“In other words,” said Séverin slowly, “you think this might be telling us that looking through a Horus Eye reveals a Babel Fragment.”
5
SÉVERIN
Séverin stared at the luminous dark of the Eye of Horus. In that second, the air smelled metallic. He could almost see it. Gray rippling the sky as if it were hectic with fever. Fanged teeth of light flashing in the clouds—a taunt to snap. This realization felt like watching a storm. He couldn’t stop what would come next.
And he didn’t want to.
When he first heard about the compass, he imagined it would lead them to the lost treasure of the Fallen House, the only cache of treasure that the Order would do anything to possess. But this… this was like reaching for a match only to come out holding a torch. The Order had covered up their hunt for Horus Eyes, and now he knew why. If someone found the West’s Fragment, they could disrupt all Forging not just in France, but Europe, for without a Fragment to power the art of Forging, civilizations died. And while the Order might know the Horus Eye’s secret, the rest of the world didn’t. Including many colonial guilds that had been forced into hiding by the Order. Guilds whose knowledge of the Babel Fragments’ innerworkings rivaled the Order’s. Séverin could only imagine what they’d do to get their hands on this information, and what the Order would do to keep it from them.
“We’re not…” Enrique couldn’t finish his sentence. “Right?”
“You can’t be serious,” said Laila. She was pinching the tips of her fingers repeatedly, a nervous habit of hers. When she was unhappily distracted, she couldn’t touch an object without accidentally reading it and the whole world became dangerously visible to her. When she was blissfully distracted, though, the rest of the world disappeared. Something he couldn’t quite forget. “This couldkillus.”
Séverin didn’t meet Laila’s gaze, but he could feel her dark eyes pinning him. He looked only to Tristan, his brother in everything but blood. In the dark, he seemed younger than his sixteen years. Memory bit into Séverin. The two of them crouched behind a rosebush, thorns ripping at the soft skin of their necks, their hands clutching each other’s while the father they called Wrath screamed their names. Séverin opened and closed his hand. A long, silver scar ran down his right palm and caught the light. Tristan had a matching one.
“Are you?” asked Tristan softly. “Serious?”
All this time, they’d been after an artifact that would be a bargaining chip to the Order. An artifact that would force the Order to restore his lost inheritance. Instead, he had information that was either a dream or a death sentence… depending on how he played this game. Séverin reached for his tin of cloves.
“I don’t know enough to be serious,” he said carefully. “But I’d like to know enough to have options.”
Tristan swore under his breath. The others looked shocked, even Zofia blankly stared into her lap.
“This information is dangerous,” said Tristan. “We’d be better off if you just threw the compass at House Nyx’s door.”
“Dangerous, yes, but the most rewarding things are,” said Séverin.“I’m not saying we approach the Order tomorrow and tell them we’ve got hold of one of their secrets. I have no intention to rush anything.”
Enrique snorted. “Slow and painful death is far better than getting it over with quickly, sure.”
Séverin rose to his feet. For a decision like this, he didn’t want to be eye level. He wanted them to look up. They did.
“Think about what this could mean for us. It could bring us everything we wanted.”
Enrique dragged his palm down his face. “You know how moths look at a fire and think, ‘Oooh! shiny!’ and then die in a burst of flames and regret?”
“Vaguely.”
“Right. Just checking to be sure.”
“What about Hypnos?” asked Laila.
“What about him?”
“You don’t think he’ll notice what went missing? He has quite the reputation for… zealousness when it comes to his possessions. And what if heknowswhat the compass really contained?”
“I doubt it,” said Séverin.
“You don’t think he could figure it out?” asked Laila.
“He can’t. He doesn’t have you.” When Laila’s eyes widened, he caught himself and gestured to the whole group: “Allof you.”
“Awww…” said Enrique. “What a sweet sentiment. I shall take it to my grave. Literally.”
“Besides, Zofia and Enrique made a perfect fake artifact. There’s no way Hypnos can trace it back to us.”
Enrique sighed. “God, I’m brilliant.”
