Page 46 of A Court of Truth and Thorns
Bahir’s voice changes, taking a fatherly tone. Slow and rhythmic. “Come, child. It is time to end this madness before you cause more needless suffering and death.”
My heart squeezes.
“You think I don’t know you, Lady Kalianna?” says Bahir, taking a step toward me, the heels of his boots clicking against the roof. “I do. Your father never wanted you. Your mother died. Your master sent you away. Your king used you.” He snaps his tongue, shaking his head mournfully. Another step. Another click of his boots. “It’s little wonder that after all that, you followed their example. You abandoned your gender. Left a city of innocents in the midst of bloodshed. Why, in just the past quarter hour, you killed a young girl and a valiant prince. Perhaps you stand alone now because you deserve to be.” Hisbrows pull together, his palms opening before him. “The Goddess is laying the truth bare before you. You can’t deny it. You feel it in your blood, don’t you?”
I shake my head. Bahir can’t know whether Violet is dead. My vision blurs as I watch her small, still form. No movement. No breath.
“You killed them,” Bahir repeats, softer now. Like a lullaby.Click. Click. Click.
No. No,Ididn’t kill them... Except... except that it is my fault. Mine and my schemes’.
“There is no one left, girl,” Bahir whispers, his steps stilling. “No one but me and the Goddess. So pull yourself together and listen. You know nothing of your true capabilities. Can you do this?” The spear of flame appears next to him again, but stays hovering in the air like an obedient dog. “Can you shield yourself from it?”
I can barely breathe. I want the spear to pierce my heart. Salt melts in my mouth.
Bahir’s voice rises again, his hands extending toward me. “I can teach you. Think of the good you can do once you harness the Goddess’s gift.”
My eyes sting. I don’t want the Goddess’s gift. I want Rune. As badly as Bahir wants the ring. Stars, I should have traded one for the other. I would have. For better or for worse, I know in my heart that I would have.
And Rune, Rune who’s been able to read my face since I first came to Delta, he knew it too—knew it before I did and let himself die to prevent me from making that choice.
A chill runs over me. I rise to my feet. My soulmate—because that’s what he was—gave his life for my fight. This night, I will make his sacrifice count. Whether the ring condescends to tell me its secrets or not.
Bahir’s smile falters. His robes whip majestically behindhim, their yellow accents the color of the glowing spear. I stare at the magical weapon, which is still hovering instead of taking up its former post at my throat. Why? Why the talk, the moving around? Even if Bahir seeks not my death but my obedience, why not bind and shackle me now?
My hands curl around the ring on my finger. I watch Bahir’s face, extracting information from his body the way I’ve been trained to.
His gaze is strained, creasing his forehead. His shoulders, though hidden beneath heavy fabric, hunch. A bead of sweat trickles down his temple, dissolving into his goatee. Yes, Bahir is straining, just as I am. He’s preserving his strength and his magic, afraid to waste a drop.
Yet he was unafraid before. Felt no need to preserve his magic. Not until... not until Violet. As if when Violet removed his ring, she cut off his supply line. And gave it to me. Except the bloody thing isn’t working.
Or . . .
My eyes narrow. When Bahir first appeared, I watched him stroke the Eye like a pet. But he isn’t stroking it now, is he? Why? Why did Bahir hold on to the Eye while wearing the ring, and why stay away from it now? A living crystal isn’t a mage’s pet; it’s his power source.Ifsaid mage has the conduit necessary to siphon the crystal’s magic.
The final piece of the puzzle snaps into place and I dive for the Eye.
Bahir hurls a ball of flame at me, no longer bothering to forge the magic into a weapon’s shape.
I roll over my shoulder to avoid the projectile, which slams into the Eye behind me. The Eye shudders and icy thunder rolls through the sky. Rising to my feet, I press my hand flush against the Eye of the Goddess. The ring on my finger pulsates in time with my heart.
The stinging bees are a mere echo of the awesome force within the Eye. Magic sears through me, only that oily coating of the ring protecting my nerves from exploding into dust. The ring pulses harder, mirroring my heart, harmonizing my body with the Eye’s power. Tapping the living crystal’s magic.
Magic. Magic. Magic. It roars inside me. A wild, dangerous animal on the verge of tearing me to pieces.
I realize I’ve forgotten to breathe and force in a lungful of air. It surges in, ice cold and cutting. The wind that blew rain into my face now blows snow.
“Stop, idiot girl,” Bahir hollers. He stands on one knee, bending against the storm, robe streaming like a banner behind him. “You know nothing of what you touch. The Eye of the Goddess protects Dansil.” His voice echoes in the thunder.
My heart pounds.
“You will kill them all,” Bahir yells. “The children. The innocents. The whole kingdom will be laid to ruin at your feet.” He throws both arms toward me, a deadly spray of magical shrapnel exploding from his fingertips. Shards of blood-red fire and orange light, of gray wind and blue ice. Magic grand and bright enough to light the whole sky and eclipse the stars for its flash of power.
I throw out a wall of pure magic and the shrapnel recoils, stray shards of flame and ice piercing Bahir’s body, the bits of wind lifting him off his feet. Bahir screams, his feet flailing and never finding purchase before the magic that he himself cast knocks him off the temple roof.
My shield shatters, my well of magic draining in the blink of an eye and refilling again from the living crystal. The wind dies and rises. The Eye flashes. So unstable. So dangerous. So powerful. My lungs burn. I’ve forgotten to breathe again. Myvision blurs, clears. My heart beats in the rhythm of the Eye. Erratic. Burning hot. Ice cold.
I long for shadow. The Eye’s light dims.
