Page 95 of Elysian

“A stone that is now in the hands of the Resistance. It is why I was unable to carry it about with me. I had to meet Morak to get it from him after many, many attempts to convince him. As if I were not the one to give it to the cause.” He clicked his tongue.

I grabbed his arm. He stopped, frowning at me.

“I must see it,” I said, attempting to keep myself calm.

“I do not have it with me, but I will be happy to show it to you when we arrive.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

I would not give him details, not until I had it in hand. I did not want to chance that the Resistance would hide it from me.

“It is called a Sanguine Stone. I believe it will help us win against the council.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Arrival

Once again, we found ourselves traveling under darkness. I rested against Cassiel’s chest, and he kept his arm fastened around my waist.

The horrors of the eve before had yet to leave my mind. They turned over in my thoughts. The Registry had spawned a branch: the Reliquary—closer to a redblood death camp than any prison.

I now understood why amulets were only in Elite households. They were a luxury to repel Hollows. In the span of my thirty annums, I had seen many, many amulets.

Each one symbolized a murdered redblood.

The worst bit of it all was that the amulets must be replenished. When Liadan explained that the murder of a redblood only held repelling properties for a single annum, it felt as if my heart would break.

Cassiel had remained silent, not speaking a word out loud or in my mind. Nothing past simple questions about my comfort.

In the distance, a dwelling sat in the midst of shrubbery illuminated by the rising dawnlight. Simple, small, and sturdy. The horses clopped ahead; Abrax followed last with Cassiel and me on him.

This was where the Resistance was located? It was not quite as I had expected.

Ahead of us, Morak and Liadan whispered to each other, hurried and rushed. They had not stopped their back and forth.

‘They argue over bringing me here,’ Cassiel informed me.

Having advanced hearing was rather useful.

Archer had not spoken a word. He continued to look around with piercing focus as if awaiting an attack.

“Understandably,” I muttered under my breath. Cassiel went rigid against my back.

‘You believe I would betray you?’

I bit my tongue and instead shrugged. I wanted to respond with a resounding ‘yes’, but I knew it was false. There would be nothing he would gain from turning against the Resistance. He well knew the council had only used him.

Despite being a frigid, uncaring, and ancient man, he was not stupid.

The hawk flew overhead with a sharp cry, and Morak took the lead.

Liadan guided his dappled horse over to us. “I’ll take the rear.”

Cassiel pushed Abrax forward, closer to Morak. We rode to the side of a worn dirt path. Wheat stalks and trees surrounding us. Morak cut a swath through the terrain. Wheat rasped against our sides. We rode like this for a long while until we came to a stop before what looked to be an abandoned stable.

‘We are surrounded.’

I scanned the mix of trees and wheat, but under the moonlight, I could not see a thing. Movement brought my attention to a slim woman leaving the wheat field. She was dressed in trousers!? She moved quickly, crossing to meet another man before the front of the decrepit shack.

The two figures moved in tandem, opening the doors. Morak moved forward, and the rest of us were on his heels.