Page 57 of The Garnet Daughter (The Viridian Priestess #3)

I turn toward her, prompting her to listen.

“You were the only one to go back to the order. I saw the moment you knew it had to be you. It has to be me now. I feel it. I have volunteered my gifts before sometimes because I thought it was expected, other times because it was all I had to offer. But now, this is the only option we have, and I do not care to figure out the reason why I am the only one who can do this, but I am. I can ensure First Son’s army comes to the Estate.

I will draw him in so our forces can destroy him. ”

“I can’t just flee. I will fight on the front lines as he arrives.” Her eyes are bloodshot and glossy when she looks to 99, frantically seeking comfort.

“Ferren, please,” I plead. “If he is victorious and takes the city, takes me but you are gone, then he has only found two of his daughters this conjunction and will have failed again.”

99 holds her tightly, speaking through their tether, words not meant for August and me to hear. Whatever they share, she settles, as if he has breathed calm reason over her panicked, exposed nerves.

“You will fold into August’s ship once First Son’s army is within range,” 99 commands, looking between us. “Then take her to Frith.”

August nods, resolved in his orders. “Gladly.”

My stomach twists as it always does when we have to make decisions that could change the trajectory of our lives.

I was so different the last time we separated, so lost and unsure.

This time is harder in so many ways, separating and not knowing for how long.

But with a soothing brush of August’s thumb over my palm, I’m suddenly reminded that this time I am not alone.

It doesn’t take long for 99 to arrange guarded transport for Ferren back to Viathan, expediting her departure so quickly, none of us have fully taken in and absorbed the weight of our plan.

But the conjunction peaks tomorrow, and Ferren needs to be underway long before First Son arrives, sneaking out without notice.

She stands without expression at the base of the ship that will take her to Viathan’s capital building. 99 and August speak forcefully to the captain and commanders who will take her, their words distant but tones cutting through the sound of the readied engines.

As I approach her to say my heartbreaking goodbye, her eyes ascend to the sky above her head. I follow, curious what has caught her attention in the darkness. An oily film dissipates, like a slow-popping bubble, only for another filter to replace it, the clouds crystal clear for just a moment.

“A new highest has been chosen,” Ferren mutters.

And in the next breath, the temple’s bell begins to ring, signaling to the rest of the city another ward has been placed, a highest priestess chosen.

99 bounds down the ramp, hovering close to Ferren as a natural shield. “Is that?”

“The new ward around the city.” She nods, brows twisting in relief that if she must leave us, we are at least protected in a way she understands.

“Good,” he says but doesn’t seem pleased with the long process of the priestess order’s traditions.

August still remains with the Viathan pilot within the opening of the ship.

When they both shake each other’s forearms, I notice August pulls him in roughly, speaking into the side of his helmet with the authority that comes with 99’s position not his own.

But the pilot does not pull away or question it.

He simply nods in understanding and shakes his forearm passively again.

“What is he doing?” I ask 99.

“Threatening the pilot,” he says flatly.

When August strides down the ramp, posture still surging from leftover emotion, my stomach lurches with affection, as I know he was speaking to the pilot specifically, someone in his own specialty, ensuring Ferren makes it back to Viathan safely.

“All set,” August tells 99 and then places his hand firmly at the small of my back, the movement so natural and smooth, it’s as if it’s something he has done for lifetimes.

99 tosses a half-acknowledged nod, an understanding crossing between them.

Ferren approaches August first, hugging him around the middle and whispering, “Take care of Calliape, she needs you.”

“Get to Viathan safely. It’s a beautiful place to spend the conjunction,” he teases gently and hunches forward to hug her. “I will miss you.”

When she turns to me, I sway a little, off balance, already on the verge of tears, but I hold them back, determined to appear strong. I embrace her, holding her so she cannot see how difficult this is and question whether she should leave.

She sniffles into my hair and whispers, “When will we see each other again?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that I love you. Despite this, I would have found you. Our paths would have always crossed because they are ours and no one else’s.”

“Thank you, Calliape, for all you have done. My life would not be the same without you.”

Hearing the sob she is holding back breaks my heart, the earnestness in her voice sending a bolt of regret that I wasted even a moment hiding behind my walls.

“Ferren . . . there are so many things I wish I did differently?—”

“We are flawed; that is all.” She grips my shoulders, shaking her head to convince me to stop my line of thinking, then pulls me forward in an embrace. “Do not hold back with August. Let yourself bask in it,” she whispers into the tether between us, one I will never close off again.

“Goodbye.” I squeeze her tightly as my voice cracks.

“Goodbye, sister. I love you.” She rips away painfully and wipes her cheeks.

She can’t meet our eyes as she turns to 99 to walk up the ramp together.

August laces his fingers in mine as we watch our friends ascend.

Ferren’s legs seem weak, as she walks with as much of her weight on 99’s forearm as possible, and when they reach the top, he holds her tightly as she cries into his armor.

The tears I’ve managed to keep within my sockets spill forth freely when I see my friend, my sister, so broken and leaving, yet this time I am not sure when, if ever, we will see each other again.

August pulls me into his side, wrapping a strong arm around my waist and sniffling himself.

99 pulls off his helmet and kisses her. They speak for a long time, saying their goodbyes, half through the tether and the rest too far for our ears. And when he regretfully descends the ramp with his helmet firmly placed, his strides away from Ferren look as if he is moving through sinksand.

But when he reaches us, he turns his head to the side quickly, ignoring us as if he hears something we cannot.

And then the air itself changes, the sandy dryness easier to breathe in, like a fog cloud is moving in to cool the Estate.

A great sky boom rocks into my ear canals, and the Viathan alarms blare suddenly.

“Depart now! Do not wait!” 99 screams into his comm to the pilot of Ferren’s ship.

She stands at the edge of the ramp as it closes, eyes wild, hearing the new pattern of the tolling bells of her former temple, knowing the sequence of their meaning.

Commanders come to her aid within the entrance of the ship, but her entire body glows green, fury mixed with heartbreak ebbing in a ball of energy as the door seals her in.

99 watches the ship ascend into the sky and ignores the frantic incoming messages on his comm of the enemy arriving far before expected.

August is moving us away, holding me by the arm and steering us toward his ship. “We have to go. They are here.”

“Is it safe for her to leave now?” I ask frantically. We have waited too long for her to sneak out without notice.

Neither of them answer. It’s a question that doesn’t require one. We have no other choice. She must go, whether it is dangerous or not. None of us are willing to risk her staying here, so we watch her ascend into the dark sky, leaving behind a hole in each of us.