Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 25

C HAPTER 25

W hite smoke fills my eyes, mouth, and lungs. I hack at the intrusion, my body an amorphous collection of bone and muscle until it comes back together and I’m once again on solid ground. I lie on a cool marble floor with my cheek pressed to the tiles. It feels strangely good. I groan as I shift. My feet ache, my soles so shredded, they sting from the cool breeze. My skin burns from the beating sun, cooked to a crisp. My hair hurts where the guard grabbed me, and I feel the bruising on my arms and chin from Rion and his guards.

But I’m alive, and most importantly, I escaped him again.

A slow clap rouses me from the twisting coil of my thoughts, and I have to close my eyes to stop my head from spinning before I force it off the floor to find the source of my mocking. Of course, I already know who stands there. I recognize the weird, intangible emptiness of this place. I remember the smell. It’s both sweet and fresh but also reminds me of nothing.

My plan worked. I was counting on Zerra’s desire to keep the ark out of Rion’s hands, and instead of just reacting, I forced myself to think and it worked . Tristan would be furious with me, but he couldn’t argue with the results.

Of course, none of this answers the question of why she ignored me at first or why she waited until the last second to rescue me.

A set of perfectly manicured toes appears in my vision, and I will myself to look up before I finally push myself into a seated position.

“I have the ark,” I say. “Where the hell were you?”

She purses her lips, and her nostrils flare as though she can’t believe my rudeness.

“I was right here, waiting for you.”

“Why did you wait to rescue me?”

She lets out a tinkling laugh, like calcified golden bells.

“I was enjoying the show so much. You are a resourceful one, aren’t you? Not especially bright, though. What made you so sure I would rescue you?”

“Because you wanted the ark,” I say.

She turns and walks away a few paces before she spins around again. “Hmm. Perhaps.”

I sigh and shake my head. “Okay, whatever. I don’t really care.” I pull the sling off my head and hold it out to her.

“You have it now. Give me Nadir.”

She approaches me again and reaches for the sling. I resist every instinct to snatch it back, but I’m aware I am the one with no cards to play. For a split second, I cling to it, her eyes flashing before I release it. She lifts the sling and feels the object through the fabric as a smile tilts up the corner of her mouth.

“Well done,” she says. “You just walked in there and stole it right from under him.”

She doesn’t utter the second statement in an admiring way, more like she’s musing at my audacity.

“Well, you left me no choice.”

“You must really love him,” she says, almost like it’s a question.

“Yes.” There’s no point in pretending. I already laid out my heart the last time.

“That’s very . . . commendable.” She holds out the sling and twists her hand before it dissolves into thin air and then reappears at the other end of the room, where four pedestals stand, each with an ark hovering above it.

I squint, making out the details of the arks of Tor, The Woodlands, and Celestria. I knew she had them, but seeing them sitting all together kindles the spark of an idea.

“This will look so nice in my collection.”

“Yeah, great,” I say, pushing a lock of sweaty hair off my forehead. “I’m so happy for you.”

The corners of her mouth twitch as though she’s amused. Or gassy. It’s kind of hard to tell which.

“If you’ll just give me Nadir back, we’ll be on our way.”

“He’s very angry with you,” she says. “I told him what you did.”

“I don’t care. I would have told him too.”

Zerra’s answering laugh is full of derision.

“Of course you would have. Noble Lor.”

“What is your problem with me? Why are you so . . .” She tilts her head in expectation, waiting to hear what I’ll say. But maybe I shouldn’t insult her right to her face.

“Amazing,” I finish lamely. The lie is so obvious she narrows her eyes.

“I’ll pretend you didn’t say that. I have another mission for you.”

A growl builds in my throat. I kept trying to ignore the voice that told me this might happen. She will not keep him from me. I will destroy her.

“I did what you asked. Give me back my mate.”

“But you’re very motivated right now.”

My shoulders hunch with aggression as I take a step towards her. “You promised me.”

“I did,” she says, touching her bottom lip. “But I’ve never been very good at promises, have I?”

White hot rage churns in my gut, burning a line of fire through my chest. She stares at me with that haughty look, and I imagine carving out each eye and her nose with excruciating slowness, leaving her mouth intact so she can listen to the sound of her own brutalized screams.

“You can’t do this! Return him now!”

My voice echoes off the high corners, and I suck in a long breath, trying to temper my reaction, even as I boil with fury inside. “Whatever else you want, I’ll do it if you give him back. I swear it. ”

She seems to consider that. “But how can I be sure? I have your loyalty right now, but if I let you go, you might turn against me.”

“You’re a god. Surely you’re not scared of me .”

Her eyes narrow with such coldness that I wonder if I’ve touched a nerve. What does she fear? What does the goddess Zerra worry about? Does she know what the Empyrium want from me? How does she feel about that? I’m desperate to ask, but I’m not sure if the question will set off another list of reasons for her to torture me. She doesn’t seem very happy, but maybe she likes her role, and if she knows I’m to be her replacement, what might she try? I doubt she’ll believe me when I say I want no part of it.

“Of course I’m not,” she snaps. “But I don’t trust you.”

I hold out my hands and approach her slowly, like trying to appease a snarling beast. “Listen, I swear I will do what you ask, but Nadir knows more about Ouranos than I do. He knows all the rulers and can get us an audience anywhere. This will go faster if I have his help.”

I give her a forced smile as she scans me from head to toe. She seems like maybe she’s considering it.

“You must think I’m a fool,” she replies, and my shoulders sag, my emotions cycling between anger and defeat as Zerra makes my head spin.

