Page 114 of Brimstone

Save yourself now, Saeris.

You’vegotthis.

I stopped fighting it. Magic zipped along my nerve endings, and there it was, like a tangible, pliable thing at the ends of my fingertips: raw, divine energy. Opening my eyes, I expectedto see it there, visible to the naked eye, but my fingers looked normal. My shield flared with blue-white energy as I reached for the quicksilver and summoned it.

It was as easy as breathing.

I decided that the portal was open, and suddenly it was. The difference was astonishing. It feltright. But I couldn’t afford to celebrate just yet. I was only halfway through the process.

Gods, I was going to look pretty stupid if I didn’t make it through this. My mate had suffered horribly because of the quicksilver. It had come damned close to destroying his mind on countless occasions, and I’d been on hand to witness that. But Kingfisher wasn’t an Alchemist.

I stepped into the pool before I could second-guess myself.

The molten metal felt like ice around my ankles. Cold cut through my boots, through my pants, pain racing up my legs. The pool churned violently, sloshing and bubbling like water boiling over in a pot. It happened quickly. Unexpectedly. Every part of me screamed that I should get out. That I should run. That this was the biggest fucking mistake I had ever made. The quicksilver formed rivulets, like the tributaries of a river, and began to rise. The sight of it climbing my body transported me back to the Hall of Mirrors. Captain Harron had just run me through with his sword. I had melted his dagger. It had snaked up his body like this, probing, seeking, looking for a way in.

“Saeris? Saeris! Call it off! You don’t—you don’tunderstand—”

He’d begged me for his life. He had been terrified of what the quicksilver would do to him, and rightly so; it had driven him mad.

I can do this.

It had reached my waist now. The cold leached through my shirt as it climbed higher. Clenching my hands into fists, I closed my eyes and braced.

Icando this.

Half-breed. Who are you to be blessed by us?

The quicksilver was on my skin now. My arms. My neck. It was inside myhead. It was everywhere—an alien, agile presence. It didn’t sound as fractured as it usually did. This was a primeval power, older than the universe itself, and all its attention was focused on me.

I am an Alchemist.I didn’t dare speak out loud. I was too worried that the words would turn into a scream, so I spoke them internally instead.

You are apretender, the voice accused.

My name is Saeris Fane—

Your name is ruination, the voice snorted.Blight. Curse worker. You do not deserve to live.

I do!

There are others more worthy.

None ofthemstand before you now!It roiled in my chest: the anger of a lifetime, condensing into one white-hot point. I had been told every single day in Zilvaren that I was worthless, that my life meant nothing, that I didn’t deserve to live. Madra’s disdain for my people ran so deep that even the residents of the Third had started to believe that they didn’t matter.

Well, I wouldn’t believe that. Not. Any. More. “Istand before you.” I spoke out loud this time, no longer afraid. “Iamworthy.”

Only the unworthy seek power.

“I don’t seek power! I didn’taskfor this. I seek peace! For my friends and my people to be safe.”

And you would employ your power to achieve that end?There was something sly in the speaker’s tone. I couldn’t think of it as the quicksilver. It was somethingmorethan sentient portal magic . . . and it was trying to trick me.

My mind raced. “I wouldn’t employ it for anything. It . . . isn’t a weapon. It’s just a part of me.”

Foolish child. Power is always a weapon. Wield it, or it wields you.

Pain exploded behind my eyes. The quicksilver was in my mouth, pouring down my throat. It was slipping into my ears.I don’t know what you want from me! I don’t know what you need—

Wield it!the speaker snapped.A dark horizon looms. What will you do to prevent it?