Page 80 of A Queen Of Broken Realms
“I do,” Cole says. “I would need to have a reason to meet with someone in the Realm of Light to go back, otherwise it would arouse suspicion if I showed up without cause.”
“I might also fit the requirements,” Ashen replies, a crease appearing between his brows as he thinks through the possibilities. “I can be summoned by theanunnakiAloros. Technically, though he needs to request my assistance, I can pass into his realm without a guide. If that is sufficient to fulfill the conditions of retrieving a fate key, then he would also be to do it. He has the same ability to travel here if I summon.”
“If that’s true, they might already have the Soulfate stone freed if he’s found it,” Maru says as he runs a finger across his forehead, his gaze trapped on the surface of the polished table.
“Perhaps, but they also might not even know where it is, just like we had no idea it was at the bottom of the sea,” I say. I sigh, leaning back into the plush gold cushions of the throne.
“What about me?” Ediye asks. “I have the free pass to the Realm of Light. I could go. What would it take to have the same unchaperoned access here?”
“Probably a reaping and then a resurrection from Davina, I would guess, unless there’s another way,” I reply as I glance up to Ashen, whose mouth is set in a grim line as he shrugs. “Perhaps my sister fits the requirements too. Are there any texts related to unchaperoned access to all realms?”
“If there are any passages, I’d be willing to bet they’re in the book you took from Ammon Hassan’s,” Ashen says as I let out a groan. I fucking hate that book and the mental gymnastics it’s taking to decipher its intricacies. Ashen smirks as though he can read my thoughts, which probably isn’t hard. I’m sure they’re written all over my face.
Naya leans forward, letting her gaze rest on each person as she speaks. “Regardless of how it’s done, I don’t think we need to make more of us who could be taken and used for the purposes of securing the second stone. The fewer the better.”
Cole nods next to her. “There could be more individuals out there that we don’t know about who fit the criteria. Now that we know only one stone is needed to pass the gate, we need to find the others before the Nephilim do.”
“We have the Deathfate stone,” Hotaru says. “Our realm is protected. If we keep our corridors shut, we will weather this storm. As we always have. Alone.”
I rise from the throne, waving for the others to remain seated. Silence follows as I walk to the windows overlooking the Bay of Souls, the dark water below glistening like an oil slick. A ripple disrupts the shifting waves in the distance and I wonder if it’s Hooktopus stalking the murk, stirring the nightmares of the human souls that fester beneath the surface.
“I wish it were that simple, to just shut our realm and let the storm rage,” I say to the bay that stretches into the fog. “The Nephilim are resolved to get to the fates. Even if it takes them centuries, they won’t just give up. Who knows how long they’ve been trapped in the abyss. What would you do to get out of hell? What would you give to never go back?” I turn toward the Council. I hold Ashen’s gaze. “You swam through our hell. What would you give to never touch that water again?”
Ashen swallows, pain etched into his features, his eyes pressing closed for a moment to open with dark flame. “Anything but the one thing I cannot live without.”
My heart grows heavy in my chest as we watch one another. When I finally look away and take a step forward, I carry the warmth of Ashen’s gaze with me. “Wherever they’ve been trapped, it must be just as bad as the Black Sea. Maybe worse. And the Nephilim are not just desperate. They are coordinated and determined. They will be relentless. They will never give up. We must get that stones and destroyAlahalsubefore they do. If the Nephilim capture it, they will find a way to use it against us until we fall, whether our corridors are shut are not.”
We’re all staring at one another as though daring one person to speak, the room filled with thudding hearts and restless thoughts. I’m just about to suggest we take a break when I hear running footsteps approaching from down the hall. I rush into the corridor with the others following behind me as Cyrus’s brawny frame draws to a halt in front of us. Though his face is stern and reserved, his eyes are wild with alarm. “The assembly hall. Hurry.”
He turns and starts running back the way he came as we keep pace next to him. “What’s going on?” Ashen asks as we take a left turn at speed.
“We received an urgent message from Keegan at the portal in Narbonne. He brought him back through the corridor.”
The fine hairs at my nape raise as claws seems to rake across my spine. I grab thekaikenfrom the sheath on my thigh. “Broughtwho?”
But as we enter the assembly hall, Cyrus doesn’t answer.
The hellfire swords of ten Shub Lugal soldiers are pointed to a man kneeling on the stone floor. His white tunic and pants are streaked with gore. He clutches his injured arm to his body, everything gone from the elbow down as though it was torn off. Flesh and shattered bone glisten with blood. His unblemished wings clink as the feathers shift with each of his ragged inhalations. But the agony in his expression is not just the torment of physical pain.
“They have come for the Soulfate key,” Aloros wheezes, despair painted across his beautiful face. “The Nephilim are taking the Realm of Light.”
For a moment, it seems like all the air flees the wide expanse of the Kur.
“How is this possible?” I ask, the guards lowering their weapons as I rush to Aloros’s side. Ashen pulls his belt off and tightens it across the angel’s bicep to stem the bleeding.
“House Shabarra,” Aloros says through gritted teeth. Sweat flows down the bewildered and broken expression on Aloros’s face. “A contingent of traitors opened portals there and let them in. They are fighting alongside them. They are contained for now in that quarter of Anur, but they are continuously taking more Nephilim in through the portals. They have many fighters. And they brought hellfire.”
“We believe we know where the Nephilim might be coming through to the Living Realm. Rusalimum, now Jerusalem. Cyrus,” I say, shifting my attention to the soldier as he nods. “Gather some trusted soldiers. Send them there to find it and shut it down. See if they can identify where they’re getting through to the Realm of Light and close the corridors from that side too.”
Cyrus turns and carries out the orders, picking soldiers for the task as Ediye works to staunch the bleeding from Aloros’s injury. When Ashen finishes tying the tourniquet, Ediye takes his wounded arm and examines the shattered bone. I smell burnt skin and singed hair. Sections of his flesh are charred and blistered.
“They knew you could summon Ashen?” I ask.
“Yes. I was about to call for him but was struck down with a mace before I could start the summoning. The Nephilim are strong,” Aloros says with a shudder. “Verystrong.”
Ediye lets Aloros’s arm down gently before examining his ribs, prodding her fingers against them as he hisses in pain. She meets my eyes when she straightens. “I need to lie him down somewhere safe.”
I nod. “The Throne Room. We can use the table.”
