Page 36 of Beyond the Shadowed Earth

Where chains of sorrow heavy weigh

He’s calling, calling you

What need has he for temples?

What need has he for stone?

What need has he for gold or jewels

Trapped in the dark alone?

The sea will bear you hither

On wings you’ll travel high

And past the mountain’s doorway

The killing knife will lie

Seek the god, fulfill your vow

He’s calling, calling you

Shut in his mountain far away

Where chains of sorrow heavy weigh

He’s calling, calling you.

The song ended with an intricate and haunting countermelody on the lute, and then Ileem shifted into a third piece.

Eda stared at him. It was just a children’s nonsense song. But she didn’t think those words were nonsense to the mountain priest or Raiva in her well. Shadow Niren wavered into view beside Ileem on the dais, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs only Eda could hear.

Real Niren froze where she sat, her eyes locked hard on her shadowy self.

Horror plunged like a knife deep into Eda’s belly and twisted.

Eda drew Niren into a corner of the room when Ileem’s performance was over; she wasn’t imagining that Niren’s hand trembled in her own. “Niren, can you see her?” Eda asked bluntly.

Niren was so cold, a distant, unreachable star. “You haven’t altered the future, you know. Just delayed it a little.”

“Can you see her?”

“The shadow who bears my face?” Niren’s jaw tightened. “Eda, I’ve always seen her.”

Chapter Fifteen

“YOU SEEM VERY FAR AWAY THIS EVENING, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Eda glanced over at Ileem, her legs dangling from her perch on the rooftop overlooking the garden and the menagerie. It was near midnight—they’d danced for hours after Ileem’s performance. Eda had at last retired for the evening and escaped up onto the roof to find her fiancé waiting for her. She’d come seeking solitude, but it was his company she actually craved, away from the eyes of the court.

“What made you choose that song? The one about seeking the god and fulfilling a vow?”

Ileem grimaced. “Did you find fault with my performance? Rudion brought it to mind, whispered it in my ear.”

Her heart raced. “I didn’t find fault with your performance in the least. Your tongue seems blessed by Raiva herself.” She flushed at the memory of his mouth on hers.

He took her hands, lacing their fingers together as he leaned close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek.