Chapter 59

Dane looked down at them. Sunless returned the stare, and Cassia looked up, not quite at him. For a moment, Dane considered going down…but a slither of fear down his back reminded him of the Great Beast. He peered through the veil.

Cassia's soul core was bright and human…but Sunless and Nephis's were not.

Sunless's was a dark sun, dark and shadowy, yet there were no signs of corruption. Nephis's made him squint and grimace. Her soul core was an incandescent sun burning profusely. Dane didn't think a soul like that could be corrupted. Were they some unique form of Nightmare Creatures? No, his own soul was different too.

Coldness gripped Dane's heart…he wasn't the only one with a Divine Aspect. That was a sobering thought. He had fancied himself special and unique. One of a kind. He almost couldn't believe how arrogant he had been. Fool.

Three Sleepers with Divine Aspects. That was almost funny to hear, Dane figured. He had always imagined that it was impossible to acquire the Divine rank, and if someone did, the matter would be taken to every lip and tongue shortly.

Yet, here, there were three with nary a soul knowing.

If there were three, all in one solstice, could it not be that there were more? Maybe the Great Clans had more secrets than he realized…and being a part of one, he had never considered the question that some things could be hidden from him.

Dane snapped out of his reverie when Sunless moved closer to Cassia, placing his body between her and Dane.

Dane floated down, and Sunless lashed out. He was slow. Dane let the sword pass through him, and then, with flesh covering his soul, he caught Sunless's hand. He wrenched the sword out of his hand and pushed him back.

He may have had a Divine Aspect, but it seemed Sunless hadn't even gotten halfway through filling his first core. Dane threw the sword down, earning a surprised look from the Sleeper.

"I didn't think I'd meet you here, Sunless," he said. He connected his mind to his friend's. "It has been a while."

"...Dane?" Sunless's voice rang in his head.

Dane nodded.

"What happened to Changing Star?" he asked, his eyes taking them both in as he voiced his question aloud. Cassia's eyes were on him now; strangely, he felt, for whatever reason, that she was looking at him…it was not a good feeling.

"She was dragged into the sea by a sea monster, and we thought she was dead. She survived," Sunless said, his eyes lingering on the white-haired girl.

Kill her, A part of Dane thought, his hand twitching. Nephis of the Immortal Flame was as defenseless as one got in the Dream Realm. Unconscious, with only two Sleepers, one blind and one untrained, to guard her, it would be too easy.

Yet, Sunless was his friend, and he had no hostility toward the girl. He bore her no ill will, at least none of his own. Any thought of it that he had came from the Queen's orders…Ki Song's orders.

The thought disgusted him. He disgusted himself.

Carry out the command of the person who killed his blood…he would rather die. But what if doing this would ensure the rest of your family's survival? Your uncle's life? What of Nova and Nolan? another part of him reasoned.

"Do you know this region? Is there a Gateway in the Citadel?" asked Sunless. He seemed hopeful.

Dane pursed his lips. "I don't know, I just arrived here. I thought you would know."

Cassia said something, her words rolling into a garbled mess. Dane linked their minds. "Speak now. I did not hear you earlier," he told her.

"We don't. What we do know is that there are people in that castle." Dane turned his eyes to the structure atop the hill at the center of the Citadel, to the walls of radiant white stone, from which and within rose massive towers and spires. It seemed…unreal. Seeing something safe after so long was as scary as it was soothing.

"Are you waiting for Changing Star to wake before you go there?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied.

Kill her. Do it now. You're strong enough to do it without harming the other two. In protest, his heart rumbled. Are you cruel enough?

Dane stepped past them, standing over Nephis, and then he stepped past her. Standing on the tip of the statue's fingers, he faced the castle. He wasn't cruel enough. Perhaps he would come to regret this moment, but he had decided.

Staring at the walled citadel, he had a pit in his stomach. He summoned the rucksack and handed them a portion of his meat. "I will head on before you," he declared.