Resh did not answer, for to reply to Vargrún when they were this close to the Flaeme was to give him a path to control. Apathy was safety, and Resh held his silence as he had for hundreds of years past.
Lifting his arm in a signal for motion, he guided the procession forward, passing hundreds of people kneeling and prostrating themselves in adoration and terror.
Rank did not matter here. All would kneel.
He was Resh’Agar—war embodied, wrapped in onyx aethersteel, armed with volatile magic and a blade sharp enough to cut through any threat.
The Arm of the Void.
The closest thing to the Destroyer aside from the Sovereign Flame and his holy consort, the Sokâr.
Aside fromher.
His hand clenched at his side when her face flashed in his mind. Blurred and faint, but there. An image he’d clung to on the Surface. Long, flowing silver hair. Gossamer skin. Eyes like long-lost galaxies. He could not recall her voice, her warmth, her scent.
The Rite of Scars had nearly taken her from him. But now, he vowed never to forget again.
Auryn.
HisAuryn.
He could hardly wait to see her.
Touch her.
Feel her.
Already, the Bond blazed like lightning in his chest.Thank the Void. He was close enough now. Close enough for the magic to reach her. Once he’d crossed the Threshold, it had found him again. More memories came with it. Still blurred. Still confusing. But alive. Recovered. Tiny lanterns lit one by one to lead him to his heart once more.
Within his nape, the rumbling voice spoke once again.
I feel it too, Iridias. That longing. I do not understand it, but I feel it all the same. What is this thing that binds you to that soft and fragile emberling?
You will tell me this time.
You will show me.
And I will feast upon her essence, just as I do with your Companions in the Estâr.
Resh ground his teeth so hard he tasted blood, but he gave no outward sign of his frustration.
Nor did he answer.
As the Kelvasari wound through each District in turn and approached the Jade Lattices, the People were given permission to begin the chant.Like fires in the night, the leather chokers on their necks lit up with emerald light, freeing their voices.
“Resh…Resh…Resh…”
Drums began to beat, faint at first, then loud enough to sunder skies.The walls of the Daesa Major shook with the pounding rhythm.
Beating.
Beating.
Beating.
“Resh…Resh…Resh…”
At the Penance Stair, Resh jumped from his horse’s back. The beast’s ears pricked in all directions, its red eyes wild. When he reached for him, the beast reared up.
