Page 42 of No Greater Sorrow

And, apparently, it was.

The hall took another turn before opening into the Second’s chamber, where the two pedestals that’d held their notes stood, one with a folded piece of paper atop it. Violet was already there, seated at the edge of the Second’s pool. She didn’t look up as Aleja approached, her face hidden behind a curtain of hair. Nor did she speak.

Aleja wanted to say something—gods, the darkest parts of her wanted towoundViolet. But every word in Aleja’s mind felt like a bomb, and if they landed, they would destroy something irreversibly. So, she kept silent, and after a few wrenching moments, the Second spoke.

YOU HAVE BOTH PASSED. THE FINAL TRIAL WILL TAKE TIME TO PREPARE. RETURN TO THIS CAVE IN A WEEK. ALEJA, THE REWARD IS YOURS.

Aleja had nearly forgotten about her special reward. She snatched it off the pillar, avoiding Violet’s gaze. The note read:

The chalice fills, the chalice drains. We are trapped inside, in chains.

“I thought I was getting a prize. What the hell does this mean?” she snapped, whirling as if she might spot the Second somewhere in the room.

There was no answer. Aleja felt like she was vibrating—that if she let out a scream, all the rocks around them would shatter.

“Come on, Saints,” Garm said, after all had stilled. “The Knowing One will be waiting for us on the mountain.”

As they walked, Aleja realized the silence between her and Violet was worse than a fight. People fought because, eventually, one of them would win and the conflict would be over. Fighting now would have been a sort of optimism. A way to get their anger out in one short spat and let it burn up quickly, like using an explosion to stop a fire. This silence, though—that meant whatever had transpired between them during the second Trial could not be so easily fixed, if it could be fixed at all. Silence was a way of giving up.

What the hell did the Second want us to get out of that?Aleja thought bitterly as they made their way toward the winged silhouette of a man near the cave mouth.

Do you want the real answer or the bullshit answer? asked her inner voice.

If I ask for the bullshit answer, are you going to give me the real one?

Of course.

Go ahead, then. Twist the knife all you want; everyone else has.

Sometimes there are no villains, Aleja. Sometimes everyone is just trying to survive.

It felt like the bullshit answer after all, but Aleja was distracted. The swell of emotions she felt when she saw Nicolas’s face almost made her forget about the snake tattoo marking him for death on her behalf. “You did it. Congratulations. Only one more to go,” he breathed.

Neither Aleja nor Violet answered as he looked first at them, then at Garm. “Are you both all right?”

Perhaps Violet was about to say something. Aleja heard her small intake of breath and spoke before Violet had the chance. “We’re fine. We’re tired. Let’s go back to the camp.”

A black Avisai stood on the ridge, swishing its long tail against the pebbled ground. It was twilight, and the first stars were appearing. Although the constellations here had the same patterns as they did in her world, their names were strange—Sylvana, the dryad; Vaster, the raven-in-flight; and larger than the rest, stretching from one end of the winter sky to the other, Dal-Rhyn, the great serpent.

“We’ll head back to the palace,” Nicolas told them, stretching his wings as she and Violet climbed onto the Avisai’s back. “We’re having a meeting with all the Dark Saints, and it’s better to be away from the camp’s curious ears. I’d like for you to be there, Aleja. You as well, Violet. Despite what I said before, this plan involves you.”

“Did something happen?” Aleja asked; her hands tightened around the Avisai’s shadowy reigns.

“Not yet. But very soon I’m leading a small team in the Astraelis realm. We’re going to raid one of their camps and bring Merit home.”

6

THE INVADERS

“Though the Astraelis and the Otherlanders share a common ancestry, they have been separated for long enough to have developed their own magics, cultures, and physical characteristics. Yet, much like evolutionary cousins in the animal world of our realm, many similarities remain.”

—Excerpt fromTen Myths of the Otherlandersby Emiel Nasir.

“Violet,Val would like you to accompany us to the edge of the camp. He claims you can keep the Authorities distracted while in minimal danger. It would make our job a hell of a lot easier. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you more about the plan than that,” Taddeas said.

“The Astraelis realm? But why? I scried from here last time,” Violet asked, apparently in as much of a daze as Aleja. Nicolas had never seen his wife look so distracted in the war room, not in this life or the previous one. It wasn’t the first time Nicolas wished he couldhurtthe Second, but the urge was keener than usual.

“You’re going to be spending a lot more time in their heads. If you’re near the camp, there’s a chance they’ll assume you’re a newly absorbed enemy. It might only buy us a few minutes, but that could be enough to save lives,” Nicolas said.

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