She was capable on her own.
‘Tomorrow,’ he said, as Ezer stopped before him.
‘Tomorrow?’ Ezer asked.
He nodded, his eyes bright, as he turned and looked across the Expanse. ‘The vote was four to one.’ Ezer wondered who that one denier was. The Queen? Or … she hated to think it … Arawn? ‘Tomorrow … at the dawn of Realmbreak … we fly.’
34
When she entered the labyrinth, she found herself back in the cottage.
Her first home, where she’d lived with Styerra and Ervos in the woods.
The last time she saw it, the floorboards were covered in black feathers. Today it was as if years had passed once more.
‘Strange,’ Ezer said, because she’d never begun here.
She was just about to turn and head back to the hall of memories … when she heard footsteps.
And suddenly a hooded figure emerged from the frozen tunnel.
Ezer gasped and reached for her blade, but a gust of sudden wind knocked it from her fist.
It clattered to the floor, useless.
‘There’s no need for weapons,’ said the figure. ‘Not with me.’
Ezer sucked in a breath, because she knew that voice. And when the figure lowered her hood … it was her own face staring back at her. Without the scars but lacking none of the sorrow.
‘Mother?’
Styerra smiled. ‘Hello, Ezer. I’ve been working towards this moment for a very, very long time.’
Styerra looked about the cottage with a sigh. Like she couldn’t believe the state of the place. She crossed to the table and pulled out a chair. Ezer winced as it scraped against the dusty floors with a screech.
‘Sit,’ Styerra said. ‘There’s not much time.’
‘You can see me?’ Ezer asked. ‘This is … real?’
Styerra smiled. ‘It’s taken all my energy, all my time, to find a way to meet with you.’
‘But … how?’ Ezer sat across from her.
‘Death holds many secrets, my dear. I fear I can’t spill a droplet of them without repercussion. But this is real. And important. There’s little time to waste, so … let us begin …’
Ezer nodded, too shocked to argue.
She could see the mark upon Styerra’s finger where her skin was a bit paler, the place where she’d worn her beloved ring. Her eyes slid to Ezer’s hand.
Where that very ring now sat.
‘All my life, I tried invocating. I failed, of course, and was cast aside. Useless, to the Sacred, except to serve them.’ Styerra pursed her lips, like she was still annoyed. ‘I feared you’d end up like me, too. But the night I died … when the wolves came for you. Something happened, Ezer. Something I cannot explain.’
She spoke like she knew Ezer had seen her memories behind the doors. Like they were old friends, catching up. ‘It wasn’t from an invocation, for I was not so lucky as to wield magic, even near death. Butyou…’ Her eyes widened, like she still didn’t believe it. ‘You were just a baby. How could you invocate? But the moment the wolves attacked, just after they managed to swipe your beautiful face …’ She frowned, shaking her head as her eyes fell to Ezer’s scars. ‘It was not me who led them away. It was your ravens.’
Ezer sucked in a breath.
‘A thousand of them strong,’ Styerra said. ‘Theyprotected you, fought for you as if you’d called them, or maybe they’d been sent, but … it was you, Ezer. You saved yourself. With your beautiful magic.’
