Starbride felt a tug at her consciousness, and it took her breath away. Yanchasa’s voice was too faint to hear, but she knew what he wanted, what he could give her, the promise of power. She could be free again. All was not lost.
She thought of what Roland had done, his denial of power. The path to redemption began by saying no to the thing that had first led them astray. Starbride brushed Yanchasa’s lingering essence away and tightened her grip on Katya.
Maia and Brutal caught up to them at the door to Starbride’s apartment. He reported that none of the sleeping monks or adsnazi appeared to be seriously injured. He didn’t mention the one she’d killed, but the image wouldn’t leave her mind. Maia wrung her hands, seeming much closer to the young girl she’d been before the troubles started. When Brutal finished speaking, she flung her arms around Katya and Starbride both.
They staggered, and just as Starbride began to put her arms around Maia, Maia kissed both their cheeks and stepped back. “I didn’t want you to think I was angry with you, Katya, because of my father. I just wanted you to know that I love you. That seemed important to say right now.”
Starbride had to smile, and she bet Katya did the same.
“And,” Maia said, “life’s too short to keep secrets. I’m pregnant with Darren’s baby.”
Starbride felt Katya stiffen. She didn’t think she’d heard complete silence before that moment. She knew that particular secret, and she was still surprised.
“Um,” Katya said, and Starbride thought she did rather well to get anything out at all.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Maia said. “We’ll work it out.”
By the sweet smile Brutal gave her, Starbride knew two things: she’d already told him, and she wouldn’t be a parent alone.
“Since we’re all telling secrets,” Freddie said. “I was once convicted of murder and hanged.”
They all breathed out a not-quite laugh, the tension deflating. Starbride tugged on Katya’s arm. “And we’re going to get married.”
Katya slid her thumb across Starbride’s chin. “We haven’t had a year of consortship yet.”
“Darkstrong take propriety. We’ll marry whenever we want.”
Dawnmother hugged her other side. “Horsestrong couldn’t have said it better.” She waved at the rest of them. “Rest. Eat.”
Starbride was stumbling by the time they got inside the sitting room. Once inside the bedroom, Katya had to half-carry her, and she passed out fully dressed on top of the covers, barely aware of Katya undressing her and putting her between the sheets.
*
Starbride’s eyes flew open, and panic gripped her heart until she reached out and found Katya asleep beside her. She’d been dreaming of snow-capped peaks and the screams of dying men, but they didn’t have the clarity of Yanchasa’s memories. Just another nightmare she’d have to live with.
She eased back into the pillows, watching Katya sleep by the light of the moon streaming through the window. Stars sparkled in the clear night sky, the snow done for the time being.
Idyllic really, and she knew she should relax into it, keep the calm while she could, but now that she was awake—her heart still pounding—she itched to be up. Even though she’d gotten no rest with Yanchasa, she felt as if she’d slept for far too long.
She dressed in the dark and tiptoed from the room. Dawnmother had left a bowl of dried figs and nuts on the table next to a lantern, just in case. Starbride smiled, and her stomach growled. She hadn’t needed to eat much with Yanchasa around. She bolted a few pieces of fruit and put more in her pocket before she sneaked from the room, careful not to wake anyone.
Once out, though, she was lost. What were her choices? Walk the halls like a ghost, fully immersed in the wrongs she’d committed? Venture out into the cold, but to do what? She suddenly craved someone who understood, who’d felt this restless energy, the fight between wanting to do something good and wanting to collapse into a puddle and wallow in guilt.
Roland would know. Whether he could offer advice or not, he would know her feelings as well as she did. But how to get through the dungeon door without a Fiend?
She paused in the dark hallway, torn. She supposed Yanchasa might have left enough residue on her soul to get her through, but she’d hate to take the long walk only to have to come back unsatisfied. She kept picturing Roland’s face as he turned on Bea—no, himself—in order to help her. He’d resisted the temptation to reclaim power long after it had been stripped from him. It had been easy to do when she’d been exhausted, but later, if it ever happened again? She needed to ask him how he’d managed it.
