Zephyrus pinches my side. “Block it out,” he barks, and comes alive, half dragging me toward the glow of the entrance.
Zephyrus.A slow croon.Why do you flee?
“Faster,” gasps the West Wind.
The air thickens with a haze, yet we push forward, quickening our footsteps.
“My lady,” Thyamine whimpers.
A dart of pain lances down my back from the effort of supporting Zephyrus’ weight. I can’t stand against a god. Neither can Thyamine. Only a god can stand against a god.
“You have powers,” I snap to Zephyrus. “Use them!”
Something lethal narrows his gaze. Pushing away from me, he says, “Get to the entrance. I’ll catch up.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. Thyamine and I scramble to safety as stone cracks from the force of an otherworldly scream. A glance over my shoulder reveals Zephyrus with his bow, the arrow glowing a bright emerald. He shoots, and the arrow hits a bulked, shadowy figure. A roar shakes the cave.
The West Wind sends a warm breeze at my heels, lifting me far ahead, out of reach of the primordial god’s wrath. We burst from the mouth of the cave and follow Mnemenos’ serpentine form south, where the Deadlands shallow out.
Eventually, Zephyrus pants, “We’re safe. He won’t emerge from his cave during daylight hours.”
My knees hit the ground, and sweat slithers down my temples. “I didn’t get the poppies,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I put them in my pocket, but they were gone when I woke.”
Zephyrus shakes his head. The strain around his mouth deepens. “It’s not your fault. I should have been more careful around Sleep. I underestimated how quickly he would act.”
What now? Without the poppies, Zephyrus will be unable to make the sleeping draught. We can’t move forward. We can’t return to the cave. It’s possible he could obtain the poppies via other means, but there’s no guarantee.
“My lady?” Thyamine’s stocking-clad legs enter my line of sight.
I glance up. Opening her hand, she reveals the crushed red petals of the poppy flowers, her smile wide and buoyant.
The relief is so monumental I know my knees would have given out had they not already done so. “How…?”
“I saw Sleep take them from your pocket. I’m not sure what they are for, but they looked important, so I picked more flowers from the garden before going to search for you.”
I’m honestly speechless. “You did it, Thyamine. Thank you.” Never again would I think her incompetent.
“Much appreciated.” Zephyrus plucks the petals from her palm and tucks them into his coat pocket. “It will take a few weeks to brew the tonic,” he says. “Once it’s complete, I’ll find you, and together, we’ll put an end to winter at last.”
22
NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT DOORS.
The south wing contains nine hundred and forty-eight doors, and I’ve explored them all.
Three weeks I’ve spent searching, mapping, questioning,hoping. I’ve swam in warm lagoons with clear waters. I’ve visited towns of splendor, with colorful scarves and flags hanging from strings crisscrossed between buildings. I’ve spent evenings perched atop mountains, the stars as my witness. I’ve returned to the cobblestoned city streets to visit the theater not once, but thrice. And yet, no door has led me back to the Gray. Freedom, as usual, eludes me.
“Patience,” I mutter, loosening my grip around the map I carry.
The four wings of the citadel converge in its center, a crossroads where I now stand. A few soldiers guard the north wing, but I ignore them as I cross to the east wing, slipping the map into my coat pocket. Yet another long day ahead of me, but it is early yet. I begin with the door at the end of the hall. With a push against the carved handle, the door opens, and I step inside.
The door snicks shut, enfolding me in utter quiet.
It’s a library.
A place to sit. A place to read, to rest. A place to think, a place to learn, a place to go inside oneself. Long ago, when the realm wasstill known as the Green, there was talk of great cities whose libraries housed vast repositories of knowledge, open to anyone who visited.
This library houses three stories of bookshelves that hug curving walls, a fluid, architectural wonder. Wheeled ladders offer assistance with accessing the taller shelves, and to my right, a spiral staircase leads to another level above.
