The Impostor Queen (The Impostor Queen, #1)(89)

He looks up at us, reads the blank looks on our faces, and rolls his eyes. “It told of a great power that would rise in a time of war,” he says. “The vessel would come into existence when Karhu and Susi aligned. This alignment was so rare. My calculations weren’t precise, but I knew it wouldn’t happen again for nearly three centuries.”

“And I happened to be born during that alignment,” I say quietly.

“And so was she. The Valtia,” says Raimo, looking down at the parchment again. “But that’s what the elders didn’t know. I had confided in a friend, my last supposed ally, but he told the elders of the prophecy, and they demanded to know what it foretold. I allowed them to read the part that I’d completed. When I saw the greed on their faces, I knew the time had come to take action. They wanted this power for themselves, not our people. That night, after staring through a lens of ice at the stars above, after completing the prophecy and realizing what it meant, I knew I couldn’t stay.” He runs his fingers down his beard. “My only goal became to survive long enough to see the prophecy come true, and to do my part to serve the will of the cosmos.”

“So what do you know that the elders don’t?” I ask.

“The elders thought this vessel would be a single person. And why wouldn’t they? It could be read that way. But as I completed the chart, I saw this.” He stabs his finger at a corner of the chart. “The planet Vieno in retrograde, right at the point of the alignment. Complicates everything. Always a sign of disunity. As soon as I saw that, I suspected it would be two—that the power and the balance would not inhabit the same vessel.”

“How did you know about me and Sig, though?” Oskar asks. “What does that prophecy say about us?”

“Do you want me to explain how I read the stars, or just to tell you what they said?”

“What they said,” Sig and Oskar say in unison.

Raimo lets out a huff of laughter. “The second part of the prophecy foretold the Suurin, who would rise only when nothing else could save us. But it also says they will stand with the Astia.” He rubs his thumb along a different part of the chart. “A triple conjunction of planets—Jatti, Vieno, and Kaunotar. They work together. Each one is needed for victory.”

Oskar glances at me. “But how do we know the prophecy isn’t just about the cuff, the magical artifact? Maybe we’re supposed to use that. Not Elli.”

The old man pulls his patched cloak closer around his bony shoulders, even though he’s sitting not six feet from a fire. “The signs were different from the ones that portended the cuff. Yes, the presence of Vaaden indicates an artifact, but the aspect indicates opposition. Stress. Something pushing back. This on top of the indication that the mighty power would be split into two components, the power and the balance. This time, the stars foretold an Astia with a will.” He raises his head, and his pale eyes lock with mine.

A will. Frustration courses through me. Does will matter when it’s overwhelmed by the power of the wielders who use me?

Raimo gives me a sly look and drops the parchment back into his box. “So, here we are. The Suurin were born, just as the stars foretold, and now they’ve become men. The Astia has risen. I’d say all of this proves that I’m brilliant.”

Oskar crosses his arms over his chest. “Aren’t you forgetting something? This extraordinarily powerful Valtia who, unlike past Valtias, doesn’t have balance because Elli got all of it?”

Raimo sighs. “Only the stars know where she is, but at least the elders don’t have her. I’m actually shocked that she hasn’t revealed herself yet. If she wasn’t raised in the temple, she wouldn’t necessarily know what was happening to her. But we know she’s alive, because the Saadella hasn’t come into the power yet.” His brow furrows. “Correct? I feel like I’ve missed some important events.”

“No, the Saadella has no power,” I say quietly. “But the elders have her. She’s just a little girl.” One I want to gather in my arms. One I want to protect. The urge is powerful and instinctual, its own kind of magic.

“They found her?” Raimo curses. “That’s not good.”

Oskar lowers his dark, slashing brows. “Apart from the obvious, why?”

Raimo’s eyes glitter with ice. “Because if the Saadella dies, the magical line dies. Only the death of a Valtia can create a Saadella, and once she is made, there is no chance of making another until the next Valtia dies. Why do you think the priests are so frantic to find the new Saadella every time a Valtia perishes?” He jabs his finger at me. “Why do you think they lock her away in the temple and attend to her every need? Yes, they want to control her, to make sure she has no will or thoughts of her own. But also—her death means losing the magic, and that magic is what’s keeping them in power.”

“Then the girl should be in no danger,” says Sig. “Wouldn’t they protect her at all costs?”

Raimo mutters something under his breath and shakes his head. “Everything is different now.” His creaky voice is made of urgency. “The last of our copper is being mined, and who knows what will happen to the magic when it’s gone? The fire and ice could fade away—or they could turn on the very ones who bled the land of their source. The elders know this, and I don’t doubt they’ve been planning for it.”