Page 92 of Of Blooming Embers
In front of us, Breena flipped a small dagger in the air, catching itby the hilt as it twirled. I raised a brow at the rough, healing wounds on her shoulders—cleaned but still inflamed. She wore them with quiet pride, a sharp contrast to her usual brashness.
“What if we find a way from below? Like we did during the trials? There were plenty of underground tunnels under the training field.” she offered.
Seryn’s eyes lit up. “You beautiful genius, Bree.”
Next to Seryn, Rhaegar’s lips pursed. “But how do we get to the other side without being seen? We can’t very well march over the bridge and start climbing down the cliff face. Trying to enter by the sea is surely asking for Poseidon to claim us.”
“At least we’ll already be in Surrelia then,” Kaden muttered. He’d been quiet since we reconvened, his fingers kneading his temples. I studied him from the corner of my eye, concern etched between my brows.
I leaned toward him. “You all right?” I whispered.
“Took the bloody tonic.”
Across my chest, Seryn reached for him. My brother waved her away. “I’ll be fine. Don’t fret.”
Her arm dropped, along with her smile. I shot a frown in my brother’s direction, irritation churning in my chest, but he didn’t notice. I kept my thoughts sealed behind the tight line of my mouth.
“What if we flew?” Marek muttered from behind us.
“What are you on about? Did you eat the ambrosia? I told youallnot to eat the ambrosia. It makes mortals lose their fecking senses,” Breena scolded.
No one bothered asking how she knew that. The woman was a wellspring of random bits of information.
Marek closed his eyes, nostrils flaring. He’d left his quarterstaff in his room and donned a platinum-colored tunic and gray breeches. Evidently, he didn’t find this place to be a threat, and he was being respectful of the impending ceremony. “Earlier, I saw a man flying on a Pegasus. This place isn’t in short supply of winged creatures.”
I cupped my jaw. “We’ve had more impractical ideas. I suppose it’s something.”
“Indeed.” Marek scoffed.
“Indeed,” I echoed in the same tone, hoping it was like a splinter under his skin.
Kaden and Seryn shared a wry look, and that annoyed me even further. When did I get so damned petulant?
Huffing, I seized Seryn’s hand in mine and pushed ahead, marching up the twisting stairwell leading to the citadel. Kaden’s glare dug into our backs.
“Gavrel,” she groused. She sounded tired. “What’s gotten into you?”
My pace slowed, and we let the others pass us on their way up. “I’m sorry. It’s … it’s difficult seeing you with my brother. I’m relieved that he’s safe, but something is off. And I don’t know what to do about it.”
“I’m not sure there is anything we can do. But he knows we’re more than friends. Yes?” She cupped my cheek.
My eyes searched hers. “He mentioned something along those lines earlier.”
“Well then, it would seem the hard part is done. I’ll talk with him.”
I glanced up the stairs at my brother’s slumped form as he climbed. It was as if he carried a heavy weight on his back.
What I wouldn’t give to carry some of his burden.
If only he’d let me.
I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair as we continued.
At last, we entered the citadel. By the looks of its wide expanse and the ten colossal pillars marking the vertices at the edges, I was sure it was shaped like a sacred decagon from above. Citizens poured in from every side, slipping between the columns in steady waves.
In the center was an enormous pile of flowers in all shapes and colors. As people arrived, they knelt at the base of the mass, bowing their heads reverently, placing their offering among the others, and then raising their hands toward the open sky.
The golden spire we’d seen from a distance had split open like a bursting star, the glinting vertices bent back to reveal the aether andglittering halo cloud above. The moon’s radiance spilled into the holy space.
