The comparison struck like a spear to the chest, and Selene gave a hard kick under the water, bouncing her higher. “You?—”
“Shut up,” Petrina snarled. “That bitch was obsessed with these symbols. Ihave eyes. I know what they are. Did you honestly think you could get one over on me?Why are we here?”
Selene’s mind swam, both awakened yet clouded by information that was too murky to decipher. She recognized the symbols, though she couldn’t read them, nor had she expected to find them. Similar markings were inside the Ethereal Mountain. Words—stories—carved by ancient wisdom centuries ago.
But they were just etchings in stone. They didn’t speak to her. These hadn’t been her stories to tell. They didn’t feel alive or spark memory.
Not like the statue at the bottom of the pool, or in the words riding the wind. The earth itself called to her through its roots and the rustle of leaves, and there was a part of her soul unraveling at its presence.
Waking up.
Selene made her way to the clothes she’d laid out to dry, now slightly damp.
Petrina appeared, water weeping from her tan skin, just as Selene pulled her shirt over her head. “Don’t think for a second I’m letting this go. I know you’re one of them.”
She froze mid-reach for her boots. “One of who?”
Petrina’s hands went to her bare hips. “I was all over that mountain with Alexandra. I’ve seen the symbols. I’ve heard the translations.” She took another step closer. “The people with one blue eye and one brown. Alexandra wants what you and Augustus have: eternal life.”
Selene sank back. All this time, she thought she was the one holding back a lot of information, but it turned out that Petrina was holding back more. “What else do you know?”
“I know that the Drynopian people vanished, and I know Alexandra was half-mad about a prophecy on a wall with her likeness on it. She thought Xavlin would gift her with eternal life.”
Icy dread coiled in her stomach. “Xavlin?”
The god-eater. The Vimyrian god who nearly erased all of existence in his efforts to gain power.
“Yes, you stupid bitch,” Petrina said, snatching her own clothes up. “I want nothing to do with this. I’m leaving.” She shoved her legs into her pants. “Don’t for one second think I won’t leave you behind.”
Before long, Petrina was stomping through the forest, swatting at low-hanging branches, muttering curses under her breath.
Selene ran after her, heart racing. “I didn’t know Xavlin was connected to any of this. I swear it.”
“But you knew about this place. Don’t deny it.”
She reached Petrina’s side and matched her pace. “I think you might know more than me, to be honest. I didn’t know the people had a name until just now, and I don’t know why they vanished. I don’t know why Augustus and I were left behind.” She took Petrina by the elbow and stopped her. “I can’t explain it, but…I need answers. Wouldn’t you?”
Petrina let loose a thin breath. “I know what it’s like to have no idea who your people are, who your family is. I admit I’m curious, but they left a helpless baby behind for a bit of coin. Whoever they are, they’re not worth knowing, no matter their name or circumstance.”
Selene heard the pain in Petrina’s words, but also the resolve. The woman would always look forward. Never back.
Selene didn’t have that luxury. “When we were last in the mountain, I had this…memory—I don’t know what else to call it. I chose to split off from these people. I chose Augustus over them.”
“Then there must be a damn good reason why.”
If only that were all. Now that she knew Xavlin was connected, Selene might agree to drop this and move on. But to what? A lifetime of questions and feelings she can’t name?
“I’ll go,” Selene said, “if you can tell me why the island speaks to me. It seems…happy I’m here.”
Petrina drew back. “What?”
“Do you know why I’m sensing the souls of unborn children back in Praevia?”
“No.” Petrina swallowed deeply. “Maybe you’re imagining things.”
“I need answers, and I don’t know of anywhere else to get them. Do you?”
Petrina appeared to shore up, eventually shaking her head, then starting off again. “This path you’re on drove Alexandra half-mad, and weboth know that she was already mad to begin with. I can’t go through this again.”
