yesterday was not the first, just the largest seal he has undone. But was it the last? Was this great seal his goal, or is there a greater prize?'
'I don't think-' Kyaphar began.
'There is a greater prize,' Fieran interrupted. 'At the city by the lake of kings.'
'Varna?' Rienne asked. A sick feeling took root in her stomach, a gnawing dread. She seemed to hear the splash and rush of the river beneath the screams and shouts of battle.
'Indeed.'
'What is that prize? Was the city built over a seal?' That seemed like an unwise strategy, and it ran counter to her impression of the other seals, which she had thought were all far from cities or even villages of the Reaches.
'No,' Fieran said. 'It's far worse than that. At the city by the lake of kings, it is said, the Blasphemer will unmake the world.'
CHAPTER 39
Aunn sat in the back corner of the Ruby Chalice, the hood of his purple cloak pulled down to shroud his face in shadow. It would have been so much easier to just put on an innocuous human face, round and flushed with drink, and blend right in with the rest of the evening crowd. The temptation was strong, but he fought it, clinging to his new sense of identity. Instead, he wore his true face but hid it in shadow and distance, staying on the fringes of the crowds.
Five days had passed since Gaven left Fairhaven-Aunn figured he was probably almost half way to Varna. Aunn had spent the time working with Mauren and Ossa to unravel the strands of Nara's plot, but he took every chance he could to stop in the Ruby Chalice in hopes of seeing Cart and Ashara. It was the only place he could think of they might return to, if they were looking for him. He had tried a more active search for them, but after they created a significant buzz by walking arm in arm through the city, on the day Gaven had left, they seemed to have disappeared from public view. As far as he knew, Mauren was still ignorant of Ashara's involvement in the Dragon Forge, but he wasn't sure how long that could possibly last.
Aunn had led the Sentinel Marshal to the basement of the old cathedral, where they found Kelas's office ransacked, stripped bare of any clue to what he was involved in. Aunn suspected that either Janna Tolden had taken everything with her, or Nara had sent Vec to do the job. Since then, Mauren had arrested Kharos Olan and Bromas ir'Lain, two of Kelas's co-conspirators. Their involvement in the scheme had been almost exclusively financial, though, and they didn't have much additional information to offer. Janna Tolden and the half-orc from Droaam remained at large, to Aunn's and Mauren's increasing frustration.
Vec proved to be a tricky quarry. An individual changeling was almost impossible to track down, of course. The fact that he was an agent of the Royal Eyes made the situation much more complicated. In theory, the Royal Eyes should have cooperated with a Sentinel Marshal trying to prevent the assassination of the queen. In practice, Mauren had met nothing but resistance. She and Ossa were at the Tower of Eyes now, still trying to arrange an interview with Thuel, but Aunn didn't expect a breakthrough after five days of stalling and posturing.
He sighed and swirled the wine in his glass, watching the light from the candle on his table filter through the golden liquid. It reminded him of the Eye of Siberys, which sent his thoughts back over all the events and plots of the past year. For just a moment, the whole room seemed bathed in the golden light, and he felt an inexpressible sense that there was a purpose at work in it all-not just Nara's sinister plot, whatever it was, but some contrary intention. He felt as though he were seeing his own path laid out in the swirls of golden light, his own part in the Prophecy. He smiled as peace washed over him.
A woman draped in blue appeared in the doorway, and Aunn watched as she scanned the crowded room. When her face turned toward him, his heart leapt-it was Ashara. He adjusted his hood just enough that she could see his gray face, and she hesitated. He waved and let his face suggest Kelas's features for an instant. Ashara smiled and made her way to his table.
'Aunn, thank the Fire and Forge,' she said, collapsing into a chair across from him. 'We've been looking for you for days.'
'Where's Cart?'
'He's waiting in the square. If I don't come out in a moment, he'll come in. We've found it's best not to be seen together.'
Aunn nodded. Separately, neither of them was distinctive-most people had a hard time telling one warforged from another. It was their obvious affection for each other that drew attention.
'What happened to you?' Ashara asked. 'We agreed to meet back here for dinner, and you never came.'
'My trip to the Tower of Eyes didn't go as I'd planned.'
'And so you're not trying to be Kelas any more.'
'Right. Oh, there's Cart.'
The warforged stood in the doorway, scanning the room. He spotted the blue of Ashara's cloak and strode over to join them.
'Aunn?' he asked, staring at the unfamiliar blank face.
Aunn stood, smiling, and extended a hand to Cart. The warforged pulled him into a clumsy embrace that threatened to squeeze the breath from his lungs.
'We were concerned,' Cart said. 'Have you seen Gaven?'
It still came as a surprise to Aunn that anyone would be concerned for him. 'Yes,' he said, blinking. 'He's on his way to Varna.'
'Varna? Why?'
Aunn shrugged. 'The Prophecy draws him on, as always. Listen, there's a Sentinel Marshal in town-'
'Yes, we've spoken with her,' Ashara said. 'And the Kundarak with her,' Cart added. 'You have? When?'
'A few days ago,' Ashara said, looking to Cart for confirmation. 'The morning after we saw you last,' Cart said.
Aunn thought back over the last several days. He had first met Mauren and Ossa the same morning, and he'd been with them for most of that day. They must have met Cart and Ashara just before that. Aunn thought it strange that the Sentinel Marshal had never mentioned Ashara.
'You told them nothing about the Dragon Forge?' Aunn asked.
'I told them enough to get them off our backs,' Ashara said. 'I told them it was a catastrophic failure that led to my disgrace and excoriation.'
A sick feeling clutched Aunn's gut. 'You admitted that you were responsible for it.'
'I suppose so. What of it?'
Suddenly Aunn understood much of what had been confusing him for days. He had wondered why the Sentinel Marshal seemed to be moving so slowly, unwilling to make any direct move on Jorlanna or House Cannith. He suspected now that she wanted to avoid causing too much alarm until she had Ashara in custody.
'Mauren knows what the Dragon Forge did,' Aunn said.
'Mauren? The Sentinel Marshal is a friend of yours?'
'I've been working with her to stop Jorlanna. It would have been better if you had cooperated with her as well.'
Ashara's eyes were wide with fear, and Cart rested his hand on top of hers.
'It's not too late,' Aunn said. 'I'll tell her you're willing to help-tell her all the ways you've already helped. I couldn't have undone the magic of the Dragon Forge without you.'
Ashara shuddered and looked down at the table, seeming more vulnerable than Aunn had ever seen her before.
Cart squeezed her hand. 'He's right,' he said. 'It's better this way.'
'I should have listened to you,' Ashara said, smiling at Cart. 'But I was too afraid.'
'Fear is a gateway for the Dark to enter the world,' Cart said.
