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I fucking cried for him, harbored guilt for his death. By the Guardians and all the gods of this world and the world the Crows fled from, he’s alive and walking, and there’s not a single feather on his scarred arms where his leather armor leaves them bare.
Myron’s hands ball into fists as his power barrels down the stairs, blocking their path between the fighting Crows and Fire Fairies. There is no need to ask if he feels as betrayed as I do. For him, it has to be a million times worse.
“Let me speak to you, and I’ll make sure your people survive,” Ephegos shouts, raising a brow and glancing around at the melee. “Some of them, at least. I can’t promise the ones who keep fighting us will see the sun fully set tonight.”
As if to emphasize his words, a Crow drops to the floor with a gurgling scream a few feet from him when a Fire Fairy shoves her burning blade through his chest. He doesn’t burn, though. My water washes right over him to keep the flames in check. If there’s a chance he’ll survive, this should do the job. And no, I don’t care if he’s of the faction who hates Myron’s guts. Right now, we need any Crow who’s willing to walk into battle against the Fire Fairies.
“Call them off, Myron, and I’ll let live whoever can stand on their own two feet.” Ephegos shoves against the wall of magic Myron put up, and his Flame guards pour their power into trying to burn it away. All that does is cost Myron a bitter laugh.
“Well played, Ephegos.” I’ve never seen him so icy, even with the bored smile he’s featuring. “I’ve got to give it to you; you deceived us all.” Yes, that’s ice as solid as the one Clio conjures with a flick of her fingers, but I still see the hurt in the way the corner of his mouth is fighting to pull downward, in the way his hands shake.
And Guardians, do I want to take those hands into mine and soothe that pain by reminding him that he’s not alone. Even without Ephegos, he still has Royad. He still has me.
Instead, I summon my magic and send a tendril of water to unweave from my armor and coil around Myron’s fingers in a gentle caress. The shaking doesn’t cease, only gets worse as his gaze meets mine for a heartbeat before he takes a step away from the banister.
“Tell me, what did they offer you to switch loyalties? Freedom? Females? I remember you mentioning frequently that you’re missing females most.” His words drive shivers of anger down my back.
I trusted Ephegos. Befriended him. He was the reason I started seeing Myron and Royad as something different from the monsters I believed them to be—in part at least. Ephegos had sped up the process, broke down some walls I might have maintained a lot longer had he not captured my defenses with humor and wit. And now?—
“You’re a fool, Myron. Ablindfool.” Ephegos waves a hand, and the fairies firing at the invisible wall stop and turn their focus on the fighting Crows instead. A wildfire washes through the room so fast I have no chance but watch as Crows go up in flames despite the water coating their wings. Steam mingles with smoke, and screams die as the Crows buckle and drop one by one. At least fifteen are down by the time I manage to push the lake over the fire, and the sight it leaves is even worse than what we found upstairs. There’s nothing left of them but ashes.
“Stop it!” The command carries over the hall in Myron’s deep timbre, and the walls seem to shudder as his power pushes out. He can’t both hold the wall blocking Ephegos’s path and smother the fires flaring where the lake has passed. My strength is fading, and I can’t keep the fires down, not even when the lake is willing to do most of the work.
“You’re killing them. They’re your people, too,” I shout, panic flooding my veins where my magic has become too weak to hold its ground.
By now, the Crows in the entrance hall are no longer fighting, and all I can hope is for Royad to please, please, please have made it out. The room turns eerily quiet when the screaming stops and all that’s left is the biting odor of burnt flesh and painful death.
“Good to see you in one piece, Ayna.” Ephegos flashes me a toothy grin that I might have once described as charming. Now I see nothing but fake friendliness and malintentions. “I’ve been wondering if you’d still be around when I finally return.” He leans in as much as Myron’s wall allows, pretending that he’s whispering right in my ear even when there is a whole flight of stairs separating us. “Tell me, has he worked up the courage and carried out the husbandly duties he missed during your wedding night?”
From the corner of my eyes, I see Myron pale a shade until his face is bone white.
“None of your business, is it?” I spit and send the water I’m still able to command to slap him in the face then watch with satisfaction the steaming red imprint spreading there.
“I remember you a bit lessfiery.” Ephegos’s eyes flash with glee. “May I just say you’d do well with the Flames. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Us?” Myron barks before I can retort something that will get me killed. “Last time I saw you, you were still a Crow.” He rubs his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Wait… youarea Crow. You travelled with us across the oceans. You fought alongside us… Youdiedfor us.”
“You are wondering how I’m alive, aren’t you?” Ephegos leans a shoulder against Myron’s wall, folding his featherless arms. Now that I take a closer look, they aren’t entirely human. The claws are still there, and the limbs are slightly elongated so they don’t properly fit the way normal arms would. “Let me give you a hint so you won’t make the same mistake twice, Myron.” He lowers his voice to a whisper, which carries like a hiss as his features shift to beak and feathers in proof that he’s still a Crow even when he’s switched loyalties. “Take a close look at the bodies you bury. It’s easy to singe the feathers of a dead Crow and plant it for the mourning ceremony. And before you ask why my arms are the only part of me that’s scarred, it’s because the Flames put a protection spell on me so I’d survive the fire unharmed—more or less.” He lifts an elbow, examining it with a casual glance. “The feathers had to burn, or it wouldn’t look real. But I feelgoodwithout them. Have been waiting for the day when they disappear for too long.” As if on a command, the bird features disappear, and he looks human again.
“Why?” It’s the only question that really matters, and Myron asks it with more harshness in his tone than I’d ever muster had I been betrayed like that.
As if he’s been waiting for that question, Ephegos’s features light up, and he clicks his tongue.
“I’ve waited, Myron. I’ve waited for decades to watch your downfall happen. I’ve waited for you to find the one bride you would finally care for. One you’d be willing to give everything up for. It’s the only thing that could ever hurt you the way you hurt me.”
“I never hurt you.” Myron sounds convinced, but there has to be something, or Ephegos wouldn’t be standing there with gloating Fire Fairies at his sides like they are family.
“You killed my sister.”
Shock clenches my chest. “That’s impossible,” I object. “There are no female Crows.”
That only wrings a pitiful chuckle from Ephegos.
My entire body freezes as I watch Myron digest the news. It’s the way his eyes shutter as if he’s going through all the beings he’s ended to find the one Ephegos is talking about. Before he can get there, Ephegos loses his patience.
“You killed her, Myron. You took her as a fucking bride. You didn’t even bother to learn her name before you tossed her body into the silver stream by the border.”
Myron’s chest heaves as realization crosses his features, and it hits me that this is real. This isn’t a made-up story to make the Crow King look bad.
