‘Wouldn’t that be convenient?’ Matthias said, before catching the arm of another guard, who shook their head. ‘At least if rebels were attacking, there could be no question of Asmar working with the insurgents.’
‘You think it could be?—’
A pained cry cut Asher short. Pab whined and I grabbed his neck. Matthias cursed, dashing back to the library. Asher groaned, leaving bloody handprints on the wall as he struggled to stand.
The lamps flickered low as we tore back in. My stomach twisted as the desperate cry struck me once more. The guards stopped, everyone’s gazes pulled towards the scene of devastation. My heart lurched as I recognised the tiny figure on her knees clutching the blood-soaked woman.
Matthias crashed next to Glesni, yanking the shirt from his back. I swallowed as I moved forward, Glesni’s mournful sobs breaking the silence of the library.
Keya lay sprawled on the ground, one arm lying at an unnatural angle. Her eyes wide, edged with white, her mouth worked silently. Desperation was etched onto Matthias, his shirt crushed against a deep slash across her waist. A gasp escaped me at the black stain pooling away from my mentor’s beloved wife. Glesni gripped Keya’s bloodstained hand in hers, kissing the trembling fingers. I fell next to her, cursing Evella hadn’t made me a healer like Enfys.
‘Don’t you do this to me, Keya Grace,’ Glesni ordered. Tears streamed down her lined face. My mentor’s chin clenched, determined to force Evella to spare her love.
I met Matthias’s gaze. He shook his head slightly before pressing on Keya’s ruptured side. It was too late. We were all too late. Her blood seeped out, staining the floor as she shivered.
‘No, you don’t, Keya. You don’t get to leave me.’ Glesni heaved back a sob, her hand gripping Keya’s. ‘If you want some peace and quiet, there’s less dramatic ways. You stay here with me. You stay.’
Keya’s eyes focused, meeting Glesni’s. A weak smile split her face before blood bubbled across her lips, spilling down her chin.
‘No. No. Not you,’ Glesni said, gently wiping the blood with her free hand. ‘Not my Keya.’
Keya’s mouth worked, her ragged breaths diminishing with every beat of her failing heart.
I blinked away hot tears, praying the light wasn’t truly leaving her eyes, it was a trick of my poor sight.
‘We…we’ve had it good, Gles,’ she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Glesni nodded, swatting away tears as she tried to smile.
‘You made me so very happy, my love.’
Glesni shuffled, grimacing against her own aches, and lay herself across her wife’s chest.
‘We shared that happiness, my love. Every day I’ve loved you more,’ she said, her voice breaking, wavering. She lifted her head and stroked her hand down Keya’s ashen face.
Keya’s eyes flickered to me. Unfocused confusion ran through her, as though we’d never met, when her face softened.
‘And you,’ Keya said as I fought back the sob rising up my throat. ‘You with this heart of secrets. This fractured soul. Listen to her.’ A smile crossed her face as she looked fondly at Glesni for the final time. ‘She’s…she’s a light. My light.’
Pain crashed across Keya’s features. Her eyes screwed, veins straining. Every breath rasped slower as Glesni cradled her, whispering how she loved her. Matthias finally leaned back, his head bowed as Keya took one last, shuddering breath, her hand falling limp. Glesni pulled her close, rocked her lover as her jagged cries echoed. Tears fell onto my skirts, and I swiped at my cheeks. My hand hovered over her shoulder, but Matthias shook his head and stood, offering me his.
Taking it, he pulled me close. We clung to each other as dawn quivered like an uninvited guest beyond the shattered window. My body screamed with the need to remain cradled in his arms till my tears dried, buttheysensed death. Violet and plumthreads swirled, so softly at first I almost missed how they woke. Grabbing my chest, I tore myself from Matthias, confusion etched on his tearstained face. I ran as far from Keya’s body as I could. I didn’t stop until they slumbered. A lid, cracking and decaying, lay over the threads once more.
CHAPTER 25
There’s no rhyme nor reason as to who Evella blesses. Some Anomalies are made of stardust, creatures of unconditional kindness and love, bringing joy to anyone fortunate enough to cross their path. Others wield their power selfishly, leaving nothing but trampled footprints of misery and pain. Some of us are truly the children of Evella and others, the spawn of Vyrus himself.
— FOREWORD FOR MRS GLESNI GRACE’S ADVICE FOR MENTORS: THIRDEDITION
I shut myself off from the pain in Matthias’s eyes as he looked to where I stood. He’d grimaced as I’d silently turned from him and walked away, wrapping my arms around my chest, desperate to quell the ravenous demands of violet threads.
A sea of people surrounded Keya Grace’s funeral pyre as the Sister of Evella finished her eulogy. The full moon shone mournfully over those gathered to say farewell, while my insides swirled with something more sinister than mere grief.
I scrutinised my mentor, tampering down the serpent gnawing at my soul, demanding release. It was hard to see in this light, but Glesni’s thin lips trembled as she held her chin high, her bright dark eyes set proudly on the body of her wife. A body mygiftseemed intent on waking.
‘Keya chose the path of helping those in need, blessing us all,’ the Sister said, her low, lilting voice carrying across the bowed heads of the mourners. ‘May Evella welcome you with the honour you’ve earned, Keya Grace.’
Anomalies were welcomed back into the breast of Evella upon our deaths. Regardless of any sin we may have committed on Eusis, she’d forgive us. If she didn’t, our souls would spend eternity in the company of Vyrus, who’d punish us for tempting his wife and love away. The Sister scattered drops of sacred oil over Keya’s body and stepped down, nodding to Glesni. The woman took a deep breath and a single step forward. Although my mentor was a head shorter than I, she somehow towered over us at that moment. The dark threads within constricted my heart, and I stifled a cry of pain.
