We dug for hours until there was nothing left but to face the truth. On my own, I had wiped out nearly half the population of Sylphs. Their bodies lay in front of me broken and twisted by the mountain they had called their home.
Even if their home had hated them.
The Sylphs left stared at me as though I were a monster. And I was. I knew it.
I stumbled away from the mass grave, shaking so hard I could barely keep my feet under me. I fell to my knees and vomited until I had nothing left but dry heaves, and even then my body would not let me stop. This was not happening. This was not happening.
Peta stuck her nose into my face. “Lark.”
“Do you not fear me?” I reared back from her, anger, pain and guilt tangling inside my heart. “Do you not want to run from me? Do you not think I will kill you too?”
She looked to the Sylphs identifying those who’d been killed. “You’re being selfish, Lark. People have died, lost their lives, and all you are worried about is how you are perceived? I thought you were better than that.”
Breathing hard, I stepped back from her. “Selfish?”
“Cat, you are being too hard on her.”
We both turned to see the queen walk carefully over the rubble toward us. My throat tightened. “I did not mean to tear down your home, or kill your people. I . . .”
I knew what was coming. She would ask for my surrender and I would give it.
“Those who died,” she swept her hand back toward the bodies laid out, “you did not hear them? They cheered for Cassava. They were no longer my Sylphs. You are the bringer of change, child of Earth and Spirit. There are times for change to happen. The slate must be wiped clean.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the way her words echoed that of the mountain entity.
Aria put a hand to her throat. “For change, you need one who is brave enough to stand the brunt of death. That one . . . is you.” She held a hand out to my face and brushed it down my cheek. Her touch undid my control and the tears I’d held at bay since I’d been pulled from the oubliette trickled down my face.
“I do not want this.”
“Then the mother goddess has chosen correctly. If you wanted this power, this strength, I would fear you.” She cupped my face and turned it upward. “I will name you for what you are, and praise the goddess she has sent you to cleanse our world.” She leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “You are the Destroyer. The one who will see our people rise again in glory and strength.”
Around us, the world had gone rather quiet. She held tightly to my face, patted my cheeks and turned her back. “I name her the Destroyer. She has done no wrong here in my eyes and as such there will be no recriminations for this act of nature. The Destroyer lives outside our laws, as it should be.”
The remaining Sylphs stayed quiet. Except for one. Ender Boreas. “She killed our people and you would let her go? Where is the queen who would fight to the ends of the earth for our survival?” He strode toward her and she flicked a hand at him. The wind that hit him sent him tumbling through the air, but didn’t hurt him.
“Ender Boreas, you are young and full of piss and vinegar. Can you see the future? Do you know what would come for our family if we did not have this happen? Do you know that even now, my death creeps closer? We must have change, we must have a new queen. The Destroyer will be the one to name her.”
Aria stepped over the rubble as if she were sighted. “Hear me now, those who I love more than my own life. Those who I know have it in them to be all the mother goddess wished for her second-born. By my decree, when the Destroyer shall name my heir, I will step down.”
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Several Sylphs burst into tears, covering their faces. She was a beloved queen; why did she need to step down? Her age and lack of sight obviously did not slow her. She’d survived the attack of her own daughter with barely a bruise to show for it.
She held a hand out to me. “Those who are my supplicants, step forward.”
The moment was surreal. We stood on the grave of her people I had killed, and now she wanted me to choose an heir to her throne?
I swayed, and a soft warm body pressed against my leg. “Forgive me, Lark. I was wrong.”
“Peta,” I dropped a hand to her back, “there is nothing to forgive.”
Aria waved at me. In front of her stood the three remaining supplicants.
They were tall and slim, and with their hair hanging loosely around them, they looked like angels. If a bit wilted at the edges.
All three stared at me as though I were the devil incarnate. I couldn’t disagree with them.
“Hurry, we are running out of time.” Aria clutched the diamond I’d given her. “You have your mother’s beauty, Larkspur. She was to help me choose my predecessor before she was killed. So now it rests on you.”