Chapter 22
A thousand swear words screamed across Viri’s mind as she looked at her stunned guardian, panic instantly rising within her.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” she blurted, then winced, because it was exactly what it looked like. She and Reeve had been caught red-handed inside the Magistratus’s locked office—there was no way to deny that.
Viri wasn’t sure what she expected to happen next, though a large part of her was certain Sarielle would have no choice but to follow protocol and call for the Nox.
That, however, wasn’t what Sarielle did.
Instead, she unfroze and strode straight over to Viri, wrapping her in an embrace.
“Elders, I’ve been so worried,” Sarielle said into her ear.
Viri nearly wilted with relief. “I’m sorry—I never meant for you to find us here. I know what a difficult position this puts you in.”
“Never mind that,” Sarielle said, drawing away.
Her blue eyes flicked to Reeve, her features tightening as she realized who—and what—he was, but she quickly returned her attention to Viri.
“Everyone is looking for you. Captain Farrow has his Nox out in force, half ordered to find the missing children, the other half ordered to find you.”
Viri grimaced, but said, “They won’t be able to find us where we’re going.”
That was one benefit of traveling into the deadly wood, at least.
Sarielle held Viri’s eyes for a long moment, before she quietly said, “I won’t tell you not to do whatever it is you’re doing. I know better than that—just as I trust there’s a reason you’re here with him.”
Sarielle’s gaze flicked to Reeve again, and this time, Viri turned as well, finding him as tense as stone, his features completely blank as he stared unflinchingly at the Magistratus.
There was no indication of the animosity he held toward her, thank the Elders, but it was obvious he didn’t want to be in her presence.
That was hardly surprising, given who they both were: the right hand to the Reaper Priest and the city’s highly moral leader who had once been a hunter, two people who would never be on the same side of anything.
Except, right now, they were.
“There’s a reason,” Viri confirmed. “You told me last night that there’s no cost too steep if it means finding the Reaper Priest.” She dipped her chin toward Reeve.
“This is the cost of me being able to do that. I don’t have time to explain, but I promise everything I’m doing is with the aim of stopping him. ”
Sarielle’s lips pressed together, as if she were fighting the urge to say that hadn’t been what she’d meant at all, but then she sighed. “Whatever your plans are, just be careful.”
“Always,” Viri said, knowing it was what her guardian needed to hear and praying she could keep her word.
Sarielle was about to say something else—maybe ask what Viri and Reeve were doing in her office to begin with—but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Before any of them could react, Meera walked in, her focus on the papers in her hands as she said, “We forgot something at the meeting—”
The head of the Hunters’ Guild stopped abruptly when she caught sight of Viri and Reeve, her dark features slackening with shock.
Viri’s heart leapt to her throat, but it wasn’t just because of her mentor’s unexpected arrival.
It was because two Nox guards appeared directly behind her.
A single glance was all it took for them to recognize who they’d just walked in on, with both lunging forward at the same time, making Viri realize she and Reeve were going to have to fight their way out of the room.
Only, that wasn’t what happened.
Because Meera leapt in to intercept the Nox, her papers flying everywhere, and in less than four moves, she had them both on the ground, unconscious.
Her jade eyes skewered Viri, her mental voice curt with warning as she said, “You have five seconds before I raise the alarm. Make them count.” Her eyes slitted. “And don’t make me regret this.”
Gratitude swept through Viri at the gravity of what her mentor had just done, at the trust Meera was showing without demanding any answers. “Thank you,” she croaked out.
“Thank me by saying nice things at my funeral. I might be able to accept that you’re following some half-baked plan to save the kids, but Darik is going to kill me for letting you get away,” Meera said flatly, then jerked her head at the door.
“Now go. And be prepared to face the longest debriefing of your life once this mess is over.”
Viri nodded and couldn’t resist rushing forward to hug her mentor, never before so grateful that Meera had a hunter’s heart and was willing to bend the rules—and the laws—to do what had to be done. Or in this case, to allow Viri to do it.
