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to lie to a guardian meant death.
This bastard would shit himself if he realized he had the Saeris Fane in his grasp.
And for hwhy
“Residents of Third Ward are quarantined.
No, dropping this gauntlet would cost me something far more valuable than my life; it would cost me hope, and I wouldn’t surrender that. I’d rip my arm out of its socket first.
As I heaved myself over the ledge, particles of quartz in the sand began to vibrate, jittering in the air a millimeter above the sandstone as the gold came alive.
???????
Sometimes, objects shook around me. Objects made of iron, tin, or gold.
AND WHY IS THAT
Gifts that had long since been lost to us. Humans were no longer capable of reading each other’s minds, or making the blood boil in their enemy’s veins, or granting themselves eternal luck. Everybody knew that we’d been stripped of those heretical powers hundreds of years ago,
How, after over a thousand years, did the queen still live? Madra was human, so why didn’t she die?
“I didn’t realize I was such a burden,” he whispered. “Well, you are, Hayden. Your entire fucking life, that’s all you’ve been. Now leave me alone. Don’t follow. Do not come looking for me. GO!”
Damn wtf
Like I said. Ask a question, and you’ll get sent to the Third. It isn’t disease that’s contagious in my ward, Captain. It’s dissent. Anarchy and rebellion spread like a wildfire. And what do you do with a fire? You blockade it. Trap it behind a wall. Give it nowhere else to go until it burns itself out and dies a quiet death. That’s what Madra’s doing with my people. Except our fire hasn’t burned out the way she’d hoped it would.
hold on let her cook
Do you know much about metalwork, Captain? I do. It’s under the most unbearable conditions that the sharpest, most dangerous weapons are forged. And we are dangerous, Captain. She’s turned us all into weapons. That is why she won’t suffer my people to live.”
mic is on fire
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. My attention seemed to be snared by the shadowy shape, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t rip my gaze away. The closer we drew, the more focused I became. It was as if the platform were drawing me to it, beckoning me forward…
Sus
Soon there were at least ten of them casting off circles of golden light that revealed the dour faces of long-forgotten gods chiseled into the stonework of the walls.
Was she driven to one of them
but just like everything else in this strange hall, there was something strange about her.
but I found myself shivering despite the stifling heat. I wanted to look at the raised platform. With every fiber of my being, I was desperate to look.
BUT WHY LIKE WHAT IS THERE
The seven cities rejoiced when I cast them out. And now they have sent you to try and kill me?”
Oh tea
A fine young thing in a fancy gown, spoiled and over-indulged—but something ancient and malicious lurked behind her bright blue eyes.
Harron’s eyes were glassy as he reached for his sword.
Is he under a spell
The metal tip froze an inch away from my filthy, torn shirt, hovering above me. He… he stayed his hand?
HELLO?
Gritting my teeth, I answered the voice inside of me, commanding me to unmake the dagger, like such a thing was even possible. And it was.
WOAHHH
I’d made it three bracing, agonizing steps before I noticed the other sword to my left. I’d seen it when Harron had dragged me in here, though I hadn’t been able to make out what it was then. I’d thought it was some kind of lever. But this close, I could see that it was, in fact, a sword, buried halfway up to its hilt into the ground.
THIS FEELS DANGEROUS
The sword was old. I felt its age on the air somehow—a prickle of energy that spoke of hidden, ancient places.
Death. The bastard had come to claim me in person. Emerging from the silver, the huge figure rose up from the pool as if ascending from the very depths of hell itself. Broad shoulders. Wet, shoulder-length black hair. Tall. Taller than any other man I’d ever seen. His eyes shone an iridescent, shimmering green, the pupil of the right eye rimmed by the same shining metallic silver that ran in ribbons from the black leather armor that covered his chest and arms.
hi sirrrrrrrrrr
In his hand, he held a monstrous sword forged out of a black metal that vibrated with a tempestuous energy that sang in the marrow of my bones.
“A male. He came because the sword called to him…”
BUT IT ALSO CALLED TO HER
“Ahh. Saeris. A pretty name. A Fae name.
a fae name…
“He shouldn’t have been without it at all. It gets worse every time he takes it off. If your father finds out he’s even here—”
What is going on guys fill me in
A cold shiver shot through me as I finally managed to unfasten the chain and offered it out to Everlayne.
