Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(86)

“No,” Sinia agreed, gazing at the Leering. “There is no water that can quench that fire. Only a gate to shut it in.”

“Little sister. Before you release her, a word of warning to your friend.” He gazed at Cettie. “Your enemy still lives. He used the Tay al-Ard to flee while his brethren died. He must be destroyed before the seven days are through. You have this charge. If you do not stop him, he will raise another wicked root.”

Cettie nodded. “How will I catch him when he has the ability to flee in an instant?” she asked.

Sinia twisted a ring from her finger and handed it to Cettie. “My mother’s father made this ring long ago. In another world. It will summon the Tay al-Ard into your hand when you are near him. Invoke it with a thought. You may use that magic to fulfill your role as an Oath Maiden. To do your queen’s bidding. And to protect her.”

Cettie accepted the ring, staring at the ancient metal and the delicate runes carved into its tarnished band. Then she put it on.

Sera’s heart was aching at the decisions she was being asked to make. Releasing Ereshkigal from her prison. Sending Trevon back to his realm to rule in his father’s place. Both decisions would cause her unspeakable anguish and despair. Yet strangely, that knowledge didn’t sway her will. She was still too full of the Medium, still too certain that what she was doing was right. Clenching her hands into fists, she stared at the Leering and walked toward it. Shimmers of heat radiated from it. Ereshkigal was straining to burst out.

“Stand near me,” she heard Owen say to Cettie.

Sera approached the Leering, feeling the furnace blazing inside it. The Leering’s eyes were white hot and smoking. Fissures appeared on the stone, but it still held together. Would her hand burn if she touched the rock?

Glancing back, she saw Maderos, Sinia, and Owen standing together, their faces grim but determined. Cettie stood beside Owen, shuddering, though her expression was as undaunted as Sera’s heart.

Maderos nodded to her. The time had come.

Sera faced the Leering with defiance in her heart. She put her hand on the stone, and surprisingly, it did not burn. The stone felt strangely cool, the surface rough against her palm. Sera bowed her head.

You will suffer, daughter of filth. Scion of vengeance!

The voice was so much like Jevin’s, cruel and full of rage and threats. The promise of destruction and pain. Yet . . . yet . . . it was bluster. That was all.

I invoke this Leering, Sera thought. Release who you’ve bound.

There was a sharp cracking noise, the splintering of rock. The face of the Leering split into a thousand tiny shards, then the cracks deepened, stone began to slough off, and the boulder collapsed at her touch. An acrid smell stung her nose, reminding her of smelling salts.

Sera felt energy prickle against her skin, a tingling sensation that made her think of lightning about to strike. Wind whipped around her as she backed away from the rubble. It moaned through the rocks and crags of the mountain. A wicked cry of glee trembled in Sera’s mind. It grew louder and louder and more painful each moment. Sera was forced to her knees, covering her ears, trying to blot it out. The wind ripped at her dress, made her hair flap in her face. This felt nothing like the windstorm from earlier. It felt diseased.

It felt as if it would destroy the very ground they stood on.

Banirexpiare.

Sera didn’t know who had thought the word, but it hadn’t come from her. The wind was tamed, and Sera looked up. The three Unwearying Ones stood firm. Maderos lowered his crooked staff and made a pouting smile.

“The pethet is gone,” he said. “She will wander the world, looking for someone to claim. A willing vessel to inhabit.”

“Sera, you must return to Lockhaven,” Sinia said. “Montpensier’s fleet has arrived to destroy it. Many of the sky ships in the admiralty have defected to serve your enemy. But the city will obey you, the true empress. I will take you there.”

“I will take Cettie to the imposter,” Maderos said. “I know where he is skulking.”

The other eyes turned to Owen, who loosened his sword from its scabbard. “I will go to the Fells to stop the monster.”

Maderos turned to Sera, his eyes earnest. “Seven days.”

His words struck again in the pit of her stomach.

Seven days left to find Trevon. Before she would lose him forever.





CHAPTER THIRTY?ONE

THE EMPRESS REIGNS



Lady Sinia brought Sera to Lockhaven through a power she did not understand. She did not have a Tay al-Ard. She merely took Sera’s hand, led her to a small rivulet of water running down the wall of the cave, and as they stepped through it, a yanking feeling similar to ones she’d felt made her lurch and nearly fall into the shallow pool of water in the control room of Lockhaven. Sera looked down, expecting to see the water soaking her skirts, but instead, she saw that the water was pushed away, repelled somehow by their presence.

Durrant was there, pacing with a look of panic, sleeplessness, and despair. His hair was a wild mess. The man looked as if he’d literally not slept in days. When he turned and saw her standing in the pool, he stopped short, his jaw hanging open.

“Sera,” he breathed out in wonderment. “Do my eyes deceive me? Or are you a shade?”

Lady Sinia gestured for Sera to step out of the water. She did so and turned to thank the woman for her help, only to see her vanishing in a sheen of mist. Sera wished she could have forestalled her departure. Trevon had always wondered what had happened to Sinia. How he would have loved to meet her. The empress’s heart ached, but there was no time to wallow in sadness. Her empire was slipping through her fingers.