Page 172 of A Crown of Tears and Treason
A stunned, hideous silence settled over us.
“What do you mean,revive?” Adara rumbled. “Nobody can disturb the dead. Nobody should.”
Leesa pressed a finger to the center of her clavicle, muttering what sounded suspiciously like a civilian warding incantation. These mutterings lacked all true magic, a replica which staved off worrying, nothing more.
“I know, I know,” Goose said quickly, shoulders caving. “That’s why I think this is just a mistranslation. Or some kind of story to scare children into behaving.”
“Parchment was hard to come by, then. Nobody would waste it on a children’s story,” I said, remembering the few history books I’d been allowed to read. “The Quoriliths thought traitors could speak their secrets in the afterlife.”
“That’s different,” Adara argued. “We used to cut thieves’ hands so they wouldn’t steal again, then I found one of them pickpocketing with his left foot. Every Clan carries out their ownpunishments, no matter how insane they sound. Whatever you read, it’s only a legend.”
“Legends always have a grain of truth,” Leesa said softly, eyes unfocused.
“Not this one.” Adara clenched her jaw. “The dead stay dead.”
A coldness seeped into my bones. Valuta had tried to access my mind and I was very much alive. Maybe that’s where the legend had started, infiltrating a being’s very essence and controlling them, which morphed into an abomination about bringing the dead back.
As I opened my mouth to argue, the carriage halted abruptly, almost sending me toppling into Leesa’s arms. Zorin neighed frantically.
Adara was armed and out of the carriage before I reached for my switchblade. Her tight face softened. “It’s just a snake.”
“A razorback?” My heart seized, already getting up.Nobodywould touch my Zorin.
“No, a regular green one. Big, too, must’ve eaten recently. You and your horse need to learn to relax.” Adara sighed and sheathed her weapons. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t get out of the carriage.”
“But–”
“You’re scared of snakes, it will take longer if you try to help. We’re almost at the meeting point.”
With a clenched jaw, I relented, listening closely to Zorin’s neighs. They were getting more hectic. That was strange; he didn’t really bother with other beings, always acting like he was above them.
Adara slammed the door behind her. Her boots crunched the gravel as she walked away. Zorin quieted down, just barely.
I nodded at Leesa and Goose; just like Zandyr had with Adara. The same firm nod grandpa Constantine had taught me.It seemed I finally got the hang of it. “Keep translating. Check for anything relating to slitting the traitors’ throats.”
Goose’s eyes lit up again. “I actually found–”
He stilled.
“Goose?”
He remained motionless, eyes unfocused and quickly turning watery. Next to him, Leesa was the same. Statues, staring at nothing.
Frozen.
My instincts blared. I flicked my switchblade and rushed for the door. I yanked the thick curtain to the side, Adara’s name a roar at the back of my throat.
Someone waited on the other side of the window.
No, not someone.
Me.
A horrific version of me, with black pools instead of eyes, and a huge lifeless smile with sharp teeth on her face.Myface.
Before I could scream, strike or access the pocket of power inside of me, my terrible reflection whispered a spell that knocked me out.
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