Page 17 of Bright Blinding Ruin

The look Fred gives me then makes me think he’s hiding something, and what he says next confirms that suspicion: “There’s so much you’ve yet to discover.”

I cause both men to jerk back in surprise when I slam a fist on the table and say, “Then tell me! Stop keeping me in the fucking dark! What else is there, huh? What aren’t you telling me? If I’m supposed to risk my life for all you people, for a world that’s not even mine, the least you can do is tell me everything you know.”

Fred speaks quietly, “Some things are meant for you. Not for me, not for my son, not for anyone else. The guardians of the undercrofts will sense what you are and let you in—and perhaps, once there, you will find the answers to the questions you’ve been wondering.”

Oh, my God. If I could strangle this man, I would. I would totally strangle him.

“Guardians?” Frederick asks. “What’s this about guardians?”

“Beings as old as the castles themselves. They will know exactly who Rey is, I’ve no doubt about it.” Fred’s lips quirk into an awkward smile as he looks at me. “You can do this. You were meant to do this.”

I roll my eyes and groan. “Yeah, believe it or not, that’s not as comforting as you think it is.” I want to get up and storm away, end this conversation here and now, but I don’t. Something keeps me on that wooden chair beside Frederick, and it’s that same something that makes me ask, “Where are the undercrofts?”

“Only those who need them find them. It is why only empresses can go inside. When you are in the castles, you will know where to go.”

Ugh. Perfect.

Perfectly fucking vague.

I set an elbow on the table and rub a temple. This day just keeps getting better and better. It’s also one hell of a quest to go on while hoping Invictis doesn’t find me and smite me like the all-powerful being he is.

Beside me, Frederick asks his dad, “How do you know so much about Invictis? Before this, I never heard about it. I don’t recall it being mentioned in any of these books.” He references the vast library around us, old tomes that apparently detail everything except Invictis.

“I only know what my lady told me. The empresses have ways of passing down information to each other, to their next kin, that we cannot dream of. I told you Invictis is a weapon. It is a weapon of unimaginable destruction, but it is ancient, older than the Laconia we know. Older than the original empresses. It predates our written history.”

Frederick’s eyes widen, and he glances at me for the quickest of moments before asking, “How can we defeat Invictis if it really is that ancient? If it’s so old it predates everything we know about Laconia—”

I frown, mostly to myself, as I mutter, “Weapons can break.” Misfire. Jam. Rust. Become unusable. I don’t think anything’s invincible or unstoppable. There has to be a way—I just don’t know how to get there.

Fred nods along with my statement. “Precisely. Weapons can be broken, and you will be the one to break it. My lady knew you would come. She knew her time was at an end. Her sisters denied the truth, but my lady never did. This is your journey, Rey, yours and yours alone.”

Shit.

I measuredly reach for the necklace and pick it up. The chain is long enough that I can get my head through the loop with no need for anyone to help me with the clasp. I fix my hair over it, and then I pick up the small vial in the middle, the one that contains aether from Magnysia.

The liquid is thick, from what I can see. It doesn’t bounce around in the vial as water would. Its movements are much slower, like honey or amber. Inside the glass, its color must be dulled down, but even so, its orange hue peeks through.

When I release the vial, it clangs with the others, and I heave a weary sigh. “All right. I guess I have no choice. Back to Pylos and Acadia it is.” If I don’t sound happy about it, that’s because I’m not.

I’m not happy to go on another quest. I’m not happy Fred thinks I’m the only one who can defeat Invictis for good. And I sure as shit ain’t happy that I’m going to be doing all of this alone.

God. And here I thought my world sucked ass sometimes. This? This is one beatdown after another with no time to breathe in between.

Chapter Seven

Frederick and his dad aren’t the only ones who see me off. Kretia, Aolia, Ravenno, and Hazor all come, having heard about Fred’s plan. They all come to the door that separates the two districts of the city, and they all wish me luck.

Kretia and Aolia do, anyway. Ravenno and Hazor are quiet, but they don’t outright glare at me like they hate my guts, so I’m going to consider it a win.

Kretia bows her head to me. “We have faith in you, Rey. Go in power.”

Beside her, Aolia mimics the bow and says, “Go in power, my lady.”

Behind them, a crowd gathered, a crowd made of both noble and common folk. They intermingle, watching with wide eyes, whispering amongst themselves, but once they hear Kretia and Aolia say that, they quiet and all bow their heads in unison. Even Ravenno and Hazor bow their heads.

“Uh…” I glance at Frederick and his dad, both of whom stand beside me, and I find that they are bowing their heads, too. Literally everyone is, even the guards near the doors.

It’s a weird feeling, all these people believing I’m something I’m not. I’ve denied it again and again, but it’s almost like these peopleneedme to be their savior. They need me to champion their hope, to be their light in the darkness.

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