Starbride hurried to Hugo’s room. He answered the door while clutching a robe around himself. “Miss Starbride?” he asked cautiously.
She breathed a laugh. “It’s me. I need your help. I need to see your father.”
“One second.” He made as if to slip inside but eased back out. “To do magic?”
It hurt, but she couldn’t blame him. “No, I promise. I just need to talk to someone who, um…”
He nodded and threw some clothes on before joining her in the hall. They didn’t speak for most of the trip, but she couldn’t help glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
“I’m sorry, Hugo,” she said softly, just before they reached the dungeon.
He sighed a laugh. “You knew I’d forgiven you before you said that, right? There’s little I wouldn’t forgive you for.”
She was tempted to ask what but squeezed his hand instead. “You are one of my dearest friends, I hope you know that.” Tears threatened to choke her, and her vision swam.
He clutched her fingers and leaned in, planting a quick kiss on her lips. “I hope you will do me the honor of letting me escort you on your wedding day.”
She wiped away the few tears that had managed to make their way out. “Let them try to stop us.” The words sounded too close to something she would have said with Yanchasa sharing her head, and she shuddered.
When they found the dungeon door ajar, Starbride paused. Hugo glanced at her, and they stepped through together. Soft voices led them to Roland’s cell. Einrich stood over his brother, a dagger in one hand, and Starbride wondered if that was revenge or mercy in his rigid shoulders.
Starbride waved Hugo back the way they’d come, but he stared at the dagger. Starbride pushed until he waited by the door.
“Did a part of you want to help Starbride and get your Fiend back?” Einrich asked.
“You should kill me,” Roland said.
“For what you’ve done, or because you might do it again?”
Roland’s face jerked up, and his eyes pinned Starbride to the wall. Einrich didn’t seem to notice the glance. Maybe he thought Roland was staring at shadows.
“You’re awake because you miss your wife,” Roland said.
Einrich let out a slow breath. “Yes.”
“I killed her, my own sweet sister-in-law. I killed a lot of people. But now I’m free.” His eyes seemed to plead. “Free to die. I abandoned my duty for power. Everything I’ve done since doesn’t matter.”
Einrich knelt and brought the dagger close to Roland’s throat. “Did you let it in, Roland? Did you invite it? Do you want it back?”
“It’s not like that,” Starbride said softly.
Einrich stood and whirled, face thunderous with a hint of panic. Starbride had never seen his emotions so naked. He held the dagger up as if to fend her off.
Starbride held her hands up so he could see her empty palms. As she stepped inside, she waved to Hugo to stay where he was. “Yanchasa saw everything I ever wanted or ever felt insecure about. Every slight became a monument to insult. And that was with the thinking, reasoning human behind the power. What you have, what Roland had, is the most monstrous side of Yanchasa’s personality. You don’t invite that in so much as it barges in and takes over.” Both Roland and Einrich stared at her now, and they looked so much alike. She’d thought so before, but it was easier to see without
Roland carrying Yanchasa’s Aspect. Now Einrich was the more dangerous one.
“You’ve seen what happens when one of your Aspects emerges on its own,” Starbride said. “When Roland merged with it, the cruel monster filled in all the bits of his mind that it could.”
“And even the rest was under its sway,” Roland said, looking at her as if she was the spirit of wisdom. “But the knowledge remains.”
“And the guilt,” she said, “because the power does feel good. Horsestrong forgive me, but it does.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know,” Einrich said softly, and she could tell he was waiting for an excuse, but was it to kill his brother or spare him?
She pointed at the dagger. “Both sides of the blade carry mercy and cruelty. Killing him spares him the pain of guilt but leaves him no room to make amends. And you would have to live with the fact that you’d killed him.”
“And if I spare him, I make him suffer the guilt, but he gets a chance to atone?” Einrich asked.
Starbride smiled. “And you’d have to live with that, too.”
