Page 9

It wasn’t like we’d been friends for the stars’ sake.

But perhaps I felt something akin to guilt for what had happened.

I’d led her down there after all. I’d insisted she follow me.

If she had stayed fighting above ground, perhaps she would still be here, that beautiful damn face continuing to make idiots fall over their feet to get close to her.

Kaské, it wasn’t long ago I would have done anything to have a hand in the Sky Witch’s death, now I felt like an asshole who had played a part in her mediocre end which no one had even lived to witness.

A shrieking laugh made me scowl and I spotted Alina joking with Ransom by the breakfast table along with Maria and Lucas.

Unsurprisingly, no mere savage Vampire attack had dealt with those assholes.

Of all the survivors, I was less than shocked to find them still breathing.

They were cockroaches through and through.

“Take a seat!” a female Reaper bellowed as she stepped into the Refectory. “The Cardinal Reaper approaches!”

My head snapped around at the voice, stunned by the announcement.

The Cardinal Reaper? Surely not. He was above all of this.

He was godlike in his position; he was practically a myth whispered between allies.

His touch upon your skin was said to gift you with the light of the stars in your blood.

He didn’t just stride into a random breakfast hall.

He was only present on the most holy of occasions.

The quiet chatter finally exploded into excitement, terror and disbelief, and I was swept along with the hurrying crowd.

Someone gripped my arm and Galomp tugged me down onto an empty seat on a bench among the Raincarvers, his smile nothing short of perfectly serene.

“What fun, oh boy,” he said brightly. “Will his face shine like the bountiful underside of Uranus do you think, Miss Everest?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded by that question and saved from answering when a line of Reapers came filing into the Refectory, heads bowed and hoods up.

I couldn’t distinguish one from the other.

They moved in unison in front of the long breakfast table, lining up and keeping their faces concealed.

My pulse quickened as I hunted their forms, my eyes settling on a tall figure with broad shoulders, the familiarity of him assuring me it was Harlon.

When all of them were in place, a hushed quiet fell over the room, some people standing to get a better look at the door as we waited for the Cardinal Reaper to appear.

A heavy set of boots were walking this way, the thud of them speaking of a large man, his power evident before he even entered the refectory.

The quiet was so thick that my ears rang with it, and I swear no one took a breath as the magisterial aura of the Cardinal Reaper dominated every ounce of oxygen in the atmosphere. As if it belonged to him and we were mere mortals only allowed to breathe because he permitted it.

I was surprised to find he wore no gold cloak, but instead robes that were as deep blue as the night sky with a gold trim along the lapels and hems. My surprise only deepened at the sight of his face.

He wasn’t the ancient, wise being I’d imagined, but perhaps only a few years older than my father, though his face was far less affected by war.

He was clean shaven, his black hair a perfect slick of ebony that swept over the crown of his head.

His features weren’t the harsh lines I’d imagined but touched with softness.

He was striking but not handsome, his skin as pale as dove feathers as if it rarely saw the sun.

His mouth was tipped down at the corners and his olive-green eyes were shadowed by his furrowed brow.

This man looked sombre, though he still commanded power with every stride he took, his heavy emotions puncturing the air and affecting all within its reach.

Despite that, I was well aware he wasn’t a Siren who held such gifts, it was simply the effect of a Fae who had been touched by the stars themselves, a man so revered that his true name was rarely spoken aloud for fear that it might invoke the wrath of the sky.

But I knew that name, as all Fae in the four lands knew it.

Solomon Imai.

He was a Griffin, a creature known for their intelligence but also their prowess in battle.

I had heard he was the largest of his kind in shifted form, half lion, half eagle, with a beak that could pierce a Fae’s skull and claws that could tear you limb from limb.

Not that he had ever fought in the war, his duty reaching far higher than that.

It was said he could ascend into the stars themselves and take council with the likes of Pisces, Leo, Aquarius and the rest of our deities.

He held all four elements in his veins, air, fire, earth and water, making him perhaps the most powerful Fae in The Waning Lands.

Or if not, at least one of the most blessed by the stars.

He represented each of the lands as if he was the beating heart of us all – that was what we had been taught anyway.

Now, I was beginning to question everything he stood for.

Because in the light of what I’d witnessed beneath Never Keep, I didn’t know how to feel about this leader of the prophets anymore.

Did he know what was going on here? Had he set them the task?

To doubt him was treason against the stars, and a heavy weight sat on my chest as I wondered if they were placing judgement upon my soul for my uncertainties.

Maybe I should have been more accepting of what the Reapers were up to and trusted in whatever processes they deemed necessary.

But I’d heard those acolytes being ripped apart by the vicious monster they were keeping beneath the Keep and I’d known it just as easily could have been Harlon who had met his death there.

So there was no part of me that could justify it.

To threaten him was an offence I would never let lie.

I thought of that Reaper held beneath me while I tortured answers from his lips.

Kaiser might have been the one to land the killing blow, but I’d done enough to earn my death if they ever discovered my secret.

The weight of that truth only sank in now as the Cardinal Reaper swept past the Raincarvers and moved to stand in front of the line of his prophets.

If I was discovered, I would earn myself a traitor’s death. The bloodiest known to Fae kind.

“May the stars’ light gild your brows,” Solomon boomed. “May they guide your feet upon your fated path and bless you in moments of great need.”

