“That sounds ominous.”
Roane pulls his black hair back and twists it into a knot at his nape, his face devoid of all emotion. I must have imagined the tears in his eyes. “It’s time to go.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
THE LIAR AND THE THIEF
ADELINE
Roane climbs back on the horse, settling behind me, while Talton flies off. We set out through the now-empty gorge, heading for the city. The horse is still spooked, but Roane guides it without problems down the narrow trail, the pounding of the hooves thundering against the tall rock walls.
I watch Talton fly, unable to keep from marveling that he’s alive, and worrying that he might drop dead again in any moment, a sentiment I don’t dare speak aloud. After a while, we finally exit the gorge and pick our way among the rocks, going downslope. The plain with the city opens before us, the river winding like a silver snake to our right.
I take a moment to breathe in the clean air and the light, take in the beautiful landscape and let it ease the pounding of my heart.
It will be all right,I promise myself.It has been a crazy time, but at least Ardruna and Talton are somehow still alive and so is Roane. So are you. Be grateful for small mercies—if you consider coming back from the dead a small thing. Be grateful for every breath you draw.
The unraveling of this world’s mysteries will come. You don’t have to answer all the questions at once.
Only, I had to grow up with unsolved riddles, such as the mystery of my origin. Who was my blood family? Why did they abandon me? Where are they now? Naida had no replies for me.
Yeah, let’s blame my insatiable curiosity on Naida, to whom I owe my life and my sanity. The thought makes my mouth twitch.
“You know it’s not healthy to talk to yourself,” Olm mutters.
“While talking to a fictional character is? And you are another mystery I need to unravel.”
“Iammysterious,” Olm agrees. “It’s one of my many charms.”
“This isn’t funny, Olm,” I protest. “Tell me how you landed in Siris in front of me, why you wanted to go to the palace. Tell me what your story is.”
“Have you considered,” he says, “that my mystery is the only reason you haven’t shelved and chained me in the sanctum? So excuse me while I hold onto it and reserve any answers.”
Dear Gods.He’s right, but it’s driving me crazy.
“Look!” I shout as we canter down toward the plain. “There’s Ardruna!”
“We’ll catch up with her,” Roane says and slaps the horse’s rump.
We shoot forward like an arrow, the lioness a spec running on the plain ahead, Talton flying in circles over her. Seeing them together mends a rift in my heart I hadn’t realized was still there. Having seen them dead, I need time to process the fact that they are back with us.
The horse bursts into a gallop as we hit the flats and after a long stretch, we catch up with both animals. Ardruna stops and turns to watch us approach.
“You’re too slow!” Talton swoops over us with a laugh. “Pick up your pace. I want to see the herds move over the plains.”
“Then go,” Roane says.
“Not before I see you all safely at home.”
“We’re not your responsibility, Tal,” Roane mutters.
“You always will be,” Talton counters.
It feels as if there is subtext I’m missing, information between the lines that I can’t read. I watch Talton fly and wonder if he also has a symbol branded in his flesh.
When he comes back to perch on the horse’s back in front of me, I ask, “Which creatures are immortal in this world?”
“None,” Talton croaks. “Those who have stepped out of stories change, and once killed, they fade. Their books warp and change, too. That’s all I know.”
