My second trial had come far sooner than I’d expected. Mistakenly, I thought tomorrow would be the earliest we’d continue, if not longer. I stayed seated, my fork digging into my fisted palm. For my first trial, Andromeda had forced me to kill a human. Would she have me turn my power onto a fae now? But why Caedmon? He’d willingly served her, going as far as betraying us and leading her beasts into Dubnos.
In the end, that attack had failed, but we’d suffered for it. He’d helped weaken the gods’ enemy. And to do it, Caedmon had turned his back on his people, on his family. Was death to be his reward?
Andromeda seemed to read my mind. “We have already tested your power over death. This evening’s trial evaluates something my brethren might argue is far more essential. The power over life.”
I looked from Andromeda to Caedmon, who smiled smugly. What was it he’d said to me in those parting moments?I’m sure I’ll see you soon enough. He’d expected to see me in Malroch, specifically for this. In return for his allegiance, Andromeda had promised him something. The same thing she must have promised Bellicent, maybe even Oberon. Those who pledged themselves to her would gain eternal life.
And she wanted to see if I had enough strength within my blood to give that gift to Caedmon.
“I’ve barely used that side of the power,” I said, turning back to Andromeda. “Give me a few days to practice.”
“We don’t have a few days to spare, I’m afraid.” She snapped her fingers at Perseus. “Did you bring the stones as I commanded?”
My heart thumped painfully as I watched Perseus stand and pass a small leather pouch across the table. Andromeda eagerly took it and gazed inside at the contents. My mind continued to spin, trying to make sense of her words. If she only had a few days to spare, did that mean she planned to make a move against the mortal kingdoms soon? Val and Niamh were on those Talaven ships, heading this way. Had they been warned?
So many questions and so few answers. And I was running out of time to get them.
“Perfect.” Andromeda pushed back her chair, the wooden legs shrieking against the stone. “Tessa, stand.”
The defiant part of me, the part I would never truly shake, balked against her orders. This was how Oberon had always spoken to me. It was how his fae warriors had barked at the mortals of Teine every time they came down from their glittering city on the hill to force us to do their every bidding.
But I did not let my defiance control me now. I shoved away from the table and stood.
I felt the crimson eyes of the others on me, as heavy as an anvil. Callisto reclined and draped her arms across back of the chair to watch. Orion was scowling, though that didn’t surprise me. It was Sirius’s glittering stare that unsettled me the most. He watched me unblinking, and a preternatural stillness transformed his body to glass. It felt as if he could see straight through me, right to where my heart beat madly beneath my bones.
Perseus removed his helm and dropped it on the table. The steel rattled like thunder. A fist of fear suddenly clutched me by the throat. I gasped, then hated myself for the reaction.
Andromeda’s smile dimmed. Her focus shifted to the God of Fear. Her face paled, then a redness dusted her cheeks. Her earlier conversation with Sirius echoed in my mind. He’d become her go-between with Perseus. She was clearly surprised he’d removed his helm in her presence. What was this all about, then? Could there be ariftin the enemy’s faction?
And if so, how could I use it to my advantage?
The God of Death averted her gaze and cleared her throat. She motioned at me. “Come, Tessa. You will need these stones to bestow the gift on Caedmon.”
I walked around the table to her side, trying not to show my surprise. The gods needed gemstones to control some of their powers. I thought touch was the only limiting factor for some. But this could explain why they hadn’t left for Talaven yet. Perhaps they didn’t have enough gemstones for…whatever this quest was they kept talking about.
When I reached Andromeda, I held out my hand. She dropped two crimson gemstones into my palm. I’d never seen a gemstone this color before. Unless the storm fae had been hiding them from the rest of Aesir—and they might very well have been—these stones were not from this continent.
Their power pulsed against my skin, setting my teeth on edge. Shadows whorled through them. A tension pounded in my head. Whispers filled in my ears, though I couldn’t understand their words.
“What is this? Where is it from?” I asked.
Andromeda smiled. “Successfully complete your trials, and I’ll tell you.”
I fisted my free hand, but was careful not to close my fingers around the stones. There was somethingoffabout this power, even if it held the gift of life. The darkness inside it, those shadows…
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Caedmon asked with an impatient huff.
I lifted my gaze and narrowed my eyes. “All right. I just needed to catch my breath. This power is…incredible.”
The words were poison on my tongue. Caedmon did not deserve immortality, though perhaps I could find a wicked sense of satisfaction in knowing one day—hundreds of years from now—he would find himself unbearably lonely. Everyone he knew would be gone. His future would be forever marred by what he’d done.
“Very good,” Andromeda said, pacing beside us. Something about the way she moved seemed powered by nervous energy. “Now here is what you must do. Take both stones, press them against Caedmon’s skin, and force all your power into them.”
“All my power?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Won’t that kill him?”
“The stones will understand what you are asking of them.”
As if to punctuate her statement, the stones pulsed in my still-open palm like a throbbing heartbeat. My stomach dipped. There was something very wrong here. Between the stones, Andromeda’s anxious pacing, and the intensely curious eyes on every one of the gods’ faces, I knew this was not just about immortality.
