Keres were always there, by the Empty. To drag others into darkness with them. No one knew why.
Limp strands of black hair fell from its skull, bound by a golden circlet. The ragged remains of a white gown clung to its bony figure, and torn-up feathers trailed down its back.
I gasped, tracing the edges of the faded golden collar wrapped around her throat.
“No,” I breathed, backing away, not wanting to believe the truth before my eyes.
I saw Ma’at in the keres’ fading golden eyes, in the white gown and feathered cape she’d departed this world in. I remembered the sight of her so clearly: looking over her shoulder to smile at me before her boat disappeared into the Acheron.
Seraphim watched me closely as the keres reached for me, claws brushing my skin.
Gods. The Keres were the Elpis maidens. How many had I killed? What if one had been Cassandra?
Seas. One day, Aethra would join them.
Ma’at’s claws wrapped around my arm and yanked me forward, drawing blood. Seraphim shot to her feet but did notintervene.
With unnatural strength, Mother’s keres dragged me back to the Empty, intent on pulling me into the void with her.
Did I want to fight back?
. . . did I even want to live? Percy was going to die. It was anyone’s guess if he or Aethra would pass first, but neither would last long. My mother, my best friend, and my love. Gone.
What point was there in continuing when you had nothing but gravestones to keep you company?
Closing my eyes, I gave up.
Ma’at yanked, pulling me to the ground. The Empty swirled a breath from my nose, and the motionless sea stretched before my eyes.
Whispers echoed inside the abyss, though all I’d heard before was silence. Strange emotions stirred within me, and I twisted my neck in discomfort.
I’d never felt such unease before. It wasn’t quite fear or pain. More like a warning whispered in the dark.
But I felt happiness, too. Like I’d been reunited with Mother, like Aethra had fallen into my arms after weeks spent apart. Memories of my childhood flashed before my eyes. Aching and nostalgic.
Something moved in the abyss. Nothing—nothing—had ever moved within the Empty. The keres appeared without warning; they could not be glimpsed traveling through the abyss before they emerged from its bounds.
An enormous shadow darkened the already oppressive void. It slithered across the sea, disturbing the eternally still water.
“Seth?” Seraphim shouted.
Ma’at’s claws dug deeper. Blood streamed from my shoulder and rushed down my arm. It swirled around me, but I wasn’t casting any spells.
My eyes widened, remembering the day I’d carried Aethra through the Empty.
“How did you manage it?” I asked.
“The day Ainwir saved me, I’d given up. I no longer cared if I lived or died.”
The shadow surged through the Empty, growing larger andlarger as it approached. Bursting from the abyss, it coiled around me, blazing red eyes peering down from above.
The hood of a cobra obscured the moon. Scales faintly gleamed on its shadowed body, its tail writhing through nearly transparent water pooling beneath its great body.
I recognized it. The same creature was carved on Father’s throne—and appeared within the shadows of Cerys’ mural.
Mother released my arm and stepped away, becoming a tiny spot of white against the serpent’s great swath of shadow.
A flame in the dark. Ma’at had always been the spark of hope keeping this country from ruin.
