She frowned but made no comment.
"I'm heading for the caves," she said after a moment.
I nodded and fell in beside her as we both waded into the crowd on our way toward the cavesPrimawanted to meet in. Wide eyed stares met us as we passed, refugees jumping to the side to admit the giant, prowlingZverat our backs. But Phantom only padded along behind us, not so much as glancing at the displaced citizens around him. Did he know who they were, that he'd helped rescue them? Was there an intelligence behind those eyes that I thought I'd glimpsed so long ago or was he simply a pet doing as his master commanded?
“You stayed with her,”Kseniaspoke as we walked.
“She needed me,” I replied, pretending that statement wasn’t as complicated as it really was.
“And she still does,”Kseniamurmured. The obvious attempt at keeping her voice low had me glancing over to her. “Sanctuary wasn’t like it was when you two left it. There’s been some infighting and these people…let’s just say there’s been some talkamongstthe warriors who freed them. As shocked as they were to see us, they might have been a little too willing to leave their homes and everything they’ve ever known behind.”
I frowned, glancing back at my home city’s refugees as they stared back at me, glassy eyed and not fully coherent. What had happened to them?
I was determined to find out.
Chapter Forty-Six
Adrian
“We will send them to their gods. Then, finally, we will freely worship our own.”
— As Spoken by Wisteria Sallow, Leader of the Origin of Divine Cult
Zya found me in the wagon, holding onto my brother and crying, unwilling to let go of him for fear that if I did we would be separated again. She introduced herself awkwardly and then informed me Darius and Roxy were waiting by their tent. I nodded and rose on shaking legs. Warren helped me find my footing, frowning at my apparent weakness and silently scanning me for injury. He wouldn’t find one. My injuries were all on the inside.
I followed Warren andZyaout of the wagon, rubbing my chest absentmindedly as I went. There was a void there where the darkness had been. It wasn’t totally empty. The corruption was still inside of me, I could feel it roiling and churning, simmering just beneath the surface. But a substantial piece of it seemed to be missing. And though I knew it could grow again to that mass I'd released against theGeist’swards around Sanctuary, I foundmyself missing that part now. It gnawed at me like the feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when you were so hungry you’d become hollow inside. It was a physical pain, reminding me how vital it was that I recovered what I'd used, that I replaced that missing piece. I would. But for now I settled into what I had left, letting the dark coax and cool me once again. Smoke flowed from my fingertips freely now, wrapping my arms, chest, and legs in delicate wisps.
“They weren’t kidding,” someone spoke and I opened my eyes, having not realized I’d closed them, to find my brother staring at me in awe. There was shock there and an amazement I'd never seen my brother look at me with before. It made me want to turn away, to hide what I truly was from him so we could go back to the familiar banter and teasing which had always been between us before.
He lifted my arm and stared at the shadows twirling around it.
“How?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered with a shrug and it was mostly the truth. “They seem to have a mind of their own.”
His eyes met mine and there was so much love, so much awe in them, I nearly collapsed into him again. But he let his fingers slip to mine, holding my hand as we strode through the crowd towardArchí.
“I can’t believe you freed Sanctuary,” he whispered, reverence in his tone. “I can’t believe you came back for us.”
“I would never leave you behind, Warren,” I told him. “I would never abandon my family. I came for you as soon as I could.”
“I know.”
He squeezed my fingers.
“Where’s Maurice?” I asked. “And mom? Dahlia?”
He frowned but regained his smile so quickly I might have missed it if I didn’t know him as well as I did. That action alone had me panicking before he even spoke.
“A lot has happened since you left, Adrian,” he said slowly. My heart thumped against my chest as my stomach bottomed out. “Things aren’t the same as they used to be. We had to make some difficult choices and Maurice, well, he might not be the same as you remember. Dahlia either. And mom…”
“What?” I whispered, desperate. “What about mom, Warren?”
“She took it hard when you left,” he admitted, blowing out a breath. “And then everything happened and she just…be patient with her, okay? She isn’t the same and she has reason to be…the way she is.”
I blinked at him, mouth opening again to ask more. I needed to know more. But we were interrupted by a familiar warrior.
“Primacalled a meeting in the caves,” Rainier spat as he passed, hisZverprowling along behind him. “She wants you there. Let’s go.”
