“Wait! Don’t get any closer!” someone says as I start forward.
I don’t listen to them. Slowly, as I advance out of the throng, I feel the people start to recognize me. I feel their confusion. I feel their fear. Things have gone so wrong in this city, so quickly, and they know that it involves me.
I stop halfway up the cathedral steps, which is as close as I dare get. I can feel the heat on my back and the sting of smoke in my eyes. With a little shove, Theo collapses at my feet. I reach down to tie his handkerchief over his mouth. If he stays conscious, I don’t want him interfering.
There’s a flash of movement at the bottom of the steps. A man in the crowd is running for me. I pull out my knife and point it at him.
“The Heart is in the gardens,” I say. “Find her. And bring her to me.”
SIXTEEN
IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG.
I see the crowd near the gardens rippling and parting, and then I see Verene walking my way. Her steps are slow and deliberate as she glides out of the crowd and approaches the base of the cathedral stairs alone.
She’s still wearing the same rumpled, bloody clothes. Her face is dirty and exhausted, and her hair is hopelessly disheveled. Even though she’s standing with her head held high, I can tell from here how much effort it’s costing her.
Her people are uneasy. It’s obvious they’ve never seen their leader like this.
First, Verene looks at her brother, who’s barely awake. Then she looks at me. She regards me like I’m the foulest thing she’s ever seen.
“Have you not done enough yet?” she says. Her voice carries over the crackling of the flames.
“Why don’t you want them to know?” I say.
“We don’t want to listen to any more of your lies,” she says.
“Why don’t you want them to know what you’ve done for them?” I say. “What you’ve really done for them?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, stubborn as usual.
“I’m talking about the ritual, of course,” I say.
Verene goes very still.
“There’s a ritual to get magic,” I say. “It’s not something you’re born with. It’s something you choose to do. Your maman chose to do it, long ago. And she wanted you to be like her.”
Verene doesn’t say anything. She just watches me, her eyes wary.
“But the ritual is violent,” I say. “If you want magic, you have to hurt someone else. And your maman pitted you against your brother. She wanted one of you to prove you would be willing to hurt the other. But you chose not to.” I pause. “You chose to get rid of your maman instead. Even though you had no water magic of your own. But you decided to lie about that and tell everyone you were better and different. You neglected to mention that, just like her, you’re a murderer.”
A soft gasp goes through the crowd.
I’m right about her maman. I can see it on Verene’s face. I can see it in the fierce set of her jaw.
I knew it. The last time I saw her in her quarters, she looked like someone who could kill. And she is.
“You murdered your old ruler because she was taking your blood,” I say. “Now you steal water from the other cities. And you hurt people like me when we try to take it back.” I hold up my bloodied hand. “Why pretend that you’re a saint? You’re powerful, and there’s more value in that. You would do anything for your city, wouldn’t you?”
Verene casts a frantic look around the square. The people are shifting and drawing back even farther. There’s been too many lies and too much chaos in the past day. They don’t know what to make of it.
And maybe, they don’t know what to do with a girl who’s not a saint. They’ve feared one ruler unconditionally and worshipped the other. Maybe they don’t know how to do anything in between.
“I—I would,” Verene says. “I would do anything for Iris. I love Iris.”
“How much do you love Iris?” I say.
She turns back to me. Her face hardens. “I would do anything.”
A chill goes down my spine.
“We’ll see about that,” I say.
I grab Theo by the hair. I lift the knife.
“No!” She starts to run up the steps.
I press the knife to his throat, and she stops.
“Don’t—” Her voice is shaking. “Come down here and fight me yourself.”
“I’m going to,” I say. “But not without magic.”
I watch her face carefully. Her dark eyes are blazing, reflecting the light of the fire, and I see the fear that flashes through them.
“What do you mean?” she says.
“Oh, I’m going to do the ritual on him,” I say. “I thought that was obvious.”
“You don’t know how,” she says.
“How do you think I learned everything I know about your maman?” I say.
She’s quiet. I can see her thoughts racing.
“Even if you—even if you’d read something of hers, somehow,” she says, “she wouldn’t have written down how to do the ritual.”
I look meaningfully at Theo. He’s slowly coming back to his senses, and he tries to struggle away from me. I hold him tighter, digging the knife into his throat.
“Would he have written it down?” I say. “Maybe in the back of a journal of hers? Something he kept without you knowing?”
Verene wants to deny it. I can tell. But she just isn’t sure. She looks around, like she can find another way to stop me. But I’ve taken away her people’s unquestioning devotion. I’ve taken away her sainthood. I’ve taken away her vide. I’ve taken away her cathedral. I’ve taken away her brother. She has nothing.
“So this is what you wanted?” she says. “To destroy me? And now you’re going to get magic just so you can kill me?”
“Not quite,” I say. “Have you ever been to one of the cities across the veil? Have you ever seen what you’ve done to us? Our wells are empty, and yours is overflowing. So now, you’re going to repay us. I’m going to take all the water you have back to my people. And then, you’re going to give me your blood.” I look around. “You’re all going to give me your blood. And, using a very clever system designed by one of your own”—I shake Theo a little bit—“I’ll give that blood to all the other cities. After what you’ve done to us, we deserve it. I hope you all enjoyed the opulence, because it’s over now.”
The people of Iris are starting to realize what’s happening. I see their stricken faces. I hear their terrified gasps. I see some of them turning to run, as if there’s anywhere for them to go.
“But don’t worry,” I say. “The Heart of Iris is still here. She just said she would do anything for you. I’m sure she has a way to save you one more time. She got you into this, after all. I’m sure she can get you out of it.”
Verene is looking at her brother. Her hands are clenched and trembling, and there are tears welling in her eyes.
For a moment, I feel a twinge of… something. And it almost feels like regret.