Page 226 of Scorched Earth

“You’ve also told me the process of how one of them dies,” she responded. “Marcus is constantly surrounded, and there is no way that the Cel would follow someone they watched rise from the dead. This is something different. He’s not a puppet.”

“It might be a relief for you to know that the man you loved died somewhere along the way,” her aunt had said softly when she’d pulled Teriana aside. “To know that the change you saw, the cruelty, wasn’t Marcus but rather the Seventh.”

It was tempting to believe that notion, because then she could grieve Marcus’s death even as she fought an enemy that she’d never loved. But in her heart, Teriana knew that Marcus was very much alive and that it was only the darker side of him that she’d faced in Revat. Undeniably he was influenced by the Corrupter, but where the blighters were puppets, Marcus was the Seventh’s ally.

“The chatter on the docks is that Lydia is here,” Bait said as they reached Seldrid’s manor. A grand structure Teriana had been inside many times. Made of a pale grey stone, it rose three stories high with thick vines of ivy climbing its walls. Great sweeping balconies sat beneath enormous windows. Windows that were all shattered, glass sprayed over the lavish grounds.

“Something has happened here,” she said. “And it’s nothing good.”

Soldiers patrolled the stone wall surrounding the property and more still guarded the gate. But next to the banner of the galloping horse of House Calorian was the familiar falcon of House Falorn.

Lydia, who was Kitaryia Falorn, and now Queen of Mudamora, was here.

“Halt!” one of the soldiers shouted as they approached the gate. “Civilians must stay back twenty paces!”

“My name is Teriana of theQuincense,” she called back. “I bring important information for Lydia… er, for the Queen. I need to speak with her immediately. Just tell her I’m here.”

“That’s not possible,” the guard replied. “Be on your way.”

She took a step closer, only to freeze as arrows trained on her chest. “Be on your way!” the guard barked, and Bait caught hold of her arm, tugging her back a step.

“I need to see her!” Frustration built in Teriana’s chest, because of all the obstacles she’d known were ahead of her, not being able to see Lydia hadn’t been one of them.

“Stand down,” a familiar voice said. Killian walked between the guards and through the gate. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Teriana.”

She flung her arms around his neck, not caring about propriety as she said, “You have no idea how good it is to see your face.”

“We’ve been worried about you. We learned that you’d managed to free those who’d been imprisoned by the Cel but that you’d not been heard from since.”

“I’ve been in Revat,” she answered. “It’s fallen.”

“I know,” he said. “Lydia was there when it happened and only just returned. One of your triumvirs managed to get her out just before they blockaded the harbor. Aspasiana was killed protecting theKairense, though I suppose you know that.”

“Lydia was in Revat?” She pushed him back to arm’s length, noting the dark circles beneath his brown eyes, and the thick shadow of stubble that verged on a beard covering his jaw. “Why?”

“The library.” Killian scrubbed a hand through his dark brown hair, which had grown longer than she’d ever seen him wear it. “I’ll explain when we’re inside. There are blighters in the city serving as Rufina’s spies, and Lydia is their target for reasons better explained out of earshot.”

The back of Teriana’s neck prickled. She glanced over her shoulder, searching the masses of people on the street facing the manordespite knowing she wouldn’t recognize the enemy if they were right before her. “Inside seems wise.”

The soldiers saluted Killian as he led Teriana and her crew between them, shutting and latching the gates behind them. The grounds were the same as they’d always been, feeling like one of the last places in the West untouched by war. A candle in the dark night.

More guards flanked the entrance, though they didn’t hesitate to open the door for Killian, both saluting sharply.

“We’ll wait here,” Yedda said, taking hold of Bait’s arm and preventing him from following. Giving her privacy as Killian led her inside.

“What happened?” she asked as she took in the ruined foyer and the servants sweeping up bits of glass and shredded flowers.

Killian’s eyes darkened. “A battle of wills.” He blew out a long breath, then shook his head. “Your arrival is good news in a sea of bad. We feared the worst with the rumors we heard.”

Her palms turned cold, because if Killian had heard rumors about her and Marcus, then Lydia surely had as well.

“We put no stock in them, though. Lydia’s been stalwart in her faith in you.”

Teriana’s stomach hollowed, for it would have been easier if they already knew. If she didn’t need to confess everything she’d done. “They’re true.”

Killian was silent, and she risked a glance upward at him, finding his eyes forward and his jaw tight.

“I didn’t know what he’d done to her until Bait told me.” Her breath caught as she warred with tears, because Killian had been her friend their entire lives. “I know it doesn’t change the outcome, but…” Teriana trailed off, knowing she didn’t deserve forgiveness and that to push for it only made what she’d done worse.