by Sarah Hawke
“If you already knew, you could have sided with my sister,” Kaseya whispered. “You could have taken the opportunity to finally expose the moshalim , but you didn’t. Why?”
Valuri snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? By that point, exposing the sorcerers would have meant exposing herself. Everyone would have realized she had executed her friend and banished Zalheer for completely bullshit reasons. So instead she tried to silence your sister just like she silenced Marcella.”
“It must all seem to clear to you,” Lysara said, her voice a brittle whisper. “In your eyes, we are all monsters. Everything is so very…simple .”
“Isn’t it?” Valuri asked.
“This island and its people have prospered for a hundred generations,” Lysara said. “While the mainlanders butcher one another over gold and spoils, we remain strong and unified. We aid one another. We serve one another. And we have built a paradise every bit the equal of the ancient Avetharri.”
“The people of Nol Pratos don’t seem to think they’re living in a paradise,” I pointed out.
“They have for many years. But now…” The Matriarch swallowed, and the color in her cheeks slowly returned. “I almost didn’t send you after Ayrael. I feared that she would try to turn you against us, and I feared that you would be all too willing to listen. But after her fall, the moshalim declared you the Daughter of Destiny. You were the one fated to save Nol Krovos and ensure another century of peace.”
“And if the moshalim were wrong about Ayrael, you couldn’t afford to let them be wrong about Kaseya, too,” I said. “Otherwise the people might start to lose faith in their prophetic leaders.”
“I’ll give you credit, lady,” Valuri murmured. “I always thought the Inquisitrix was a shrewd manipulator, but she’s a bloody amateur compared to you.”
Lysara’s eyes flicked between us. “I had hoped that the prophecies surrounding your return were mistaken, and I wanted to speak with you myself, away from the eyes of the moshalim , just to make sure. But I see now that the Mosh’Dalar is right. You will bring ruin and despair. Not out of wrath or hate, but out of blind, misguided righteousness. You have allowed the lies of the Exile to poison your mind and corrupt your heart.”
A bitter knot twisted in my stomach. Apparently my instincts had been wrong about her after all.
“I should have listened to my Maskari and ordered our fleet to send your ship to the bottom of the sea,” Lysara went on. “Our people would have never needed to know what happened to you. And once we defeated the Betrayer on our own, they wouldn’t have cared. Order would have been restored, and peace would have been assured for another generation.”
“A peace built upon a house of lies and oppression,” Kaseya whispered.
Lysara stared at her for a long, aching moment. “But a peace nonetheless.”
She whistled sharply, and a few seconds later a half-dozen of her golden-armored, spear-wielding amazon guards appeared in the doorway. I reflexively opened my palm, and Aetheric energy crackled between my fingertips.
“Take them to the dungeon,” Lysara ordered. “Use the back passages—I do not want them seen until the battle is over. We shall continue our conversation after the Betrayer’s defeat.”
Valuri unsheathed her tiger claws. “I hope you have lot more soldiers waiting outside. Otherwise you’re going to get a first-hand demonstration of what the Senosi are capable of.”
I summoned flame in my palms, and I conjured a protective barrier around myself and Kaseya. I didn’t want to hurt these people if I didn’t have to, but there was no way in the abyss I was going to—
I froze in place when Kaseya abruptly tossed her sword upon the floor. “I will not raise a weapon against my fellow amazons. They are not my enemy.”
Valuri’s mouth fell open. “You picked a terrible time to develop a sense of a humor, Red.”
“Put your weapons down,” Kaseya said. “We are not going to harm my people.”
I shook my head. “Kaseya…”
“I am serious, Jorem. I will not fight them, and neither will you.”
The Matriarch smiled thinly and gestured for her warriors to advance. I retreated a step, the flames crackling in my palms as I frantically tried to come up with a reason not to unleash hell and get the fuck out of here.
Trust me, Jorem. You just have to trust me.
