54. Vera
Vera
“This is the third place we’ve searched today, and all I’ve got to show for it is centaur dung on my boots,” Tessa huffed as we were thrust back onto the main street.
“Better than dragon dung,” Everett added. I glanced between the two of them with raised eyebrows, and he shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
Villagers passed by on either side of us, making Everett step closer to me.
His arm brushed mine, and I sucked in a breath.
My dream from last night flickered at the edges of my mind—his rough fingers trailing up my forearm, scruff biting into my skin, the false version of him whispering everything I wanted to hear.
Heat crawled up my neck, and I shuffled farther away, earning me a confused glance before I tore my gaze from him and back to the street.
The same magical light fixtures hung in the air to cast light onto the city, and we passed dozens of villagers going about their day.
Many of them bowed reverently to the High Elders as we walked by.
I could’ve sworn I was starting to recognize some of the people, even after only a couple of days.
It was nice to be greeted by their smiles and waves everywhere we went.
“I assure you, we are not enjoying this any more than you are,” Julius said stiffly, flinging a clump of spider venom from his shoulder. “But every location we cross off the list brings us one step closer to finding the true amulet.”
We’d been hunting all day, trying any place the Elders said held value to their people.
The first sacrificial altar built to the Fates, the hilltop where the original demithes had lived, the Bridge of Fire where they had given their lives to forge the amulets.
We were met with one mythical guardian after another.
First the centaurs nearly impaled us with their arrows, then the giant arachnids and their poisonous fangs, all creatures I would be promptly adding to my “do not disturb” list.
I was trying not to panic. This was only our second day—we still had two more before Odessa’s fate was sealed. But I was beginning to wonder if the Fates had made it impossible for us to ever raise this kingdom.
“Let us try one more,” Maeve said encouragingly.
“Fine, but tomorrow, I’m on Odessa duty,” Tessa mumbled, tossing her black braids over a shoulder. We followed Maeve and Julius as they headed south down the dark street.
Everett snorted. “I think you secretly love this, Tessa.”
“Yeah, almost being killed five times a day is a riot,” she shot back.
“You two must be used to it,” I said. “The Ashen Order isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies.”
“Maybe not.” Tessa shrugged. “But they were the best years of my life.”
Everett shot her a look, and her face fell. She turned to me with wide eyes. “Fates, that came out wrong. I know those were definitely not the best years of your life. I just mean—”
I waved her apology away. “I get it. You don’t have to tiptoe around me. You’re allowed to have a life.”
She gave me a sheepish grin. “So many people suffered when Scarven ruled the province. I would never want to go back to a time like that. But the Order…” She glanced at Everett, who walked on the other side of me, his face unreadable.
“This is the only time you’ll ever hear me get sappy, Everett Swift,” she warned, shaking a finger at him dramatically.
“But the Order saved me, too, in a way. I never had siblings or friends growing up, besides Nox. I tried too hard, the others said. I was too loud and always had something to say, or always made things into a joke.”
I watched Everett’s reaction as he faced her. Tessa kicked a pebble along the path as we walked. “I found my people. Even you, Ev,” she quipped. “You might all tease me and tell me to shut up, but I still feel accepted for exactly who I am, loud mouth and all.”
“We all admire you, Tessa,” Everett said, voice gruff. “I’m sorry if—”
“No, no,” Tessa shook her head, “I dish out as much as I take, if not more. I know you all love me. Who wouldn’t?
” She winked at me, and I grinned. “I guess that’s what happens when you’re fighting for the same cause.
You see people’s hearts every single day, and it shoves out all the annoying quirks.
They just don’t matter anymore, not when you trust someone that much.
” She looked down at the brown splatters on her boots.
“Or when you’ve seen them covered in centaur dung. ”
I snorted. “That certainly accelerates the friendship.”
“Are you saying we’re friends?” Tessa smirked.
My smile faltered. I kept my gaze trained on the back of Julius and Maeve’s heads. “I’m not sure I’m very good at being a friend.”
“You’re here fighting off monsters to save a friend’s life, aren’t you?” She nudged me with her shoulder. “That sounds like a good friend to me.”
