Chapter 63
Mariah woke to the trill of songbirds.
Pale dawn sunlight leaked into their tent. Though it was the peak of summer, nights this deep in the Everheim Mountains were always cold, and a chill lingered in the morning air.
Despite the furs bundled around her, despite the way Andrian clutched her to his chest in his sleep, Mariah shivered.
She knew it had nothing to do with the cold, though.
Nervousness alighted in the pit of her stomach like butterflies taking flight. She was to go into the staor today. To face whatever waited for her on the god’s plane.
She would get her magic back. She had to. Whatever the price, she’d pay it. Whatever the trade, she’d make it. She had no other option.
That didn’t make it any less terrifying. Especially knowing it was aberrant sitting in the middle of that too-still pond.
She and Andrian had kept their concerns to themselves.
They’d been quiet through dinner, then quiet as they’d all retreated to their tents.
There was nothing they needed to say; he read the apprehension on her just as much as she read the fear on him.
What was the point of asking a question when you already knew the answer?
But that was last night. Action faced her this morning. And she wanted to know what she was getting herself into before it happened.
She unwound herself from Andrian as gently as she could, hissing softly as more of her skin found the cold morning air. A smile tugged at her lips as he grumbled and scowled, hot fingers wrapping around her wrist.
“Don’t leave, nio.”
Her heart constricted, warmth blooming through her chest and chasing off some of her chill. She gently pulled her wrist from his grasp but brushed his messy dark hair from his handsome face, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.
“Never,” she whispered. “But I need to talk to Callamus.”
His scowl softened, but he didn’t open his eyes. “Come back when you’re done.”
She chuckled. “Or you can get up. I don’t want to put this off longer than I have to.” She withdrew from him, ignoring his final mumbled protests. Pulling on a pair of soft leather breeches and a wool sweater, she stepped into the morning light.
It was still early, maybe even before sunrise. Hazy pinks and soft lavenders painted the sky, the mountains gilded in lines of pale gold.
Callamus was also awake. He sat at the top of the trail, braced against a boulder on the edge of the rise above the staor.
His head was tipped up toward the sky, instead of down at the still pond below. His shoulder-length indigo hair flowed around him on the breeze, his galaxy-filled eyes closed. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as if thinking of a happy memory.
“I love the sky at this time of day.”
Mariah nearly started when he spoke. She swallowed, composing herself quickly. “It’s very beautiful.”
“Indeed. But it’s not just that.” The god pulled in a deep breath, eyes opening on his exhale.
“It is the time when my night sky meets the day. When my dominion relinquishes control to Rulene. It feels like falling asleep and waking up at the same time, that beautiful place of silent tranquility before the loudness of the world breaks back in.”
Mariah nodded, unsure what to say. She followed Callamus’s gaze up to the sky, letting the breeze wrap around her, doing all she could to ignore that strange tug in the pit of her stomach.
The one that stretched to the still pool below her, quietly beckoning her forward.
She’d felt that beckoning before.
“I have a question.”
Callamus chuckled. “You and your consort have many of those. Ask it.”
Mariah glanced back at the staor. “It’s aberrant, isn’t it?”
“Ah.” Callamus straightened. “Yes. It is.”
“Isn’t that…evil?”
“The substance you call aberrant is a curious one,” Callamus answered. “The gods call it by a different name, but not one that is important for you to know.”
“So should I be concerned or not?”
Callamus sighed. “No, aberrant is not evil. Though I understand why your histories know it as such.” He lifted a hand, sending a tendril of night-laden power winding down the rise.
“It is a neutral substance. Neither good nor evil, just as the gods’ plane is.
But because of its neutrality, it can be converted to do tasks of good…
or do those of evil.” He glanced at her. “You have encountered it before.”
Mariah nodded, though he hadn’t asked it as a question. “In Verith. We found an abandoned building. Inside, there was…” Her throat closed at the memory. She cleared it and tried again.
“There was a room, covered in blood. A black stone on a pedestal at the front. Something terrible happened in that place, but the stone pulled me. Like an urge I couldn’t control. So,” Mariah said, wincing, “I touched it.”
Callamus blinked. “You touched polluted aberrant?”
Mariah nodded.
“And what happened to you?”
“I passed out. But I woke up a few minutes later, and…nothing. I was fine.”
“You don’t remember anything?”
Mariah shook her head. “Nothing. It was like falling asleep, then the next thing I knew I was on my horse, racing back to the palace.” She fought back the memory at what happened later that day, as raw and healing as it might’ve been.
Callamus frowned. “That is interesting,” he said softly. “You realize you could have had your life force drained from you? Been left an empty husk while your soul fed whatever malevolent force was tied to that aberrant?”
She shifted on her feet. “Andrian might’ve mentioned something about that.”
Callamus’s stern expression broke as he chuckled. “By the Crieré, I can only imagine how he must’ve felt.” His gaze flicked to her. “But I am glad nothing happened to you. As curious as that is.”
Unease washed through Mariah. She shoved it down, nodding instead at the black stone in the center of the still pool. “What about that one? Am I risking anything similar by touching it?”
