Rising, Seth returned to Aethra. Emotions coiled in my chest. Seth’s last words had shaken with fresh pain. How could he simply walk away?
There was a chance Aeacus would slip out of our control. That he’d escape.
I wasn’t going to let him flee without suffering first. Flicking my wrist, I gave him a new order.
Aeacus grabbed his wrist and twisted it—just as he’d done to Aethra. I heard his bone snap before the arm fell limply at his side.
A satisfied sneer tugged at my lips. “Get Aethra out of here,” I ordered. “We need to go.”
Nodding, Seth gently picked Aethra up. “Don’t worry, princess. I’m much better at flying, now.”
Grabbing Seth’s arm, Aethra peered around him to stare at me. She wanted to speak, but couldn’t. Not even through our minds could she cast me a single thought.
She needn’t. Her emotions flowed freely to me.
Horror. Aethra had finally glimpsed the heretic who had led countless men to their death.
26
Aethra
Dozens of chambers sprawled beneath the pyramid, meant for the tombs of the deceased. Two housed the noble line Seth descended from, but most lay empty. Duath Nun had conquered the country that no longer had a name, and the tradition had died.
Seth described his home as purgatory, but down here, it felt like the underworld itself. Dark walls closed in on me, and the torches illumined eerie green runes painted along the stone.
Leaning against the wall, I cradled my broken wrist. A wagon rolled by, carrying supplies, and people walked past constantly. Cerys had managed to gather most of the insurgents from the scattered cells.
They looked so ordinary. Some wore rags; others were well-dressed. Men and women, from young teenagers to parents, though the people of Duath Nun never looked older than forty.
Had I not known the insurgency hid beneath these walls, I would have thought them commoners going about their day.
Turning my head, I stared into the darkness atthe end of the corridor. Aeacus was imprisoned there. Phaedrus had taken over controlling him, giving Eleos a break.
Once we’d escaped the fort, Seth had handed me over to a healer and disappeared into the prisoner’s chamber. Eleos was in there with him.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was happening behind those doors.
Seraphim emerged from a nearby door and sauntered toward me. Sweat dampened her brow, and her red locks clung to her face. Torchlight gleamed on her golden armor.
“That went well.” She leaned beside me. “Better than I expected.”
“Thanks to you,” I said.
“Flatterer.” She nudged me with her elbow and fell silent. We watched the passing insurgents as they carried supplies to and fro. “It’s so few,” she breathed. “So much fewer than we had ten years ago.”
“Is this going to work?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t know,” Seraphim said. “All we can do is put forth our best effort and hope.”
“What if we’re too late?” I turned, leaning on my side. “What if the Merchant Isles are being consumed as we speak?”
“Then, maybe we’ll be able save this place.”
Or we’d fail, and save nothing at all. My body went numb, thinking of my home, blanketed in the abyss. All of the people there, dead. Forgotten.
Biting my thumb, I dug my teeth into my skin until pain snapped me from the numbness.
The whispers from the abyss echoed in my head. I needed to talk to Cerys.
