Page 184 of The Sins of Silas

“Yes, but the opposite of balance is chaos. There is still an opposite to that.”

Immeron shrugged. “We only know a mere fraction of the truth, I imagine.”

WithdrawingPotestas Verae Maleficisfrom my crossbody, I flipped to the pages containing the Warlock prophecy. Pointing to it, I handed it over to Immeron for a closer look.

“Purification…Rebirth…I feel as though those must be counterparts, considering how often they've been symbolized among one another,” he mumbled, brows drawn tightly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Something about this all seems so familiar, yet I can't place why.”

“Igon gave me his compass,” I added, fetching it from my bag. “A pelican is engraved on it, and according to this book—" I plopped the other book Leroy gave to me down. “—pelican symbolizes sacrifice. And the spider…the symbol that the necromancer has begun etching on his victim's forehead…it stands for deceit.”

My thoughts wandered, going back to those damn paintings.

Death by a lover’s fire.

The rise of the phoenix.

Only through fire can the phoenix be reborn from the ashes.

It’s clear it is no regular fire, but Azrae’s fire. Who is his lover? The Goddess of Purification?

And where is the Weapon?

I scrubbed at my face, and Immeron chuckled. “Imagine what it was like for me all those years with a seer brother. Never fully saying what he meant.”

I laughed softly, but the sadness reflected in Immeron’s eyes made my smile fall.

Igon was dead, and Silas was the cause. Even if he knew it was coming, it was still a tragedy.

I swallowed, having one last thing to tell him about. “Ramiel—Ryia's father—apparently told Asael to save me. Sounds like a seer's message, no?”

“Indeed,” he replied, eyes scanning the Warlock text.

“As far as I'm aware, Igon hasn't been in Otacia…but Kayin has.”

“Kayin? Kayin…” His brows drew together tightly.

“Do you know her?”

He blinked, then shook his head. “The name sounds familiar, but I'm afraid not.”

“Igon told Torrin and me she was also a seer.”

I quickly gave him the rundown of my relationship with Kayin, telling him how I last spoke to her on this very mountaintop.

Immeron rested his elbows on the table. “So, you think Kayin and Ramiel are in cahoots?”

“Unless there's another seer I'm unaware of, which I suppose is possible. But considering Kayin is currently in Otacia, perhaps they are working together.”

He rubbed his jaw. “What is theirend goal?”

I shrugged, falling back to rest on my chair. “No clue. At this point, I feel as though we are all pawns in a very complicated game.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

SILAS

Lena had teleported herself, along with Torrin, her father, and a few other Mages, back to Mount Rozavar last night. Apparently, she thought it wise not to tell me she was doing so.

After successfully ignoring me all day yesterday, she just left. What if she had trouble returning?

---