Page 114 of Reign of Stars and Fire

“I wasn’t inyourstreets, I was helping Luca steal back what was already his,” Kase muttered as he closed his eyes to absorb the shared memory.

Niklas smiled, but went quiet as the memory took hold of Junie. He held her against his side when she let out a slight gasp.

Like Niklas, Bo and Rune insisted they didn’t need to see it. They were there through it all. Gorm didn’t hesitate and pushed his blocky forehead to Malin’s fingers.

I held Saga’s hand as the memory tore through her mind. Concern built with her alone, for she’d relive a great deal. She’d witness the sacrifice and secrets her brother kept all to destroy the man who’d harmed his sister.

The memory finished for others at different times. Elise opened her eyes first. Distant in her gaze, she rubbed the missing fingertips on her hand, then took hold of Valen’s when he opened his eyes. One by one, they learned the truth behind our world, our fate.

Saga pressed a palm to my cheek. “You were always the song of my heart, Ari.”

I kissed her. “Every step brought me to you.”

“This is Sol’s missive,” Valen said softly. He looked to Calista. The storyteller had yet to open her eyes.

“What missive?” I asked.

“Calista wrote a note for Sol, but sent it to Kase. It’s what spurred us to come.”

“Should’ve kept you away,” Calista muttered; her eyes were still closed.

Saga tightened her hold on my hand. “What did it say?”

When the storyteller kept quiet, Valen answered instead.

“Blood red sky reveals a great lie, of which we’ve all believed,” the king said. He spoke in a rote tone, the words clearly memorized. “A Falkyn comes to a world undone, a hope for those deceived. Be nearby, yet stay your might, 'til the raven is free for flight.”

“A damn warning to be a bit more cautious, you bleeding sods,” Calista interjected.

“I’m not getting into this again.” Valen swung his hand to his makeshift isle. “But we are nearby.”

“Blood red sky.” Malin tilted her face to the eerie crimson moon. “What is the great lie?”

For a long, drawn pause we were silent until Elise took Valen’s hand, whispering, “The kingdoms are a lie.”

“What do you mean?” Junie asked.

“What Ari saw during his sleep. If it’s true, we were never divided into realms, or kingdoms. Our . . .worldis a lie.”

The thought was sobering, terrifying even. As a boy I’d heartily believed Etta was shaped by the gods two thousand turns before my birth. Folk tales of a dew drop from a golden leaf from the tree of the gods turned into a mystical river. From the banks sprouted moonvane, and meadows, and when the gods could not agree on who should have claim over the new land—they created rocky peaks which eventually became the icy wastes of Old Timoran.

I had no doubt the East, West, and South had similar tales.

“You must stay your might until a raven is free for flight,” I said, voice low. “I can only assume the raven speaks of Saga. But when she is free of Davorin.”

“Makes sense,” Gunnar said and pointed at his family. “They should not step on the isles until he is defeated or damn near close to dying.”

“Calista.” Valen faced the storyteller. “Any thoughts? It was your missive. Halvar tells us you’ve found strength here. Any feelings?”

The girl took in every gaze that had locked on her. A look of fright dug into her pale features until all at once she shot up from the log she’d used as a bench, cheeks flushed. “I . . . I need to . . .” She stammered and looked to Elise. “Got a woman’s issue, Kind Heart.”

Junie scoffed. I didn’t need the ability to taste lies to know Calista wasn’t being truthful. She wanted to escape from whatever had unsettled her about the memory.

Calista followed to where Elise pointed out which of the canvas tents was hers and Valen’s.

“That was strange,” Elise said once she returned to the rock beside Valen.

“She’s likely overwhelmed by the truth of her bloodline,” Junie said, and looked around as though expecting a few words of agreement, but was given nothing. In fact, everyone seemed wholly confused. “No one else made the connection?”

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