"You appear disturbed," Athanis notes, examining me. "Does transportation plague your gut with unease, or is something else amiss?"
"Just the transporting," I lie before smiling. "I'm good now, though."
“I am glad to hear it. Then the time is upon us for you to release my friend so he may not suffer at the hands of the corrupt one whom I foresaw.”
Wait…
"Right now?”
"Right now," Athanis agrees.
I try not to wring my hands. "Okay, Silas doesn't seem to trust Marwood, so I'm sure your concern there is founded—but are youabsolutely positivethat this is the right time for me to set your warrior buddy free? Did you see a vision of it happening here, like this?”
The dead priest huffs, shaking his head. "Even Galene cannot see all outcomes of all things at all times, so of course, I was limited in my future sight. I can only attest with the utmost certainty that if my friend's path ends in the hands of the corrupt leader, he shall suffer greatly. He shall be kept in their facility under the corrupted one's experimentation, becoming a soulless abomination. But in your hands, his fate becomes sweet and wondrous.”
So this ancient warrior's fate is entirely in my hands right now?
Gods, no pressure.
I fidget, anxious. “I want to help, but?—"
"Behold, there is none to stop you now," he interrupts, motioning around us. “Why forsake this opportune moment and risk his misery? Free him, Elise. Help me keep my oath and protect a soul of true nobility from such cruelty, I beg you.”
Looking around, I see what Athanis means. They've started transporting some of the checked boxes full of fae relics away now—but just my luck, I'm the only person standing near the three sarcophagi. Everyone else is distracted, including Brahm, who's taking a smoking break with a couple of other fae in the distance.
My heart is pounding, adrenaline making my hands shake. I expect my inner animal to be terrified of what’s about to happen, but she’s completely silent.
"Will opening the sarcophagus wake the sleeper?" I whisper to Athanis.
"Yes. I used holy magic to immortalize their slumber, but anyone may awaken these altered ones by sliding away the lid of their sarcophagus."
“Gotcha. And is your friend dangerous?"
"Not to any innocent, and certainly not to you," he assures me. “Please, Elise."
Gods, I really hope I don't regret this.
Taking a deep breath, I check one more time before turning fully toward the three sarcophagi, fully prepared to help this ghost out.
“All right. Let’s get this over with. Which one is he in?” I whisper.
Athanis pauses, staring at the three identical sarcophagi for long enough that I wonder if he’s glitching.
“Athanis?”
“Paradise pardon me, I…I know not.”
I blink at the ghost. “What do you mean, youknow not?”
He’s still looking between the three sarcophagi. “These coffins were created through the use of magic. The great Corruptor was overcoming us, and there was no time to engrave them with names or other defining characteristics. I knew whichheld my friend in the depths beside my remains, but now that the searchers have moved these, he could be in any of the three.”
“Lovely. Okay, then…who are in the other two? Would it be bad if I open the wrong one?”
Athanis looks me dead in the eye, his face somber. “Exceedingly. One is a monstrous, wicked fornicator—Veld, a powerful incubus who long relished in tormenting his fated ones through his lascivious wandering. The other is Nivarrah, his only remaining fated one. She was once a performer praised throughout the land for her exceptional skill with illusory magic, but tormented by Veld, she became a jealous murderess of unparalleled violence. I fear what her mind has become since he has been in command of her dreams for so long. Freeing her would be exceedingly bad, as her magic distorts all aspects of reality until all five of one’s senses can no longer be trusted.”
Holygods.
“Okay, I’m sorry because I really wanted to help you, but there is officiallyno wayI’m opening any of these sarcophagi now,” I hiss at the dead priest, wrapping my coat tighter around myself.
