Page 105

Chapter

Seventy-One

Nuo

A eden Ravin dragged Bastane out of the prayer chamber next to ours. Why the fuck was Aeden Ravin here?

“Bastane,” I shouted, held back by Brekt when he saw the state of Bas’s face. He was a bloody mess, and his body had gone limp from the beating he took. His feet dragged on the floor while Aeden stomped to the centre of the shrine.

It made no sense. How had Bastane been put in such a state while Brekt and I had been praying in the next room?

Brekt faded from sight, using his Night-leg magic to blend into the shadows cast by the balcony above.

Aeden glanced over his shoulder, not missing a step, his mouth forming a cruel smile, showing the man hidden behind the Guardian clothes.

He was breathing heavily, the veins on his neck bulging.

Aeden didn’t have as much fighting knowledge as the Guards.

He was never rewarded for battles won. How had he taken Bas down?

Kazhi sprung from the same chamber, running for Aeden with her knives out. She, too, was a mess, blood streaming from her temple. I snapped out of my bewildered state, following her.

Falizha stood in the centre of the large chamber, grinning at Bastane’s battered form. “The Traitor will get what he deserves, as will the rest of you.”

Light poured through the missing parts of the roof, setting the Day-legs alight.

Kazhi reached Aeden’s back, knives poised to take him down.

He spun, grabbing her and lifting her as if she weighed nothing.

With strength I’d never seen, he flung her across the large room.

She collided with a wall, and the impact rattled the stones loose.

They crumbled around her as she collapsed to the ground.

Kazhi didn’t get up.

“How—”

Brekt stopped me, though I couldn’t see him. “Something is off about him. Look at his neck.”

Sickly red veins pulsed in Aeden’s neck. The sight reminded me of the rash I’d seen forming on his skin in the Guardian City. Something was wrong with him.

Aeden’s roar of fury echoed in the shrine as he picked up Bastane and slammed him on the ground at Falizha’s feet. Bastane groaned in pain, his head falling limp to the side.

“The Guards are done with, as of today!” Aeden screamed to the shrine.

Movement from higher up caught my attention.

The Guardians Falizha had brought to the Aethar lands lined the second level, wrapping around the entire shrine.

Each held one of the weapons Aeden showcased back at the City. And they had them aimed at us.

“This is an execution,” Brekt whispered from somewhere to my left. “Liv?—”

“She can protect herself,” I said in a low voice.

“And they might not know she is here.” I glanced toward the door Liv had gone through, past the dais separating the chamber doors, and caught a flash of blue behind the debris—the Aethar.

She cowered behind a large stone slab that had fallen from the roof.

Her eyes were wide with fear as they met mine.

I tilted my palm to the ground to warn her to stay down.

“Come forward into the light, Nuo.” Falizha stood over Bastane, casting a shadow over him while the sun lit her hair aglow. “The Guardians here want to know why you entered this shrine with the Ikhor.”

Brekt swore, staying hidden.

“You were followed here!” a woman shouted from above. My head spun when I saw it was Lin, the woman I’d taken to bed back in Danuli. Her hateful glare was on me. “The scout saw you meet with the Ikhor. You’re traitors!”

“The Council has always talked of replacing you because you refuse orders,” another man shouted. “And now we find the truth. They were right about you!”

I stepped into the sunlight, letting them see me. “And did none of you question the Council’s truths when you were brought to these lands? Did you not expect wastelands filled with scarred Aethar? The Guards have been asking the right questions for much longer. You are all being deceived.”

“You’re with the Ikhor, Nuo!” Lin shouted.

“The Ikhor isn’t possessed!” Brekt stepped out of the shadows.

The Guardians all gasped. No one had seen him in months. Falizha had known Brekt was host of the Aspis, had seen him transform on the field, but she showed no surprise at seeing him alive again. Had the scout reported seeing him, and she kept it a secret from everyone else?

“Where have you been, Erebrekt? We were told you’d abandoned the Guards,” a man shouted.

“The Council hid from you that I was the host of the Aspis.” When the shrine stayed silent, Brekt continued, “It slumbered in me, and when the magic of the Ikhor woke, the transformation took place. I did not abandon the Guards.”

“Why haven’t you killed the Ikhor?” Lin questioned.

Brekt patted his chest. “I am proof the legends are lies. The Aspis is not chasing the Ikhor to save the people. It wants to steal the Ikhor’s magic and possess it!”

The Guardians stayed silent, sending each other confused looks.

“The Ikhor isn’t some evil creature,” Brekt said desperately, “but a woman who can wield magic. Nothing more.”

