Chapter Forty-Six – Scarlett
Chapter Forty-Six
Scarlett
Leaves crunched beneath hooves as we guided our horses between the snow-dusted pines.
My fingers tightened uneasily around the reins as I scanned my surroundings for threats. So far, we had encountered no resistance. No sign of anyone living.
Just bodies.
The metallic taste of death flooded my mouth as we passed the archers Mira had killed. Some were slumped on the ground and others were strung up from the trees, dangling overhead like grotesque marionettes. But all of them had vines curled around their necks, their chests, their vital organs.
It was those vines that had killed them – squeezing the life from their bodies. The pressure had been such that some of their eyes had popped from their sockets.
‘What are the chances Roran’s Artisans missed this?’ I asked Cassius, just to dispel the eerie silence clinging to this place.
‘Highly unlikely,’ he replied. A sentiment that would have been useful for him to share with Mira earlier, but I doubted it would have made any difference. We all knew this was a gamble – but it was the only chance we had left, after Roran’s fiery display.
Which was how I knew Roran’s Artisans would have Seen this. Roran had planned everything out – every last detail. He would know every decision we made, unless those decisions surprised even us.
‘Stop,’ I ordered as the trees opened out into a clearing filled with dead archers.
Behind me, I heard Ulrik shout something to the clansmen under his command. The sound of hoofbeats immediately paused.
‘What is it?’ Cassius asked impatiently, reining in at my side.
‘Priestesses.’ I pointed towards the edge of the trees, where glimpses of rippling silver were visible. It was almost a relief to see them – to finally face the danger I had known was coming.
The six priestesses moved forward slowly, their timing too perfect to be anything but planned.
As they entered the clearing, they joined hands – and I saw that their fingernails were long and black, hooked like talons.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose as they began chanting in a language I didn’t recognise.
Darkness exploded out from the priestesses without warning. Everything dulled. Sound became strange – echoey and distant. My body felt slow and lethargic, and it took an incredible amount of effort to reach for Cassius. I threaded my fingers through his as we dismounted.
‘We need to regroup.’ Cassius’s voice sounded like it was underwater. ‘Ulrik was right behind us.’
Without a better plan, I allowed Cassius to lead us forward. The darkness wasn’t so complete now; my surroundings were beginning to come into focus. I almost wished they hadn’t.
Something had killed the horses. No – not killed them. Horror filled me as I realised they had been ripped apart, their internal organs spilling out onto the blood-soaked ground.
‘What could have done this?’ I breathed.
Cassius’s expression was grim, and he was dragging me forward now. Moving with an urgency that told me he was truly unnerved.
A high-pitched scream rang out from somewhere to my left, but when I turned, it suddenly seemed to come from my right.
Then from in front of us – and then from behind.
And all around me . . . bodies. Clansmen that had been torn open just like the horses, their chain mail ripped off and their skin marred with deep slashes that leaked red-black blood.
Death was everywhere. So strong now that I could feel my own magic surging to meet it, those icy black veins frantically spiderwebbing across my skin. Cassius cast me a glance and I knew he was seeing them too.
‘Can’t you do something?’ he said tightly. ‘Dissipate the darkness somehow, or punch through it? There has to be a way to fight the priestesses’ power. Ideally before we face whatever did that .’
He motioned towards the pile of bodies on either side of us. Flanking our path like a morbid honour guard. As if whatever had done this was delighting in showing us what they were capable of.
A roar cut through the unnatural stillness. A roar that sounded like–
Before I could think better of it, I was moving towards it. I reached Ulrik just in time to see him fighting against darkness made form. At first, I thought I was staring at a phantom human soldier – but when it turned, I saw that it had the head of a jaguar and hands that were definitely claws.
Ulrik charged with his axe, but the weapon went right through the jaguar-headed man as if he was as insubstantial as smoke. Yet he seemed perfectly capable of slicing into flesh.
Blood spurted and Ulrik’s scream split the air as the creature tore off his arm. Ulrik collapsed to his knees.
I could have sworn the jaguar man smiled at me before he wrenched Ulrik’s head from his neck.
Cassius’s breathing was coming as fast as mine. We didn’t release our hold on each other as Ulrik’s murderer approached, his bare feet making no sound against the blood-stained ground.
‘How touching.’ The words echoed strangely around me, as though they were coming – not from underwater, but from inside a large cavern. Was that where he had been, before the priestesses’ darkness descended?
