Maybe Ysira had made another mistake, leaning in on Ged’s insecurity like a fracture. Because when he could not harm her—when he could not demand respect by indulging his anger . . . what was left?
But he muttered, “All my life, I could never be Seth’s equal. My mother preferred him. My own wife loved him. My fathertold me his greatest regret was thatIhad to be his heir.” Ged cleared his throat. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
He seemed almost embarrassed. Much stronger, though, was hisdisgust—not toward Seth, nor even Ysira. Not toward anyone other than himself.
Ysira recognized it.
She was all too familiar with that self-loathing, the sort that hollowed her out from within. It made space for a hungry thing, a creature prone to take and take and take, in desperate pursuit of some ill-defined objective that would prove her worth beyondanyone’sability to doubt. Nothing had ever been enough, for Ysira or for Ged.
Perhaps their son was doomed for it.
They sat in silence, unsure of what to say to one another.
At last Ged said, “You killed Damir and Casandra. I can’t kill you. And you want me dead.” He shook his head. “Where do we go from here?”
“For now? We fight.” That much, they both knew how to do. An unspoken understanding settled between them—an impasse, if not a truce.
Iyelekirin spasmed then, and Ysira flinched. Without meaning to, she jolted to her feet. The chamber trembled. Not from an outside force this time—but from within. The Gate shuddered. Energy rippled across the stone.
One of the knights, who might have been called Taraven, exclaimed, “Whatwasthat?” Her voice was terrified, awed.
Commander Azaharo simply said, “Var Naxal.” The militia leader waved over the Disciple with the box of demon keys. “Get ready!”
Minutes later, the Gate rippled again. A small brown figure stumbled through. Neri. He appeared unharmed, but he was covered in blood, his clothing singed.
“Something’s wrong,” Ysira muttered, though only Ged could hear her. Neri was supposed to simply run through to Otavok, leave the fighting to them.
“It’s time,” Neri said, between wheezes. “The way’s clear.”
On the other side of the Gate, there was darkness. Then a dozen giant, glaring lamps switched back on, in a series of cracklingthuds,and Ysira saw carnage.
Body parts were strewn about in the wake of an inexorable force that had blasted through the area. Blood soaked the sandstone, still wet and shining. Much of the strange equipment was damaged, sparking erratically. Not one corpse remained intact. A militiaman vomited, either from the Gate or from the stench of charred flesh and metal.
Ysira had emerged beside Commander Teheda, who took it all in with a stricken expression. “Zal Fel,” he murmured. “I never dreamed I’d set foot here in my lifetime.” His gaze lingered on the lamps and the damaged equipment. “They’ll pay for this desecration.”
Neri stood several feet away, still wheezing as Jacen spoke quietly to him. When Ysira went to them, Neri refused to meet her eyes.
“We’d better start climbing,” he said, pushing past her. “You get to Zivora and disable the tracking system before another hundred people die.”
Jacen gave her an apologetic grimace. “I know this wasn’t the plan.
But he did well. He was able to control it.”
To Ysira, the butchery around them looked anything but controlled. “You’re sure this didn’t put the whole base on alert?”
Jacen’s pale eyes flicked upward. “Nines says we’re still clear. It’s like Urien said—the density of extradimensional energymakes it impossible for anyone down here to communicate with the rest of the base.” As he nodded toward the Gate, a touch of reverence entered his tone. “The Source protects us.” He blew out a breath, gathered himself. “How goes the fight at Otavok?”
“Defenses hold,” Ysira said. “For now. Where’s Seth?”
“With Nines, hiding out just below the spires. As soon as Ged’s team returns from Zivora, Urien will shut down everything but the elevator, destroy the communications center, and we’ll all meet between the spires where the transport lands. Then Urien takes us up to the station. Nines and I wake up Seth, and I keep Tharanoth and Ileth distracted from the moment we dock. The rest of you locate the two of them, and Neri destroys them while I have them pinned down.” Jacen nodded to himself. “This will work.”
“I’m going to Zivora with Ged,” Ysira said. “We don’t know what we’ll face in the Cathedral.”
She glanced at Ged’s team—the knights, Sister Ilusha, and the last of the legitimate demon priests. Dacil Var Solai looked terribly out of place beside the likes of Ged and Saraida.
“Good luck, then.” Jacen touched her arm. There was a familiarity to the gesture that sent a shiver down Ysira’s spine. “Stay safe.”
He followed Neri across the stone expanse, toward the caves through which Ysira had first discovered the Gate. Teheda jogged after them. From there, they would find the old path outside and ascend the spires. Azaharo had set about securing the Gate’s perimeter, barking orders at her team to pick weapons off bodies and ensure none lived. Militiamen guarded both entrances—the caves and the tunnel to the elevator.
