The power did not come, but looking at the silver chains she wore, an idea came to Erika. Starved and beaten, she had no strength left to summon its power—and the queen knew it.
But there was another option, a choice someone like Amina would never consider.
Reaching down, Erika squeezed the gauntlet around her wrist the way the queen had earlier. A soft hiss followed, then a tingling in her skin as the wires separated from her flesh, like a thousand tiny needles withdrawing from her arm. Finally, the gauntlet slid free and fell into her lap, its intricate threads shimmering in the fiery light.
“Cara,” she whispered.
Her concentration still on the bars of their cage, it was a moment before the Goddess looked back. When she did, Erika saw again the terror in her eyes, the fear they would both be consumed by the flames.
“Take it,” Erika said, holding out the gauntlet to the Goddess. “I…don’t have the strength to use it, but you do. Break the lock, save us.”
Cara’s eyes widened at the sight of the gauntlet. Erika had fought so hard to keep this artefact, had feared and yearned for it in equal parts these past months. Now she offered it freely to the Goddess.
“It’s forbidden for us to use human magic,” Cara whispered, still staring at Erika’s offering.
“Add it to the list of our crimes,” Erika retorted. “At least we’ll be alive.”
The Goddess swallowed visibly, hesitation written across her face, but finally she reached out and took the gauntlet from Erika. Holding it in her hands, Cara paused, looking from the artefact to the broken walls. Fear turned Erika’s bowels to ice as she saw that the fire had reached the cabin. The air was hot to breathe now, and tainted with smoke, it seared her lungs. As she watched, another wall went up in flames with a whoosh.
“Quickly,” she wheezed, swinging back to the Goddess.
Clenching her jaw, Cara slipped the gauntlet over her hand.
A burst of light flashed from the artefact, forcing Erika to turn away, but Cara did not hesitate. A low buzzing filled the cage as she thrust out her palm, slamming it against the lock. The shriek of twisting metal followed as the Goddess drew on her strength, far greater than Erika’s dwindling energies. But another scream echoed the breaking steel, torn from Cara herself, as though something within her were breaking, reacting to the artefact’s power…
The light cut off again as a sharp crack came from the lock—then the door to the cage was falling open, crashing sideways to the wooden floor.
A moan came from Cara as she swayed on her knees, and Erika was shocked to see a trail of blood running from her friend’s nose. The magic had cost the Goddess something, but there was no time to consider the price of their freedom. Grasping her friend beneath the arm, she pushed Cara through the opening, then scrambled out after her.
The heat swelled as they stood, Erika still supporting the Goddess. Smoke swirled about them, blinding, burning as they struggled to breathe. Dizzy from the darkness and her own weakness, Erika swung in one direction, then another, unable to find the direction of the door, of freedom.
“Erika!” Cara’s voice rose above the inferno as the Goddess straightened. It seemed all the world was aflame now, the pair of them standing in a tiny oasis amidst the firestorm. “Do you trust me?”
There was no time to consider the answer. “Yes!” Erika screamed.
The breath hissed from Erika’s lungs as Cara tackled her, picking her up, hugging her tight. Then they were hurtling towards the flames, towards the burning walls, towards the searing heat—
Dark wings enclosed them both, cutting off the brilliant light, the burning. A crash followed as they struck something solid, but whatever it was did not halt the Goddess’s momentum and they tumbled on, swirling, falling, tumbling…burning.
Erika opened her mouth to scream her agony—and the icy waters of the Illmoor rose to claim them.
15
The Sovereign
“We can no longer blindly follow your queen.”
A collective intake of breath came from around the room at Lukys’s words. Men and women rose to their feet, some banging fists against the table, others demanding an explanation for the insult. A spluttering came from Wallace and he rocked back in his chair as though Lukys had struck him.
“No!” the steward gasped. “You cannot betray her! You’re Amina’s closest ally.”
“Amina has had other allies—all of them are dead now, their kingdoms broken,” Lukys said harshly. Reaching up, he pulled off his veil and swept his eyes over the room. “I will not allow the same to happen to Perfugia.”
To his surprise, the room fell silent at his words, those gathered momentarily shocked by the removal of his veil. Even so, not everyone was frozen. The guards in the corner had hands on their weapons, and Ewan was on his feet. His stomach tied in a knot, Lukys sent a silent message to Sophia and Keria.
Be ready.
Abruptly, Zayaan pushed himself to his feet. Around the table, eyes flickered, turning to the old man. A frown wrinkled his face as he studied the pair of Sovereigns, as though he already knew what lay beneath Sophia’s veil. His frown deepened as Wallace continued to splutter, clutching at his chest as though in pain.
“Oh calm yourself, Wallace,” Zayaan snapped.
