But here was the mountain face that they’d traversed down—that sharp decline that had thrown her headfirst into the wall of the wagon. It seemed the palace, or whatever the king wished to call this structure, was built near the bottom of a mountain gap. She could see at least two bridges extending between the two jagged faces, connecting one side to another. A deep cavern continued to stretch on below them, a pit of darkness yawning into the abyss.
It reminded her of the Maraciana, but as though it had been placed in the bowels of the seventh layer of the hells.
The door behind her clicked open, drawing her attention back into the room. Evie stood bathed in the soft gray light, her hands clasped in front of her. She nodded toward the table, the ornate rug beneath it muffling her footsteps as she made her way to it and drew out a chair.
“Quite a long deliberation,” Aya mused as she settled down into her own seat.
Evie placed her palms on the oak surface, her head tilting as she considered her. “With such a drastic change in loyalties, surely you did not expect us to make rash decisions. Besides, there was information to be gleaned from the Midlands spies.”
The shudder that snaked down Aya’s spine at the thought of Evie’s favored methods for questioning was unavoidable,but that didn’t make her loathe it any less. It would take her body time to stop remembering the pain of her torture, to stop reacting as if it were just around the corner.
Time she likely didn’t have.
Evie marked her reaction instantly, a cold smile flashing across her face. She leaned back in her chair, one leg crossing over the other as she drummed her fingers on the table.
She looked nothing like the late queen, and yet Aya couldn’t help but see Gianna in Evie’s mannerisms. Had Aya ever known her queen without Evie’s influence? Or had the saint—the demigod—already taken up residence in her mind permanently?
“I must say,” Evie began, “I was surprised at your proclamation. Of course, I had hoped our efforts would wear you down, but I did have my doubts that you would break.”
Aya didn’t bother to hold Evie’s gaze. Her eyes fixed on a scratch in the worn wooden table, her nail digging into the groove of it. “Everything breaks in the end,” she murmured.
“Maybe so,” Evie mused, “but how do we make sure?” She drew her hands into her lap, her back straight and chin high.A queen without a throne, Aya thought distantly.
“I could have a Sensainos rip the truth out of you, I suppose,” Evie continued thoughtfully. “Or I could do it myself.”
Aya pressed her palms flat onto the table. “Do what you must,” she replied evenly. “My answer will remain the same.”
“What brought me your forgiveness?” Evie wondered.
Finally, Aya brought herself to meet her stare. Evie’s dark hair shone in the soft light bleeding through the windows. It brought to mind another head of raven strands, shining in the sun while she stood by Will’s side on the edge of the Wall.
Aya blinked the dream away.
“I don’t forgive you,” Aya confessed, her voice strengthening as the truth bled into her words. “You killed my bestfriend right before my eyes. Not to mention the countless other atrocities you’ve committed.”
“So why help me then?”
Aya sat back in her seat, the hard wood digging into her back. “Being here has given me time to think, among other things. Whathasabiding by the gods ever done for me? They weren’t there when my mother died. They did not stop my father and me from falling into poverty. They did not keep me from a vicious queen’s grasp. Nor yours. They killed their own, and they did not stop her from seeking revenge by bestowing power on an unsuspecting girl.”
Evie pursed her lips as she turned over Aya’s words. “An accident,” she corrected, “but point taken.”
Aya did not care if it was an accident or not. It had brought her here, and she would use what she had been given to put an end to this.
Even if it meant destroying herself in the process.
“Helping you, though it brings me no pleasure, serves my own goals,” Aya finally answered. “What was it you said?Vengeance is a powerful motivator.”
Evie laughed, the sound cold and sharp. “I still don’t see how this is supposed to help me trust you.”
“I don’t need you to trust me,” Aya admitted with a small shrug. “I certainly don’t trust you. But you can’t do what you need to do without me. And I can’t do what I need to do withoutyou.”
Aya’s head felt clearer than it had in ages. Perhaps that’s what came with finally making her choice. But Evie remained skeptical, a small frown wrinkling the space between her brows.
“And what of the precious realm you sought to protect? What of the innocents that you screamed at Gianna to save just two months ago?”
Two months.
The realization ripped Aya’s breath from her so viciously,she was afraid she might choke. Evie wasn’t subtle with the way her power wrapped around her, sensing for Aya’s truth.
