The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch, #3)(70)
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Intention amounts to nothing in this place.”
He pushed open a door that had not been there before, and we stood before the gardens of the Odalian palace. A scaffold had been set up at its center, surrounded by a cheering crowd. On the platform stood a hooded executioner. The ax in his hands gleamed in the sunlight, though the blade’s edge was already dark with blood.
I took a step back, but Kance’s grip was steel, forcing me forward. The cheers turned to jeering as he ushered me up the wooden steps. Desperate, I glanced around, searching for a friendly face, for someone to protest and fight for me, but I saw only contempt and accusation.
“You should know by now that everything has a price, Tea. Contrite as you are, you still caused Daisy’s death. You still caused the blight. Imagine the countless lives we could save after you are gone. Now, kneel. No blindfold, I think. You deserve to die with your eyes open, seeing true justice done.”
“Wait,” I choked. “If I die, then Fox—Fox will—”
“You have no need to worry.” Kance pointed, and I saw a lifeless body nearby, matted with blood and grime.
I screamed, bolting out of his grip to reach for Fox, though there was nothing I could do to save him. “Oh, he’ll be all right,” Kance chuckled, hauling me back roughly. “He was dead to start with. But he’ll need a better body than the one you gave him.”
My knees buckled. Gently, as if he were an attentive lover, Kance guided my head onto the chopping block.
“Honor must be answered for, dearest Tea. Honor outweighs your reputation. Already you are called a villain, and for good reason—you have brought chaos into my kingdom with your petty desires, and you must answer for your crimes.”
He lifted my hair and pushed it to the side, exposing the back of my neck to the blade. I could feel the edge of the ax, sharp and ready, as it came to rest against my skin. “Do you still find yourself worthy, Tea of the Embers?” Kance asked, his tone cruel. “Do you still accept?”
I closed my eyes, tears leaking onto the block. “Yes,” I sobbed. I deserved to die, didn’t I? Daisy, Telemaine, Polaire, Fox—
The ax fell with a whoosh, and I found myself on my knees on the cave’s cold stone floor, my body heaving with sobs. “No more,” I cried. “No more!”
But there was one more path to take.
I fled, running away from that terrible stone and the horrors that lay beyond it. Except I found myself turned and standing before the marker. I tried to escape again, only to return to the place I was desperate to avoid. I would be running within this mountain until I faced its trial.
“No more,” I wept, though there was no choice before me.
This time, no one greeted me. A long, winding corridor took the place of the cavern, which had transformed into the oracle’s temple. I followed the path quickly, wanting the experience to be over with, afraid of what I might find.
“No.” He lay before the brazier with his eyes closed. A sword had been driven through his chest, and a puddle of blood had formed underneath him. His hair and his clothes were stained in its red.
“No!” I broke into a run, sobbing and screaming so loudly it was a wonder the walls didn’t shake. I drew the blade out of him, pressed my hands over the horrible wound, and push down, willing his chest to rise, his heart to beat. “No!”
I would have gladly endured all the terrors I had witnessed in this mountain again to be spared this sight. Kalen was clearly dead. A thin, crimson line ran down the side of his mouth. Irrationally, I drew the rune of Raising, willed all my energy into his body, taking in so much of the Dark that my vision blurred and the air crackled. “Don’t die!” I howled at him. “Please don’t die! You can’t!”
“It was inevitable. Everything you touch decomposes,” a familiar voice murmured, sounding almost amused. I didn’t look up, only continued to cry as Fox slowly crouched beside me, looking at Kalen’s body with cold detachedness. “Take it from me, dearest Sister. Dying isn’t all the fuss it’s made out to be.”
“I have to bring him back,” I wept.
“You can’t. Silver heartsglass, remember? Tricky stuff. Wield all the magic you want in your first life, but you don’t get a chance at a second. Fair trade, I’d say.” Fox picked up the sword that had stabbed Kalen and eyed it critically. “No different than the one that got me. A sword or a savul’s claw—as long as it gets the job done, what difference does it make if it is human or daeva? That doesn’t make you a different kind of dead. Now, Kalen—that’s a shame. He was devoted to you. Even now, I reckon he’d die saving your life.”
“I have to bring him back!”
“You can’t break the rules simply because you want to. More often than not, the rules wind up breaking you. You’re gonna save the world, Tea. But you’ll return to Kion to mourn on graves. Kalen’s gonna have to pay the price for your impulses.”
“I don’t want to save the world!”
“If you don’t save it, then everyone dies anyway. Then what difference will that make?” My brother grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. “Love requires sacrifice, Tea. If it’s real love, then it will hurt. You’ll need to give him up. He’s a distraction and a weakness, and you can’t have more of those. Don’t you remember? Love is what got you into this mess, Sister. Love is the reason you raised me from the dead, and we’ve both been paying for that ever since—and all because you couldn’t let me go. Do you still find yourself worthy, Tea of the Embers? Do you still accept?”