks at me incredulously, as if he can’t believe I could be that dense.
“Well, I do. Sort of. As much as I think I can understand the high-level explanation of an ancient power forged thousands of years ago. What I don’t understand is why everyone has just gone along with it this whole time?”
“Maybe because none of our predecessors wanted to condemn an entire world to be consumed by the death of the Veil?”
“Of course I don’t want to condemn anyone to die. But what if there’s another way?” I say.
“Another way?”
I’m heartened by the flicker of interest in his eyes. I think of my father’s discussions around the dinner table, talk of the council lamenting how there was no alternative to the treaty—wondering if there is another way to be free. The memory of his impassioned voice emboldens me. “Why don’t we try to both be free of this?”
“There is no way to be free of this.”
“Have you ever tried?” I ask. He’s silent. “Has anyone?” More silence. “Why don’t we work toward a solution that doesn’t involve Midscape dying and the worlds being thrown out of balance and one that doesn’t involve war breaking out between wild magic and natural magic? A solution without Human Queens?”
“You speak of things you don’t understand.” He looks back to the stone grimly. “Our only hope is to preserve this arrangement as long as possible.” He mumbles under his breath, “Which may not be possible for much longer…”
His hesitation gives me hope. “And you know this because you’ve looked for an alternative?”
He sighs dramatically. “Luella, I know you look at me and see a regular man—”
“Nothing about you is regular,” I say quickly. His lips part briefly and the severe expression vanishes from his face, making him all the more handsome. I purse my lips together and fight a stirring I don’t want to have when looking at Eldas.
“You see me as a mortal,” he rephrases. “But my power stretches beyond your imagination.” He motions to the stone he was examining. “This is a keystone of the Fade. Do you even know what that means?”
I shake my head.
“It’s the cornerstone of Midscape, a foundation for the Fade. Can you see its power?”
I shake my head again.
“Can you comprehend the intricate magic woven all around you, tethered to this rock? Magic that splits worlds?”