The flames vanished, and I let out an exasperated sigh as one of the amazon women grabbed my wrists and pulled them behind my back. Valuri stared at the two of us like we were completely insane, and I could tell she spent a few seconds deliberating whether or not she could kill everyone in this tower by herself. But she eventually hissed in disgust and retracted her claws.
“When Ayrael burns this whole damn island to the ground, you’ll wish we forced them to see reason,” she spat.
“This isn’t about reason,” Kaseya said. “It is about honor.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing…”
“Take them,” Lysara said.
The women holding Valuri and I nudged us forward with their spears, but the one behind Kaseya hesitated. “But, Matriarch,” she murmured. “The Vaer Tal’Shira …the moshalim’s prophecy…”
“The Daughter of Destiny has made her choice,” Lysara said gravely. “Nol Krovos will face the Betrayer alone.”
6
“Well, I certainly hope you’re happy, Red,” Valuri grumbled. “Instead of gloriously dying on the front lines of another hopeless battle, we get to gloriously rot in these cells until your sister marches in here and murders us.”
Kaseya remained silent. She was bound and shackled in the cell next to me, though she hadn’t struggled a single time since the Matriarch’s guards had dragged us down here. I didn’t want to hurt these people any more than she did, but I also didn’t want to sit here helpless while the Inquisitrix and her fleet conquered the island.
Valuri had it worse than we did. She was locked in her own fortified cage with bars so thick even a fully-empowered Senosi couldn’t rip them apart. Not without alerting the guards at the end of the hall, anyway.
“What if Ayrael is right?” Kaseya whispered into the long pause. “What if Nol Krovos isn’t worth saving?”
I sighed. “Please tell me you have an actual plan for getting out of here besides wallowing in uncertainty.”
“If Zalheer had still been with us on the transport, the Matriarch would have ordered the fleet to sink our ship,” Kaseya said as if she hadn’t heard me. “She never would have allowed us to explain ourselves.”
I leaned my forehead against the bars of the cell, resisting the impulse to twitch my thumb and activate my bond ring. Flooding my head with her emotions right now would only make this more difficult.
“It’s hard to know anything for certain,” I said. “I’m honestly surprised they let us blaspheme as long as they did. I really thought the Matriarch was going to rebel against the Mosh’Dalar and make some kind of deal with us. She’s clearly shaken by this prophecy.”
“You mean the one that states how Red here is the only one who can defeat Ayrael?” Valuri asked.
“And that in doing so, Kaseya will throw the island into chaos.” I pursed my lips. “Given the choice, powerful people will always choose to protect their power above all else. We saw that over and over again in Vorsalos. It’s better to be the captain of a sinking ship than a deckhand on a sailing one.”
Kaseya shook her head. “That makes no sense.”
“Power is power, honey, even in paradise,” Valuri said. She sighed, and her expression softened. It was a rare sight. “Look, I know you’re disappointed. I know you wanted to believe that your people could see reason. But I really, really hope you didn’t tell us to stand down just because you’re upset.”
“I will not attack my amazon sisters,” Kaseya said. “Not now, not ever.”
“Then I guess we’re fucked.” Valuri swore under her breath. “We really should have left Highwind when we had the chance. We could
have been lounging around in Falcon Ridge by now…”
Kaseya paused again before she eventually slouched back against the bars. “Lysara may not even believe I am the Daughter of Destiny. She changed her mind when Ayrael turned against her. She probably only gave me the title to save face. Otherwise the moshalim would look foolish.”
“Yet another reason not to rely on the whims of prophecy,” Valuri muttered.
“Or perhaps they’ve simply misinterpreted the warnings,” Kaseya said. “What if my sister is the Daughter of Destiny and the Betrayer? What if she will save the island by destroying it?”
I inhaled sharply, and I leaned up so quickly I accidentally bashed my head against the bars. What if everyone has been misinterpreting this prophecy the whole time?
“Are you all right?” Val asked. “I’ve seen that face before…”
I licked at my lips and wished my hands were free to rub my throbbing skull. “I’m fine,” I murmured. “But I think Kaseya’s right: we’ve been looking at this the wrong way.”
