behind the perfect surface. There was an adamant resolve to Amara, but at the same time, a bleakness that nearly rivaled the desolation of these mountains.
“Why have you come with us?”
Kashkari would not have denied Amara anything. And Titus most likely had been too distraught from having to leave Iolanthe behind to object to a replacement. But why had Amara decided that she wanted to be part of their hopeless venture?
And when?
She certainly had expressed no such interests when they had all been in the desert together. And it wasn’t as if she had led an idle, useless life: the woman commanded an entire rebel base; she had already dedicated her life to fighting the Bane. Could the massacre in the Kalahari Realm really have changed things so much for her that she was willing to abandon not only her new husband, but all her longtime colleagues, for something that was at best a suicide mission?
“I have come to help you, of course,” said Amara, her voice quiet and sincere.
A chill ran down Iolanthe’s spine, not because she didn’t believe Amara, but because she did.
They sat quietly for some time. The sun disappeared behind the higher peaks to the west. A shadow fell upon the ravine.
“I mentioned that there is an oracle inside the Crucible,” said Iolanthe. “She specializes in helping those who seek her advice to help others. Would you like me to take you to see her?”
Amara pulled her cloak more tightly about her. “No, thank you. I already know exactly how I will contribute.”
“How?”
“You’ll see.”
Silence fell again. They each nibbled on a food cube. Iolanthe stared at the great cascade, her mind as agitated as the pool at its base—and that was before she remembered what Dalbert had told her. On Ondine Island, after they’d met, she’d pressed him for more information on the massacre of civilians in the Kalahari Realm and the subsequent threat aimed at Titus and herself.
It happened about two hours after midnight, Dalbert had said, to start his account.
That particular detail had not leaped out at her then. But now it did. The massacre had taken place in the small hours of the morning, whereas Amara must have left the Sahara Desert the night before to begin her long flight to Scotland.
Whatever had caused her to leave everything behind to join them had not been the mass killing of her kinsfolk.
Then what had it been?
The question was on the tip of her tongue when Kashkari bolted up, thrashing. Instinctively she called for a current of air to press him toward the wall of the cliff, pinning him in place, so that he wouldn’t lose his balance and plummet from the ledge.
Kashkari held up his hand to shield his face from the fierce wind. “I’m all right. I won’t fall off.”
Iolanthe stopped. The air turned still, the only sound in the ravine that of water leaping toward the sea.
“Another prophetic dream?” asked Amara.
Kashkari glanced at Iolanthe. Her chest tightened. “About me again?”
He didn’t answer, and that should have been answer enough. Still she heard herself say, “Tell me.”
Kashkari folded the sheet-like flying carpet that he had used to cover himself. “It’s you, on your pyre. And the pyre is already burning. Above the flames I can see the outlines of a great cathedral—it has wings extending from its roofs.”
Her ears rang. But at the same time, a ray of hope pierced her heart. “That’s the Angelic Cathedral in Delamer—I don’t know of any other cathedral with a silhouette like that. Only state funerals are held there—we must not have failed too badly, for me to receive a state funeral. Did you see who lit my pyre?”
Let it be Titus. Let it be him.
Kashkari shook his head. “I wasn’t shown that.”
Disappointment swelled in her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. “In that case, no need to mention anything to—”
No need to mention anything to the prince. But the prince’s eyes were already open. And judging by his grim expression, he had heard everything.
“Well,” said Amara, breaking the fraught silence, “since you are awake, Your Highness, you might as well do some more blind vaulting and help us find a way out of these mountains.”
CHAPTER 20
BEFORE THEY LEFT, AMARA ONCE again asked for time for prayers. While she and Kashkari prayed, Titus took Fairfax to a crater lake he had come across. The day was getting late, and the water of the lake was a cool, dark blue. Reflections of clouds that had been