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“No, I just got here.”
“Where is Essos?” Dion echoes the question.
I push to my feet, terror rising in me. At first, I walk slowly and wonder if something happened to him… Is he not where I think he is? And then I’m running, sprinting through the halls of my home to his office, where he told me he would be outlining a plan with Xavier.
The office door is closed, and I shove it open, then come to a stop when I see him standing in the middle of the room with Xavier, a drink in each of their hands.
“What’s wrong?” Essos demands, but now I’m just confused.
I turn to look at Helene and Finn and Dion, waiting for an explanation.
Finn doesn’t say anything, but he nods toward the mirror hung over the fireplace. It changes from a mirror to a live report from the Solarem news. Even the newscaster looks pale.
“What is happening?” I demand, fear of the unknown trying to crawl out of my chest.
“In case you’re just tuning in,” the reporter says, their voice trembling, “Queen Posey has laid out strict curfew times. Anyone caught outside those times is subject to punishment.” This isn’t as bad as I thought it could be and I start to relax in Essos’s arms until the reporter continues. “Anyone caught spying for King—sorry, forXavier—is similarly subject to punishment. At the behest of the queen, we will replay the punishment bestowed on Cassius, God of Vanity.”
The picture changes to Posey, standing on a stage set just outside her home. Cassius is on his knees in front of her, his hands tied behind his back. Posey’s hands are fisted in his hair, tugging hard. He doesn’t look particularly worried or repentant, but I can see the God Killer weapon in her hand, and then she brings it down on his neck, slowing down her strike so she’s forced to saw the weapon through his neck.
I can’t watch. I look away, curling into Essos’s chest. When I try to close my eyes, I see the agony on Cassius’s face, and while I harbor no romantic feelings for, this doesn’t make sense; it isn’t right.
His screams echo through the stunned silence of the room. Only the sound of Cassius and the dagger cutting through his skin can be heard until Essos’s voice booms out, silencing the report. “Enough!”
“Oh my gods,” Xavier murmurs.
Try as I might to hold in the tears, I can’t. And once they erupt, there is no stopping them.
Essos pulls me with him as he sits on the couch and gathers me close. My hands feel filthy, like I’ve got more than just Galen’s blood on them—I’ve got Cassius’s too.
“Why was Cassius there?” I ask through hiccupping sobs. I may not have a deep fondness for him, but I also don’t want him to die, and certainly not is such a manner.
“We may never know,” Essos whispers to me, rocking me gently.
“He was gathering intel,” Xavier says. His back is to us as he fills glasses from Essos’s decanter, one for each of us. Even I get one.
“I’m waiting for you to elaborate, brother,” Helene says sharply. She knocks her drink before holding it out to Xavier to refill. I hold my glass, staring into it like it can foretell the secrets that Xavier holds.
“After our showdown with Posey at Zara’s house, Cassius came to me with a plan. He’s expressed interest in sharing Posey’s bed in the past and thought maybe he could use that as a way to get insider information.” Xavier pauses, hanging his head, his shoulders slumping with defeat. “The idea was that he would get close to Posey and find out where the scepter and dagger are being kept.”
When he doesn’t elaborate, Finn prods him. “Well, did he at least find out?”
“I don’tknow. We were supposed to meet up in another week. He needed time to ingratiate himself with her. We have a drop point that we agreed on in Solarem. I don’t know if it’s safe to go to now. I don’t know if it’s compromised, or if he even made it there.” Xavier pinches the bridge of his nose. Cassius’s death is hitting him harder than I expected, but I suppose this is the first time that someone has died as a direct result of his call.
“We have to check at the very least, right? What if the intel there is good?” Finn says, desperation clinging to his voice as he runs his hands through his hair.
“Yes,” I agree, still unable to grapple with the idea that Cassius is dead. Based on what Posey said, there won’t be any reincarnation for him, since the stone is full of souls. Even if it wasn’t, I’m under the impression that the blade needs to stay in the body long enough for the soul to transfer to the stone. “All those souls. We have to do something.”
“No,” Essos refutes. “At the very least, not you. Never you. Hate me all you want—if there is a chance the location is compromised, you’re not going.”
It’s the first time I agree with him without complaint. “Okay, fine, butsomeoneneeds to go.”
“I will,” Xavier volunteers. “I put Cassius in this position. I’ll be the one to see if his death was in vain.”
“You won’t go alone. I’ll go with you,” Finn volunteers, idly scratching at his bandaged arm.
“She can’t keep doing this. Who’s going to be next?” My words come out choked, because it’s not Cassius I’m seeing beheaded. It’s Essos, it’s Helene, it’s Xavier, and I can’t bear to lose anyone.
“If she has her way, all of us.” Anger threads through Finn’s voice.