Both girls stared at me, confused. I wanted to explain it to them, but a few pieces of the puzzle stubbornly refused to slide into place. With a bit more time, I was convinced I could figure it all out.
Unfortunately, by then it would almost certainly be too late.
“Never mind,” I said, glancing over to the two guards standing neat the door. I was a little surprised they were even allowing us to speak. They had probably just been given orders to keep their distance. I couldn’t imagine they had any reinforcements nearby given the imminent landfall of the Vorsalosian fleet. Not that it mattered—we weren’t going to be bursting free of our restraints anytime soon. They weren’t embedded with vatari crystals to sap away my strength, but they were reinforced with magic to the point they were virtually unbreakable. Even with the bolstering presence of the Fount, I doubted I could muster enough power to melt iron.
“I suppose we should take some solace in the fact the Mosh’Dalar knows about the Fount,” Valuri murmured into the silence. “Unless he’s a complete moron—which is still possible—he’ll at least assign some guards to watch it.”
“In the dreamscape, the cavern entrance was littered with bodies,” I said. “The amazons won’t be able to defend it even if they try. There’s no force on this island capable of stopping Ayrael and her minions.”
“Besides us,” Kaseya said, closing her eyes. “Besides me .”
Another long silence lingered between us until I felt a small, almost imperceptible tremor beneath my feet. I frowned and concentrated until it happened again and again.
“What the hell is that?” I asked.
“Siege weapons, maybe?” Valuri asked. “Ayrael’s fleet must have finally arrived.”
“The battle has begun,” Kaseya confirmed. “I can sense the moshalim drawing power from the Fount.”
I grimaced. “Hopefully they’re smart enough to target the ships and wyverns and not the Senosi. Maybe they’ll—”
“Fighting has also erupted on Nol Pratos,” Kaseya interrupted. I could feel her clawing out through the Aether with her increasingly powerful senses. The close proximity of the Fount was undoubtedly bolstering her abilities as well. “The rebels are attempting to break through the Matriarch’s forces. They possess superior numbers.”
“But no sorcerers,” I said. “When the moshalim inevitably retaliate, it will be a massacre.”
I swore under my breath. This was so much worse than I had expected I honestly didn’t know what we would do even if we miraculously broke free. The three of us couldn’t defeat a whole fleet of ships, and none of us had the stomach to fight a bunch of peasants who had effectively been cordoned off into a slum.
Kaseya’s body abruptly stiffened. “Zor kalah .”
“What now?”
“She is here.”
“Ayrael?” I asked. “That’s not surprising. You did sense her back on the—”
“She’s not with the fleet, Jorem,” Kaseya said, turning to face me. “She is here on the island right now.”
My jaw sagged. “You’re certain?”
“Her presence is unmistakable,” Kaseya said, her eyes fluttering back and forth in concentration. “She is approaching the heart of the city from the south right now. I sense several other Senosi with her.”
“How in the bloody hell did they slip past the blockade?” Valuri asked.
Kaseya shook her head. “I do not know.”
“Well, shit,” Val grumbled. “If she’s not even bothering to lead their forces at sea…”
“Then it means everything else is just a distraction,” I finished for her. “Son of a bitch. She’s not going to bother burning the fleet and stomping your army—she’s heading straight for the damn Fount!”
My words hung in the air like a fetid wind as we slowly began to realize just how badly we had failed. All the sacrifices we had made just to reach Nol Krovos, all the efforts we had made to try and warn them about what was coming…
And now, at the end, none of it would make a damn bit of difference. It was as if we had jumped into a game of krisark with only a third of our pieces. This battle was over before it had begun.
What if everyone has been misinterpreting this prophecy the whole time?
“Well, Red,” Valuri muttered, “if you have a secret plan to get us out of here, now is the time.”
“I do not,” Kaseya whispered.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. Remind me to never—”
The main prison door abruptly opened, and all three of us turned and listened as booted footfalls echoed down the stairwell. The guards turned, apparently just as surprised as we were to have a visitor, and they lowered their spears and took a step away from the archway before the mysterious newcomer stepped into the light. She was tall and fully armored, but it was her familiar brown eyes that made my heart skip a beat.
