AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"How about you don't?" Vayne growled. "If you're sticking with us, you're still serving under me." He pointed a finger at Tavian before the Master of Assassins could comment on the potential innuendo.
Tavian raised his hands and grinned with mock innocence. "I wasn't going to say a word."
"Bullshit." Vayne lowered his hand. "We know you better than that."
"Where is this map?" Ryze was unusually tense. He didn't stop to banter with the others. His attention seemed to be everywhere at once.
I felt his high alert through the bond. Not alert against anything in particular, just on guard.
"This way." Zared looked relieved to change the subject.
I reminded myself he still hadn't gotten used to the whole idea of the Fae in the first place, much less his attraction to Tavian or any other man. That was something none of us would push, although Tavian would flirt. That was him. Unapologetically so. It was one of the things I adored about him.
We followed Zared through a side door, and into the cool interior. The dimly lit passageway was a stark contrast to the bright sunshine outside. Some people might have found it enclosing, but I found it comforting. Not just because of the attacks, but because it felt cozy.
As Tavian would say, it's an omega thing. We liked to feel safe and snug.
The layout of the temple was familiar. The passageway led to a wide hall for receiving gifts intended for the gods. That in turn led to a bigger hall, this one for prayers.
Several people knelt on the floor, heads down. None looked up as we walked past as silently as we could.
"Back here," Zared said softly. He opened the door to another room at the rear of the temple.
Another room for prayer, this one looked older than the rest of the temple. The stone was more worn, a faded rug on the floor. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling here or there.
Cavan stepped past Zared, and raised his hand. What looked like flame flickered over his palm and fingers, illuminating the wall.
I stared for a moment before realising I could do the same thing. I raised my hand and called on the magic. Instead of the warm, yellow-orange flame, mine was a silvery-white, like a cross between ice and fire. It lit up the wall where Cavan's didn't reach.
"Nice," he told me. "You're learning."
"Of course she is," Ryze said. "Khala is smart and competent. And gorgeous." He stepped into the light of my magic, kissed my mouth, then moved aside to look at the map.
"I noticed all of those things," Cavan told him, although most of his attention seemed to be on the wall in front of him. "Have you got that transcript and sketch?"
"I do." Tavian pulled the paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He held it up in front of the wall, below the mountain range so we could all see.
"Havenmoor is down here." Zared pointed. "That's Ebonfalls. They look really close together here." They were less than a fingertip apart.
"Freid and Gerian are there," Cavan gestured. "Seasonal courts here, here, here, and there. Natanya is there."
"The mists are around here." Ryze traced a circle around the base of the mountains. An area that must have been at least fifty kilometres long.
"What is this?" I leaned in to peer at the area that was indicated on the paper map. Symbols were carved into the wall.
At first I didn't recognise them. It took me a moment to realise. "Those look like Silent Maiden hand signals."
"What does it say?" Ryze asked.
Tavian leaned in and squinted. "It says something about death. Death awaits… Death…" He looked over his shoulder at me.
"The closest I can interpret is death seeks," I said. "Death is looking. Looking for… An end? Or a beginning. Those two are similar, but neither are quite right."
I made the signs with my hands, but shook my head. "Either they wanted it to mean both, or the meaning has changed over time."
I looked at the next line. "Bone in rows. The song talks about skulls in rows."
"Anything about trees?" Ryze asked.
