Page 162 of Grave Situation

Arimen’s eyes narrow. “That’s a very Talon thing to say. Are you sure Wasianth is in you too?”

Resisting the urge to say that the only man who gets to be “in me” is Jaimin, I nod solemnly. “I’m still me, but I have all his memories and knowledge. I’m really sorry to tell you this,Arimen, but Wasianth was not a reverent or ascetic kind of god. He was more the ‘have fun as long as you do no harm’ kind of god.” That’s the most innocent-friendly way of explaining it, and I’m braced for Arimen’s heartbreak.

To my surprise, he smiles. “Oh, I know. That’s one of the things I like best about him… you. Him.”

“Him,” I agree, and he nods.

“He loves and supports his followers without being all fussy about it. Like a fun uncle who will take your side no matter what, but still tell you if you’ve done the wrong thing.”

Peiris stirs. “Perhaps I should have spent more time studying these gods of yours. None of ours are like fun uncles.”

“None of my uncles are fun,” Coryn interjects. “They’re all like my father, and he thinks fun is a dirty word… unless he’s the one having it. I don’t want to interrupt your god talk, but it’s really late, and if we need to get up early tomorrow, we should get some rest.”

“Why would we need to get up early?” Arimen asks. “What’s happening tomorrow?”

The question hangs in the room, and I let out a quiet sigh and lean slightly into Jaimin, letting the familiar warmth of him press against my arm. “Rest is a good idea. Tomorrow, we can talk to the stone and see what it thinks the next steps are.”

“You mean… No, I don’t understand. Why would the next steps be different? The prophecy said we need to go to the birthplace.” He sets his jaw stubbornly in a way that reminds me how young he is—not that I needed the reminder.

“Talon has his full power now,” Jaimin explains quietly. “That might change some things.”

“But theprophecy said?—”

“Yes, we know what the prophecy said,” I cut in before youthful enthusiasm can take over the whole night. “We’re following the prophecy’s dictates. In the meantime, though,there are some other things we can consider. Now that I’m not as vulnerable, I could take Leicht and reconnoiter, for one thing. We still don’t know the identity of the high priest who’s with my uncle. It might change things if we knew which god they serve and why they think raising zombies is a good idea.” No matter what angle I consider the situation from, I can’t understand why the temples got involved with this. Times of violent upheaval have never been beneficial for them. “I’d also like to speak to my father and personally wring some more details out of his hide.” Master and Leicht have informed me that he claims Uncle Domys learned to raise zombies all on his own, but I don’t believe that. There’s another mage involved in this somehow, and until we know who they are, they’re a danger to us all.

Arimen’s lips purse, like he’s weighing the importance of all that against his deep-seated need to obey the prophecy to the letter.

“We’re definitely following instructions and going where the prophecy wants us to,” I promise him. “I’m apparently the champion, remember?” And won’t that make most of the councilors back at the academy choke. “I need to do whatever I’m supposed to do to end all this.” The stone’s been very clear on that fact. A number of people thought we should just have dragons raze the whole of my family estate and get rid of those zombies that way—and I won’t lie, the idea wasn’t completely without appeal, even if it did make a secret part of me sad—but the queen objected vociferously, especially given there’s supposedly a champion somewhere who can help. After what I’ve been told was a heated discussion, it was agreed that the dragons would patrol from the air and ensure the zombie army stayed put, but that if it showed signs of moving out, they would take whatever steps necessary.

So far, there’s been no movement. That makes me very uneasy. Reports indicate that there are several thousandzombies at the estate. That may not sound like a lot up against all the armies of Vaderyn, plus mages and dragons, but even a hardened soldier might struggle to take down a foe that won’t die. Dragons have limitations depending on the terrain and location of innocent bystanders, as we’ve discovered, and mages are limited by the amount of energy needed. Magefire uses a lot, and the first thing students learn is that pushing beyond your magical reserves leads to death.

Plus, any close-quarters engagement runs the risk of soldiers and mages being scratched or bitten and turned into zombies themselves. History hasn’t taught us much about the zombie wars, but it did teach us that it only takes a few zombies to wreak havoc.

“Can we ask the stone now?” The vulnerability in Arimen’s voice is something I don’t like at all.

“Let’s wait until morning. Nothing’s going to change before then, and we all need some sleep,” Jaimin insists, and Arimen reluctantly nods.

Coryn and Peiris are already in the hallway when our youngest companion suddenly turns back and meets my gaze. “I know you think I’m disappointed that you’re Wasianth, but I’m not. I’m glad it’s you. I can trust you to do what’s right.”

His words keep me awake long into the night.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Gettingfrom the ship to Leicht’s back is a lot harder than I expected. The ship’s deck isn’t big enough for Leicht to land on, and we’re concerned that the crew might not react well if he hovers alongside while I use magic to transfer to his back.

Instead, we opt for something far more sensational: I wait until nobody’s watching, then jump overboard. A bubble of my magic acts as a sort of floating teacup to keep me from getting wet or tiring myself out trying to stay afloat, and as soon as the ship is far enough away, I build a telekinetic platform to stand on when Leicht swoops down to hover beside me. He wanted to just pick me up and throw me on his back, but that sounds like it’ll leave bruises, so we’re doing it my way.

“What kind of rider moans about bruises?”he grumbles as I scramble up his leg and into the saddle divot.

“The kind who never wanted to be one,”I remind him. My godly memories have informed me that while Wasianth was, in fact, one of the gods who bonded a dragon, he preferred to ride his beloved horse, Frestin, and merely considered the bond a really good way to talk to dragons and make new friends. As someone who tries to avoid friend-making as much as possible,I’m convinced that Wasianth and I probably wouldn’t have been all that close if we’d lived at the same time.

“North?”Leicht asks.

“North,”I agree. We’re off the coast of Meswyn right now, and according to the map Coryn borrowed from the captain, if we fly due north from here we should reach land soon and eventually cross the mountains into Rebithia. It’ll be late evening by the time we get to Harfarin, but that’s still a lot faster than weeks at sea. Though the ship would be more comfortable.

“You’re welcome to walk there, if my back is too uncomfortable for you.”

Wow, he’s snippy today.“That’s a kind offer, but I’m good. What’s bothering you?”I hunch a little more into the shelter of his neck. It might be early spring, but it’s still cold, and even more so at this height over the ocean.

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