“But you’re an aberrant.”
Erinna froze. Shocked. Her most closely guarded secret just tumbled from Inez’s mouth. One that risked her very life.
“But I could be wrong. The feelings are murky sometimes.” It was clear Inez was simply trying to ease the tension. They both knew the truth. Erinna would just have to trust that a fellow aberrant would keep her secret as well.
“Do you know what kind?” she asked.
Inez shook her head. Erinna bit nervously on her thumbnail, somewhat relieved that not every part of her was being caught in Inez’s ability. “Do you mind keeping this between us for now?”
“Just between us.” Inez gave Erinna a reassuring smile, but it only made the gauntness in her cheeks more apparent.
“What else are the feelings telling you?” Erinna could tell there was more on Inez’s mind, the way she stared off in the distance.
“Even when those doors are open, things are still going to be…difficult.” She glanced at the tombstone once more. “We can lose a lot of people if it takes them too long.”
Erinna nodded in slow realization. Inez spoke with the foresight of her Talent. One of those “feelings,” as she called them.
“Does Kane know?” Erinna wondered why she was the one being entrusted with this information.
“Not yet. I’m not sure about…anything.”
What can I do about it?Erinna thought and wanted to ask, but she could see flashes of thought move across the young woman’s face. Patience, she told herself.
“I think they’re going to need you. And I think you may be able to find a way around the suffering.” She lightly patted the stone. “There’s something here, I just don’t know what it is.”
Erinna’s mind churned, wondering what it all meant. She could feel it. A convergence of fate. Iprix’s death, the curse, the Weeping Queen, and her Talent. Thoughts were starting to take shape. Then she felt it—another flare of unbidden Talent. It came to life as if something had called to it. A chill touch ghosted across her neck and made her skin crawl. Not here. Not now. She willed it down, pushing against the rising tide.
After a tense moment, her Talent receded. Coiling back into her chest like a sleeping serpent. Erinna patted the pocket where she placed the tin of tea. She would need a heavy brew tonight.
“We should go.” Erinna turned on her heels, ready to be back among the living.
They barely made it a few steps when the earth groaned beneath their boots. They stumbled, hands instinctively reaching for each other as the tremor rippled through the ground. Roots snapped beneath the soil. Trees groaned in their perch. Rocks clattered across the ground.
As quickly as it appeared, everything fell silent—even the night birds ceased their calling.
Then came the bang.
A roaring, thunderous crack that split the air and grated nerves. All from the direction of camp.
Chapter
Nineteen
Dirt and debris misted the ground around camp, perturbed by the sudden quake. Tents had been reduced to piles of wood and canvas. Shingles broke loose from old roofs. Even a few walls from the more disrepaired huts had crumbled to mounds of stone.
Kane was furious.
The camp was in disarray. Rem cursed profusely as stew mingled with rock and soil. The doors were even more challenging than before, and it was all their fault.
Well. It was Afton’s fault, technically.
Kane glared at the iron bars now settled in front of the doors. They had snapped into place so quickly, he was still registering everything that happened.
“Whoops. Wrong rune,” Afton murmured, taking a large step away from Kane’s side. Arcanum hummed in the air as the detritus settled back to the ground. “We can try again tomorrow?—”
“Tomorrow?” Kane whirled on the mage, eyes blazing. “We’ve been at this door for three days. I even brought you here early for a head start. Instead of making any progress, you’ve only made it worse.” Smoke rose from clenched fists as he kickeda piece of broken masonry. It skittered across the courtyard, landing a few feet away from Erinna and Inez.
They had just returned to camp, both bent over and wheezing. Once Erinna regained composure, she looked up, assessing the utter mess of the situation. Her eyes narrowed in a glorious stormy glare. Kane shared her anger, her fury feeding his own.