“I need to speak with the prisoners,” Hestiah said. “They may possess important information about our attackers.”
The guards shared a quick glance. “No one is allowed to be down here, my lady. Please, return to your post.”
Hestiah scowled and stopped in front of them. “I don’t have time to argue! Our sisters are dying out there, and these mainlanders can help!”
“The Matriarch’s orders were quite clear,” the first guard said as she gripped her spear more tightly. “Leave. We will not ask again.”
“Fine,” Hestiah said with a sigh. “Then I apologize for what must be done.”
She grabbed the spear of the amazon on the right, jerked the woman forward, and placed a slender blade at her throat. The other guard leapt back several feet and lowered her weapon, but she didn’t advance.
“I have no desire to kill one of my sisters-in-arms,” Hestiah said, snatching up the cell keys with her free hand. “But if you do not release the prisoners right now, I will have no choice but to send you to the abyss.”
“Traitor!” the free woman hissed.
“The only traitors here are the ones who would willingly imprison the Vaer Tal’Shira ,” Hestiah said. “Go and open those cells. Now!”
The amazon clutched her weapon more tightly. “I would rather die than dishonor myself!”
Hestiah sighed. “I’m afraid you have already done that.”
Rearing back, she slammed her hostage into the nearby wall then lashed out with a high, arching kick so dexterous it made my groin ache just watching it. Hestiah became a blur of movement, and a few seconds later she was standing over two pummeled, insensate bodies. She rushed towards us a moment later, keys at the ready.
“Hestiah…” Kaseya gasped as her cell swung open. “Why?”
“I do not claim to understand what is happening,” her friend said, “but I trust my sword-sister with my life.”
Smiling, Kaseya grabbed the other woman by the cheeks and kissed her. They held on to each other so long I was tempted to clear my throat and remind them they weren’t alone. But eventually they parted, a
nd Hestiah opened my cell and removed the shackles from my wrists.
“How did you manage to get in here?” I asked, rubbing at my sore wrists. “I thought all the amazons were out guarding the shore.”
“They are,” she confirmed. “But when you never arrived I knew something was wrong. I tried to find the Matriarch, but she wasn’t there, either.”
“What?” Kaseya asked. “Where is she?”
“I do not know, but she and the Mosh’Dalar were together. I can only assume they returned to Nol Pratos, but I do not understand why.”
“There’re not on Nol Pratos,” I said, rubbing at my wrists. “I’d bet anything they’re at the Fount right now.”
Hestiah shook her head. “The Fount?”
“The entire reason Ayrael is here,” Kaseya said. “We don’t have time to explain the details, but my sister believes she has found a way to destroy the source of our power. She cannot be allowed to prevail.”
“Then we should return to the shore as quickly as possible,” Hestiah said. “The blockade is holding, but with your help we could—”
“Ayrael is already here,” Kaseya interrupted. “I don’t know how, but she has landed on the island without anyone being the wiser. We need to stop her.”
Hestiah blinked, a dozen different questions flickering across her face. But her loyalty to Kaseya quickly overwhelmed her confusion, and she took in a deep breath and nodded. “I will fight at your side, from now until we return to the gods. Just tell me what I need to do.”
Kaseya squeezed the other woman’s arm. “For now, just follow us. I believe it is time for me to face my destiny. One way or another.”
***
When we emerged from the prison, I feared that we would have to fight our way past even more amazons and moshalim before we could actually go after Ayrael. But Hestiah was right that every available warrior had already been deployed on the shore or on Nol Pratos, so the city was practically empty. The children and the elderly had locked themselves in their homes, and the laborers were nowhere to be seen. The emptiness was almost eerie, and the gathering clouds on the horizon made it even worse. The bustling, sun-kissed paradise we had strolled through just yesterday had transformed into a gray, shadowy ghost town.