“You will spend the rest of your life making up for the blood on your hands and atoning for the deaths you caused.”
Vienah’s light brows knit together, and her lips drew a thin line.
“That’s rich, coming from an ex-War Slayer,” she hissed as she scanned the length of me. “How many innocent lives have you taken?”
I straightened under her judgment. “Exactly,” I snapped. “I have over two hundred years of living with my mistakes. Timedoes not make it easier. Each death is a link in a chain you will carry for the rest of your life. It isheavy. It leaves you bruised and chafed in the deepest parts of yourself. Good luck standing under the weight of yours.”
Vienah blinked, her arms falling to the side.
“Get out of my way,” I growled.
To her credit, Vienah held my gaze as she took one slow step to the side, and I continued down the stairs, leaving the traitor to her penance.
Mount Telum’smess hall seemed brighter than it had under Saros’s reign. Greenery draped the arched entryways, and the sun shone through the large windows at opposite ends. Evony’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as Kresida and I joined her for dinner, though her shoulders visibly eased when she learned of Lyvia’s return.
“You’re sure you can’t stay for a few days?” she asked through a mouthful of potatoes. The clamor of off-duty soldiers rose around us, the scent of mutton and roasted vegetables clouding with the woody smoke of enderleaf.
I shook my head. “We need to let Bayne know there are multiple gates and about the rubelline protection here in Aedrialis. And figure out how best to communicate between the two kingdoms now that the orb doesn’t work here. Are you sure Gork and the other…creatures…didn’t say anything about a bone?”
Evony shook her head in exasperation. Her long braids swayed as she took a swig of water.
“It would probably look similar to the one Drystan had,” Kresida pressed. “Round or oval… They were all about the size you could fit in your palm.”
“No,” Evony stressed. “They didn’t have anything like that. Andyes, we tried searching for them in the mountains. Andno, I have no idea where they went.”
Kresida’s dark brows narrowed, and I shook my head.
“Olienna was certain they had it,” I murmured, focusing on the carrots on my plate. “The Stone Witch had it during the Battle of Odessa. That’s how she manipulated the twin eclipse, the Sending, that arrived earlier than it should have.”
“I know,” Evony agreed, setting down her fork. “And it makes sense she would have left it with them when Saros captured her if she didn’t want it getting into his hands.”
I nodded.Where had it gone?
I glanced up, and Evony’s eyes had gone glassy as she stared off across the room.
“Are you being treated well, Evony?” I asked, my brows narrowing as I examined her.
She jerked her gaze back and nodded. “Yeah,” she muttered. “I was just thinking, I kind of miss him.”
“Gork?” I asked.
She nodded, her lips turning down, and I resisted the soft feelings that threatened to rise. She probably missed everyone. Her parents were dead, her brother had left, and the rest of us were off preparing for a war.
“No word from Ezrich yet on the edge of the rubelline zone?” Kresida asked.
Evony shook her head.
“You could come with us,” I said as I wiped the grease from my hands. “To Lotrennia.”
Evony’s head jerked up, and she opened her lips to respond, but paused.
“I’m sure the old man can carry one more,” I said, offering the slightest tilt of my lips.
The old man can hear you,Aquila piped in.
A wave of amusement rushed down my bond with Aquila, and I stifled the chuckle that followed.
And, of course, I can carry her.
