“Idris, I want to ask you something. You will think I’m mad, but I need you…” She took a deep breath. “I need you to do as I say.”
“When did I ever not do as you said?” He smiled bitterly.
He was right. He’d tried to refuse her plenty, only for Seraphina to push and for him to give in. He must’ve been exhausted.
“When I asked you to take that boy’s eyes so we would give them to Rune, I thought I could live with it. I prepared myself to look into green eyes that belonged to a stranger we couldn’t save. That didn’t work out, and you gave Rune the Sentinel’s eyes. I understand why you did it. It was the right call.”
Idris looked from her face to Rune’s.
“What are you saying?” he asked.
She shot him a pleading look. “Idris, I can’t…” she whispered.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
“I can’t…” Her tone was desperate.
He nodded.
He deserved an explanation, so she leaned closer and whispered in his ear.
“I want… I want to look into the eyes of someone I love.”
Rune flinched visibly, and Seraphina knew he’d heard her. How many other things had he heard that he hadn’t mentioned, hadn’t criticized her for? She bit her lower lip. He was eternally patient with her. Understanding. He never judged her. And God, how she deserved to be judged!
“I’m sorry,” she told him.
He looked away, intentionally not meeting her gaze.
“Don’t be,” he said. “I am grateful that I can see again, but if these eyes repulse you so…”
“They don’t repulse me,” she hurried to reassure him. “It’s only that… They belonged to someone… to another revenant who…” She swallowed hard and blinked away images of the village massacre. “He was enslaved by an Obedience Lattice too, and the one who controlled him was worse than the rebel leader. Every time I look into those golden eyes…”
“You see what he did.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But I… Maybe I can try to get used to it.”
Seraphina wasn’t the kind of person who walked back on a decision she’d made, but this time, she could see how much it affected Rune. Could she ask him to wear Briar’s eyes? For her… To wear the eyes of the woman he’d killed?
“No,” he said. “If it hurts you, if it makes you look at me like I’m a monster… I’d rather be blind again.”
“I’ll do it,” Idris said. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding. His brows were furrowed, the corners of his lips drawn downward. “I’ll do it,” he directed his words towardRune. “It will only take a few minutes, and your body will integrate the new eyes immediately. The perks of being… supernatural.”
Seraphina almost couldn’t believe that Idris was on her side. She wasn’t going to question it. She realized she wanted to get far away from this place. She had a purpose now, bigger than the one before, and the sooner she and Rune got back on the road, the better. She didn’t know how, but somehow… they were going to end the war and all the suffering the High Harvester had caused. She had an apex relic that carried rare, devastating powers. She had a bone that allowed her to speak to animals. And she had him – a weapon. She also had invaluable knowledge: the revenants had latticed hearts beating in their chests. They could be killed.
Rune nodded. “If it makes you happy, Seraphina…”
She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
“You want to look into the eyes of someone you love,” he said. “Then I want to see you through the eyes of someone who loved you.”
At his words, they both froze. They implied much more. Things neither of them was ready to voice. Not here, not now, not after the rivers of blood that had flowed between them.
Idris looked from one to the other, shook his head, and got to work. He positioned the eye speculum first to keep the eyelid open, then reached for the scalpel. Seraphina turned away. Rune sat nearby, eyes raised toward the painted ceiling. It was an eerie moment. The three of them felt feverish. They were doing something forbidden, in a church of all places. They hadn’t asked for anyone’s permission.
Seraphina didn’t even dwell on what Briar’s mother would think once she saw her daughter’s body had been left without eyes. All she knew was that she wanted them for Rune and for herself. She rubbed Briar’s crucifix clean with her sleeve,then placed it around her neck. She wanted to carry her friend with her in any way possible. She and Briar should’ve gone on this quest together. In fact, the four of them – Seraphina, Rune, Briar, and Idris – would’ve found a way to defeat the High Harvester. Between the four of them, they would’ve had everything they needed.
Wishful thinking.
