Chapter two
Grace
Liora jolted awake with a piercing scream, her entire body twisting in pain. A burning sensation like none she'd ever felt before. The world was too bright-too vibrant. It overwhelmed her senses. She gasped, her lungs burning for air, her heart raced as if it could burst.
The sun had just begun to rise over the horizon. It's light glinting off the ice and piercing Liora like a blade of fire.
She cried out again, her hands instinctively covering her face as she scrambled towards the shadowed area of the balcony. She clutched her head, the intensity of the world overwhelming her. But then-
She blinked, and for the first time, her vision was whole. The fog in her left eye was gone. The blindness that had plagued her, her entire life had simply vanished.
Liora gasped, "wha-what?" She whispered. "How…?"
She touched her eye, the scar still there, but the blur was completely gone. She could see everything. The pain from the transformation still throbbed in her neck, but the clarity in her vision was undeniable.
Liora stumbled into the temple, the burn of the sun still lingered on her skin as her legs trembled. Her breathing was shallow, but she was alive.
The icy chapel that had once made her shiver, now wrapped around her like a cold embrace. It's chill soothing her body. In the shadowed corner stood the figure she dreaded, but couldn't stop staring at.
Arch-Curate Vyrthur.
He hadn't moved from where he stood. His arms crossed while he silently watched her. Only his eyes narrowed slightly as he took her in.
Liora studied him a moment. Now that her vision was clear she could see him fully. He was tall, imposing. His skin as pale as the snow, his hair was pure white, but his eyes were a bright red. A detail she hadn't been able to see before.
"You survived." He said, sounding almost bored.
She said nothing though. Just watched the mer as he stepped closer.
His gaze flicked to her face. His expression didn't change, but his eyes lingered on her a moment too long.
"You can see me." He said, more a statement than a question.
Liora nodded slowly. "Yes. Both eyes."
Vyrthurs lips curled. "Your gods mock us both." He sneers.
He stepped forward, the sound of his steps on the ice covered floor the only sound breaking the silence between them.
"Is that their idea of divine justice? To hand sight back to a trembling little acolyte while they damned their own Arch-Curate to this existence?"
His eyes narrowed as his words came out like a growl. "Tell me, girl—did it feel holy when my teeth were in your throat?" He bared his fangs at her as he stepped even closer.
Liora gasped and stepped back, letting out a soft whimper. She instinctively reached for her amulet only to find it wasn't there.
"Foolish girl. You can't fear what you are. You're a monster just as I am."
Vyrthur loomed over her. "You prayed for salvation and the gods sent you to me. Does that not amuse you little acolyte? They've given you to very thing that you fear."
Liora's breath hitched, her fingers curling uselessly where her amulet should have been.
Vyrthur stared down at his little trembling fledgling. He hadn't thought she would survive the morning sunlight. He assumed the next night, if the wind hadn't spread her ashes throughout the snow of the Vale, he would be kicking them off the balcony.
He had intended on turning her, cursing her, just to let her die in Auri-El's divine light. The girl's sudden appearance here could only be explained by divine powers. In his former life he would have seen her arrival as Auri-El's will. Someone brought here with a divine purpose in mind. Someone he should protect.
But Auri-El had ignored every prayer, every plea of his for centuries. Then suddenly, he drops this skittish acolyte in his temple. It was the perfect opportunity to spite the god. But in his attempt to twist her into something dark, the god had decided to heal her sight.
Narrowing his eyes at her, he began circling around her. His lips curled into something between a sneer and a snarl.
"Well," he murmured. "It seems the gods have decided to bless my curses."
He stopped in front of her, lifting her chin with two cold fingers. "You should've died."
Liora's voice trembled, "then why didn't I?"
"Because Auri-El has a sense of humor. And now so do I." He turned her head to admire the bite mark he had left on her neck. It surprised him the flicker of pride and satisfaction he felt looking at his creation.
He turned her to face him again. "You'll learn to walk in shadows. To sing to silence. To kneel not to the sky-but to me." His fingers slid down from her chin to trace the marks on her neck.
