The Crow King's Wife (The Elder Blood Chronicles #5)

“My Grandmother?” Neph demanded doubtfully.

“Technically your Aunt actually.” Fortune corrected mildly before continuing. “Even if I had wished to remain outside beyond the Barrier I had little choice in the matter. The Guardians were hunting feverishly for me, and my entire family was here. So I willingly stepped into the trap. I wandered aimlessly about the lands for a while, before I realized without a house or a nation to call my own there was only one way I could still try to help end the fighting or at least ease some of the pain. So I Ascended and chose Fortune as my Aspect. It was pure luck that had kept me alive or from being caught up until that point, so it seemed fitting. That and there was very little chance that anyone from Delvay would ever pay much attention to an Aspect such as myself. Things were wonderful aside from the constant wars and the unfailing attempts to tear down the Barrier by nearly every house. So I set about trying to find a way to bring peace to Sanctuary in a more civilized manner than the Guardians had chosen.”

“Neph please quit glaring at him that way. Aside from me, you are the only person he has ever trusted this knowledge to, and I promise if you just hear him out it will all click into place and make sense.” His mother spoke in a tone of pleading and Neph did his best to wipe the scowl from his face.

Neph wasn’t sure why he was humoring her, and it wasn’t something he wanted to question. It wasn’t his nature to forgive and forget easily, but with her it seemed as though he had already forgiven. He no longer felt anger toward her, and he knew if he put much thought into he would. There were so many choices she had made that could make him hate her if he allowed himself to dwell on it, but the simple truth was, he had lived most of his life without a mother, and the thought of losing her again was gut-wrenching. She wasn’t alive, and she wasn’t truly dead, but he was desperate enough to take what he could get. At least this way he might possibly have a chance to know her.

Fortune glanced at him once more and pushed Neph’s beer toward him. “I wish it were a short explanation, but for you to fully understand I can’t spare the earliest details.” He sighed and shifted in his chair before he seemed to abandon all hope of getting comfortable and simply leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. “My first attempt was Dashara. I thought that ending slavery would be a wonderful way to alleviate some suffering. Seth buggered that project from all angles. Fiona Veirasha was my second attempt, and once again an outside force buggered it to all hell. Then a priestess of mine among the Fionaveir sent a prayer to me asking for help for a woman who was abused at the hands of the Merrodin.” Fortune paused and another faint smile lit his face for a moment. “That was the first knowledge I had of Jala Merrodin; A prayer for her before she was even born from one of my most devout servants. So I joined the Fionaveir in their crusade for a revolution. Originally it was planned that certain houses would have to find new leadership if peace was ever to come to Sanctuary. To my delight RenDelvayon’s name was on that short list. House Merrodin was to have a new leader as well, a tiny little girl that had just been born while the plan was being made. Myth tried to bugger that plan as well but I clung to it with tenacity as I never had before. When Merro was destroyed I sent more power to that child than I had used in centuries to keep her alive, then ensured that she would be found by those that would keep her safe. Over the years I shielded her as best I could, but my true power over the situation was limited. I couldn’t interfere directly because I’m an Aspect, and there was a Divine involved that is much more powerful than I am. So when she arrived in Sanctuary I did my best to ensure she would stay safe, by sending her directly to Finn at the first opportunity and thus into the hall my son lived in. I wasn’t sure about Finn Sovaesh, but I knew once you had given her a chance to prove herself to you that you would protect her.”

“So you turned her from Shade and set her up for heart break with Finn.” Neph broke in coldly. “Do you realize how much Jala and Shade have in common? They share the same desire to save the world and the same idealistic view of how things could be. If she hadn’t turned to Finn the world might be better off and one of my friends might still be alive today. Finn died for Jala not for her dreams, and he is one of the fallen that we could truly use alive right now.”

Fortune sighed heavily and the last of his smile faded away. “Anthe Jendoshay has been a very good friend of mine for some time. When I act on something this big I consult her before I do anything. Had Jala stayed with Shade, Myth would have killed them both according to Anthe’s visions. When I questioned her about Finn in the beginning it was happily ever after. The Fionaveir are the ones that soured that milk I’m afraid. It wasn’t the Avanti that had him killed as Jala believes, but that is neither here nor there at the present. He is dead, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I gave him the luck to evade Hemlock, and he ignored it as so many people often do. Finn chose to finish his mission rather than survive, and he has my respect for that.”