Page 155 of City of Snakes
Krait addressed everyone around the table. “The Death Origin is rising. I believe he gained strength the night you were saved.” He nodded toward Asterie. “Whatever bargain was made, we need to discuss it now.”
Amara spoke first. “I summoned the Sun Origin—but that isn’t what saved her. Astros saidtheymade a bargain with Death.”
There it was.
“Who is ‘they’?” Ryn inquired—his curiosity piqued. It bubbled on the back of my tongue.
Amara sighed. “The other Source Origins. But it’s long been thought that the Death Origin had been laid to rest.”
Asterie gripped the edge of the table, looking forlorn. “I cast a Lacero curse on myself. I thought it would bring me to bargain with Death, but it did not. My namesake intercepted me.”
Cassidee tapped her fingers on the table. “What exactly did Origin Asterie say?”
Asterie cleared her throat. “When I asked her if I was an Origin she said,‘In part.’And then she said my place was with the fireling and sunling and that I should ‘Try not to make Death more than an acquaintance. He is difficult for me to negotiate with.’”
Ryn cursed under his breath, and Krait stared down at the table, as though bearing the weight of that news on his shoulders.
“Then it is true…the Origins intervened. They bargained with him.” Amara sighed. “But why?”
The Sources could have been bored of watching us from whatever middle plane they were stuck in. Or maybe Death had promised them their return should they allow him to reign...We could wonder for eternity.
Poor Hurley’s eyes were wide as saucers as he listened. I nodded to him and said, “Why don’t you go play in the sitting room?”
He brightened. “I brought the marbles that Wyeth gave me.” He was out of his seat and fleeing the room before the unsettling news had time to sink in.
“What do we know about Caym’s whereabouts now?” Wyeth chimed in. She glanced at the map.
We explained everything we knew.
The three deathmarks.
Emmerick and Barden being known envoys.
The prophecies of Isolde and the Brennac legends, which I’d come to believe in.
Krait told them of the prophecy naming our child as the key to ending Death’s reign—Asterie’s brow rose.
With all our truths on the table, I sipped a bit of wine and held the sweet burgundy liquid in my mouth.
Cassidee kicked back on two feet of her chair and pointed to the deathmark on the map. “Looks like an envoy is in Helos now, likely in Mattock’s body. Why not just ambush him and then hunt the other envoys down?” She winced as soon as her gaze landed on Amara.
Amara grabbed my knee below the table and squeezed. My jaw tightened, and I sloshed the wine through my teeth, likely staining them. If they knew Emmerick was here…
Krait stared across the table at me for a long moment before he said to Cassidee, “You’re talking about killing a King and a noble of Luz.”
I finally swallowed the now-warmed wine.
“So what do we do?” Fenris asked, glancing between Krait and me.
“Outside of fulfilling the prophecy, I don’t know,” I said, drawing in a deep breath. “Even then, if Caym rises to his full strength, we are doomed.”
“You need time,” Wyeth said. “To figure out what that prophecy actually calls for and to stop Caym from growing stronger through the Death-wielding of the envoys.”
Asterie added on, “Withoutkilling them.”
My stone-faced friend wouldn’t allow for any plan that harmed Emmerick either. I offered her a weak toothless smile.
“What about the Sethe curse?” Asterie spoke up again, seeming uneasy. “We could find the envoys and use it on them to slow Caym down, no?”
