35
I blink. Then blink again. Andagain.
Mum is sitting on my bed as though this is all perfectly normal. She stands with a slight smile.
“I’m not an illusion or a dream or an imposter,” Mum says softly, clearly understanding why I’m blinking over and over. “I wouldn’t linger with the door open, though. You never know who might be listening or watching. The walls have eyes here, Isola.”
Even though she says this isn’t a dream, it feels like one. My body is disconnected from my mind. My spirit has flown away. Even as I ease the door shut and the latch engages with a softclick, the movements barely register. All I hear is blood rushing through my ears as my heart pounds.
This is bad. This is bad. This is so very,verybad, every beat says.
Mum should not be here. And I shudder to think of what they’ll do to her if she is found.
“What…are you doing here?” My voice is so tight that the words are barely audible.
“What else? I’m here for you.”
She looks older than I remember, worn down. Her cheeks are a bit hollow and eyes a bit listless. There’s a grayness to her skin that has never been there before. It’s only been about a week since I last saw her, though, so it must be a trick of the lighting.
“You can’t be here.” I say the obvious, struggling to find words.
“I know. Why do you think I sneaked in?”
My eyes dart to the door, as if the inquisitors will come rushing in at any second, and then back to her. “Are you trying to get yourself killed? No, really. Are you?”
“Isola—”
“You are risking not only your fate but mine.” I press a hand to my chest. “If they find you here with me, what do you think they’ll do to me?”
Hurt flashes through her eyes, but Mum keeps her composure. It’s not the first time she’s held herself together as I’ve lashed out. Hopefully, it won’t be the last. “And what do you think they’ll do to you if you finally collapse? If it comes to light that their great ‘Valor Reborn’ is not as legendary as they all think? They’re already asking dangerous questions, Isola. Do you want to give them room to ask more?”
Her question stings like scourge in my throat.
She takes a step closer. “I’m here because I care for you. Because—as much as I wish it wasn’t the case—you have been declared their foretold savior. I know how long it’s been since you last had a dose, what happened today, and how much Etherlight you drew. You need this.” Mum reaches into the pocket of the threadbare robes she wears and produces a small vial. It’s a shade of crimson that was always unnerving but palatable when I considered its benefits.
I reach for the vial. “You…brought me a tincture?”
“I told you I would.”
“Is it the new formula?” I dare ask, hope flickering back to life in me from embers I long thought dead.
“It is.” Two words, but she might as well have said,You can survive this.
“Thank you,” I whisper, clutching it tightly.
Weariness softens her face at the appreciation in my tone, but her eyes sharpen. “But listen to me, Isola. It is no longer safe for me.” She swallows hard, but it’s the only sign of uncertainty. “The vicar is making moves.”
“What kind of moves?” A thousand ideas dance across my mind like a thousand magic blades danced under my skin at hiscommand hours earlier.
“I fear he wants me gone. For good.”
My stomach drops. “Gone?”Oh, so she is actually trying to get herself killed.
She cups my face and kisses my brow. I lean into it like a child, though terror grips me.
“The vicar is fighting for absolute control,” she whispers. “He’s been playing the long game. Now that you’re in here and on your way to the Mercy Knights, he doesn’t need me to hold over you any longer for your compliance. Your path is set.”
“You knew,” I breathe. “You knew the threats he made about you the whole time.”