Now that it wasn’t hanging around my neck anymore, the chain felt like it was humming. The strangest energy fired up and down my arm, not painful but certainly not a pleasant sensation. And it was cold. So cold.
W H Y
We’ve been waiting to retrieve that sword you drew for a very long time. But to have found you along with it…” She shook her head. “You have no idea how important you are, Saeris. I’m afraid my father isn’t liable to give you up any time soon. And he wants to see you in an hour, so unfortunately, the bath isn’t up for debate.”
The individual who brought you to my court”—Belikon ran his tongue over his teeth like he was trying to sweep away a foul taste—“told my guards that you were the one who reopened the portal. It seems highly unlikely that a human woke the quicksilver.”
“But after a thousand years of waiting, we can’t afford to dismiss this as heresy without checking first. Believe me when I say that we’re all praying such a holy position hasn’t fallen to such unholy blood.” He inhaled sharply. “But the fates are strange. And one way or another, I will have the portals restored.”
wat dis mean
I clapped my hands over my ears, trying to block out the sound, but the nauseating pitch intensified as Belikon drew the weapon closer.
“His exile was not at an end, but he’s returned anyway.
Kingfisher what did u do boo
“A week, then,” Belikon announced, his mind made up. “You can take him back with you in a week. Since he knows so much about the quicksilver, he’ll stay here and help Rusarius deal with the girl first. The second she’s capable of waking the pool by herself, Kingfisher will once again be banished from this court.”
His haunted expression promised pain, and blood, and death. And he was looking right at the king. Or perhaps it was the dead dragon’s skull that elicited his hate. I couldn’t tell.
I’d noticed the filaments of silver threaded through his right iris back in Madra’s Hall of Mirrors, but I’d assumed I’d imagined them, being so close to death and all. The silver shone there, though, definitely real, forming a reflective, metallic corona around the black well of his pupil. The sight of it made me feel strange and off-balance.
Hmmm interesting details
We’ve been at war with Sanasroth for longer than I’ve been alive.
There are those among our ranks that might pretend to be your friend, but often they’re hiding knives behind their smiles, ready to sink them into your back. You’d do well to remember that.”
Feels important
“But… the quicksilver awoke? That’s not…” He seemed struck by an epiphany, his head whipping back to me. “Oh! So… so, this one’s an Alchemist, then?”
Ooouuuuu
“Then I think it’s safe to assume that she is an Alchemist, wouldn’t you?” Rusarius said, raising his eyebrows at Everlayne. “It’s—no! Well, it’s not that simple. The Alchemists were all Fae—” “She must have a drop of Fae blood,” a deep voice murmured. “Enough to stop Solace from burning off her hands.
“Do you have a brother, Everlayne?” I spat. “I—” She blinked rapidly, flustered. Her eyes darted to Kingfisher for some reason, who kept his eyes fixed on a point on the other side of the library, his gaze steady and even. “Yes, I do,” she said.
Is he her brother
“Madra used Solace to seal the pathways a long time ago, but with the sword returned to us and an Alchemist in our midst, she knows she’ll have a
“She doesn’t know we have an Alchemist,” Everlayne argued. “The pathway couldn’t have opened without one,” Kingfisher fired back.
She lied to him. Tricked him. Cut off his trade lines to the other realms. Not to mention the fact that there are still rumors floating around that the Daianthus heir is in Zilvaren somewhere. The King will want a war and a bloody one at that.
Is saeris this heir
“It wasn’t enough. You took more in, didn’t you?”
Took more what in
Everlayne’s frustration had become a permanent fixture since Renfis had fastened that pendant around Kingfisher’s neck.
“You’re my brother,” Everlayne hissed. “Though I sometimes wish you weren’t!”
Clocked it
“Should we, uh… knock?” An arrogant smile curled up at the corner of his mouth. “Sure,” he said, as if this was a charming suggestion made by a single-brain-celled idiot. A second later, he slammed the sole of his boot against the wood, and then the door was on the ground in pieces. “Knock knock.” He stepped to one side, holding his hand out in a mockery of manners, gesturing for me to go ahead of him. “I don’t think anyone’s home.”
Lmfao
“The quicksilver itself is volatile. Some of our elders believe it possesses a low level of sentience. Whether this is true or not doesn’t really matter. The stuff is dangerous. If the quicksilver comes into contact with bare skin…” Kingfisher trailed off. “It was in Harron’s dagger, wasn’t it?” I asked. Kingfisher nodded.
