Darkness flooded in its absence as it opened to the night sky. A sigh escaped my lips as thousands of stars, all varying colors, like none I’d ever seen, dotted the sky like a blanket of sparks. The sun had set long ago, as I followed her gaze and eyed Ganmira early in her trek above, giving chase to the brilliant blue orb of Renova, already high in the sky.
“Come,” Xenelpha beckoned as she walked up the frozen steps of the amphitheater.
Towering,conical trees came into view as we ascended the steps, their large shadows like giant guards posted along the Rhashtai village. Hundreds of small buildings, most erected straight from the ice and some as tall as their neighboring trees, spread in a zigzagging pattern. The village was small, yet somehow grand, as I traced my eyes over the intricate designs carved on each building and the sophisticated light system connecting the street lanterns.
I followed Xenelpha through the sleeping village, catching the eye of several warriors, clad in the same bone armor, their gazes following us as we trailed the winding road in its center until we came to a domed ice structure.
Though our bond was stifled by the rubelline cuff on my wrist, I pushed against the thick wall and sent my emotions screaming toward Aquila.Caution.Safety. The best I could manage, giving him some indication of our location andstatus. A veiled sort of response hit me a few moments later.Reassurance. My heart warmed at the faint connection.
“The rest of your party is inside,” she said, placing a small pouch of something in my hand. “This should wake them. They are your responsibility.Maadonis in one week. You may stay until its celebration. And then you must move on, with or without the bone.”
“What is Maadon?”
“A day of balance, a turning point. When darkness meets light.”
My swallow was dry. “The equinox? The autumnal equinox is in one week?” I asked, my voice hollow. Had we truly been gone almost three months? My stomach twisted.
Xenelpha nodded and turned to leave, and I asked, “What about Lord Astraeus?”
The small form stilled before turning back toward me. “The lord…” the matron mused, rubbing her chin with her thumb and forefinger. “He’s not the threat I suspected he was…”
I opened my mouth to question what the hell that meant when she paused and surveyed me. “A word of advice. Life is but a frieze, a carving of the series of choices we make. Each etch of the chisel, each choice, a creation of who we are to become,” she said, her voice as clear and crisp as the nearing snowy morning. My mind drifted to the elaborate etching at the base of the icy amphitheater.
“Choices shape us,” she continued, “They can transform the engraving into something of true beauty or destroy it entirely. I will leave his fate in your hands.”
The weight of her words settled as an internal conflict began to brew. My hatred for the man seemed at odds with the urge to free him. I’d see him to get this cuff off either way and decide what to do with him later.
A large,unlit fireplace sat in the center of the chilled chamber, surrounded by thick, twirling, beautiful structures of ice that spun up through the middle, opening to the ceiling to allow smoke its escape. The remaining nine members of the party we’d entered the lake with sat bound together around the hearth, unconscious.
I knelt beside Ronan and lifted his chin. Dried blood caked on the side of his head, his usual light curls, dark and crusty. A nasty bruise formed beneath his left eye. Water filled my eyes as I sniffed the small bag Xenelpha gave me. Celosia powder, I realized, as the phantom sting snaked its way up my nose, accompanied by images of High Priest Helmar’s face. I placed a small amount on my finger and rubbed a tiny amount on Ronan’s upper lip with the tip of my pinky.
A ragged cough filled the chamber, followed by a sneeze. Ronan’s groan was deep and sleepy.
“Wake up, lazy,” I whispered.
“Lyvia,” he murmured as I cut his bounds loose. “Where are we?” Sapphire eyes blinked as he took in our surroundings and rubbed his wrists.
“Welcome to Rhashtai, home of the Guardians of the Dead,” I murmured, moving to rouse Vienah, who was blessedly in better shape.
I kept Kresida, Raek, and the rest of Lord Astraeus’s men bound as I woke them, one by one. Ronan and Vienah cleaned up and stood on either side of me as they all regained consciousness, tugging on their bounds. The soft, orange gleam of morning light crept its way into the round, thin sheets of icelining the chamber, providing window-like openings as clear as glass.
“Good morning,” I said, circling the group bound around the hearth.
“Here is how this is going to go,” I continued, looking each of them in the eye, “I am done taking orders from any of you.Weare done taking orders from you. From Antares. From Astraeus.”
I stopped as I neared Ronan and Vienah.
“Where is Lord Astraeus?” Raek demanded, his sea green eyes sharp.
“Being held elsewhere,” I answered. “And the first thing I’ll be doing after our little discussion will be getting the rubelline cuffs removed from myself and Vienah.”
Raek’s eyes widened before a sneer slapped across his face.
“The Rhashtai have offered us shelter for the next week. I will decide what that looks like for the seven of you.”
“Why am I still tied up?” Kresida’s voice dripped with fury as her dark eyes found mine. I slowly made my way around the hearth and squatted before her.
“Where does your allegiance lie, War Slayer?” I asked, quietly placing the sharp tip of Honor against her chest in the dimness of dawn.
