In Mount Kpamos Helena, locked in Robos’ dungeon struggled to breathe. Her wounds were not healing quick enough and this was because Robos had applied the Mekai, a golden liquid substance that was known to kill gods if it was stabbed into their hearts. But he had only applied a small amount to her injuries making it impossible to heal quickly, it was his demented way of punishing her. She squeezed her eyes in pain as the broken bones of her wrists merged slowly. Tears fell down her cheeks but her heart and mind was set; she would not reveal the whereabouts of her children. If they were destined to destroy the gods then she’ll happily die in the hands of her children so long as they lived. Her body may be broken but her spirit was not. I hope Demeus is holding on as well as I am, she thought. Memories of the day they both revealed themselves to each other came rushing into her mind. Weeks after leaving Eyrotia for Mount Kpamos she found out that she was pregna

A guard stood by the door of Barigo’s room with his hand on his sword. He bowed in respect. “The priest is here your majesty.” Earlier in the day one of the priests of the temple had sent a messenger to bring news to him; if Eyrotia needed help conquering the nations around her then the gods would help but they had just one request. The messenger could not say what the request was, his only duty was to bring the message to the king and after he left Barigo sent for a priest for clarification of the message. Barigo glanced at the guard and waved a dismissive hand. He let his servant tie the knots of his robe then went to his throne room where the priest was waiting. The priest was a middle-aged man, tall and slim with deep-set eyes. He bowed as Barigo passed by him raising his scepter as a sign of peace. Barigo sat on the gilded chair that was set on the dais. Without wasting any time he asked, “What is it that the gods demand?” “The goddess of the ear

The next day the nobles gathered in the throne room awaiting the Goyre. In different chambers both Phoenix and Jumi were being prepared to be presented to the goddess. In Phoenix’ new chamber which was a vast improvement from the closet size room she had been using before, she donned the red tunic provided by queen Merea. Her new chamber was located after the royal chambers, Barigo had ordered that she should be given a room close to the royal chambers but far from Merea and Jumi to avoid conflict. The room had wider walls, a wash space where she could wash herself every morning and evening without worrying about flooding her room with water and the bed was wider and more comfortable. The tunic which Merea had given her was an ankle length tunic that stopped at her feet, the pins holding it up at the shoulders were made of gold that match the crown of gold leaves that rest on her red hair. While Jumi had servants attending to her and dressing her, Phoenix dressed herself. She

A month after the soldiers marched to battle against Uromi, the atmosphere around Eyrotia was fraught with tension. Mothers prayed for the safe return of their sons a d for the return of the daughters sent to tend the needs of the soldiers in battle, people offered sacrifices and prayers to the gods for the victory of Eyrotia. But there was a tension far greater than any other, a tension that was born of fear and hatred. While the rest of the kingdom hoped for good reports from the Eyrotian army, Queen Merea was in a silent battle of her own. She raged at Barigo’s new treatment of Phoenix, it was as though he regretted his past actions to her and was seeking to make amends in their relationship. She could not have that! If that happened then he would defile the natural laws of the land by removing the crown from Jumi and giving it to Phoenix.As she sat in her bedchamber seething she did not notice the door open. Jumi pushed her head through the crack of the door and sa

Phoenix was dragged to the king’s room where Barigo sat at his table with a tray containing dishes in front of him. Merea stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders, noble men and women of Eyrotia stood at different sides of the room. All except Barigo looked down on her with contempt as the guards dropped her roughly on the ground. She clutched her wounded hand to her side as she knelt before them all. “As you requested, your majesty, we have brought her.” “I instructed you to bring her here, not drag her like a slave!” Barigo yelled. The guards bowed their heads but they glared at her with hate. The other guard brought Styx in and the seer followed him. “What is the meaning of this, Barigo?” the seer demanded. Barigo ignored him and regarded Phoenix with concern. “What happened to your hand?” “It got injured during my training session with Styx, father,” Phoenix replied between hiccups of unshed tears. “That is not the question