Page 90 of House of Dusk
Sinoe said nothing. She wrenched her gaze down, staring at the bracelet.
“The bracelet serves another useful purpose,” offered Lacheron, his voice smooth as oil now. “It will allow us to find you, should any harm befall you. As much as we trust those who guard you—” his muddy gaze shifted to Yeneris briefly—“we must be wary of the danger. There are many who might seek to gain control of your visions, princess. Selfish folk, who want them only for their own power. Not like your father, who seeks only to protect not just Helisson but the entire world from an ancient evil.”
“Of course.” Sinoe’s voice was a tiny thread, so defeated it nearly broke Yeneris’s heart. “Of course, Lord Lacheron. You are wise. Thank you. Thank you, Father.”
She flung her arms around the king then. He startled at the touch but didn’t seem displeased. “Of course, daughter. You are the jewel of my—”
He broke off with a grunt of what sounded like pain.
“Oh!” Sinoe fluttered, pressing a hand to her hair, tugging at a long golden hairpin. “Father, I’m so sorry. I’m still in such a state! Did my hairpin get you?”
“I’m fine,” said the king, sounding more irritated than upset. He glanced toward Yeneris. “You, girl, see to your mistress. Make certain she doesn’t impale herself next.”
Yeneris darted forward, taking the pin from Sinoe, noting the glint of crimson at the tip as she folded it into her sleeve.
The king was already rising, moving to the door, with Lacheron in his wake. “Rest, daughter. We have much to do. Preparations for a royal wedding.” Then he left.
Neither she nor Sinoe spoke for several long breaths after the door had closed.
“You didn’t go,” said Sinoe. There was something breathless in her tone. It almost sounded like she was insulted.
Yeneris hesitated. The thing between them was so new, so fragile. It felt as if the wrong word might shatter it. “Did you expect me to? Is that what the Fates told you?”
“No. I just thought...” Sinoe grimaced, giving a small shake of her head.
“I couldn’t. Especially not after—” Now it was Yeneris’s turn to grimace. “I’m sorry.” She stared at the gold bangle on Sinoe’s wrist. “If I hadn’t asked you to take me to the kore, this wouldn’t have happened.” She reached out, not quite touching the thing. “Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as Lacheron is going to hurt once I rip out his tongue and feed it to the eagles,” said Sinoe darkly.
A choked laugh wrenched from Yeneris. It left her slightly breathless. “I’m not leaving you alone, Sinoe. I’m going to rescue my kore. But she’s not the only one I—” She caught herself.Too much. “She’s not the only one who needs to be free,” she finished instead.
Sinoe arched a brow, as if she somehow knew. Then she closed her eyes, resting her head back against the pillow. “So. There’s two maidens who need to be freed. There’s a key to free one of the maidens behind a gate that can be opened by the blood of the Ember King. And then the ancient enemy can be defeated, or something like that, yes?”
“Something like that.” Yeneris cleared her throat, nodding to the bangle. “I think it’s pretty clear which maiden the key will free. You’re the sibyl, the future-teller.Only the key can set the future free.Lacheron said he was going to make another one of those amulets, so we just need to get into his workshop and find it, and then we can get that thing off you.”
Sinoe wrinkled her brow. “Yes. We need to get the right key.” She gave a small shake of her head, as if casting off an unwelcome thought. “And there’s nothing to stop us, now that we have the blood of the Ember King.”
Yeneris extracted the pin from her sleeve, turning it to catch the bloody glint of Hierax’s blood. “That was quick thinking.”
Sinoe sniffed. “I do have some skills aside from declaiming the words of the Fates. We should probably use it soon, though. I’m no sorceress, but I imagine the fresher the better.”
Silence stretched between them again, but it felt warmer now. Even with everything that stood before them. Maybe because of everything that stood before them. They were truly allies now.
“I promise you, Yen, we will get your kore home. This wedding business, I know it’s sacrilege, but it could be the chance you need. Knowing Father, he’ll want a spectacle. He’s not going to smuggle Agia Beroe into the south wing. He’ll do it somewhere grand and public. Which means he’ll need to have the bones there.”
It made sense. It was clever thinking, on Sinoe’s part. “What about you?” she asked, finally daring to drop onto the edge of the bed, though she made certain there was still space between them. “Once we get that key from the workshop—”
“This is my home,” said Sinoe. “I’m not letting Lacheron have his way with it. I’m not letting him bind my voice and my power. I’m not his tool.”
Yeneris drummed her fingers against the silken threads of the coverlet. “He’s even more dangerous than I thought. The attack on Stara Bron—those must be the corpses he had sent north. And all the effort to bring the new agia here, just to restore the kore. Why? Why does Lacheron care so much about the kore, when he knows that she’s not even truly the Faithful Maiden? It can’t be just to plump the king’s pride.” She shivered.
“And if he cared so much about the Serpent’s return, he wouldn’t have sent Ichos after that mystic alone,” Sinoe said. “We need to find out what he’s really up to. We need to see what’s behind that gate.”
CHAPTER 25
SEPHRE
Sound came first. Crackling flames, jumping her heart to a gallop. Light blazed somewhere to her left. She tried instinctively to roll away, only to groan in pain.
