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Maybe it would be enough to stall the process, at least until they could get to Faro, where Atlas would be able to do more.

He was the High Lord of Water, after all. And Taly’s sire. He knew what being a Genesis Lord entailed, the sacrifice it required. Surely, he would want to save her from that hell.

Sarina’s hands slid into her pockets. “There’s still the fourth trial.”

“Yes.” And it was by far the most horrific: a sacrifice of the heart.

“Taly could still fail.”

“I’m not even sure it would matter. I can say with complete certainty that the Time Shard isn’t happy being trapped in that prison Azura created for herself. The gods prefer to be wielded. It’s looking for a way out.”

Sarina’s footsteps echoed on the stone floor as she stepped forward and carefully placed a cloth over the crown. Fear edged her scent. Her hands were unsteady. The crown would stay here, in this dead room, lest it find its way back to Taly, where it would do the most harm.

“What do we tell her?” Sarina asked.

Ivain shook his head. “Nothing. There’s nothing to be done, nothing that I can do to…” His voice cracked. “What good is it telling her she has a sword hanging over her head?”

Sarina blinked, tears burning hot down her cheeks. Each one hit him like a blade, slicing deep as the full weight of his failure settled on his shoulders.

He’d failed as a father.Again. History was doomed to repeat itself, and soon another headstone would stand in the shadow of Harbor Manor next to the other daughter he hadn’t been able to save.

His breath caught, guilt wrapping around him like a vice.

He turned for the door.

“Where are you going?” Sarina’s voice barely broke through the noise in his head.

“To speak with Bilal,” he replied curtly.

Sarina placed a hand to her throat. “The time mages are gone, Ivain. They can’t Weave walk beyond their own death.”

Yes, he knew that. But Bilal had made him a promise so many years ago, sworn on a blood oath that she would always come when he needed her.

The renegade time mage and self-proclaimed Queen of Misfits, his friend through so many dangers. The woman who had stood on the deck of that ship with him when he’d hurled that hateful crown into the sea.

If there was a way to save Taly from the Shard, a way to save her from having to pay that same horrible price, Bilal would know how to find it.

Ivain wrenched open the door, breathing in the stale air of the basement. Compared to the saferoom, it was fresh as a balmy spring day.

“Ivain,” Sarina called after him.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” was all he said.

Dawnbringer

-From the personal diary of Corinna Venwraith, Dawnbringer

I always thought being discovered would be the worst thing that could happen.

Turns out, I was right.

Chapter 50

There was a creature he had left alive for times such as this, still capable of reaching back through the ages.

And so, Ivain left the safety of the city in search of the Bodach.

To the west, hidden in the mountains, lay a cave that reeked of rot and death. A dark, gaping maw yawned in the rock face, half-hidden by ancient, gnarled trees. Their roots twisted through the rocky soil, clawing for purchase. Bones littered the entrance, brittle and cracked, crunching underfoot as Ivain strode into its depths.