Page 210 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
It was still calling him.
“Caer?” Owen asked.
“If you ever considered me your son—or if you care enough to see this ended—call off your men,” Caer told him. “I need to get to the Mirror.”
Minerva sliced through another opponent, trying not to look at their face. There were no strangers in Avalinth, and she couldn’t afford to recognise any of them.
Her iron fist was wet with blood—blood of enemies, blood of friends.
Damn you, Venus.
She searched for her sister amongst the madness, searched for her own face, but it rested first on the familiar shining red cloak and gold clasp of an old friend.
No, not shining. Not any more. Ragged and fading, shining only with the glint of fresh blood.
Her eyes fell to his face. Rotten skin, sunken, milk white eyes, bones visible beneath his armour.
Clay.
His sightless gaze had tightened on a figure in the corner of the room.
Venus.
She stared back, face slack with horror, and bolted from the room.
The thing that had once been Clay followed.
So did Minerva.
Venus fled from the crypt into the corridors below, the train of her cape blazing behind her. Someone—maybe herself—had tried to slash it through. It was impractical for battle. Holding her down.
She careened into a room. Clay lost interest in his quarry and turned another corner, in pursuit of someone closer. Minerva followed her sister.
“Venus!” she called. “Call off your people! Stop this madness!”
“He promised me…” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “He promised me he could bring him back… he said it could be done… healthy and whole… he promised…”
“Helied,Ven. He’s lied to everyone.”
“No. He can’t. He wouldn’t. Not about this. Clay… Clay can’t be gone… he isn’t gone…” Her eyes stared up at the walls around them, at the glares and glances of their numerous ancestors, staring down at her.
For the first time, Minerva wondered if Venus’ coveting the throne hadn’t been to do with revenge at all, if it had all been to do with getting Minerva out of the way instead, and giving Venus the power she needed to dosomethingto bring Clay back. She’d always been more interested in magic than Minerva, interested in its potential…
“No!” Venus screamed. “This… this is your fault!”
“Myfault?” Minerva stammered. “How is any of thismyfault? I didn’t kill Clay, Venus. I’d have sacrificed another arm to bring him home.”
“You left him there!” Venus shrieked. “You saved Bell instead of him!”
“You would have done the same!” Minerva yelled back. “Don’t think for a second you wouldn’t have. You would have let her die, and we would have mourned her together. I would have understood!”
“We could have brought him back…”
“No, we couldn’t. It can’t be done, Ven. Not once the soul is elsewhere.”
“The Mirror is a gateway,” Venus said. “Aeron told me. We could reach in there and get him back. We just needed the boy to give up his powers. Make the Mirror whole again. But you wouldn’t let us. One boy, for Clay. One boy for our kingdom.”
He’s worth ten kingdoms,Minerva thought, but couldn’t bring herself to say. “Look around,” she urged her. “Thisis our kingdom.Thisis what your actions have wrought. Half your people have sided with your son.Clay’sson. Is this what he would have wanted? Is this whatanyonewanted?”
