“Holy shadows, Ray, what in the nine hells was that?” she asks once the vision’s over.
“I’ll explain later. All that matters is that it worked, Kiri.” And that she happens to be the exact shade of magic I need to make it work past this tower.
Akari’s the Orange Shade from my vision—not Councilman Denata as I first thought.
She can take my power and amplify its might.
Together, we can make Alara see.
CHAPTER 33
EZZO
Drop by drop, Saleen’s blood is agonizing a typic, his screams rising in volume even as hers begin to fail. And hers aren’t the only ones—around the chamber, more and more of the acolytes are inching towards death, their bodies shaking with the blood loss and growing clammy with sweat. If we don’t do something soon, we’ll lose every single one of them, all seven colors—or rather, all six, since there’s still one terrified initiate for whom Alara hasn’t yet fetched a mate. One conspicuously empty table.
What is she waiting for?Around the typics, thepoisoned shadows are slowly starting to wilt, their smoke darkening to an ash that’s pocked and brittle, as though the very fabric of the Gray is disintegrating. If there was ever a time to complete the rainbow, this feels like it would be it.So why is Alara still here, then?I trace her movements as she stalks between pairs, adjusting the tourniquets and needles where necessary.Why does she seem wholly uninterested in abducting the last kid?
A great question for later.I strain against the compulsion pinning my feet in place, searching for a crack, a weakness, some way to break free of the crystal’s spell. Pre-made charms have a relatively short lifespan, and she’s using it to immobilize me, Cemmy, and Chase, so the magic must be close to reaching its limit. I just need to apply the right pressure, find a critical spot against which to—
The vision hits me mid-struggle, entirely unsolicited and unexplained.
Or at least, I think it’s a vision; it’s playing out exactly how my mom always described the pictures she saw in her head. One second, I’m in the court chamber, watching a group of acolytes bleed steadily into their graves, then the next, it feels as though I’m in another place altogether, watching the very end of their story—of our story—and the Gray’s.
This is Raya’s vision.I instantly recognize the cataclysm she’sbeen warning about since we met. Except this time, I see every part of it. The death, the love, the heartbreak, the pain, the absolute certainty that our paths were always destined to collide over and over again, to bring us here, to this moment, where our choices would decide the fate of an entire realm.
“Did you just see that?” Cemmy’s shock makes it plenty clear that I’m not the only one who received the future’s sending. In fact, judging by the sea of wide eyes and stunned expressions, I’d venture everyone in the court chamber did; the acolytes, the initiates, and—if I’m not reading her hesitation wrong—Alara, as well.
“That’s the future your brother wants,” I call out, seizing the opportunity to shake her faith. “It’s what we’ve been trying to tell you, Alara; Hues can’t survive without magic—we die without it—and Adriel knows that. He knows that if he poisons the shadows, you’ll die, and he’s doing it anyway. He’s sacrificing you every bit as much as he is them.”
“Shut up!” she roars, but there’s a hint of a quiver to her voice now, a tiny fracture of an invitation.
“He’s using you, Alara.” I push the advantage. “You’re a means to an end for him, disposable labor. Adriel put you at risk each time he sent you out to fetch him tributes and he’s put you at risk today, left you to do the dirty work—thedangerouswork—while he’s off catching up with the councilman.”
“I said,shut up.” Word by word, my truths are beginning to flame her cheeks red. “My brother—”
“Hates all magic, Alara.” So I don’t shut up; I keep right on pushing. “That meansyourmagic, too, the magic running throughyourveins. Do you really think he’ll make an exception once the shadowshave been cleansed?” I ask, throwing in another wedge. “He thinks you’re a mistake, Alara, don’t you see that? He thinks all Hues are a mistake. He’s counting on the poison to kill you for him. He doesn’t even care about you enough to admit that himself.”
“Shut your filthy mouth!” All at once, she’s careening towards me, a knife clasped between her fingers and her eyes sizzling with rage. “My brother would never lie to me! He loves me!” The force of our collision breaks what’s left of the charm’s spell.
“Alara, don’t—” As we both crash down to the marble, I barely just avoid the tip of her blade. “Cemmy, Chase—go!” I yell, because while I didn’t mean to bait myself into a knife fight, a distraction is still a distraction and if she’s fighting me then she can’t be stopping them. “Go help Saleen!” A sharp sting grazes my ribcage as Alara angers at that idea.
Oh no, you don’t.With a hiss, I buck out of harm’s way, my hand jerking out to catch the charm she tries to throw in their direction.
“Alara, please—Adriel’s not worth your loyalty,” I grit as the resulting flash sends us rolling arm over head, the knife trapped precariously between us. “He’s not worth your life!”
But in the end, that’s ultimately what he costs her.
I don’t see the exact moment she loses control of the blade, I hear it, her pained surprise and the soft squelch, the sickening gut of flesh parting around metal.
No, no, no, no, no.I’m quick to shove away from her, though there’s nothing to be done about the wooden hilt protruding from her chest, the shock creeping across her expression.
“Well, isn’t this unfortunate.”
Before I can so much as think to press my hands to the wetness blooming her robe red, the shadows harden around me, the oppressive nature of the void intensifying as Adriel suddenly appears in the chamber, the councilman hanging limp behind him.
But no Raya or Akari.I don’t get the chance to dwell on what that might mean.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that.” Adriel’s first port of call is to send Chase and Cemmy flying back from Saleen, landing them in a tangled heap behind the tables.
