“I suspect the Ziz being injured affects the other two Great Beasts—and their domains of land and sea. I think it could get worse if we don’t figure out how to cure the Ziz.”
Unease skidded throughout me. All three of the primordial beasts were affected? This seemed very bad. “Worse—how? The land and sea and sky—that’s the whole world.”
He met my gaze. “Yes. It is.”
My chest tightened and my head spun. The whole world couldn’t be in trouble. This was starting to feel too big. “Maybe something else is the problem.”
“Maybe. But the only records I could find back home about similar problems with the winds ascribed them to the Ziz needing to be healed, and said human mages at Zerach had the spells to do so.”
And Zerach was where the scrolls had been found. “You think the scrolls tell us how to cure the Ziz.” I let the words sink in.
He shrugged. “Those scrolls were preserved for a reason.”
“What are you expecting? We decipher the spell and then—what? Go heal the Ziz?”
“I wasn’t going to suggest you, personally, heal the Ziz,” Daziel said dryly. “But yes, I was going to take the spell and try.”
I started pacing, gazing at the almond trees like their pink blooms would offer answers. This was bonkers. No one had expected the deciphered scrolls to have any bearing on anything besides scholarship. Also—“If this is so important, why haven’t you been trying to speed up the decipherment?”
“Haven’t I?”
I paused, nonplussed. Then I reevaluated the past five months. Hehadsped up the decipherment. Not only had he suggested Ilook for a pattern, but he’d let me use his magic to re-form the scrolls and given me the idea for the spell that remade them in the first place. He’d been instrumental.
And I’d just thought he was interested in what I was doing; I hadn’t realized he had an agenda. I hadn’t realized how much I was being led. Disappointment and sadness welled in my throat, and nausea stirred my stomach. “But—why didn’t your people send in one of your own expert cryptographers?”
“We don’t have one,” Daziel said testily. “In this case, the Lyceum had the best chance of solving the puzzle.”
That made sense, except…“Why didn’t youaskus?” I cried, frustrated. “Why didn’t you work with us?”
“With whom? Your professor? Who thinks so little of me?”
“Our people have atreaty. Go over his head. Have your leader go to ours.”
“There was no time to waste if your people refused to work with us.”
“Really?” I asked, coldly skeptical. “You don’t think instead of spending months lying to me, we could have spent them untangling red tape?”
“It wasn’t worth risking when I didn’t think it would make the work move any faster.”
“Oh,” I said, fury starting to build. “I see. Put aside how it might have fast-tracked the project by giving us more resources—you decided it wasn’t worth the risk oftellingme? I didn’t deserve to know the truth about why you were here?”
His shoulders hunched, and his thumb flicked against his signet ring, spinning it endlessly. He looked like he was searching for an answer, or like he had one but didn’t know how to say it.When he spoke, he sounded miserable. “I didn’t know what you’d do if I told you. I knew if I kept lying, you’d let me stay.”
I reeled back. That was honest, at least, more honest than I wanted, and probably exactly what I deserved. “You’re right,” I said, my voice hollow. “It worked. Congratulations.”
“Naomi—”
“What now?” I stepped back. The wind picked up, the almond tree branches fluttered, a few of their pink blossoms floating down around me. “You expect me to be your own personal code breaker? To keep this a secret from everyone?”
He sounded wry. “As if you could. The second you see your cohort, you’re going to tell them, thinking it’s not fair to withhold this information since they’ve been working on the scrolls longer than you.That’swhy I didn’t tell you.”
I flushed. Wow. Ouch. This did, in fact, sound exactly like what I’d do. I hadn’t realized how well he knew me. It shocked me, how clearly he could predict my behavior. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“What do you think the others will do when you tell them? Rule-abiding Yael. Nervous Gidon. Loose-tongued Stefan. You think they’ll keep this a secret?”
“Why should it be a secret?”
“I’m afraid of losing access.” His jaw worked. “What if you’re taken off the project? What if it’s deemed too sensitive for student hands, and you don’t get to see the deciphered spell? I don’t trust your government to tell mine their findings.”
