Page 31 of No Greater Sorrow

Garm trotted beside them to a large tent, in front of which stood two cloaked figures—one in gray, one in red—whose owl eyes peered out from above thick cowls. Aleja almost leaned toward Nicolas to whisper, “Who are they?” but Orla was already at the entrance, and Aleja didn’t want to remind her that she was still practically a stranger to this world.

Orla’s armor was a shinier, less dented version of the one Aleja had pleaded with Violet to take beneath the Second’s mountain. The bright red serpent looked vicious and proud. “Two librarians for one interrogation. Bringing out the heavyweights for this one, Nic?”

Violet was already there, shifting uncomfortably in Val’s presence. Someone had fetched him a chair. Despite his winged mask twitching with apparent anxiety, Aleja remembered how easily one of the Principalities had snapped her wrist with his power. She nodded at them as she entered and took an empty seat next to Taddeas.

I think that’s supposed to be for Orla, whispered her voice.

She can tell me to get up, then. My feet hurt.

Power games? Really?

Orla didn’t bother correcting whatever faux pas Aleja might have committed. She made her way to Bonnie’s side, the gold hoops in her ears bright against her hair. Orla nudged Bonnie’s ribs and when they smiled at each other, Aleja had to suppress a wave of envy.

Is she doing that on purpose?she asked the voice in her head.

Nope. You are just being childish. Pull yourself together.

Yes, mother, Aleja said, to which her inner voice did not give the dignity of a response.

“I have a question,” Val said, raising his index finger. “There is no way we could get closer to the Astraelis realm, could we?”

“No. Why would you ask that?” Nicolas said.

“Oh, no reason.”

“Out with it.”

Val folded his fingers in his lap. “The farther away we are from the camp, the more likely they are to notice her.”

“What?” Aleja and Violet snapped at the same time.

Val slowly untangled his fingers as if they had been in a complicated knot. “The Authorities have hive minds. They’re more likely to notice an intruder if they feel a presence that comes from a greater physical distance. But this should be fine. Really.”

Nicolas glanced at the librarians and when Red nodded, he dropped to the floor beside Violet. Aleja craned her neck to see over his shoulder. She recognized the bones Nicolas held—they belonged to the Authority that had risen out of the well.

“I’ll be able to pull you out at any time. All I need to do is take the bones out of your hand,” Nicolas told Violet.

The words hardly seemed to comfort her. Perhaps that was why Val felt compelled to speak again. “That’s partially true. I’m going to go with Violet. Otherwise, she won’t know what to look for.”

“That wasnotpart of the deal. We’ll have no way of confirming that what she sees is real. Astraelis, if she doesn’t come out of this in one piece, it will be your fault. Once you harm one of my Saints, you’re an enemy combatant, not a war prisoner. I’m sure you can divine the rest for yourself,” Nicolas said, voice low and dangerous. His Knowing One voice. Aleja shifted in her chair as heat pooled in her stomach.

Gods, you need psychological help, said her voice.

“Believe me, I’ll be too busy trying to secure the connection that I couldn’t manage an illusion, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. Because I’m here. Helping you at the risk of my own life,” Val countered.

The final words were so condescending that even Taddeas scoffed. “Red, Gray, is that true?”

The librarian in gray settled on a volume as wide as he was tall. His eyes narrowed as he flipped through several pages before dropping the book to the ground so he and his partner could hover over it together.

“It’s true,” Gray said in a small voice, running his index finger across a line of shifting text. “Val will be exploiting a lingering connection in the bones to the hive mind, but it’s not dissimilar to the magic you use when scrying into the past. Those memories cannot be altered. The same principle should work here unless the Authorities themselves fabricate false thoughts, and we’re quite sure they’re incapable of that.”

“Is this going to be dangerous?” Aleja asked.

Violet looked exhausted, but still managed to wave her hand. “The process has already been explained to me. It’s fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Give me one of the bones. Hold the rest in your left hand. You’ll have to hold onto me with your right,” Val said. Aleja couldn’t tell if the sympathy in his voice was genuine, not when a mask covered his eyes. She wondered if Val had ever seen his mother’s face. If she had ever seen his.

Violet hesitated, but reached for Val. A shuddering breath moved through her, yet when Nicolas leaned in and whispered something, Violet did not react.

---