Gates of Thread and Stone(37)

With a glance at Avan, who didn’t object, I said, “Okay. I’m in.”

“Won’t they know if a new ID shows up in the registry?” Avan asked.

“Not,” Irra said, holding up his spoon, “if it’s one that never left.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said.

“It will.”

My mouth pinched at his dismissive tone. “How am I supposed to find my brother if he’s in the White Court?”

“My hollows will place you among the cadets performing in the Tournament.”

“Wait, wait,” I said, putting up my hands. “What do you mean, ‘the Tournament’?”

“If you want access to the areas in which Reev is most likely to be, then you can’t be civilians. And we can’t throw you in as Watchmen, either, because the ranks are meticulously run. Entering you as cadets is the safest route.”

Avan leaned forward. “But that would mean—”

“Yes!” Irra said, brandishing his spoon in excitement and sending flecks of tea flying. “Training. Better start now.”


“We have to wait until the Tournament begins?” I said. Who knew how much damage Ninu would do to Reev before I found him? Who knew what he had already done?

“It’s only two more weeks. And we have the time. Whatever Ninu decides to do with your brother, any alterations with permanent damage would require months to complete. Delicate organ.” He gestured at his head.

“Permanent damage,” I echoed.

“You keep focusing on the wrong details,” Irra said. “As to training—Kai, you possess unique abilities rooted directly in the River. It would be best not to showcase them.”

I stared at him from above the rim of my cup. How could he have known? I hadn’t done anything since the gargoyles chased us into the forest. I looked at Avan, who mirrored my wariness.

Admitting I was different still felt dangerous. Even if I was no longer in Ninurta. But I wanted to know what he meant—what if he had answers to the questions I’d always been afraid to ask?

“What river?” I asked cautiously. The only river still running that I knew of divided the East Quarter and the North District like a natural wall. And it wasn’t as impressive as the one made of stone and metal surrounding the White Court.

“The River,” Irra said. “The steady current over which Time keeps watch, in which all things flow. You must have been born of it.”

The threads. I brushed my mind against them. Yes, they flowed evenly, at the same pace—reliable, constant, ever present. Still, it remained a mystery how I could grasp and manipulate them.

My confusion was plain, because Irra added, “I don’t understand it myself.”

“How can you tell? That I’m different, I mean.”

“We each have our own gifts,” he said. “And you reek of the River.”

“I reek?” I tried not to sniff my shirt.

“Not literally,” he said. “It’s in your eyes. I can see the River reflected there.”

I stopped feeling self-conscious about the color of my eyes a long time ago—Reev made me realize that everyone was too caught up worrying about their own insecurities to see mine—but now I wanted to duck my head so Irra would stop staring at me.

“Does that mean I’m mahjo?”

But Irra had said they no longer possessed any real, usable magic, and I couldn’t do any of the things G-10 mentioned: I didn’t heal fast, I was too scrawny to have much muscle strength, and I was fast but not superhumanly so. Reev had never gotten sick, but I had, plenty of times.

Irra leaned over the table to peer directly into my eyes. Avan leaned forward a little as well. I tried not to move despite the awkwardness.

Then Irra shifted away and spooned more sugar into his tea. “No,” he said decisively.

I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. Beside me, Avan slowly relaxed into his seat.

“Then what am I?” I prompted.

“You,” he said, lifting his cup to his mouth, “are a conundrum.” He took a happy sip.

I slumped into my chair and sighed. “So you don’t know. Shouldn’t being Infinite mean having infinite knowledge?” I muttered.

“Eternity would be quite dull if that was true.”

“Can you at least tell us where to find Reev? Is there a sentinel barracks?”

“Unfortunately, Ninu keeps that sort of information to himself. I can’t break those particular enchantments without alerting him to my interference.”

The disappointment felt heavy in my chest, but I pushed it down. I’d find Reev the old-fashioned way: by searching. Inside the White Court, I’d have a better chance at success.

“I’ll find him,” I declared.

“And I’ll leave you to it. However, I do feel the need to repeat this again,” Irra said, and suddenly, his presence vibrated around me like an echo, plunging me into that same chilling emptiness of the Void. “In the Tournament, do not use your powers. No matter what.”





CHAPTER 18




AFTER HE FINISHED his tea, Irra left us in the courtyard to await the Sun. The courtyard was enclosed on four sides by the dusky walls of the fortress. Moss and vines spotted in blue flowers had taken hold of the stone.