“The ones that have been disappearing across the city.” Ezzo’s spectacular lack of notice continues to astound. I was barely out of the Academy five minutes when I happened across the flyers; how could he have spent days in Sarotuza without spotting them? How is a Hue this oblivious still alive? “Maybe if you drank less, you’d pay a bit more attention.”
“Excuse me?” Ezzo reels back as though I’d slapped him.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I say, meeting the indignity in his eyes.Tell me you didn’t go straight from your execution to the tavern. Tell me you weren’t drinking yourself into an early grave when I found you.
“You don’t know the first thing about me, Raya,” he spits, his rage simmering to a threatening boil. “So please, save us both the trouble of pretending you do.”
“I know you gave up.” As much as I shouldn’t keep goading him, the flush staining his cheeks is making my anger bold. I’ve been wanting to rail at him since the moment he fed my magic to his Gold, and if he can so blithely strip me of color without consequence—without showing any regard for how much pain it would cause—then why should I care if I hurt his delicate little feelings? “I know your gift could have kept you safe if you’d bothered to use it; I know that you had the chance to escape Sarotuza, and instead, you allowed yourself to get caught—again. That you didn’t even try to fight one passive Indigo girl.”
“Shut up.” The coward snaps his head away, unwilling to face the truth.
“Wow, is that the best you can do? How very cutting, Ezzo. I’m so impressed by your—”
“Raya,shut up. There’s someone coming.” In an instant, his hand is pressed to my mouth, his body crushing me against the wall. Andthough I don’t immediately hear the same threat that he did, only a few seconds pass before a sickening crunch of glass validates his assertion, accompanied by two sets of footsteps and a trading of clipped remarks.
“How long did this one last?” The first voice is deep and melodic in tenor. A man’s voice, without question, as cold as it is proud.
“Close to a bell and a half.” Whereas the second one is timid, a woman who sounds frightened and desperate to avoid his ire. “A vast improvement on the previous tribute.”
“Not nearly improved enough. Go get me another.” His reprimand sends a physical tremor racing through the house, as though his irritation can infect the shadows. “And not some starving whelp of a street urchin this time, I want an older, healthier child.”
I shiver as he confirms the worst of our suspicions. That yes, the shattered girl was a typic, and yes, they deliberately phased her into the Gray to do . . . Gods, I don’t even know what.
Let’s go take a look, I mouth at Ezzo, pointing towards the room they’re inside.
Absolutely not.He shakes his head, eyes widening as if to add:are you out of your fucking mind?But since he made the oh-so-smart decision to cuff our wrists together, when I push off the wall, his choices narrow down to: follow me or fight. And if we fight, we’ll definitely get discovered.
“Is that wise, Adriel?” The woman asks as we edge towards them. “A healthy child will be missed.”
“I don’t want excuses, Alara, I want another typic. If I was able to catch us a Red and an Orange in one day, then you should be able to wrangle a couple of children.” Once again, his anger seems to rip through the shadows, delivering an admonishment I can feel.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll find you a better tribute.” Alara is mousy, short, and obedient, but that’s as much as I can glean before she dashes off in search of his prize. Him, I can’t quite see yet, so I take another creeping step forward and will him to turn around.Come on, Adriel, come this way. Come into the—shit!My whole body freezesas a shard of typic cracks beneath my heel, echoing like thunder in the stillness of the empty house.
“Don’t move.” Ezzo’s arm instantly snakes around me, keeping me from bolting with an urgency that’s whisper tight.
An eternal second passes.
Two whole lifetimes.
Three.
Then, just as I’m about to lose my grip on my air—when I’m all but convinced that Adriel has grown wise to the intruders eavesdropping on his crimes—his attention drifts in the other direction and with a flourish of robes, he disappears into the night.
But not before I’m able to get a nice, good look at his face.
At the Divine Meridian’s face, I should say.
Since he and Adriel are the same man.
CHAPTER 16
RAYA
I was twelve years old when I first heard of the Divine Meridian. When anyone first heard of him, to be honest, since before then, the Church’s hold on Sarotuza was ironclad. It was their teachings the faithful followed. Their sacraments. Their hateful lies. Until one day, a cleric from their own ranks broke very, very bad.
He claimed to be the voice of the Gods.
He claimed to have the power to put an end to the magical scourge.
