The sun revealed my secrets, so I hid them with the moon.That was what Auriel had written on my tomb—on Asherah’s tomb.
My heart thudded, and suddenly I remembered hearing Asherah’s voice months ago.
Do not head for the stars. What you seek is with the moon.Asherah had told me herself. And Mercurial had confirmed it.But in all the chaos of the last month, we’d been unable to seek it out. Unable to escape, to go South. And now … now I was realizing that what Mercurial had asked me to do, all of this time, was impossible. I was never going to claim the red shard. Not on my own.
Not without Auriel.
I started to breathe heavy, my chest tightening, something burning inside me. A fire. A fire unlike anything I’d felt before—not from Mercurial’s torture. Not from his contract.
And not from the light burning inside of me. Raging.
“What is it?” Auriel asked.
I placed my hand over my chest, barely breathing. “When Mercurial put the light inside of me, when we made our bargain, this was what he wanted from me. What I’ve known I’d have to do since that night. Fulfill a favor. Claim my full power. Claim the red shard.”
Auriel nodded slowly.
“And all this time …” Fresh tears burned my eyes. “All this time, the task was impossible. Because Ma’Nia would have never handed me the shard. Nor Rhyan. That was the bargain you made, right? Only you? Only you—your hand could take it back from her.”
Auriel’s chest rose and fell, his eyes turning red, as he looked away, the wheels turning in his mind. “Fucking realms.”
I forced myself to keep breathing, to try and stop myself from panicking, from realizing fully all the pieces coming together.
“Auriel?” I cried. “You said you couldn’t have come here if I hadn’t called you—if I hadn’t been in such despair, so in need of you.”
“That was the only way—and it was still a long shot that I even made it. Only because of who you were to me. Your soul. And mine. Because we’remekarim.”
“You also said that if Rhyan’s soul was still here—you wouldn’t have been able to come. That you couldn’t be here at the same time as him.”
He frowned. “Yes.”
“By the Gods.Hedid this. Mercurial. He made this happen. He knew he had to draw you out. And there was only one way to do it. All this time, he’s been taunting us, teasing us. Acting as if we haven’t been listening, haven’t been fulfilling our duties.” My vision blurred. “But that Godsdamned fucking Afeyan! He’s been using us like puppets the entire time. Pushing us together—forcing us apart.”
Auriel’s eyes widened. “He knew. Fuck. He knew the bargain I’d made.”
I nodded. “He planned it all along. Mercurial!”
Light flashed in the basement, a thousand Valalumir stars sparkled around the ceiling, rotating in small circles. Mercurial’s aura.
And then he appeared right before us, his body nearly naked, blue skin taut over smooth fine muscles. A silver loincloth between his legs, golden sandals wrapped to his knees. His cat eyes peeked out from behind his falcon head. “So, you finally figured it out.”
“Mercurial!” Auriel seethed, his hands flexing.
“Ah, old friend. I’ve been talking to your newest one these last few months. It’s a pleasure after all these years to see you again in your original form, and—” His eyes dipped down Auriel’s body. “Back in your original flesh.”
Auriel was across the room in seconds, his hands around Mercurial’s neck.
But the Afeyan vanished and reappeared on the other side of the basement. “Uh-uh-uh.” He waggled his finger back and forth. “You’re going to need to listen to me, if you want to help Rhyan.”
“Don’t you dare!” I yelled. “Don’t you dare speak his name!” It was him! He’d killed him. He’d made him akadim, he’d set us up from the start.
Mercurial laughed. The blue feathers around his face elongated into silky, black hair that fell to his waist. He shook his head, and his falcon features were replaced with his usual more human-like features.
“You knew!” I shouted. “You did this! You did this to him!”
His nostrils flared. “I did what I had to.” He raised his eyebrows, peering again at Auriel. “As you can see, my little plan worked.”
“Little plan!” I screamed, moving forward without realizing it. I was seeing red, my hands twitching, fingers desperate to wrap around the hilt of my sword. I only had one goal. Stick the blade through Mercurial’s belly, and watch him bleed out.
