Page 157 of City of Snakes
To save us all, I would compromise everything.
Isleen stopped Caym once. While she was in his grasp, she cast the Sethe curse on herself, and with her, Death was locked away. But not before he turned all but one of her children to stone. He will find a way to wake.
Under the hundredth black moon after Isleen’s demise, he shall walk again with all my power. Those who worship him will give their lives to become his vessels of destruction.
And so I write this book of prophecies through whatever Reverist scribe in my lineage can still hear my voice. I beg you to listen.
I failed you. But there is still hope that Caym can be stopped.
Three relics are hidden for the child of Isleen’s Last Daughter, the sixth heir of Desidero, to wield. I’ve left you all you need to awaken the highest power.
Death knows no justice or meaning in life. For the sake of all, never bargain with him.
To the kin of my Isleen, when you read this, remember:
When time needs to be borrowed, look to the light.
When all seems lost, trust in the shadows.
Chapter 49
Sybilla
We dispersed to make preparations to approach Caym with reinforcements.
Asterie, Wyeth and Fen returned to Luz, bringing Hurley along with them. Cassidee set off for the East Corridor to consult King and Queen Nadiar. Amara Egressed to Eros to oversee the crowning of the young heir to the South Corridor and to keep things there in order.
Krait, Elsedora, Ryn and I lingered in the dining hall, wordless and tired.
Krait finally broke the silence. “We’ll leave for Sahlmkar tomorrow. Ryn, I’m sending you ahead of us to prepare the flat.” Giving no further context, he rose and stepped out of the room. He took a left. Undoubtedly, he’d go to the bell tower.
I squashed my urge to follow him.
Ryn stood and stepped around the table before planting a kiss on top of Elsedora’s head and exiting. I’d forced him to tell a horrid truth, yet his dismissal still hurt.
El released a deep breath. “I want us to be right about the Sethe curse—that it will be enough to delay Caym, that he won’t get hold of Isolde’s power again.”
“But you don’t think we are right?”
She grimaced and shook her head. “Something feels unsettling. Like we’ve missed a crucial detail.”
I rose from my chair, suddenly feeling the weight of the day’s events. My joints ached, my head hurt and my heart felt like a heavy, useless weight in my chest. “You’ll watch over Emmerick—make sure that he is treated well while I’m gone?”
Elsedora offered a sad smile. “Of course. Your guard dog is safe with me.”
“And don’t kill Firose. There is more to her than her actions against Fen and the realms.”
That sentiment was met with an eye roll and a reluctant nod.
When I unlocked the cell door, Firose was sleeping fitfully in a cot. Emmerick sat on the ground with his back resting against the wall, facing her, sipping from a wooden cup of water. They both looked cleaner in their fresh linen tunics and breeches. Buckets and rags sat discarded in the corner.
Em’s attention caught on me. I walked with tender steps and lowered myself, with a grimace, to sit shoulder to shoulder with him.
With a frown, he watched me rub my wrists.
In my youth, we’d used to sit this way atop the palace walls when I’d skirted my guards. Peeking over the edge, we would joke and make up stories about people in the bailey below. Now,together we faced the inside of a dark cell and the woman who’d once tried to kill me.
“I’m sorry you must stay down here,” I whispered.
