Page 75 of City of Snakes
I shifted in my seat; we danced dangerously close to truths I hadn’t yet told Sybilla.
“The same prophecy that includes me?” Sybilla asked.
Elsedora narrowed her gaze on me. “Yes, Krait. HowisSybilla involved in Isolde’s prophecy again?”
I could’ve let my Shadows wring Elsedora’s neck.
“I’ve already told her.The Book of Isoldenames the Last Daughter of Isleen as a key to ending Death’s final reign.”
Ryn’s mouth narrowed into a line. This wasn’t how I’d wanted to break the full meaning to her.
“Ah yes,that’swhat it was.” Elsedora’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Sybilla’s brows knitted as she homed in on Elsedora with a tilt of her head. I held my breath, realizing that without Sourcemagic, Elsedora was a living, breathing liability to my withheld truths.
“You are singing limericks internally, which makes me feel like you’re keeping something from me,” Sybilla mused as she patted Elsedora on the hand. “I’ll make you tell me later.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Can you two open this memorandum now?” Elsedora asked.
She set the obsidian stone down on the table. Glancing at Sybilla, I explained, “A memorandum is created by someone, usually before death, to document last words or wisdom or a message for their loved ones.”
Sybilla nodded. “I’ve heard of them from Asterie but have never seen one.”
“I’ve got it.” Ryn cut the tip of his finger and let his blood drop into the engraved sun symbol that adorned the stone. He then whispered a Phynnic charm. As soon as he’d finished, a ray of light shot straight up from the stone, like shimmering gold dust.
“I do not have much time,” the late Mattock rasped; his weak voice filled the room. His face, suspended in golden light, shone above us. “My dear Amara—you are my light on the darkest days. Keeping you and our boy afar has destroyed me.
“I must warn you. The Death Origin rises. He is within me. There are three of us who do his bidding. He grows stronger with every death at our hands. Firose is also in his grasp—do not blame her, my dear. She tries to ward him away when he overtakes me, but she has grown weak against him too.
“When we’re gone, he will replace us. None of us can kill the other. It is a hopeless web he has woven. You must find them all and kill them all at once to deny him a chance to take another.”
Mattock senior coughed and cleared his throat. “I hope it is not too late. Knowing you are safe has kept me strong, but I fear fighting Death has taken its toll on me. I’m so sorry, my love.”
The light flickered out. My hands trembled from how tightly I clung to the edge of the table. When I looked over at Sybilla, tears were falling.
We could delay the inevitable, but our time ran thin.
“I must tell Emmerick,” Sybilla said.
“Not a chance. He sent a weapon that nearlykilledyou. He is likely an envoy, Sybilla.”
“It cannot be him…Maybe Caym tricked me. Maybe Em is in danger,” she tried.
She could justify it however she wanted—I wasn’t going to see her killed over puppy love and a false sense of loyalty. I turned to El and said, “Continue to pay the North King visits until we know where the threat comes from. All signs point to Helos being a hub for Caym’s envoys.”
Sybilla huffed indignantly, eyes darting between us.
El kicked back in her chair. “Gladly. He’s fun to look after.” She offered Sybilla a playful wink, which I loathed. Sybilla seemed too distraught to react.
Sybilla’s head snapped in my direction. “Emmerick would not send those men.”
Ryn was the one to reach across the table this time. I wanted to let my Shadows pry his fingers away before he could touch her. He took Sybilla’s hand. “My Queen,hewould not. But if Caym has infiltrated his mind, he may not know what he is doing...We are only trying to keep you safe, to take precautions”
She pulled her hand from his and placed it at her throat. “That implies that I am unsafe with Emmerick, and that cannot be further from the truth.” She shook her head. “He cannot be. He—”
“We hope he is not an envoy, but you aren’t to step foot in that city until we know for sure,” I commanded. “And if you see that symbol on any person’s belongings, you run or prepare to fight because your life will depend on it.”
