“More to slow things down,” Reeve said. “The timing of the comet isn’t something we can control, but the kids…with fifty of them needed, every one we saved meant another had to be abducted in their place.” His shoulders rose and fell. “We did what we could with the limited information we had.”
Viri could hardly believe what she was hearing, but there was one thought screaming across her mind. “Why didn’t you justtellme?”
Reeve looked steadily at her. “Would you have believed me?”
“I—”
“Don’t lie.”
Viri rocked back on her heels, annoyed that he was right. She never would have believed that a reaper would protect children rather than siphon from them—not if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.
Frustrated at Reeve, at herself, at the fact that they’d saved eight kids but lost four—something that might not have happened if she’d known what was going on—Viri couldn’t help saying, her tone bitter, “Sage blamed me earlier, but most of this isyourfault. I don’t think I’ve ever hated you more than I do rightnow.”
“No,” Reeve said, still unmovably calm. “You hate who you think I am. There’s a difference.”
Before Viri could respond, or even fully process what he’d said, Wynter shouted, “EXCUSE ME!” All eyes turned to her as she demanded, “Can someone explain what the hell you’re all talking about?Whatsacrifice?”
With an apologetic grimace, Viri brought her friend up to speed. She kept the details brief, finishing with how they didn’t know when or where the Aurora sacrifice was taking place, norwhat Braedan intended to do with the comet’s power if he succeeded.
Wynter’s face was a sickly green color by the time Viri was done, but she wasn’t the only one exhibiting strong emotion. Sage looked like she wanted to take a swing at Viri for what she’d said about Braedan’s deadly intentions, and Jonas had pulled Walnut out of his pocket to cuddle the bunny against his chest for comfort. Reeve alone was composed, staring up through the glass dome again, the water a shade lighter as dawn approached.
“Aurora…Aurora…” Wynter repeated the name, her eyes glazed in thought. “Why does that sound so…?” She blinked, gasped, and rushed across to her bookcase, pulling down another thick tome, this one covered with shooting stars and lustrous planets.
“The Aurora Comet—I’m sure I’ve read about it before,” Wynter said, flicking frantically through the pages as she moved to sit on the couch, then making a triumphant sound. “Got it!”
She lowered the book onto her lap and tapped a finger on the opened page, prompting everyone to crowd around her, with Viri sitting at her side and Reeve, Sage, and Jonas standing shoulder to shoulder and leaning in for a closer look. The text was written in indecipherable runes and had a shimmering gold illustration in the corner: two radiant beings sharing a passionate embrace.
“The comet is part of the Adastrum Devotis—the star-crossed lovers,” Wynter said, translating the runes for them.
“Part of?” Reeve repeated, examining the drawing.
“Aurora is one of a pair—the first oftwocomets that appear once every two hundred years,” Wynter said, skimming the page. “The story goes that she and her lover, Orion, were two magesof such incredible power that, whenever they touched, the world trembled on its foundations. The destruction they caused was a danger to all living creatures, so the Elder mages banished them to the heavens, ensuring they would be separated for all time, with Orion forever straining for his lover but never able to reach her.” Wynter ran her hands over the embracing couple. “The Aurora Comet and the Orion Comet—where one goes, the other follows, for all eternity.”
“That’s a very depressing story,” Jonas said, cuddling Walnut closer. “Why do so few legends have happy endings?”
“Depressing or not,” Wynter said, still reading the runes, her brow scrunched in concentration, “I have good news, bad news, more bad news, and then someverygood news.”
“I can guess some of the bad news,” Reeve said, his body lined with tension, as it had been ever since Wynter had begun sharing the star-crossed tale. “A second comet means there’s a second opportunity for a sacrifice, even if we manage to stop thefirst.”
Viri froze, realizing he was right.
“Yes,” Wynter confirmed. “But the good news about that is, according to this”—she pointed to the ancient writing—“the Orion Comet requires a different kind of sacrifice than Aurora. There aren’t many details here—I’ll have to do more research—but there’s a reference to something calledellixen abyssus, which, roughly translated, means ‘void magic.’ I’m not sure what that is, just that it’s apparently very rare. So even though both comets require the same baseline things—purity of heart, magical strength, and bloodletting—this addition for Orion is good for us, because whatever it is, it’s unlikely to be found in one child, let alone many.”
“So Aurora is still the main threat,” Viri surmised, with no small amount of relief.
“I’d go as far as to say she’s the only threat you need to worry about at this point,” Wynter said. “Which leads me to the other good news and bad news—the bad being that I don’t know how much time will pass between Aurora’s arrival and Orion’s. It could be days, it could be weeks. I’ll look into it, but for now, at least we know the second comet isn’t the main concern, not if it needs this uniqueellixen abyssusmagic.”
Viri’s relief grew at her friend’s confidence. They still had one sacrifice to stop, but one wasmuchbetter than two.
“If that’s the bad news, then what’s the good?” Sage asked.
A victorious light touched Wynter’s eyes as she pointed to a set of runes at the bottom of the page. “I might not know about Orion, but I can tell you when Aurora will be appearing.”
Viri’s heart skipped a beat. “How long do we have?”
The light left Wynter’s eyes as quickly as it had come. “According to this, Aurora will pass over Elverdine Isle this Sunday night.” She traced the runes. “That means you have until then to find the Reaper Priest and stop the sacrifice.”
Horror slammed into Viri. “That’sthree daysfrom now.”
