A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes, #3)

by Sabaa Tahir

“Skies save me from the men in my life and all the things they think they know.

“The moon sets on the archer and the shield maiden!” Her voice changes, multiplies. It is a child’s voice and an old woman’s layered over her own, as if all the versions that Shaeva was and ever could be are speaking at once. “The executioner has arisen. The traitor walks free. Beware! The Reaper approaches, flames in his wake, and he shall set this world alight. And so shall the great wrong be set right.”

One piece remains, and beware the Reaper at the Gates! The sparrows will drown, and none will know it. The past shall burn, and none will slow it. The Dead will rise, and none can survive. The Child will be bathed in blood but alive. The Pearl will crack, the cold will enter. The Butcher will break, and none will hold her. The Ghost will fall, her flesh will wither. By the Grain Moon, the King will have his answer. By the Grain Moon, the forgotten will find their master.

Strange how monsters can reach from beyond the grave, as potent in death as they were in life.

I wonder if my entire life will be a series of moments in which I realize I’m an idiot long after I can actually do anything about it.