So much had happened. So much had changed in just a few hours. And now she was realizing that everything she’d ever done or will ever do might not matter.
Every one of the last circles was doomed from the start. Something—someone—was behind the sabotage. Someone who didn’t want her and Sonah to succeed.
Despair and impotent rage warred inside her as she thought about how futile it all seemed.
How could she fulfill the prophecy if forces stronger than her conspired to stop her?
A moment of panic seized her and she thought again of what had happened to her in Ravos, when she’d lost control of her powers and destroyed half of the duke’s men without thought.
Maybe whoever or whatever hidden force was working against her did so to stop her from becoming exactly what Duke Ravos claimed she was.
An abomination.
Terena’s hands shook as she reached out to touch Rydon’s face.
“I remember. I remember everything, Rydon.”
Chapter 45
METILAI
After Gabriol had shared their plans with him, Rydon embarked on the challenge of getting out of the palace unseen. It had taken him an hour, and when he’d finally made it into the city proper, the journey to Daris’s camp was even more difficult.
Shading his eyes against the late morning sun, Rydon found the door leading to the sewers they’d used a year ago to get Ren and Sonah out. Recalling the location had delayed him further, and by the time he came out near the river and circled around to the front, he was filthy and cold and in dire need of a bath.
Holding up his hands as he approached the encampment, one of the soldiers on watch grunted in acknowledgement and waved him in. Looking around at the additional men, Rydon tightened his jaw and lengthened his stride, his head swiveling about as he searched for the commander.
Rydon came to an abrupt halt when he spotted Daris standing with Hermes. They didn’t seem to have noticed him and Rydon had the fleeting thought he should melt back into the shadows of the tents and make his way back into the city.
“Ah, there he is!”
Rydon closed his eyes and cursed Soros for his ill-timed greeting. The captain clapped him heartily on the back as everyone nearby looked over at them. Rydon cut a glance at Daris who watched him with a frown. Hermes, of course, had a face-splitting grin as if Rydon was the key to all the world’s wisdom.
“Eudaemon, come!” Hermes raised his arm and motioned to Rydon, who could do nothing but drag his feet as he approached the god with Soros at his side.
“What news from the palace?”
“Everyone’s shitting themselves, most like,” Soros laughed.
Hermes ignored the man, a cruel glint in his eyes as he watched Rydon.
“Terena’s inside, of course,” Rydon said, parsing his thoughts to share only what would appease the god and not further endanger Ren. “They know you’re out here but they are waiting to see if you’ve terms. Otherwise, they are hosting a feast this evening, to announce Prince Lerek’s reinstatement as successor and crown prince.”
“Aye, but,” Hermes’s mouth twisted. “How is my niece? Is she recovered?”
Warning bells went off in his head but Rydon kept his face blank. “Recovered from your… conversation with her back in Ravos? Aye, I’d say she’s recovered.”
Hermes gave him an amused, incredulous look. “I’ll let that one go, Eudaemon, because I like you. I am referring to her ascension. Today is her nameday.”
Rydon’s heart stopped and then threatened to gallop right out of his chest. His eyes darted to Daris, who stared back at him with dawning horror. His face was as red as a harvest sunset, and he looked about as ill as Rydon must at that moment.
“When did you see her last? If you saw her this morning, you should’ve already seen a difference.”
Rydon hoped his face concealed his frustration. “In what way?”
Hermes laughed. “In the way that separates someone like me, from someone like you.”
“I’m immortal as well,” Rydon seethed.
