“And a cure.”
“Yes.” Surely, it’s a coincidence, right? How many people come to him in search of answers and cures? It’s vague and a decent enough guess. I feel something stretch within me, like a cat waking from a nap.
“You doubt my authenticity,” the Seer says.
My throat squeezes. “I suppose there’s no point in lying to a Seer.”
“Correct.” His gravelly voice is flat, not a hint of amusement in it. “Before we begin, bring in the Priestess of Death.”
I frown, staring silently at his cloak where his eyes are hidden. Then it hits me. “Briony?”
“The priestess has ties beyond this realm. You will need her.”
I’ve never taken the time to think about it that way, nor have I had a conversation with Briony about her powers. But I nod and stand awkwardly, heading to the door. I poke my head out of the hut, grateful for fresh air. “Briony, the Seer wants you present.” My voice shakes slightly.
Odgar bristles and glances down at Briony, who wrings her hands together and nods, her movements jerky. In silence, I return to the hut, back into the earthy stench and unease as Briony follows.
“Welcome, Priestess,” the Seer drawls once we’re seated.
Briony reverently lowers her head. “Thank you, Your Holiness.”
He leans forward, his hood slipping back slightly to reveal intertwining keloidal scars across his cheeks and nose. His eyes are still covered, but his head is angled toward me. “Within you lives darkness.”
My heart wrings in my chest as Enidwen grows restless.
“An ancient darkness with the power to destroy nations. You are chaos and light, embers and shadowfire. The beginning of the end. The end of the beginning. The embers to the dusk, the sun to the moon. Without one the other cannot thrive.” He pauses, taking a rattling breath. “Your soul yearns for that which both complements and balances the tenebrosity within you. The first daughter of Morwenna Meredyth—the lost Heir—she carries the same darkness. She is bound to you by shadows and dreams. By blood.”
My head reels, my thoughts tripping over each other as my heart bottoms out. My limbs grow numb, cold prickles leaving me paralyzed even as flames warm my fingertips.
“You must find her.”
Find the daughter of Dusk again. Find your sister. The memory of Enidwen’s voice in my head as I plunged into the loch returns to my mind.
Bound by shadows and dreams.Dreams.
“Durvla.” The name escapes my lips in a loud whisper as tiny embers burn in my clenched fists.
The Seer nods slowly. “The prophecy you seek lies in the Serpent’s Hollow.”
My brows furrow, but beside me, Briony fidgets with her dress.
“There you will find answers. A cure lies beneath the surface of a spring. Be forewarned: balance requires sacrifice, but sacrifice unleashes chaos.”
“Where is this Serpent’s Hollow?” I ask.
“In Erleya,” Briony quietly says beside me. She’s trembling, and it’s noticeable even in this horrifically dim lighting. “We call it Siad Nahar.”
The enchantress’s nails tap against my mind, but I hold firmly to my own thoughts.
An eerie smile pulls up one side of the Seer’s scarred face, but he doesn’t say anything else.
Briony speaks again, her gaze still glued to the Seer as if she’s afraid to look away. “It’s supposed to be near the northeast coast of Erleya. It’s said that the land only welcomes those who belong. That there’s acallfor some, but no one knows how it works.”
Enidwen’s apparent unease bleeds into my senses and crawls over my skin. I fight the urge to itch or worse, to run.
“What exactly does that mean?” I ask, my voice just a whisper. “And what exactly is the cure? Is it an item? Does the spring have magical properties?”
“Dark times are coming,” the Seer croaks, ignoring all my questions.
