Page 185 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

“Stop! Stop speaking in fucking riddles. This isn’t you! Just speak plainly, because I’m holding on by a fucking thread.”

Isn’t it? Isn’t this me? Haven’t I spoken to you this way since the start?

He had. But only in my mind. Out loud, at Court…he’d been straightforward. And I’d never mistaken that him for the him who visited me alone. Who plotted. Who concealed his vorakh. Who helped me tame mine from time to time.

He turned me to face him. “Then I’ll speak plainly. Did you think it a coincidence that you were born the sister of Asherah’s reincarnation? Did you not think you might have the divine in you as well?”

“No. No. I didn’t.” I’d barely believed it of Lyr. Barely understood any of this. Gods were gods. Not mortals.

“Seven Guardians of the Valalumir,” he said. “Seven cast from Heaven. Seven burdened with mortality, with materialization, with reincarnation again and again until our Empire devolved into the cosmic joke it is today. I’ve known a long time who I am. I remembered. And now, Asherah has awakened with light from the Valalumir inside her body once more. Now all of the ancient players will remember who they are, will know they’ve traveled through the cosmos to play their parts once again. To finish what was started.”

“And I’m one of them?” I yelled. “A part in this play?”

“You are more than a part. You are the center.”

His thumb moved across my cheek. and I flinched from his touch.

His eyes narrowed. “My akadim could not touch you. Blood-cursed, they call it. It’s not your vorakh. It’s your connection to the light—to the Valalumir. To the part of you who once walked on water, who reigned in Heaven as a goddess. It was awakened inside you the moment Asherah was. You know. You’ve felt your vorakh more intensely than ever. You saw it in Meera’s vision. You saw the goddess wake up, looking through the eyes of your younger sister. And you, you will soon come to know who looks through yours.”

My heart pounded. Looks through my eyes? I shook my head. “Who then? Who am I?”

He grinned. “You were once called Ereshya. Goddess of the Orange Ray. Your hair was raven black, much as it is now. You were beautiful but forbidden. Regal and intelligent. Crafty, sometimes cruel. Unlike Auriel and Asherah—we showed control. We performed our duty. But not on earth—on earth, you were mine.”

My heart was hammering. I shook my head, the truth of his words piercing some inner piece of my soul I didn’t yet understand. Tears burned behind my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Couldn’t be true. And yet…. “And Meera? What part is she playing in this little play of yours? Why did you drag her into this? You should have left her alone.”

“I have my reasons. In time, you will know every one of them.”

I scoffed, looking away.

Do you doubt who I am? he asked.

The twisting in my stomach, the gut-wrenching knowing intensified. I didn’t doubt. I believed he was who said as much as I believed Lyr was Asherah.

But me? Ereshya?

“What exactly do you want me to do? And what the hell do you mean by ‘finish what we started’? I started nothing! I was the second daughter of the arkasva. I’ve been a noblewoman my entire life—meant to be in the fortress, to look pretty and serve on the Council. I’ve done nothing to deserve this. And I don’t remember any of what you’re talking about. If it’s true—it’s not me. It was someone else. No one has ever called me Ereshya, because I’m not her. She’s dead. Like Asherah was dead. Like you’re supposed to be dead.” A tear rolled down my cheek. Fuck. Fuck.

He nodded, brushing it away with his thumb. “I know. Yet here I am, reincarnated. As are you.”

“So fucking what! I’m not a goddess now. Why bring me into this?”

“Give it time. Your head’s been so full, but your memories are going to return. Everyone’s are. Together, we can restore the Valalumir. We can reforge the light, reclaim our divinity, and take the Empire down into the bowels of hell where it belongs. The first of the lost shards is about to be discovered. For centuries it’s been buried, but soon, it will shine again. Restore me. Restore you. Asherah is bringing it herself. If my scouts are correct, she will be approaching the shard by nightfall.”

“You mean Lyr?”

He nodded.

“You fucking asshole! You know Godsdamned well her name is Lyr. Not Asherah.”

“Lyriana is her name now. But you will find in time, that the names merge, and there is little difference between them. It is the soul that matters—the soul that lives on.”

“Is she safe? What have you done to her?” I seethed.

“Nothing,” he said, sounding amused. “She is safe. I swear. She has just entered Glemaria with her lover. You know how he keeps an eye on her. I have seen the reports. She is coming, believing she will rescue you and Meera. Do not worry.”

“Believing? What does that mean?”

“I offered her a trade. Your lives for the shard.”