“Why?”
“I’m walking the razor’s edge of fate and the only way we’re all getting out of this alive is if I have as much control as possible,” Vi said confidently, perhaps more confidently than she felt. “I don’t need more variables I can’t control complicating an already-complicated situation. You’re the only one in this world who knows who I am. I don’t want to regret that trust.”
“Not even Fiera?” Deneya had a look of genuine surprise.
“No.” Though Vi suspected Fiera had some inkling of what Vi was, even if she didn’t have the words to describe it. “Do I have your word?”
“On one condition.”
“I don’t remember this turning into a negotiation.” Vi folded her arms over her chest.
“It’s not every day I get to negotiate with the agent of a goddess.” Deneya smirked and swung her eyes to Taavin. “You seem to know so much. Perhaps you know what I’m about to barter for?”
“It varies.” Taavin’s answer only seemed to unnerve Deneya more. She stared at him for another long second, but abandoned whatever thought she had as she looked back to Vi.
“You give me no reason to suspect you’re up to anything. No funny business. Be on your best behavior.” Deneya’s attention turned to the sword. “And that… I don’t know what it is you intend to do with it. But if you’re seeking it out, you must have some plan for it. Whatever that is, you don’t get to act until you tell me. I’m on this Yargen-forsaken rock to watch over those weapons and the tomb. So if you do something with the sword—or any other weapon—you’re right in the line of my duty.”
Vi looked back to the sword, then Taavin. He had told her they needed to act slowly and be cautious. Making this promise to Deneya seemed in line with that objective. Vi also couldn’t make her play on the sword until after Fiera’s wedding.
“Fine, I accept your deal,” Vi said casually, trying not to convey any hesitation or doubt. The Champion wouldn’t waver. She had to be steadfast in her decisions.
“Good, because I’m tired and desperately want to go to bed and find out this was all a bad dream.” Deneya yawned for emphasis. “When I see you tomorrow, it should go without saying, none of this happened.” Vi locked eyes with the woman and gave a small nod. Deneya returned it, stepped backward, and uttered, “Wein.”
A glyph shot out from her midsection. Splitting into two, one rose vertically to the crown of her head and the other dropped to her feet. The two circles of light faded as they swirled around Deneya, as though they were wrapping her up in a magic casement. Power glittered across her skin as she stepped back through Fiera’s flames unharmed.
“Wein,” Vi repeated thoughtfully. Just like Taavin’s word,uncose, it did nothing for her.
“She received that word from Yargen before she came to the Dark Isle. It acts like a personal shield from attack. It’s most like what you know as Groundbreakers’ stone skin,” Taavin said factually, as though it were obvious.
“If you know so much, why didn’t you warn me she was coming?” Vi rounded on him.
“I didn’t think it’d happen so soon.” He lifted up his hands defensively. “Perhaps it’s your recklessness that’s speeding things up. Recklessness… like summoning me to appear before her.”
Vi cursed under her breath, working to calm the spark crackling up her spine. “I didn’t know what else to do. And when I figured out she was from Meru, I just thought…” Vi shook her head, feeling the spark abate. “I don’t know what I thought.”
“I’m sorry for snapping, too.” Taavin heard the apology in her tone. His hands clasped over her shoulders. “This is exactly what I’m trying to protect you from—what I was telling you earlier. There isvariance. Very few things are perfectly identical in any of these recreated worlds. Even though there are stones in the river, the little leaves bob and sway along the water’s currents—each acting according to its own will.”
“Even so, you could’ve told me it was going to happen eventually. You could’ve prepared me so I wasn’t caught off-guard.”
“Foremost, I didn’t think it’d happen for weeks yet. And truly, I didn’t see how it would have helped you any. I couldn’t give you specifics even if I wanted to. Maybe you would’ve had this confrontation in a council room after everyone had dispersed. Or on a training field. Or in a hall one night on your way here.” He spoke with such certainty that Vi had no doubt all of those things had, at some point, happened. “All I would’ve accomplished by telling you would have been putting you on edge nearly all the time.”
“I want to know,” Vi insisted. “You want to know what I do in this timeline? I need to know what I’vedone.”
“I don’t want you to act rashly.” He smiled tenderly. But Vi only felt more frustrated. “Take things slowly. We’ll figure out the best way to take the sword when the time is right.”
When would the time be right: before or after Fiera’s death?
Vi kept the question to herself. She didn’t want to worry him more. And there was only so much she could accomplish in one night. It had been a long few days, and she was very tired.
“Very well,” Vi agreed finally. “I trust you.”
“And I trust you.” He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. It was little more than the ghost of warmth. “Now, go rest. I can feel your exhaustion.”
Vi nodded and released the glyphs.
“Do you trust me?” she whispered to the empty air. If he trusted her, he would arm her with information. But all Vi was getting were crumbs and a heavy dose of skepticism from him; should he give her anything more, she’d take it and run head-first into the end of the world.
Chapter Thirteen
