Page 206 of Flame and Sparrow

The Goddess of Stars stepped from her place against the wall and spoke for the first time since her arrival, moving to greet this creature. “My messenger,” she explained. “Whom I sent to the Edgelands before I came here.”

The creature bowed low as Cepheid approached it. It gazed up at the Goddess of Stars, blinking huge, dark eyes at her. One of its ribbon appendages stretched forward, its end opening like a quickly blooming flower.

Cepheid placed her hand to this bloom. They were silent, but clearly communicating; I watched the goddess’s face for clues about what was being said.

After a few seconds, her eyes widened a bit and she jerked her hand away from the creature as though she’d just touched it to an unexpectedly hot surface. Her breaths became labored while the silvery-white swirls on her dark skin moved restlessly.

“Out with it,” growled the God of Storms.

She regained her usual composure and narrowed her gaze on him. “There are mortals in the Edgelands,” she said. “More than my messenger could easily count.Velkyn.” She breathed in deep, and the starry spirals on her skin stopped moving but flared brighter. “The barrier has been fully breached.”

Chapter54

A short time later,I stood in the middle of what had once been the ocean of the Death Marr’s magic, flanked on either side by a host of middle-gods and goddesses.

None of the Miratar had joined us, but the Storm, Ocean, and Healing Marr stood to my left. The Fire, Ice, and Serpent Marr to my right. The Goddess of Sky was traveling the parameters of the Edgelands—and was soon joined by the God of Death—seeking the spots where breaks had occurred, preparing to use magic to reinforce those places, as planned.

We had beasts on our side, too. Zachar’s veilhounds roamed nearby, the pack of them like a bloom of silver-dark fog rolling this way and that against the drained landscape, seeking out the souls who did not belong within it.

The Star Goddess had also sent beasts on her behalf, great wolf-like creatures with piercing yellow eyes. They were larger and more powerful than the hounds, their bodies wrapped in black fur that glowed silver when they moved in certain ways, as though the long strands of it were concealing patches of starlight.

Cepheid had no taste for battles herself, apparently, but assured us that these creatures—thesyrinx, she called them—possessed something of her gift of foresight, and would be useful in spotting any impending disasters on the battlefield.

Several of the selakir—including Zell—galloped nearby as well. My loyal friend occasionally left his herd and darted closer, making certain I saw him, as if to tell me he was ready and eager for me to call him to my side.

The air teemed with the collective power of all these Marr and their creations, and for a moment I feared nothing as I strode through the wasteland.

What weapon could my kind possibly conjure up to contend with the power surrounding me now?

If I’d had a moment to stop and think, I might have wondered at the absurdity of it all, too.

Months ago, I’d wanted nothing more than to march into battle with the gods and their divine monsters…butagainstthem, not alongside them.

There was no time to wonder, however, so I simply kept walking, shaking off the lingering dizziness from our travel as I went.

The instantaneous travel between the palace and here had not been as rough as normal—perhaps because I’d had three members of the Shade Court steadying me through it.

I felt sturdier than I had in some time, actually, and I was determined to help lead the way into this battle despite several of the Marr muttering about it, claiming I would only be in the way of them and their power.

I had no divine power, it was true—but I reasoned that this also meant I wouldn’t have the same weaknesses to the weapons being used.

Some quiet, desperate part of me also hoped that I might catch the attention of some of my kind if I was here. That I might be able to make them question what they were doing if they saw me on the other side. Maybe they would start to see things in shades of grey rather than black and white, as I had started to.

And maybe then I could start to untangle these violent threads that had been choking the life from both our sides for far too long.

A fool’s hope, but I held to it just the same.

Either way, this was my fight, and I would not be left behind.

I’d made certain to carry plenty of weapons with me. Hydrus hung in its customary place at my side. I’d tucked the small flask containing the water of Melithra into the inner pocket of my coat, as well. I still had no idea what sort of powers the water held, but I’d gotten used to its weight, and for some reason I felt calmer when I carried it close to me.

Beyond my own collected weapons, Valas had gifted me a dagger of his own, which sent ice crawling over a target with even the most shallow of cuts; he’d performed a friendly demonstration of its power for me, using the Storm Marr as his target. Halar had been less than amused.

Dravyn had given me a bracelet similar to the one he’d sent me home with weeks ago, which would whisk me back to the relative safety of his palace even if he wasn’t close by to take me—though he warned me it would be an unpleasant solo trip, especially if I couldn’t clearly picture my destination.

Mairu had offered me the gift of disguise, prepared to use her magic to make certain none of my old allies could find me in the crowd.

This last offer, I’d refused.

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