Page 44 of Wicked Prince of Shadows
"Because they had cut everyone off. Grief is not something that is meant to be borne alone, but someone in such dire mourning can become cruel and capricious. It can be like trying to save someone from drowning. If you aren't careful, you'll drown as well. Some simply can't be helped." He sighed.
The glass skittered about around his feet, rolling toward the mirror’s frame with a soft clinking. He didn’t even glance down as the broken items moved across the floor, but his hand pressed against the small of my back to guide me to the padded bench on the balcony.
"That's horrifying. The other eidons just abandoned them?" I let him guide me, still trying to process what he'd said but not looking over the balcony’s edge. The night air was cooler out here, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I settled onto the bench. The blood moon hung heavy above us, the dull color stronger than in previous nights but still not at its full power. Grief was a painful thing. Most of my friends had drifted from me after I lost my parents because I had spiraled so deeply and into such darkness.
"It was the natural consequence. The Maker gave Chaori an answer, though the tales differ on what and whether the curse was defiance or simply a response. Some say the Maker offered a solution, but Chaori didn't find it sufficient, and others say he never asked for one but simply responded with rage. That is the one I am most inclined to believe, but it is likely because it most aligns with how I would feel if the one I loved was struck down and no one helped me save her." Vetle sat beside me, closer than necessary, and spread the parchment across both our laps. His thigh pressed against mine, and I tried not to think aboutthe heat that sparked where we touched despite his inherent coldness.
He tapped his claw on the top of the page along the form that reached out across the top third. “This depicts Aerithyn’s fall. Though we do not know for certain, we believe that at the curse’s conclusion the remnants of her power will conclude. It is her magic that keeps us here after Chaori cursed this place. And thus the curse has three courses for conclusion, shown here.”
I studied the images on the parchment. Beneath the falling figure, there was a small scene depicted and then beneath that, three other scenes. All took place over the chasm and on the column of stone I’d seen out there.
Firm lines divided each section of the page to represent the tablets. I couldn’t remember much about those tablets personally aside from their size and the fact that there were three.
“Rasoul and Maltric have some knowledge of the ancient languages. In the early days, before fully understanding the limitations, I also brought scholars through to assist. Some became trapped, unfortunately.” His jaw worked, guilt flaring in his response. “But this is what we have generally concluded it means.”
He pointed to a figure in the scene just beneath the falling figure from the top. “This is how the curse is transferred. You see, here you have one Hollow Ruler. See the blade in the hand? The spiked crown? The cut?” He drew a line from one to the next, the Hollow Ruler depicted with double lines and a spiked crown. The Hollow Ruler stood before a separate figure with a simple crown instead of a spiked crown. Then the next image showed the Hollow Ruler cutting the palm of the second person.
A script whose language I did not recognize was scrawled beneath both. He pressed his claw tip directly on a word. “This ispartially how we have translated the script. These are the words Tanith spoke to make the transference.”
He moved his hand over to the next image in that scene which showed the first figure no longer double-lined and the second figure now spike-crowned and double-lined. In this one, there were two crowds on either side. “This is the cursed kingdom, and this is the freed kingdom.” He directed my attention to a series of people with their arms uplifted and their faces depicted with horror or joy. Though it was difficult to make out the nuance, it seemed one side showed sorrow while the other showed joy without much variance in between. “They are trading places based on these lines and this script.”
He then moved back to the first panel and near the bottom. This one showed the double-lined figure repeating the same action with another individual as in the first. “Here we see that the curse can be transferred to any ruler. But…as you can see, it takes the entire kingdom.”
My throat tightened, but I nodded, my gaze already drifting over to the next. Obviously, that wasn’t even an option. Within his study, the reformation continued, the mirror now nearly whole and the table reassembled. The mess of items on the floor remained the same, but some of the pages that had once had writing were now noticeably bare.
“Over in this one, we see the wedding between the royals. That means ‘descendant’ or ‘from.’” He gestured to the punched lines and the small v set into the figure standing opposite the ‘hollow figure.’ See how it matches this mark in the original figure above? The script below seems to confirm it, though there is some question here. Additionally, this is placed in the center of the trio, suggesting that it is the most favored outcome for removing the curse. And here…in the third, we have the innocent, sacrificed alone.” His shoulders dropped at that. “This script has been the most difficult to translate with theideograms. Our most accurate translation, as far as we can tell, is that this is a non-royal who was uninvolved in the curse. There is no marking that connects this person to the first Hollow Ruler. Nothing to distinguish this individual. But…you see here…” He hesitated, his jaw working. “The vines from the chasm reach this person, and here, you see they are utterly destroyed. This marking here is the ideogram for obliteration.”
He leaned back against the marble wall, his expression heavier than I had ever seen it. But my gaze returned to the symbols on the page.
My stomach twisted into a knot so tight I thought I might be sick. That could have been me. That would have been me if Vetle had gone through with it. Itcouldbe me if we were wrong about this.
What if we were missing something?
“Walk me through it then. The letters and ideograms specifically. Help me understand how to read this. Maybe as you’re teaching me, something will occur to you.” I shivered in the coolness of the night.
The edge of his mouth pulled up. He then slid his arm out of his long flowing sleeve and wrapped the voluminous garment around my shoulders, drawing me close to him. “Very well.”
I leaned against him, my body tense at first. Then I tucked my legs under my skirt and rested more fully against him. If he noticed my tension, he didn’t say, but he pointed out each word and letter and ideogram that was more difficult to translate. It all started to muddy in my mind. My cheek soon rested against his chest as my eyes heavied.
I barely registered the coolness of his body against mine as my body heated the space within the robe. Some part of me took comfort in the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the way his voice softened as he explained another symbol.
"This marking represents..." His voice faded into a low murmur, like distant thunder rolling across the salt flats.
My eyes grew heavier with each word, and then?—
The earth trembled and shook, heavy stones grinding against one another.
“Your Majesty!” A voice cried out. “The chasm is expanding again.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
My eyes snapped open. I jerked upright, heart hammering as I blinked, shocked to find that the moon had set and the sun had risen.
Vetle's strong arm tightened around me for a breath before he released me entirely, rising to his feet. The parchment slid from our laps, and I scrambled to catch it before it could blow away in the sudden gust of wind that swept across the balcony. We’d fallen asleep against one another, his arm around me. He slid out of his outer robe, leaving it around my shoulders.
Another tremor rolled through the palace, stronger this time. I braced myself against the stone bench as the entire structure groaned. Dust and small fragments of mortar rained down from the ceiling inside Vetle's chambers.
"The eastern wall—" The guard's voice cut off as another quake hit, this one violent enough to knock me sideways. Vetle caught me by the arm, steadying me as his jaw set in a hard line.
