With a satisfied sigh, Madame Vera straightens and smiles at everyone. “Well, what a successful day indeed,”she declares. “I apologize for cutting this lovely gathering short, but I must be off now. Taron, are you ready to go?”
“You promised you’d bring back my sister,” I say, reaching out and gripping her forearm. “So, where is she?”
Madame Vera looks down at me disdainfully. “Please, dear, compose yourself. You reek of desperation.”
“Talia,” says Taron, more hushed and reserved than I ever thought he was capable of, “please, don’t—”
I cut him off. “What about our deal?”
“Oh, that? My apologies,” Madame Vera says. “I really shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up. Your poor little sister is gone. I’d move on if I were you. It’s not healthy to dwell on the past.”
I feel dizzy as the world around me spirals. Taron’s words float to the surface of my mind.
She won’t give you your sister back, Talia. I know her. She lies and cheats. Her word means nothing.
He warned me, but I didn’t believe him. Couldn’t bring myself to.
She’s gone?Gone?
The word echoes. A death knell to the fragile hope I had clung to through every trial, every death, every moment of despair.
My throat burns. My sister. My bright, laughing Elara. Used as leverage in this monstrous game. All of this … fornothing. My vision narrows, focusing only on the smirking face of the woman who stole everything from me.
“You promised me,” I choke out. “You said you’d bringElara back. Why show me her spirit, only to go back on your word moments later?”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Madame Vera shrugs. She turns and walks away from me. “It’s just not possible, dear. Are you ready to go, Taron?”
Not possible?“Of all your lies, that’s the most unconvincing one,” I say.
She pauses. Tilts an ear in my direction.
“You’re off to resurrect your ancestor, aren’t you? If you can bring him back, why not my sister?”
“Because, dear girl,” she says, turning slowly, smiling pityingly at me, “resurrection requires power. From both sides, the resurrector and the resurrected. My ancestor, Valerius, is a powerful Soulreaper. Your little sister, the poor thing – she’s weak. Couldn’t lift a finger to defend herself when I took her soul.”
It starts as an eruption of energy in my veins, then spreads to my fingertips. Pure, venomous rage. It bleeds from my pores, something thick and black and fiery. The energy coils around me, a dark ribbon encasing my body like armour.
There’s no way I’m going to let her walk away.
“We had a deal,” I whisper.
“You, on the other hand, are nothing like her,” Madame Vera tells me, head cocked to the side as she examines me from top to bottom. “You’re a talented elemental. Strong and determined. I knew you were perfect for this mission the day I laid eyes on you. A little thief with long fingers.”
“I’m not a thief,” I insist. “Not any more.”
“I’m afraid that’s not how it works, dear child.” She chuckles, and the sound makes my skin crawl. “Thieves weave their own threads of fortune, but the constellations always reveal the reckoning of justice. For even the stars hold thieves accountable in the grand cosmic design.I believe it was the great Astrovoyant, Elynda Galewright, who once said that. Wise words indeed.”
“What does it mean?” I ask. When Madame Vera only responds with more laughter, I look to Taron for an answer.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “I didn’t know.”
Didn’t know what?I feel like screaming. But it all becomes painfully clear when she waves at me, laughing gaily.
“Good luck,” she sings. “You’ll need it for where you’re headed. The palace dungeons are a dreadful place. Take it from someone with first-hand experience.”
“The dungeons? What do you mean?”
“I told you before, dear, I’m a ghost. Once Taron and I leave here, we’ll vanish. I’m sure the High Council will be disappointed that I once again managed to slip through their slimy fingers, but you should be a good consolation prize. At least they’ll have someone to condemn in the public eye.”
