“My brother,” Rahzlyn admitted as Letti wrapped her palm in white cloth. “I think this is our punishment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I forced him to try Blood Sight. He’s…gifted. Has been since we were little. He mostly dealt with tarot cards, sometimes palmistry. He dreamt about little things that would come to pass too.”
“When did your brother use Blood Sight? The date and time, to be exact.”
Rahzlyn tapped her chin methodically. “Weeks ago now. The end of Gemini’sTempus.”
That was the night Gregorios had summoned me to the observatory. The night he’d said he received a dream from Gemini.
“What did your brother see?” Gregorios pressed.
“A figure dripping in black liquid. With a tail.”
Gregorios mulled this over. “Any use of Blood Sight is likely to draw the Astrals’ attention. If your brother is also Scorpion, like you?—”
“He’s my twin. He would have to be.”
Gregorios sat a little taller. “Twin?”
“You wouldn’t tell by looking at us.”
“Fascinating,” Gregorios mused. “It cannot be a coincidence.”
Rahzlyn tilted her head. “What can’t?”
The seer waved a hand. “Gemini would have sensed your twin using Blood Sight in Gemini’s territory. If you both have travel stones in your bodies, as I believe, then you may have been more undetectable to the eyes of Gemini until that moment.”
“So was it Scorpio he saw?”
“No one has seen the true form of an Astral, not even us seers. We must move on to the matter at hand.” Gregorios picked up the chalice and drank slowly.
With bated breath, we all waited for an indication of the truth. I studied Rahzlyn’s reaction to everything. She couldn’t sit still, as if a nervous energy had taken hold of her again. Gregorios’s eyes remained the same milky shade of white. Seconds passed. Finally, he shook his head.
I knew it.
Rahzlyn’s shoulders sagged. “Couldn’t that mean I’m not Scorpion?”
“Every Zodiac sign’s blood has a distinct taste to me. But with suspected apostai, I taste—and see—absolutely nothing. As I taste nothing for you now. Which means Raithe’s budding theory is proving to be true about the brand. It is likely the very thing keeping you—and all others we’ve attempted to question—blind to me.”
“Have the other territories studied this brand?” Rahzlyn asked. “Maybe there’s a way to remove it.”
I dissected every word, tone, and lilt that came out of her mouth. All her questions seemed to be rooted in genuine curiosity, not deceptive ignorance.
“We have not shared this theory with other territories yet. Not until we can prove its validity to Maryn first, though she seems reluctant to believe it.”
“Because it was my idea,” I pointed out. Felaf looked at me but said nothing.
“For obvious reasons, we cannot use you as an example. Can you tell me more about what you were branded with?” Gregorios asked Rahzlyn.
“I can try, but only around Raithe am I able to?—”
“Why don’t I explain it myself?” I voiced, stepping forward.
She jumped, facing me with wide eyes. The sunlight gilded her irises like pools of honey. She didn’t possess her powers yet, so her eyes weren’t like mine or Felaf’s. But in that moment, they were strikingly close to the vibrant hues of Scorpio’s topaz.
I tore my gaze away and ambled across the terrace. Felaf followed, lingering beneath the shade of a palm tree as I spoke. “After thousands of years, it should be impossible that we haven’t gleaned any information from the apostai.” I nodded my head in Rahzlyn’s direction. “We believe the brand not only prevents seers from reading the blood of the apostai, but also somehow prevents those who bear it from speaking about anything tying back to an apostate cause. Rahzlyn couldn’t even speak plainly about her experience with them until I was alone with her.”
