“Please hear me out!” Osheen’s eyes are pinned on me. His face is horribly bruised, dried blood mingling in his beard and across his cheeks.
It’s so strange reading his lips—for the longest time, he was the only person in my life who communicated with me by signing. Having to read his lips now feels like salt in a wound. I blink, embarrassed about the tears prodding at the backs of my eyes, but I don’t look away from him.
“Why are you dressed like a Purist?” Chiyo asks.
“Because I’ve been traveling with them.For information!” He adds the last bit as Ava’s fist clenches as though she’s about to strike him. “Just for information. I’m willing to share it all if you’ll give me the chance.”
“And how are we supposed to trust you?” Chiyo motions.
I turn to Tiernan who drags his eyes from Osheen to look at me. “Can you get a read on him as he speaks?” I ask. “Tell us if he’s lying?”
Tiernan’s arms are crossed over his chest in a way that makes the muscles in his upper arms flex menacingly. He nods and Ava’s brows rise.
“Excellent,” she says. She crouches and glares at Osheen. “Speak.”
Alys moves to the other side of Osheen, and as he speaks, she translates his words into signs.
“After you all left the inn, I continued working there,” Osheen begins. “They offered me food and lodging in exchange. But I did leave occasionally for fresh air and to get to know the village better. While walking in the woods, I got caught in a pitfall—some sort of animal trap. Aine Slan found me. She’s the sister of the Purists’ leader. She’d been with a group of followers. I’d overheard them talking about prophecies and lost Heirs, so when Aine invited me to dinner and, ultimately, to join their cause, I played the part of the grateful new follower.”
His story sounds like something out of a book, but Tiernan nods almost imperceptibly.True.
“I stayed with them for a few weeks, got to know Aine, and I learned a lot about the Purists and their mission. They wanted to kill Princess Carys, and now that she’s gone, they’re looking for the lost Heir. The last of that bloodline.”
My throat tightens.
“But it’s not just that. Theywantthe Veil between our world and the Otherworld torn. Their mission requires sacrificing the Daughters of Agryna and Ehlach to wake the gods. They’ll stop at nothing to find the lost Heir. Just like the princess was, this Heir is considered the ultimate evil. In fact, most with magic in their blood are considered evil—a threat to the power of the gods and to the balance of the realms. Balance requires sacrifice, and all of that.”
The contents of my stomach churn, prepared to make a reappearance. I swallow thickly.Iam the lost Heir … Rhianu, help me. Chiyo, Tiernan, and Ava glance at me as if wondering whether I’ll volunteer this information to Osheen. But I keep my lips pressed into a firm line.
“So, what else do you know about these people?” Ava asks Osheen.
“I know their way of life, and that they have an entire sector on the outskirts of Barr na Cahar,” he says.
“How did Aine get to the Verge?”
Osheen’s eyes go wide and his lips part, but he only snaps them closed again. “I didn’t know she got to the Verge.”
“You knew how to get there,” says Chiyo. “Did you tell her? You said you were traveling with her.”
“I didn’t tell her anything.”
Tiernan nods again.True.
“The group split, some heading westward, the rest of us heading … well, here.”
I sigh and rub my temple.
“What else do you know?” Ava asks him, and I look to Alys for the next translation.
“They’re enacting a new Purge. This time by gathering willing followers and offering Mages a supposed cure called the Cleanse. The Purists promise them they can live without the risk of being discovered and hanged. Soldiers called Peacekeepers have begun making rounds—like the raids, but they’re not scheduled, and they’re far less controlled. The Peacekeepers are even worse than the Forayers. They’re merciless. I’ve heard they’re even attacking Mainlanders, and so more Mages are inclined to take the Cleanse.”
Fear grips my stomach and heart as I blow out a slow breath.
A million thoughts eclipse Osheen’s face before he speaks again. “All my life … we all thought the gods abandoned us. Or lost their power. To hear people speaking of their fall and their rise, it feels?—”
“Farfetched,” I say. “But I suppose, even if none of it’s true, people believe it is. And that danger is very real.”
We all nod in somber agreement. The question is: whatisthe truth?