Liora's breath hitched, she instinctively inches forward slightly as if encouraging him. When she realized what she'd done, she immediately looked away pulling back.
Vyrthur paused. His hand stilled at her throat, his expression flickered briefly before returning to his cold gaze.
"Well," he murmured. "Maybe you're not as innocent as you look."
Liora's cheeks flushed. "I-I didn't mean-"
"Oh, you meant something," he said, pulling away. "Your body remembers what your faith wants to forget."
Then the snow elf turned away without another word, slipping into the shadows leaving Liora alone in the chapel.
Liora slid down to the floor, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms tightly around them. She whispered a prayer, "kynareth protect me…"
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, when she suddenly heard a loud crack. She flinched, her head snapped up to see one of the frozen falmer begin to thaw.
Vyrthur stood beside it with one hand outstretched, his magic melting the ice from the creature. It withered slightly, not quite alone but not dead.
Liora stood slowly. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching," Vyrthur said, as if it was the most mundane thing in the world. "You're starving. You just don't realize it yet."
She felt her stomach twist. "No. I can't. I can't feed on-on them."
"You'll learn," he said coldly.
The falmer dropped to its knees, groaning lowly.
"Feed." He commanded. "Or I'll toss you off the balcony and let the sun finish what I started."
Liora's hands trembled as took a step forward. Her fangs ached with a dull throb she hadn't noticed until now.
She looked back at him, eyes wide and pleading.
"Go on, little dove. Make your first fall from grace."
Liora knelt in front the falmer. She brushed a finger along the vein of its neck. It's skin clammy against her touch. She could smell its blood. Earthy, metallic.
She leaned forward, her breathe against the creatures neck. She shut her eyes as her lips parted, her fangs extending instinctively.
And then-she sank them in.
The falmer thrashed but she held firm. Her body screamed with ecstasy and she let out a soft moan. She silently prayed Vyrthur hadn't noticed. If her eyes had been opened she would have seen how his breath hitched and how he smirked, watching his creation fall from grace.
Liora couldn't bring herself to stop. She drained the Falmer dry.
When she finally pulled away, the creature slumped lifelessly at her feet. She opened her eyes. She gasped when she realized what she had done. She brought her hand to her lips wiping the blood from her mouth. She hesitated when she looked at the blood soaked on her fingertips. It took every bit of her will power not to lick her fingers clean.
She stood there a moment, her eyes wide with horror as she stared at the blood dripping from her fingertips. Her breaths heavy as she shut her eyes. The adrenaline from the feeding still running through her veins, but she couldn't help but to want more… or something different. Something she couldn't name. A deeper craving. A hunger that wasn't satisfied by the blood she'd just consumed.
"Don't worry," Vyrthur said. "You'll grow accustomed to it. It's only a matter of time."
Liora flinched at the sound of his voice, her fingers trembling as they clutched her robes.
Her voice came out barely above a whisper, "I-I didn't mean to."
"Hmm? But you did mean to. You enjoyed it." He stepped closer to her, wiping the rest of the blood from her lips. His thumb lingering on her chin. "Don't think I didn't notice." He nearly purred, a possessive look in his eyes.
Liora unconsciously leaned into his touch, her lips parting as she looked into the elf's red eyes.
He studied her a moment. Contemplating something. Then he let his hand fall. "Clean up your mess." He said dismissively as he turned away returning to the shadows within the chapel.
"My name is Liora." She said before he was out of sight.
He stopped mid step. Then he turned his head slightly. "Liora." He repeated slowly as if tasting the word on his tongue. "An old name, it means-"
"My light." Liora finished, she looked down at the ground ashamed as if she wasn't worthy of her own name any longer.
Vyrthur's eyes gleamed with a knowing smirk, "your light." He turned back to face her. "Extinguished by the very hands meant to guide you. How ironic."
Liora's head hung lower. The shame swelling up inside of her.
"You will learn." Vyrthur said before turning around, disappearing into the shadows ones more.
