The Obsidian Marks ✔️

| Chapter Forty Two |

Iliya woke before dawn, tugging at the journal closest to her and picking up where she left off last night.

Noah snored softly, collapsed on Sorein's desk with an arm under his forehead. He'd spent the night first analyzing the research on the Queen's mysterious illness, before trying to convince her not to read the books until they returned home.

It was only when he'd accidentally dosed off that she picked up the thick leather and started thumbing through the pages again.

Damien's handwriting was hard to decipher, but she managed to make out the strange curves in his vowels with effort.

"You will need to understand how this world came to be if you are to develop the necessary skills you'll need to overcome Ionsia," he wrote. "We do not know how Aida and Taranis or Peruk and Kolaida came to be, only that their bloodlines run through the original houses. There are five minor gods – their children – and you, Iliya, possess the blood of four."

Iliya's mouth dried at the thought.

Four deities blood coursing through her veins.

"My father, Heithos, god of the Underworld, partnered with Nimian, goddess of the Living. Their union created the Fae, a race of true immortals with internal magic."

Her teeth ached as they gnashed together, forcing her to stay silent.

"Mellinus, the god of justice and balance, mated with the goddess Karnavere, the goddess of death. As they lived and loved, they bore the Therian species. Elemental shapeshifters with great magical wells within them, soon named the Peacekeepers. Every war was neutralized with their aid."

A small sense of pride soothed her as she clung to those pieces of herself. She would scrub herself clean of the Fae blood if only she could.

Iliya froze as Noah stirred, adjusting himself on the flat surface.

He didn't wake.

"Approve or no, you are likely to be the most powerful being of your time."

She didn't want it.

Her head was mechanically shaking, her body begging her to chuck the journal into the nearest ravine and walk away forever.

Something permanent teetered inside her chest, threatening to break.

"I predict it is the reason you still survive and I suggest you do what you must to control your impulses. As your Ionsia hungers, so will you too lose control."

Iliya flinched.

Was Damien telling her to take her rings off?

To absorb what she could?

"Occasionally you will need to feed the curse within you, it is only natural. Be mindful, only do so when you deem it necessary and beneficial to those around you. It will take the edge off of your erratic thoughts."

Nervous sweat coated her back now, her body tight with anxiety. He was giving her permission, urging her to allow mana inside her body.

"Remember, your impulses are not always your own. Mana is a living source of power, it will hunt just as you do, for survival and more. Remain in control, but remember you are not your urges."

She slammed the book shut.

Too much.

This was too much with no time to process.

Noah was right.

Her sudden movement snapped him from his deep sleep, sending him careening back in his chair.