Gates of Thread and Stone(41)

“Kai,” Irra said, his voice reaching across the space between us. I shivered. “If you can’t pull this off, I’m canceling our deal.”

“You can’t!” I said, my back snapping straight. Outrage flushed my cheeks. “You—you can’t give me hope and then take it away.”

I looked at G-10, but he was staring at the floor. No help there. Irra scratched his wild thatch of hair.

“Consider the risks,” Irra said. “I’m sending my hollows into the heart of Ninu’s city, first to get you in and then to bring you out. If Ninu discovers that I can sneak someone inside his walls, he will completely restructure his security. He could even weed out my spies, some of whom have been undercover for years. All the information I have worked to acquire, that my hollows have risked their lives to acquire, would have been for nothing. I would have to start over again.”

His voice grew steadily softer until it thrummed in the room, vibrating through my skin. I wanted to flee, but I stayed where I was. Irra moved closer, bending over to meet my eyes. The low lighting sharpened the shadows in his cheeks.

He said, “Prove to me how much you want this.”





CHAPTER 20




G-10 CAUGHT UP to me in the stairwell leading to the dormitories.

“Kai, wait.” He reached for my hand.

I slapped away his fingers. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Wait.” He darted in front of me, forcing me to stop or bowl him over—or, more likely, hit his brick wall of a chest and tumble down the stairs myself.

I stopped and glared. What did he have to be upset about? “What?”

“Why are you really mad?” he asked, using his instructor tone. It made me want to hit him. “Because you don’t like that he doubts you or because you’re afraid he’s right?”

I already knew the answer, and judging by the shrewd look in his eyes, so did he. My shoulders sagged.

What if I can’t do it? What if Irra decided that the information Reev might have wouldn’t be worth the risk? I could leave Etu Gahl, but walking back to Ninurta wasn’t an option unless I wanted to be eaten by gargoyles or get lost in the Void. Again.

G-10 pulled me against the wall as a pair of hollows passed us in the stairwell. He greeted them with a smile before nudging me up the steps. “Come on. We shouldn’t talk here.”

He led me to the floor above my room and then down the hall to a door identical to all the other dormitories. Inside, however, his space was markedly different from my own drab, empty room.

On his cot lay a blanket that had been sewn from a mix of fabrics and patterns. A colorful, braided rug covered the stone floor, and a shelf ran along the wall, its frame weighted down with random bits of metal contraptions.

“Wow,” I said, crossing the room to get a better look at his shelf.

In one corner was a rusty box with two narrow, rectangular slots at the top and a short lever along the side. G-10 had stuffed a handful of colorful feathers into the slots.

“What is it?” I tried to read the words carved into the spotted metal, but they were too faded.

G-10 shrugged. “Some sort of appliance. I haven’t figured out the actual purpose yet. I found it while exploring some unused rooms around Etu Gahl.” He let me look over his odd collection for a moment longer before he said, “Kai, listen. I had to tell Irra. I can’t let you go if I think you’re going to get caught.”

I turned to face him. “You don’t think I can do it, either?”

“I do,” he said. “You landed a hit, but that was because I made you angry. I shouldn’t have to provoke you to get you moving properly.”

“I know,” I said, sinking to my knees on the rug. The colors were beautiful and the threads tightly woven. My fingers traced a purple thread. What was the point of having the gift to delay time if it couldn’t even help me find Reev? “I can’t leave my brother with Ninu. I can’t.”

G-10 dropped down next to me on the floor. “And you can’t save him without Irra’s help.”


“Drek.” I tilted my head back. I had to stop panicking. I hadn’t come all this way to fail now. I had to prove to Irra—and myself—that I could do it.

He sighed. “Look, if Irra cancels your arrangement, I’ll—”

“No. You won’t do anything. You won’t need to.”

G-10 smiled. “And why’s that?”

“Because I can do this,” I said. I would be strong enough. I was strong enough.



I returned to my room to bathe and change, and headed for the courtyard, where I knew Avan would be waiting. When I spread out on the grass with a wince, Avan insisted I see the medic, but I ignored him. If I let myself get hit, then I deserved to deal with the aftermath.

I closed my eyes, savoring the warmth. Everything in the courtyard, including me, seemed to stretch upward, reaching for that rare and cherished bit of sunshine. Eventually, I heard Avan lay down beside me, and his nearness was enough to make my breath grow thin. A twitch of my arm and we’d be touching. Seconds passed in silence before I cracked open an eyelid and glanced over.

He was watching me. The moment our eyes met, he looked away, his neck turning red from having been caught staring at me instead of the sky. I could feel my own blush rising hot in my cheeks.