come and unbind his belt so that he could die, and Nemek came to him—but as in the legend, it was a trick. He bound their wrists and then stole all their hair from their head.”
Lizzan frowned. “How did he cut it?”
“He did not cut it.” Aerax’s jaw clenched before he continued. “He peeled away their full scalp and then plucked the hairs from it.”
She sucked in a breath, shaking her head in wordless horror before managing to say, “Why?”
“To finish the crystal palace, which he’d built for one purpose—as a trap for Rani. He knew the hair was strong enough to bind her, for it had bound the sun god. But after what he’d done to her dragon and to Nemek, he knew she would never trust him or come on her own. So to lure her, he slaughtered everyone in Koth except for his heirs, and imprisoned their souls beneath the crystal palace. Yet she knew it was a trap, and still she didn’t come—though all their names he’d written into a book and shouted each night into the wind, so as to taunt her with all the souls she left in torment.”
“That is why the other gods attacked Koth,” Lizzan breathed. “And why Vela threw the moonstone.”
Aerax nodded. “Hoping to destroy the crystal palace—or to kill Varrin, because he no longer wore the belt that had protected him. And it is true that he was near death as the waters began to fill the crater. But he did not bind his essence to the island so that it would rise, Lizzan. He instead bound the souls of the dead to the island.”
For a few breaths she was silent, as if taking that in. “Then what happened to him?”
Aerax shrugged. “He did not become a god. I suspect he only lived long enough to tell the story he wanted everyone to believe—and to tell his heirs what must be done to keep the island afloat.”
“Then silver-fingered Rani finally kept her promise and returned for him,” Lizzan said with vicious glee. “I hope that reunion did not go as he thought it would.”
As did Aerax. “We cannot know that part.”
“I suppose not.” She leaned her head against his. “So you would free all of those souls still trapped there in torment. How could I not also believe that is the right thing?”
She still did not fully understand. “Lizzan,” he said hoarsely. “That island has been a trap for thousands of generations, and the same spell that imprisoned their souls in the crystal palace still imprisons every Kothan who dies there.”
Her body stiffened behind his, her breath trembling. “Still?”
Clasping her hand, he nodded. “In a chamber beneath the crystal palace, you can hear them scream. They are trapped in the crystal. As wraiths are trapped in their corrupted forms.”
“All of them?” Her voice broke. “My father?”
“And my mother,” he said thickly.
She pressed her face into his shoulder and began to cry. Throat aching, he waited for the storm to pass, and knew what would follow.
Sheer determination. She lifted her head and said, “So this is my purpose, too. As Vela must have seen. She knew full well that this was a path I would have taken anyway.”
He frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, Aerax—do you not see? Vela threw a moonstone to free those souls, but she failed. Now I am tasked to protect you while you finish what she started. And so I will.” She threaded her fingers through his, their hands clasped over his heart. “You should also tell this story to the others. All of Koth should know the truth.”
“Even if they believed it, telling would mean their deaths.”
“You told me.”
“And no harm would I ever let come to you.” Sighing, Aerax said, “Not all of Varrin’s descendants accepted what Koth is. There are some who would have destroyed the prison, and still other heirs who have told the truth after they learned what was beneath the crystal palace. They were executed by their kings, as were all the people whom they told, whether those people believed it or not. Those stories are written for the heirs as a warning—and I would have risked myself, Lizzan, but I would not have risked you. But now you are away from Koth.”
“As are Lady Junica and Degg.”
But they would not always be. “Let me think on it.”
She nodded and held him tighter. “That is a true burden. It hurts to know that you were not only thrust into