Callamus shook his head. “No. Like I said, aberrant is a neutral substance. It is more of a gateway stone than anything, designed to link two planes together. Some planes are evil, which imbues its gateway stone with dark traits. But this one connects to the gods’ plane.”
“Which you said is also neutral.”
“Yes. It is neutral. It is not malevolent or good. It simply is.” Callamus pushed from the boulder, rising to his full height. “You are in no danger today, Mariah. Of that I am certain. Your future is shrouded, but it exists, and beneath the shadow, I can sense it glowing.”
Branches rustled in the direction of their camp. Andrian emerged from the brush, dressed but still wiping the sleep from his eyes. His gaze snapped to Mariah’s, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She returned it, though her lungs clenched a little tighter in her chest.
“Go eat some breakfast,” Callamus said. “There is no rush to begin. You will have all the time you need.”
Mariah gave him one more nod before heading back down the hill. She halted in front of Andrian, tilting her chin up to meet his searching blue gaze.
The breeze blew a strand of hair across her face. He caught it, tucking it behind her ear before slipping his hand around the back of her neck, thumb idly rubbing the column of her throat.
“Are you ready, nio?”
She swallowed. “I have to be. There’s no other choice.”
“There is always a choice.” His grip on her neck tightened. “You’ve never let anyone tell you what to do, no matter who they are or how powerful they might be. Don’t you dare change that now.”
“Fine.” She lifted her chin. “Then yes, I choose this. Because Kol cannot win, and I cannot defeat him without my magic.”
Andrian gently tugged her forward, her chest meeting his. He bent down, breath ghosting over her lips.
“There’s my girl,” he murmured. “Don’t lose that fire. You’re so beautiful when you want to burn the world to cinders.”
That’s what she felt like now: like she was on fire. Energy buzzed through every vein, ignited on every inch of her skin. When his lips finally met hers in a grazing, ghost of a kiss, she felt ready to combust.
Her magic stayed quiet, but she could almost feel it watching. Curious.
Waiting.
Andrian pulled back far too soon. She bit back her whine of protest just as her stomach rumbled with hunger.
“Let’s eat some breakfast,” he said with a chuckle, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward camp. Rich, savory aromas spilled out from the small clearing, Matheo and Signe’s soft murmuring drifting with it.
She was ready. She could do this. She would get her magic back today.
After breakfast, of course.
Mariah hissed as the cold water wrapped around her ankles. A shiver raked through her, working up her spine.
“I think going slow is arguably the worst way to do it.”
Matheo squatted on the shoreline, balancing on his toes. Mariah shot him a glare and opened her mouth, readying a retort. A hand whacked him across the back of his head.
“Ow,” Matheo grumbled.
“Next time, I’ll push you in.” Andrian scowled at the younger Armature. He crossed his arms and lifted his gaze to Mariah, expression softening. “But seriously, princess. It’ll be easier if you just get in.”
Callamus huffed a chuckle.
Mariah shook out her arms. “Fine.” The unnaturally still water swirled over her feet like indigo ink, hardly a ripple disturbing the surface.
She’d left her leather breeches on shore, wearing only a long tunic that reached the middle of her thighs.
The mountain air was still crisp, despite the clear summer day and rising sun.
She drew in a breath, holding it in her lungs, and splashed deeper into the frigid water.
All the way in, until the pool grew so deep she had to swim, hair floating on the surface.
Swallowing the icy sting beading around her skin, Mariah paddled slowly through the strange, still pool, trying not to think about what might be lurking beneath her.
The aberrant in the middle of the pool wasn’t as large as she’d first thought.
What had looked like an entire island of aberrant was really made mostly of black sand and tiny chunks of silver stone that caught the sunlight.
The aberrant itself sat just above the surface of the water, as if on a pedestal above the reflective liquid.
Mariah was close now. Her bare feet touched the bottom, toes digging into the strange, smooth sand. She pulled herself closer to the island of aberrant, lungs tight against the lingering chill. She perched on a sandy shelf, hauling herself as close to the monolith as she could.
She glanced over her shoulder one more time. Matheo was still crouched, his eyes wide, Signe standing stoically at his side. Callamus’s indigo hair was tied back, his power tasting the air as he gave her a subtle nod.
Mariah looked last at Andrian. His arms hung at his side, his posture relaxed, but she could see the barest hint of shadows pushing from his shoulders—the only sign of his distress.
She gave him a tight smile, toying with the silver ring on her finger. I’ll see you on the other side of this, Rhoi.
She knew he couldn’t hear it. But his eyes widened ever so slightly, as if he could.
A figment of a wishful imagination. A motivation, nonetheless.
Mariah faced the onyx stone. It did not reflect the sunlight; it was as dark as a void. Like it consumed any light that touched it. Even with her magic silent, she could sense the way its power thrummed in the still air, whispering secrets in an incomprehensible language.
She steeled her spine. Dragged in a great breath. I can do this.
She extended a hand toward the stone.
The moment her skin met the smooth, cold surface, her world plunged into darkness.