Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
We make it inside before Tilda's legs give out. We crumple to the floor together. I don't know how long we stay there. She murmurs "What a mess, what a mess" like a prayer. I sit in silence.
I'm out of words. Out of thoughts. Out of tears. All I can see is Arlo leading the charge. Arlo. Of all people. I would have believed it of anyone but him.
"He wasn't himself," Tilda whispers when I say it aloud. "He just wasn't."
"How did this happen?"
She opens her mouth to respond. The door crashes open. The lights flicker as Malachi steps inside. His eyes sweep the room, land on Tilda shielding me, and go cold.
He prowls toward us with an expression I have no doubt many have seen in their final moments.
"Stop." Her voice shakes, but the compulsion drips from it.
My teeth grit against the pull. Kage freezes by the door.
Malachi doesn't even slow. He keeps his eyes on mine as he crouches before me.
"Let go of her,” he says, his voice barely a whisper, but Tilda’s arms fall away instantly.
Then he's lifting me off the floor, cradling me against his chest. I bury my face in his neck. Breathe in the lingering scent of the ocean and him.
"Who are you?" he rumbles.
I blink and pull away. “This is Tilda. Tilda this is–”
"Prince Malachi Bain Malvorathis,” Kage announces as he walks over.
"Oh my goddess." Tilda's eyes go wide. She curtsies.
"Oh gods," I whisper. Mal stiffens.
"My apologies, Your Highness." Tilda straightens. "My name is Carla Matilda Ocasio. I—"
"She's a friend," I say, trying to push away. His grip tightens. I shoot him a look. "Bain."
His eyes snap to mine and narrow.
"She's a friend,” I repeat. “Set me down."
He does. Slowly.
"They took Naima and Margot." I look at Kage, then Malachi. "Tilda tried to help them. She stopped me from doing something stupid."
Malachi glares at me, then turns to Tilda. "In that case, thank you, Carla Matilda Ocasio, for preventing a slaughter."
I frown. "They took—"
"I heard you." His voice is steel. "We will get them back."
I narrow my eyes but don't argue. I turn back to Tilda.
"Is that what they were talking about out there? The amphitheater tomorrow evening?" Kage asks.
Tilda nods. "They stormed in from nowhere. Margot was dropping off a dress. Naima came looking for her." Her voice breaks. "She didn't even make it inside before they grabbed her."
I squeeze my eyes shut. The scene plays out behind my lids.
"Why them?" Malachi asks.
"Someone said Bastian told the Council who the children at the estate were." Tilda frowns at me. "But he was one of them. One of you. Why would he do that?"
I stare at her. It's all I can do.
This is what Margot saw. Or part of it. Bas being executed. But did she see the wrong person? Did she misread her own vision? Gods, what else did she see? My stomach coils with questions I can't answer.
"Naima had a container of water." Tilda's eyes widen, as if remembering. "She threw it up, tried to wield it, but the water just... fell. Like she couldn't access her gift. She started screaming about Rook killer weapons.”
My heart stutters. "What about the weapons?"
"I don't know. The guards didn't draw any weapons."
I wrap my arms around myself. Look at Malachi. "Did you find the ship?"
A sharp nod. Nothing else.
I replay the scene in my mind. Their faces. The way they walked between the guards. The manacles—
"The handcuffs." I drop my hands and round my shoulders back. "Did you see them clearly?"
"I was too busy trying to compel them to stop, but they just..." She trails off. Her eyes go wide. "My compulsion didn't work."
My pulse pounds in my ears.
"The manacles could be made of the same ivory," Kage says.
I nod. “I think the ones they took Jordi away with that time may have been as well.”
"But why wouldn't my compulsion work on the guards?" Tilda's voice drops. "That's never happened before.” She pauses. “And why do they want Jordi?" her voice breaks. “Please tell me he got away."
"He's safe," Mal says. "Naima and Margot will be too. We'll make sure of it."
"Will your people come? Will they fight?"
"We've sent word."
"Thank the goddess." Her lip trembles. "Gods, Temp. Arlo."
I hug myself tighter. Nod.
Malachi shoots Kage a look.
"Come on, Tilda." Kage's voice softens. "You need rest. Let me walk you back."
She pulls me into another fierce hug. "Please be careful."
I hug her back. But all I can think is, we're past that now.
We wait for them to leave. For the door to close. For the lock to click.
I turn to Malachi. "The handcuffs must be made of the—"
He swoops down and claims my mouth before I can finish. It's a desperate kiss. Fear and devastation poured into one another. The bond hums between us, a reminder that these moments are stolen.
Maybe that's why I respond with such urgency. Tugging him closer. Wrapping my legs around him when he lifts me. When we break apart, we're both panting.
He presses his forehead to mine. "Damn it, Menace. I felt your fear from the ship. I couldn't get here fast enough."
"I'm so scared, Mal." My voice shakes. "I've never been scared like this. Not even when Jordi was taken."
Constantine has never done anything like this. If he has the Sages too, I can't imagine what it means. According to Veritas teachings, when the Undying Flame of a kingdom snuffs out, the kingdom dies. The Sages are the only ones who can tend that Flame.
If they die, lifting the curse won't matter. There will be no kingdom left to save. Constantine must know this. If he's truly trying to serve Cato, if they want Tenebris, they must understand they can't destroy the Flame. But my friends. My family. What are they to him?
"We'll get them back." His expression is fierce. Certain. "We'll get them."
