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46. Mercy

TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD AND INJURY

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You felt unusually calm as you walked around the dining room table.

"(Y/n), wait." Eris ran after you. You thought he'd try to stop you, but thankfully, he didn't. He just wanted to be near you.

Ori — The Many-Faced — grinned. "I can't believe the Mother gave you her godsfire. What a waste."

You abstained from reacting, grabbed the back of a chair, and then sat in front of The Many-Faced. Eris stood behind you.

"What?" The Many-Faced asked, still grinning. "Not curious? The Mother gave you her godsfire because she needs (Y/n) alive."

Your blood boiled as your magic and essence turned you into something violently different. "Are you working with Koschei and Vallahan? And if so, why?"

The Many-Faced blinked at you with an odd look in her eyes. They weren't Ori's anymore. They weren't gray. Instead, they burned silver, the same silver that'd colored Azur's eyes in your dream.

The Many-Faced surprised you and everyone else with an answer. "I'm working with Vallahan because I need naive manpower. And the only reason I'm working with Koschei is that he comes from another world's stardust. Like you, (Y/n). He's the only person who can handle my souls without spontaneously combusting."

You narrowed your eyes. "If you're working with Koschei, why'd you return his diary? He's a powerful ally."

The Many-Faced rolled her eyes. "I said I needed naive manpower, and unfortunately, the only lies that Koschei has ever fallen for have come from his lover, Azur."

You licked your teeth thoughtfully. "Koschei's lover? Don't you mean his mate?"

"His mate?" The Many-Faced threw her head back and laughed. "After all this time, Koschei still thinks he's Azur's mate?"

"What're you talking about?"

The Many-Faced clucked her tongue at you. "A long, long time ago, at the height of his reign, Azur was only one step away from becoming a god for one reason and one reason alone." The Many-Faced spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "Not only was he the High Lord of Twilight, but he was also a shadowsinger."

The Many-Faced was watching only your face, waiting for a reaction, but you didn't give her one because you didn't want her to stop talking. She was telling you everything.

"It was ironic," The Many-Faced said. "The Burning One didn't know that the Mother had created the Robe, so the power to enter and leave Anima as one pleases was entrusted to Twilight and its High Lords. They were called the Defenders of the Rift . . ."

The Many-Faced looked as if she were reminiscing and then frowned. "But then The Burning One discovered the Mother's Robe. The Burning One is generous, but only to a certain extent, and because they thought they'd been tricked by the Mother, they destroyed the Robe. And then the rest is history. The Mother favored Twilight for all the wrong reasons, and when a High Lord didn't bend to her will, she wreaked havoc on his people."

At that, your stomach dropped.

You immediately thought of Devlon and how much he cared about Illyria. If The Many-Faced was telling the truth . . .

Devlon would be devastated.

The Many-Faced's eyes widened marginally. She was waiting.

"Why?" you asked, feigning indifference. "Why did the Mother want admittance to Anima?"