“He said I failed because the Aether hurt me. But he was surprised I survived it.” And I wondered for the first time how often he’d run the same test before—and how many had died because of it.
“He meant to kill you,” Wren said, each word bitten off like a bitter seed.
“Not exactly, but he wouldn’t have minded. He thinks everyone is disposable. Just tools in his quest for power and glory.” I paused, took a breath. “Then they left; maybe someone heard me screaming. He left me there, and you found me.”
“I’m glad I did.”
I nodded. “Thank you again. How did he appear and reappear?”
“Some practitioners can move in and out of the Aetheric.” She looked troubled by the possibility.
“The color was still wrong. The Aether he pulled in was golden-white. Kind of beautiful, really. But when he manipulates it, the residue left behind is sickly looking.”
“I think his magic is impure.”
“What does that mean?” Wren asked. “Impure?”
“Humans obtain Aetheric skills by absorbing Aether left behind by the god, or what little else seeps into this world. If he was truly a Luminae, there would be no residue.” But she frowned. “I am not sure what he is. I will discuss this with the other Guardians.”
“I’m going to check the palace’s library. Maybe there are books about Aetheric weapons or practitioners.”
“So you intend to stay?”
“You brought me here,” I reminded her. “I assume you did that for a reason.”
“He was the lesser of two evils,” she said after a moment. And she looked unhappy about it.
“You’re right,” I said. “I can’t leave. It will be harder for him to get to me here, and I don’t think I can survive another fight with him. Not if I’m alone.”
“Move her through the Aetheric,” Wren said. “Take her beyond the pass—somewhere he can’t get to her.”
“I cannot take her that far. I do not have that power.”
“I can’t always run,” I said. “Sometimes it’s not an option.” Like when you’re chased through flatlands with nowhere to hide. Or backed into a corner by a monster. “Is there something else I can do with my ability to see Aether? Some other way that I can use it?”
“You are not a practitioner.”
“I don’t want to be. I just don’t want to feel helpless.”
“Being helpless will keep you alive—and out of the Emperor Eternal’s sights. Stay in the palace and don’t leave until he’s caught.” Her words were hard, hands moving fiercely. “I’ll come to you tomorrow night.”
And with that furious pronouncement, she disappeared.
Wren and I stood in silence for a moment.
“She is pissed.”
“Yeah,” Wren said, brow furrowed. “Maybe because he took another Anima, or because she hasn’t been able to find him.”
“Or her god.”
But there was something besides anger in her eyes. Something I didn’t understand, and didn’t like.
There was fear.
Wren left, escorted by a soldier we hadn’t seen before, to ensure she safely returned to the Lady’s manor.
I closed and locked the door, listening until her footsteps faded. The room was too big, the palace too cavernous. It was silent but for the crackle of wood in the fire, and that wouldn’t last long.
