“Beasts? Unleashed? Not your best work.” I wave off a glare from the gelding. “Why did he want to marry Gisele?”
“To steal the empire for his own, to crush us all beneath his throne.”
“Truth?” I prompt.
Truth does not hesitate. “I detect no lies.”
“All right, then. That’s all.”
Falada lays his head on Gisele’s shoulder a moment. Then a soft wind blows, and he is gone.
I plant my hands on my hips and look to Justice. “I feel like the ghost horse summed it up pretty well.”
Justice’s lanterns flicker. She brings her staff down on the plaza one last time, and a sound like a bell peals from the stones. “Low Gods, have you heard enough?”
The gods roar in answer.
“Does anyone speak for Adalbrecht von Reigenbach?”
That same opaque silence fills the air.
“Who among us says he is innocent of these charges?”
You could hear a hairpin drop.
I think this is where Adalbrecht realizes he is alone. I think this because I know that dread on his face, that rush of helplessness.
I saw it in the mirror with the Augur’s Tears. I saw it in the ghost of the girl I’d been. I saw it every time I wanted to call for help and knew it came at a price I couldn’t pay.
But I chose a different way.
“Who among us says he is guilty?”
Another deafening roar.
Justice nods. “Then it is decided. Eiswald, this is your territory. Render the sentence as you see fit.” One by one the gods begin to vanish. Justice points her staff at me, but she’s looking—at least Ithinkshe is—at Emeric. “Vanja, you will be restored per our agreement. You, Junior Prefect. I’m telling Helligbrücke you’re due for a promotion. And you might want to think about recruiting her.”
“He tried,” I say. “I’m more of a freelancer.”
Did you know a skull with lanterns for eyes can still roll them? Ididn’t.
All the Low Gods vanish save three: Death, Fortune, and Eiswald. Fortune, I think, wants to speak with me. I suspect I know why, but I’ll ignore it a little longer. Eiswald is here for the margrave. And Death . . .
Even though time is still frozen, Death wears Adalbrecht’s face now.
I think she’s enjoying herself smiling at him. He’s certainly not enjoying himself, trapped in Justice’s glowing ring.
Eiswald turns my way. Then in a blink she’s standing before me, peering down. The once-dark orb balanced between her branch-antlers is now a disc of gleaming silver: the full moon. Of course. “You broke my gift, little Vanja.”
“I did?” I turn to where the gnarled lump of my body had been. It’s dissolved into a pile of rubies and pearls.
“You cared for something above yourself, with your whole heart,” she says. “You made up for your greed.”
A hand brushes mine, warm and heartbreakingly familiar.Alive.
Emeric looks like he can’t quite believe it either, lifting my face like a holy relic. “You did it,” he says wonderingly, “you—you beautiful terror, youdidit—” Then he pulls me into that kiss I predicted, and I find that it’s all the sweeter for comingafterthe kiss I thought was our last.
Eiswald makes a supremely annoyed noise. “Out of respect for what you’ve done, I will give you another gift.”
