Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
The tunnel spits us out beneath the amphitheater. A narrow corridor reeking of blood and animal musk. I press my hand against the damp stone to steady myself. The roar of the crowd pulses through the wall like a second heartbeat.
It sounds like the ocean during a storm. Relentless. Hungry. Alive.
"This way." Kage's shadows snake ahead to scout.
We follow through arched passageways, past iron gates and holding cells I force myself not to look into. The amphitheater was built for spectacle. For blood sport. During the Moon Festival, death dresses up as entertainment.
I've only been here twice. Once for Arlo's first duel. Once for Casimir's. Both times left me drained. I blamed my empathy.
I was wrong.
It wasn't anguish from watching people I love get hurt. It's anguish — period. There's so much of it trapped within these walls, it's stifling.
Mal's hand finds the small of my back as we climb the stairs. It's light and brief. A small reminder that I'm not alone. I cling to that as we emerge into the lowest tier of seats and are met with the deafening noise.
The amphitheater stretches in tiered crescents of limestone and marble, rising story after story toward the open dome. Every seat is filled. The entire island must be here. Lunarian residents in green. Veritas in maroon. Visitors in purple, blue, and gold.
My eyes sweep the arena floor. Guards. Officials. A wooden platform at the center. My knees nearly buckle when I find them. Naima. Margot. Cas. Wrists bound in ivory that gleams under the torchlight. Cas's face is bloodied, but defiant. They all are.
Kage's hand closes on my arm. "You okay?"
I nod and force myself to keep looking. To take in the full horror of what Constantine has planned.
The platform sits directly beneath the open dome.
I look up at the blood-red sky above, at the moon that looks down on all of this as if it's savoring the promise of what's to come. Waiting. Salivating.
Behind my friends, a massive dark green banner bearing the Everlasting's symbol hangs between two columns — the eye inside the heart. I see Arlo standing at the edge of the platform in his gold-winged uniform, the bow Freida gifted him all those years ago hanging from his hand.
The torchlight catches on his blond hair, his sharp cheekbones, the strong line of his jaw. Even from here, his eyes look flat. "What did they do to him?" The words scrape out of my throat.
"Compulsion," Kage says grimly. "Strong. Probably tied to that amulet he's wearing."
My eyes drop to the amulet. Not green, but amber. I recall Jordi's words about Constantine and this place, and look at the ground, wondering where the center of this place would be, and what exactly is down there.
My eyes dart around in search of Constantine. I find him walking up to the platform. People start cheering, others booing. He's dressed in his typical ceremonial green and gold. His silver hair gleaming as he prepares to address the crowd with his arms spread wide.
The amber chip on his ring catches the torchlight. Or maybe it's glowing on its own. Pulsing, like a heartbeat. Like it's feeding. My stomach churns.
At first, his voice is low, then it carries through the amphitheater, amplified by the acoustics the original builders designed for this exact purpose. To make one man's words feel like the voice of a god.
"—betrayed us all! These renegades, these traitors, have been hiding among us, using their forbidden gifts against us, weakening our borders, inviting the very darkness we've spent generations protecting ourselves from!
" The crowd roars. Some in agreement, many in protest. It doesn't matter.
Constantine has the stage, the spectacle, and he has my friends in chains.
"Tonight, we cleanse Lunaris of this poison! Tonight, we prove that the Everlasting only protects those who are faithful!"
I start moving closer to get a better look. Mal's hand closes around my wrist and yanks me back. "Wait," he growls.
"I just want to see!"
My gaze travels upward, following the columns that rise like bones toward the sky. My heart stops when I see the Sages. They're suspended from the third story, wrists locked in cuffs that gleam white. Their bodies hang limp, feet dangling over the void.
Anala's dark hair has come loose from her crown braid and falls around her face like a veil. Freida's armor is gone. She's wearing only a thin shift, her muscular arms trembling. Their eyes are open, flashing, defiant, but Sara is staring directly at me.
"Oh my gods, Mal," I whisper, gripping his hand tighter. "The Sages!"
"The cuffs are draining them," Kage says quietly to my right. "He really is out of his mind."
"They'll kill them!" I hiss, twisting in Mal's grip. "If we don't—"
"I know." His eyes bore into mine, and I see the impossible calculation he's running.
