“This patch is clear of petals, Hope…” Ciaran let his shadows go, until their darkness covered an inch over the white sand on every space where the petals didn’t float, until Hope let out a chuckle.
“Of course it had to be a four-petal panom shape.” She stepped towards Ciaran, kissed him behind his ear and interlaced his biological fingers with hers. “So I guess we want to be taken exactly where the South House Takes things.”
They walked hand-in-hand until that very spot. When they stood atop the Seizing Wind location in the petal-free panom shape, she closed her spare hand, with no specific aim in mindother than pulling the South Petal from the red panom mark at the back of her neck, simply Taking for the sake of Taking.
She felt Ciaran squeezing her hand hard before she felt the ground disappear under them. In the time it took for her to recognize that they were sliding down a circular tunnel made of highly burnished silver and illuminate it with some red sparks, Ciaran was already sitting behind her, holding her body close against his with both arms around her waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder, stroking her nose along the length of his throat before she placed a gentle kiss.
“Nightblade doesn’t do justice to how comfy you are.”
Ciaran’s side smile lingered for minutes while they slid down and down, until suddenly he sat up straight and Hope braced herself for the fall.
They crashed down into a soundless explosion of wealth inside the colossal cave. Gold jewelry scattered like drops of sunlight, rolling before coming to rest against heaps of silver goblets and tarnished diadems. Jewels winked from the shadows—rubies glowing like tiny hearts, sapphires dark as midnight seas, emeralds glimmering with forest light. Strings of pearls unraveled under their weight, while sword hilts inlaid with gems thrust upward from the mounds. The air smelled faintly of metal and dust, tinged with something older—greed, power, and the quiet sorrow of treasures stolen long ago.
“This is some impressive Taking obsession,” Ciaran muttered.
She sighed, trying not to let the increasing frustration in her chest take over. “I don’t doubt the Cardinal Queen would want a part of her heart to be amongst the most valued, precious items in this Petal. The question is, how the Fifth do we find it amongst this sea of riches. In an effective, timely manner, I mean. We have other pieces to find and cannot be here forever.”
With every step she took over the Taken possessions came a subsequent move of clattering things falling on top of otherclattering things, until the sound vanished as it was too far away. She kept walking in circles, analyzing, her mind heating as dozens of different thoughts overlapped. Ciaran had sent his shadows to explore again while he analyzed what they touched and felt.
“This is not a sea,” she said as her heart started beating faster. “Ciaran, this is a desert.”
“A desert with a black crown,” Ciaran said, pointing to one of his shadows, the one that had gone farthest.
As they approached that area, Hope felt the Black and Red Lawful Stabs on the hilts around her waist thrumming with power, begging to be taken out. Her own heart drummed louder than she wanted to admit on her chest.
The Cardinal Queen had been here.
The Cardinal Queen had beenhere.
The goddess occupying her throne had been here protecting herself from another curse, harm, or destruction. Yet Ciaran and Hope were here precisely to do the opposite.
“There is no way the Queen would have left her crown behind,” she muttered.
“Unless the South Took it from her, too, and brought it here, but the Queen is stronger than whatever power the South Petal, South House, or even the South Cardinal may have. Which means she must have made a pact to allow her crown to be left here in order to also keep her heart here.”
“In which case, her crown could be retrieved the moment we get that piece of heart.” Hope bit her bottom lip. “And we are not leaving the Seizing Wind until we get it, so she might be alerted that something is wrong.”
“Not ideal.”
“Very much not,” Hope agreed. “The North piece is already in Ayla’s hands. If today the Cardinal Queen figures out we areafter her heart to kill her, it just means we have to be faster to get the West and Core pieces after this one.”
“And pray to every star Lenna finds the East part,” Ciaran added.
“Or ask Ayla and Nina to go to the East after Indianna finishes doing whatever she needs to do to them at your safehouse in Corentre.” Hope crossed her arms, halting as they had finally reached the black crown made of the same black crystal of the Lawful Stab, mere a few feet away. “Regardless of that, let’s hurry to get this.” She was not used to feeling stressed, and from her brief experience right now, she didn’t enjoy it one bit, so the earlier the tasks got done, the better.
Ciaran looked at her with amusement glinting in his blue eyes. “How exactly are you going to hurry? The crown is here, but do you know where the heart is?”
“The Black Lawful Stab is moving of its own accord, and I’ve never felt the urge to grab it so strong. No need to worry, I can control it. However, this blade was made of the blood of the Cardinal Queen, so of course it recognizes her. It’s right underneath the crown, buried fifteen feet down.”
“Fifteen feet—fuck.”
“My plan is going to ruffle some feathers. It’s a pity we told Gabrielle that we would leave without disrupting her House or her Petal.”
The metal ring bobbed as he grinned. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Because the opposite is going to happen, but we don’t have time to waste asking for permission I would never be given, and I’ll have the rest of my life to apologize. So, here we go.”
Hope inhaled deeply and extended her arms widely, both hands fully opened as she prepared to use one of her powers more intensely than she ever had.