“The rumours are right, the Ikhor is your lover. You are protecting her,” Lin said.

“Magic is for the gods, not their children. That alone is the threat we must protect ourselves from!” another Guardian shouted.

“Enough!” Aeden said. “You have been given your orders, Guardians. You have been trained on your new weapons. Aim to kill. The Ikhor is here. We will end this today and claim another era of peace for our descendants.”

The Guardians aimed their weapons at Bastane, Brekt, myself, and Kazhi, still unconscious by the wall. My mind raced. What could I do? I knew how fast these Deathmakers could kill. We had no training for this type of scenario.

“Walk forward, Guards,” Falizha said smugly next to her brother.

“Never listened to you before, not going to now.” I held my killing blades, eyeing her throat.

Aeden, carrying his weapon in his other hand, pushed the tip of the Deathmaker against Bastane’s temple. Both Brekt and I reacted, moving forward.

“Stop there,” Aeden ordered.

I halted several feet from the golden siblings. Everything in me screamed not to listen, not to give him the power, but Bastane was so bloody that I doubted he could even see the threat standing above him.

“Kneel,” Falizha said in a delighted tone.

“Do it,” Brekt said next to me. And we did. It killed my ego to land on my knees before Falizha. She was going to die, and I wouldn’t wait for Kazhi’s okay.

“Good.” Aeden kept the weapon pointed at Bastane. “Armel comes with us,” he said to Falizha. “I will use him to test my new weapons. His father will be told he died in battle.”

“What about the others?” A Mount-leg asked from above.

“We told you all!” Falizha yelled. “The Guards betrayed you. You wouldn’t believe us until we brought you here.”

So this was it, why the Ravins brought all the Guardians. They knew they would catch us helping the Ikhor.

“I saw you in the Canyons, Nuo,” Falizha went on. “I saw you standing with the Ikhor, talking, not fighting.”

Aeden rested a boot on Bastane’s chest, leaning his full weight on his knee, making Bas gasp for air. “The Guards haven’t been so sneaky. We know you have been keeping secrets.”

“This isn’t right,” a Guardian shouted from the balcony, looking around at his fellow warriors. “We are aiming at the Guards . At the Aspis! We know them. They wouldn’t go against their own—this isn’t right!”

Aeden’s face transformed into one of rage, turning to the balcony. “Bring him here!”

Several Guardians snatched up the man who had argued against the Ravins’ commands. They brought him down a large stone staircase off to my left and pushed him to his knees next to Brekt.

Aeden rose to his full height, keeping his Deathmaker trained on Bastane. “Falizha, this little Guardian has rebelled. Take care of him and show the others what happens when you don’t listen to commands given by their superiors.”

“What?” The man squirmed next to Brekt. “You can’t shoot me for asking a question. What is this?”

The Guardians holding him didn’t budge as the man fought for his life.

“Stop this!” Brekt yelled.

“Don’t you move, Erebrekt.” Aeden tilted his head, the red veins in his neck protruding. “Who will you save—the man disobeying orders? Or your fellow Guard at my feet?”

Brekt shook, his anger forcing his Night-leg magic to kick in. He began to disappear from sight, but Aeden pushed his Deathmaker into Bastane’s neck.

Brekt yelled, coming back into view. Bastane had betrayed him, giving his girl to the Ravins. Brekt hadn’t forgiven him, and neither had I, but Brekt was loyal to those he called family—loyal to a fault. Bastane said he’d pay for his betrayal, but we wouldn’t let him die.

“Falizha, take care of that one,” Aeden barked, and the man next to us looked around the room for help, but he saw the same view as us—corrupted minds and fellow warriors who now saw us as the enemy.

Falizha’s golden skin paled to a sickly yellow as she swallowed, lifted her Deathmaker, and slipped her brother a wide-eyed plea.

“And here I thought you wanted to look strong for Daddy,” Aeden remarked.

Falizha’s jaw went tight. She held the weapon to her shoulder and closed her eyes as she shot the man down.

Shocked silence followed the thud of his still body hitting the stone floor.

Coward. Murderer. My stomach rolled as the blood of one of our own pooled on the shrine of Mayra.

The Guardians above went silent as they all realized how corrupt the Ravins were.

Aeden faced the higher level, raising his free hand. “You will all be rewarded when you get home as long as you follow orders. If you don’t …” He gestured to the ground where the man lay dead. “I think you understand. Aim for your targets.”

I noticed Lin’s weapon pointed at me, and her face contorted in rage. “They won’t let you return home after what you’ve seen,” I warned them. “You will be next.”

“Make sure your weapons are loaded to kill, not incapacitate.”