Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

serve with your loyalties divided, his guilt answered. Though it’s hard to question the dead.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Killian gave a tight nod, then wheeled Seahawk around and broke into a gallop toward Rotahn.

 28TERIANA

The legions had never pressed particularly far inland, their focus on the coastal region of Arinoquia, where the majority of the people lived. The inland areas were wild and uncharted jungle that was rumored to be populated by the original inhabitants of the area, though none of the legion scouts had ever seen them.

The camp they’d made for the night was nothing more than tarps strung between trees to keep off the rain, which meant no chance to talk to Marcus about what had happened between him and Felix without the men surrounding them overhearing. Marcus hadn’t even slept near her, leaving her to lay out her bedroll next to Quintus. He’d roused everyone before dawn to continue the march toward the xenthier stem.

Now, it was close to midday, and she was exhausted and drenched with sweat and rain, the waterskin Amarin had given her nearly empty and her concern for Marcus vanquishing any other thoughts. His eyes were bloodshot from too many days with too little sleep, but it was the hollowness in them that worried her. As though despite the significance of what they were going to see, it paled in comparison to his conflict with Felix.

Dodging around the men walking between them on the narrow game trail they followed, she fell in next to him. “You all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I’m tired.”

“Marcus—”

But before she could press him, Gibzen appeared, pushing back down the trail toward them. “It’s just over the ridge here.”

Curiosity briefly outweighing her concern, Teriana followed them to the edge of the ridge, a small gasp pulling from her lips at what she saw.

Below stretched a stone city that was slowly being consumed by the jungle. Vines wrapped around buildings and towers, trees burst through roofs, and foliage consumed the streets. At the center rose the seven towers of the god circle, the stone so eroded that the faces that had once been depicted were nearly vanished to time. And yet it still seemed they were watching—that the gods themselves stood in the center of this ancient city, observing the intruders.

“Any sign of life?” Marcus asked.

“None. Our best guess is that it’s been abandoned for close to a decade.”

Marcus started down the narrow trail, and Teriana followed at his heels, pausing at what once must have been the gates to this place, the only thing left an arch over the gap in the crumbling wall. There was writing on it, faded from endless rain, and Teriana rose on her tiptoes, squinting at it.

“Can you read the language?” Marcus asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “My aunt Yedda might be able to do so, but these people were driven inland by the invading clans when I was just a child.”

They ventured into the city, the soldiers flanking them alert, eyes searching the shadows between buildings and watching for movement in the treetops.

Marcus cut left, ducking inside one of the buildings that hadn’t crumbled.

“Be careful, sir!” A soldier scurried after him. “Many of these buildings are on the verge of collapse.”

Ignoring the warnings, Teriana followed Marcus in, Quintus on her heels with a torch in hand.

Inside, the floor was covered with debris, but Teriana found her eyes leaping to the signs of the people who’d once lived here. A table and chairs gone green with moss. A child’s ball in the corner. The remains of woven tapestries too rotten to see the images they’d depicted. The walls had once been painted bright red, but it had mostly flaked away to be replaced by green slime from the endless moisture.

They walked to the rear space, which had once been a kitchen, with an oven set into the wall. Kneeling, Teriana peered through, seeing that it opened into a private yard. It was overgrown with ferns, but in the midst of all that wildness, a bush with large white flowers grew, their perfume filling her nose.

They ventured back out into the street, Marcus saying nothing as he explored, his brow furrowed. They reached the god circle, at the center of which there was a large stone dais. Marcus climbed the stone steps to stand on top of it, but Teriana headed toward Madoria’s temple, stepping across the heavy metal door that had broken off its hinges.

“Let me go first,” Quintus said, moving carefully across the floor. Both his eyes were blackened and his nose slightly swollen from Felix’s demonstration. Yet though there was still a hollowness to his gaze, he’d been more himself since they’d left camp. It was tempting to say his grief had eased, but Teriana’s gut told her that it had more to do with what Felix had said to Quintus, though which part had made an impact, she wasn’t sure.

“Seems okay.” He jumped up and down a few times on the floor.

“Clearly you missed your calling as an engineer.” She eyed the dust and bits of stone that rained down from above. The high ceiling had partially collapsed, leaving the structure open to the elements. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the walls were painted in highly detailed images of the sea, vessels filled with brown-skinned men and women drawing up nets full of fish while a great sea serpent swam beneath them. On another wall, there were images of ships with blue sails, and beneath them, a woman with black skin and hair made of seaweed held her hands up to them.

Walking to the table at the center, Teriana pulled a gold coin from her pocket and placed it on top, murmuring a prayer that her goddess continue to protect her people. Glancing at Quintus, who was poking at the artwork, she added another coin, then silently whispered, “Let him find his way back to Miki. They deserve a chance.”

Leaving the temple, she blinked in the bright light,