Lord Rhyan.
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s not possible. I remain forsworn.”
“Are you so sure?” He shimmied his shoulders. “What if you were Heir once again?”
A sinking feeling began to drill deep into my gut. “How? What happened?”
“Lyriana happened,” Mercurial said.
I stilled. If Lyr had somehow gotten my title back, it meant she’d given my father something in return. Something thatwas bound to put her life in danger. My father didn’t give anything freely.
My eyes narrowed. “Not Heir Apparent,” I asked, clarifying, as if it made a difference. “Just Heir.”
“Do you think I made an error?” He feigned offense. “You could ask me for information on the subject. But you know it will cost you.”
I glowered. He knew Godsdamned well I wouldn’t ask.
Water from the pipe continued to drip as he turned his head, looking behind him. My fingers latched onto a stray thread around my wrist and I began to tug, my hand cramping.
“News of your change in status is on its way to you right now. But oh,” he pouted, stepping closer to the bars. His hips swayed sinuously with each step as his violet eyes resumed their intense scrutiny of my face. “Just look at your nose.”
“Kindly refrain from mentioning it unless you plan to do something about it.”
His lips curled. “There’s no need for me to do that either. Someone else is on the way.”
“Not Lyr,” I said, my voice choked with emotion.
“No.” His head tilted to the side in disapproval, violet eyes flashing with anger, looking me up and down. A dirty water droplet fell onto his shoulder and he hissed with disgust.
“She can heal now,” I said, my voice low. “Or the light inside her can. But it hurts her, she takes on the pain of those she’s healing. And it leaves her drained. Powerless.” My hands clenched.
Mercurial lifted his black eyebrows, then tore a loose thread from my binds, and flicked it on the ground. “I’m aware.”
“You knew? Of course you did. Did you always know? Did you know putting the light inside her would do that?” I snarled.
“Me? It was you, mylord.Your selfishness, your theft, your choices that put us here—that put us all here. You are the one who made the choice that fateful day in Heaven. You are the one who decided to steal a light never meant to survive in this world. And it was you who chose to fall, to allow it to break, to start a war that drowned an empire.” A light flashed and then he was inside the cell with me, his face inches from mine as he took up nearly every inch of space that remained. “You may not be Auriel now. But you still are in many ways, and it wasyou, my lord, who put the Valalumir into her heart and melded it to her soul. I simply returned it.”
“And who decided to steal Asherah’s chest plate?” I asked, my jaw clenching. “It was supposed to end that day. The day she died. I did everything right. I sealed her tomb, I made sure the shards were hidden and locked. Without you going behind my back, none of this would have been set in motion. None of it! So don’t fucking pretend that I am the one who brought us here.”
“And you shouldn’t fucking pretend to have any idea of what you’re talking about! You are not Auriel, not yet,” Mercurial yelled. “You are the reason Lyriana is imprisoned by your father now, just as much as you are the reason your ex-lover carries his child.” He shook his head, his lip curling. “And after all sweet Kenna sacrificed to free you …”
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, mylord, you already have. By cursing me to this immortality.” Stars appeared along the ceiling, flickering in and out, blinding me with their light and then leaving me in total darkness until spots formed in my vision. “You accusemeof theft? But have you returned Canturiel’s light? Have you made any true effort in your centuries of lifetimes to fix it?” He laughed. “I didn’t think so. I already told you. The two of you do not get to walk away from what you started.It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. What lives you were living. I don’t care if you’re called Rhyan now. If you’re called a murderer. Betrayer. Son of the Imperator. Partner. Lover. Lord or not-lord. You will always be Auriel to me. Thief of the Valalumir. Forsworn Guardian.”
I gritted my teeth, my body pushing against the ropes until I felt the smallest tear. “Did you just come here to taunt me? Or are you actually here to tell me something useful?”
“I came to remind you of the debt owed by my remembered Goddess. If Lady Lyriana does not resume her quest to uncover the red shard, she will pay the price. And my prices are quite exorbitant, I’ve heard.”
“Well,” I scoffed, flexing the muscles in my arms again, “we’d love to be on our way. Jumping when you say jump. Going where you say go. But I’m a little tied up at the moment. As is she. You’ll have to talk to my father about that.”
Mercurial laughed, the sound haunting, like old bells. “Of course, let me dance on down to Imperator Hart’s study and chat. He’s so known for his grace and reason. I am sure I can convince him, especially after the bargain he’s made with Lyriana.” He smirked. “There’s no chance of that now. While we’re here discussing the lengthy list of your poor choices, thank you, sincerely, for delivering a literal Guardian detection tool right into his hands!” He yelled, the anger permeating every inch of the cell. “Now he has Auriel, Shiviel, Asherah, and Cassarya under his thumb. And he damn well knows it.”
“Cassarya?” I said, my heart pounding. “Meera? Lady Meera is Cassarya.” I felt the truth of it in my heart. Of course she was. Cassarya was the Goddess known as the observant one in the stories, the one who always appeared with the largest eyes, the one who saw, the one whose visions had been most powerful.
Mercurial rolled his eyes. “Took you long enough.”
“We’ve been a little preoccupied.” I exhaled sharply. But just like that, six of the seven Guardian reincarnations had been identified. “That leaves only Hava to find.”
