No matter how the light and shadows shift.
The storm around us slowly calmed as Aleks and I turned to face the blindfolded woman, our magic fading but our fingers still laced together.
The woman held up the first dagger.
Truth spoken.
The black dagger followed, clasped in her other hand.
Truth accepted.
She held the blades up as if comparing their weight, balancing them on a scale. An eerie sound funneled toward us, like wind howling through a narrow mountain pass, and a door I hadn’t noticed before slid open on the opposite side of the room, revealing a smaller inner sanctum. There were words carved on its walls, too, but they seemed to be vows, not confessions.
In the very center of the room stood a large, deep basin of stone. My heart skipped several beats as I realized it was the very same one I’d seen in my vision from the sentier—except it was drained of the turquoise water that had once filled it.
Cautiously, we approached it.
And there, resting at the bottom, was the piece of soul we’d come to collect.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Nova
“If looks could kill, that soul shard would be obliterated by now,” Zayn said from his perch on the cushioned window seat of the parlor.
I blinked, dragging my stare away from the shard in question, which I’d spent the past hour trying to divine visions from. This was my fourth attempt in as many days, and they’d all been unsuccessful.
“I’m just…frustrated,” I muttered.
Phantom, who had been keeping watch by the door, padded over and shoved his head under my hand.
I absently scratched his favorite spot between his tapered ears as I said, “The last one yielded so easily. It gave me such a clear vision of Lorien—a better understanding of him. I was hoping to continue putting the puzzle together.”
Zayn picked through the platter of fruit and cheese beside him, popping a grape into his mouth. “Do we honestlywantto get to know the man better? You’ve met the guy. I’ve met the guy.I’m still not convinced that there’s any vision you could have that would change my perception of him as a monumental bastard.”
I absently ran my fingers over the scars in my palm—a lasting reminder of the words I’d carved into the Chamber of Echoes.
Four days since our ordeal. And every night, I’d woken up from nightmares of blood in my palm and words burning on the walls all around me.
Aleks had been there to comfort me, at least; we were back on speaking—and sleeping—terms, the vows we’d put forth in that chamber of truth helping to mend what had started to fracture between us. But things were still strained. He still kept to himself more than I would have liked, even if I understood his need for space. And we still had far too many questions about what lay ahead.
“I just feel like the truth is more complicated than we previously thought,” I said, looking back to the shard.
What had Lorien carved into the walls of that chamber?
What other truths were we missing about him?
“It’s like the magic in that place is still bearing down on me, even now. And I can’t help being obsessed with untangling things.”
Zayn conceded with a shrug, stretching out, tucking his hands behind his head, and closing his eyes. Only he could relax at a time like this.
“It’s not just about changing our perception of Lorien, either,” I pressed. “There’s power in understanding our enemies.”
“Fair point, I suppose.”
“It seems like we might have a common enemy in the Order, too, if they truly are the ones who came between him and Calista. I wonder what he knows about them? About their operations, their structure, their?—”
The door started to open, interrupting us.