“No,” I say, rubbing my face and the back of my neck, realizing how filthy and sweaty I am. What I wouldn’t give for a cold shower and some soap right now.

“Besides, you won’t need his help. You already know Aphelion extremely well. ”

“Aphelion?”

“You’re friendly with the warder? The rebel leader?”

“I . . . sort of?”

“I want their ark.”

Yeah. I knew she was planning to say that. Fuck me.

“They won’t give it to me.”

“You figured it out once. You can do it again.”

I knew she would say that, too. She folds her hands together, all prim and elegant like a creepy porcelain doll that wakes up at night to murder the family it lives with.

“I can’t steal from Gabriel.”

“Why not?”

I shake my head. I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right. I already harbor enough guilt for what I did in Alluvion. I can’t leave a trail of destruction everywhere I go. A voice reminds me that I am my grandmother. Her brand of chaos resulted in one big strike, but I’m tearing through Ouranos, knocking things over one at a time. I’m no better.

Zerra gives me a tight smile.

“If your conscience is troubling you, then I guess you’ll have to convince them to give it to you.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“ That is not my concern. Not if you want your mate.”

My rage builds with each sentence, charring me from the inside.

“You promised you’d give Nadir back!” My voice rises with every syllable. “And what happens if I get it from Aphelion? You’ll give him back to me then? Why should I believe you? Why would I believe a single fucking thing you say! ”

My body trembles as I step towards her. “You lied to me once! Why should I believe you aren’t still lying!”

Zerra takes a step back, matching each of my own.

“Calm down,” she hisses, but I’m beyond that now. She’ll want the ark of Heart next and retrieving that from Rion will be impossible without Nadir.

“Give me my mate! Where is he? Nadir!” I scream his name so loud that my voice cracks. “Nadir! Can you hear me? I know he’s alive. I know that if he weren’t, I’d be sick. Give him to me!” I stomp towards her, my bare feet slapping the marble with purpose. Zerra backs up. “You promised, you witch!”

“That’s enough,” Zerra says, swiping her hand through the air. An invisible force drives into my chest, throwing me backward as my stomach lifts into my throat right before I crash against the tile, my skin squealing along the slick surface. I gasp at the emptiness in my lungs, trying to suck in mouthfuls of air.

A shadow falls over me, and Zerra looks down. “I told you what you need to do,” she says, her blue eyes flashing. “You’ll get Herric back when I’m satisfied.”

Herric? What’s going on? Her expression is blank but for the pain pooling in her eyes. I study her for a moment. He hurt her. It’s then I realize she never had any intention of returning Nadir.

“Well, I’m not doing it!” I shout. I lurch to my feet, look around the room, making a decision. She’s taking him from me? Then I’ll take something from her. What Herric did doesn’t give her the right to do any of this.

I call on my magic, and for a moment, it struggles to surface. Zerra glares at me with her jaw hard and her eyes narrowed. I realize she’s trying to prevent me from using it. Gritting into my reserves, I dig into my power, drilling down into pulsing crimson rivers until I feel it swell, smashing through her walls.

She gasps as she stumbles back, and magic builds in my fingertips, crackling along my limbs. Before she can recover, I unleash fire while keeping the arks in my side view. Crimson lightning bursts out of me, filling the room with my screams of rage. A force knocks me to the side, but my magic continues, unleashed and wild. I couldn’t contain it even if I wanted to.

I hear a distant scream and someone cursing my name as I tumble through the air in a cloud of dust and stone and marble. End over end, I flip until the world snaps around me and the same white fog that delivered me here wraps around my chest and throat, constricting tightly before I find myself back on land.

More debris falls from above, pelting me with a hailstorm of sharp stings. Once again, I’m in a forest where everything around me is quiet. I scan my surroundings, looking for something that seems familiar. Where did she drop me this time? The only consolation is that I don’t appear to be near Rion and his army, though I trust nothing.

I don’t even notice I’m crying until a hot tear hits the back of my hand. I’ve lost Nadir. She’s never giving him back. She’s using him to replace Herric, who betrayed her in the worst possible way. I scrub at my wet cheeks, anger stirring inside of me like hot coals.

“You fucking bitch!” I scream at the sky until my voice gives out. When I can’t scream anymore, I pound my fists against the earth. Finally, I fall quiet, breathing heavily as I push my hair back from my face. This isn’t getting me anywhere.

I stand up and brush off my leggings, but there’s little point. I’m filthy and ragged, and now I’m here without food or water or any idea of where I am.

I’ve lost Nadir.

That’s when my gaze snags on a dark object nestled in the grass. My breath catches as I stagger over and drop to my knees, picking up the ark of The Woodlands, carved with Zerra’s likeness holding the Staff.

I did it.

I intended to break out of that room but also to take some of it with me, including the arks. I can’t believe it worked. Frantically, I search through the trees and bushes. The debris forms a wide circle of marble and stone, and I lose track of the time it takes to collect them all as the sun passes overhead.

Eventually, I gather all four arks. The same one I stole from Alluvion, along with those of Celestria and Tor. Clutching them to my chest, I peer up at the sky, unable to believe my dumb luck.

But Zerra will come for these. Whether she knows of the Empyrium’s plans to replace her is now secondary. She spent centuries hunting these down, and now, with one fell swoop, they’re in my hands.

A sob chokes from my chest. I wish so badly Nadir were here. He’d know what to do.

What do I do?

Aphelion.

It was always my destination. I’ve lost my mate, and an unhinged god wants my head on a pike. I need to go to my safe place. The one thing that has always been my home. I have to find Willow and Tristan.