Page 98 of The Dead Saint

“How do you know I need to be the first one inside?” Not that it mattered to Sorcha, but his conviction was a force of nature, overwhelming her with certainty.

“Bring the priestess.” Prince Eine kept his cool gaze on Sorcha.

The steward beside him hurried toward the dead empress and her retinue. A woman detached herself from the small group and followed the steward.

The woman appeared to float across the rocky ground, skirts swirling around her feet, the veil she wore flowing out behind her like the tail of a comet. Tall and elegant, despite not being able to see her features, the woman exuded confidence and grace.

“Tell her,” Prince Eine said, gesturing from the newcomer to Sorcha, an unpleasant edge threading through the words. “Do you recognize one of your own, little Vessel?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Sorcha didn’t respond, her gaze glued to the woman beside him. A veil covered her from head to toe—concealing her features and shape, only hinting at the tall woman beneath the fabric. Sweat prickled along Sorcha’s scalp, the hair on the back of her neck rising.

The woman pulled at the fabric—yards and yards of sheer crimson layered with delicate cotton. Bracelets tinkled on her wrists, gold and rubies flashing. Familiar bracelets. Ones that Sorcha had seen every day for years.

A chasm opened beneath her feet, and her stomach dropped into it. Fate struck her, the truth of the moment emerging, pinning Sorcha motionless to the earth.

The woman threw back the last bit of fabric. That face. The high priestess—mentor, mother, friend. Hair so blonde it was almost white, and blue eyes the color of turquoise. Sorcha had wanted to be this woman, confident and contained, whole and her own person within the Aureum Sanctus.

Since the fall of the Golden Citadel, Sorcha had believed that Kahina Kira had been dead. Burned to ash like the others.

Sorcha had been sent out into the world to retrieve the relics. A duty she’d never expected to perform, but if she had, this woman would have been beside her for the whole journey. For months, she’d believed she was alone.

Yet here was Kahina Kira, the high priestess.

“I thought you were dead,” Sorcha whispered.

Part of Sorcha wanted to run to the woman, to throw her arms around her and cry. Cry for everyone, for everything that had changed. For the horror that had entered the world and altered everything about their lives. She wanted the easy comfort of before—understanding and acceptance. But another part, one born in the months since the fall of the Citadel—born out of bogs and sea cliffs, the woman who had risen from the ruins, capable of slipping a knife into the heart of a believer—knew that if she did, she’d be giving it all up. It would be like turning her back on the woman she’d become. Fragile in so many new ways, but growing stronger, more certain of what she was capable of accomplishing.

And all this time, each grueling mile into the Red Wastes—the plodding of the horses and the pace the empress set—Kahina Kira had been within reach. There had been an opportunity to close the distance between them, to reveal herself in private, for a joyful reunion to happen.

But Kira had waited until now, standing before the Red Tower with Prince Eine as her witness, to reveal herself.

Sorcha sucked in a breath, aware of the group surrounding them.

The prince’s men were watching, curious or uninterested, half laughing or sneering, or even indifferent. Had Adrian known? Or were they all witnessing this revelation for the first time?

It was wrong. It wasn’t how someone who loved you would act—they wouldn’t wait to be reunited in a moment like this.

Sorcha remained where she was, even as Kira’s lip trembled and tears gathered on her lashes. She wanted to scream.

Have you been with the prince this whole time? Did you know I went out there alone to collect relics? To face monsters? Why did you leave me? Why did you wait until now?

“Have you been helping him this whole time?” Sorcha finally asked.

“I wasn’t helping him,” Kira replied firmly. “I was helping you.”

“If you were helping me, why weren’t you with me? Why did you let me believe you were dead?”

“I had to,” she responded, irritation flashing across her features. “You had to do it on your own. Even if I had been with you, I would not have been able to help.”

“What about supporting me?” Sorcha shook her head, squeezing her hands into fists. So many gazes were on her, but she wanted to search out Adrian, discover if his eyes would tell her if he’d betrayed her as well. “You could have simply been there. Instead, you’re here, at the end of it all, with the prince. You’ve been here this whole time.”

A memory skipped across her mind, the stream where they’d stopped before to rest. The woman at the water’s edge, standing and silent, refusing to acknowledge Sorcha’s greeting.“It was you by the stream.”

Kira remained silent.

“And what do you want from me now?” Sorcha asked. “What do you think you can achieve here? Because that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? Because this is the end of some long game for you. This is the moment your desires are realized.”

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