Kaelis grabs my wrist. “While I find bloodlust to be profoundly sexy on you—especially when it’s directed toward my family—rushing in to ‘kill everyone’ might be ill advised.” I open my mouth to object, and he points toward one of the roads between the densely packed buildings that slope away from us. “We get something to hide our faces better than these cloaks, andthenwe kill everyone.”
“Fine.” It’s not worth arguing, and it’s probably the most sensible approach. The cloaks we grabbed from the coat check hours ago are far too fine and loose-fitting—they’ll stand out, if not fall off completely. I can only hope they were good enough to conceal our faces from any hidden enforcers on the way in.
“I’m going ahead,” Gregor announces.
“Wait!” I grab Gregor’s hand. The Ten of Cups flies from the deck Kaelis just gifted me. Even though my magic still feels bruised from whatever happened at the altar of the vessel, it casts with ease—Kaelis’s inking is just that good. “What upper card do you want?”
Gregor is a good Arcanist. But he can’t confidently cast past a Nine.The Ten of Cups will give him the ability to cast a single card above his innate ability.
“Can’t give me a Major, can you?” He has a lopsided grin.
I shake my head. “Only the Hierophant’s card could do that.”
“Damn,” he murmurs, eyes sweeping across the Stone Citadel. He’s probably thinking of the Kings, but in a confined space like this, any large elemental feat has a likelihood of hitting allies. “Ten of Swords.”
“Good choice.” I hold out my palm, and the card lands in it. I pass the Ten of Swords to Gregor.
He snatches it and bolts with a hasty “Thanks.”
Kaelis has a hard expression. I know he dislikes seeing a card he inked in someone else’s hands that are not mine. But he says nothing and starts heading in the opposite direction of Gregor, straying away from the fighting. I follow. It looks as though Emilia led her forces up through the tunnels behind the Worldkeepers, as the Worldkeepers are trying to push them back and pin them into the tunnel.
The smoke burns my lungs as I force myself to keep pace with Kaelis. He’s faster than I imagined. The Stone Citadel is crumbling before my eyes. I see the smoldering remains of small decorations. Perhaps they were for a celebration following Gregor’s, Sorza’s, and my induction.
Where is Sorza?Caught in the fray, no doubt. Worry for her fills my mouth with a metallic taste. Hopefully she’s concealed, too.
Kaelis approaches a body sprawled near a pile of rubble. The dead Worldkeeper’s clothes are singed but intact. Without hesitation, Kaelis strips the cloak free and exchanges it for the one he was wearing at the soiree before throwing the latter into the flames. I follow suit, kneeling beside a woman whose face I recognize as someone who had sat at my sister’s bedside for hours on end.
My hands shake as I work the clasp of the cloak free.
“Clara.” Kaelis kneels at my side and settles the fabric around my shoulders. He already has his on. The cloaks the Worldkeepers use have sleeves and a wide sash that ties around the waist to keep them from falling off. Stitched to the front of the hood is a mask that hepulls over my nose. It reeks of blood and soot. “Stay close to me, no matter what happens.”
He’s eerily calm, as though he’s done this a hundred times. Cards rise from his deck.
The Three of Coins is first. My cloak shivers as a cascade of gold magic rains over it. Threads unravel from their seams at the behest of an unseen seamstress. They twist and re-stitch themselves with magic golden needles, tightening the fabric around me. Seams wind up my chest, over my nose, and clamp the fabric tightly across the lower half of my face, so there’s no risk of it slipping. The hood engulfs the upper half of my face in shadow and shields it from smoke and cinder.
The Seven of Cups is like a wet fog that sinks into my clothing, dissipating with a shimmer. It shifts the edges of my appearance ever so slightly.
I grab his hand and pull him close, my words muffled by the mask and barely audible over the chaos. “Run, if they’re close to discovering you. Try to hide your cards when you cast so they don’t see how they’re inked.” His style is so distinct.
A dangerous thought crosses my mind.What if something happens and I don’t see him again?Three words burn my tongue. Meant for him, and him alone. A confession I’m still too cowardly to make. My lips part, but no sound comes.
He’s oblivious, thanks to the mask that covers my face. “Only if you promise to do the same.”
Neither of us says another word, and I can see the glimmer of a smile in his eyes. We both know neither of us is running away. I’m not leaving without defending the Worldkeepers. And Kaelis isn’t leaving without me.
We plunge into the battle as one.
The temperature is unbearable. Sweat pours down my face instantly, and I summon a thin layer of ice to cool me with the Ace of Cups; it melts almost immediately. Bodies litter the ground—Worldkeepers and Stellis alike. More of the latter, but enough of the former. Thestone streets are slick with blood. In the distance, silver-clad figures systematically destroy everything in their path.
The Worldkeepers are good, very good. And they have the advantage of knowing the Stone Citadel. But it’s hard to win a battle where you’re outnumbered three to one.
“Hunt them down like the rats they are!” Emilia’s voice cuts through the chaos. “They will not escape this time!”
A knight charges toward me, blade raised. Instinct takes over. I twist, barely dodging, the air from his strike cooling on my burning cheeks. The Five of Swords summons a blade to my hand just as I use the Ace of Coins to shift the ground beneath his feet.
He doesn’t even have time to scream before I drive my sword through the small gap in his plate by his underarm.
Another lunges from the opposite side. Before I can see what card Kaelis used—before I can even blink—he’s on the ground. Dead.
