Page 180 of Scorched Earth

“My gods,” Lydia breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Captain Vane sailed theKairensethrough the gap in the sea wall, the expanse of Revat spreading out beyond and overlooked by seven towers so tall, she’d seen them when they were still hours away from the coast. Revat’s sprawl of buildings rivaled even Celendrial in scope, and the capital of Celendrial had upward of a million peopleliving in it. A backward glance revealed the sea walls were adorned with intricate carvings of sea creatures that resembled Magnius and his brethren, as well as depictions of the Six, instantly recognizable even though their visages were Gamdeshian. It had been the same in Anukastre, the Six appearing differently to different people, only Madoria and Gespurn remaining the same.

She’d learned more about the gods and their marked during the crossing, theKairense’s diver, Fara, warming up to her enough that she’d explained Madoria’s mark, which was only given to the Maarin. She also told Lydia that Gespurn only ever marked the giants of Eoten Isle, their number always twelve and their duty to maintain the doldrums that made the Endless Seas impassable.

“East must not meet West,” Fara said, then shook her head. “Yet for all our efforts, the East is here now.”

Lydia pulled herself from memory as she took in the dozens of docks in the harbor. Ships of every nation filled the spaces, the sailors working upon them of every nationality in the West. The biggest trading port in the world, Lydia had been told, the people a tapestry of this half of Reath.

Darkness was beginning to settle when she and Sonia finally disembarked, but though the harbor market was busy with trade beneath countless strings of light, Lydia immediately sensed a nervous tension to the city. As though something bad had happened and worse was expected to come.

“Marked One,” said the small Gamdeshian woman waiting for them on the dock after she bowed low. “We’ve been expecting you. Your companions are waiting for you in the Great Library, but the Sultan sends his regrets that he cannot attend, for he is occupied with a matter of some importance.”

“Has something happened?” Lydia asked, glad that Malahi and Agrippa had not revealed to anyone her change of station.

The woman’s shoulders curved in a slump, expression grim. “Emrant has fallen to the Cel invaders.”

“What?” demanded Sonia. “How is that possible? Where was Kaira?”

“General Kaira, may the Six protect her, was in Emrant when it happened,” the woman answered. “It is a tale of duplicity that I’ll leave her to tell.”

Sonia’s steps faltered. “She’s here?”

The woman nodded. “Marshaling our forces to march on the Cel.” She motioned for them to follow her into the city, three large menwith heavy cudgels forming up around them as a guard. “The leader of the Cel army not only refuses to leave Emrant; he has demanded the abdication of the Sultan on the threat of war. The Cel have expanded their ranks through the xenthier stem they now control. It is said that they plan to take Revat by force, but until Astara returns, we have no fresh news.”

“Astara is marked by Lern,” Sonia murmured to Lydia. “She has long been Kaira’s eyes in the sky, and she travels quickly.”

Except so did the legions.

Lydia clenched her teeth. The timing between the Cel threat growing and Rufina marching farther south wasn’t a coincidence. The Corrupter seemed intent on trapping the twin hearts of the West, Revat and Serlania, between two hosts, and if she and Malahi didn’t find answers, defeat wasn’t a possibility.

It was an inevitability.

“Will the Sultan evacuate Revat?” she asked, her heart aching because where could they go? Where on Reath was safe?

“It is not yet known what Sultan Kalin will do,” the woman replied. “Our lives are in the hands of the Six.”

“In Kaira’s hands,” Sonia murmured, meeting Lydia’s gaze. “If the Cel march on Revat, she’ll make them bleed every step of the way.”

Of that, Lydia had no doubt, but as her eyes skipped around the god towers to land on the shiny black spire of the Seventh, she couldn’t help but fear it wouldn’t be enough.

The library was at the heart of the city, and if not for the fact it was encircled by the god towers, it might well have been the tallest building Lydia had ever seen. Made of richly hued sandstone, it seemed to shimmer in the glow of the moonlit night, a spire of knowledge that gleamed like a beacon of enlightenment—and answers—in the darkness. Expected as they were, no one moved to interfere as they passed through the ornate entrance. Like the sea wall, it was adorned with carvings of the Six but also of scenes reminiscent of the drawings in Treatise, causing Lydia to believe they were famous individuals with god marks. Teak doors swung open ahead, welcoming them into a circular space with a stone floor marked with constellations. The scent of paper and ink mixed with the perfume of incense inspired a sense of reverence within Lydia, especially as Sonia nudged her elbow and motioned up.

Andup.

The tower was hollow, each level a ring reached by a circularstaircase that wound round and round, all the way up to the glass-domed ceiling far above.

“It’s an observatory,” Sonia said. “With devices formed of magnified glass that allow one to see stars that are invisible to the naked eye.”

“Miraculous.” Lydia turned in a circle, her eyes filling with endless shelves of books and scrolls on each level, what had to be hundreds of Gamdeshians scurrying among them or seated at tables, pouring over books and scrolls and documents.

“The Sultan has ordered the library guild to hunt for information under the guidance of the Lady Malahi after she arrived this morning,” the woman said. “All have been working ceaselessly, for everyone understands that the fate of Reath rests on discovering a remedy for the blight.”

“I thought I heard your voice.”

Lydia looked up to see Agrippa hanging over the railing on the eighth level. He waved at her. “Quit gaping; there’s something we need you to look at.”

With Sonia on her heels, Lydia took the steps two at a time with no care for propriety—she’d heard the excitement in Agrippa’s voice.