Grigfen said. He opened one of Edvarg’s trunks and glanced up at us. “They taught us about her back at the chapel. She drew ghostlight from the lining of the magical barrier between the living and the dead, and the more ghostlight we drew, the weaker those monsters became.”
I folded my hands. “She worked with the Mechani to create the first Whirligigs to aid the Everstriders. With an army of mechanicals and the Devout on her side, she had more power than the queen of the Devani. When the Devani struck back, our people revolted. They were tired of being hunted. Tired of their witch queens. It was the Devani’s turn to be hunted. Those who survived imbued their power into a set of armor, sacrificing their lives in order to create talismans anyone could wield. They left this armor to Queen Irizald. If she survived, she’d sit on her throne and bring back the day of witches.”
Grig and Dagney grinned, as though they didn’t hear the pain in my voice. This was a story I did not care to tell.
“The day of battle came. My grandmother Verelise survived. Irizald did not. Afterward, we scattered the armor, for using the armor could bring those monsters back. We sent each item to one of our allies, and they hid them. No one, except my father and I, know where every item is hidden.”
I crossed to Uncle’s desk. “The Crown of Visions went to the Savak clerics. They were our allies then. From my father’s reaction to the seer water, I’d wager it’s at the bottom of the Seer Spring. Then there’s the Traveling Boots. The wearer can travel leagues per step, reach our farthest ally in only moments. We buried that one on the feet of my grandfather.” I put on a grin. “Hopefully he’s still in the King’s Crypt. The Axes of Creation and Destruction were given to our most trusted allies, the Kneult. No clue where they’ve kept it, although judging by the power of their trading ships, I doubt it gathers dust. It can tear down a forest in an afternoon and build a house before morning.”
“That’s bloody awesome,” Grig said as he replaced his cloak with one he’d found in a trunk.
I smiled without showing my teeth. “I also know where the Breastplate of Healing is, but I swore never to reveal its location, for the wearer could live forever. If I had the boots, I could get it. Probably. But in order to get the boots, we’d need the Gloves of Freedom, which we gave to the King’s Executioner for safekeeping. They can open any door. Or crypt.”
Dagney touched the pockets at her hips and opened her bag. “And what will you trade me for them?” She flashed the gloves like they were a trophy.
“Come on, I just revealed a royal secret. That has to be worth something.”
She shrugged a pretty shoulder. “But is it worth my King’s Executioner’s gloves, kept secret in my family for a generation?”
“I’d throw in this cloak as well. Many women would value seeing me with my shirt off.”
She rolled her eyes. “How about I give the gloves to you if you promise to stay clothed.”
“Deal.” I took the gloves in my hand, and my skin lit. It wasn’t a brightening of torchlight; something had made my own skin turn lantern.
Grig put his feet down. “You don’t want the armor for yourself?” he asked his sister.
She bit her lip. “I guess I’m Team Ryo,” she mumbled.
“That’d explain all the purple.”
She looked down at her bare arms and groaned.
I raised an eyebrow. “What now?”
She glared hard. “Nothing.”
Didn’t seem like nothing to me. I fought a smile and looked at the golden gloves. They’d seemed large on Dagney’s hands earlier, but when I put them on, my skin tingled, and they fit as though tailored for me. Solid metal on the outside, but the inside seemed lined with calf skin. Carved with Devani symbols, and imbued with history.
I wore a piece of the Armor of Irizald. Perhaps my father’s faith in me had been well placed after all.
“Oh no, I’ve seen that look,” Grig said.
“What look?” Dagney asked.
“Ryo at full power. It usually means a prank is in order.”
I grinned. “Don’t be foolish, Grig. A prank’s always in order.”
“That’s not funny.” Dagney glared at me. “We still have to exit a labyrinth level with an army of pissed enemies searching for us, and once we get out, we still have to get through