Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(70)

Cettie knelt and took his hand in hers. She squeezed it as she watched the embers of life flicker within him.

His struggle lasted only seconds more. Then his final breath came out in a wearied gasp.

Cettie bowed her head. She was not sorry he was dead. But she was grateful to have been with him at the end. And even more grateful that she hadn’t been called upon to kill him.

“The Genevese are coming,” Juliana said urgently, glancing behind Cettie. “We must go. We must get the prisoners to safety.”

Cettie noticed a bulge in the pocket of her father’s coat. Her head tilted sideways. Carefully, she reached her hand into his pocket.

And found the Cruciger orb.





CHAPTER TWENTY?FIVE

WIZR



All of the prisoners of the poisoner school were brought aboard Serpentine. Cettie checked each one, inspecting for invisible rings, brands, or kystrels. The zephyrs continued to patrol the skies while the prisoners were secured on the tempest. Before the last was loaded, cracks of musket fire began to assail the zephyrs, which they responded to by rising vertically into the air.

“Get them on board, now!” Juliana barked. “We’re leaving.”

The last few prisoners were hurried up the ladder, Cettie and Adam climbed up after them, and then Serpentine vaulted into the skies. Cettie clung to the railing, looking below as the sky ship cleared the walls. Cavalry riders lined the road leading to the poisoner school. Some wagons hauling cannons could also be seen farther off. Another quarter hour, and there would have been too many enemies to fight with such a small force. The Genevese were clearly incensed at the intrusion into their lands. There would be consequences.

The ordeal in the dungeon beneath the poisoner school had left Cettie completely drained. She felt no connection with the Mysteries at all, numb even to the magic of the sky ship. The fatigue would make her useless unless she kept busy. Amidst the commotion on deck, she spied Caulton Forshee gazing at the Cruciger orb, studying it intently. Adam attended to the injuries of the new passengers. Some had been bitten by the serpents. Others bore injuries that spoke of their poor treatment in confinement. Her heart throbbed as she watched him treat each of them with solicitous care.

Trevon sat alone, arms folded, his look dark and depressed.

She went to him, sitting down nearby, and he looked at her with eyes full of suspicion. “You fought like a Fountain-blessed,” he told her. “You’re not the girl I once knew.”

She clasped her hands together and gazed down at them. No, she wasn’t. She was someone entirely different. “I’m not,” she agreed, “but part of me is. I’m glad we found you, Prince Trevon.” In the past, he had asked her to call him Trevon, without the honorific, but they would need to rebuild their friendship for her to do so again.

“Where are we going? Lockhaven?”

“I think so,” Cettie replied. “What do you know about what has happened?”

He pressed his hands against his face and shook his head. “I know that General Montpensier betrayed my father. He killed my family.”

Cettie shook her head, and he looked at her in surprise.

“One brother, as I understand it, survived. He’s leading the revolt against Montpensier. He married the Duke of Brythonica’s daughter.”

Trevon’s eyes widened. “Kasdan?”

“I believe so. I only heard this news recently. Sera has been meeting with him.”

The look of relief on his face transformed him. “That contradicts what Jevin told me. I . . . I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Jevin?” Cettie asked in surprise. “What did he tell you?”

“That all my siblings were dead.”

Cettie shook her head in disbelief. “It’s not so.” She paused, then added, “You saw him disappear through the fountain with the Water Leering, did you not?”

“I did see that,” Trevon agreed. “It was a ley line.”

Cettie scrunched her eyebrows. “What is that?”

He pursed his lips. “It’s part of Fountain magic,” he explained. “They run through the palace in a few spots as well. You can travel from one spot on a ley line to another instantly. Only the Wizrs know how to use them.”

Cettie blinked. Jevin was a Wizr? He hadn’t just used his kystrel against her. She’d sensed a stronger power at work. Something even darker.

Trevon’s gaze became brooding once again. “He told me that my marriage to Sera was annulled by the empire’s privy council.”

Cettie shook her head. “No, that’s not true either.”

A look of hope surfaced on his face like a sunrise, but his features dropped again the next moment. “And my wife was kidnapped? By Lady Corinne?”

“Lady Corinne abducted me as well,” Cettie said. “I followed her . . . ignorantly. We crossed a mirror gate into your world. I was brought to the poisoner school. The one we just attacked.”

Trevon’s mouth opened in understanding. “I remember hearing about your crossing.” He paused. “I’ve been moved around so frequently, I hardly know one direction from another. But it looks like we were at the poisoner school at the same time, at least in part. Sometimes I heard voices. Once or twice, I thought I’d heard yours. But I couldn’t be sure of anything. I was always kept apart from the others. In isolation.” He shuddered and wiped his mouth. “I can’t believe an entire year has gone by.”