Page 75 of Wicked Prince of Curses
I thought of his blood. So much of it. Every last drop had been gold. I met Quazar’s piercing glare.
“Obsidian or gold, my beautiful Starling?”
Omarion’s head snapped up at the endearment, his nostrils wrinkling. Something dark flashed across his eyes, but he said nothing. I swallowed my nerves, trying to ignore my galloping heartbeats.
“Gold,” I whispered. “Every drop was gold.”
I looked down, fighting the threat of new tears. A visible strand of shadow caressed my chin, lifting it gently so I looked Quazar in the eyes.
“Gold.” The gilded rim of his jade eyes seemed to burn. “Yet you call me Fallenspawn. Is it easier to think of me as Fallen than Hallowed? Does it make wanting to see me bleed again easier?”
“No!” I flinched back, snapping my chin from him. “That’s not…that’s not what I want. I?—”
“Mm.” He seemed tickled at my reaction. “Ask me why the Empràr’s Pass is a special kind of Hèls for us? Ask me which Legionnaires cross it and which don’t?”
The food hall had fallen silent, but Quazar had my full attention. Appetite lost, I refused to back down. Back away.
“Okay, Fallen Prince.” I leaned into his space, crossing my arms. “Who flies through the Pass? What happens? How do they kill the ashbats? What’s the survival rate? Who is even responsible for the exam anyway?”
Quazar smiled. The sight pierced through my chest, cutting me open. He showed just the tip of his teeth. Enough to send my mind reeling as I struggled against the intoxicating scent of sandalwood.
“The Empràr’s Pass is typically crossed by around one thousand angels, annually. Usually, only three hundred survive. Once you cross it, you don’t ever have to again. You’ve officially proven yourself ready for war. The ashbats can’t be killed. Trust me.” He grinned. There was no joy in it. “I’ve tried.Manytimes.”
He…what? Was he insinuating he’d gone back?
“Oh that’s right. You askedwhoflies through.” He chuckled darkly. “Wedo. Of course. The Hallowed don’t have to go to through such lengths to prove their loyalty to the empyrean. As long as they bond to their Dragèthparilielthaifrom Dragonkind, they can graduate and head to Watcher Hold. But for us,” he looked back, looking over the Fallenspawn, all glaring at me with their pretty, jewel-like eyes, and the massive print of swirling thorns all over their neck and arms, “well, we have to prove we are Hallowed, even if our blood runs gold like you.”
His eyes blazed as they fell back to me.
“If we refuse to cross the Pass, we die. If we try to run, we die. The majority of us who have gone through, have died. We fly into the Pass. Most of us never return.”
I felt that sickening feeling overwhelm me again. I covered my mouth in horror, letting my eyes fall shut. That was absolutemadness. It wassick. Who would come up with that? Who could be so…evil? It couldn’t have been the Profèts idea. Stars!
Was it High Farasee Manazzra Ahabiah?
I opened my eyes to Quazar.
“Who created that…that sham of an exam? That’s just…cruel. It’s…it’s wicked.”
Quazar grinned wide.
My hearts shriveled in my chest.
“Who?” He chuckled. My chest squeezed tight. “What a good question, my Starling. The Farasee responsible for making every one of my angels prove their loyalty to the empyrean by going on a suicide mission through the Empràr’s Pass was none other thanyourManmi, Amaryss Anathelle.”
Chapter 32
Ifroze in place, unable to hear a thing beyond the galloping hooves of my hearts. My ears rung like bells. Everything I’d just eaten threatened to come back up.
“Bullrot,” Ellabeth spat, shooting out of her seat. “No!”
She pulled at my chin, turning my face to hers.
“He’s lying. Tati would never. She would never! He’slying. It’s his way of getting even. Don’t fall for it.”
“She seems pretty convinced. But tell me, Starling,”Quazar said down our bond.“Am I lying?”
I thought back to Titombwe. I wouldn’t have believed Granmanmi would bleed out an angel as an act from the Farasee Order in front of the empyrean. Yet she had. And she’d done so until he was just within an inch of completely losing his life.