There was so much Viri wished she could tell both Meera and Sarielle—so much they needed to know about the comets and the sacrifice and the plan to destroy the obelisks—just as she wished she could spare a moment to make sure Sarielle knew about Jessalyn and reassure her that Soren was already out searching.
But every minute Viri delayed was another Braedan could use to reach the Guardian first, dooming them all.
So as hard as it was, she forced her feet toward the door, turning back just once to blow a kiss at Sarielle, who caught it and pressed it to her heart.
That was the last Viri saw of them as she and Reeve hurried from the room, their pace increasing to a run as they passed Galen’s still-empty desk and headed toward the glass-doored exit.
People were milling about now, councilors and Guild heads who had finished with their meeting, some crying out in startled recognition as Viri and Reeve rushed by—which in turn drew the notice of two waiting Nox guards, likely the partners of those Meera had knocked unconscious.
Viri cursed as the Nox sprang forward in pursuit, yelling at her and Reeve to stop.
She pushed her legs harder toward the exit, her heart hammering in her chest as she sprinted through the doors with Reeve at her heels, both of them barreling along the Summit’s inner-mountain tunnel toward the wayportal as the Nox’s yells continued ringing out behind them.
But Viri and Reeve were too fast, their desperation too strong, and with an extra burst of speed, they made it to the magestone arch, where Viri leapt through first and guided it straight to the still-bustling market district.
She waited only as long as it took for Reeve to appear before grabbing him and jumping back into it again, confident that one of the many busy shoppers would activate the portal next—which would keep the Nox from following them to their actual destination: the uppercity’s southernmost wayportal.
The moment Viri hurtled out the other side, bright sunlight seared her vision, causing her to hiss with pain. Reeve’s arrival was less dramatic, though he quickly shielded his eyes from the glare, both of them breathing hard from their mad dash.
That was close, Viri thought, knowing that a few more seconds and those Nox might have caught them. If not for Sarielle being so understanding…If not for Meera helping them get away…
Viri didn’t want to think about what might have happened, had the timing or circumstances been any different.
“Let’s not do that again,” Reeve panted, rolling the tension from his shoulders.
“Agreed,” Viri murmured, assuming he was talking about being chased by the Nox, though he could have been referring to any part of their Summit infiltration.
Everything they’d done…There would be repercussions, she was sure of it.
But she would deal with the fallout later.
For now, their mission was all that mattered.
Inhaling deeply to steady herself, Viri peered around to get her bearings, taking in the vast farmland stretching out to the east—the animals all safely inside the wards—and the ancient white mausoleums peeking out from within the craggy trees to the west. There was something else, too—something resting in between the farms and the necropolis, standing tall and proud beneath the sunshine.
The Southern Obelisk.
Viri shivered at the sight of it in the distance, unable to forget the last time she’d been this close to the tapered obsidian stone that rose as high as any building.
It might have been seven years, but the tragedy of her Impartation day was still fresh enough that a lump formed in her throat, and she hastily tore her gaze away.
“This way,” she said hoarsely, avoiding Reeve’s probing eyes as she strode west toward the necropolis, pulling the map out to confirm their magical path began at the farthest border of the ancient cemetery.
Keeping pace at her side, Reeve glanced from her to the shadowy obelisk and asked, hesitantly, “Do you want to talk about—”
“No,” Viri said sharply. He was the last person she would ever want to talk to about what happened that day.
He let it drop, almost as if he didn’t want to discuss it either, though that was unsurprising given the choices he’d made in the wake of her parents’ deaths.
Viri’s pain and rage rose so swiftly that she could taste them, like a bitter, coppery film coating her tongue.
She couldn’t bear to look at Reeve as they stepped through the pillared entrance into the necropolis, needing space, needing distance, hating that neither would be possible until they stopped her brother and could go their separate ways.
Digging her fingernails into her palms, Viri used the sting to ground herself, then forcefully pushed her emotions—and memories—away.
Only when the urge to lash out at Reeve had passed did she take the time to look around, her boots crunching over rocks and dirt as they moved quickly through the eerily quiet necropolis.