A Veil of Secrets Read online

He grabbed the hem of my skirt. “Do you want the honors?”

  We had no time to stand on ceremony. I bunched up my skirt until one thigh was exposed.

  Asher’s hands were warm on my skin while he decided where he should situate the belt. When he touched the inside of my thigh, my stomach quivered. The scrape of his calloused fingers over tender skin made my throat tighten. I was lightheaded from holding my breath in anticipation.

  “Asher?” I wasn’t sure what I was asking.

  “For luck.” He kissed the bare skin of my thigh before cinching the leather supply belt tight.

  I put my hand on his shoulder to keep my knees from buckling. “You are a distraction.”

  “I will try to be less of one.” He tested the fasteners. “Right now we need our wits about us.”

  “You’re right.” I lowered my skirt and pretended the flush in my cheeks came from walking.

  “It’s rude to stand there.” Idra’s voice tickled my thoughts. “Come to the door or leave.”

  “You knew we were here all along.”

  “I told you when I made you I would be in your head until the end—yours or mine—and I meant that. Sigil or not, I have been inside your mind. Once I know a path, it is easy enough to find it on my own.” She sounded far too pleased with herself. “Would you like to come in? I have someone here who would love to see you. He’s been asking for you for weeks. It would set the poor dear’s heart at ease if you were to visit, even for a little while. You would have to leave your pet outside, of course.”

  Weeks? Edan had been here for weeks? My heart spasmed when her words hit me. Had I been wrong? Time here moved faster? Or was it subject to the magical currents sweeping through the veil?

  “Asher is a person, not a plaything.”

  “Ah.” Her tone grated on me. “Replaced poor Edan already? He will be disappointed.”

  “There is no replacement for family.”

  “So I am beginning to learn.” She hummed. “You might as well come in. You’re already here.”

  “Marne?”

  I blinked until Asher came into focus. I had turned so far inward, I had blocked out the world.

  “She knows we’re here. She wants me to go inside—alone.” I flung myself into his arms. “Edan is alive. Thank the two gods for their mercy. He wants to see me. I have to go. I must see him.”

  I pretended to knock the sigil from his shoulder with my enthusiasm. It flew onto me, settling under the fall of my hair while grumbling. At once its hunger hit my gut and twisted it, but I forced that need aside.

  “It’s a trap,” he said softly to lessen the blow.

  “I know.” I kissed his temple. “If she’s in my head, then she knows all of it.”

  He cursed under his breath. “How can you be sure she’s telling the truth?”

  “I can’t.” I withdrew from his embrace. “I was so sure I had lost him, but I haven’t. Not yet. Edan is alive.”

  He scowled. “There is no better bait she could have used to bring you here.”

  “I know that too.” I rubbed my face with my palms. “I have no choice. I won’t leave him here. I can’t. He’s been my protector my entire life. He has lied and cheated and stolen to keep me alive. I owe him this much and more.” I gazed up at him. “I’m not scared anymore. What does that mean?”

  He grabbed my shoulders and shook them. “It means Idra is sinking her hooks in you.”

  My laughter was bitter. “She never took them out. She’s been in my head this whole time.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I don’t know a lot of things, but I know this.” I grasped his collar and jerked him against me. “I would have loved getting to know you better. You have been so good to me. Better than I deserved.”

  His black eyes glittered. “Don’t talk like you aren’t coming back.”

  “I plan on coming back,” I rushed to assure him. “I plan on walking Edan out of there.”

  But plans changed. If I could trade myself for Edan, I would. If I could trade myself for Asher’s safe return to the southlands, I would. The whole time I thought I held the advantage of being free to make my own decisions. With Idra in my head, she would pluck my knowledge and wield it with no thought outside of reaping her desires. She would kill Edan, and Asher, if it got her what she wanted.

  “If you don’t—” he lowered his head, “—I plan on going in after you.”

  I tilted my head back, meeting his kiss with an urgency that left us both breathless.

  “If we survive this…” I nipped his bottom lip, “…remind me to thank you properly for all you’ve done.”

  He drew me in tighter. “I will remember.”

  My bare cheek brushed his stubbly one. “I thought you might.”

  “We’re waiting.” Idra’s impatient snarl sliced through the moment.

  “She’s getting impatient.” I kissed him one last time. “Stay here and stay safe.”

  “Be careful.” He braced his forehead against mine. “Please.”

  “I will be.” I withdrew from him while I still had the strength.

  The trip from Asher’s side to the front door of Idra’s home made my wing joints itch. I executed a series of stretches to limber up my wings as I went. If I had to fly out of there, I would be ready.

  If I had to carry Edan, or Asher, I would be ready for that too.

  I paused with my fist poised above the door, ready to knock, and cast one last glance at Asher.

  His outline shimmered. While I watched, he began fading from this world into ours.

  Thank the gods. If nothing else, he was safe. No others would pay for Idra’s fascination with me.

  I was alone. All alone.

  For the first time in my life.

  Ever since I was born, Edan had protected me. During the past few days, Asher had stepped into the role of my protector, and I was all too happy to let him. When I should have stood up for myself, I instead chose another’s arm to cling to. The time for dependency had passed. Now was the time for action. I was so used to running to Edan with my problems I had never considered solving my own.

