“You’ve been spying on us,” she whispered, looking back at him. “On me and Audric. Haven’t you?”

“Only occasionally.” His smile was sharp and unhappy. “I enjoy tormenting myself, it seems.”

She wanted to slap him, but if she touched him again, she would not be able to stop. “You’re disgusting.”

“And your conflict is delicious,” he replied, unperturbed. “One moment you despise me. The next, you ache for me.”

She clutched her cloak tightly around her body. “I forbid you from spying on us again. My time with Audric is ours alone.”

“Very well. You have my word. I’ll stay away.”

“And you’ll allow me to sleep?”

“I never kept you from sleeping,” he replied smoothly.

“Every time you enter my dreams, sending me images I don’t understand, I wake feeling more tired than I did the day before.”

He smiled a little. “I’m flattered that my presence is so distracting.”

“I have to sleep, Corien.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know what you want of me, but I’m useless to everyone if I can’t sleep.”

“I understand,” he said at last, grave and soft, “but it’s the only time I can see you, Rielle. When you’re asleep, and your bustling world is quiet at last.”

“That is not my concern.” She lifted her chin. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Ah, and here she is once more—Lady Rielle, the Sun Queen. All duty and obligation, chained to her beloved prince.” He smiled bitterly. “The joy of imagining him finding you in my arms just now will sustain me for weeks.”

“How pathetic you are.” Her stomach turned over as the reality of the last few frantic moments settled in her mind. How could she have allowed that to happen? She retrieved her gloves from the floor, her mouth souring. She wiped her lips with her back of her hand as if clearing them of poison. “You’re not worthy of him.”

“Neither are you, my dear,” Corien snapped. “And the sooner you accept that, the happier everyone will be.”

He stalked away into the cave’s shadows. When he returned, he held a battered bronze shield.

“Take it,” he muttered, shoving it at her, avoiding her gaze. “Take it and go to him.”

Rielle’s palms smarted against the shield’s rim. Its thrumming power rushed through her blood, clearing her mind. As her thoughts settled, her vision expanded beyond the physical, beyond the cave and the snow and the shield’s ancient engravings. Golden shapes emerged in the depths of her mind—a pale woman with white hair, fire cradled in her palms. She stood before a hole in the sky and plunged her blazing shield into a knot of storms.

“Marzana’s casting,” she whispered. She looked up at Corien, found him watching her. “Why did you give this to me? How did you steal it from the Obex?”

“I stole it because I am powerful, and they are not,” he said. “And I’m giving it to you because I’m tired of waiting.” He took her chin in his hands. His pale gaze roamed over her face. It was not easy to hold herself back from him. But the thought of Audric, sleeping in the temple, unaware and innocent, burned tears of shame from her eyes.

Corien released her, his mouth twisting. “Giving you the shield is a show of faith and a demonstration of my devotion. I won’t force you through trials. I won’t bring you before a crowd and urge you to play with your power like some common street performer. These fools in their temple would have tested you for weeks before allowing you to take the casting. A waste of time, and insulting to you.” His hands gripped her face, bringing her close to him, but he did not kiss her again. “I see you, Rielle. I see you. And I am not afraid. You will never have to pretend with me. Not ever.”

Then he released her. A subtle tremor shifted the air. Rielle stumbled, as if jerking out of sleep. She was alone in the cave with Marzana’s shield, and Corien was gone.

• • •

When she returned to the temple, it was nearly dawn.

She entered by way of the same snow-covered courtyard and trudged upstairs, feeling ill in both body and heart. The shield was heavy; her arms ached, and the muscles in her legs burned from plowing through the endless snow.

Evyline, standing at the door to her rooms, gave a soft cry when she saw Rielle. She hurried over, the rest of the astonished Sun Guard at her heels.

“My lady,” Evyline said, “what’s happened? We thought you were asleep. What…” Evyline’s gaze dropped to the shield. She knelt, kissed her fingers, and brought them to her temple. “Is that the casting of Saint Marzana, my lady?”

“It is,” Rielle said wearily, moving past her. “I’ll explain later, Evyline. I don’t want to wake Audric.”

But when she closed the door behind her and stepped into her rooms, she saw that Audric was already awake. He sat on the edge of their bed, his shoulders slumped and the expression on his face one of such sadness that Rielle lost her breath.

Beside him stood Ludivine, hands clasped behind her back. She met Rielle’s gaze without shame.

“At last,” she said, her voice tight and terrible. “We’ve been waiting up for you.”

24

   Eliana

“Contained within the pages you are about to read is a theory only those with bold hearts and bolder minds dare to posit: ours is not the only world. In fact, there are many, and between them stretches the eternal Deep. What horrors from those worlds the angels might unleash in pursuit of their revenge we cannot possibly guess. We must be always on our guard. We must never allow ourselves to rest.”

—Many Worlds: A Radical Study, author unknown

“Yes, it’s me,” said Patrik, obviously and smugly amused. “And this is Jessamyn.”

He gestured at the red-braided woman beside him, who nodded sharply.

“I have a proposal for you, Eliana,” he said. “A choice. When we make port in Meridian, we intend to raid an Empire outpost a few miles from the shore. Primarily, to distract them from our party of refugees, also aboard this ship, whom we’re escorting home to a city called Karlaine. Secondarily, because one should never miss an opportunity to kick the shit out of some adatrox.”

Beside Eliana, Harkan shifted. “When we met in Vintervok, you told me our payment would be sufficient for passage. You said nothing about who you really are or your Red Crown affiliations.”

“That was before I realized with whom you would be traveling,” said Patrik.