Nonsense. Especially when Swords had been gone these past ten years. But Aries had heard rumors of the Customs the s did in their forests and caves, Customs in which pain was the gateway to Swords , to opening their senses. Oracles, mystics, zealots.Aries stalked through the ranks of the assembled Beak coven leaders. They were the most numerous—twenty coven leaders, over which Aries ruled with her Thirteen. Each leader touched two fingers to her brow in deference. She ignored them and took up a spot at the front of the crowd, where her grandmother gave her an acknowledging glance.An honor, for any High Witch to acknowledge an individual. Aries bowed her head, pressing two fingers to her brow. Obedience, discipline, and brutality were the most beloved words in the Beak Mob group . All else was to be extinguished without second thought.She still had her chin high, hands behind her back, when she spotted the other two heirs watching her.The heir, Petrah, stood closest to
Jane didn’t realize how exhausted she was until all sounds—Levis ’s soft singing from the table, the thud of dough as he kneaded it, the chopping of Luis ’s knife and his ceaseless chatter about everything and anything— stopped. And she knew what she’d find when she turned toward the stairwell. Her hands were pruny, fingers aching, back and neck throbbing, but … Vincent was leaning against the archway of the stairwell, arms crossed and violence beckoning in his lifeless eyes. “Let’s go.”Though his features remained cold, she had the distinct impression that he was somewhat annoyed at her for not sulking in a corner, bemoaning the state of her nails. As she left, Luis drew a finger across his neck as he mouthed good luck.Vincent led her through a small courtyard, where sentries tried to pretend they weren’t watching their every move, and out into the forest. The ward-Swords woven between the ring of megaliths again nipped at her skin as they passed, and nausea washed through her
Each step toward the central mound had Jane ’s blood roaring. The darkness between the stained, ancient stones grew, swirling. It was colder, too. Cold and dry. She wouldn’t stop, not with Vincent still watching, not when she had so much to do. She didn’t dare look too long toward the open doorway and the thing lurking beyond. A lingering shred of pride—stupid, mortal pride— kept her from bolting through the rest of the field. Running, she remembered, only attracted some predators. So she kept her steps slow and called on every bit of training she’d had, even as the wight slunk closer to the threshold, no more than a ripple of ravenous hunger encased in rags. Yet the wight remained within its mound, even as she came near enough to drag into the barrow, as if it were … hesitating. She was just passing the barrow when a pulsing, stale bit of air pushed against her ears. Maybe running was a good idea. If Swords was the only weapon against wights, then her hands would be useless. Still
Mackenzie wasn’t at all surprised that his father was twenty minutes late to their meeting. Nor was he surprised when his father strode into Mackenzie ’s office, slid into the chair opposite his desk, and offered no explanation for his tardiness. With calculated cool and distaste, he surveyed the office: no windows, a worn rug, an open trunk of discarded weapons that Mackenzie had never found the time to polish or send for repairs. At least it was organized. The few papers on his desk were stacked; his glass pens were in their proper holders; his suit of armor, which he rarely had occasion to wear, gleamed from its dummy in the corner. His father said at last, “This is what our illustrious king gives the Captain of his Guard?” Mackenzie shrugged, and his father studied the heavy oak desk. A desk he’d inherited from his predecessor, and one on which he and Jane had— He shut down the memory before it could boil his blood, and instead smiled at his father. “There was a larger office
Of all the spaces in the Omega, the mess hall was by far the most dangerous.The three Ironteeth Mob group s had been divided into rotating shifts that kept them mostly separated—training with the Squadron s, training in the weapons room, and training in mortal warfare. It was smart to separate them, Aries supposed, since tensions were high, and would continue to run high until the Squadron s were selected. Everyone wanted a bull. Though Aries fully expected to get one, perhaps even Titus, it didn’t keep her from wanting to punch out the teeth of anyone who even whispered about coveting a bull of her own.There were only a few overlapping minutes between their three-hour rotations, and the coven leaders did their best to keep them from running into each other. At least Aries did. Her temper was on a tight leash these days, and one more sneer from the Scottish heir was likely to end in bloodshed. The same could be said of her Thirteen, two of whom—the green-eyed twins Faline and Fa
Jane awoke, freezing and groaning from a relentless headache. That, she knew, was from hitting her head on the temple stones. She hissed as she sat up, and every inch of her body, from her ears to her toes to her teeth, gave a collective burst of pain. It felt as if she’d been pummeled by a thousand iron fists and left to rot in the cold. That was from the uncontrolled shifting she’d done yesterday. The gods knew how many times she’d shuddered between one form and the other. From the tenderness of her muscles, it had to have been dozens. But she hadn’t lost control of the Swords , she reminded herself as she rose, gripping the chipped bedpost. She pulled the pale robe tighter around her as she shuffled for the dresser and basin. After the bath, she’d realized she had nothing to change into and had stolen one of the many robes, leaving her reeking clothes heaped by the door. She’d barely made it to her room before she collapsed on the bed, pulled the scrap of blanket over her, and sle
Mercifully, Mark wasn’t forced to entertain Aedion again, and saw little of him outside of state dinners and meetings, where the general pretended he didn’t exist. He saw little of Mackenzie , too, which was a relief, given how awkward their conversations had been of late. But he’d begun to spar with the guards in the mornings. It was about as fun as lying on a bed of hot nails, but at least it gave him something to do with the restless, anxious energy that hounded him day and night.Not to mention all those cuts and scrapes and sprains gave him an excuse to go to the healers’ catacombs. Manuel , it seemed, had caught on to his training schedule, and her door was always open when he arrived.He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what she’d said in his room, or wondering why someone who had lost everything would dedicate her life to helping the family of the man who had taken it all away. And when she’d said Because I had nowhere else to go … for a second, it hadn’t been Manuel b
Manuel kept her head down. She knew she’d been kept waiting in order to make her fret over what she’d done: accidentally knocking over her entire worktable and destroying not only countless hours and days of work, but also a good number of expensive tools and containers. “I slipped—I spilled some oil and forgot to wipe it up.”Amithy clicked her tongue. “Cleanliness, Manuel , is one of our most important assets. If you cannot keep your own workroom clean, how can you be trusted to care for our patients? For His Highness, who was there to witness your latest bout of unprofessionalism? I’ve taken the liberty of apologizing in person, and offered to oversee his future care, but …” Amithy’s eyes narrowed. “He said he would pay for the repair costs—and would still like you to serve him.”Manuel ’s face warmed. It had happened so quickly.As the blast of ice and wind and something else surged toward her, Manuel ’s scream had been cut off by the door slamming shut. That had probably saved t