"What if this is just the beginning? What the Flame said..."
He silences me with a hard kiss. "We will get them back."
He carries me to the back room. Shuts the door. Sets me on the edge of the bed before disappearing into the bathroom. I fall back and close my eyes. The air is thick with citrus and eucalyptus.
The scent unlocks something. A memory I'd forgotten.
The soap maker's shop. The Sages sent me there to intern, years ago.
The soap makers spoke of their work as if it were the most important in the Order.
Everyone does. That was when I first noticed the Veritas pin on their coats, the gold signet ring with the symbol.
I smile, remembering when we ran out of soap at the estate and Cas convinced me to share his. The memory curdles. Becomes the image of him in chains tonight. I force myself to breathe.
I breathe until I find my center. And then I'm somewhere else. Not physically. In my mind. Walking through the dark forest behind the cottage. Toward the Shroud. Toward the whispers and the glowing eyes that call to me. I don't run. I stare back.
"Tell me what you want," I whisper.
You.
I clench my trembling fists. "Why?"
You are owed to us. You kept this place fat with grief, and loss, and memory.
My chest tightens. "Are you the healers? The ones sacrificed to the Bratus?"
We are a collection. Memories. Grief. The last word comes as a hiss. Rage. Only you can free us. Only you can feel us.
"Will you be free when the curse is lifted?"
Some. Others will wait. To remind you.
"Remind me of what?"
What was taken from us. What was taken from you. What is owed.
The voice fades, growing distant.
My eyes fly open.
Mal sits beside me, rubbing my arms, worry etched into his face.
"You're still shaking." His voice is gentle. "I ran you a bath."
"I can't—"
One look from him silences the refusal.
"I'm not asking you to soak for hours. But you need to calm down. Go. I'll get you when Kage returns."
I nod and take his hand.
As I step into the bathroom, I glance toward the forest. The darkness seems closer than before.
As if to say: It won't be long now.
Kage spreads a creased, stained map across the table. Lines crisscross the yellowed paper. "These are the old tunnels. The old tunnels." He taps the map for emphasis.
"Where did you get this?"
"Tilda. She's been hoarding old documents for years. In case something like this happened."
He traces a line on the map. "The hidden door in the bedroom leads to this tunnel." His finger slides through the forest, past the Shroud, and keeps going. "All the way up here."
My eyes widen. "To Vindariel?"
"As long as the passages haven't collapsed. Tilda says this is the only entrance, so I doubt anyone's touched them."
I slump back. A direct path out of Lunaris. This whole time. And Tilda knew.
"It could work as an alternative route for the Rooks," Kage says.
"According to the texts, the Shroud should clear a better pathway soon."
I sit up. "Didn't Jordi and Draven take that route?"
"The path is safe to reach the other side where the Rooks are waiting," Kage explains. "It's the route from there to here that normally poses a problem."
I sink back in my seat, wondering if it poses a problem because the Shroud is being fed from this side. I push the thought away.
"Did you hear anything about the Sages?"
"Only that they haven't been seen. Everyone assumes they're at the Keep. That they'll be at the amphitheater tomorrow."
"A show of power," Malachi says.
"Or he doesn't believe in the Flame," Kage suggests.
"Even so, he can't be stupid enough to publicly execute a Sage."
I suppress a shiver. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"
Kage and Malachi exchange a look. When Malachi turns to me, his expression is calculating. My stomach drops before he even speaks.
"We're going to remove as many amulets as we can."
I stare at him. "That can't be the whole plan."
"Draven said the amphitheater is usually warded, but we haven't felt any wards since we arrived. They're relying on the ivory." He leans forward. "There are only three of us. Our gifts are limited by the curse. Yours aren't, but I don't want you anywhere near Constantine."
I cross my arms. "So I'm supposed to do what? Stand back and watch you fight?"
"Of course not." His eyes hold mine. "You'll be taking amulets off people's necks."
I gape at him. "You want me to do that? I told you what the Sages made me do. Those amulets are the only things keeping some of those people alive!"
"Temporarily!" His voice rises, then drops. "The ones who are going to die will die the moment the Shroud breaks. Jordi confirmed that."
“Right, so let me just kill them faster,” I huff, shaking my head. “Great plan, Bain.”
His jaw clenches. He sets his hand on my bouncing knee. “That’s the second time you’ve called me that today.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Isn’t that what your friends call you?”
“I think we’re a little past being friends, don’t you?” He squeezes my knee.
Kage chuckles and presses his lips together when we turn in his direction.
“For once, I’m not trying to eavesdrop. I’m just …
right here.” He raises his hands and looks at me.
“Just so you know, only his mother calls him Mal. I’m only telling you this so you know he’s not the type to mess around and leave you or anything. ”
My head snaps to Mal, who has a bewildered expression on his face as he looks at Kage. He shakes his head and turns to me. For a long moment, we simply stare at each other, at a loss for words.
Then, he says, “I would do anything for you, but I can’t spare you from this. The people who are going to die without the amulet, aren’t truly alive. You have to know that. You said yourself you saw those laborers.”
I swallow. He's right. I know he is. But gods, it hurts.
I nod. "Fine."
His eyes soften. He squeezes my knee, then turns to Kage, all business again. "Is there a tunnel that leads to the amphitheater?"
We plan until there's nothing left to plan. I don't feel any better. All I can think about is Constantine. The Shroudmaidens. What Jordi believes lies beneath the amphitheater. And what all of it might mean for my memories.