Six #4
I shivered as a memory surfaced: a heated conversation with Vahn after he had betrayed me. I’d accused him of lying to me
my whole life, and he’d responded with his usual infuriating calmness, The iylvahn has been lying to you. He is not what you think, and he is taking you to his queen so that she may use you to bring herself
to power.
Back then, I’d immediately disregarded those words. Now I didn’t know what to think, or who to believe.
“I know you hate the Deathless, Kysa,” Halek said.
“I know, I know, it’s with good reason, so don’t glare at me like you’re going to stab me in the face.
” He held up both hands, grinning, before going somber again.
“But I’ve heard the stories of the Deathless, too, and nothing I’ve seen here tells me that the queen is a power-hungry conqueror who wants to enslave the world.
Her people aren’t suffering—if anything, she’s given them a paradise that the other kingdoms would risk everything to acquire if they knew about it.
Maybe she just wants to exist here, in peace, without armies or invading kingdoms crouching at her doorstep. ”
“I don’t believe that,” Kysa said flatly. “She is a Deathless with the power of a god. Even if her intentions are pure today,
what happens if she grows tired of ruling in obscurity? The last time the Deathless grew bored of their present circumstances,
they destroyed the world. If even one Deathless exists, every living creature is in danger.”
“She is right about one thing, though,” I muttered, causing Kysa and Halek to glance at me. “The Deathless King is the biggest
threat the world faces right now. She’s lived here, with the iylvahn, for centuries. But the king clearly intends to invade
the other kingdoms and start conquering them. Vahn told me as much.” I shivered, remembering those dreams of fire and blood,
watching a city burn while Vahn calmly stated that no one who opposed the Deathless King would live.
“The Deathless King is the one we have to worry about now,” I went on, stroking Ratuk’s carapace.
“If there is a way to stop him, and if I’m the only one who can reach the Loom of Maederyss, I have to try.
I can’t run from this. He’s just going to keep coming, and every kingdom will end up like Kovass.
” I drummed my fingers against Ratuk’s hard shell, then added, “You . . . don’t have to come with me, either of you.
I’ve heard stories of the World Scar, as well. If you want to go home—”
“Stop,” Kysa said, her voice hard. “I know you mean no insult, but I have already sworn to protect the Fateless until the
Deathless King breathes his last or I do. If I abandon my vows, I am not fit to be called a warrior. I would return to my
clan in shame.”
“Why are you trying to get rid of us, Sparrow?” Halek added, crossing his arms. “I already told you, you’re my lucky charm.
You’re what’s keeping my fate from catching up. So, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, World Scar or no.”
“I just . . .” I clenched a fist on Ratuk’s shell. “I don’t want to alter your fates any more than I have,” I said, unable
to look at either of them. “The queen said that I can unravel a person’s fate just by meeting them. Kysa, if you’d never met
me on the strider, you would be home now. Halek, if I hadn’t run into you on that rooftop—”
“I would be dead,” Halek said simply, and shrugged. “Or maybe I wouldn’t, but my life would certainly be much duller than
it is now.”
“And my clan would have been unaware of the Deathless King until he showed up in our territory to claim us all,” Kysa added.
“I thank the goddess that I was on that strider the day we met. At least my clan knows what’s coming. Besides, my skills are
better served here. If I can help you figure out the secret to defeating the Deathless King, that is the best I can do to
protect my clan.”
“We can’t know what our fates would have been, Sparrow,” Halek finished, stepping up beside me.
“And, to put it simply, the damage is already done. You can’t ‘reweave’ your fate once it’s been unraveled; not even Maederyss can do that.
You just have to keep going, and see where the threads take you next. ”
I nodded, and he squeezed my arm. It wouldn’t stop me from worrying that I had somehow unraveled their fates, but at least
I knew they wanted to be here. I wouldn’t be alone when I ventured into the World Scar to find the loom.
Correction, alone . . . with Raithe.
Kysa seemed to read my thoughts. “We will have to keep an eye on the iylvahn,” she said softly, making my stomach clench.
“I trust him more than the Deathless queen, but not by much.” Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t relish the thought of having the
queen’s assassin with us, but he is a capable warrior. And if the queen has ordered him to protect you, we can at least have
confidence that he will do so. I will not forgive him for his deception, but as long as our goals are the same, I trust he
will not betray us.”
“Well,” said a weary, equally soft voice at our backs. “That’s something, at least.”