Einrich stared at his brother. “He asked me to kill him.”
“Maia asked for the same.”
“And you?” Einrich asked. “What are you asking for?”
Starbride thought of the residents of Marienne and the villagers she’d killed. What would make it right? To send herself to prison? Yanchasa was already there. If she held herself blameless, she had to hold Roland the same, didn’t she?
“To make amends,” she said. “To marry your daughter and make her happy. I want to live, and I want him to live to prove it can be done.”
The silence stretched on until Roland raised his head. “What could I ever do? There aren’t enough good deeds in all the world. A person could spend his whole life searching for them.”
Starbride smiled softly. “Yes, a person could.”
Einrich put his dagger away. He didn’t embrace his brother. He might never be able to, but the look he wore didn’t carry the hate it had when she’d first spied on him. He moved past Starbride, out of the cell. She sat face-to-face with Roland, not quite close enough to touch.
He folded his fingers over his stump and could hardly look at her. “Do you forgive me?” he asked.
She thought long before she answered. “No, not yet, but I understand you. I’m sorry I tortured you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t give you any other choice.”
“Tell me about your time with Yanchasa. I want to hear it.”
After a deep breath, he began to speak.
Chapter Forty-three
Katya
Katya sneaked into the secret passageways before Portia could find her. Her new maid had arrived in Katya’s apartment in a tizzy six weeks ago, days after Starbride had been cleansed. She’d stayed permanently abuzz ever since. It had only gotten worse as Katya’s wedding approached. The week before the event, she’d checked and rechecked Katya’s wedding clothes, her jewelry, and the plans. Now that they only had one day left, Katya expected her to be floating three feet above the ground with excitement. Anyone would have thought it was her getting married.
Katya had told her she wanted to sleep in on the last days before her wedding, and Portia had enthusiastically agreed. She’d promised to put together a large breakfast that Katya could have in bed if she desired. Katya didn’t see the fun with no one to share it. It had been the job of the wedding escorts to keep Katya and Starbride apart for five days before their wedding, and they’d done a miraculous job. If Starbride was still in the palace, Katya had no idea where.
Katya had struggled to find her the first two days, and her escorts had been delighted to watch her try, particularly Reinholt, but after she couldn’t even bribe the servants, she’d given up.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t hope to see Starbride where she was going, though the chances were slim. As she took her first step into the dark secret passageways, she shivered. Nearly three months since her ordeal underground, and tight spaces still unnerved her. Maybe they’d hidden Starbride in a closet. That would guarantee Katya couldn’t go in after her.
She hurried toward the capstone cavern, giving a quick hello to the knowledge monks who teemed around the large portal into the underground city. They were still discovering its secrets, including the pyramid and its ominous capstone. If people had thought Yanchasa a myth before, they knew the truth now.
Katya grinned and knew it had an edge of malice to it. The bastard wouldn’t be a problem much longer.
As she stepped into the capstone cavern, the lights of many tiny pyramids greeted her. The adsnazi had placed the pyramid that Starbride had transferred Yanchasa’s essence into near the old, dead capstone, the easier to work with both at once.
Near the center of the cavern, Leafclever nodded to her. Katya returned the gesture and headed to where Redtrue stood apart from the adsnazi, Riverwise at her side. Katya didn’t point out the distance. The adsnazi might be working with her this day, but afterward, they were going home without Redtrue among them. That didn’t mean she’d be alone, if Castelle had anything to do with it.
Riverwise smiled and bowed, Farradain fashion. He’d chopped off the long lock of hair all adsnazi sported and seemed to be letting the rest grow out. “Highness. Some of the others are calling this your wedding present.”
Redtrue sniffed. Except for the long lock, her head was freshly shaved. The adsnazi could say she was no longer one of them, but that wouldn’t change who she was in her heart. “The magic is done today because we have now finished our research.”
“I love it when you get romantic,” Castelle said, hugging her from the side.
“It’s a perfect wedding present, Riverwise, thank you,” Katya said. “How long until we’re ready?”
