“That Arim and I remained close in private but separate in public to save him from a life I gradually overcame. I was only a ‘Valens’ for a brief time before I married Faustus. Our real name is much, much older and a hundred times more powerful.”
I could feel the hair standing on the back of my neck.
“We used to be known as the Van Lens, a powerful family of Dark Lords who lived separate from those in Malern.”
Everything stopped. “That’s not possible. The Van Lens family died five hundred years ago, cursed by Malern because they betrayed the Dark.”
“Cursed by something, I’m sure,” Ravyn said bitterly. “And it was four hundred and six years ago as of yesterday. A day I’ll never forget. When my family left Malern, many turned against us. At that time, the Dark Lords were becoming much like we are now, less ‘gray’ and more tuned toward the negative aspect of magic. My parents didn’t like the future we could see coming, so they gradually faded from Dark Lord society and shielded us as best we could.”
“How is that possible?” I couldn’t see anything Dark in Ravyn at all, even in death. The woman radiated Light. “You’re no more Dark than I am a Church prelate.”
Ravyn flashed a smile. “Unlike the Dark Lords as you know them today, hundreds of years ago, a faction of us stood on a fine line between Light and Dark. Our energies were much more alike, powerful yet driven to one side or the other of the spectrum. Once we left Malern, we settled in Quille among the Djinns’ forefathers, before they moved to Foreia.
“We lived in peace until something terrible happened. A spell gone wrong, a curse visited upon us by our enemies, by Malern… We never knew how it started, only how it ended.”
I stared, fascinated, as the truth of her words sunk in. “So Arim is a Dark Lord?” Which would explain the Darkness always there beneath his skin, but not how he absorbed and reveled in Light.
“No. He’s a Light Bringer. As am I.” Ravyn floated through the air to land on top of a barrel, her legs crossed in a ladylike pose beneath her shimmery white gown. “Our life changed drastically one fateful day, much like yours did. You can’t imagine how troubled I was at what happened to your family, Lexa. Not only because of what you suffered, but because of how alike your situation was to mine.
“Like you, I had left my home for most of the day. By the Light, I don’t even remember why I thought tending imps and rath cats was more important than celebrating my youngest brother’s birth rite, but I needed to feel useful. So I helped my older brother, Ralton, tend to his chores. We planned to enjoy Arim’s celebration later in the evening. During the day, I sensed something not right, a nagging foreboding I should have heeded. Instead, I tried to reason it away as I showed off my skill to my brother, sorceress to sorcerer.
“But that nagging wrongness found Ralton as well and brought us back home earlier than we’d planned, though much too late to save everyone. When we arrived at the homestead, we found everyone slaughtered except Arim and our father — a good, decent man who normally would have given his soul to save any member of our family. Yet that day, he stood with one hand around Arim’s throat, his mouth covered in blood, his form and frame almost demonic.”
“He’d killed our mother, our older sisters, and our younger brothers, all dead except for Arim, Ralton, and me. Father turned on us when we returned. Ralton made the mistake of trying to protect me and Arim by drawing Father’s attention.” Tears rolled down Ravyn’s cheeks. “Father was too far gone to block Ralton’s magic, but he was physically overwhelming all the same. He and Ralton killed each other while Arim and I watched.”
I felt sick. “Arim watched?” And he’d found me covered in the blood of my family years ago. It was a wonder he hadn’t snapped back then.
“Yes, he witnessed everything. I took him and fled, not knowing where to go. We had no one left but each other. For a while, it seemed like I would lose him, too. He wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t talk or sleep for weeks. I had barely enough magic to keep us alive. Word spread that the Van Lens family had turned into demons, infected with a madness like no other. We were to be killed on sight. No one knew what many of the children looked like since we’d left Malern and lived isolated for so long.
“I was older than Arim and knew the possibility of discovery. That’s why I kept our identities separate, pretending to be Arim’s guardian and nurse should anyone ever question me. There were a few Dark Lords who might have known me, but we’d been living in Quille when Arim was born, so I figured he’d be safe if I could find a way to help him.”
“What happened?” I was having a difficult time wrapping my brain around such tragedy.
“I wandered through the Between with my sick little brother in tow, praying to the Dark, the Light, Shadow, to anything that could help. And I ran into Faustus Storm. He brought me to Tanselm, gave me sanctuary, and like that, the land accepted us. Arim healed, but he changed. He lost all memory of life before Tanselm, and I was in no hurry to tell him the whole truth. He knows our father turned mad and slaughtered much of our family. But not that we were once Dark Lords. What good would it have done, anyway? The Darkness that had once been his life turned into Light. Tanselm did the same to me. And while that change occurred, Faustus charmed his way into my heart and into my life.”
“Did he know? Faustus, I mean.”
“I told him the truth, and he still asked me to marry him. He claimed he’d found his affai seconds after spying me and accepted Arim without hesitation. That’s when I knew he was mine.” The glowing love in her gaze revealed her affection for her husband. “I’m sorry this seems long-winded, but you needed to know about Arim’s history if he’s to have a future.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what I need to know? Or better yet, tell him.” As Ravyn opened her mouth, I answered for her. “Wait, I know. You can’t.”
“You’re quick.”
“But I don’t understand why you’re telling me this now. Arim fought Sin Garu before and nearly won. If not for his unasked-for generosity in trying to heal me, he could probably win in a battle between the two.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Another form appeared behind Ravyn, his hands on her shoulders as brilliant and semi-transparent as the rest of him.
“Hell. Faustus Storm. What is this? A Next convention?” More dead people. My skin crawled with the pinpricks of Faustus’s Light.
He must have noticed my discomfort because he dimmed his illumination. “Ravyn is playing by the rules, but no one else seems to be. I’ll tell you what you need to know.”
“Thank the Dark.”
“Faustus,” Ravyn started, only to stare in astonishment when he held his hand over her mouth.
“She can be a little chatty.” He shrugged, still smiling, and I could see the charm in his deep gray eyes that looked so much like Aerolus’. “Bottom line. If Arim fights Sin Garu alone, he and the rest of you are lost. You, Lexa, must fight with him. All of you and all of him if you want to win. Help him accept the Darkness in his nature. And don’t turn down Sava’s help, even if he is an irritating Aellei.”
Faustus grunted when Ravyn elbowed him.