Acting on impulse, I released Cassius’s hand and knelt in front of a dead clansmen with a ripped-out throat. Drawing death into me, I embraced the cold power it offered. When I was done, I no longer felt afraid of the monster standing over me. I felt sated, whole, utterly invincible.
I looked up, expecting to see a pair of ancient golden eyes staring back at me. Instead–
‘Beautiful,’ Severin said, a smile curving his inked lips. They glittered faintly with the gold paint he had always favoured. And his eyes – those striking, mismatched eyes . . . they were exactly as I remembered them. He was exactly as I remembered him.
I took a step closer, inexorably drawn to him. Severin’s smile widened until it flashed teeth.
‘Scarlett.’ Cassius’s voice was sharp. So was his grip as his fingers enclosed around my arm. ‘That isn’t him. It isn’t Severin.’
I paused. He was right – of course he was. My Severin had never smiled at me like that – with such mockery and arrogance. And his voice . . . it had never sounded this smooth and inhumanly cold, like an unsheathed blade.
‘ Stop wearing his face .’
‘Suit yourself.’ Severin’s form wavered – until I had a glimpse of long russet hair and unnatural golden eyes. Skin so pale it was almost a match for mine, emanating a faint silvery light.
A single thought brought my death magic swirling to the surface. I felt those inky veins darkening my skin, and I knew he saw them too. Knew he understood how eager I was to use that power against him.
Yet there was no flicker of wariness. Nothing except predatory amusement as he said, ‘Your show of force would be more impressive if I could die.’
I swallowed, unnerved by his words – and their implications.
He strode towards me and Cassius. We stayed very still, holding our ground even as Cassius’s fingers clenched around my arm and my legs tensed to run. It was better not to move. Even with the jaguar features gone – for now – there was something animal-like about the god, something predatory.
And predators relish the chase.
‘Would you like to see your beloved again?’ Fennec asked as he stalked towards me, still smiling, daring me to try to run. ‘I could bring him back for you.’
I didn’t need to see Cassius’s warning shake of the head to know it was a lie. Fennec was a trickster god, after all.
‘That’s impossible,’ I said, holding that ancient gaze. ‘Not even the Sorceress could bring someone back after they were dead too long–’
‘I granted the Sorceress her powers. Do you think anything is impossible for me?’ At my hesitation, Fennec smiled widely – a red slash that reminded me of the clansmen whose throats he had slit.
‘All you have to do is join my priestesses and unleash your death m agic against your brother and cousin. Is that really such a high price to pay? You know you will have to kill them both after this battle is done.’
The hitch in Cassius’s breathing was a like a heart murmur. Sharp and sudden and telling.
Fennec watched me knowingly. ‘Already he doubts you. And I know you doubt him, despite your pitiful thoughts of promises and family loyalty. What hope is there for peace between you? Peace is a fairy tale. A dream.’
An image of Severin formed at Fennec’s side. I quickly looked away, refusing to let the god use my feelings to manipulate me.
Gentle fingers tilted my chin upwards. No longer insubstantial, but warm. Real.
As real as the compassion and sadness on Severin’s face. So genuine that I knew those emotions couldn’t possibly belong to Fennec. Knew that whatever magic had formed this in-between place . . . it had somehow allowed Severin’s spirit to reach me. To share a few precious heartbeats together.
‘This isn’t a hallucination, is it?’ I asked, my voice whisper soft. Cassius and Fennec glanced around, clearly wondering who I was speaking to. But the fact they couldn’t see him didn’t deter me.
‘No, Scarlett.’ Soft and melodious. ‘This is real. I’m real.’
Severin leant in and stroked a strand of hair back from my face. He was all I could see. Fennec and Cassius faded, along with the darkness and the bodies.
But Fennec’s offer remained, tempting and terrible. What he was asking me to do was monstrous – but what wouldn’t I do for Severin? If this was what it took to save him – wasn’t it worth the lives it would cost?
‘Is he telling the truth? Can I bring you back?’
Severin shook his head, and something in my chest tightened – and loosened, all at once.
‘There’s a reason the Sorceress couldn’t bring someone back after they had been dead too long.
By that point, they would be a shell of what they once were – a reanimated corpse, nothing more.
What Fennec is offering isn’t a gift. It’s a curse. ’
He cupped my face in his hands and brushed his lips against mine. The ghost of a kiss.