“The scourge.” I’ve never seen it active before. It’s only ever lived in Mum’s stories and the Creed’s warnings.
“No.”Saipha turns away, covering her nose and mouth. “We shouldn’t be here. We need to leave.”
“Mercy Knights walk the ramparts above us. If it wasn’t safe at this distance, all of Vinguard would be dead,” I say to her back, eyes never leaving the jagged opening in the wall. My breath catches as I take in just how much scourge dust is here.
This is better than I could’ve hoped.
“Mercy Knights have been through the Tribunal. They know they’re not dragon cursed. This is why the wall exists, Isola—tokeep thatout. We shouldn’t be breathing it.”
I almost,almosttell her that everything the Creed has told her is wrong at best. A lie at worst. The Creed says that dragons are creatures of Ethershade—thewronghalf of Ether, the deadly kind. That they are born of the scourge. And to be cursed is to be susceptible to Ethershade to the point thatyouturn into one of the vicious, mindless beasts.
Except…to tell her that the Creed is wrong would be treason. So I keep my mouth shut, even though it kills me a little to see my friend so afraid.
Saipha, between the two of us, I’m the one who should be scared.
“Why don’t you see if you can find a way up?” I suggest.
“We should go backdown, Isola.”
I need her to not look at me for just a little bit longer. My hand is in my pocket, Mum’s sample jar in my grasp. I push a bit. “This is the last chance we’re going to have at this.”
“Only for three weeks, then we’ll be Mercy Knights, and we’ll walk the ramparts with our gildings and without fear,” she says, glancing over her shoulder.
“Assuming we get into Mercy.”
“Like we’re not getting into Mercy.” Saipha scoffs.
“Please? We could break our highest climb record if we go a little bit farther. Let’s just check if there’s any other way,” I beg.
“Fine, fine. But if I turn into a dragon because of Ethershade exposure, I’m eating you first,” Saipha grumbles and starts for one of the large chunks of rubble.
I take my chance.
Holding the small jar up to a narrow ledge of stone, I sweep a whole bunch of dust into the jar.To beat it, we must first understand it, I hear Mum saying with a note of pride as I do. She’s going to be ecstatic. This is more than I’ve ever been able to get before. Maybe enough for her to actually find a cure for thecurse.
It’s a foolish hope, I know. Even if this much scourge dust is what she’s missing to finish her research on the curse, there’s no chance she’d make a cure before the night is over. But, as I cork the small vial and stare at it for half a heartbeat, I feel lighter than I have in weeks.
For a second, I can almost ignore the little beetles that skitter under my skin and the thrumming in the back of my mind that threatens to grow into a pain that could make me want to split my skull in two.
“Are you going to help me or just stand there?” Saipha grumbles, straightening away from her inspection. I shove the jar in my pocket and turn, trying not to look as guilty as I am. Her brow furrows. “What do you have?”
What do I say?What do I say?I swallow hard and force myself to appear calm as I search for a response she’ll accept. There’s no excuse for touching anything on the outside of the wall.
“I—”
I’m interrupted by the sudden toll of bells. Dozens of them. All at the same time. They reverberate so loudly, the wall itself vibrates with every frantic toll.
Dragon attack.
3
A string of foul curses races off Saipha’s tongue faster than a Mercy Knight can fire a crossbow bolt.
A vast shadow sweeps across the opening, blotting out the sun. The air itself seems colder to the point that I wonder if it’s a blue dragon. Then, with a roar as our only warning, the dragon lands on the wall right above us.
I’m thrown off balance, arms pinwheeling.
“Isola!” Saipha shouts and lunges for me as the wall around us cracks and groans—threatening to give in under the weight of the beast. Her hand closes around mine.
