“Whosoever kills the Worldweaver and brings their blood to Droga’s throne will receive great power from Droga, after he is resurrected,” Lucien explained. “From then on, the Dark God will rule over this world. He will gather an army to challenge his brother Tomir once again in Edinmyre’s lands. It is said that the Black Claw were looking for the Worldweaver onPalennoc, to find them and sacrifice them to the Dark God.”
I had to take deep breaths to prevent myself from throwing up. Delmare raised her hand and said, “That means that the Worldweaver is still alive, right?”
Lucien shrugged. “It is merely a story, fabricated by fanatics. If someone with extraordinary magical power beyond normal Arcanean capabilities existed within our ranks, they certainly would’ve been found out years ago.”
The class uttered mumbles of agreement. I popped right up from my desk. “Lord Lucien, may I be excused? I’m not feeling well.”
Lucien’s mouth hung open for a moment. “You… are looking a little green, Miss Sosna.”
“Thank you.” I gathered my things and ran out of the room. Everyone turned in their seats to look at me as I hurried past.
I spent five minutes in the bathroom, heaving. Nothing came up, but I still felt sick.
The Black Claw was after me. Somehow, someway, they knew I was the Worldweaver— or at least, they suspected. That’s why someone was waiting in my dorm room that night. They wanted my blood so they could resurrect the Dark God and be bestowed with magic beyond imagining.
I brushed my hair back and leaned against the stall wall. I needed someone to talk to about this. I couldn’t carry this on my own.
But the only other person who knew that I was the Worldweaver besides myself (and the Black Claw, obviously) was Ethan.
I got up and headed back to my dorm. I couldn’t talk to Ethan right now. He was in Master Forging Class, and that didn’t end until at least five. I’d have to wait.
I wasn’t able to do anything but curl up on my bed and stare at the wall for the next hour and a half. When it was five, I headed down to the forges outside the school. They were empty— the only person still working there was Ethan.
He looked pretty hot, all dirty and covered in black soot, but now wasn’t the time for all of that. I had bigger issues than getting my rocks out. Mostly, staying alive.
“Ethan!” I cried out as I jogged toward his forge. “I need to talk to you!”
Ethan jumped when he heard me coming. He quickly went to cover something up. His movements were hasty and suspicious. It was like he was trying to hide something from me.
“What are you working on?” I asked curiously as I approached.
“It’s nothing,” Ethan said quickly. He threw a leather blanket over whatever he’d been forging and said, “What did you need to talk about?”
I took a deep breath, but no words came out. Ethan put a hand on my elbow. “Emma, you’re shaking. Let’s go sit down.”
He guided me to a stone bench nearby. I took a few gulps of air before I blurted out, “They’re after me.”
“Who’s after you?” Ethan’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“The Black Claw. Lucien told me. I mean, he didn’tknowthat he told me, but I figured it out,” I scrambled to say.
“Whoa, slow down. Explain everything,” he said slowly. He took my hands in his. Somehow, the touch of his rough skin against mine made me calm down.
“I was in history class, and Lucien told us this story. A prophecy, really. During the Night of Burning Skies eighteen years ago, the Black Claw was looking for someone whose blood can raise the Dark God from the dead. He said that the Worldweaver is the only one who can resurrect Droga. That’s me.”
Ethan’s expression paled a little, but otherwise, he didn’t react. “I know of the story, but never heard that the Worldweaver is the one who can raise Droga from the dead. I hadn’t heard that name since the hag told it to us. Emma, are you sure Lucien didn’t get his facts mixed up or something?”
My mouth dropped open. “You don’t believe me.”
“No, I didn’t say that,” Ethan said. “But I don’t want you to jump to conclusions. How does Lucien know what the Worldweaver is, anyway? Isn’t this all a little weird to you?”
I wanted to hit him. How could he be so naive? This explained so much about what was happening lately. How could Ethan sit there and try to be optimistic about something that was so obviously true? I needed his help! I needed him to help me come up with a plan. I didn’t want to ignore the truth and pretend like everything was okay, when really, I was in danger of losing my life.
Then I realized that this went beyond what I’d learned today. I realized that I was mad at Ethan. And had been ever since I saw Gabby kiss Eli this morning. It didn’t make sense— I just was. And his denial about me being the Worldweaver was pushing me over the edge.
I popped up from the bench so quickly I was surprised I didn’t get whiplash. “When are you going to get it through your head that all of this isreal?” I snapped. “The Black Claw wants my blood, and they’ll kill me to get it. I’m the Worldweaver, whatever that means, and I need you to help me deal with it!”
“I don’twantto think that way, Emma. I want you to be safe,” Ethan said firmly.
