Taking another sip of tea, I tried to focus on what just happened. I’d managed to track my dad down, go between realms, and still wound up back where I belonged.
The little cottage in the woods.
I let my eyes flutter shut for a moment while my friends chatted and tried to make sense of what just happened. But things felt different, hopeful.
I’m coming, Dad, I thought.
I allowed a brief moment of rest as the warm glow of the fire warmed my body.
Suddenly, it struck me.
What if it doesn’t matter where Dad is?
“Why don’t we lure Gideon here? If he’s so intent on controlling everything, wants the Academy, wants Stonewick…then let’s make him think we’re vulnerable.”
Nova caught my gaze and smiled with a nod. “He’ll come to us, convinced we’re the easier target.”
“Then we pounce,” I finished. “We force Gideon into the open, surprise him, and free my dad.”
And that was when I knew what I had to do.
Chapter Five
I crawled into bed, and every muscle in my body ached. The soreness wasn’t from physical exertion, but from an exhaustion wrapped up in sorrow.
Or maybe it was the other way around.
A constant barrage of images and thoughts made my head spin. Between the shadows of the fortress and the raw look in Gideon’s eyes, I was fatigued yet anxious to begin.
But I knew what I had to do.
And an eerie call from the Academy had been plaguing me since I left. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was from the dragons.
I let out a long, unsteady breath as I pulled the quilt to my chin. The bed felt softer than ever, with an unspoken invitation to slip into oblivion for a few hours, but I knew what was ahead was anything but settling.
What was it Gideon had told me before?
We needed to give him what he wanted.
But what was that?
The haunting line of his voice teased at the edges of my memory, promising answers if I’d only trust him, step into his world.
I shuddered as his chilling gaze and the ephemeral taste of fog clung to my thoughts.
Everything about Shadowick was gloomy and dark, and nothing that I needed or craved, despite what Gideon liked to tell me.
He’d said I was better off with him, like he held the key to everything I wanted. The thought of it tightened my chest.
A fresh wave of fatigue overcame me, and I sank deeper into the pillows.
Even before tonight’s glimpse into Gideon’s stronghold, I’d had these nightmares where Shadowick stretched before me in a decaying maze. Each alleyway wept tendrils of gray mist and trapped me where I didn’t want to be.
I couldn’t forget the sensation of stepping through the fog, hearing Gideon’s voice so close to my ear that I’d sworn he was breathing down my neck.
Had some part of me sought him out repeatedly, desperate for the answers he dangled like forbidden fruit? The question sent a shiver up my spine because I knew the answer.
My eyes fluttered shut, the edges of the quilt comforting against my jaw. Despite the protective Wards around the village and the reassuring hum of magic now etched into each stone, I couldn’t entirely dispel the constant gnawing of my thoughts.