“Praise to the stars!” many called out, a din of desperate cries hurled at the Cardinal Reaper.

Some Fae had tears on their cheeks, their eyes bright with awe at the sight of their holy leader and plenty stood up again to get a better look.

Galomp was among them, flying to his feet and clapping enthusiastically, sparking a tumult of applause throughout the refectory.

I rose to join them, certain I should act just as all those around me were in case I drew attention.

“Neophytes of the new generation,” Solomon continued, hushing the crowd with the mere act of speaking.

A gesture of his hand made everyone drop back into their seats and wait attentively for him to say more.

“My journey here was intended for the welcome ceremony of our new Reapers; those who are ascending into the divine gathering of the stars, but upon my arrival, grim tidings were bestowed upon me. I must offer a prayer to all those whose lives were lost in the odious and underhanded attack on our precious Never Keep by vagabonds and blasphemes who have taken to the wastelands to live in the shadows like the degenerates they are. I vow to the deities of our beloved sky that the defences here at Never Keep will be bolstered so that no further bloodshed shall occur between these sacred walls. Fate does not favour the wicked, pious ones. And it shall never favour those who turn against their hallowed followers.”

A cold pit opened up in my chest. Was I a traitor among my people for what I’d done?

My gaze slid to Harlon, but his head was still bowed and I felt acutely alone in the company of my sins. My head turned at the sensation of eyes upon me and I found Kaiser’s dark gaze boring into mine from the Flamebringers’ table, no emotion touching the harsh lines of his face.

It seemed as though he was considering me, weighing up the threat I posed.

But if he thought I was stupid enough to expose his actions to the Reapers and bring myself down with him, then he was delusional.

I supposed I wasn’t truly alone in this secret, but the one who kept it with me was a black-hearted beast who planned to deliver me to his twisted mother the moment he could.

The Cardinal Reaper was mid-prayer, and I tried to focus on the words passing his lips for the fallen, but my mind was awash with too many thoughts.

The walls of fate were closing in on me, but there was always a door, no matter how well hidden, and I’d be damned if I would walk willingly to my demise.

I held a gift in my blood that had fought Kaiser’s possession off before and I’d spend every spare minute I had practising it now.

If he thought he could keep me chained, he was going to be disappointed, especially when I stuck my dagger in his chest and smiled in his face while he died.

Only a fool cages a wild creature and expects it to remain trapped forever, Kaiser Brimtheon.

“-and the Vampire who was captured during the attack will be executed at midday in the Heliacal Courtyard in a ceremony that will promise retribution upon the souls of their Coven.”

My head lifted at those words, my pulse escalating with the oncoming death that awaited one of the vicious Fae who had attacked the Keep.

Then another notion occurred to me: what if it was one of the Vampires who had followed us into those secret passages?

What if the Reapers were interrogating them with a Cyclops right this moment, sifting through their memories and exposing me as the traitor I was?

Eské - fuck.

“Now to welcome our new Reapers into the fold and wish them many years of service to the great majesty of the stars above,” Solomon called, beckoning the line of new Reapers closer.

Harlon was among them, and as they lifted their heads to acknowledge the applause in the Refectory, his gaze met with mine, finding it magnetically as if he had sensed where I was sitting.

I clapped along with the rest of the room and Harlon’s jaw ticked as a thousand words begged to be spoken between us.

The Cardinal Reaper moved through the crowd, brushing his hands over the brows of the Fae who clamoured to get nearer to him, murmuring blessings from the stars upon them all, no matter their homeland.

I didn’t move closer to receive the blessing of his touch for myself, instead watching from the safety of the crowd until he bid us farewell, promising to see us all once more at the execution, sweeping from the room with the other Reapers following after him in neat rows.

A murmur of chatter grew to a crescendo around me, the atmosphere in the Refectory snapping with electricity.

“Oh boy, do you believe it? We saw him with our own eyes,” Galomp gushed. “I do not wish to blink ever again.”

“Yeah, he was a damn delight,” I said, faking a smile.

“He was tall and fine. I did like him. Oh boy, oh boy, I must write home to my uncle and tell him of my adventure.” He leapt up and bustled off out the door.

As my gaze tracked him, I found Kaiser exiting at a ferocious pace.

I pursed my lips at his back, getting up and heading for the exit too, wondering if I could secure a moment alone with Harlon.

I strode out of the Refectory, the gold cloaks of the last Reapers in line disappearing through the doors that led to the Heliacal Courtyard. I slowed my pace, sure they would be making a path for the Reapers Quarters, and there was no chance of following them there.

Movement in my periphery made me glance to my left and I found Kaiser slipping out of sight behind a statue of Sagittarius, the great Centaur standing tall with his bow primed to shoot a silver-tipped arrow.

The sound of footsteps drawing closer from the Refectory told me I had about two seconds to make a reckless decision, and as those were my favourite kind, I threw caution to the wind and sprinted to the statue, quickly ducking behind it.

Kaiser was gone, but a hidden door in the wall was cracked open, slowly settling back into place. I shoved my weight against it, casting a silencing shield around myself and stepping into the dark passage that was concealed there. Another Reapers’ passage.

I was damn sure I was headed toward danger, but so be it.

How Kaiser had opened it, I didn’t know but Vesper had told me about how she’d found her way into them on occasion so I supposed the Reapers didn’t always secure them.

So I crept into the dark passage where peril surely awaited me and I asked the stars to watch my back.