Aya’s stomach clenched as the door opened and Gianna stepped into the dungeon, her brown eyes alert as they swept the space. The High Priestess followed, her steps swift, likely here to read Aya her final passage of the Conoscenza before her soul departed this realm.
Aya would not be greeted by Saudra in the Beyond. She knew that now.
‘Release her,’ Gianna commanded, her voice firm.
It seemed the queen wouldn’t even bother to use her Enforcer, Aya thought. Not after what happened in the market. Perhaps she’d be sentenced to death immediately.
Will’s fingers slowly uncurled from Aya’s arm as Gianna stopped before them. ‘The ship is waiting at the docks.’
Ship?
Was she to be exiled rather than killed? Could the gods truly be so merciful?
Gianna grabbed Aya’s left hand, her soft skin cold in the dank air of the dungeon.
Aya braced herself for the sting of the knife, for that scar to be dug out of her palm as a marker of her treason. But then—
‘My gods.’
Gianna’s voice was soft; almost reverent. Her eyes were wet as she dragged her gaze from Aya’s palm to the priestess. ‘It’s true. The Divine have not forsaken us.’
Hyacinth stepped forward at the words, and Aya repressed a shiver as she ran a finger over where the scar of oath had been, her face contemplative beneath her veil.
‘Born anew,’ the priestess breathed. ‘It’s begun.’
Aya blinked, the words taking a moment to register. She felt Will stiffen beside her, his arm shifting where it pressed against hers.
‘What … what are you saying?’ Aya finally managed.
‘Aya,’ Gianna said, squeezing her hand, eyes shining as she stared at her, ‘darkness has begun to rise. And the Conoscenza states that when it does …’
A second of her kind will rise, born anew.
Aya swallowed, her heart racing so quickly her chest ached.
Surely Gianna couldn’t possibly believe …
The prophecy called for a saint. And Aya …
She glanced to Will, who remained at her shoulder. His feet were braced, his shoulders square and gaze unfeeling as he stared at Gianna. But she could feel the way the muscles in his arm were coiled, as if he were waiting to strike.
‘We have been waiting for such a sign,’ Gianna was saying, her voice sounding muffled against the roaring in Aya’s head. ‘And when William described your power …’
‘The Conoscenza,’ Aya breathed, hardly listening. ‘The Conoscenza says …’
‘That “when darkness arises, the one the gods have chosen will be born anew, with the power to right the greatest wrong”,’ Hyacinth finished for her. ‘Not even a healer can remove the scar from a blood oath. You are unmarked, child.’
Aya could feel her pulse beating in her throat.
A mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake.
Tell them.
Gianna squeezed Aya’s hand again, as if sensing her doubt. ‘Your pain from the Athatis, your bruises … gone too, yes?’
Tell them why it can’t be you.
It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be.
