Chapter 23
Nyssa
Iwake to Dreven hovering over me. He’s a silhouette in the street light, all sharp edges and quiet intent. I blink and push upright with a groan.
“How long?” I rasp.
“Three hours, fifty-eight minutes,” he says. “I gave you longer than we should have. I’m merciful.”
“Debatable.” I swing my legs out of the bed. Everything inside me hums—calmer, anchored—but the Crown curls in my bones, the serpent unravelling from its slumber.
Dreven’s gaze skims my face. “Food. Tea. Then we go.”
“Okay.” I scrub a hand over my face, stand, grabbing my blade.
In the kitchen, Dastian passes me a fresh tea with zero commentary. He just meets my eyes and nods, and that’s somehow worse.
“Coil’s tighter,” Voren says. “We need to move.”
I drain the tea, grab a slice of toast, and chew like it’s fuel. “Right. Let’s box a monster.”
“Before we go, we think the Devourer has taken over Tabitha,” Dreven says.
I freeze. “When?”
“Hard to say. But let’s assume it knows everything.”
“Is that why she pulled us out of the Pantheon yesterday?”
“Possibly.”
“Then we dismissed her,” Voren adds. “It is not going to be happy.”
“So how do we avoid it pulling us back out again?” I ask with a frown.
“You tell the Pantheon realm that no one recalls you.”
“I tell the realm?”
“You are its ruler,” Dreven reminds me with a smile that is less happy and more sinister.
“Ruler in name only,” I point out. “It doesn’t know me.”
“It will. When we get there, inform it of its duty to protect you.”
“I have a small concern,” I say, moving on rapidly. “The ex-First slayers were the ones who sealed the Pantheon to begin with. What if they do it again while we are inside?”
“The problem with that is that you will be immortalised and will never die,” Dastian says. “The slayer line will never pass on, and they will never get a chance to rebuild their syphon if the magic can’t find you.”
I gulp. “You think they are rebuilding it?”
“Without a doubt.”
“And they can’t do that if they lock us in the Pantheon?”
“No.”
“Okay.” I feel somewhat reassured. I’m still not one hundred per cent convinced, but it will have to do. I can’t go there worrying about the door slamming shut behind us. I grab my boots and shove them on, pulling the laces tight. “If they lock the door, at least I won’t have to worry about paying rent in BlackFen Edge.”
