Chapter 23
“Clara?”
Fuck.Our eyes lock, and I know Elorin sees right through my illusion—if it’s still there at all. Her mouth falls open slightly.
I suck in a breath, frozen. Why, out of everyone, would it be her? The one person among the Majors here who can recognize me without issue.
Do I kill her?I don’t want to. But leaving her alive is a risk. Though, if she tells anyone I was here, it hardly matters if I’m already gone. I have the Chariot. I can be quick, but I can’t leave Kaelis…A thousand thoughts race at once, and I don’t have time to judge them all, so I just act.
“Go back into your room and tell yourself this was all a dream.” There’s a heavy note of warning in my voice.
“You sure you can allow that? Now that I’ve seen you?” She tilts her head to the side, as though reading my mind. That is what her card allows, but not the innate skill as the High Priestess.
This woman is dangerous. Her doll-like appearance and rainbowhair aren’t particularly threatening. But they’re a porcelain veneer for the true iron beneath.
“I know your style,” she continues. “You don’t like vulnerability. Which is why I suspected you’d come.”
“You did?”
She nods. Her eyes scan the other doors. I think of using the distraction to my advantage. But her focus is back on me before I can make up my mind.
“As soon as Naethor came and said the Hierophant would be headed to Eclipse City soon, I had a feeling you’d find your way here, especially since you know Silas.”
“Knew,” I correct bitterly. “Silas is dead. Ravin killed him.”
She staggers slightly, as though the news is a physical blow. Elorin glances away, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “We’re all just fucking toys to him, aren’t we?” she mutters.
“To be discarded as he pleases,” I finish.
Her attention swings back to me. “We all know why the Hierophant is being moved to Eclipse City, there’s only one explanation: to hunt you. Which is why you’re here to kill him, aren’t you?”
“Obviously.” The word slips out with ease.There is her innate ability in action. People feel safe enough around her to say whatever is on their mind without hesitation. I need to be extra cautious. But how can I be with magic whittling away at my guards?
“What if I tell you there’s a way that you can get what you want without getting blood on your hands and raising more questions?”
“I’d say you’re being idealistic or attempting to distract me.”
She sighs and glances around once more. “Come inside, will you?” Instead of heading for her room, she leads me by the hand to the Hierophant’s door. With a soft knock as the only warning, she opens it.
A wizened gentleman sits at a long table pressed against the wall beneath a window. His white hair slips off his shoulders as he turns. I notice the skin on his hands is paper-thin as he sets down a brush. Books frame him on either side. Inking supplies are plentiful and tidy.
He surprises me with the strength of his stare, especially comparedto the slight hunch of his shoulders. The Hierophant runs a hand over his neatly trimmed beard, studying me like a scholar. “Hello, Wheel. I was wondering when you’d come in.”
Even knowing his innate power, seeing his magical sixth sense in action is impressive. I stand a bit taller, no longer trying to hide my face. Little point in it now.
“It’s just like we suspected; she’s come to kill you, Alphos.” Elorin glances to me as she crosses to sit on the edge of his bed.
He shifts his chair and, with both feet on the ground and hands on his knees, asks, “Is it true, have you come to kill me?”
It’s not Elorin’s magic that makes denial feel pointless. “Yes.”
“Did you have a card in mind to do it with? The Five of Swords? Your favorite?” He speaks low, voice weathered slightly with age but still strong. “Or would you be a bit more creative on my behalf?”
“Five of Swords was the extent of my plan. Other cards if needed, of course,” I admit.
He nods as if he’s a professor and I answered a question correctly in class. “I would assume you know I’m not keen to allow you to do that.”
“I figured as much.” This conversation is bordering on the surreal. So calm and even. As if all of this is perfectly normal. I glance between him and Elorin. “I suppose I’m wondering why you both aren’t attacking me, knowing this?”
