Together, we walked up the shattered steps, ducked through the crumbling archway at the top... and entered the temple of the Deathless Kings.
Nineteen
The walls of the temple were black. Much like the obsidian shards we had passed through, they were dark, shiny, and slightly jagged, stretching up to a Void-black ceiling overhead. The edges caught my sleeves when I brushed against them. Shattered black pillars lined the floor, and half-broken statues sat in alcoves along the walls. None of the statues were recognizable, but I got the feeling that these were the visages of the Deathless rulers who had created this place.
Our distorted reflections stared back at us from the walls as we ventured farther into the maze-like corridors, our steps echoing softly on the hard stones.
“Wait.” Meeka raised his head, ears twitching. Raithe stopped, and the jair’oa stood tall on his shoulder, motionless except for the rotating ears. “Meeka hear something,” he said quietly. “Strange noises. Not natural.”
Abruptly, he leaped from Raithe’s shoulder and landed with a barely audible thump on the ground. “Wait here,” he told us, glancing back. “Meeka go check it out, see what is making noise.”
“Meeka, it’s dangerous to go by yourself,” I said. “Let us come with you.”
The jair’oa shook his head. “More dangerous for humans,” he told me. “Human come, things see human. Meeka small. Noone see Meeka. No one notice Meeka. Meeka be in and out before things realize Meeka is there.” He took a hopping step toward the corridor, then turned to glare at us. “Stay,” he ordered, pinning back his ears with a look that one would give a disobedient puppy. “Humans not move. Meeka be right back.”
He scampered into the dark hallway, vanishing almost immediately behind a pile of rubble. Silence descended, and Raithe and I were alone.
I snuck a peek at him. He stood there for a moment, then walked to an alcove and leaned against it with his arms crossed. His hood was up, and he blended perfectly into the wall with the line of broken statues. If you didn’t know he was there, you could easily walk right past him without realizing he was alive.
“You keep looking at me like you want to ask me something.” I jumped as his quiet voice broke the stillness. I felt his gaze on me, though his eyes were still hidden in shadow.
I swallowed. “I didn’t think this was a good time.”
He held out a hand, beckoning me to him. “The path ahead is going to be dangerous,” he murmured as I stepped forward. “We probably won’t have another chance to talk before we reach the loom.” I placed my hand in his, and his fingers curled around mine as he drew me forward. “So whatever you want to know, ask me now.” The hint of a wry smile lightened his eyes. “I’m guessing this has something to do with what I told Kysa.”
I hesitated, then took a furtive breath. “What you said,” I began, “about the queen, and the iylvahn. Could she really...?”
He gave a solemn nod. “No one can stand against a Deathless, Sparrow,” he said. “But the queen and the iylvahn are evenmore connected. Our lives are bound to her. She takes a small portion of her power from all of us, and in return, she’s made Irrikah into the city you saw at the center of the labyrinth. But... yes. If she willed it, she could snuff out my life in a heartbeat.”
Horror, fear, and desperation clutched at my heart with icy fingers. “And you would still...?”
His eyes went very soft. Reaching out, he drew me even closer and ran a gentle hand over my cheek. “I would,” he whispered. “Every single time.”
No.I couldn’t let him do that. It was selfish of me to continue. If the queen knew, if she found out about me and Raithe, what would she do to him? Would I watch him turn to dust in front of me? What if she tortured him, made him suffer? “We can’t keep doing this,” I whispered, though I couldn’t quite make myself pull back. “Kahjai aren’t allowed to have attachments.”
He froze, the hand on my arm and the palm touching my cheek not moving. “Who told you that?” he asked quietly.
I shivered. He didn’t sound angry or upset, just puzzled. “The queen,” I admitted, finally looking at him. “She told me to never trust my heart to a kahjai, because you’re forbidden from forming any type of relationship. You have to be focused and on guard constantly, so you can’t have any attachments.” His jaw tightened, and my heart sank. “Is that true?” I asked.
He blew out a long breath, closing his eyes. “Yes,” he finally admitted, and my insides squeezed painfully. “That is true. But, Sparrow...” His eyes opened, his knuckles once again brushing my skin as he gazed down at me. “We might be forbidden from having relationships while we’re still kahjai, but thatdoesn’t mean we’re not allowed to leave the Order once we find our soul-bound.”
I blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“In iylvahn culture,” he murmured, “we believe that we have one person—one soul—who is destined for us. And that once we find them, those two threads tangle with each other and become one. Even if one thread is cut, once it’s woven back into the Tapestry, it will instinctively search for the other. Sometimes we don’t find them in a single lifetime. But when we do, our threads are woven together, and only death can break them apart.
“So, finding our soul-bound is a very serious thing in iylvahn society,” Raithe went on. “Perhaps the most important thing that will ever happen to us. Even the Order recognizes that. Once a kahjai finds their soul-bound, they are expected to leave the ranks and find a new purpose. Another kahjai is chosen to replace them, and the former is given well wishes with no malice or resentment. Every iylvahn recognizes how precious the connection is, and no one, not even the queen, will attempt to keep two soul-bound apart.”
Except for us, I guess.“Why would she say that to me, then?” I asked. “She could have told me about the soul-bound thing, and that the Order would let you go if you found yours. But she made me believe that you weren’t allowed to form attachments at all.”
Raithe sighed. “Because she doesn’t want either of us dis-tracted,” he said. “We’re trying to do the impossible, Sparrow—we’re attempting to defy prophecy. Think about what that means. The future is balanced on a thread right now, andone tiny mistake could mean the end of everything.” He shook his head with a smile. “Kysa was right—there are few things more distracting than falling for someone and worrying about the welfare of one individual soul.” Gently, he stroked the side of my head, running those long fingers through my hair. “Unfortunately, it’s too late for me. I am very thoroughly distracted.”
“But you’re still a kahjai, Raithe. Technically, you’re not supposed to be doing this.”
“I admit, I am breaking the rules a little,” he admitted. Lowering his head, he drew me closer, his words a low thrum in my ears. “But I’m hoping the queen will forgive this small transgression if it means we put an end to the Deathless King.”
“And if she doesn’t? If she kills you instead?”
“Then I will look for you in my next life,” Raithe whispered. And before I could say anything else, he leaned in and touched his lips to mine. A tingling, gentle caress. My eyes closed, and I slid my arms around his neck.
