Page 154 of Quicksilver

“I justloveit when you disappear into tense conversations with creepy portal metal,” Carrion quipped, hoisting himself up to sit on the bench. “It's fascinating watching you do all of those facial gymnastics.”

“Just a moment, Carrion,” I whispered. Then to the quicksilver, I said, “What do you mean, save Kingfisher? He's here. He's okay.”

I watched the quicksilver roll over the ring, enveloping its surface, coating it, sinking inside it. It said, “We are token. Key. Relic. Shield.”The words overlapped like layers of cloth, one on top of the other, but I still heard each one perfectly. “Seal us with blood, Alchemist,” the relic demanded.

Blood. It always came down to blood in the end. Sighing, I took out the dagger that Fisher had given me back in the Winter Palace and used it to prick the tip of my index finger. A tiny bead of glossy red blood welled there.

“Urgh, I think I'm gonna be sick,” Carrion groaned, looking up at the ceiling. “I amnotgood with blood.”

I rolled my eyes, squeezing my finger and holding it over the crucible. The tiny bead formed a teardrop, wobbling, and then it fell, hitting the ring. Wild. My blood didn't roll off the band of the ring. It was absorbedinto it, just like the quicksilver was.

Complete. We are complete.

Picking up the ring, I held it up to the light, and I felt that it was indeed complete. Both the key and the lock. Whole. I couldn't explain how I knew the process had worked, but I wassure. The silver band was beautiful, still marked with its original engravings; whoever this ring belonged to would be pleased that it still bore their family's crest.“But what did you mean about saving Fisher?”I pressed. “He's safe here. Why does he need saving?”

The ring said nothing.

Nothing at all.

Frustration welled up in me, and I didn’t know why I did it, but I was compelled to act. I wasn’t even aware of what I was doing as I slipped the newly made relic onto my middle finger.

The forge went dark.

An icy wind lanced through me, whipping my soul. And the sound. Gods, thesound.A million different voices chanting with a deafening might.

ANNORATH MOR! ANNORATH MOR! ANNORATH MOR! ANNORATH MOR! ANNORATH MOR! ANNORATH MOR!

“Saeris?”

The roaring cut off dead. The candles in the forge strengthened, the flames leaping up the back of the hearth, licking over the blackened brickwork. And then, just had it been only moments before, everything was normal again.

I tore the ring off my finger, panting. My heart pounded, a terrible sense of hopelessness solidifying in my gut. I wouldn’t be doingthatagain.

Te Léna was at the open doorway, technically standing inside Cahlish. Ren's magic still overlayed the doorway to one of the guest bedrooms back in the manor house with the entrance to the forge outside, located by the stable, ensuring the house would be safe should I accidentally blow myself up. The healer wrung her hands, eyeing the doorway with surprising suspicion. As always, her jet-black hair was tied into long braids that went all the way down to the small of her back. The tips of her pointed ears poked out between them. Complimenting her flawlessumber-bronze skin, she wore a gown made of iridescent blue material that flowed around her as she shifted from one foot to the other.

“I just wanted to come and see how you were. I heard you fought earlier,” she said. “Do you have any cuts or scrapes that need attention?”

I didn't get a chance to reply. Carrion, dog that he was, jumped in before I could get a word out. He hopped off the bench, crossed the forge, and leaned against the wall by the doorway in that practiced, careless way of his. “You look stunning this evening, Te Léna. You're literally the only good thing about being back here,”

She laughed. “Aside from the running hot water, you mean? And the soft feather beds? And the endless supply of delicious hot food?”

“No. I hate every single one of those things,” he said theatrically. “You remain the only bright star in a sea of darkness here. Tell me you've changed your mind about having dinner with me.”

She gave him a chastising look, holding up both of her hands and showing him their backs. “I regret to inform you that I am still happily mated and married, Carrion Swift. And my husband isn't the type to share.”

“Is he handsome?” Carrion arched his eyebrow suggestively. “I do love a husband-and-wife team. Maybe he'll let me join you both if he...”

A high-pitched ringing sound filled my ears. It blocked out Carrion's overt attempts at seduction and Te Léna's very polite rebuff. The Fae healer had lowered her hands again, but I was staring at them, eyes fixed on them. They were marked with runes. Some of her fingers bore one or two runes. Others had none. There was an elegant design on the back of her right hand, but the other was bare. Louder, the ringing in my earsintensified. I hadn't even realized that I was crossing the forge until I was standing in front of Te Léna and I was gesturing to her hands.

“Do you...I'm sorry, I, uhh, I've never seen such pretty tattoos before. Would you mind showing them to me?”

“You sound weird,” Carrion said. “And I'm trying to help her forget the tattoos, not make a big deal out of them. Gods, you sure know how to ruin a guy's chance of getting laid.”

Te Léna laughed again. “Carrion, let me put this as plainly as I possibly can. So long as the sun still rises and sets every night, I am never going to sleep with you.” To me, she said, “Of course. Thank you, Saeris. I think they're pretty, too. My husband and I designed them together.”

She had beautiful hands. Graceful and slender, with long fingers. Three out of the five fingers on her left hand bore runes. Two on her index finger, two on her middle finger, and only one on her little finger. On her right hand, there was a single rune on her index finger and another on her ring finger, and that was it.

She traced her fingers over the ink on the back of her right hand, beaming as she extended it out for me to see properly. “It’s a Fae custom to mark our skin on our fifth wedding anniversaries. We tattoo the blessings we pray for onto our hands in the hopes that they become manifest. Yaz and I decided on a harmony mark, a longevity mark, and two child marks. Greedy I know, to wish for two children. One would be blessing enough, but…” She shrugged. “No point in holding back when it comes to these things, right?”