59. Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter 59
S ypha stood at the edge of the cliff. Their skin crawled with trepidation. The vision was always the same. It hadn’t changed, even when they had found Rieka and the tomb. It had been reckless to gift Rieka the bracelet, but Sypha knew there was no other way. The bracelet had triggered Rieka’s ability to call forth the flame. It was a weapon that they would need in the near future.
Sypha breathed in the new scent of darkness and screams. The aroma of death wrapped around them, suffocating everything else. The curse of their gift. But the truth had come too late—they hadn’t known about Idris. Had trusted him like a brother, and it had almost cost them Dante and Rieka. The scars would run deep, long after the superficial wounds disappeared.
A faint shadow shimmered in the distance. He wore a hooded cape and disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared—the sliver of desert-colored hair unmistakable. After all the centuries, Sypha finally had a name for the shadow that had sometimes kept them company in the darkness. Lucien. The forgotten son of Vandana.
Violet flames edged with red–gold licked at the edge of their vision as they were dragged back to consciousness. Sypha opened their eyes, disengaging with the vision. The smell of antiseptic and despair assaulted them. They were in sick room. Sticky moisture trickled down their face. Sypha stared at the red-tinged finger. A mixture of blood and tears.
“Sypha.” Talik towered over them. A look of concern crossed his handsome features. He still wore the matte-black uniform of the guards. Khalida stood next to him; her yellow gaze missed nothing as she looked at what Sypha was holding. In the background, Meraki stood guard at the door, half-hidden in the shadows.
Sypha held out their hand. “It is all I could find.”
Khalida gently took the paper away, careful not to touch them. “What is it?”
Sypha swallowed. They refused to return to the place where they had found it. Idris’s mind had been a labyrinth designed to trap and destroy them. But the war was coming, and they needed to slow it down before more blood was spilled. Sypha didn’t know if they could win. All they could do was hope they had a fighting chance. Vandana’s heir was on their side. “A way to find the Anki.”