  I could not have made it here without Asher, but I wish we had reached this point as equals.

  This was my chance to prove I could protect myself and those I loved. I would not fail them.

  Exhaling through tight lips, I knocked on the door.

  It swung open before my knuckles contacted wood a second time, and there stood Idra.

  Her dress was made from white silk and tickled her ankles. Her large gold wings were folded at her spine, and her pale hair was twisted into an artful sculpture atop her head that resembled a bird in flight or perhaps a cloud blown by a gust of wind. I had trouble deciding.

  Idra’s feet were bare, but unlike mine, hers were pristine. Her toenails were painted blood red.

  “Come in, come in.” She welcomed me across the threshold. “I see you sent your pet home.”

  My toes curled when they hit the warm tile of her home. “It seemed safest for him.”

  “I am not so unjust.” She patted my check. “I won’t steal all your playthings from you.”

  “They are people. Not toys.” I recoiled. “They are not to be stolen or played with.”

  She brushed off my argument. “I’m sure you think so, dear.”

  “Where is Edan?”

  “Is he the only one you care about?” She tucked an errant twist of hair behind her ear. “Here we stand, together after all this time, and yet you are only interested in him? Have you no pleasantries to exchange with me? Any requests as to how I have fared since you saw me last? Or queries as to what I have been doing since? Are you so selfish that your own petty concerns are all that move you?”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. “How are you?”

  “I am
well. Thank you for asking.” She led me deeper into her home. “I have everything I could ask for—a beautiful house, the love of my family, a new companion, the company of an old friend.”

  Family? A new companion? An old friend? I tasted blood in my mouth.

  I affected a cheerful tone. “Where have your ambitions taken you since we parted ways?”

  My sarcasm was lost on Idra. Her vanity perceived all inquiries as genuine interest.

  “To so many new and interesting places I can scarce believe I waited so long to leave this place. I was afraid to for so very long, you see, but the time has finally come for me to venture out into the world. I am eager to spread our people across this second world as I was forbidden to with the first.”

  I interrupted her. “You expect me to believe you have existed that long?”

  She cocked her head. “I expect nothing from you. The truth is the truth. Your world was built on the ashes of the one before. The next world will be erected on the bones of this one. I am what I have always been, what I was made to be, and that is eternal. It was that immortality I offered you.”

  Knowing this was an argument I could not win, I simply nodded.

  We came to a pair of towering doors, and Idra pushed through them.

  My next step stuttered then stopped as a sense of vertigo swamped me.

  Impossible. This was the gold-papered room from my shattered memories.

  The ceiling soared far above us, and the domed roof was made of glass. There were layers upon layers of beds suspended from cords. As Idra passed beneath them, curious faces, anguished faces, radiant faces, all peered over the edges of their mattresses to see what had brought their mother back.

  Wind rushed through the room when I worked up my nerve to enter. The excited flittering from dozens of wings stirred the air and made my skin prickle with a sense of foreboding. Over our heads, the females tittered and squealed. Underneath the surface noises, I heard the muffled sobbing and the rhythmic chanting of the damned. These poor creatures, all bound to Idra as I had been, even if a few were too starry-eyed with their newfound power to understand the cost of such change to their souls.

  At a door on the far side of the room, Idra tapped her foot. “It’s rude to keep your host waiting.”

  I mumbled an apology and hurried to her, eager to escape the reminders of my own downfall.

  The next room was unfamiliar and paneled with white wood, and for that I was grateful.

  Idra sank onto a lounge upholstered in gold damask. “Remembering our time together?”

  I cleared my throat. “That room—”

  “You mean the nursery?”

  My question vanished. “Nursery,” I repeated.

  “Yes, where the fledglings are kept.” She laughed. “Surely you must remember yours.”

  I indicated the room behind us. “I thought that was…”

  “No. You were fledged in my…” She snapped her mouth shut. “Perhaps if you don’t remember, then I ought to not tell you until I’m sure we have come to an understanding. You have, after all, made an alliance with the Araneidae.” She curled her lip. “They are the one clan with the means to destroy what I have worked so hard to build. I can see why Edan thought it best to seek asylum with them.”

  She was right. The Araneidae, with their web of secrets and alliances, were the only clan I could imagine fending off a Necrita attack. The Araneidae had been taken unaware at the battle for Erania. Once made aware of the threat posed by Idra, they would not be caught off-guard a second time.

  “It’s true I have friends among the Araneidae,” I said, “but I don’t consider the clan my ally.”

  She picked at the fringe on the nearest pillow while keeping half her attention on the door to her right. “Unlikely alliances have a way of forging when two people unite against a common enemy.”

  Her preoccupation drew my gaze as well. I was about to ask what we were looking at when it opened, the handle cracking against the wall, and what had been Edan prowled into the room.

  His height was unchanged, yet he seemed more imposing. He had been stripped of the buttoned shirt and pants he usually favored. In their place, he wore a length of black silk knotted loosely under his navel. The tasseled ends of the fabric hung past his ankles. His chest and arms were bare, as were his feet. His white hair shone in the tight braid he wore. His eyes were the worst—frigid and vacant.