“Shouldn’t you be preparing your suit of diamonds for the ceremony?” Redtrue asked.
“Alas,” Katya said, “the emerald-studded venue I ordered isn’t ready yet, and my sapphire-encrusted horse is too heavy to walk, so they’re putting it on wheels.”
Redtrue cracked a smile.
“Besides,” Castelle said, “Katya and Starbride are getting married Allusian fashion.”
“Mostly,” Katya added.
Redtrue sniffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She looked past Katya’s shoulder to the capstone. “They’re ready.”
Redtrue didn’t speak to any of the adsnazi as she joined their circle, and Katya read in her stiff back and shoulders that she still pretended it was a matter of pride between them, that she didn’t regret her choices. Castelle’s pitying glances told a different story, one Katya could guess: Redtrue’s banishment cut her to the core. She could return to Allusia, but Katya bet she wouldn’t, not until the adsnazi welcomed her home.
Katya had always thought that pyradistés lacked ritual. Whenever the Umbriels had Waltzed, Crowe had simply chained them to the floor and let them transform, commune with Yanchasa, and then he’d cared for their unconscious bodies afterward. The whole thing could have done with a bit more pomp.
Evidently, the adsnazi agreed with Crowe. There was no chanting or dancing as with a feast for one of the spirits.
The council of five, an inner voice corrected. Katya contained a shiver. Best to consider them the spirits for as long as she could. Of course, now that the people of Marienne were learning the truth, Katya had to wonder if even spirit worship would change.
The adsnazi sat and linked hands, each with a pyramid resting in his or her lap. Some stared at the capstone and some at Starbride’s pyramid. Redtrue blinked twice and then not again. All around the circle, they wore calm faces and breathed in unison. Katya couldn’t fathom the battle that was raging, and she was suddenly glad Starbride wasn’t there to feel it.
Seconds passed, minutes. Sweat stood out on adsnazi foreheads, and some of their eyelids sagged or slipped shut. All the pyramids pulsed with white light, first slow and then as quick as the beating of a sparrow’s heart.
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The capstone and the smaller pyramid flared, so bright Katya had to shield her eyes, and then both faded, going dark. The adsnazi let go of one another and came back to themselves slowly, their pyramids the only source of light. Redtrue stood on shaky legs, always the first to get to her feet.
“Well?” Castelle asked.
“It’s done,” Redtrue said. “Yanchasa is now back where she belongs.” She beamed, and Katya saw what Castelle must have seen in her. “There will be no more need for Fiends.”
No more need for the Waltz, at least. Da, Reinholt, Maia, Hugo, and Brutal still possessed their Aspects, all carefully locked by pyramid necklaces. If all went as planned, Bastian and Vierdrin would never need to carry pyramids. They would never Waltz. The adsnazi hadn’t wanted to risk draining the Fiends and giving Yanchasa a boost of power, but there was no reason to pass the Aspect to future generations.
Katya sighed. The end of an era. The end of secrets. Well, the end of Fiendish secrets. Who could say what the future would hold for the Umbriels without Yanchasa beneath their feet?
Chapter Forty-four
Starbride
Starbride felt him go, Yanchasa’s howling presence flitting past her mind’s eye. When he’d been forced from Starbride’s mind, he’d still had hope. She could feel him under the palace, waiting for another chance, seething with the need for revenge. He could wait centuries if necessary. Now he knew that he would never walk free again.
Starbride bet he was shrieking under the original glacier that had held him, trapped in his useless body, crying out impotently to his fellows. She wondered if they were happy to feel his presence again.
Dawnmother touched Starbride’s shoulder. “Is it the ritual?”
“Funny that they’d call it that. There’s not even any singing or dancing.” She looked around the room where her wedding escort had hidden her that day, a place even Katya didn’t know about: Pennynail’s tower. Cleared of most of its shabby furniture, it was nearly presentable, and they had the master of sneaking himself bringing them food and drink.
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