Fates and Thrones

Gifts

The sound of a clearing throat drew my attention from my sister. A tall lanky man was standing next to me. His hands held out towards Jax. I could not stop openly staring at him. He was dressed in a black suit and a red tie around his neck. A long pole with a lantern hanging from it leaned on a tree next to him.

"Long time no see, Athenrún's chosen. I wonder if you will make it this time. But no matter, I heard my name, and I was summoned. You will have to excuse my attire. I have been the interim manager, and I was asked to look the part." His voice was smooth as he stepped closer to me. "Now, I believe I am owed payment before I take this soul to his afterlife."

I nodded slowly before pointing at Jax. "He has the coins; he said they were for you. But I thought we were just to place them on the eyes of the deceased."

"In the olden days, yes. And normally in this case, yes. But you fascinated me with the way that you handled this creature. Two beings of one soul. Finally working together. So, I figured I would come and check it out myself." His lips curled up to reveal two dimples as he smiled.

He strode up to Jaxom and grabbed the coins. I fought back the startled gasp when I saw the snarl that appeared on his previous serene face. "Athenrún de impedimento tuo beatus non erit."

"Mente negotiis tuis servus. Nonnulli nos ludi scaenici actu defessi sunt." Jax's energy was reflected towards him as the God grabbed the coins. "Noli aemulari, Serve, nunquam in his ludis munus tuum somniare. sed si vincant. Tu melius speras amorem in corde tuo satis esse ad hanc amicitiam conservandam."

"Excuse me, I am right here, and I am tired of being left in the dark!" I growled at the two males who were currently fighting in some other language. I have had enough. "You will either speak to where I can understand you, or you will not speak to each other at all. My sister is injured, and I am tired of listening to this."

"I have also come to bestow a gift. Cannot let Athenrún have all the fun after all." His voice dripped with amusement like this whole situation was some sort of game. He reached into his suit jacket, but I could barely focus on the smoothness of his movements. My mind raced, my pulse quickening as I tried to process everything. My sister lying pale on the ground, this god standing before me like he owned the world.

"A gift?" I repeated suspicion curling around each word. I did not trust him, not with Ajita's life at stake. Not with this smug look on his face. "Why would I trust anything you give me?"

He smiled a lazy, almost condescending gesture, before pulling out a necklace and a delicate hairpin that caught the light in strange, mesmerizing ways. "For you, little light," he said, holding the hairpin out toward me like it was some grand honor. "You will find out what it does, eventually. However, I suggest you wear it always."

I stared at it, the cool metal pressing into my palm. The instinct to throw it back in his face surged through me, but something in the air, in the magic that seemed to hum through the pin made me pause. I did not want this. I did not need this. But then my eyes drifted to Ajita, her skin pale, a bite mark staining her neck.

If this pin could help, if it could protect her... I could not risk throwing it away.

But that did not mean I had to sit back and let him pull all the strings.

I tightened my grip on the hairpin, feeling its edges dig into my skin, and stepped forward, cutting off his path to Jaxom. "Before you take another step, you owe me an answer," I said, my voice hard, despite the fear clawing at my throat. "What are you really here for? We are not just pawns for you to toy with. If you care about us as much as you claim, prove it. Stop acting like this is all some kind of joke."

He paused, surprise flickering in his eyes, before a smile stretched across his face genuine, this time as I had finally amused him. "Oh, little light. You are not a pawn, far from it. You matter more than you realize. I was already going to heal your sister."

My heart skipped a beat at his words, a mix of hope and doubt twisting inside me. "Then stop wasting time," I snapped. "If you were going to heal her, do it. Do not play these games. If you want me to trust you, save her. Right now."

The god's playful demeanor faltered for just a moment as if he had not expected me to push back. Slowly, he nodded, his gaze sharpening. "Very well, little light. Since you ask so earnestly. But remember trust is a two-way street."

I did not care for his cryptic warnings, not when Ajita was still lying motionless on the ground. I swallowed the lump in my throat, refusing to let my voice waver. I could not let him see how terrified I was.

With a wave of his hand, the god's attention shifted to my sister, and as if by some invisible force, the creature the Tiyanak transformed into a toddler, no older than three. The sight would have been shocking if my mind were not fixated on Ajita.

But that was not all. As the god moved, the air around us seemed to change. Where the ground had been barren, now sunflowers and narcissus bloomed, bright and alive. Ajita lay in the middle of it all, still too pale, but no longer on the edge of death. I let out a breath I did not realize I was holding.

"As much as I love the look, little darkness," the god said gently, his voice softer now as he addressed my sister, "it is not time for this. Wake up now. You have much more to do before you can ride my boat."

I stared, still clutching the hairpin, my heart pounding. I was not sure I could ever trust him completely but for now, he had done what I asked.

I looked back at Jax who was just shaking his head and muttering to himself in the language in which they were fighting. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but as I went to take a step, I heard a deep breath coming from the middle of the flowers. Followed by a coughing fit.