Four
Raithe said nothing as he led us through the rest of the Maze.
I walked beside Ratuk, not wanting to put even the slightest strain on the grievously injured rock beetle, hoping that, somehow,
he would be all right. Beside me, Kysa rode Rhyne in stony silence, her eyes hard and her spear continuously gripped in one
hand. No one said anything. Even Halek was quiet as he walked behind me, sensing that this was not the time for lighthearted
jokes. Truthfully, I barely felt or saw any of my companions; my mind had turned inward, reliving all the moments that had
brought us here, realizing the full extent of Raithe’s intentions.
Raithe’s queen was a Deathless. All this time traveling with me, protecting me, hiding me from the king, he had been planning
to turn me over to another Deathless. Just as Vahn had intended to do with the Deathless King. I remembered the times I had
asked Raithe about the iylvahn queen, who she was, what she wanted, why she wished to speak to me. He had always been evasive
in his answers. This was why.
What have I told you about trust, Sparrow?
Vahn’s voice echoed though my head, cold and practical, causing my stomach to twist wildly.
It is a weakness that will destroy you in the end.
You trusted Jeran, and he betrayed you. You trusted me, and look what happened.
The iylvahn and his people will do the same.
My eyes stung, and my throat burned with poisonous tears. Vahn, Jeran, and now Raithe. I had trusted them, and they had lied
to me. The Guildmaster had been right all along.
No more. I clenched my fists, banishing the tightness still gathering in my chest. Enough of this, Sparrow. What’s done is done. You’re here now, and you said you weren’t going to run away. The queen has called
for you, and you have to meet with her. But no one in this city can be trusted, not even Raithe. Especially not Raithe.
Namaia had slipped below the horizon, and the shadows cloaking the floor of the Maze had grown very dark when Raithe led us
around a bend in the pass that ended at a solid wall. Sheer cliffs soared up on either side, boxing us in, and there was no
way out but back. For a moment, I thought the iylvahn might’ve lost his way, though it was hard to imagine the calm, efficient
assassin becoming lost in his own Maze.
And then there was a chilling, even shorter moment when I feared Raithe hadn’t lost his way. That this had been planned, and the Deathless queen would appear with a burst of light and a terrible smile,
to snuff the life from all of us.
Raithe paused, his gaze meeting mine over his shoulder, as if he knew what I was thinking. “This is one of the gates into
the city,” he said. “It reacts to the presence of the iylvahn, no one else. We are very close to Irrikah now. Fatechaser,
insect rider . . .” His gaze shifted to Kysa and Halek. “If you wish to leave now and not enter the city, I can find someone
to guide you back to the beginning of the Maze. I won’t force you to step through the gates if you don’t want to.”
He didn’t offer me the same, I noticed. I guessed he wasn’t giving me a choice.
“Do not insult me, kahjai.” Kysa’s voice was calm and harder than steel. “I did not make a vow to protect the Fateless only
to leave her at the gates of a Deathless city. Sparrow is still under my protection, because I no longer trust she is safe
under yours.”
If Kysa’s words affected Raithe at all, he didn’t show it. With a nod, he glanced at Halek. “And you, Fatechaser?”
If this had been a normal evening, Halek would’ve laughed and regaled us with a story of how he had always wanted to see the
mysterious city of the iylvahn, and how nothing would keep him away now that he was finally at its gates. Tonight, he simply
nodded. “I’m here,” he said. “I’m not about to leave. Don’t worry, Sparrow,” he added, and smiled. “They won’t get rid of
me that easily.”
Raithe didn’t answer. Turning, he walked to the looming cliff before us, stretched out a hand, and pressed his palm to the
rock.
At his touch, the curtain of stone seemed to ripple, looking more like water than solid rock. It melted away, revealing an
enormous gate behind it, a pair of huge statues flanking an archway protected by heavy stone doors. With a groan, the doors
parted, swinging outward with a rumble that echoed through the canyon. A short tunnel lay beyond the arch, and a rush of warm
air wafted through the opening, smelling of water, earth, and something I couldn’t didn’t immediately recognize. A moment
later, I realized the scent was . . . vegetation?
Raithe’s eyes glowed faintly in the shadows cast by the looming cliffs around us. “Welcome to Irrikah,” he said softly. “Not the introduction I would’ve hoped for, but we’re here. The queen’s palace is at the highest point of the city. Follow me, and stay close until we reach the summit.”
