“We have our eyes and ears,” Zarael said.
“Like the ankh,” Kalani said, her mouth turning down. “I fucking hate the little spies.”
“Yes, well, those ankhs belong to us, commandeered by the Authority a long time ago. We had hoped to free them, but now…I’m afraid it’s too late.”
But she was wrong. It wasn’t too late. Not yet. “If we work together, then we can stop the primordial evil. If we can get to the obelisk in the Shahee Kshetra, then we can?—”
“No,” Zarael said. “Our elders have made their decision. My people are leaving this world. Tonight.”
“Leaving? How? And where will you go?” If there was a way out, then maybe I could get the djinn in the camp to safety. This could be the refuge that they needed.
“We’re going home,” she said. “This world was never ours. We were stranded here for a while, forced to work with the gods in exchange for refuge. To give them ankh and to serve them when they called.
“When the Deva left it was with the understanding that we would support whoever held the throne. And we did. We fought alongside the djinn, the rightful heirs to the throne, but when Iblees was taken, we had no choice but to retreat. We had no choice but to support the false king Vijayroodra, but in time we realized he was good and kind, and so we were glad to be of service. The Authority, however, are not good or kind.” She pressed her lips together, distaste evident in her expression.
“You knew the truth? That the djinn were meant to rule?”
“Our kind are immune to the manipulations of time and memory. The net cast by the Authority to alter true history did not affect us.”
Whoa, wait a moment. “Theychangedhistory?”
She nodded, her lips pressed in a line once more.
Of course. That explained so much. “But you kept quiet. You knew the truth and said nothing.”
“We had no choice. We needed refuge, and if the gods of this world knew we were aware of their lies, then we would become an enemy, and we did not want war. But our world has healed enough for us to return now. Many have already left. I waited. I had a feeling you would come.” She smiled wryly. “Nothing could ever keep you down for long.”
The way she said it…as ifwehad a long history. My scalp prickled. Maybe we did. “How oldareyou, Zarael?”
Her mercury eyes shimmered. “Ageless and forever.”
“You were there when Iblees fell, so…Did you know Vayelle?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I did. You remember now, don’t you?”
My chest tightened, and tears sprang to my eyes. What the heck was this feeling? This sense of…knowing. “Bits and pieces, but not you…Not in memory.”
She put her hand to her chest. “But here. You know me here.”
My throat pinched. “We were close?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, Leela. I was your trainer, and then I was your friend. We fought side by side. You, me, Iblees as Ilyarien, and one other.” She searched my face. “You’ve met him. You know him…”
A name filled my mind with a rightness. “Chandra…”
She smiled. “Yes.”
I probably should have been surprised, but I wasn’t. The sense of familiarity I’d felt with him—the easy comradery, the desire to protect him, the way he made me feel safe—it all made sense now. It all fit. “Does he know that I was Vayelle?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But I know he cares for you. He asked me to stay and protect you when I delivered the message about the fire trial to Shantivan.”
For a moment, I was back in the royal domain, wrapped in his arms as he carried me to safety, to Pakshiraj.
My eyes heated, and I blinked back tears. “He saved my life when the primordial evil took the throne. He made sure I got away.”
“Yes, it sounds like him.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “When didyouknow that I was Vayelle?”
