I’m going to knock this damn fae over the railing and watch him careen face-first down three stories.
With a sigh, I reluctantly pull myself to my feet and offer Lilith a hesitant smile. Lilith, like always, stands dressed to perfection.
Donning a forest green silk dress, her hair spills over her cloaked shoulders in soft waves. In her hands lies a wildflower bouquet, fresh cut it seems, clutched at her waist.
She looks like a bride.
One who belongs in a forest with mossy trees filled with trilling songbirds and wandering deer.
“You might want to find Eve,” Lilith says as I meet her saddened stare. “She may not want to be alone today.”
Confused, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“It’s Cora’s birthday,” she answers, a soft, weak smile appearing on her face. She lifts the bouquet in her hands. “I got these thinking Eve planned to visit the crypt.”
My lungs set themselves on fire, depriving me of air as my heart seizes.
“I’ll be twenty-five a few days before.”Cora’s soft voice emerges from the darkened corners of my mind.
A few days before the autumn equinox.
Is that today?
“Where did she go?” I breathe the question, my feet flying down the stairs.
Lilith stammers.
Snatching the bouquet as I rush by, Lilith gives a startled shriek.
“Lady Ves!” Cyran calls after me.
“Find me later, Cyran!” I shout as the guards at the door swing them open.
The bright light of the morning sun blinds me as I streak outside. And again, the chill breeze kisses my skin. I should have snagged Lilith’s cloak too. Too late now.
Daring to take the stairs two at a time as my eyes adjust, I spring into the courtyard and pause.
Eve is nowhere to be found.
She can’t ferry…
She couldn’t have gotten far.
A flock of pigeons burst through a missing window of the Moon Temple—startled by something inside.
My eyes narrow.
Would she…?
Sprinting across the courtyard, my pace slows once again as I ascend the temple stairs. Both mourning and strangeness settle into my chest as I crest the final step, stopping to peer at Castle Erus over my shoulder.
A few dozen yards of space between the castle and temple, but they sit worlds apart. And now, the temple is a shadowed and shattered reminder of what itusedto be.
Lacking attendants and foot traffic, the once bright white marbleof the stairs has grown dull. But… a clear path cuts through the accumulation of dirt and grime. It traces up the stairs and to the front door, easily missed if not standing atop it.
The chain binding the door shut hangs aroundoneof the large, arched handles, its end swaying ever so slowly. Stepping closer, my eyes fall upon the massive metal lock on the ground, it’s shank warped—melted.
She would, it seems.
