Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(85)

“But if I release her, she will do unspeakable evil now, among us,” Sera said. “I don’t understand, Lady Sinia. Why must I allow it? And not just allow it, cause it.”

“There is no harm in asking questions,” Sinia said. “I, too, have had to face choices that I knew would cause pain to others . . . and to myself. You’ve had a glimpse of Idumea, Sera. It, too, was once a fallen world. A world where the innocent suffered and wicked men and women ruled. But Idumea was redeemed at last. Paid for with a price.” She held out a hand and gestured to Maderos and Owen. “We were chosen, from our times, because of our service to the Knowing. Each of us has suffered heartache like you have. We have seen the innocent betrayed. The Knowing sent us to help you. To prevent Ereshkigal from overpowering you. I tell you, Sera, she only has as much power as we give her. With your determination to remain faithful, you have blocked her power over you. This you must teach to your people. Too much knowledge has been kept from the masses in your world. It has been cloaked in the Mysteries. It is time that everyone understood it.”

Sera’s heart felt like a fire burning inside her chest. All her life she’d believed it was wrong to live in the clouds while the people below suffered. Now, she understood, better than ever, that fixing this wrong was to be her purpose.

Sinia stroked her hair. “Do you understand now why you were chosen? Why the Knowing allowed you to be taken into the depths of the Fells? So that you might learn for yourself what is happening in your realm. So the scales might be removed from your eyes. The soul of each child is precious to the Knowing, no matter their birth. No matter their station.” She gazed then on Cettie with a look of love and acceptance.

When Cettie started to weep, Sinia enfolded her in her arms. “Your parents chose murder and destruction, but their choices did not make you any less precious. The worth of a soul is its capacity to become something greater.” She kissed Cettie’s hair. “Your true father, your loving father, pleaded that my husband, Lord Owen, might be sent to ransom you.” She turned her head to face her husband, the silver-haired man, who nodded in agreement.

“I was pleased to do it,” he said.

“He still lives?” Cettie asked, her voice choking.

“Death is not the end,” Sinia said. “It is only another birth. He was faithful to his oaths. He has received his reward. Now he waits for the rest of his family to join him. You will meet again, Cettie. A wise Aldermaston—an Aldermaston from Muirwood—once said, it will be no greater miracle that brings us into another world to live forever with our dearest friends than that which has brought us into this one to live a lifetime with them.” Sinia gazed up at the sky with a far-off look in her eyes. “It is not the Knowing that destroys and murders. There is always a choice, and humanity is constantly seeking to destroy itself. Hate, above all, is the greatest scourge. The Knowing permits hate to endure and even prosper for a season. Then the season ends. I have witnessed these patterns through the many lifetimes I have served. Autumn is ending. Winter begins. She must be loosed, Sera, but just for a season. Then spring, I promise, will return again.”

Sera’s heart understood that what Sinia told her was true. She did not understand it by reason alone. Logic would have told her that she should never release Ereshkigal, but a gentle whisper ensured that the woman’s words were true. She had felt the Knowing herself. And everything she’d experienced had been affirmed in the words of Sinia. She needed to trust what she could not see.

“Is that why the mirror gates will close?” Sera asked, thinking of Trevon. He was a prisoner still in Kingfountain. Would she ever see him again? “Because I must free her?”

Lady Sinia shook her head no, her expression becoming graver. “For too long your worlds have violated the covenants between them. Like two siblings who hate each other and are determined to fight. You’ve both plundered other worlds to enrich yourselves. The Knowing is longsuffering. Warnings were given but not heeded. Too many have suffered because of the violence between your realms. Because of the poverty inflicted on others. We have been commanded to close the portals between the worlds, save a few, which allow us, the Unwearying Ones, to travel between the realms. You have seven days to bring your people safely home, Sera, and return to Kingfountain those who wish to depart. The worlds will be shut up then. Only those given permission will be able to cross.”

Sera’s heart was pained at the punishment. She and Trevon had dreamed of uniting the realms under their leadership. Their union had only brought more bloodshed. She winced at the punishment, but she could not deny it was just.

“My husband,” Sera stammered, feeling her throat tighten.

“Has been found,” Sinia said, lowering her voice. “If the mirror gates were to remain open, Sera, your posterity would someday rebel and destroy both worlds.” She shook her head. “The Knowing intervenes to prevent annihilation. Not to cause it.” She cupped her hand against Sera’s cheek. “It is not blindness to follow and trust a harbinger who can see the future. Who knows what would happen otherwise. If you do this, it will prevent the extinction of your world. Like Idumea, your world, too, may be redeemed. For a price.”

Sera mustered her courage. She looked at Cettie, and her friend reached out to take her hand.

“It is time,” Maderos said, his eyes crinkling. “Prison has not softened her fury.”