“Maybe. But for every good thing I do for someone, I seem to do more damage to someone else.” My eyes snuck over to Everett, then faced forward again.
I thought back to the rejection on Starke’s face when I pulled away from him, how he said I only leaned on him when I needed something.
How the only reason I even let him in my bedroom in the first place was to hurt Everett.
I kept shoving back the people who cared most about me out of some twisted sense of protection.
“You just have to keep trying,” Tessa said simply. “That’s all any of us can do.”
Keep trying. Everett had said something similar. That was always the answer—keep trying, keep fighting, keep going. It was exhausting. But maybe they meant it didn’t have to be so hard if I had others at my side. If I stayed.
Rushing water reached my ears as a river of gold came into view. Maeve cast a ball of light high into the sky to let us see, but the winding water up ahead was bright enough to highlight the way. The paved street sloped into a grassy hill, which descended to the banks of the river.
“Legend says the Fates carved this river with their own hands,” Maeve remarked.
“The shadow beings they first created didn’t need food or water to live, but their offspring did.
The Fates created the first river to allow them to drink and water their crops.
Perhaps there’s symbolism there—the thing that brought our ancestors life could also be what holds the key to attaining our new life. ”
Tessa lowered her voice at my side. “That’s a lot of words just to say ‘we still have no idea where the amulet is.’”
I swiftly elbowed her, pinching my lips together to keep from chuckling. Stepping forward, I took in the glowing strand, the dark blades of grass half-illuminated by the water’s reflection. It was peaceful, even without sunlight. It reminded me of my dream.
I wandered down to the bank. The Elders told me to let my instincts guide me, to listen to anything that may call me.
So far, that hadn’t been successful—mostly because we kept getting attacked by creatures that shouldn’t exist. But now…
all was still. I breathed in the fresh air and focused on the wind kissing my exposed neck.
My fingers trailed the surface of the water, sending ripples of light down the stream.
That was when I heard it. A faint humming sound, like when we were in the cave. The small circles emanating from my fingertips slowly turned into churning waves, forming a corkscrew in the center of the river. Something splashed in its depths, but it was moving too fast to get a good look.
“Do you think this is—” I glanced back at the others, abruptly cutting myself off. Tessa, Maeve, and Julius weren’t paying attention to me. All three were staring straight into the water, their eyes glassy and distant. As one, they lifted a leg and slowly marched forward.
All except for Everett. He was as alert as ever as his hand shot out to grasp Tessa. “It’s that siren,” he growled, gaze fixed on the water behind me.
I whirled to face the water and sure enough, there was the stunning silver siren from before, staring at me from the center of the small whirlpool. “Oh, Fates,” I cursed. This again. Shiny raven hair flowed down her waist, disappearing below the surface. Those purple eyes tracked my every movement.
“How are you not affected?” I hissed back at Everett, watching Tessa struggle against his hold.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because I broke out of her enchantment last time?”
While he was distracted, Tessa wrenched out of his grip. She stumbled to the water, along with Maeve and Julius, and they all three stopped in their tracks, right at the edge of the riverbank.
“Let them go!” I yelled, summoning my light sword.
“You should not be here, golden one,” the siren said, her voice melodic and foreboding at the same time. “I tried to warn you.”
Golden water lapped against Tessa, Maeve, and Julius—a warning and a message. This creature was in control, and she could plunge them to their deaths without a second thought.
Everett lunged forward to grab Tessa again, but I held out my free hand. “Stop,” I said quickly. “I don’t want her getting you, too.”
The siren hummed, her gaze latching onto Everett at my side. “Curious.” Her voice slithered over us. “I thought we had become such good friends the last time.”
His hand found the handle of his weapon. “You can’t trick me anymore, siren.”
Her beautiful mouth curved into a pout. “You wound me, my precious. Perhaps if I looked more like this…” Her entire body shimmered and, as if someone were casting an illusion, she transformed her features into someone else.
Blonde hair streaked with red, thicker eyebrows, more pointed chin and cheekbones.
My stomach tightened. She was me.
Everett shifted on his feet, eyebrows pinched in concentration. “It won’t work,” he spat. “You’re not her.”