Page 55 of Fateless

We had reached the front doors of the temple, which, oddly, were closed. I had thought they stayed open pretty much all the time. Vahn put his hand on one door but hesitated, turning to mewith a look that sent chills down my spine.

“Because this is what will happen to all those who oppose the Deathless King,” he said, and pushed open the door.

A wave of heat blasted me in the face. Beyond the doorframe, the sky was the reddish orange of an inferno. I heard the howl of flames and saw tongues of fire twisting and snapping at the few scraggly trees around the temple. Bodies were everywhere, charred and black, scattered down the steps and lying throughout the yard.

“This is just a dream,” I whispered, taking a step back. “It’s not real.”

“True,” Vahn agreed mildly. “This is not real. Not yet, anyway.” He gestured to the stairway, to the railing separating us from the cliff’s edge. “But it will be. Take a good look, and see what the future holds for everyone who defies the Deathless King.”

In a daze, I walked to the railing and looked down at the city below.

Damassi was on fire. The valley looked more like an ocean of lava than anything resembling a city of thousands. Screams and wails rose into the air, mingling with the roar of the inferno and the crackle of things being consumed. The smell of smoke, ash, and burning flesh clogged the back of my throat and set me coughing.

“They will all die,” Vahn said, appearing beside me. “Young and old, rich and poor, human, iylvahn, d’wevryn, it doesn’t matter. Soon, the purge will begin. Soon, any who choose not to be part of the king’s empire will perish in flame and blood and sand. There is no escape.”

He looked down at me, his eyes dark and intense. “But you can save yourself,” he said. “And your friends. It does not have to end in death for you.” He lifted a hand to the doomed city far below. “If you stop running, if you return and pledge your loyalty to the king, this does not have to be your future. The king has spoken to me. He has told me that he would rather have a Fateless in his court than have to pursue her all over the empire.” He held out a hand, as if presenting me with a priceless gift. “He wants you as part of his circle, Sparrow. Return to Kovass, and you can take your place among the ma’jhet. We can teach you the ancient magics. You can rule as one of us. And, most important, you will be safe. You will be spared when the Deathless King begins his conquest of the empire.”

I swallowed hard. “And my friends?”

“The king does not care about individual lives,” Vahn said, waving a hand. “Fatechaser, iylvahn, insect rider—they are as beneath his notice as grains of sand. As long as they swear their loyalty to the Deathless crown, they will be spared and forgotten.”

“Sounds like a fine deal,” I said sarcastically, “from a great and compassionate ruler and his circle of blood mages.”

“Sparrow.” Vahn paused; his brow furrowed as if in pain, then smoothed out. “I know what you think of me,” he began, “and you are fully justified. I regret that I had to use you like I did. I truly did not want to kill you that day below the city. But that business is finished. The king wishes—no, the kingdemandsthat you come home. And when the Deathless King demands something, it must come to pass.”

I hesitated. Return to Kovass? Go back to Vahn and my oldhome like nothing had happened? Like I hadn’t watched the Guildmaster kill Jeran in cold blood, and the Deathless King crush people by the thousands when he raised his city from beneath the sands? Pledge my loyalty to the king and save myself, Vahn said. Would that be better than this endless running, trying to find ways to hide myself from the ones who wanted me dead?

“It does not have to be painful,” Vahn went on, his voice soothing. “You know the truth now. We could start again, no lies, no deception this time. I... I have always thought of you as a daughter.” His voice faltered slightly, as if that had been hard for him to say. “Despite what you think of me, I have always been proud of you. You are the most talented thief I have ever seen, and your skills would be greatly valued in the Deathless King’s court. You belong with us, Sparrow. Kovass has always been your home.”

My eyes blurred, and I bit the inside of my lip to keep the tears back.Why now?I thought, not knowing if I was furious or stupidly relieved.Why would you tell me this now? Why couldn’t you have said it before, when I needed to hear it the most?

I drew in a slow breath as something clicked into place. In all the years I had known him, Vahn had never begged, bartered with, or cajoled anyone. He’d laid out his terms clearly, and you either accepted them, or you didn’t. This urging me to come home was new.

Because Vahn... was afraid. Of the Deathless King. Of what the king would do if he didn’t bring me back.

Vahn stepped close and put a hand on my shoulder. “Think about it,” he said. “You can stop running. You don’t have to beafraid anymore.” The fingers on my arm squeezed gently, making my stomach constrict as well. “Come home, Sparrow,” Vahn murmured. “You cannot keep defying the inevitable. If you do, everything you know will be consumed.”

The hand on my shoulder suddenly burst into flame. I jerked back, freeing myself, and saw Vahn wreathed in fire, flames snapping in his hair and burning his clothes.

“You can stop this,” Vahn said, his voice as calm as ever even as the skin on his face bubbled and his eyes began leaking down his cheeks. “You can end the destruction, Sparrow. All you have to do is come home.”

Pain seared my arms. I looked down and saw that the fire had spread to my sleeves and was crawling rapidly up my clothes. Gasping, I staggered back, looking desperately for something to put myself out, but I was surrounded by flame, ash, and death.

Before me, Vahn swayed on his feet, then crumpled, his head hitting the stones with a sickeningcrack. The fire consuming him flared, then sputtered out, leaving behind only a blackened skeleton, grinning sightlessly up at me.

The flames reached my neck, igniting my hair, and I screamed.

“Sparrow!”

I bolted upright, gasping, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. Immediately, the flames and burning sky faded to darkness, replaced with stone walls and the bright, concerned eyes of an iylvahn, hovering over me. His fingers dug into my shoulders, and the door behind him creaked on its hinges, letting soft orange light into the room.

“Breathe, Sparrow,” Raithe urged, still holding me firmly by the shoulders, as if I might leap up and rush out the door if he let go. “It was a dream. You were dreaming again. You’re safe now.”

My breath came in short gasps, my vision blurring as tears streamed down my cheeks, burning like acid. I couldn’t speak. I could still see Damassi in flames, Vahn staring at me as the skin on his face melted like candle wax. Raithe sat on the cot and pulled me to him, holding me close as I gasped and shook and tried to catch my breath, listening to the steady beat of his heart against my ear.

Raithe didn’t say anything more; he simply held me as my pulse slowed and my breathing returned to normal. The horrific imagery continued to dance through my head, along with the sounds, smells, and feelings the nightmare had brought. But as the images faded, Vahn’s words returned, echoing in my head like a litany of doom.

Theiylvahnhas been lying to you.

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