She straightened, and grinned slowly. “My dealings with Auriel are not over. Not even close, Goddess. Nor have they ended with you. For you were there. Auriel may have spoken the words, he may have authored the curse. But whose magic supported him? Hmmm? Who was by his side? Who was the reason why the light could never be whole? Why it was stolen in the first place?” She stepped toward me, moving into my personal space. “It’s you.” She pointed at my chest, at my heart. “You. His soulmate. Hismekarim.It was always you who caused all of this. You were the fire. The fire who sealed the curse into place. But the same fire that shall undo it. When you’re ready.
“My ashvan will take you to the vaults in the Yara Vale, found between the peaks of Anessi, and Vrenya. The mountains which you’ll find in the center of the Shevagni Mountain Range. That is where I’ve kept the shard. I’ve given instructions for you to be permitted inside. For my guard to disperse upon your arrival, and to allow you to take what is yours. Then you’ll be granted leave from my country via the Yara Vale north into Korteria.”
Korteria. Ka Kormac’s land. The home of Vrukshire. Of Brockton. My throat went dry.
“Ramia will meet you at the vaults, and show you in. We’ll need Auriel of course. After all, he is the key. And then, you must find Lord Rhyan. His akadim form must be killed, either in a way that removes him from this world completely, or calls his soul back to his body. But it must happen. You cannot falter. For in his current state, he is working hard for the enemy. And growing closer and closer to bringing about our doom.” Her eyes blazed. “Asherah, you must stop the prophecy.”
If Lord Rhyan Hart’s soul cannot be restored, he will prove to be one of the most dangerous, and destructive forces the Empire has ever seen. Worse than the rise of Moriel.
The vision held by three.
“I will,” I gritted through my teeth.
She handed the reins of her ashvan to me. “Go. Claim the shard. Claim your power. And when your obligation to Mercurial ends, you know where to find me.”
One battle. For one battle, I’d have a legion of Afeya at my command.
I nodded.
Auriel hoisted me onto the ashvan’s back, and then climbed behind. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him and I coaxed the ashvan forward, commanding it to fly. A blue bridge glowed against the floor, and our ashvan took off, running faster and faster, until we were flying out thewindow, wind pushing against us. We rose toward the moon, flying higher and higher, as the bridge circled toward the top of our tower and turned north. To the vault. To the red shard.
And to Rhyan.
Chapter
Twenty-One
LYRIANA
A series of mountains lay in the distance, each shadowed in the ever-dark of Khemet’s night. But green-topped mountains, lit by the gold of the sun, shone behind the peaks. The hills of Korteria. My first sighting of Lumeria in what felt like weeks. There it was already day. We still remained under the shroud of night in the Moon Court as we began its descent.
My heart flew into my throat, as our ashvan ran faster, the ground rising up to meet us. It felt like we were heading for a crash landing—the way gryphons descended.
The horse touched down, walking us across the grassy terrain. The valley lay ahead between the darkened mountains: the Shevagni. Seven distinctive peaks loomed above, each one topped in gold from this angle. A gold that glowed brighter the closer we came. The sun of Lumeria. I marked the valley between the centermost two mountains, the two that I assumed were Anessi and Vrenya. Between them was the Yara Vale. And the vaults. The red shard.
My heart began to beat faster, and I felt the slightest lift in body temperature. Every shard I’d come into contact with had caused a physical reaction. The indigo had unleashed my magic.My first viewing of the orange had caused the light inside my heart to heat up so painfully, I’d passed out.
I tried to brace myself for how I’d react to the red shard at last. To the one that was mine.
Auriel stilled suddenly beside me, his body tense. “We’re being watched,” he said quietly.
“Her guard?” I asked.
“I would expect. I can’t see them, but I can feel them.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I could sense them, too. “She’ll keep her word?”
At this Auriel stretched his neck, his nostrils flared, and his jaw set with determination. “She has to.”
“What do we do? Just walk in?” I asked.
“Follow me,” Ramia said, her ashvan touching down beside us. She rode on a mauve-colored horse with an amethyst mane. Beautiful. “You right on Lumerian border. You back home soon. But you need Afeya to guide you inside vaults.”
“Ramia,” I said curtly.
She scoffed, dismounting. “Ramia? You mean Princess Ramia. I remain princess in Khemet.”
“Did you know?” Auriel asked her, his voice shaking with anger. “Did you know she’d throw Lyriana into the playground?”
