Dinner that evening was a quiet and somber event. Calliena picked at her food, while Lyterias attacked his as if the turnip had insulted his mother. Me, I simply ate quietly, keeping an eye on them. I could tell this was a regular thing to happen; the mortal's tone and demeanor suggested that he had often been over, often made this suggestion, and often made this same disturbed quiet. I fiddled with my fork. What kind of small talk does an immortal make with mortals? I blinked.
"I'm sure you must be curious," I said suddenly. They both started.
"Curious?" Calliena asked, confused. I smiled at her.
"Well, here I am," I said, gesturing to myself, "a Tel'mak, one whom most mortals consider to be a god. You must have some burning questions for one who witnessed most of mortal history here on Ultima." Lyterias perked up, his gaze focused.
"Are there certain, rare herbs hidden in the world?" he asked. I could see the former Raven whirling in his head. "Perhaps magic stones buried in the ground that grant special powers?" I hesitated.
"Such questions are better asked of Sister Third or Fourth," I replied regretfully. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, but now Calliena leaned in.
"The other Tel'mak are your siblings?" she asked. I shook my head.
"Not by blood, anyway," I said. "But we are the closest thing to family we have. We've always called each other 'Sister' or 'Brother' ever since we rose to Tel'mak."
"You weren't born a Tel'mak?" Calliena asked, shocked. Again, I shook my head.
"I was born with a great Well and an aptitude for combat and war. But, though I was very much born mortal, I always knew I would be Tel'mak."
"How?" Lyterias urged. I shrugged.
"I simply did. As did my siblings. When we came together for the first time, we understood who we were and who each other was. On that day, we became Tel'mak, and we set off to make ourselves legends."
"What happened to your parents?" Calliena asked. I felt my smile slip away as the memory filtered in before my eyes.
"They died soon before we came together," I said softly. Her eyes filled with pain.
"I'm so sorry," she said, reaching over to touch my hand. I pulled it away, uneasy.
"Don't be," I assured her. I hesitated for a moment. "I killed them." They both froze, Calliena's eyes wide with shock.
"Ye killed yer own parents?" Lyterias whispered, his own horror plain. I sighed.
"Well, they were trying to kill me," I said. Their eyes went wider, so I hurried on. "Well, when I told them what I was, they knew what that meant. They wanted the power for themselves, so they decided to murder me in my sleep. They were poor parents to begin with, though. My whole life was nothing but pain and training with them. They were more my instructors than my parents." I stared at my plate, absentmindedly cutting my symbol into the potato that sat on it. "The first time they ever told me they were proud of me was after I had gutted them both with Lightning and Thunder. It was the last thing they ever said." For a moment, I could smell the sharp, bitter bite of iron that had first begun to plague me on that day. Then, a soft hand closed around mine, and the fog of memory cleared to Calliena smiling at me with watery eyes. I gave her a smile in return.
"Anyway," I said hastily, "that was many years ago. Certainly nothing to cry over." Calliena gave a small laugh and wiped her eyes.
"Anything else?" I asked.
YOU ARE READING
The War God's Wife
RomanceShe has no desire for marriage. Calliena has her hands full being the assistant in her father's clinic and keeping them afloat. Not that she hasn't had her fair share of suitors; she just never had any interest in boys looking for a pretty face or...
