Kage's hand closes on my arm. "You okay?"
I nod and force myself to keep looking. To take in the full horror of what Constantine has planned. The platform sits directly beneath the open dome. I look up at the blood-red sky above, at the moon that looks down on all of this as if it's savoring the promise of what's to come. Waiting. Salivating.
Behind my friends, a massive dark green banner bearing the Everlasting's symbol hangs between two columns — the eye inside the heart. I see Arlo standing at the edge of the platform in his gold-winged uniform, the bow Freida gifted him all those years ago hanging from his hand.
The torchlight catches on his blond hair, his sharp cheekbones, the strong line of his jaw. Even from here, his eyes look flat. "What did they do to him?" The words scrape out of my throat.
"Compulsion," Kage says grimly. "Strong. Probably tied to that amulet he's wearing."
My eyes drop to the amulet. Not green, but amber. I recall Jordi's words about Constantine and this place, and look at the ground, wondering where the center of this place would be, and what exactly is down there.
My eyes dart around in search of Constantine. I find him walking up to the platform. People start cheering, others booing. He's dressed in his typical ceremonial green and gold. His silverhair gleaming as he prepares to address the crowd with his arms spread wide.
The amber chip on his ring catches the torchlight. Or maybe it's glowing on its own. Pulsing, like a heartbeat. Like it's feeding. My stomach churns.
At first, his voice is low, then it carries through the amphitheater, amplified by the acoustics the original builders designed for this exact purpose. To make one man's words feel like the voice of a god.
"—betrayed us all! These renegades, these traitors, have been hiding among us, using their forbidden gifts against us, weakening our borders, inviting the very darkness we've spent generations protecting ourselves from!" The crowd roars. Some in agreement, many in protest. It doesn't matter. Constantine has the stage, the spectacle, and he has my friends in chains.
"Tonight, we cleanse Lunaris of this poison! Tonight, we prove that the Everlasting only protects those who are faithful!"
I start moving closer to get a better look. Mal's hand closes around my wrist and yanks me back. "Wait," he growls.
"I just want to see!"
My gaze travels upward, following the columns that rise like bones toward the sky. My heart stops when I see the Sages. They're suspended from the third story, wrists locked in cuffs that gleam white. Their bodies hang limp, feet dangling over the void.
Anala's dark hair has come loose from her crown braid and falls around her face like a veil. Freida's armor is gone. She's wearing only a thin shift, her muscular arms trembling. Their eyes are open, flashing, defiant, but Sara is staring directly at me.
"Oh my gods, Mal," I whisper, gripping his hand tighter. "The Sages!"
"The cuffs are draining them," Kage says quietly to my right. "He really is out of his mind."
"They'll kill them!" I hiss, twisting in Mal's grip. "If we don't?—"
"I know." His eyes bore into mine, and I see the impossible calculation he's running.
There are too many people to save, and not enough time. Not enough hands. I look at the Sages' lives withering away above. My friends in chains below. At Arlo with his empty eyes and that arrow in his hand, as if he's waiting for Constantine's command.
I take a deep breath and turn to Mal. "What can you do that won't deplete you completely?"
"I can create a distraction, but the illusion will only last so long."
"And once we touch those cuffs, we don't know what will happen," Kage adds.
"Which is why we need to focus on taking off the guards' amulets," Mal says pointedly.
"I'll take the amulets," I say. "You two get the Sages. You can actually reach them in time."
"Ada—"
"I won't?—"
"I know you." His jaw is tight, eyes blazing. "The second we turn our backs, you're running down there."
I open my mouth to argue. Close it. Because he's right. I won't be able to watch my friends die and do nothing.
I grab the front of his tunic. "If the Sages die, the Undying Flame dies with them. Everything dies. We need them alive."
