My long legs struggle to catch up with Etta and Basil as they race down the hallway. It’s been so long since I’ve run, days spent jogging through Pinebend long gone.
Etta and Rain lead us to a room the size of the throne room at the High Castle. The ceiling soars above us, strung with lanterns lit by white flames. Neat rows of cots are stationed uniformly throughout the space, only a few currently occupied. Along the walls, wooden tables are lined with sanitary solution and healers’ tools. Although dirt covers the floor and the walls, the smell of antiseptic clings to the air. A healing center.
Basil sets Rain down on the closest cot, and a male healer rushes over.
“We just got her back from the Panthera dungeons,” Etta says to him.
“Alright, then. Exposure, malnutrition, superficial wounds. I’ll check her vitals first, but give me a little room,” he says. He extends his palm, hovering it just over Rain’s forehead.
“I’m fine,” Rain croaks.
But she doesn’t look it. Her black hair is affixed to the top of her head, still matted in clumps. Gray dirt is crusted along one side of her face, and purple lines her eyes.
The healer removes his palm and looks back at Etta. “Yep, dehydrated and malnourished. Nothing more.”
“Thank you, Max. Get her taken care of, please,” Etta says warmly.
“Of course,” the healer—Max—says before walking toward the wall of supplies.
“I feel fine,” Rain grumbles from the cot, but she makes no move to getup.
“You heard Max. You will let him take care of you, and then you will be released,” Etta says firmly.
Rain mumbles something, then turns her back on all of us. Etta motions toward the door and we follow her out. Now that the adrenaline of the rescue mission has worn off, my muscles turn weak again as I face Etta. My sister. Mydeadhalf-sister. We stare at each other in silence for several moments, each of us assessing the other.
“I thought you had antlers,” she says with a frown.
I lift my shirt, exposing the mark on my stomach. “Sigil.”
She winces, like I just showed her an infected wound. “Dark magic?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I grab a dagger from a holster and destroy the mark. Etta’s gaze roves up and down again, but she doesn’t say anything. I offer the dagger to Asmo, who switches back to his usual appearance instantly.
“Etta, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Asmo says.
Her amber eyes narrow and her tone is harsh as she says, “I don’t answer to you, Asmo. I never have, and I certainly don’t now.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “And who, pray tell,doyou answer to?” He looks to Basil, who stands beside Etta. But he shakes his head when Asmo’s gaze falls on him.
Etta’s mouth twitches into a smirk. “Nobody. Not anymore.”
Asmo huffs a sigh. “Well, now you’ve exposed yourself to the High Queen.”
No, no, no. I hold my hands up quickly. “No, I’m not here in that role. I’m not going to tell anyone, Etta.”
She gives me a half-smile. “Unfortunately, sister, youarehere in that role. We need you in that role. If you have the heart I think you do, I was hoping you’d come rescue the prisoners set for execution. And I was right. We’ve been on the lookout for you for days now. If I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You lost your throne. I lost mine.” She walks toward me, her gaze so intense that I fight the urge to step backward. “Let’s destroy it together.”
Chapter 25
MAE
“Have you lost your mind?”I ask, because that’s the only plausible response to Etta’s proposition.
Her head jerks back, like my question was a slap to the face. “No. I’m perfectly sane,” she says in a completely rational tone.
