Page 30 of The Cruel Dawn
“Come, Lady.”
Just as she did days ago, the daxinea flies toward my destination.
Shari nudges my knees and pants. She nudges me again and jogs ahead.
“Where do you want me to go?” I follow her to the path that separates the Sanctum of the Gods from the mortal world.
At the Sanctum’s boundary, the wolf sits on her haunches and wags her head. She can go no farther without Zephar.
I stare into the mist, heart in my throat.
What awaits on the other side?
In no time, I’m standing on that other side.
The thick scent of burning incense wafts through the temple’s empty courtyard and sanctuary. Steam from that extravagant bath gathers beneath the domed ceiling, ready to soothe me—I’ll have to use it eventually, since it means so much to Prince Idus and the Gashoans.
I slip through the city, unnoticed by roving guards and couples meeting in secret.
That white light continues to shine in the west.
I hurry out the city gates and over a bridge over a canal that now contains running water. I dart across the desert sand, so quick and light that I hardly touch the ground. Something powerful pulls me, and I follow that mystery, watching out for windwolves and three-headed lizards—or angry Gorga who’d heard about the fight yesterday in the desert.
I reach the slot canyons where my journey began just days ago.
My breath fogs around my head, and I run deeper into the ravine, keeping my eye on that soft white light. The wind howls through these soaring rock walls, like a song sung by many voices.
The daxinea dips lower to the earth, speeding still toward that great white light.
I slow down—I’ve reached a dead end. The high canyon wall is too smooth to climb. I crane my neck to see the top—
“There you are.” The woman’s voice sounds as soft as the clay beneath my boots.
I spin around to look at her, but the canyon is bathed in that blinding light. I close my eyes against the hard glare until it softens to reveal her face. No, herfaces.The soft joy of her smile. Her angry, flinty eyes. A sorrowful, trembling chin. Vibrant, high eyebrows.
Sybel Fynal, the Grand Steward of Vallendor, the Lady of Dawn and Dusk.
We’d last stood together in the woods near Veril’s cottage. That day, she wore a gown of gray mail that floated and folded like silk, its color shifting from ring to ring, from day-light to night-light. This morning, she wears a polished amulet of a silver chalice encircled by a small flame. A yellow sapphire burns above the rim of that cup. Her one-shouldered dress matches the style worn by the women of Gasho, but instead of silk or linen, Sybel’s gown is made of canvas rough enough to slough off a man’s skin and a boar’s hide. Her look slays.
In that forest near Veril’s cottage, she’d helped me discover myself and had steered me as I searched for my amulet. She’d instructed me tochoose mercybefore telling me that I was the Lady of the Verdant Realm. I’d hug her right now, but she had failed to mention that her daughter, Elyn, was the one trying to kill me.
“You’re awake,” Sybel says now. “You’ve been asleep for too long.”
Out of respect, I fix my face and force myself not to scowl. “I deserve rest, don’t I? Especially after all your daughter’s put me through. Afteryouabandoned me.”
Sybel tilts her head. “‘Abandon’ is an interesting word choice, Kaivara.” Her eyes take in my armor. “While you are playing house with Zephar Itikin, Vallendor slides further into doom. Danar Rrivae continues to grow in might, and yet you tarry. I know you’re afraid—”
“Who said anything about being afraid?” I snap.
“You are, and you’d be a fool if you weren’t. Are you so arrogant to think this is simply an ordinary war against an ordinary man?”
“No,” I say, “but what good is fear? I’m just trying to…to…” I scrunch my eyebrows and finally admit, “I don’t know what I’m trying to do.”
“That soft bed has weakened your resolve and your memory,” she says, “and while you aren’t a fool, softening your shoulders like you have is a foolish act.”
Her words and meaning push against my chest. Frustration swirls in my belly until it becomes fire that burns my mouth. “I’m notvacationing, Grand Steward. You may not have noticed, but I’ve healed and helped a lot of people in the days I’ve been here. I’ve blessed babies, and I’ve blessed crops. Merchants can travel again, and we’ve placed protective wards along the routes so that even shepherds can guide their sheep and goats to safe pastures. My shoulders are far from soft, and I’m doing this while still preparing to fight Danar Rrivae. We’ll soon pass through Eaponys, which sits between here and the Sea of Devour. But I don’t expect you to understand my job as a Mera Destroyer.”
“You mean, as a MeraDiminished,” she clarifies, eyebrow cocked.