  I had seen blocks of ice with more emotion while in Erania.

  “We have a guest.” Idra waved him closer. “Don’t be rude. Say hello to your sister.”

  His chill eyes swept over me. “Hello, sister.”

  She snapped her fingers, and he turned on his heel. That was when I realized I was wrong. His eyes weren’t the worst part. His back was. From his shoulders hung translucent wings shot with gold veins. Each of the four wings was enormous, more than enough to support his weight and then some.

  Edan, my brother, had wings.

  He was a fledgling harbinger.

  Like me.

  Black spots clouded my vision. A growl tore up my throat with such ferocity he glanced back at me. Not a single ounce of recognition reflected in his citrine eyes, and he quickly lost interest in me.

  “Sit.” Idra shifted to make room for him.

  He snarled at her.

  “Now, Edan, we have a guest.” Her eyes narrowed. “We must use our manners.”

  His wings began twitching.

  “What have you done to him?” I croaked.

  “I made him my vassal of course.” She leaned forward and scraped her fingernail down his abs. “Males are so difficult to train, but I do enjoy a challenge. Besides the fact their bodies do have such interesting differences from our own, don’t you find?” She chuckled hoarsely. “I had forgotten that.”

  My shoulders twinged, my wings trembling.

  “Let him go.” My claws lengthened. “Or I will make you let him go.”

  She ignored me, fussing over him instead. “Soon he will be as obedient as all the others.”

  I strode across the room and wrapped my hand around her throat. “Take me instead.”

  “No. I think not.” Her eyes glittered. “I gave you your chance.”

  Cold metal dug into the skin beneath my ribs. I gasped when Edan pressed the blade deeper.

  I winced at the bite of pain. “Don’t let her win.”

  His expression remained unchanged. “I must do as I have been ordered to do.”

  “Fight her.” I slowly raised my hand, pulling aside my hair and exposing the scars on my throat.

  The tips of his fingers trailed the ridges of skin. “Did you?”

  “Yes.” I let him look his fill. “You helped me. You saved me from her. Don’t you remember?”

  A flicker of uncertainty passed over his features. “No.”

  “That is enough.” Idra leapt to her feet. “I didn’t invite you here to destroy all my hard work.”

  “Why did you bring me here? If you don’t want a trade, what possible reason could you have?”

  “I want you to see there is no escape.” She stalked closer. “I want you to see that defiance has a price, so that when you return to Erania, you can tell them their time is coming. They will fall to their knees before me, as they should have when faced with the first wave of my army. You will tell them there is no cure for what ails their nation. Not anymore.” She folded her arms over her chest. “While you wandered through the veil in search of the crossroads, I sent my emissaries through to Beltania. My scouts have swarmed the area for weeks, reporting on the dayflower crops. By now the city will be ashes, the fields will be soot. All those precious dayflowers will be burnt and the cure with them.”

  All those flowers lost, all hope lost with them. “What about the people?”

  Her throaty laughter chilled me to the core
. “Did you visit the market today?”

  My eyes widened, and lips fell open on words that wouldn’t come.

  “These last decades have been lean here.” She flung out her arms. “Now there is plenty.”

  The memory of the delicate cubes of meat and their rich sauces flashed in my mind.

  My knees cracked on the floor, and I retched.

  Chapter Seventeen

  With my stomach emptied, I glared up at Idra. “You are a monster.”

  “I am what the gods made me.” She sniffed. “Save your morals for the next time someone offers you a thick, juicy varanus steak. Then you can remind yourself what a monster you must seem to it.”

  “Varanus are not people.” The rebuke sounded weak even to my own ears.

  “I doubt they appreciate the distinction.” She tutted. “This could all be avoided if you accepted your nature. You are no longer Araneaean, you are superior to them. It is our place to prey on them.”

  “I don’t wear your sigil.” Thank the Gods. “I’m no longer Necrita.”

  “But you do wear a sigil, don’t you?” Her eyes gleamed. “Since Edan snatched you from your covey before you matured, there are things you don’t know about your nature. Such as when a fledgling has reached maturity and binds her own sigils to her, she no longer requires the one that converted her.”

  I covered my ears with my hands as though she couldn’t tap right into my mind.

  “Aww. Don’t fret, dear one.” She clasped her hands. “I hate being the one to tell you this, but by accepting my little gifts, you’ve done exactly as I always hoped you would. You’ve matured. You’re Necrita.” She smiled. “See there? Now you have no need for those nasty injections. You’re no longer dependent upon the Araneidae. You don’t have to bow and scrape to them to survive. You need only take what your sigils offer. Once a month, if that, allow it to anchor in you as you are doing now.”

  My fingers itched to rip it from my nape. “You knew what would happen.”

  “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you can predict certain events with a degree of accuracy, yes.” She tapped a nail against her bottom lip. “You could even create your own vassal if you wish. I saw how you looked at that male—Asher. Your thoughts trip over themselves when he’s near. Think how it would feel to know he could live with you forever. Claim him. Make him yours, and he will.”