“I am Death, and all things can die,” Kristanya answered, her words colder than the mountain Mave had climbed. “Even the gods.”
“Why haven’t you already?” Mave’s heart was pounding. “What’s kept you in check?”
“I bowed to my sister and put forth my powers to her needs, to keep balance in the world, and allowed her to lead me as she did the other dragons,” Kristanya answered, her head tilting to the side. “Lariana, my bright sister, is a leader, where I am only destruction and power. She is…perfect. She is all the things this world needs. I will follow her until we have no options left, the battle must continue, and this world’s time is done. On that day, I hope our end will still find a way to be peaceful. I don’t wish to fight her.”
There was a level of awe and reverence in Kristanya for her twin Mave didn’t expect, but she understood it.
“I don’t wish to plunge the world in darkness,” Mave whispered.
“But you will because you don’t understand,” Kristanya said sadly, reaching out. “When the time comes for the Andinna to die, I will retreat into my core and greet all of their souls. I will probably think about this moment and wonder, but it is not worth the risk.”
“You don’t understand,” Mave snapped, pulling her face away from the goddess’s touch. “I don’t want to plunge the world into darkness. I want to be my king’s sword! I need to be his weapon. I need to fight better than all Andinna, and I need him to lead me. I have never been a leader, either, Kristanya. I have never wanted more than a small portion of the world. I don’t want to conquer. I just want to survive. I want to help my king because he has to lead us all, or we’ll fall.”
“Your king,” Kristanya said softly, her eyes narrow once again. “My sister has spoken to me about your king. An upstart who didn’t do his duty and produce a female heir for her. Maybe if he had done that, she could rise up and become my sister’s Avatar, but no…it’s too late for him to create that. Another path closed.”
“I wouldn’t follow his daughter until she proved herself. He has. He’s probably there right now, standing in the Hall of Queens, asking Lariana to make him her Avatar.”
Kristanya seemed confused. She looked into the storm, but Mave wondered if she was looking beyond that.
“Ah,” the goddess whispered. “That’s where my sister ran off to tonight. I was focused on you…” Kristanya frowned. “Really, sister?” Her head tilted to the side as Mave realized she had been forgotten, and the words weren’t for her. “It doesn’t matter,” the goddess said softly, shaking her head. “It changes nothing.”
“What?” Mave stood up, wondering what this goddess knew that she didn’t.
“You don’t need to know,” Kristanya answered, turning on her again. “Because you need to pass the test, and I grow tired of this conversation.”
Mave straightened, anxious. Kristanya summoned two curved blades, moroks, traditional weapons of the Andinna. Only Mave used them in pairs, but now Kristanya held them in the same fashion.
“I was required to have a test, so I made an impossible one,” Kristanya said with a smile. “You must draw one blood on me. Then, and only then, can you become my Avatar.”
“You’re the goddess of war,” Mave said, drawing her own swords. She had lost one on the mission when she had lost Kian. It hadn’t been difficult to replace, only heartbreaking.
“Exactly,” Kristanya growled happily, spinning her swords in her hands. “One blood, little warrior. We begin now.”
The goddess launched her attack before Mave could register the words. She didn’t block the first strike but was able to move just enough to keep it from doing more than minimal damage, a thin cut across her thigh. The second strike glanced Mave’s ribs. Mave winced but kept moving, thrown off her game. This was fast, faster than anyone Mave had ever fought, including the goddess herself.
The goddess was going for the kill. Mave stumbled and fell, rolling before a sword entered her heart.
I need to be faster. I need to be stronger.
Mave was already bleeding, so she called on the power of her spilled blood to fuel her. The next time Kristanya attacked, trying to open Mave’s gut, Mave was able to jump away with more confidence. The blade nicked her hip, but it was a