Page 22

Siobhan

“There is no ‘us,’?” Nox snaps.

“There could be,” Bastian counters. “If you’d stop running.”

All it takes is one look at Nox’s expression to know that Bastian was right. They are running from us. I even understand why. I’ve avoided taking steps past the point of no return with the rebellion for longer than I want to admit. Stepping into the light and revealing myself to be alive, facing down my sister, watching the people I’ve come to care about die in a fight that might not be victorious? It’s terrifying…but no less terrifying than the more personal battles for the heart of someone I care about.

Nox knows the stakes better than anyone, both for their heart and their life. Of course they’d try to put enough distance between themself and that potential pain.

I don’t have the words to reassure them. There are no guarantees in life, but especially in this situation. I think experiencing love is worth the potential pain of losing it, but I can’t make that choice for Nox.

Dia saves me from potentially saying the wrong thing and ending this before it’s had a chance to begin. The old woman exhales another circle of smoke. “Ah, yes. The horn.”

Instantly, every one of us goes still, Bowen and Evelyn ceasing their quiet conversation in the corner. We all turn to Dia. Bastian cautiously says, “We need to know about the horn.”

“My great-grandmother, several times removed, was the one who created the case that it now resides in.” She speaks in a low, even tone that almost sounds like she’s in a trance. She still hasn’t opened her eyes, but she continues to smoke regularly between sentences. “She didn’t know where they found it, only that it was of the utmost importance to ward it as quickly and as thoroughly as they could. She wasn’t the kind of woman to allow sloppy work under her command, so it was something of a fight with her and the Council of her time.”

I lean forward. We are so close to an answer, and the slowness of her speech makes me want to do something to cause her to pick up her pace. I don’t realize that I’m actually moving closer to the old woman until Nox grabs my arm in a gentle grip and shakes their head.

From her seat, Dia continues. “My ancestor didn’t like being pressured, and so she took it upon herself to find out exactly what was so dangerous about this horn as to get the Council into a tizzy.”

“What did she find?” Bowen asks softly. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak so quietly, and it’s an indication that Dia has used this method to retrieve information before.

“Inconclusive,” Dia says slowly. “There was a lot of whispering, but no definitive answers. All she could discover was that the Council feared the horn enough that they wanted it close instead of hiding it away where no one would ever see it. There was something about the noble families fighting them on this choice, which is why it ended up in the section of the library where only the nobles can pass freely. But still warded, still kept away from curious hands and minds.” She exhales in a shuddering breath and opens her eyes. “I’m sorry. That’s all I have.”

“It’s perfect, Dia.” Bowen goes to her and offers a hand so that she can rise, even though she seems spry enough not to need it. “It helped immensely.”

It didn’t help at all. I barely manage to keep the words trapped behind my teeth. We came all this way, risked so much, and for what? Rumors passed down from an ancient ancestor? The Council are afraid of a lot of things. Just because they seemed particularly worried about this one doesn’t mean it can actually be wielded against them. It might blow all of Lyari off the map. That outcome is just as likely as summoning my legendary ancestors.

I glance at Bastian to see my frustration mirrored in his face. This wasn’t enough. We needed a guarantee in order to make the trip to Lyari. If the horn was a weapon that could take on the whole of the C?n Annwn, then it would have been a neat side step to avoid war. It still might be, but sailing into certain danger on the strength of rumors and assumptions is a large ask.

Nox pulls their frustration together quickly. They give a short bow to Dia. “You are always welcome on my ship, though it’s bound to be more dangerous than normal in the near future.”

“Life is dangerous. I’ll still take that offer.” Dia snuffs out her blunt and tucks the remainder into an interior pocket in her jacket. “Let me grab my bag and we’ll go.”

Nox barely waits for her to exit the room before they turn back to me and Bastian. “I know what you’re thinking and the answer is absolutely not .”

“We still don’t have a better option,” Bastian cuts in. “Even without a guarantee, we have to try.”

“On the contrary, we have thousands of better options than certain death. Because that’s exactly what will happen if we sail to Lyari. Even if they don’t know we’re coming—and they will because they have such an intricate system of information networks—you want me to take my crew into an openly hostile harbor. And then , if we somehow survive that, get close enough to the damned Council to be one room below their meeting chambers to break the wards around this thing that have been in place for generations, and then blow a damn horn and hope it doesn’t bring about the end of the fucking world. Because right now, that’s as likely as anything else.”

They’re right. I know they’re right. “The C?n Annwn used to do good.”

Nox blinks. “Oh, so now we’re trading in fairy tales.”

“It’s not a fairy tale. My grandfather passed the same stories to me that his grandfather passed to him and so on back to the beginning of Threshold. The C?n Annwn protected our realm. It’s only in the intervening time that that purpose has become perverted and used to abuse power.”

“Sure, and why don’t you spin a tale on turning straw to gold while you’re at it. If the C?n Annwn ever existed, which, I’ll grant you, your presence seems to suggest, then no doubt they were just as corrupt and selfish as those who currently call themselves by the same name. I’ve seen what power does to people. You’ve seen it, too—both of you. Just because they were here first doesn’t mean they’re immune to that. Even if this damn horn does summon them, it’s entirely likely that they will be a worse problem than what we’re currently dealing with.”

