“I’m afraid not,” the nurse said, shaking her head. “We’ve changed the anemone arrangement above his bed, though, so he has something fresh to look at.”
“Thank you,” said Sera, glancing up at the ceiling, where a new pattern of orange, purple, and pink had been laid out. Mahdi’s blank eyes stared up at it.
Is he seeing them? Sera wondered. Can he hear me? Does he even know I’m here?
She sat down on the edge of his bed and smoothed a lock of hair off his forehead. Sylvestre, draped around her neck, turned dark blue.
“We’re ready, Mahdi,” she said, sharing her day with him, as she did every evening. “Weapons, ammo, food…it’s all in place. We provisioned the troops when we were in the Karg, and Becca made sure everything was loaded into Marco’s ships, but we needed so much more. We only had twenty thousand soldiers then, and there are one hundred thousand bivouacked outside the city tonight. This is it, Mahdi. After all this time, we’re finally going to the Southern Sea.”
She smoothed his pajama top and fastened an open button. “At least, I hope we are.” She paused, then said, “Back when we were with the Iele, Vr?ja asked me to help the others believe in themselves. She said that’s what a good leader does. Ling, Neela, and Becca have changed. They do believe in themselves now. I think Astrid does, too. Getting her magic back has given her the confidence she needed. But I haven’t succeeded with Ava. Help Ava believe the gods did know what they were doing. That’s what Vr?ja said. But Traho took Nyx’s ring from her, and he killed Baby, and I think she’s lost faith. In the gods, and in herself. And nothing I say or do makes any difference. I wish I knew how to help her.”
She gently lifted Mahdi’s head and fluffed the anemones underneath it.
“Desiderio’s staying here. He’ll be in charge in my absence, with Fossegrim as his advisor,” she continued. “I’m glad I’m leaving the realm in such good hands. Yaz is coming with us. Astrid’s meeting us there with two of the talismans. I hope.”
She took Mahdi’s hand in hers. “They’re so brave, all of them, so tough, so smart. But this thing—Abbadon—it’s made of immortal souls. How are we supposed to destroy what the gods have made immortal? Vr?ja gave us this task; she believes we can carry it out…but how? Am I leading one hundred thousand soldiers into a justified battle, or straight to their destruction?” She smiled sadly. “I wish you could tell me.”
Sera sat for quite some time, saying nothing, just holding Mahdi’s hand and gazing at his face. “I have to go,” she finally said. “We leave at dawn. I have no idea how I’m going to sleep tonight, but I guess I should try. Before I go, I have to tell you something. I—I don’t know if I’m coming back. I don’t know if you’ll be here if I do. All I know is that I love you, Mahdi, with all my heart. You were ready to give your life for mine. Maybe you already have. But you are my life. Remember when we Promised ourselves to each other? Maria said something, right before the ceremony.” She leaned over and kissed his lips. “I believed her then. I still do. Love is the strongest magic.”
She touched her forehead to his, then quickly left.
She didn’t look back. It was easier that way.
If she had, she would have seen it.
A single silver tear rolling down Mahdi’s cheek.
CLIO TOSSED HER HEAD and thrashed her long serpent’s tail. She didn’t like canyons.
“Easy, girl,” Sera said. She’d been reunited with her hippokamp after the Black Fin invasion. A death rider captain had taken a liking to her, and had taken good care of her.
Krill Canyon, in the Haakon Basin, rose steeply on both sides. At its far end, a sheer bluff soared high into the water. Rocks and boulders obscured its base. Anything could be hiding in them.
Sera and her troops had been traveling to the Southern Sea for five weeks now and not making the kind of progress she’d hoped for. They’d been battling the cold, which stiffened joints, snapped harnesses, jammed weapons, and sickened soldiers. A few had succumbed and had been buried along the way. They were also going through food stores faster than they’d planned, which meant that part of every day was spent foraging and hunting instead of swimming or marching.
There were other threats to be dealt with as well. They’d encountered a clan of Fryst on the Scotia Ridge, who’d menaced them at first, but then decided to join them when Sera told their leader where they were headed and why. They’d also run into several EisGeists. The creatures had regarded them hungrily, but had moved off, obviously intimidated by their numbers. As Becca had predicted, skavveners trailed them constantly.