“A magewish that would help himdestroy the obelisks.” Viri’s voice rose. “Yousaidthat.”
“I didn’t,” Reeve said, still frustratingly calm in the face of her anger. “I told you the sacrifice is intended to destroy the obelisks, and that’s true. I also told you we needed to stop Braedan, which was also true. But those weretwo separate things. You just assumed they were one and the same.”
Viri couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Youlet meassume that,” she snarled.
“I did,” Reeve said shamelessly. “I needed your help to get here as fast as possible so we could prevent him from dooming us all. I never lied about that.” He blew out a breath. “Be annoyed all you want, but everything I did was for all the reasons I said—to save the city.”
“Then you need toexplainthat,” Viri ground out, leaning forward with her hands on her hips. “No more misleading half-truths. If you want me to believe you, then you need to tell me everything you know.”
Reeve sighed and rubbed a weary hand over his face. “I’m not sure you’re going to believe me regardless of what I say. But here it is: You’ve been chasing the wrong person for seven years.”
Viri saw red, a sound leaving her lips that was part hiss, part scoff, all rage. “Are you really going to stand there and tell me he’s not the Reaper Priest?Really?”
“No, he is,” Reeve said quickly, stepping closer as if to soothe her before thinking better of it and halting again. “But the title isa distraction, something used to keep you and every other hunter from learning about the ReaperLord—the leader of all reapers who rules Diaboros, a reaper city hidden deep inside Mount Mort.”
There was a ringing sound in Viri’s ears after his declaration, a combination of shock and incredulity. “That’s impossible,” she said roughly, latching onto the first argument that came to mind. “Mount Mort is covered in blackmist.”
“It’ssurroundedby blackmist,” Reeve corrected. “But the inside is sealed like Mount Tembris and Mount Verta. There’s an entire population of reapers living in there, with generation after generation of them growing up inside, all trapped in place by themist.”
Viri shook her head. Shook it again.
“They siphon from each other to survive,” Reeve went on determinedly, “or from any kids they have—stopping before they kill them, so they can siphon again later—until those kids either succumb to burnout or become reapers themselves. They’re all desperate to leave, starved for fresh sources of ellixen, but the mist is a death sentence to almost all who try to escape. Only a few ever make it out, always during rare pockets of time when the mist lifts just enough to offer a brief window of safety. It’s a massive risk, but those who do manage to break free are the reason you and your hunter friends still have jobs.”
Reapers are like rats—no matter how many we catch and throw in the Underlock, they just keep appearing.
Viri swallowed as her own words from a week ago replayed in her mind, hating how Reeve’s admission explained why the hunters could never eradicate reapers entirely. But even so…“We would know if there was a city of reapers. That’s not something that can be hidden.”
“Where do you think we’ve been living for the last seven years?” Reeve asked, indicating himself and Braedan, the latter of whom was remaining wisely silent, as if aware that Viri was two seconds away from wrestling him through the wayportal and straight to the Underlock. “Where better to hide than in a city no one knows exists?Especiallyno hunters. There’s a reason you never came close to finding us.”
“But you said the mist keeps everyone trapped in—”
Reeve cut her off by raising his middle finger, making her temper flare to new heights, until she realized he was tapping his onyx ring—his blackmist talisman. His eyes then flitted to Braedan, with Viri following his gaze to see her brother was wearing one, too, the dark, silver-runed band gleaming against his black-veined skin.
Suddenly, Viri understood why they both needed them, and that it wasn’t just to survive a trek through the Mistwood—it was so they could escape the blackmist-riddled mountain.
“I never told you how I ended up with one of these,” Reeve said, twisting his ring. “Remember how I mentioned a teacher who helped me learn to control my magic and avoid burnout? Well, that teacher also possessed a vast collection of magical artifacts, including the original set of talisman rings left by the ancient mages. I was gifted one so I could come and go safely from the mountain, and as soon as I was able to, I stole the rest to give to Brae, Jonas, Sage, and Ardin so they could do the same.”
Reluctantly, Viri could admit that his explanation made sense. But she still wasn’t convinced about everything else he was telling her. He, however, wasn’t close to being done.
“I know you must have a thousand questions,” Reeve said,“but for now, the main thing you need to know is that it’s the Reaper Lord—notBraedan—who has been abducting the kids and plans to use the Aurora sacrifice to destroy the obelisks. We found out months ago”—he gestured to himself and Braedan again—“and together with Sage, Ardin, and Jonas, we’ve been doing everything we can to stop it. You already knew that part.”
“You left out any mention of working withhim.” Viri’s eyes speared back to Braedan, who remained so still that she wondered if the Guardian had frozen him with magic.
“As I said before, you wouldn’t have believed me,” Reeve returned, then continued before she could say she still didn’t. “Throughout the ages, there hasn’t always been a Reaper Lord like there’s been a Reaper Priest, but when someone comes along with enough power, they’re granted the title and given leadership over Diaboros.” He paused. “The current Reaper Lord is unimaginably powerful, someone who can use siphoned ellixen to perform magic—a reaper who isalsoa mage. That’s why Brae was desperate enough to come here and use his wish to—”
“Reapers can’t be mages,” Viri interrupted, before remembering who she was talking to and quickly adding, “Not by using siphoned ellixen.” It was common knowledge that reapers couldn’t access the magic they stole for anything outside their physical body. Heightened senses, speed, strength, healing, longer lifespan—that was the extent of their abilities. She’d hunted enough of them to know that for sure, as had every other hunter throughout history.
“The Reaper Lord isn’t like other reapers,” Reeve said, his dark tone making it clear how he felt about the supposed leader of all reapers.
“That would be my fault,” the Guardian interjected smoothly.“The current Reaper Lord learned how to control and use ellixen from me.” He coughed and murmured, “Among other things.”
All eyes turned to the purple-robed man. Even Braedan and Reeve looked surprised by his admission.
“A magewish,” Viri breathed in realization. “You granted a wish to the Reaper Lord.”
The Guardian’s handsome face was impossible to read, though shadows crept behind his blue eyes. “Yes and no. But that’s a story for another time, so”—he waved his hand and a roaring fireplace full of green flames appeared in the stone wall between two windows that overlooked the moonlit Mistwood, all materializing out of nothing—“please do continue. This is the most entertainment I’ve had in years.” Another wave produced four golden velvet armchairs before the magical fire. “Shall we get comfortable? I can summon tea?”
Viri pressed her lips together to keep from telling him where he could shove his tea.
