Page 107 of A Fate Unwoven
Iska’s gaze softened. “Yes.”
“Then I’m with you,” said Dimas, so convincingly that a spark of fear went through Lena.
He’d said he was on her side, at least for now, but what if it had been a ploy to get her here?
No, don’t panic, she told herself. She had to trust him. No matter how hard it was.
“I hope that’s true. For your sake,” Iska said to her cousin. “If you betray us again—”
“I won’t.”
Iska considered the emperor, carefully looking him over for a moment longer, before turning toward the mountain. “My father is waiting for us. Come.”
Iska started walking toward the narrow mountain pass up ahead. Turning her back to them made it clear she didn’t see Dimas or Lena as a threat. She hadn’t bothered checking either of them for weapons. Either Dimas’s ruse had worked so well … or Iska’s confidence was rooted in a safety net that Lena couldn’t see. With her magic suppressed, she couldn’t feel the threads of any cultists lingering in the shadows, but the air was eerily thick with unease. It had Lena itching to reach for her mother’s dagger; she could show Iska just howunthreateningshe really was.
Lena pushed the thought aside. Making a move now, before she was even inside the cult’s base, would certainly spell doom for Finæn and Brother Dunstan. No, she needed to bide her time. Make them believe the ending of this story was theirs to control.
Lena stayed silent as Dimas dragged her along, his grip on her arm just gentle enough to make her think he’d seen the flicker of doubt in her eyes and wanted to remind her he was still on her side.
They ascended a narrow, icy stone staircase up the base of the mountain, coming to a stop before a barely noticeable crevice in the stone.
Iska gestured to it. “You first, cousin. I’ll watch your Fateweaver.”
Dimas hesitated for the briefest of moments before dropping Lena’s arm and slipping through the gap.
“You next,” said Iska. “And before you think about trying anything, you might want to remember that it’ll be Finæn who pays the price.”
Lena had never heard Iska sound so detached. There was nothing left of the girl who’d helped her control her abilities and spoken of the Furybringer with such fear. Everything about the Iska Lena had thought she’d known had been a carefully constructed act.
She wanted to ask why, but she knew it would be pointless; even if Iska did tell her, there was no justification that would make Lena feel better.
Cautiously, Lena slipped into the crevice with Iska following close behind. The air was somehow colder in here than outside, and a shiver snaked its way down Lena’s spine as she silently followed Dimas through the dim passage.
Like in the ancient temple she’d found in the Wilds, the stone here was marked with symbols from the old language, their lines almost too faint to make out. The power in them should have been dormant, the incantations and magic needed to invoke them lost centuries ago. Instead, they hummed in the same way the symbols on the chamber door beneath the palace had, a power Lena could still feel even through the bangle’s suppressant abilities.
Torchlight at the end of the tunnel broke through the darkness, bathing Dimas in a warm orange glow. At first Lena could just make out the silhouettes of two figures up ahead, features lost in the shadows of the tunnel. And then they were close enough for Lena to see their faces, one feminine with a strong, square jaw and dark eyes, the other masculine and sharp. Both had the hoods of their robes drawn over their heads, but they did little to disguise the mix of fear and reverence in their gazes as they regarded Lena.
The square-jawed cultist’s attention landed on Dimas. “What is he doing here?”
“Dimas claims he wishes to join us,” Iska said.
The square-jawed cultist scoffed. “And you believe him?”
Iska opened her mouth to reply, but it was the deep rumble of Roston Ehmar that said, “That is not for her to decide.”
The regent stepped out of the shadows. Gone was his usual royal regalia, replaced instead by the same deep crimson robes the rest of theHæstawore.
“Uncle.” Dimas’s voice was impressively steady as he regarded the man who had betrayed him, so much so that Lena again had to remind herself it was all an act as he said, “I’m here to ask for your forgiveness and to pledge my allegiance to theHæsta.”
Roston’s eyes narrowed. “You said the Furybringer was a monster. That you would never help me bring her back.”
“That was before I knew the whole story. I convinced the Fateweaver to tell it to me. All this time, I believed Næbya had forsaken me because I was unworthy.” Dimas’s hands clenched at his sides. “But now I know it was because She had a greater purpose for me. Thatthis—helping you—was my fate.” Dimas grabbed Lena’s arms, lifting them so the bangle around her wrist was in full view. “Her powers are suppressed. Do with her what you will.”
Lena made a show of struggling against him, only for the cultists at Roston’s side to grab both of her arms and hold her still. Their painful grip made it hard to push away the panic rising inside her.Just a little longer.She just had to wait until Yana arrived with backup. Then Dimas could take the bangle off her and put it on his uncle.
And if that didn’t work … well, there was still the dagger Dimas had dipped into his sleeping potion. The one Casimir had insisted would work as long as the emperor pierced Roston’s flesh.
Roston regarded Dimas with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “I knew you would see the truth. I am proud of you, my boy. Now,” he said, turning once more to look at Lena, “I assumeyouhave not had a change of heart?”
