The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter FIFTY-THREE: Ayer

The witch's decaying body lay motionless on the floor, but Ayer's excitement was short-lived. Domira wasn't dead yet. The proverbial leash around Ayer's neck lingered, though she had regained control of herself. Her zizhi was regenerative and would replenish any amount spilled, so long as its crystal core remained intact.

Her mind and body weren't truly her own, not while the heart of her magic remained apart from her, and Domira lived.

"Foss...ie."

The witch's feeble hand stroked the air. Foswida kneeled before her sister, small palms pressed over long, skeletal fingers. The bone Ayer had once thought might be a key poked out between their clasped hands. Now, it just seemed like a memento, a piece of the witches' mother--literally.

The key Ayer sought was still unaccounted for. She thought of Dev and took a cautious step backward.

"I... tried... to h-honor... Mother's..."

Foswida stroked a fallen clump of cottony hair out of Domira's eyes. "I know. You did what Mother wanted."

"I s-saved you and our pe...ople."

"Yes. You're the Hero of your story. No one can take that away from you." The little witch frowned, stuffing the bone into a pocket on her pinafore.

"Excuse me, sisters. I was in the middle of something rather important here."

Ayer's head swiveled back to Liss. The corrupt force possessing the Darkbane girl--that wraith-like thing Edril summoned--was still holding Dev in the air. His eyes were closed, and his dark head drooped, but she felt her soulbond's breaths as if they were her own.

You are the Lock. He is the Key.

Had the modiste been in her head that day at Visions?

Nolene worked for Domira, but the message she'd left was evidence the dressmaker's allegiance wasn't with the Triumvirate. And yet, Ayer stood frozen in indecision. She still wasn't certain what had boosted her magic last night, the aftereffects of the portion of her magic Edril gave her or her unexpected bond with Dev. Either way, faerie wings wouldn't save anyone tonight.

If Dev really was the key to unlocking her zizhi--wherever it was--she needed to figure out how, and fast. Resisting Domira's bloodlust had been hard enough even after the witch's necklaces broke. Ayer shuddered to think what might happen if she and Liss were forced to fight each other.

The Darkbane girl looked tired and disheveled in her torn up gown, but she was powerful.

"Scene stealing is a cheap trick, Fossie."

Edril's physical body was dead, but those were unmistakably his words coming from Liss' mouth.

Why did he want Dev? Her soulbond had little magic and no training. Maybe the warlock assumed he could use Dev to control her. Hadn't Edril told Domira he'd found another crystal, or something akin to one? Another way to unlock her magic.

Had he seen Nolene's message...?

"We have to help her."

Somehow, she was still hearing Zan's thoughts, even though mindspeaking required physical contact. At least, it always had before. But tonight she'd heard her little brother and Liss, and they'd both heard her. When she'd wanted them to.

Deciding it best not to question her luck, she glanced at Zan. "Yes. And we have to get Dev away from Liss. He's my... my soulbond." Great dragons! Why was that so embarrassing to admit? "Edril knows. He'll use it against me. I can't fight anyone else, Zan. I already hurt you."