Darkness writhed inside her.
‘She won’t harm him,’ Ezer said. ‘She will do as I teach her to do. Shewillbe ready. I have faith in that.’
‘Faith means little when it comes from an Unconsecrated.’ An uneven breath, as he seemed to grow tired of their one-sided conversation. ‘Make no mistake. If you fail to reach the deadline, if you fail to get the beast ready in time … it will have no place in our world.’
She sucked in an icy breath.
She didn’t want to believe his words, didn’t want to imagine that he would dare harm a creature as gentle, as lovely as Six.
But the second she met his eyes … she knew hewould.
He would do anything, even waste himself away, if it meant saving Lordach.
‘I voted yes on this final mission in order to appease my son,’ he said. She felt small in his gaze. She felt powerless. Shewaspowerless, next to him. ‘He has always been a loyal servant to the Five, capable of sensing things that others may not.But hear this, Raphonminder and take it to heart. Should you fail him … should you failme…’ He smiled, and she felt her insides curl. ‘We will let the gods decide what your penance will be.’
He stood with a grunt.
But before he walked away, he paused, his shadow darkening the wardlight.
‘I suggest you get back to work, Raphonminder. And do not cometo this temple again. Until you’ve proven yourself … take the one for the servants.’
She waited until he was gone.
Then she fled from the temple as fast as her sore legs could carry her, not breathing until she was in the safety of the shadowed halls beyond.
Morning came too soon, sleep evading her yet again.
She’d fallen asleep reading, too afraid to slide into her nightmares so soon after the King’s haunting words. She couldn’t erase the chill of them away.
‘Good morning.’ Izill swept in, hauling a breakfast cart as usual. ‘By the gods, you look exhausted. You need more rest.’
‘Hard to rest when the dreams turn into nightmares,’ Ezer said. ‘But you’re right. Coffee would certainly help, too.’ She quickly scooped up the book and tucked it into her cloak pocket for safekeeping, grateful Izill’s attention had gone to the pot of steaming coffee instead.
The book was Zey’s.
For some reason, Ezer had grabbed it a few nights back, unable to bear seeing it sitting there on Zey’s trunk … forgotten. She went back to it each night, thumbing through the blank pages. Perhaps she’d missed something on them, for Zey had been reading it so intently by the fire that final night.
But there was nothing, so Ezer decided it wasn’t a book at all, but rather a journal that Zey hadn’t the story to fill its pages with.
In some ways, it was easier to commiserate with Zey now that she was gone. The Eagleminder had been trapped here, all her life … like a Ravenminder in a tower.
A short breakfast later, during which Izill announced she’dcounted Ezer’s yawns –seven, to be exact– and Ezer bid her friend goodbye.
She made it to the upper cliff without vomiting, and her legs did not ache as much as they had in the days before. Perhaps her training with Arawnwaspaying off.
Celebrate the small victories,Ervos had always said.
Ezer smiled to herself, wishing he were here to walk the steps with her. She wondered what he would think of Six. What he would think if he saw Ezer dressed in Sacred robes, conversing with two princes, taking orders from one and training with the other each time the sun set.
She was in a story of her own now, writing the pages fresh each day.
The stone in her pocket suddenly warmed.
About time,she thought, for she felt Arawn owed her an explanation of some sort. But before she could grab the stone and speak to him, she paused.
Because a single pair of footsteps marked the snow on the doorsteps of the old temple. When she went inside …
It was Kinlear.
