But would the fates and the priestly remnants allow that?
The continuing silence – at least when it came to the priests – very much suggested they might.
“You can do that?” I said, voice hoarse.
“We can now. With two gates open, the magic that prevents its destruction is muted.”
“But how would destroying the last gate free you from their service? The other two are still active, even if they are open.”
“Which is precisely why we have concluded destruction might be the better option.” I could hear the smile in her voice, even if I couldn’t see her. “The gates are all linked. If you can destroy one, you destroy them all.”
“The mere fact you make such a threat shows just how far the Raziq have fallen.” Azriel’s voice cut across the noise and the anger that filled the temple grounds as cleanly as sunshine through rain. Relief made my arms shake, and tears stung my eyes. I blinked them away furiously. It wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. It was still him and me against all of them.
“You no longer deserve the name of ‘priests,’” he continued, voice ominously flat. “And you certainly no longer have the umbrella of its protection.”
“Do not make idle threats, Mijai.” Any pretense of civility had finally been stripped from Malin’s voice. It was evil personified – nothing more, nothing less. “We both know you would not dare to violate the sanctity of this place.”
“Not without the permission of the fates,” he agreed. “And that we now have.”
With those words lingering ominously in the air, he appeared.
And he wasn’t alone.