Her footfalls were silent as she padded into the open meadow. She sat in the grass, savoring this stillness, and tilted her head to the sky.
This moment…she felt like she’d lived it before. It reminded her of that last morning before heading back into Khento with her Armature, filled with desperate hope for a successful rescue of her family.
There had been eight of them then. And only three of them now. As terribly as Khento had gone, where they were headed was likely to be so much worse.
Was she making a mistake by forging ahead instead of waiting for her allies? What would happen if they returned to Leuxrith and rallied everyone she could to her before meeting Kol in the open?
Mariah sighed heavily, stirring the humid air. No. She remembered what happened the last time she waited, the last time she followed advice to be careful with her movements.
She’d thought strategizing would help her fix her mistakes. Fix the fact that she’d failed to protect her family. All it had earned her was her mother dead, bleeding out over a pile ofaberrant, a sacrifice to set a dark god free.
Never again. Never again would she hesitate like that. There would be no more waiting; not from her. Not for this.
Canvas rustled behind her. Booted footsteps stalked through the meadow. A bond that never closed rippled with magic, the scent of rain and sandalwood wrapping around her like a comforting blanket. Andrian settled in the grass, propping his forearms on his bent knees. Mariah said nothing; she just tipped to the side, resting her head on his muscled shoulder, her gaze never leaving the sky. It was filling with color, the purples and pinks and oranges of dawn.
They sat like that long enough for the chirping of the birds to fill out, for the sky to brighten enough to dim the light from the setting moons.
“Nio.”
Andrian’s brow was creased like he was lost in thought, and from their bond she could feel everything that warred in him.
Which meant his next words were no shock to her.
“I don’t know if we’re ready for what we’re walking into. I will follow you anywhere, but…” He swallowed, throat bobbing. “I’m worried. I’mafraid.”
Mariah closed her eyes. “I know.” And she did. Fear is what had chased her from sleep that morning.
But as she’d decided long ago, she was done letting her life be dictated by fear.
“I can’t stop,” she whispered. “No matter how afraid I am. Not when we’re so close.”
“I know,” he said, echoing her words. “I know.”
A tenseness filled their silence that was not there before.
Mariah dropped her gaze to her hands. The opalescent Marks wound around her wrists, pulsing softly in the dim light. The eyes hidden within the leafy vines stared at her, unblinking, like an eerie presence she could never shake.
“When I was in thestaor,” she said quietly, “I saw something.”
Andrian’s stare warmed her face.
“Not just something,” she continued. “Someone. A being that exists above the gods. A being that created the gods.” She swallowed thickly. “The Crieré.”
“You mentioned this before,” Andrian said. “Callamus said they Marked you. That your fate belongs to them now.”
Mariah nodded. “It’s more than that, though.” She raised her head, the first rays of the sun stretching across the sky. “I spoke to them.”
“I also assumed that. What did they say?”
“I’m…still not sure.” Mariah toyed with a blade of grass. “They told me that in order to be ready, I had to fail.”
“Fail?” Andrian dipped his head, catching her gaze. Urgency shone in his blue eyes. “They told you that you were going to fail, and you still want to move forward with this? Now?”
“It’s not that simple.” Mariah frowned. “Yes, it sounded like they were telling me of something that hadn’t yet happened. But they also told me time works differently to them. That they existbeyondtime. So, what if—” Her stare caught on the ring on her finger, the achingly familiar gemstone sparkling in the dawn light.
“What if what happened in the spring was that failure? What if I’ve already failed, and now I’m ready, and if I don’t move now I won’t have a chance again?”
“And what if you’re wrong?” Andrian challenged. His tone was tight; shadows danced along his shoulders. “What if we are walking into your failure right now? What if they gave you that warning so you could recognize that truth and ready yourself without failing first?”
