I point to myself. “Me?”
Tiernan gets to his feet while I gawk at Chiyo. “Yes,” she signs. “Alys’s cousin came by to bring the news. It seems urgent.”
My heart clenches. What urgent matter could possibly requiremeto be present at the Assembly Lodge?
“I’ll get Taig to the Hatchling’s Nest. You two go on.”
I take a tincture, drink a couple glasses of water, and we head out as quickly as we can. It’s not the easiest given my exhaustion from the dream projection, but we arrive at the Assembly Lodge near the other main buildings. Inside, it opens to a large room with a platform and rows of chairs.
The O’Hara family is on the platform, and there are guards scattered through the room. Ava looks bored, if anything, and Alys looks concerned and apologetic, as does her husband. I’d expected Chief Badeaux to be here, but instead, there are more guards on either side of the platform where a thin form in a flowy, white gown is slumped in a chair. Her platinum hair obstructs much of her face, falling over it like a veil.
Her hands are bound behind the chair, but she tosses her head to shake some of the hair out of her eyes. Her pale gaze locks onto mine in an eerily intimate way—as if she can see into my soul. My eyes drop down to her lips to focus on the words that tumble from them.
“A Basduun!” she shouts.
The word kicks my heart into double speed, and her next words throw it into an endless tumble.
“You are the one we’ve all been looking for. The lost Heir.”
Confusion furrows my brows, but I find myself stepping a little closer.What are you talking about? I want to ask.
The woman’s silvery-blue eyes seem ready to pop out of her skull. “She must be stopped! Together with … she will … the end. The sun and the moon will fall. The king … She will kill our gods!”
I can’t figure out half of what she says, but ice stabs into the pit of my stomach and radiates out to the rest of my body until my legs wobble.
The woman is inconsolable, spittle flying from her mouth as she continues to scream various things, most of which are lost to me. “No royal should be allowed to live,” she says, suddenly calm, her eyes pinned on mine. She tilts her head, her nearly translucent cheeks bright red from all her shouting. “She must be killed along with her monster of a sister.”
With a hasty command from Dayfyd, a guard steps forward and presses his fingers against the woman’s neck. Immediately she slumps over, unmoving until a deep breath causes her chest to rise.
Her last words still hang in the air.
Both Alys and Dayfyd’s faces have gone ashen.
Ava’s arms are crossed even tighter over her chest while she levels a glower at her parents. “So …” she begins, signing with precision—she wants tomake sureI understand. “Are you going to finally tell Durvla the truth, or should we wake the fanatic?”
“Tell me what?” I’m sure my voice comes out odd, because it feels strained.
Dayfyd seems at a loss for words, but he lifts a fist to his heart and rubs over it.Sorry.
My brows dip. Why is he apologizing? Why is the fanatic, as Ava called her, categorizing me with the royals? All eyes are on me, making me long for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. My skin prickles with anxiety.
Dayfyd gives me another apologetic look, then says something to one of the guards. The fanatic is hoisted over a guard’s shoulder, but Ava is the first to storm out of the building. As Dayfyd and Alys move toward us, I force myself to face them, to pay attention to Dayfyd’s hands. “There’s something we need to tell you. If you can, meet us at our home before the next bell. Just you.”
Tiernan goes rigid beside me, but I nod.
Alys lifts a hand, but then seems to think better of it, offering me a tight smile before walking side by side with her husband toward the main door. Once they’re gone, I loose a breath, but I hold tightly to the control I have. Now is not the time to break down.
“I’m going with you,” Tiernan signs, stubbornness etching his face. “I don’t care what Dayfyd says.”
I nod, grateful for him sticking by my side.
Chapter 15
The O’Hara housefeels daunting as we stand at the door. I’m not sure how long we stay there, but Tiernan’s hand on my upper back keeps my mind from spiraling to the worst-case scenarios. I heave a sigh and rap on the door a few times. Alys opens the door with a tentative smile on her lips.
As soon as we step into the warmth of the O’Hara’s home, the scent of spices wraps around me. For once, it isn’t quite so comforting. Neither Ava nor Dayfyd are in sight. “Make yourself at home,” Alys signs.
At homeis the last feeling I have right now, but I thank her and sit down on the couch opposite the seat Alys takes. Tiernan sits beside me.