There’s no reason to feel betrayed by their words. This has been a long shot from the beginning, from the moment that I took the first steps to create a rebellion that would help people. In my heart of hearts, didn’t I know it was a losing battle?

“The Council is scared of the horn,” Bastian says. “That means something.”

“It means it’s a threat. There’s no telling the size or shape of that threat,” Nox snaps.

“The legends in my realm are varied,” Evelyn says slowly, almost apologetically. “Sometimes they hunt those who deserve it, but almost as often, it’s a proximity thing. If you are in the wrong place on the wrong night, the Wild Hunt will take you, too.” She frowns a little. “Though in this scenario, ‘taking’ could qualify as everything from killing to kidnapping to just dragging along for the ride, only to be deposited somewhere far from where you originally joined up.”

“See.” Nox motions at Evelyn. “Even if we had endless amounts of time for research and were able to travel to the other realms where the C?n Annwn hunted, we would find the same conflicting stories and legends. There is no such thing as uniformly good or uniformly evil. Siobhan and Morrigan are more than proof of that. She’s descended from the C?n Annwn, too, and she’s vicious, violent, and cruel.”

As much as I hate to admit it, that is one angle I can’t argue. There may be no such thing as uniformly good or evil, but my sister is damn close to the latter. I don’t know if she was just born a particular way, or if something in our upbringing went wrong with her. All I know is that her ambition burns inside her with a heat that incinerates anything standing in her way.

Including our parents. And me.

“Nox,” I start. “If you have a better plan, I’d love to hear it.”

“We run. We hide. We fight. All of those are better plans than sailing to the heart of the C?n Annwn on rumors that don’t even prove your thesis.” Nox turns away and drags a hand through their short hair. “It doesn’t matter. We can fight about this back on the Audacity . We need to move. The longer we stay in one place, the greater the target upon us is.”

At least on that we’re in agreement. There’s an itching under my skin that seems to be growing with every minute that ticks past. There’s no reason to think we were followed here, and we intentionally avoided the busy docks where secrecy is impossible.

And yet…

Dia walks back into the room with a bag nearly the size she is. Bowen promptly takes it from her and slings it over his own shoulder. There’s nothing left to do but leave. He’s the first one out the door, Evelyn and Dia close behind. After a short, silent battle, Bastian follows, then Nox, and then me. I softly close the door behind me and look around.

Where the streets weren’t particularly busy before, now there isn’t a single soul visible. The itching beneath my skin reaches a frenzied threshold. I shiver. “Something’s wrong.”

Dia shudders and almost goes to her knees. Only Evelyn’s quick thinking is enough to catch her before her old knees hit the cobblestones. She gasps out a harsh breath. “Storm. Magical. Acid.”

Even as she speaks, realization rolls over me. Bull, Morrigan’s quartermaster. I’d heard rumors about his powers, but even in Threshold it seemed exaggerated to a laughable degree. Summoning a magical storm that drops acid instead of rain? Even as my disbelief tries to take hold, clouds gather above us, a deep and worrisome green.

Bastian follows my gaze and makes a sound of rage. “It will eat through the roofs, will kill people. How is Morrigan justifying this to the Council?”

“This is Kanghri,” I say quietly. “As long as she keeps the damage far from Mairi, it’s likely they’ll look the other way. What’s a little more damage to this place?” I motion around us.

“It’s wrong,” he snaps.

“This is Threshold. You know better.” Nox rolls their shoulders, and I already know I’m not going to like their next words as soon as I see the determination in their pale gray eyes. “I can stop him.”

Bastian and I speak at the same time. “Absolutely not.”

Bowen cuts between us, breaking our line of sight with each other. “Now isn’t the time to argue. We have to move. If Nox can help, then let them do it.” He turns to Dia. “I’m going to have to carry you.”

She grumbles a little but allows him to carefully lift her into his arms. He glances at Evelyn, but she’s already shaking her head. “I can keep up.”

I turn back to Nox, only to find their eyes distant. Around us, the wind begins to pick up. “Damn it, Nox. We don’t have—” There’s no time to argue.

“I’ve got Dia’s bag.” Bastian takes it from Bowen. “You carry Nox. The faster we get out of here, the less magic they have to use.”

“As if that’s going to stop them.” I sweep Nox into my arms and we rush after Bowen and Evelyn, cutting through the streets at twice the pace that I came in. What’s the point in stealth when there’s no one around to see? Morrigan won’t be here. She won’t risk any of her people being harmed by Bull’s attack. The bitch.

In the fifteen minutes it takes to reach the edges of the city, the wind has increased in strength until it’s a fight for every step. I lean down to murmur in Nox’s ear. “It would be helpful if you didn’t make it more challenging for us to flee. Direct the wind overhead and into the storm.” I hate asking them for more effort when I know the cost, but there are thousands of people who live in Kanghri. If I don’t let Nox fight Bull, then the death toll will be astronomical.

“I know what I’m doing.” But the wind shifts around us, no longer a wall to be burst through. Bowen is moving so fast that I have to sprint to keep up with him, and though Bastian is breathing hard enough to make me worry, he keeps pace. Evelyn, on the other hand, is having a difficult time despite her confident words. With a soft curse, I dodge in front of her and go down on one knee. “My back. Hang on.”

“This is so fucked.” She gives a soft oof as she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. Even though she tries not to choke me, it’s all but impossible.

We are so fucked.