to rule the Empire, he should know its people. All of its people. The Martials, Tribes, and Scholars.” She gives Laia a significant look, and at the question in my eyes, the Scholar speaks.
“Mamie is to train me as a Kehanni.” Laia cannot hide her joy at the prospect. “Tribe Saif has agreed.”
“Who better to watch over him than the woman who brought him into the world?” I say. “And the Kehanni who raised one of the best men I know. But won’t it be a burden?”
Mamie meets my eyes with an arched brow, and I see the first tender shoots of forgiveness there.
“No, Empress,” she says. “For he is family. As are you. As is Laia. And while family can cause pain and make mistakes, it is never a burden. Never.”
The chant dissolves into a roar. Within it, I hear my father’s voice and my mother’s. I hear Hannah’s and Livia’s and Harper’s.
Loyal, they whisper, to the end.
Part VI
The Tale
LXX: Elias
The first few days after the battle are difficult, and my heart cracks more than once. First when I come upon Avitas Harper’s ghost, tethered to the Waiting Place not because of his turmoil, but because of my own sadness at his loss.
“I hear our father’s voice,” he says quietly as we pass through a carpet of pink Tala blooms on our way to the river. Avitas is the consummate soldier, at peace with the fact that he died in battle, defending the woman he loved. “He awaits me. For years, I have longed to see him. Let me go, brother.”
We had too little time together. Part of me wants to refuse to pass him, to make him stay. But whereas in life Avitas was guarded, he now has a sense of quietude about him. It would be wrong to keep him here.
At the river he pauses and tilts his head, a gesture I recognize with a pang, because I do it too. “Tell Helene I got my wish, please. Tell her she must live.”
He fades into the river, and only hours later, I find Darin of Serra drifting near the promontory where he died. Seeing his spectral form drives home the finality of his passing, and I find I cannot bring myself to speak.
“Elias.” He turns to me and offers a wry smile. “I’m aware that I’m dead. You don’t have to give me the speech. All I want to know is if Laia is all right.”
“She’s alive,” I tell him. “And she defeated the Nightbringer.”
Most spirits who come to the Waiting Place are angry. Confused. Not Darin. His blue eyes shine with pride, and he walks willingly with me to the shores of the Dusk. We stare out at its glittering waters.
“You’ll go to her?” he asks.
At my nod, he tilts his head. “I’m happy,” he says. “If anyone can love her enough for everyone she’s lost, it’s you. I wish you joy, Elias.”
Then he too steps into the river. After, I sit by its banks for a long time, mourning all that the war stole away.
The weeks pass, and as I train Mirra, as I soothe the spirits’ pain, I try to put my own to rest as well. To find peace with the ghosts until I am free of them.
Spring oozes into summer, and the Waiting Place bursts with verdure. Beneath the drenching sunshine, the River Dusk carves its lazy path south, and the sweet scent of night jasmine perfumes every glen and clearing.
One day, when the breezes off the river are still cool and the stars are just giving way to a purple-bellied dawn, my grandmother, Karinna Veturia, finds me.
“I am ready, little one,” she says. “To pass to the other side.”
She is not alone.
“Hello, Keris.” I kneel down and speak to the child beside Karinna. Mirra, trailing them, waits patiently for me.
When we discovered Keris Veturia’s ghost among the thousands that Mauth had saved from oblivion, it was Mirra who offered to pass her on. Mirra who listened to my mother as she raged at her own death. Mirra who bore witness as Keris’s spirit wailed, forced to feel every bit of excruciating torment she’d unleashed upon the world. And Mirra who ultimately eased away a lifetime of violence and suffering over the course of months, so Keris could return to her last peaceful moment, and remain there.
The Lioness is better for it. The weight she carried in her soul has lightened, and there is a distance to her now, a tranquility in
<<Previous page A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 1 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 2 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 3 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 4 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 5 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 6 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 7 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 8 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 9 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 10 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 11 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 12 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 13 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 14 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 15 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 16 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 17 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 18 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 19 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 20 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 21 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 22 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 23 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 24 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 25 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 26 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 27 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 28 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 29 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 30 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 31 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 32 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 33 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 34 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 35 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 36 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 37 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 38 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 39 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 40 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 41 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 42 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 43 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 44 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 45 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 46 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 47 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 48 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 49 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 50 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 51 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 52 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 53 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 54 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 55 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 56 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 57 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 58 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 59 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 60 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 61 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 62 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 63 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 64 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 65 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 66 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 67 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 68 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 69 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 70 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 71 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 72 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 73 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 74 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 75 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 76 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 77 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 78 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 79 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 80 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 81 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 82 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 83 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 84 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 85 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 86 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 87 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 88 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 89 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 90 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 91 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 92 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 93 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 94 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 95 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 96 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 97 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 98 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 99 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 100 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 101 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 102 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 103 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 104 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 105 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 106 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 107 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 108 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 109 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 110 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 111 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 112 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 113 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 114 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 115 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 116 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 117 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 118 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 119 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 120 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 121 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 122 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 123 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 124 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 125 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 126 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 127 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 128 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 129 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 130 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 131 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 132 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 133 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 134 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 135 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 136 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 137 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 138 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 139 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 140 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 141 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 142 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 143 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 144 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 145 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 146 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 147 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 148 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 149 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 150 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 151 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 152 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 153 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 154 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 155 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 156 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 157 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 158 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 159 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 160 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 161 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 162 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 163 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 164 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 165 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 166 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 167 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 168 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 169 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 170 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 171 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 172 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 173 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 174 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 175 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 176 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 177 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 178 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 179 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 180 A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) - Sabaa Tahir - Page 181
Next page>>