Aya frowned. ‘Evie banished the Decachiré.’
‘The gods banished the Decachiré. And the prophecy speaks nothing of it. It speaks of another who can master raw power so that the greatest wrong might be righted.’
More riddles. More semantics. More frustrations Aya did not have time for.
‘Is it true?’ she bit out, her fingers curling over the arms of her chair.
Natali gave a long sigh. ‘Perhaps.’ A raised brow at Aya. ‘Let’s see what you can do.’
33
Natali led them through the library and into another building of the Maraciana. ‘The Affinities Complex,’ was all they said. From what Aya could see, it looked like a school. There were various classrooms and training areas, with Visya involved in affinity exercises.
‘Some send their children here to study,’ Will murmured as they walked along the main hallway. ‘Others come here later in life to further their craft.’
‘You know a lot about the Saj of the Maraciana.’
Will just shrugged. ‘I’ve paid attention on my visits.’
Natali led them to a winding staircase, which they followed down so far that Aya’s head was spinning by the time they reached their destination. It looked like a dungeon – the cold, dark space long and uninviting. She suppressed a shudder as a chill crept over her. The hall was similar to the dungeons in the queen’s palace, the air damp. But there were no cells lining the stone walls, just rooms, and it was into one of these that Natali led them.
Aya’s eyes adjusted to the dim light of the lanterns that were already lit while Will huffed a laugh, glancing around the bare space. ‘You certainly have a flair for the dramatics, don’t you, Natali?’
‘We’re less likely to be interrupted here,’ they said as they shut the door. Their long pants swished against the stone floor as they moved to the center of the room. ‘It was my understanding you didn’t want news of your suspicions to get back to your hosts.’
Will muttered some response, but Aya could hardly hear him. Her gaze was fixed on the stone floor, the pattern an exact replica of the floors in Gianna’s prison. She curled her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Peace from the Divine, steady me.
‘Like all affinities, raw power was contained in a Visya’s well,’ Natali was saying. ‘But the prophecy says the Second shall mirror the First.Yourpower should match Evie’s. Practically limitless.’
Distantly, Aya could hear Tova’s screams. They rang in the back of her mind, a steady chorus to Natali’s continued instruction and the prayer she silently repeated. ‘We’ll know more once weseeit. In theory, pulling any affinity works the same. You’ll draw inward, from your well. Except your well is depthless.’
‘Aya,’ Will muttered. She shifted her gaze from the tiles to find him watching her. His brow furrowed at whatever he found on her face. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing,’ she lied. She rolled her shoulders back as she turned her attention to Natali.
‘Sense it,’ was all they said, motioning for her to begin.
Aya closed her eyes as she drew in a long breath. She had done these exercises as a child – looking inward, getting to know her well of power so intimately that reaching for it, pulling from it, was second nature.
It felt almost foolish now.
There was the surface of her well, smooth as glass and cold as ice.
‘Deeper,’ Natali commanded.
The screams were growing louder, their ringing like alarm bells in the back of her mind.
Aya broke the surface. Went even deeper.
Paused.
Because beneath that cold place she often settled into – beneath the lid she kept locked on herself so tightly …
It was a raging inferno.
Aya’s eyes flickered open. Will was still frowning, his face intent as he monitored her. She’d seen that look – it was the same look he’d worn on her doorstep thirteen years ago.
