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“Did you ever imagine you’d be so very powerful, Gemma? Isn’t it marvelous? Think, you can do whatever you wish.”
“I suppose,” I say, softening.
“It’s your destiny! You were born for greatness!”
I should like to say that this statement brings a blush to my cheek and I quickly dismiss it as rubbish. But secretly, I treasure it. I am coming to realize that I should like to feel special. That I should like to make my mark upon the world. And that I don’t want to have to apologize for it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PIPPA AND I PART IN THE POPPY FIELDS. “I SHALL SEE YOU soon, dear friend. And don’t worry—I shall keep our secret. I’ll say that this change in me has happened of its own accord. A miracle.”
“A miracle,” I second, trying to push aside my misgivings. I can’t gift Pippa forever.
She waves to me and blows a kiss before running back toward the Borderlands.
“Gemma…”
“Who said that?” I whirl around, but there is no one about.
I hear it again, like a faint cry on the wind. “Gemma…”
I crane my neck up toward the Caves of Sighs, where the Temple and the well of eternity lie. I have to know.
The climb to the top of the mountain is longer than I remembered. Dust clings to my legs. When I pass through the rainbow of colorful smoke, Asha, the Untouchables’ leader, is there, waiting for me as if she knew I would come. A breeze blows aside her deep red sari, revealing her misshapen, blistered legs. I try not to stare at her or at any of the other Untouchables, the Hajin, as they are also known, but it is difficult. They have all been disfigured by disease. For this, they have been reviled within the realms and thought of as less than slaves.
Asha greets me as she always has: with a small bow, her palms pressed together as if in prayer. “Welcome, Lady Hope.”
I return the gesture and am ushered inside the cave. Two of the Hajin carry bushels of bright red poppies gathered from the fields below. They sort through them, taking only the good, which they weigh on large scales before feeding them to the smoke pots. As I pass, the Untouchables welcome me warmly, offering flowers and smiles.
“Have you come to return the magic to the Temple?” Asha asks.
“Not just yet. But I shall,” I assure her.
Asha bows, but I see from her lack of a smile that she does not believe me. “How may the Hajin be of help to you?”
“I should like to approach the well of eternity.”
“You wish to face your fears?”
“There is something I must put to rest,” I answer.
She shakes her head slowly. “Putting to rest is not so easy. You are free to enter.”
A wall of water separates me from what lies within. I need only pass through it, and I will know for certain. My lips are dry with fear. I moisten them with my tongue, try to steady myself. Holding my breath, I push through the water’s skin, and then I’m inside the sacred heart of the Temple.
The well of eternity sits in the center. Its deep waters make no sound. Heart hammering in my chest, I approach the well, until my fingers light upon the rough edge of it. I can scarcely draw a breath. My tongue catches against the roof of my mouth. I grip the edge of the well tightly and peer in. The water inside has turned to ice. My face is reflected in its smoky surface. I trace the outline of it there.
A woman’s face presses against the surface, and I stumble back, gasping. Her features emerge from the murky deep of the well. The eyes and mouth are closed as in death. Her face is bleached of all color. Her hair floats on the water beneath the ice like the rays of a dark sun.
Circe’s eyes snap open. “Gemma…you’ve come.”
I back away further, shaking my head. My stomach lurches. I want to vomit. But fear keeps me from doing even that. “You…you’re dead,” I whisper. “I killed you.”
“No. I live.” Her voice is a strangled whisper. “When you bound the magic to yourself, you trapped me here. I shall die when the magic is returned.”
“And I’m g-glad of it,” I stammer, walking quickly toward the wall of water that separates this terrible room from the Caves of Sighs.
Circe’s eerie voice echoes in the cave like the imagined murmurs of demons. “The Order is plotting against you. They plan to take back the realms without you.”
