Page 20 of Lady of the Drowned Empire
“Yes, and I said stay the fuck away from him.” I turned on Rhyan. “And you. You knew he was after her. But no, couldn’t keep your hands to yourself.”
“Morgs, stop!” Lyr yelled, standing protectively in front of him.
“He’s not acting like an Afeya, but he is one. The only reason the Afeyan bastard wants you to have your magic is so he can use it for himself.” I frowned. “But then this begs the question, why would an Afeya need the magic of a Lumerian?”
Rhyan drummed his fingers along Meera’s dresser, one hand still on Lyr’s back. “He wouldn’t. Their power far exceeds our own. You’re right. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“No,” I said, watching Lyr, the turn of her cheek, the darkness of her hair in the moonlight a contrast to the way it shined as red as fire in the sun.
It was starting to come together. Meera’s vision. The goddess. Calling her Asherah. The red shard glowing bright—bright enough to have been the Valalumir in its original form.
I turned to Meera. She’d been following along the whole time—too weak to speak but interjecting her thoughts to me. And in that moment, her thoughts were identical to mine.
My heart pounded as I turned back to Lyr. “You’re her, aren’t you? Reborn.”
I felt dizzy and winded. If I was right, if Lyr was the reincarnation of Asherah—and was indebted to the Afeya with a bargain to find her magic power—the moment she was successful, we’d be handing him the most dangerous weapon of all time.
Tears streamed down Lyr’s cheeks in confirmation. In a flash, her memories came to me, confirming everything. She’d seen herself in her mind. She’d had, not a vision, but a memory. She’d seen her past body, looked down at her hand—larger, darker. She’d felt herself on a golden beach. She’d felt the connection the first time she’d worn the armor.
Then I saw Ramia, half-Afeyan, giving Lyr the armor at no cost—on the orders of Mercurial, First Messenger of the Star Court.
“Fuck,” I said.
“Out loud,” Meera rasped. “What do you mean?”
In the same moment, Rhyan asked Lyr, “You’re who reborn?” His eyes searched hers, but Lyr wasn’t responding. She’d gone pale. Rhyan swallowed, one eyebrow furrowed in concern as he looked to me.
What’s going on? he thought.
I ignored him, staring at my sister. If we were going to help her, we all needed to know what she knew. She could not hold this secret herself.
Lyr nodded slowly, looking like she was in disbelief. Say it, Morgs. Tell them.
“You’re Asherah,” I said. “You’re the goddess reborn.”
No! Rhyan nearly roared the thought, his heart heavy as a wave of dizziness washed over him. The thoughts in his mind, some moving too fast for me to hear, were all clicking together. His eyes widened in horror, and there was a flash in his mind of his father, of ropes tied around his hands, binding his body, and of Lyr leaning back against a tree.
Lyr nodded again. “I think I am.”
“Gods,” Meera gasped, struggling to sit up.
Rhyan shook his head. “Lyriana.” His eyes searched hers, his mouth open as he ran his fingers through her hair, imagining the locks in the sun. Red. Batavia red. Red like Asherah. “Lyr, shit. Shit.”
Rhyan pulled away from her, his hands fisted at his sides, his aura storming with such force, Meera’s glass doors flew open. Snowflakes exploded into the room, leaving me shivering until I grabbed my stave.
“Lisgo deletim.” The doors snapped shut. “Does anyone else know?”
“Besides Mercurial? No one outside this room, as far as I’m aware. But I don’t know.” She shrugged again.
“We need to keep it that way,” Rhyan said fiercely. “Mercurial isn’t the only one we need to worry about. This knowledge in the wrong person’s hands, even just speculation of it….” His nostrils flared, the energy in his aura swirling with cold. I saw in his thoughts a vision of mountains, mountains that looked so similar to the ones I’d seen in Meera’s vision. “Lyr, there’s no way for you to be safe if this gets out. Not until you take control of it.”
“She’s less safe than you know,” I spat. Our aunt had murdered our father, usurped the Seat of Power, and stolen Meera’s inheritance and destiny from right under our noses.
Myself to Moriel.
I looked to the bed. Meera was starting to pass out, exhausted after such a violent vision.
In this room, only me and Lyr knew the truth of Arianna. But others had to know. There were traitors amongst us, allies to her cause, and most likely those who dealt in secrets, who took no single side and felt no allegiance, concerned only with being paid.
