“I can’t do anything. Dark runes won’t work on it.” Fear swirled at the center of my heartsglass. An azi responded to my beck and call, but it meant nothing to this historian’s assistant. With this new form of daeva, I was helpless. “Khalad?”

The Heartforger was just as stumped. When I looked at his face, I found my own emotions mirrored. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s not a daeva.”

“I’ll send for Rendor immediately,” Councilor Ludvig said brusquely. “We’ll have as many men as he can spare to contain it. I am sorry, Garindor, but we have no other choice.”

“I understand,” the Drychta said weakly, sinking into a nearby chair. “Not daeva. These—these are foul, Blighted creatures. Yarrod, my poor boy…”

Tea? Are you all right? Tea!

Fox. I counted my heartbeats and rearranged my emotions, trotting calm and assurance to the forefront so they were the first emotions he read off me. I’m okay. We just had an incident.

An incident my foot. I saw that thing!

We have the situation under control, Fox. How’s Inessa?

Probably wondering why I marched out of the room. Are you sure you’re okay?

I promise.

There’s something… I can’t explain it, but there’s a strange emptiness between us. It wasn’t there before.

I stiffened, taking care not to think too deeply about my heartsglass to avert suspicion. Must be because we’re so far away. We’ve never been separated by kingdoms before.

I suppose so. I felt him relax, though not completely, because that wouldn’t be Fox. He pressed me. What in the seven hells is going on there?

I don’t know. It’s not daeva, Fox. I can’t control it.

Then what is it?

I wish I knew, I thought grimly, staring at the snapping face, the wriggling limbs of the abomination before me. I wish I knew.

“Thought it silly, the first time I heard it,” Lady Zoya said, long hair streaming behind her as she scanned the sea with a practiced eye. Under her command, the ship purred like a cat, keel pointed unerringly toward the future. “It’s an old legend. Myth. Who cares what some senile old fool wrote centuries ago? We don’t deal in ancient stories and potters’ tales. What does that have to do with the here and now? Blade that Soars can’t help us. Hollow Knife can’t help us. There’s nothing more useless than the devout follower of a dead god, unless it’s the dead god himself.”