Page 46 of Under the Iron Sky

“I thought we were done with this,” Agantha spat, her voice sending the spiders on Ramapheal’s head skittering in her direction as though craving one of their own. “Their activity went quiet after we executed Oren and his brother. Were they not the traitors, then?”

“Or perhaps they weren’t working alone?” Mortis suggested, placing his right arm on the table, the curved blade that replaced his forearm hitting the stone with a loud clunk.

“Well, obviously they weren’t if our secrets are still being leaked to the other side,” Morana snapped, sharp enough for her husband to bare his teeth, then slink back in his chair, wings drooping in submission. Just once, Ikarus wished the fool would cease cowering with his tail between his legs and snap back at her, if only so he could watch them tear each other to shreds.

Kaladin and Kaeler were quiet at their portion of the table. Kaladin glanced into the holes where his twin’s eyes used to be, no doubt having one of their silent conversations. With only a handful of Ethereals left, Ikarus still didn’t understand why the Ancient One felt they needed a seat at the table, never mind two.

Ramapheal silenced everyone. “It matters not why this spy is still leaking my secrets, only that they are. I must admit, I find myself … exhausted.” He drummed his claws on the table again, the tips gleaming like an executioner’s blade. “Have I not given you everything?” he asked, glancing at each person around the table. “Am I not enough for you anymore?”

“We owe you everything, Ancient One,” Agantha declared in that whining, high-pitched voice that sounded like nails being dragged down a chalkboard. “Without you, we would not have our magic. We would be little more than insects for the humans to squash as they see fit.”

Ramapheal cut her with a look. “Then why do you not bring me the spy?” He closed his eyes, shaking his head with exasperation. “I have spent almost two centuries laying the foundations for our victory. We are so close now. I would hate for it to slip through our fingers because you could not complete a simple task.”

Agantha bowed her head. “We are doing everything we can, Ancient One. You have the full might of the Araknas at our disposal.”

Not to be undone, Morana cut in, “And the fairies. My legions would gladly lay down their lives for you.”

Kaeler and Kaladin uttered something similar, and when Ramapheal’s eyes slid toward Ikarus, he nodded, echoing the sentiment. “We are all yours, Ancient One.”

“And the Hex?” Ramapheal prodded. “What of that?”

Again, Ikarus bowed his head. “The process is slow, but it will be in your hands soon.”

Morana’s lip curled in annoyance, still clearly seething that Ikarus had been chosen for the task instead of her.

“Good.” The spiders skittered between the strands of Ramapheal’s black hair, inching toward his ear. No one dared say a word as he closed his eyes and listened to their whispers; no one dared breathe until he nodded once, and those same spiders traveled down his body to disappear between the cracks in the floor.

With the snap of his fingers, a fairy was brought into the room. “I trust you all know Maerus?” Everyone around the table nodded. “He is the one responsible for wasting Ikarus’s time today, aren’t you?”

Maerus began sobbing. “I’m s-sorry, Ancient One. The humans said that was their base! I swear!”

Despite Maerus being one of Morana’s beloved generals, her expression held nothing but disgust.

Ramapheal turned his entire attention toward the fairy. “So where were they, then?” When Maerus had no answer, Ramapheal turned to Ikarus. “Take us above.”

Ikarus bowed his head. “As you wish.” He slid his helmet back into place, then grabbed Maerus by the scruff of his neck.

The Ancient One waved a hand over the lowest plates of his headpiece, commanding the iron mask hidden inside the metal to slide down and cover his face with a loud snap, and held out a hand. Ikarus took it, and the three of them vanished with a crack, reappearing on the surface by the lip of Ensura, the largest crack that ran through the ruins of the Vordellian city proper. One of the only ones from Invasion Day that remained open.

“Please,” Maerus choked. “Have mercy … I have a family.” He dropped to his knees and kissed the Ancient One’s black boots, begging.

But begging had never done any good—not where their master was concerned. “You lied to me, Maerus. And there is no room for liars in my world.” He stepped away, and with barely a flick of his fingers, Maerus dropped to the ground, writhing against the threads of power pinning him in place. Ramapheal’s magic took no prisoners.

Sixty seconds passed. Seventy. Eighty. Maerus begged through each one, right up until the two-minute mark. Then the choking began.

It wasn’t a quick death. It never was. Maerus’s eyes went first, bulging so quickly and suddenly it was hard to believe they didn’t pop right out of his skull. Then came the dry gasps. Then the blood spilling from his nose, mouth, and ears. And as Ikarus watched the fairy collapse, as the poisonous Vordellian air wreaked havoc on his nervous system and he choked and choked, then eventually stilled, he felt nothing.

14

Time moved differently beneath the cracks.

Sunlight hadn’t touched Vordellian soil in years, but it was easy to tell the hours apart by looking at the Iron Sky; a dull gray that seemed to leach all color from the world was day, and then the sheer, endless black that followed, night.

There was none of that down here, just black rocks and blood-red crystals everywhere Soraya looked.

She’d started using her knuckle-dusters to scratch the days into the wall beneath the window—because if she had to suffer here, then why not this place too? Four days she thought she’d been here, although she had no way of knowing for sure.

What she assumed were her mornings began with Ikarus barging into her cell. They’d fight, both physically and verbally, because fuck him if he thought she was going to lie down and make any part of her imprisonment here easy for him.