“We will lead them now to the yew grove in the Elysian Wilderness,” said Orion. “I’ve made the memorial there.”
When I’d first heard the news that we’d be spending the night at a memorial, it felt like a distraction from my preparations, or maybe a trick of some sort. But now that we were walking under the starlight, with the sorrowful music filling the air, it seemed necessary…and right. As we passed, some of the demons dropped their model ships into the river, and the waters carried them away.
“Are you all right?” Orion asked.
“Yeah. You?”
He held my gaze for a long time, his expression unreadable. “Same as always.”
I had no idea what that meant. “Full of quiet rage and loud confidence?”
“Not quite.”
We crossed the bridge. Illuminated silver ships were streaming down the river now, bobbing over the water. Just across the river, lanterns hung from tree boughs, swinging a little in the breeze. Orion led me into a yew grove, where the dots of warm light illuminated tree trunks. Around the grove, large, rough stones had been carved with Demonic letters, the shapes serpentine and elegant. A fitting resting place for a culture that belonged in the wild.
I stepped through the mossy forest, wishing I could read the names. The stones seemed to go on endlessly, which in itself was heartbreaking.
“It’s a beautiful memorial,” I said.
“Spell casters worked on the lanterns. The candles will never go out.” He touched my lower back lightly. “Here.” He nodded at a couple of large stones by one of the river’s tributaries.
I crossed to look at the stones, and my eyes stung when I saw the names. These were the only ones here carved in both Demonic and English. I crouched down and ran my fingertips over Mom’s name: Aria Morgenstern, Duchess of Asmodeus.
How strange that I’d never known her full name, nor my father’s name at all. Baal de Moloch, Duke of Asmodeus, next to her. Gold and shadows danced over the stones from the lanterns, making the carvings come to life.
My throat felt tight. “Why are these in English?”
“They’re for you. They’re your family.”
But there was a third stone here, too, tucked off to the side, hidden in shadows.
Lady Mortana de Moloch.
“You made a memorial for Mortana,” I whispered. “Unexpected.”
“I made one for every dead Lilu.”
I turned to look up at him. “Why her?”
Again, a line formed between his eyebrows. “Once I learned that she’d died in the underworld after losing her mind…I don’t know. The threat is gone. Maybe she helped Nergal because it was the only way to survive. Or maybe she was truly evil.” Shadows danced back and forth over his features. “I don’t really know what she was thinking, and I no longer care. She’s dead, and I’m not. Every dead Lilu gets a marker.”
I rose, staring out at the forest of glittering lights and the stones beneath them. “How did you dig up all their names?”
“I remembered them. There wasn’t much else to do in the dungeon except think of their names, engrave them on my heart, and promise to avenge them.”
I swallowed hard. “You were only five.”
He slid his hands into his pockets, his expression serious. “I had Ashur to help me remember every name.”
My heart felt like it was cracking. Orion would never break his promise to Ashur. And I wasn’t even sure I could blame him, but I’d try to stop him anyway.
Closer to the river, demons were filling the forest. He turned away from me, and his face fell into shadow. “We should join the others for the memorial songs.”
Mom must have known all the words to these songs once, but she’d never taught me.
“I don’t know the Lilu songs,” I whispered.
“You’ll learn them,” he said quietly.
Those didn’t sound like the words of a man who intended to get rid of me. Then again, how could anyone ever really know what someone as unpredictable as Orion was really thinking?
13
ROWAN
I stood on the balcony outside my room, staring at the sea. After the challariu, I felt emotionally drained. I think I was exhausted from the mental puzzle of trying to figure out what was real and what was a lie. So I’d eaten by myself on the balcony, under the stars. Orion’s servants had brought me a bottle of Malbec and grilled salmon with delicately spiced rice.
Now, my head was swimming, my mind racing with worries about the upcoming trial. On the one hand, I’d demonstrated a bit of control today. Just before the memorial, I’d managed to make a piece of paper float across the room to Shai without lighting anything on fire.