“Maybe now you have,” I say gently.
Kaelis falls silent and stays that way until the tunnel begins to slope up. Eventually it opens to a now-familiar narrow stair cut into the rock.
When we reach the top of the stairs, he stops as he takes in the Stone Citadel for the first time.
His breath catches. “This is…” He can’t even finish his sentence.
“Stunning, isn’t it?” I extinguish and set down the lantern by the top step so it’s ready to be carried back by the next person. “I admit, meeting the Worldkeepers as little more than a sparsely outfitted rebel force hiding in the forgotten foundations of Eclipse City was less than inspiring. But this”—my gaze sweeps across the empty buildings—“this shows me there’s so much more to them.”
I begin to walk, and he remains at my side. I’m not in any hurry. We’re early yet. I imagine Vaduin and the rest will be here in about an hour or two, with the dawn. The sky is just now beginning to lighten. The induction will happen with enough time for us to return for All Coins Day, everyone none the wiser. Arina will attempt to ink her card after—though I’m not confident she will be ready. Then I will give her the choice to be inducted, or not. That’s not a decision I can make for her. But if all goes according to plan, today is the last day of this world.
“A whole history, a way of life, lost,” he murmurs as we pass through the empty buildings. “So much knowledge, lost. To think what we might have known if my father had not hunted them.”
“In the new world, what would you do with the Worldkeepers?”
His fingers graze the cracked stone and splitting wood of a building we pass. “I would honor them.”
“Really?”
“You seem so surprised.” He drops his hand to his side with a slight smile. “Did you think I’d hunt them like my father? In what ways have I ever aspired to be like my father?”
“Fair point,” I readily admit.
He laughs softly. “I have reason to believe my mother worked with them, honored them.”
“You do?” Suddenly I’m imagining our mothers working together. Maybe they were even friends.
“What limited accounts I could cobble together suggested Revisan and the Worldkeepers have strong ties. But the fact that their stronghold is connected to her palace only seems to be further proof.”
The sharp lines of his face I’m so familiar with soften. My hand slips into his, and the two voids of his eyes turn my way. We slow to a stop, and a small ache blooms in my chest.
“You would’ve made her proud.”
“That’s not why I said it.” He panics at the mere idea of parental praise.
I squeeze his hand tighter. “It’s still true.” I don’t force him to sit in that discomfort. I continue our leisurely walk, weaving around to the hidden passage by the waterfall. Our fingers stay laced, even as we descend the stairs and emerge into the alcove where the altar of the vessel is.
Kaelis’s study of the space misses nothing. He releases me to stride to each statue. He inspects the water at their bases, no doubt arriving at the same conclusion I did: that it is without doubt the same as in the font of the World.
“I think you can hide here.” I point to a narrow space between one of the statues and the wall. It’s a bit precarious, as the open air is at his side. But I’m confident he won’t slip.
Kaelis must reach the same conclusion, since he nods. Then he turns to face me a final time. We spent our time taking the long way through the citadel. Dawn is breaking, casting him in a golden glow. “And you’re sure you want me here?”
I nod. “I want you to be a part of this.”
He takes both of my hands and leans in. Our foreheads touch lightly. Kaelis inhales a slow breath.
“Tell me this isn’t a dream,” he whispers.
“It’s not.”
An exhale that sounds like disbelief. “I feel like I’ve waited a dozen lifetimes for you. I’d wait a dozen more…but, by the Twenty, let this now be our time.”
“I won’t make you wait any longer.” I squeeze his hands. “The world is ours.”
Footsteps echo from the far passage. Kaelis pulls away, and our eyes lock once more. As he wedges himself into his hiding place, I step toward the entry.
Vaduin arrives alone. I scan the tunnel behind him, waiting for more to emerge, but none do. His expression is unreadable as he approaches me, and, for a second, nerves have me tensing. He holds out his hand, and in it is a blank, diamond-shaped card.
