“Take away the mimicry, and your last champion was stronger than me in every way,” I admit. I completed the trials. I know better than anyone my strengths and my weaknesses. I’ve been more than delusional. My body is nowhere near its peak, nowhere near ready to survive a drawn-out war.
“Yet when the time came, when he held the stone, he begged us for help. He could not do what needed to be done, despite knowing what we’ll reveal to you now: We cannot kill a part of ourselves.”
Kill. What a human word.
“All you could do was hide it.” I’m too weighed down by the conversation to point out their mistakes. Giving the stone to Inka Yanaru, then only a young, ambitious girl from Amantani. Saving Yanami’s life during the procedure. Choosing me as their hero. I’m too worn out to convince myself I could have made better choices.
“So this time, you won’t step in to help me. Even if I beg,” I say.
“It is time for a mortal to decide for the mortals.”
Before, that responsibility would have filled me with joy. It would have made me feel almost whole, almost successful, almost worth something. Now, it’s just a curse.
“That’s unfair to me,” I spit out.
“It’s not about you.”
Their voices echo and echo, and I explode.
“Then who is it about?!” I yell. “The girl you couldn’t let die, but expect me to kill?”
I do not know if it’s stunned silence that follows or neutral disinterest at my tantrum. Whichever it is, the outcome remains the same.
“Strike me,” they say. My brows furrow in confusion.
“Strike a path through me, and you will be where you are needed.”
It’s a cryptic instruction, but I don’t mind. I have nothing left to say.
I drag myself toward Condor’s wings, the same wings that create the illusive cave around us. The thump of the Sun Staff hitting the floor is the only noise.
I let myself touch the stone. It’s rougher than I expected. It’s dull. The shine I saw from them was just more broken promises.
I look at the Sun Staff shining real God-given light. It pierces through anything, Inti spoke into my mind. I lift it and aim for one feather. With all my strength behind me, I strike the wall.
The Sun Staff goes through in one push. The stone feather shatters. Around me, weightless particles of rock float, suspended in time, electrifying my skin. Energy explodes from each one, shooting out pure, unfiltered samay that is absorbed into the air, until the rock fragments drop to the ground, no longer filled with life.
Then, water pours in. I don’t stop. It’s when the water is up to my torso that I make a hole large enough to swim through.
Then, I’m drowning.
I fight against the waves until my body makes it to shore. I’m on an island. I’m back to full health. The crown weighs heavily on my head, but sweat and blood are no longer dripping into my eyes. The burning sunlight is dull through the haze of my veil. I focus my thoughts, expecting the restrained agony of Serpent healing, but nothing.
I am simply back to myself.
From where I stand, I can see Lima through the golden haze of the veil. The cliffside still calls to me, tempting me with its height, its challenge. The waves still snarl at shore. The rocks still sing.
But I am climbing for something different.
I need to get to Suyai, Mare, and Yanami.
Interlude V
AYA RUNA
The samay transfers to Cashan aren’t working.
“I can’t,” the princess bites out. Her lips are bleeding from the force of her own teeth. I want to say she’s lying, that she’s not trying hard enough.
