sweeping her Affinity against the blood seeping from his chest. Even as she did, she could sense that there was too much of it, and she was too late.
The man’s face was drained of color. His lips were pale, and it took Ana a moment to notice that they were moving. She leaned her face close to him.
He was speaking to her. “The siphons must be…destroyed.” His voice was a whisper. “Our subjects…fell sick. Those whose mageks were taken from them died…within several moons.” His eyes clouded with desperation, memories of horrors. “Those who bore the siphons’ mageks…their bodies…rejected the change. All died. All…but one.”
Ana felt sick. “Sorsha Farrald,” she whispered, and the scholar closed his eyes in resigned acknowledgment.
“Who else was involved?” Ana demanded, but a large shudder convulsed the scholar’s body. Blood bubbled from his mouth, too much of it flooding her senses. He was slipping away. “No, Scholar Tarschon, stay with me—”
“The siphons…can be…destroyed.” Tarschon’s voice was fainter than the wind now, and the words sent chills down Ana’s spine. “Restore…the natural…order…” His eyes widened as he drew a large, shuddering breath, and then fell still.
For a moment, it felt as though all their hopes had vanished with the scholar. Ana stayed by his side, looking at his face, at his empty eyes, wondering what other horrible secrets the man had carried with him to the grave.
Behind her, Kaïs had wrapped an arm around Linn’s waist and stood, gently lifting her to her feet. “I’m sorry.” His words echoed around the empty hall. “Forgive me.”
Ana closed her eyes, willing herself to remain calm. She thought of striking him, of shaking him with her Affinity, of screaming at him. But she also thought of Shamaïra, of the desperation in Kaïs’s eyes as he’d spoken of his mother. I do it to survive.
“There is nothing to forgive,” Linn said flatly. “We must work together to put a stop to Kerlan and Morganya’s plan.” She held Kaïs’s gaze. “If you truly wish to make amends, you’ll tell us everything you know.”
Kaïs bowed his head. He drew a deep breath, and when he looked up again, something in his face had set—something that reminded Ana of the fierce resolve she’d seen on Shamaïra’s face. “Then there is no time to waste,” he said. “Alaric Kerlan has been working with Sorsha to infiltrate the Blue Fort. His and Morganya’s joint forces arrive soon to conduct an invasion and take the siphons. They plan to leverage your meeting tonight to assassinate King Darias and have Kerlan crowned as King.” His face tightened. “I was meant to escort King Darias to Godhallem tonight.”
Ana thought of the boy king, helplessly surrounded by Sorsha’s guards. “Is he safe?”
“For now, yes. He is under guard by Captain Ronnoc of the King’s Guard.”
If they kept Kerlan’s forces concentrated in Godhallem and put up a good enough fight, then the King should remain untouched. “How many forces did Kerlan bring with him?” she demanded.
“He has at least twenty of his men stationed around the Blue Fort,” Kaïs said, “half of which are Affinites. His plan is to take control of Godhallem with them.”
Even with Ana’s blood Affinity, they would be outnumbered. Ana shook her head. “We’ll need reinforcements, if we want to have a chance at a fair fight.”
Kaïs looked thoughtful. “Kerlan has been trafficking Cyrilian Affinites to Bregon,” he said. “Some are still locked in the dungeons of the research wing, waiting to be tested on. If we can free them, there is a chance they’ll want to fight on our side.”
Ana recalled her encounter with the imprisoned Affinites back at the Playpen in Novo Mynsk. The image of May’s eyes, fierce with resolve, would remain indelibly carved into her memories. I want the whole Empire, every single Affinite, to know how it feels to have hope.
An ache bloomed deep in her chest. She’d made a promise to her friend; May had been the beginning of the reason why Ana fought. “We’ll free them, whether they wish to join our fight or not,” she found herself saying.
Linn nodded, taking a step forward. “I will go,” she said. “Ana, you must stop Sorsha. She has a second siphon that she plans to take to Morganya tonight.”
Ana looked to Scholar Tarschon’s body. “Sorsha is the first successful bearer of a siphon,” she said. “Admiral Farrald repressed her power with a blackstone collar.”
“She plans to seize the key,” Kaïs said suddenly. He looked to Ana, his gaze sharpening