“Which question should I answer first?” I ask. The sarcasm in my words earns me a very sassy eye roll that does nothing to hinder my amusement. “I don’t know, Briar. I just noticed that it reacted differently for you than it did for me. Your power is connected to these runes in some way.”
My brilliant mortal bride crosses her arms and taps her foot as she stares up at the door. “There are two parts to a riddle, right? The question and the answer. When I touch the door on my own, I get half of the question and part of the ritual. When you touch the door, you get the other half of the question, but you can’t see the riddle. The rest of it is just nonsense otherwise. But when we touch the door together, I see the rest of the ritual. There’s an order to this...a pattern. First we need to know the full question.” She grabs my hand the way I had done with hers and presses it to the door before standing back. “What do you see?”
“How do I see beyond the….when I’m….”
Briar claps happily and pulls me away from the door. She closes her eyes and concentrates. The runes form a circle again. “How do I see beyond the endless night when I’m cradled in the darkest light? It makes no sense. What is it about...Love! It’s about love and light and darkness. No, not just love, but promise. Marriage? Come here.” Briar’s cheeks flush. It’s the most excitement I’ve seen in her since we left Phaendar.
“Lux and Drogaem,” I reply. She looks happy that I understand what she’s trying to say. Our hands rest upon one another and the runes shift once more. “Someone else did this. It wasn’t the Inati who created these doors, nor was it Qenta. A follower of Lux came here at some point and put up the barriers so only Lux or one of her worshipers could enter the tomb.”
“That’s smart,” Briar replies.
I give a small grin. “I agree. Do you see anything?”
“Just the part of the ritual about the lilies and the sliver again,” she answers. I remove my hand and she paces back and forth across the short distance of the hall. “Lilies grown beneath the first moon of Winter, a sliver of Usulyni stone drown in the ethereal pool, and the blood of the immortal mother. It’s...how she created the dagger.”
Briar’s breathtaking smile nearly knocks me off my feet. But it disappears quickly as another wave of pain causes her to miss a step in her pacing stride. I hold her as it runs its course. Her eyes are blue again.
“Is it the tomb that does this to her or something else?” Willem asks from where he leans against the wall.
He attempts to say more, but Briar stands up in a daze. She walks over to the door and retrieves her dagger. Willem holds me back as she removes the makeshift bandage from her hand and runs her blade along the cut already there before slapping it against the door. Sweat falls from her temples, but her eyes never blink.
The runes form a circle and that light begins to flow from her hands once more. Briar flinches away and the grey of her eyes return just as the door creaks open.
“How do I see beyond the endless night when I’m cradled in the darkest light?” I ask.
Briar lets out a little giggle as she collapses against me. I bind her hand again.
“Wake up,” she says lifting her head.. “I think Lux compared her love for Drogaem to a dream she couldn’t escape. It’s like he had her under a spell, one she was willing to be bewitched by in the beginning. But when that love went away...all she could do was wake up.”
I close my eyes for a moment realizing exactly what she is talking about. “And forge the dagger that killed him.”
Briar flushes and puts some distance between us again. “I don’t know how I knew what to do. Something came over me and I couldn’t help myself.”
Her hand brushes mine before she walks through the door. I follow closely behind, not wanting anymore surprises.
“You said you see Lux’s memories, right?” I hurry beside her.
She nods, her focus on what comes next. “Sometimes. I don’t know if they actually are memories or something else, but yes.”
“When did they start?” I hold her back a bit as Willem walks ahead of us to scout the hall in case there are traps. It’s too easy to get used to the way Briar leans into me. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and wait for her answer.
“I’m so tired,” she yawns.
“Try to think,” I say.
“Not long after we arrived in Phaendar. The headaches were constant and then I began to see things I couldn’t explain. I was going to ask you, but you never really give me any answers. I thought it was best to keep it to myself.”
Willem comes back and nods from a distance. We continue down the hall, seeing even more mummified women tucked into the walls. I catch Briar looking at them with tears in her eyes. She wipes them away and whispers something under her breath that sounds like a prayer. Her soul is too bright for a place like this. She’ll never be the same when we leave, but I hold on to hope that she will still have some light left.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Once we’re finished, I’ll release their souls.”
It’s simple. A small gesture to bring her a bit of comfort, but I know she’s grateful. Willem is careful not to cause any noise as we walk along the hall. I hold my hand out to stop Briar and call out to Willem to do the same. I push my way
