“Because I used my blood to alter the form of the keys, and only one of my blood can find and destroy them. You are my only offspring, so the task must fall to you.”
“What happens if the keys are destroyed?”
He didn’t answer straightaway, and I had a sudden inkling that this was the crux. That he didn’t know what would happen.
“The Dušan’s book will tell you what form the keys are now in and where I sent each of the Razan,” he said, eventually. “You will know when you are near them. You—and you alone—will feel it.”
“I tried reading the book. It was gibberish.”
“That is because you were not reading it as you should.”
Which made a whole lot of sense. Not. “Never mind finding them. How about telling me what will happen if I destroy them? And how the hell am I supposed to do that anyway?”
Again he didn’t answer, and frustration skidded through me. Why couldn’t someone just be fucking honest for a change?
Then the sense of him changed. The warmth fled, becoming a hostile iciness that scorched my skin and made my soul quiver.
“I told you to come alone,” he said, the words low and vibrating with fury.
I frowned, my nose twitching, searching for any hint that someone was approaching. The air remained free and there was little in the way of sound other than the wind and the loose roofing. “I did come alone. Why?”
Again he was silent, then, “It is them. Run. Now.”
And with that, he disappeared.
For a heartbeat I was too shocked to react, then I shifted my butt into gear and ran for the kitchen door. Only to slide to a halt as the warm rush of another presence hit me.
I’d expected more half-Aedh. What was coming at me was full Aedh.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I ran for the windows. But as I launched myself into the air, something wound around my legs and yanked me backward. I hit the floor with a grunt, but reached for the Aedh within me. Felt her surge, felt the power rush through my body, eager to fling me from one form to another.
Then another force hit me and suddenly the power was gone, leaving me fully fleshed and gasping in pain. And all too aware of the danger I was in.
I twisted, grabbed at the bolas wrapped around my legs, and quickly untangled them. Even as I did, the kitchen doors crashed open and two men entered. Both of them smelled human, and both of them obviously weren’t. Their eyes held the luminosity of the Aedh.
So much for Lucian saying it was rare for half-Aedh to become Razan.
I jumped to my feet and twisted around, kicking the first hard in the gut and knocking him back into the second. Then I bolted for the window again.
I was midair when it hit me. I have no idea what it actually was, but it was hot and it was heavy and it crushed me back to the floor, all but smothering me with its fierce, blanketing heat.
Aedh, I thought.
It was the last thing I did think for a very long time.
WAKING WAS AN EXPERIENCE IN PAIN.
Everything hurt. My head, my body, my soul.
Even groaning hurt—and I was aware enough to realize the sound seemed oddly flat, as if something was stifling it. I forced my eyes open.
To be greeted by darkness. Complete and utter blackness.
The air was warm but slightly stale, and it smelled of damp earth. There was little in the way of noise—no rain, no creak of roofing, no wind. I was lying on what felt like ice but was more than likely concrete, and my feet were bare. Which was odd given they’d left the rest of my clothes on.
I pushed upright, but the movement was too quick and my stomach and head rebelled in unison, leaving me dry-retching and dizzy.