"Well," Darian said, her voice harsh and shaky. "That happened."
Theo couldn't believe how glib she was being, though he supposed it was her way of trying to process the insanity that had unfolded before their eyes. As for himself, he couldn't begin to wrap his mind around it.
His breaths came short and rasping, making his chest ache. The floor dipped in and out of focus. He felt both like he was on the verge of fainting and like he'd never be able to sleep again. And though his wings were gone, Mom's Levia still raced through his veins, throbbing just a little out of sync with his heartbeat. His body could barely contain it; he could feel it pushing beneath his skin, so close to the surface he almost seemed to be glowing.
"Theo." Victor's voice drifted over to him, followed by tentative footsteps and the creak of armor. "Are you okay?"
Struggling against his stiff muscles, Theo managed to turn his head. The look on Victor's face took him aback – his eye was huge and trembling with shock.
"Theo...your eyes. They're...purple."
"What...?" Theo lifted shaking fingers to his face, but even that slight motion sent dizziness lurching through him.
It did not help when Mirage wheezed out a trembling laugh from somewhere behind. "No, seriously. What the hell is going on here? Am I having a bad trip? Did you just yeet the Emperor of Miria straight through a window?"
Under normal circumstances, Theo might have laughed too. But all he could get out was a faint, shallow coughing. His throat seized, and the world lurched around him again as the meager strength in his legs drained away.
"Theo!" A heavy armored hand clapped his shoulder – only to jerk away when sparks burst from his skin, searing hot and tinged pale pink.
Footsteps closed in around him. Voices echoed off the walls, strangely garbled and distorted.
"Holy shit, what the fuck is – "
"Theo! Theo, please, what's wrong?"
"We can't stay here for long. We don't know when Astraeon will return or if he has accomplices."
"Well, what do you want us to do? The boy can't even move!"
Gasping for breath, Theo twisted his hands through his hair. He needed something – anything – any kind of relief from the power setting him on fire from the inside out. Sweat beaded on his forehead, only to sizzle into steam. More sparks danced across his skin, shedding with every slight twitch of his muscles.
Then Victor grabbed him again, one hand on his shoulder, the other around his waist. The instant they made contact, the power erupted out of his body with renewed force, lashing at Victor like whips of lightning.
Yet Victor only clamped down tighter. His armored fingers dug into skin, fierce and insistent, but Theo barely registered any pain beneath the raging torrent of Levia.
Gasping, grunting, Victor tried to haul him upright. His ragged voice and shaking hands sent guilt twisting through Theo, but he just couldn't make the lightning stop. Nor could he move on his own power. All the strength had drained from his muscles, replaced by the relentlessly rushing light.
"Theo...." Victor's pained hiss drifted from an impossible distance. His hands spasmed violently.
Theo opened his mouth. He needed to reassure Victor – or scream, or vomit, he didn't even know. But nothing came out, not even sparks or lightning.
The world lurched around him one more time, before falling away entirely.
Gone was the shining white chamber, the achingly blue sky. Instead darkness surrounded him – but this wasn't the crushing blackness of the Infernal Lord's power, nor even the deep midnight of Astraeon's. It instead held a purplish tinge, streaked with brilliant trails of stellar dust and stars that glimmered like jewels.
It almost reminded him of the Star of Miriel's Levia, except these stars glowed with warmer hues, many of them soft pink.
As he glanced around in awe, Theo realized that his head felt as cold and clear as the cosmos around him. Not a trace of aching or nausea. When he looked down at himself, he realized he was no longer glowing.
And he wasn't alone here. Victor still clung to him, the weight of his hands warm and comforting. When Theo turned toward his brother, he saw that Victor's face was pale, his expression as astounded as Theo felt.
"Victor," Theo said. His voice sounded normal, calm and level, though with a strange faint echo. "I'm okay."
Victor's throat convulsed, but his hands slid away without protest.
Now freed, Theo experimentally moved his body. Though he drifted forward without resistance, he found himself gradually descending as if pulled by a gentle but insistent force.
Strange, but he let himself drift along. It wasn't long before his feet hit what felt like solid floor. Ripples spread beneath him, though it didn't feel like he was standing on water.
Victor landed as well, then strode up beside Theo. The only sound to be heard was the quiet creak of his armor.
But Theo wasn't focusing on him. Instead, he couldn't look away from the fount of light glowing directly ahead, shedding tiny motes like pale pink fireflies.
Victor made a sharp noise from the back of his throat, but Theo was already striding ahead. He felt no fear, no alarm, and why should he? He already knew exactly who was awaiting.
By the time he closed the distance between them, the light had faded away. A woman stood in its place – not the being of light who had confronted Astraeon, but a person as flesh-and-blood as himself. Aside from the six wings spread behind her, she could have stepped straight out of that long-ago photograph. Her black hair fell loose to her shoulders, and she wore only a plain white sundress.
Since she was shorter than him, Theo had to tilt his head down to look into her eyes. When he did, a thrill ran down his spine. They were like an echo of the surrounding cosmos, deep purple and speckled with stars.
A warm smile spread across her face. "Theo. Victor. It's been so long."
"Mom. Is that...really you?" It was Victor who spoke, his voice trembling with an emotion Theo had never heard from him before. He swallowed, suddenly terrified to look at Victor's face.
"It isn't." Upon her reply, Victor breathed in sharply, but Mom kept talking. "I'm not really Eva Ling. Like I told Astraeon, she is well and truly dead. I am the power that she bestowed upon Theo. His inheritance."
Her calm, steady gaze locked Theo in place. "I am normally buried deep within you, hidden beneath the layers of your own Levia. Only when your Levia is nearly drained or your life is in mortal danger can my power break free."
"So...let me get this straight." Theo strained to sound just as calm as her. "You're not just a wizard. You are...were...a seraphim."
Mom nodded solemnly. "My true name is Sarieva. I was a researcher from the city of Ataraxia, long before it became a Fortress."
So she had lived before the Rending? Theo's head spun from amazement.
"After the Rending, I continued my research. For me, my greatest passion was studying wizardry. I wanted to uncover all of its secrets, leave no stone unturned. But eventually...I realized I couldn't only learn for myself."
Mom straightened her shoulders, her eyes glittering. "An entire wasteland lay beneath us. While we seraphim indulged ourselves and studied at our leisure, the people below struggled to eke out the barest living. We claimed to be preserving the Levia of Tielos, but few paid more than lip service to our mission. For the longest time, I was the same. But in a world like ours, there's no such thing as research for the sake of it. No, if my knowledge could help all Tielans, I had a duty to use it.
"So I threw myself into my research with renewed resolve, chasing every scrap of information that might help. Eventually, I found my most promising lead: legends of another world connected to Tielos. I focused all my efforts on opening a portal to this world, but only succeeded after I managed to get my hands on a shard of the Star of Miriel."
So that was where the Star shard in the attic came from, Theo thought numbly.
"Even after I opened it, I didn't immediately step through the portal. Instead, I spent years observing the humans. Watching their civilizations grow, witnessing their determination and ingenuity. Finally, I decided that they were more than capable of learning what I had to teach."
"Learning...what you had to teach." Victor spoke, his voice low and hoarse. "You mean..."
"That's right," Mom said. "Wizardry."