I took a furtive breath. There was no running away now, even if I wanted to. And I didn’t want to, I realized. I wanted to
discover, once and for all, who and what I really was. With Kysa, Rhyne, and Halek beside me and Ratuk a hulking shadow at
my back, I stepped forward, beneath the arch, and into the city of the Deathless queen.
Through the arch, we entered the wide stone tunnel, and the air within felt strange. So strange, I didn’t have a word for
it. I was used to the dry desert air, feeling it suck the moisture from my body; this was almost the opposite: steamy and
somehow . . . wet. I hadn’t known air could be wet, but there was no other way to describe it.
Then the tunnel opened up, walls falling away, and my mind went completely, utterly blank while I stared at the vista before
me.
Raithe had spoken about Irrikah once. Back in Damassi, I had asked him what the iylvahn city was like, and he’d said that,
because of the way the queen’s magic worked, I wouldn’t remember anything we spoke about. I would recall that we’d had a conversation. I might even remember that it was about the city, but all the details of Irrikah itself would slip from my
mind and be lost. It was just another way the iylvahn queen kept her people safe.
He was right; I couldn’t remember anything of what he’d told me about Irrikah. I couldn’t recall if he’d mentioned it was this beautiful, this . . . green.
The city before me defied belief. I gazed at a rising, terraced mountain with arches, bridgeways, and curving roads that spiraled
up toward the peak. Even though it was evening, the city glowed with light from thousands of luminescent spheres, set atop
lantern posts or strung across the roads. Elegant buildings seemed literally carved out of the mountainside, white stone walls
and pointed roofs soaring to unnatural heights. The entire city was draped in water and vegetation; waterfalls flowed from
standing pools, cascaded over archways, streamed down the sides, ran to the massive lake at the base of the mountain. The
walls of Irrikah were covered with green; flowering bushes lined the pathways, vines hung from walls and dangled over terraces,
and great trees, their leaves and branches larger than any I had ever seen, grew throughout the city.
It was stunning and awe-inspiring and completely impossible, and for a few heartbeats, I could only stare in dumbfounded amazement.
I could sense Raithe a little to the side, watching me, but his expression was hidden by his hood, and at that moment, I couldn’t
take my eyes off the city.
“Weaver’s mercy,” Halek whispered beside me. “I’ve been a lot of places, but . . . I’ve never seen anything like this.” His
blue eyes were wide as they swept over the flowering walls and shimmering curtains of water. “So, this is the legendary hidden
city of the iylvahn. I can see why they want to keep it a secret.”
“Yes,” Kysa echoed. She, too, gazed at the iylvahn city in amazement, though her eyes were shadowed with suspicion. “It is beautiful, though I wonder how much life the queen must sacrifice to keep it this way.”
“Fateless.”
I tensed as a pair of figures stepped onto the road to face us. They were iylvahn women, tall and graceful like Raithe, with
elegant features, charcoal skin, and shapely pointed ears. They were also stunningly beautiful, white hair falling halfway
down their backs in identical fashions, twin pale blue gazes peering down at me.
“The queen sent us to meet you,” one of the iylvahn said, smiling at me. “It is an honor to have you here in Irrikah, Fateless.”
“We know you must be tired,” said the other. “If you and your companions will follow us, we will show you your accommodations.
You can rest and relax a bit before your audience with the queen. Kahjai . . .” She looked at Raithe, standing quietly to
the side. Her smile faltered, her expression turning stiff. “Your mission is done,” she told him flatly. “Your services are
no longer required here. Return to the conclave to await new orders.”
Raithe hesitated, then he bowed his head. “Understood,” he said in a voice devoid of emotion. “Fateless, it has been an honor,”
he continued, as my insides churned and squeezed themselves into a knot. He wasn’t even looking at me when he said it. “Goddess
willing, our paths will cross again.”
I bit the inside of my lip as Raithe walked away. He didn’t pause, and he didn’t look back. I watched, heart aching, as the
kahjai who had protected me the entire journey from Kovass to Irrikah slipped quietly into the trees lining the path to the
city and disappeared.
So, that’s really how it is, Raithe? Everything you did was to get me to Irrikah, after all. And now that I’m here, your task is done. I . . . guess I’m supposed to forget about you.
I closed my eyes, and Halek put an arm around my shoulders, a silent reminder that, even if Raithe was gone, I wasn’t alone.
I squeezed his hand gratefully, feeling the weight of the iylvahn’s impassive gazes on us all.
“Come.” The two iylvahn stepped back, gesturing to the path ahead. “Please follow us, Fateless. It is a rather long walk to
the palace.”