Vero ignores him.
I pat Mickey’s hand. “I love you too, you dork. You’re going to stay here with Story while we go talk to the people from the capital. Okay? We’ll be right back.”
“I feel so strange, as though my body is being ripped in two directions. It’s like my magic is going one way and I’m being forced the other way.”
“We’re going to fix it and find out why,” I say.
Story promises, “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
“Don’t let him talk you into anything foolish,” I beg Story. “He needs to stay in that bed.”
“You act like I’m dying to walk somewhere,” Mickey says. “I’ve never wanted to walk anywhere that badly.”
“That’s true,” I agree.
Mickey turns to his newest victim. “So, Story, do you have any crushes? Oh, you want to know about me? I’m surrounded by hot men and am so single I’ve gotten my spinster award. I really should revive a sheep to get some wool to spin.”
“Aren’t you like… in your thirties? You act like your life is over,” Story says.
I leave them to it, glad at least one of them has common sense since the other is a genius who just… really struggles to show it.
We hurry out on foot and spend about fifteen minutes walking to the capital gate. I’m a bit uncertain what we’ll face when we get there, but I feel relief that Mickey is awake, even if he’s not quite back to normal.
Standing right in the middle of the gate is Onyx, who looks out of place with how sharply dressed she is in a black formfitting suit while everyone from our party wears worn clothes. She perks up when she sees us and starts toward us while her guards flock behind her. I notice that her father is among them, being pushed in a wheelchair.
Sterling moves to the front with Lark. My group stays behind them, here for support but not jumping in unless it’s clear Sterling doesn’t have the situation under control. “We were hoping to talk about the attack that happened yesterday. The bullets your people shot ours with have caused them great harm, and we have others who have been affected who were merely present.”
Onyx appears almost dazed for a moment until her father nudges her. She rubs her head and looks at us. “The attack… explain it to me in detail. I have heard it from my men. I want to hear it from you.”
Sterling turns to us to describe it since we were right up front when it happened. Torin takes the lead with ease, never feeling awkward about standing in front of a crowd and discussing anything.
“The two sides were at odds over the food, causing discord between them. We are still willing to share our food, but there needs to be some civility between us. This division can’tcontinue, but we will talk about that after we settle this. When the attack happened, it was caused by the horseman Riley warned you about. She has the power to appear invisible to most people, so I know it’ll be hard for you to trust us on this. But she gained control over multiple people in the crowd by blowing sand in their face, causing them to lose control. That is why your men began shooting. Didn’t you question why they also shot their own? Famine, the person who has infiltrated your world, is a horseman of the apocalypse. She’s hellbent on destroying the very world you live in, and in turn, all of you. You will become sacrifices for a god who is seeking ultimate power. We need to work together?—”
Onyx barks out an uneasy laugh, but I notice she’s lacking the confidence she usually exudes. “You come from another realm, spit nonsense, and tell us how to…” She trails off, and I get an uneasy feeling in my chest as I spin around and look for where it’s coming from. It doesn’t take long for me to discover that Sterling is no longer beside us but is slowly backing out of the crowd of people who’d come here to support her and Lark. That’s when I see she’s not alone—the arms wrapped around her, drawing her back, belong to Famine.
“Sterling, stop!” I yell, trying to shove through the crowd. They’re startled by the sudden movement, and I end up stumbling into someone as I realize what’s happening. How long has Sterling believed that she’s been speaking to her sister? No, the one who has been whispering into her ears has been Famine, likely orchestrating things in a way that benefits her. So… does that mean she orchestrated this meeting today?
“That’s not your sister! Jan isn’t talking to you! It’s Famine!” I call an instant before Famine smiles and seems to step into Sterling’s body. Sterling’s eyes flash a glowing green as she drops down and slams her hand on the ground.
The ground shudders and the dust that had settled on the road is eaten away by what looks like a magic circle drawn in blood, but I don’t notice it until I’ve stepped just outside of it in my attempt to reach Famine.
“Torin, get back! Everyone run!” I scream, rushing toward Torin while the ground shakes and Onyx starts to scream. The men and women in the circle from both sides begin to crash to the ground, one after another. Torin, who is near the edge of the circle with Lark, rips her and another person out of the circle before he reaches for more, but his hand can’t penetrate the circle.
I slide the bow off my shoulder, unsure whether I can even use it here, but an arrow appears in a flash of white and I release it. But before it can slam into Sterling, Famine’s horse dashes in front of it, taking the arrow to the chest. It doesn’t seem to affect the horse since the arrow seems more determined to peel souls out than anything, but the fact that the horse rushed forward to protect her from the arrow tells me that if Icouldhit Sterling, I could possibly stop this.
“Torin—”
“On it,” he says, but it’s not him who’s on it, it’s Quill who Torin must have summoned. Quill charges, head down as his antlers hook the horse, ramming it back just as I let another arrow fly. It hits Sterling, tearing Famine right out of her. Famine screams, and the anger darkening her face surprises me; it’s the first time I’ve seen her show so much emotion. She’s enraged when her eyes settle on me holding Conquest’s bow. Sterling is kneeling in front of her, appearing pale and weak, and Famine reaches down and sinks her fingers in Sterling’s hair while the woman deteriorates before my eyes. It’s as though the spell is draining her very life from her. Suddenly, Famine stops and smiles. Her eyes flicker past me, and I feel reluctant to look behind me to see what has pleased her so greatly.
“You’re too late, Brother. It’s already begun,” Famine says with a laugh that chills me.
Kit glances back to the circle as I realize that the people who were caught inside it have shriveled up, their bodies wasting away until their skin is stretched over their skeletal remains. And in the very center kneels Onyx, blood running from her eyes and nose while a strange glow radiates around her… the same glow that is shining from the brands of those who’d been marked for having magic.
The people outside the circle appear unharmed beyond their glowing brands, but they’re terrified as they draw back, uncertain how they could possibly help when they’re magicless and weaponless. Onyx’s people begin to shoot at Famine, telling me that she’s finally shown herself, but their weapons seem to be of no concern to her. She waves her arms and the bullets fling away from her, hitting the men and women who’d shot them at her.
The ground starts to shake as I look at Torin who is a good twenty feet from me and moving closer. We need to stop Famine and he knows it. Torin throws his scythe to distract Famine, which gives me a chance to use my own magic.
With a finger pressed against the third notch in my pendant, I call for ice and send it toward her, but she’s already thrown out sand that hits the fleeing people. The second it does, they lunge forward and throw themselves in front of my assault to protect her. The shard of ice I’d directed at her strikes a man in the chest, and he doesn’t even cry out when it tears through his body. It makes me instantly stop what I’m doing, too afraid of hurting another person.
