Because she loved a good mystery, and here one was, unraveling before her.
‘Something terrible, I assume,’ Kinlear said with a shrug. ‘No one knows, though the War Table has certainly speculated. When the stone crumbled, so did the runes marking its story. Its history. Each one represents a realm, you see. Ours is but one in a string of others. And … well, it’s quite unfortunate that it was the stone directly next toours,that crumbled and fell away.’
Their realm, Arivahda.
And their kingdom, Lordach, was the largest one in it.
‘When my grandfather was a boy, Arivahda’s stone got its first fracture. A hairline – so small it wouldn’t have been noticed, were it not the deepest tendril of black. If you’ve ever seen the stones up close, you know just how pure a white they are. Brighter, even, than the snow.’
She felt her eyes widen.
He smiled, like he was enjoying spilling the secret, bit by bit.
‘The fracture grew after that, and each year the war goesunending, it grows wider still. And the stone darkens, bit by bit. It’s estimated that by the time Realmbreak arrives … the stone will crack in half.’
‘And … when that happens?’ Ezer breathed.
He’d stepped closer to her.
She could smell the strange sweetness on him, the scent that came from his vial.
He shrugged. ‘No one knows. But I can assure you … it won’t be good. It’s why we need the godsblessing. Why we needsomething,anything the Five can give, to help us survive. Our numbers are far too slim as it is.’
Incredible, how the news of the stones hadn’t reached the south. How people had been so distracted by the war, the deaths and the disappearances and the shadow wolves, that they hadn’t passed stories of the Sacred Circle along.
Probably because there was no one left alive here in the north beyond the soldiers.
And none of them had made it home to tell the tale.
‘The Acolyte,’ Ezer said, her heart racing. ‘It’s him, isn’t it?’
‘We believe so,’ Kinlear said. He coughed and motioned for her to follow him out of the shelves. Their footsteps and the clacking of his cane echoed through the space as they emerged back onto the stairwell and descended together.
‘It’s why he must be stoppedbeforeRealmbreak. It was the day the last stone fell, if our calculations are correct.’
‘What makes you think it’s that easy to stop him?’ Ezer asked. ‘If he’s done it before. If it’s his dark magic that made the neighboring realm fall … andtheydidn’t stop him …’
‘We aren’t without hope.’ Kinlear cleared his throat, fighting away another cough. ‘I believe the stones are there from the gods as a gift. A warning bell that’s been ringing for years now, trying to ensure we do not make the mistakes of the realms beside us. And while we don’t know for certain what went on, for it’s impossible for one realm to speak to another … we havesomeleads. Raphons aren’t the only thing we capture.’
She couldn’t hide the shock on her face.
‘The darksouls are tricky to seize alive, but we’ve managed a few. It’s messy to question them, difficult to fully trust, but thanks to our Ehvermages, we’ve managed …’ His eyes skirted away and his jaw worked back and forth for a minute. It struck her how identical his facial features were to Arawn in that moment. But the feeling she had around Kinlear was not nearly the same. ‘They speak of one similar truth. A black door in the mountains, that his beasts enter and leave through. A hidden domain, where he rules from a throne of darkness. He goes there each night, before darkness falls. It’s the only time he’s guaranteed to show … just waiting for a runed blade to sink beneath his cursed skin.’
It was suddenly too cold, too quiet in the rows of shelves.
‘What happens if I fail?’ she whispered. ‘If I can’t get Six gentled for an assassin to make it across?’
And beyond that, what happened if the assassinfailed?
The Long Day was the best chance they’d have – seventy-two hours without a drop of darkness in the sky. But even then, it might not be enough time to make it there, find this mysterious black door, and manage to navigate inside to kill the Acolyte before darkness fell again … and his army re-emerged.
Kinlear’s eyes met hers. ‘I can’t say for certain. But I suggest you try your hardest to tame the beast, if you don’t wish to find out.’
He fell into another coughing fit, and with that, he dismissed her, taking another sip from the vial at his throat.
She descended the steps quickly, eager for silence and space.
She’d nearly made it down to the next flight when Kinlear called her name.
