Talin looks at us.What does it say?
“Translated directly?” Jeran says. “‘Fire.’”
I nod, but it means so much more than that. Karensa may not have a word forrestitution, but we have many different words fordestruction.
“It means the center of the cylinder is deeply unstable,” I add. “The Early Ones never figured out how to stabilize it. If tampered with incorrectly, it will set off a chain reaction. We saw what it can do to people just by being out in the open air—it can burn their skin off, make them bleed from the inside out. Whatever the Early Ones created, it isn’t a machine of eternal life. It’s a toxic energy. It’s poisonous.”
“And a weapon,” Jeran replies.
I nod. “Fire, but no ordinary fire. Fire, as if sent from the sun. Fire that will destroy everything around it.”
The color drains from Jeran’s face. Talin sucks in her breath in a soft gasp.
“There are past relics from the Early Ones showing similar designs that have been used as weapons,” I explain. “Why else would the Early Ones bury them so deep underground?”
“They’ve already brought back two to the capital. There are possibly more underground out there.”
“We need to destroy them,” Jeran affirms.
Talin looks at Jeran as she signs, while repeating the same phrases to me through our link. “If you do, do it quickly. There are big things happening in Cardinia soon—and too many threats. Those weapons can’t fall into the wrong hands.”
“We all have to get out of this city,” I say.
“What about your mother?” Jeran asks Talin.
Through our bond, I can feel the tension in Talin’s words.I have to get to her somehow.
Something is happening that she knows about, something big—but whatever it is, she keeps it behind the walls around her heart.
Everything in me rages to break past those walls to get back to the Talin I know. And when I look at her, I can tell that she sees my desperation. She gives me a small, sad smile.
I’m going to be okay, she tells me through our bond.
Jeran clears his throat beside us. “I’ll leave you two for a moment,” he whispers. And in the span of a breath, he’s gone, vanished into the darkness as if he belongs there, off to watch for soldiers from a higher vantage point.
We don’t have much time. I reach out for Talin’s hand and squeeze it. She feels different in person now, and even her hand seems hard and harsh, metal where there used to be muscle. She squeezes back.
I make a show of wincing. “Ouch,” I whisper out loud.
She lets out the hush of a laugh.You’re the worst.
I shrug.Not used to someone as strong as I am.
At that, she looks down at our hands and runs her fingers against mine, lacing them together before untangling them again. Her touch sends a shiver through me, and I close my eyes for a second, relishing the feeling. Through our bond, her heart is beating rapidly, and when I open my eyes again, I realize she’s smiling a little.
What?I ask her through our link.
There’s moonlight in your eyes, she answers.
I lean close enough to her for our noses to touch.I must look amazing.
You remind me of the day I first visited you in Newage’s prisons.
At that, I pull back from her.Ah yes, back when I was a disgusting heap of old clothes.
You were sitting under a pool of light. Your eyes had the same reflection.
I hesitate, silent for a moment.Did I look good then?
