Page 24 of Crown of Ashes and Awe

When the others seemed to be asleep, I carefully removed my shoes under the shelter of my robes and put my feet flat on the heartstone. I splayed my fingers against it as well, hidden by my generous sleeves. And inside me, where no one could see, I imagined my bones and my body being infused with the revitalizing lifeblood of Hestia. My heart began beating in rhythm with hers. The roots stretching deep into her soil tingled in my skin, enticing me to lie down and be embraced, cradled, in their arms.

And as happened four times each year, when neither moon rose, I was renewed. No need for sleep. No need for food. I was perfected—in body, at least. As Demius often said, character could never be perfected no matter how long one lived, so there was no use striving for that now.

I folded my arms and leaned forward to rest my cheek on my knees. The mob on the road was a mix of some people asleep, others unable to do so, and still others on the prowl. The varying degrees of vigilance felt like a whirlwind around me, thanks to my reborn, hyper-alert state. All I could do was wait until morning and hope my sensitivity lost its edge.

As my senses took in all around me, emotions repeated. Fear and belonging. Very few among the throng were alone. Everyone clung to the people they most cared about, or they were on their way to reunite with them.

Everyone had someone…but me.

My renewal, coupled with the dragon scare, lit a fire in my very soul. I wasn’t ready to die alone. In fact, I refused to die at all. I wanted more time. I wanted more life. And I wanted all these children to live a good long while. Which meant, whatever the prophetess saw, I had to stop it.

And the only one who would know how to stop it was Moire, the prophetess herself.

A shiver ran up my spine, telling me someone was watching. And the taste of that shiver had a name—Tearloch. I raised my head and found him staring, just as I knew he would be. By his expression, I could tell he’d been watching my little ritual.

I whispered so I wouldn’t wake the others. “A little trick I learned from my master.” Then I shrugged, as if to say it was nothing at all.

He kept on staring, inhaling, exhaling. I could almost taste him in the air. When his gaze fell to my lips, my heart stuttered. Adrenaline poured into veins already filled with lightning. If he crossed the short distance between us and kissed me, I would ignite and shatter into a thousand stars, no matter whom he mistook me for.

And I would regret it. So I turned my head and lay my cheek back on my knees…and pretended to sleep.

An hour passed. I listened to a brief conversation between Tearloch and Bain as the latter took over the watch. But only moments later, there was movement on the far side of them. The next closest Hestians were two sharp-eyed men who kept entirely to themselves. But now, two others had joined them.

“The city wall is unfinished,” whispered one of the newcomers. “The gates don’t matter. We can enter on the east. Tomorrow might be a different story. As soon as the gap is filled, all gates will close for good.”

I watched the party of four gather their belongings, slink across the road to the left, and disappear into the night. I turned my head to find that none of my own party had missed the exchange. While still seated, we quietly gathered our things then waited for Tearloch to give the order. It was another ten minutes before he stood and followed the path our neighbors had taken.

We were watched, naturally, by those who thought we might be thieves. But no one followed when we crept off into the night.

12

SERPENT SQUARE

Sunbasin, East Gate…

The eastern wall of the city might not have been finished, but it might as well have been. The incomplete ends at either side of the opening were earthen, tall in some places, waist-high in others. A hundred torches lent enough light to work by, and an army of muddy men buzzed around like bees, furiously adding to each side as if there were some great reward for the first to reach the middle, where enormous, black, erected gates waited to be shored up.

Another army of uniformed guards created a different sort of wall fifty feet out. Some stood with hands on hips, others held an array of weapons from long spears to simple tools. And before them waited a long string of people who, like us, had hoped to sneak inside.

Thankfully, it was a fraction of the line waiting back on the road, and they were still allowing people to enter.

“You’ll need something of value,” a woman warned us when we joined the line. Tearloch thanked her, and since he stayed put, I assumed he had something worthy of a bribe for the guards. If I needed to pay my own, it might cost me all the jewels I had, except for the crown, which I didn’t intend to part with.

We inched forward patiently as the people before us were allowed to trickle through an opening between two soldiers. They hurried past the solitary gates and melded in with the bodies shuffling down a city street beyond.

Soon, it was our turn to face the gatekeeper—a sweaty, thin man who smelled like rotten meat and strong spirits, his essence delivered by an unfortunate night breeze. He sneered at Sweetie until Tearloch stepped between them.

"Not allowing his kind through," he said, trying to see around Tearloch.

Minkin pushed her way to the front. "Aye, you are. Six of us. For the good of the city."

The man's nose lost its sneer. The tone of his voice flattened. "Whatever you say, little mother." He nodded at the guards who stepped aside to widen the gap between them, then he gestured for all of us, including Sweetie, to go through. As we hurried away, I looked back to see if the gatekeeper might change his mind, but his attention was on the next petitioners.

We turned left around the first corner we came to, then paused. Minkin struggled to catch her breath, which explained why we’d stopped.

I looked at Sweetie. "I don't understand what happened."

"Some minds are...controllable...for her."

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