There are too many people to save, and not enough time. Not enough hands. I look at the Sages' lives withering away above. My friends in chains below. At Arlo with his empty eyes and that arrow in his hand, as if he's waiting for Constantine's command.
I take a deep breath and turn to Mal. "What can you do that won't deplete you completely?"
"I can create a distraction, but the illusion will only last so long."
"And once we touch those cuffs, we don't know what will happen," Kage adds.
"Which is why we need to focus on taking off the guards' amulets," Mal says pointedly.
"I'll take the amulets," I say. "You two get the Sages. You can actually reach them in time."
"Ada—"
"I won't—"
"I know you." His jaw is tight, eyes blazing. "The second we turn our backs, you're running down there."
I open my mouth to argue. Close it. Because he's right. I won't be able to watch my friends die and do nothing.
I grab the front of his tunic. "If the Sages die, the Undying Flame dies with them. Everything dies. We need them alive."
"And I need you alive!" His voice is raw. Guttural.
"Listen to me." I cup both sides of his face, and he automatically wraps his hands around my wrists. "I'm not going to die here. We know that much."
"We don't know that, Ada. Nothing is written in stone."
"Bain," Kage says hesitantly. "We need to do this while they're distracted."
"Wait!" His eyes pierce mine. "Did you see this? Did the Flame—"
"No! I told you everything I remember!"
"I don't like this." He turns toward the spectacle.
I grab his face harder. Force him to look at me. "We are fated, Malachi Bain. We are written in stone."
His eyes darken. "Fuck this. You're coming with me."
He grabs my hand and hauls me toward the stairs.
I yank free at the corner. "I'll slow you down and you know it!"
"Godsdamn all of this." He glares at me.
"Bain."
"Go!" he roars at Kage. "I'll catch up!"
My heart pounds. "You need to get up there before anyone notices."
"Then come with me. I'll carry you." He lunges. I jump back instinctively.
I close my eyes. Breathe. Roll my shoulders back.
"I need to get to the ground level."
"Why? To run out there and—"
"No." I grab his tunic. "I need to feel what's beneath it. I can't explain, Mal. I just... need to."
"You're going to use your gift of serephony here, of all places?" He seethes, bringing his face closer. "Are you out of your godsdamn mind?"
"Maybe." I hold his gaze. "Maybe I get down there and nothing happens. Maybe I run toward that platform and try to stop something I can't stop. I don't know. Neither do you. That's the point. We don't know anything except the prophecy."
He scowls and looks away.
I pull his face back to mine. "You asked me once if I regretted making my bargain. I told you to ask me when this was over." My voice breaks. "I don't need to wait. I'd make a million bargains if they'd tether me to you. If anything happens..."
"Ada," he warns, eyes wary.
I swallow past the knot in my throat. "Remind me. Remind me you once made me feel like the most important woman you'd ever met. The most powerful. The most beautiful. Even though I was only an apprentice. Only an empath."
"Menace." A whispered plea. "Please—"
I rise on my toes and haul his mouth to mine. He makes a sound against my lips, something broken and desperate, and kisses me back like it might be the last time.
My knees are shaking when we pull away, but somehow, I will myself to start running. The last thing I hear before the crowd swallows me is Mal's roar of fury, but it's not what I feel through the bond. There, I find warmth and strength, and that's enough to keep me going.
Heart pounding, I raise my hood and start snatching people's amulets as I push through the crowd. When I get back to the edge of the tunnel, I set my foot on the sand and jerk back. The onslaught of emotion nearly drives me to my knees.
"That's her!"
The voice cuts through the roar like an arrow. Ronnie. I hold my breath, praying I misheard. But his voice comes again. My sigil flares. I turn and find him a few rows up, pointing at me with pure triumph on his face.
"That's the healer! Jordan's sister!"
My ears ring. I whirl and come face-to-face with two guards. I snatch their amulets. Toss them aside. One guard's eyes widen. He falls. I force myself to move, but hands grab me from behind before I can take a step.
I kick. Thrash. The guard's grip doesn't loosen. He drags me toward the platform.
"She's one of them!" Ronnie screams.
My sigil flares at the sound of his voice and accusation. My feet pedal against the ground, kicking sprays of sand as I try to get out of the guard's grip and turn toward the agitator at the same time.
"One of whom, Ronald?" I shriek. "The children the Sages raised? How would you know that? Want to tell everyone where you grew up? Which room you slept in at the estate?"
He pales.