Page 47

Iris paused, blade stilling in her fingers as she glanced between the two of us. Slowly, she laughed, the sound brittle and bitter. “Oh, this is rich.”

Clay stepped toward her, reaching for the blade, but she danced out of his grasp. “Iris—”

“The irony of it all!” she spat, her voice dripping with venom.

“A year ago, you were begging me not to join the Order. And now? Now you want my skills. Now you want me to convince half of my legion to abandon their sworn cause to help you steal a throne. Only you’re not asking me to do it for the betterment of the kingdom.

You’re asking me to do it to save the woman you love.

” She pointed the blade accusingly at me.

“Because she freed the bitch who killed the woman I loved.”

Camilla flinched, tears slipping down her face. “Iris, I—” she began, her voice trembling.

“You don’t get to speak to me!” Iris roared, lunging again. My barrier held, and she slammed against it with a scream of frustration.

“If you want someone to blame, blame the Goddess of Madness!” Elaina’s voice rang out, sharp and cutting.

All heads turned toward her as she stood by Camilla’s side, her posture protective, her eyes blazing.

“If any of you had taken the time to actually listen to Camilla, you would understand that Pasnia has been in this realm longer than any of you realize. She poisoned her thoughts, literally drove her out of her mind.”

“You think that excuses it?” Iris growled.

“I think it means Camilla was a victim, too,” Elaina said, her voice softening but no less resolute. “And we have a bigger enemy to deal with.”

Clay’s gaze shifted to Kent, a silent command passing between them.

Kent nodded and began to hum a soft tune so quiet that only the three of us could hear it.

The magic took effect, visible in the way some of the tension left Iris’s shoulders.

After a moment, she tucked her blades away into the belt across her hips and folded her arms across her chest.

“Fine,” she spat through clenched teeth. “How do we find her? ”

I drew on what I knew of Pasnia from my nights studying in the library upstairs. “Pasnia’s magic has an animus that’s visible when she’s nearby.”

“A butterfly,” Camilla said hoarsely, her voice breaking the tense quiet. “It’s a butterfly.”

Clay nodded, his expression grim. “Then we keep watch. If anyone sees a butterfly, report it immediately.”

“And then what?” Rankor asked, resting his hands on his hips.

“And then I send her back to the Underworld,” I said firmly.

A heavy silence settled over the room. Kent sank into the chair by Camilla’s feet, his brow furrowed. “This would be a lot easier if we knew what she wanted.”

“She wants to lower the Veil, obviously,” Iris said flatly.

“But why now?” Kent pressed.

“Because she’s dying,” I said, the words heavier than I’d expected. Every eye turned to me. “She doesn’t want to leave Hyrax alone. That’s why he created me.”

Iris let out a bitter laugh. “So once again, we’re back to you being the problem.”

“Iris,” Clay growled, his voice a sharp warning.

She turned to him, her gaze icy. “She’s the only thing that can lower the Veil. You all know it. If Pasnia’s planning to drop it, she’s betting on Thea helping her.”

Her words hit like a blow. She was right—I was capable of lowering the Veil. Hyrax hadn’t even known Pasnia was in the Mortal Realm though. In all her time here, she’d never come to me, never seemed remotely interested in me.

So what if I wasn’t the only thing capable of lowering the Veil?

“She wants the Book of the Gods.” The revelation escaped me in a whisper.

“What?” Rankor asked, frowning. “What is that? ”

Clay looked at me suspiciously, as if he somehow knew who had told me about the book. “It’s a spell book, created by the Gods. No one really knows whats in it, but it’s rumored to have the spell they used to raise the Veil.”

I looked around the room. “What if Pasnia had been looking for the Book of the Gods in the Zion Archives and not the Sword of Zion? A spell in that book raised the Veil. What if there’s a spell to lower it?”

“That could make sense,” Clay nodded slowly, “but we’ve never had that book; it was lost centuries ago.”

Camilla cleared her throat, avoiding Iris’s stare as she interjected. “I might know someone who could find it. He used to sell crystals to my grandmother.”

Iris turned to Rankor and Kent. “Then let’s move. We’ll head back to the castle and strengthen our defenses. Camilla sends word to her contact. Clay and Thea find Pasnia and deal with her. Then we take the throne.”

Rankor smirked. “All in a day’s work.”

Kent went to Iris, clapping a hand on her shoulder and trying to lead her away before her temporary calmness wore off. She lingered a moment longer, settling her icy gaze on Camilla.

“I hope you are sorry. I hope her face haunts the rest of your dreams. It’s a fate much worse than death.”

I watched her go, her presence leaving a stifling tension in the room. It only heightened when Clay stormed away without another word. Elaina followed, promising she’d talk to him and get him to calm down.

Left alone with Camilla, I sank into a chair across from her.

“Never thought the day would come when you defended me from Iris,” she said softly, seriousness in her voice. “Thank you.”

I nodded. “Elaina was right. It’s not your fault that Pasnia made you do those things. She’s the real villain. ”

Camilla stared out the window as Iris, Kent, and Rankor rode away. “Still, Iris will never forgive me.”

“No, she won’t.”

“And your friendship with her will never be the same.”

“No,” I agreed softly. “It won’t.”

Everything had already changed.