Within These Tangled Tales

Chapter Twenty-Seven

—Saad'yna—

Teryn hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. She lay there for just a moment, eyes tightly shut. So certain. She had been certain she was going to die when she flung herself from that tower. There was no way to survive a fall from such a height. But then, the golden light had swirled around her. She saw Velloch slip away into darkness, and then, she hit the ground, hard enough to leave her breathless but soft enough to save her life.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was only half-surprised to find Saad'yna her place of landing. She was alone in the room, only the faint ticking clock to keep her company as she pushed herself to her feet. Her legs were shaking. She had to close her eyes again and take several steadying breaths. She had nearly killed herself. Though—if she had stayed in that tower, Kellaran most certainly would have killed her for what she had done.

Teryn swallowed thickly. What had she done? Kellaran had said the bottle contained poison that would harm the Creator. She wasn't certain if she felt alright with that or not. The Creator was not to be trusted. She believed that deep within her heart. But were her actions justified? She shook her head. It didn't matter. What was done was done. She could not take it back. Perhaps she had kept her daughter just a little bit safer. That was all she could hope.

Saad'yna, for so long, had been a place of nightmare for her. The eerie song that had filled the halls. The field of bones. The fountains of blood. The monsters lurking within. It had haunted her dreams for years after her first trip inside its walls. But now, Saad'yna was quiet and warm. There was no icy breeze to chill her to the bone, no growling of lurking threats, no faceless ghosts to haunt her every step. Now, Saad'yna was just a ruin.

Teryn's gaze swept the room, trying to get her bearings. She had never seen this room before and was uncertain of where it connected to the front of the palace. There would be no use but to wander the halls and look for her exit. The King of Bones seemed in no hurry to find her.

The room she was in was expansive, a wide hall with a high, vaulted ceiling that stretched upward into shadow. Much of Saad'yna was a ruin, but this room had been well looked after. The windows were all intact, the smell of fresh air drifting through rather than the must of old castle ruins. It was not until her eyes adjusted to the low light flickering from the sconces on the walls that Teryn realized why this room had received such tender care.

Seven tombs lay within the room, three to her right, three to her left, and one placed prominently at the front of the room beneath a circular rose colored window. Each tomb was decorated with different carvings and scrollwork in a language she didn't recognize. Silk banners hung over each one, different colors with different emblems for each. These people, whoever they had been, must have been of great importance to the King of Bones. At the base of each one, a fresh bouquet of flowers sat in honor of the dead.

Teryn turned toward the one separated from the rest. Who could the King of Bones have cared so dearly for that they were buried in such a magnificent place? To her, he had only been the subject of nightmares and hushed whispers. This however—this made him far too human. It made her curious, and so, her steps led her to the stone casket. There was a small stone plaque placed along the side that she could just make out.

Ara Dreher. 845-869. Daughter of Holst.

She explored the room. Seven tombs. Seven women. All the same age when they died. Twenty-four. Teryn stilled with the realization. Ori's twenty-fourth birthday was approaching. There were only a few more months. But that was undoubtedly a coincidence, her mind told her. These women were not Ori. They had nothing in common with her. They couldn't. Except—except for the King of Bones.