82. Body of the Saltsworn

A soft wind whispered between the wystwood branches, and then a dead silence settled in the throne chamber. Ada felt Raeph's arms tighten around her waist, holding her upright, his eyes fixed upon her face. But she could only stare out at the sky. Pale clouds drifted by, as though weaving a shroud around the tower.

"Min," whispered Ada, her voice rough. "Oh, Min."

She tore herself from Raeph's arms, though his hands remained at her hips when she staggered to the window. The Stone Circle's dark smoke had mostly dispersed, its remaining coils clinging to stiff bodies laid out along the canal. There were no more cries of pain, nor rattle of chains. A number of injured fae sat huddled under awnings, tending to open wounds or falling silent in the morning sun. A smooth ripple creased the surface of the canal, and fingers of red came creeping through its waters from the bloodied cobblestones.

Ada forced herself to look for Min, but the fae bodies were stacked too closely, and the throne chamber was much too high to see their faces clearly.

"Come back, Ada," said Raeph, smoothing a hand down her arm then pulling her from the window.

"I can't..." Ada tried to say, but found her mouth was dry. "I promised I'd take care of her. Oh... What have I done?"

Raeph fingers were far stronger when they came to her chin and turned her face from the city. His eyes were bright in the sunlight, like coals catching fire. "Listen to me. This was not your fault."

"I brought her up here," Ada's eyes were burning too now. "I thought she'd be safer than down in the streets."

"But you came to the Lady alone," he said, and his voice softened as he brushed the tears from her cheeks. "You were so brave, and she chose to follow you. She made that choice."

A sob welled up in her chest as Raeph tugged her against him once again, and then they were on the floor between the roots, her arms around his neck and her hips between his legs, rocking together through the pain. With her head tucked under his chin, Ada could hear Raeph's heart beating, and when she looked up, his cheeks were also wet and shining.

"Your brother, Raeph," Ada whispered. "I'm so... so sorry."

"He's free now," Raeph said, though Ada felt the tremor coarse through his body. "I only ever wanted him to rest peacefully."

She stroked her fingers through his dark hair, and his head fell to her shoulder, slow and gentle. Then, they simply sat and cried. The sun was streaming in, its warmth carried in the wind that tugged at their clothes and shuddered the wystwood. It eventually coaxed them back to their feet, though neither stared out at the sky and the valley. They looked only at each other.

"I want to find..." Ada couldn't finish the sentence, could scarcely bear to think of the little body sprawled out somewhere below. "Her."

Raeph nodded. "We'll go together."

He turned a final time to the throne, where he must have spent so many long hours knelt at the feet of his Lady. Reaching out his hand, Ada thought he was going to caress the twisted branches, but instead, he picked up the empty wystwood box. His eyes were fiercely bright and his fingers twitched, as if preparing to rip the box apart. But then he held it out to Ada.

"The iron dagger," he said. "If you put it inside, the wystwood will dull its burn."

Ada took the box and picked up the knife, careful to keep its iron far from Raeph, and marking the spots of blood on its blade before she tucked it away. Raeph didn't ask for the box back, but stood aside to let Ada leave the chamber first, following after her without a glance behind him.

The climb down the tower passed with heavy steps and few words. Exhaustion hung like lead in every one of Ada's limbs, and the only thing keeping her upright were Raeph's fingers, like tethers between her own. They walked hand in hand whenever the walls were wide enough, and when they were not, she felt his palm skimming the seams of her dress. She thought of Raeph, all those years ago, entering the Tower of Wysthaven alone in search of his dying brother. When they came to the final sloping stairwell, and saw beyond the city of Wysthaven, Ada made sure they stepped out together.

The sun had not yet warmed the city below, and between the arches, the air chilled Ada's skin as she looked out upon the devastation. The dead lay everywhere, their blood stained between the cobbles like fate's red ribbons. Hounds, young enough to still be called boys, had stripped off their chains and sat shivering together. A few watched, without word or warning, as fae from the Stone Circle rubbed calendula petals to paste between their palms to heal peeling wounds into new, pink flesh.

Then Ada saw her. The body had crumpled horribly when it hit the cobblestones, bones breaking roughly enough to pierce the skin. Her dress was stained red, and her long hair was now a matted mess, tangled around her stiff fingers. The Lady of Wysthaven had died screaming, her eyes still set upon the distant spires spiralling up towards a bloodied dawn.

"Where's Min?" Ada said, turning her head from where the Lady lay alone. Her stomach was churning, and she forced herself to take deep breaths, despite the dull ache at her temple.

"We'll find her," Raeph murmured, holding her hand a moment longer before walking to the embankment. Ada was glad to have the moment alone so that she could swallow her panic, slow her breathing, focus on Raeph lifting a dripping chain from the canal's depths.

His arms strained against the weight of the chain as the bridge gradually appeared, inch by inch, from the surface of the canal. The water slapped against the embankment, sending ripples dipping and dancing, and Ada was walking over to help when she saw something strange. Like smoke from the Stone Circle, dark shapes were shifting beneath the water, tight coils bobbing up to the surface like black surf cresting ocean waves.

"Raeph," Ada gasped. "Raeph! Look there in the water!"

As the bridge clunked into place, Raeph turned to look where Ada was pointing, and the chain slipped from his fingers. He tore the silken remains of his shirt from his chest, obsidian buttons skittering across the bridge as he lifted his arms and dived cleanly into the canal. Ada fell to her knees, dropping the wystwood box in the mud as Raeph's hands caught the shape in the water. He swam back to Ada with one arm, his other holding a small body afloat, curly hair stuck to their thin shoulders.

Ada reached down and grabbed the girl's arms when they neared the embankment, dragging her ashore as Raeph heaved himself up beside them. Her fingers were shaking so frantically that she could barely turn the child over and cradle her small head in the crook of her elbow, tears pouring down her face and blurring her vision.

"Min," Ada sobbed. "Min? Can you hear me?"

"Ada." Raeph placed a hand on her wrist, his hair dripping down his neck, making him shiver. "Ada, wait."

"No, no, no," Ada said, trying to rub warmth back into Min's stiff limbs, untangling her hair between her fingers. "Oh, please. Min."

"Ada, stop!" Raeph banded his arms around Ada, hauling her away from Min despite her struggling. She cursed and cried, hating to be parted from the girl, knowing she couldn't leave her cold little body alone in the mud at the foot of the tower.

Then she heard a small, wet cough, and felt Raeph's arms tighten around her. Ada didn't speak—didn't breathe—as though she could pass the air from her lungs to Min's. But then the girl coughed again, her whole body jerking, and water came dribbling from her paled lips.

Ada blinked the tears from her eyes, not quite daring to believe it until she saw Min's face shining in the morning light. Her eyes were wide and bold and defiant. As the girl rose, quivering, to her feet, the sun seemed to blaze brighter, drying her skin and letting her hair bounce back into its curls. Min closed her eyes, feeling the full warmth of the new morning, and there upon her brow glittered a circlet of salt.