What would she grab? Strength? Speed?
She could reach Jentt’s body faster than Kreya could stopher. She could set him ablaze. Or tear him apart. Or take him away. All before Kreya could react.
Yet she didn’t move—not yet. “It’s called the ‘forbidden zone’ for a reason.”
“Yes, because Guild Master Lorn is terrible at naming things,” Kreya said. “With stealth and speed, I can bypass the guards and cross the wall. With strength, I can carry what I need.”
“And if I don’t give you the talismans? What will you do then?”
“Continue to steal from the recently dead. Until I’m caught and killed.” Which would be soon without any talismans to help her, especially with the near-disaster at Eren. Word would have spread, and the villages would be alert now.
“Or you could stop this. Youmuststop this,” Zera said, more serious than Kreya had ever heard her. “Jentt is dead. You must admit the truth, burn his body, and grieve, like everyone else in Vos. It’s not healthy or right to defy nature in such a way. Life ends, and you have to let it end with respect and—”
Kreya cut in. “He died for you.”
Zera sat down again, hard.
“That arrow would have hit you. He took it to save you.”
Faintly, Zera said, “He sacrificed himself for all of Vos.”
“Generally, yes. But specifically?”
“Low blow, Kreya.”
“Yet true.”
“I’m burning him.” Zera’s fingers closed around a talisman, and Kreya leaped forward, clapping her hand over Zera’s mouth before she could say a word.
“I can burn them all,” Kreya pleaded. “Let me have the talismans I need, let me save Jentt, and I will burn all the boneson the plain. Give them the peace they deserve. Once I cross the wall, there’s no one who will stop me. I can do what should have been done decades ago, and then live out the rest of my life with Jentt, in peace, the way we were supposed to.” She stared into Zera’s eyes, her hand still pressed against her mouth. She heard her bird-bone creature near her ankles, its gears whirring. “Then after, I’ll destroy the spell. Dismantle the dolls. Whatever you want. Name your price, and I’ll pay it. Just let me do this. Please.” She hated having to beg. But it was far better than wishing for an avalanche or a plague. This hurt no one but herself. And clinging to pride was for the young, or at least those who didn’t have their priorities straight.
Zera opened her hand, the one holding the talisman.
Slowly, Kreya lowered her hand from Zera’s mouth.
“One condition,” Zera said.
“Anything.”With exceptions,Kreya amended silently.
“I come with you.”
Thirty minutes later, after they’d taken care of Zera’s horse’s needs, Kreya cleared off a table in her library and spread out a map of Vos. She’d bought it off a traveler years ago, and it was one of the most accurate maps she’d ever seen—exact elevations of all the mountains, bridges and paths marked according to accessibility, and zones rated by avalanche danger. Vos stretched across multiple mountains, and they’d have to traverse six of them, as well as skirt the broadest stretch of inhospitable valley, to reach the plains. She began to trace out a route with her fingers.
Poking her head over Kreya’s shoulder, Zera pointed to a peak. “We climb here, use a flight talisman to cross to here, repeat here and here, and we’ll be there in less than two days.Spend the night in between in”—she checked the distances by spreading her fingers—“Avioc. Oh, yes, they have a darling inn that is supposed to have delectable wildberry pie.”
“No flying,” Kreya said. “It’s far too visible, and memorable. And certainly no inns.”
“My overland trekking days are over, my pet. And I swore off sleeping on the ground years ago. We can afford to do this civilized.” She tapped the map with her fingernail. “I require pie before I desecrate a mass grave.”
“Don’t be absurd.”
She now remembered why she’d never let Zera plan their adventures.
Obviously, this would have to be a stealth mission. Both of them were recognizable, even more so now than when they’d first made the trek to the plains, and they didn’t need any curious fans figuring out their destination. No flying. No inns. They’d bypass all towns, stick to the less traveled trails, and climb where they needed to. “I estimate two weeks—”
Parroting her, Zera said, “Don’t be absurd. If you want to go overland, then I am summoning my servants to carry supplies, because I am not subjecting myself to the kind of situations I tolerated in my youth.”
“Tell me you’re joking.”
