“Indeed,” Ethan agreed. “Not even Dolinska in its prime was as magnificent as this.”
“I can’t believe the Seelie just… destroyed all those people,” I said.
“They didn’t, for the blood of the people who built this city still runs in our veins, and even so, Eiragrad survives,” Ethan said.
“Perhaps there will be a way to restore this city, one day.” Eiragrad was too gorgeous to leave unpopulated. It was a wasted gift. It deserved to be treasured and inhabited.
“There may be, but it is not why we are here,” Ethan reminded me. “Do you have any idea where the Unseelie stone might be?”
I didn’t, and Eiragrad was huge. It would take years upon years to search everything here. “It must be somewhere within the city. The Unseelie stone led us here, but it’s hiding. We still have to prove ourselves by finding it.”
“But where do we start?This place is massive.”
My eyes wandered the city. Where would a sentient stone wish to conceal itself? Surely somewhere grand…
“Look at that building,” I said, and I pointed to the north edge of the city. There was the tallest tower, a skyscraper that was more elaborate than the rest. “I bet that’s where Septius took it.”
“Let’s investigate.”
I pulled myself onto Ethan’s back again. We took the stairs downward, and crossed through the city in the direction of the tallest tower.
When I saw it looming overhead, I felt a warmth radiating from my hip. I looked down, and saw that the wolven stone that was embedded in my sword was shining a bright blue hue, emitting a hum that nearly sounded like a woman’s voice.
“Look at my sword,” I said, and Ethan glanced back.
“The wolven stone,” Ethan murmured.
“It’s glowing,” I said. “The stones are drawn together. That means the Unseelie stone must be close.”
We approached the tower. From ground-level, it was massive. I figured it had to have a thousand steps or more on the way to the top.
“We should fly up,” I suggested. “It won’t take as long. Are your wings strong enough to fly?”
“They are still sore from today’s flight, but a short trip won’t bother them much.” Ethan crouched down, then lifted off. We flew toward the top of the tower, and as we did so, the humming from the wolven stone got even stronger.
I went breathless as Ethan sailed over the balcony and landed on the tower’s top floor. It was a circular room that was open to the air, surrounded by archways.
In the middle of the room was a stone platform. Lying on a black pillow on top of the platform was the dark necklace.
“There you are,” I whispered. It felt like I was approaching an old friend as I slid off of Ethan’s back and toward the Unseelie stone. I couldn’t believe we’d had it in our grasp during the King’s Contest and had let it slip away. Not a chance this time. I reached out a hand, ready to grab it.
Before I could, smoke materialized from within the obsidian glass stone. I paused, and my hand dropped as the smoke formed into the shape of a person. Features began taking shape— eyes, a face, long dark hair. I became speechless as I watched a woman form within the smoke, her eyes a midnight hue and her dress a rich shade of black.
Ethan froze at my side, ready to attack at my say-so. The sorceress raised an eyebrow, and I said, “This hasn’t happened with any of the other stones.”
“The other stones weren’t willing to alter fate,” the sorceress replied. “I am.”
My mouth went dry. “Are you the Unseelie stone?”
“I am a version of the stone. A replica of its magic, which you seek to use to open Edinmyre’s portal.” The sorceress pursed her lips. “After all the effort I took to avoid you, still, you’ve found me. I can’t say I’m not impressed. All the other Worldweavers who have gotten to this point have failed.”
“Why did you kill the other fae that owned you?” I asked. “The ones who possessed the dark necklace were all killed in horrible ways.”
“When I was in her care, Lady Korva put a death spell upon me, that anyone who had the necklace in their possession who wasn’t a member of her family would die,” the sorceress replied. “It was a protective curse to ensure no one outside her line would obtain the stone without punishment.”
Of course. The bitch would do that. “What about Septius, the warlock?”
“The necromancer was useful to me, so I created a portal for him to Edinmyre, and used him to come here. My curses cannot affect those who have death magic, however, so I let the warlock go.”
