“We have to move,” he said. “Now.”
“Move? Where? Are you—”
“There’s no time.” Taavin’s expression darkened. “The trial ended and your father will be put to death tomorrow.”
It was her worst nightmare come to life. This was the reason she hadn’t wanted to come here.
“If we hadn’t—”
“Spare me.” Taavin glowered at her. After the events earlier, it now seemed the rift between them spread both ways. “It doesn’t matter I brought him here—none of this matters. I know now how to rekindle the flame and stand against Raspian.”
“What do we have to do?” Vi asked softly. No matter the tension between them, it seemed they could still work toward this singular, common good. Perhaps when the world was saved, they could solve the rest—if things didn’t become too broken between them along the way.
“Follow me.”
Vi did, into the hallway and up the spiral stair that led to the walkway to the archives. As they crossed, Vi could hear noise and commotion growing. They were making preparations to kill her father. Vi didn’t have to walk up to the railing and look down to confirm it. She felt the dark truth in the air itself.
“Through here.” Taavin pushed on the same trap door Vi had used. “The Swords are patrolling the Archives. They expect you to try to escape.”
Vi moved quickly and quietly, not arguing. She wriggled through the narrow tunnel and into the passage where she could stand. A small flame appeared over her shoulder, illuminating them both.
“What have you figured out?” Vi asked over her shoulder.
“I was right—the traveler was right. The watch was the key to everything.”
“But—”
“Quiet,” he interrupted with a whisper. “Don’t talk here, it’s not safe.” They continued walking upward in silence, Vi’s nerves setting her hands to quivering. The shakes only stopped when Taavin’s firm grasp wrapped around her closed fist. “Wait here. Let me go ahead and make sure Ulvarth hasn’t decided to pay me a visit.”
Vi pressed herself against the wall to let him pass. They were practically stepping on each other’s toes and his chest slid across hers. She wondered if his heart was beating just as hard as hers, or if she only imagined feeling it through the thin fabric of the Lark robes she wore.
He disappeared in the darkness and Vi remained leaning against the wall, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The one good thing about everything happening all at once was that she didn’t have time to think or worry about any one thing. She needed to save her father, save the world, rekindle the flame… all while continuing to navigate the strained relationship between her and Taavin. She was so focused on surviving that she didn’t have time to be afraid.
At least, until moments like this, when she was still and waiting.
Unfocusing her eyes, Vi looked to the flame dancing over her shoulder, the one that had been lighting her way. She scratched at her bandages; the wounds were constantly itchy now. Vi tried to keep her mind on the tangible so it didn’t get too worked up over the possible horrors emerging from the shadows around her.
But it was Taavin who appeared next. Not a Sword. Not Ulvarth himself.
“Well? How does it look?”
“Safe, for now. Let’s hurry.”
Taavin started off into the darkness once more and Vi followed behind him. She paused, turning slowly. Their interaction was seared into her memory.
She’d seen it before, Vi realized with a sense of growing dread. It wasn’t bright in her memory because it had just happened. It was seared in her memory because—
“Taavin!” she hissed, grabbing his arm. Her words burst forth as fast as her heartbeat. “I’ve seen this before. My first vision… Here…” Vi looked down at her clothes, the simple, drab robes—the cowl—the bandages over her wrists and hands. “We haven’t changed anything.” Her eyes darted back up to him.
“We haven’t changed anything,yet.” Taavin pulled his arm from her grasp and took a full step away, as if to see her clearly. His eyes burned brighter than the flame at Vi’s side. They were wide enough to swallow her whole—the wide eyes of a fear Vi didn’t know if she had the strength to acknowledge. “That’s what we’re going to do now, tonight… We’re going to change this world.”
Vi nodded her head like she understood and when he continued into the darkness, she followed. It was possible he was leading her to a trap, Vi realized. He could be setting her up for yet another betrayal.
She swallowed. She didn’t want to trust him again. But if she couldn’t trust him, she had to trust the fact that he had just as much of a reason to want to fix their future as she did. She had to trust in mutual goals, if not in the man himself.
Up the ladder, Vi found out how Taavin had escaped.
“You broke the door.” She stared at the scattered splinters and the annihilated lock. “But Ulvarth—”
