This time, the flicks of my fingers came in quick succession. I rushed through the rhyme in my head. I needed to make a decision quickly.
Red for the roses, white for the veil,
one to remember, one to betray.
I bolted to the left, my boots slipping slightly on the polishedfloor. The man’s muttered curses grew louder, his footsteps closing in. Panic flared as I reached for a door handle, but before I could turn it, he was already there. His hands clamped down on my shoulders, firm and unyielding, forcing me to stop. The smell of damp wool and something metallic filled the space between us as I struggled against his grip.
“Will you stop it? I am not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you!” he said in frustration.
Before I could react, he pulled me into the nearest library room. Geography. Great, the only topic more boring than history. Nobody would come in here for the next few months and they would only find my decomposing body because someone would notice the smell and alert the dragon of a woman downstairs. She would probably scrunch up her nose and say something along the lines of, “Dying and disintegrating on the library floor is strictly forbidden, as stated by the terms and conditions you signed when you entered the library,” before stepping over the remnants of my body to return to her book in her tiny office.
A tiny sob escaped me, something between a laugh and a desperate cry.
The stranger turned to face me and let go of my arm. I didn’t know what he was expecting me to do, but I swung my bag at him, only barely missing his face. Before he could recover from that surprise attack, I shoved him back hard. He tumbled backwards, running into the desk behind him, which in turn scuffed up months-old dust.
“By the Fates, does nobody ever clean up in here?” he managed to get out between coughs that distracted him long enough for me to attempt another escape. I turned towards the still open door and started running, but the door shutright in front of me by its own accord. My sweat-soaked hands shook as I tried to turn the doorknob, only to realize that the door was locked.
I was going to die here and now, in this dusty old room. Just fucking great. My heka was going wild, screeching and shouting to kill him and be done with it.
Tap, tap, ta—
“Stubborn woman, listen to me. I was sent to retrieve you and take you to Auretheos, the God of Wisdom and Cunning. He has been waiting for you to emerge for quite a while now and we are in dire need of your heka.”
I froze, my heart beating wildly in my chest. The heka underneath my skin was straining to get out, tugging on my skin, sending tiny electrical pulses along my nerves.
Breathe. Don’t anger him, be apologetic, validate his feelings, escape.The mantra Madame Celestine had taught me all those years ago, right before she had shoved the first customer into my room, kept repeating in my head on a loop.
“I am sorry for running. I don’t know what Bogus told you about my heka, but if you are here to blackmail me, I must disappoint you. I will not use my heka for your dangerous rebellion. I understand you have your orders, but I can not help you.”
He rolled his eyes dramatically. “All right, enough of that. I understand you don’t trust me, but…”
“Trust you? You are a random stranger cornering me at night in a deserted library, talking about wanting to kidnap me for an imaginary God. You obviously know about my heka, so let me be clear when I say this: If you won’t let me go, I am going to use it on you, and I can’t promise I’ll begentle… So open this door now, or you will regret it.”
Well. So much for not angering him.
My voice had gone shrill, and I half expected him to come rushing towards me to silence me. But instead, he folded his arms in front of his chest and laughed.
“Let’s try this again.” He flicked his wrist and the lights in the room came on. The door unlocked with a faint click and the dust in the air disappeared, making it easier to breathe.
“How did you do that?” I whispered, more to myself, as I looked back to where he was standing by the desk.
“I will answer all of your questions, if you give me a few minutes to tell you why I am here. I mean you no harm, Maelis. Quite the opposite.”
The look in the man’s eyes was sincere, and for some reason I didn’t feel threatened, even though I probably should have been. Being able to read people—and their intentions—had been crucial to surviving the Nest. But it wasn’t just experience; it went deeper than that. My heka had always given me a sense of others, like faint ripples in water. I could feel the tremor of deceit, the cold edge of cruelty, the warmth of compassion. Sometimes, if I focused too long, I caught glimpses of emotion as flashes of color or sound, envy like the buzz of bees, grief like distant thunder.
The man before me radiated none of that danger. His presence felt… still. Balanced. Whatever fear I had, it was my own, not something he stirred in me. His relaxed posture, the slight crinkle around his eyes, and the calm way he spoke reminded me more of a teacher than an assassin.
What had Dr. Marris said a few days ago? That I was too kind for my own good, and that it would be my downfall.Maybe he was right. Still, hoping that today wouldn’t be that day, I took a deep breath.
“Fine. But stay over there and don’t come closer, shrine rag.”
At that, he started laughing out loud again.
“You will do just fine withhim… Listen… I know this is all a bit overwhelming to hear, but we are running out of time. You are needed in the God realm.”
He clearly believed in whatever he was saying so it seemed pointless to argue with him.
“I need you to think rationally. You were looking for information about the Gods today, weren’t you? The man in the crowd who approached you yesterday already gave you little hints. We were trying to win your trust little by little, but it’s getting too dangerous out there for you so I had to approach you directly. I am sure you have many questions and I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge.”
