“Good.”
When I turn back around, Rhian is watching me.
“You seem at ease commanding the dead. Have you done this before?” She asks it lightly, but I can feel the tension threading through every word.
“Not that I can recall,” I say.
Taliesin’s gaze flicks toward me at that. He understands what I’m not saying.
Deep down, I suspect I know exactly who and what I am, and I don’t know how to reconcile it with the person I’ve become these past thirty-odd years. That being was known to be ruthless. And I’m not. What’s more, I don’twantto be.
“Get ready,” Rhian whispers, pressing up to peer over the lip of the crater.
Everyone falls silent. Tension throbs through our little ragged group as the wind howls over the mountain peak. It feels like we’re standing on the knife-edge between past and future. The moment we move forward, there will be no turning back.
Everythingwill change.
It’s what we want—what we’ve been working toward all this time—but unease still curls through my chest.
An arrow whistles through the air and punches the ground at the rear of the Observatory.
The Rhyfelwyrmove. One shouts and rushes toward the sound immediately. Two others draw their swords and sprint around the building in the opposite direction. That leaves only two. Rhian lifts a hand and whistles.
The rebels surge forward.
We charge down the slope, black dust misting the air behind us beneath the force of our boots. It shifts under our feet like sand, and it’s all I can do to keep myself upright. More arrows slice through the air in the distance. Gwenydd is doing her damndest to keep their attention elsewhere.
But then the remaining guards spot us.
For a moment, they freeze in horror as we charge them. Then they draw their swords. Brioc roars as he meets them first. He drives his blade into the enemy’s chest with brutal efficiency, and I can hear the grief packed into that blow. Vengeance for Meurig.
The other lunges toward him, but Taliesin is there. He blocks the man’s sword, knocking it sideways. It gives him an opening. He swings his blade in an arc and severs the enemy’s head.
It falls with a horrifyingthud.
I clench my teeth and turn to my revenant. “Get us inside.”
He slides a key into the lock and twists it sideways just as one of the guards Gwenydd distracted rounds the building. A furious shout rips from the Rhyfelwr’s throat as his eyes lock on me. Without slowing, he yanks a dagger from his side and hurls it straight at my chest. The revenant mutters a curse, spinning toward the attack. His sword flashes through the air. He strikes the thrown dagger aside with a sharpclang.
The deflected blade disappears in the black dust while the Rhyfelwr barrels toward us with a furious roar. He draws a second dagger from his belt.
It happens so quickly. One moment my revenant stands like a shield in front of me. The next he’s in a pluming cloud of dust with a dagger buried in his neck.
My chest heaves. It feels like something has been carved out of me—something far worse than any loss I’ve ever endured. The enemystolesomething precious from me. Fury pounds through my veins.
My hand snaps out. I clamp my fingers around the guard’s throat. A cry of terror chokes him.
“Marwolaeth,” I spit. He goes down like a log. I don’t stop to think how easy it is now.
Taliesin has already taken down another, and Gwenydd has skewered one on her arrows. That’s all five of them now. Squaring my shoulders, I shove open the door and stride inside.
A pattern of stars covers the interior wall. Between the constellations, someone has written,“May the stars never be forgotten,”in an elegant, looping script. The rug beneath our feet is deep navy and soft enough to quiet our steps. The scent ofOrder magic wends through the air. A draft pushes it toward us from the circular stairwell at the center of the room leading only up.
From above, something ancient hums.
Taliesin is the first to move to the stairwell. He grips the metal banister and peers through the slim opening that seems to lead the way to the highest floor. Then he cocks his head as if listening for signs of life.
“I should go first,” he says at last.
