It takes me a few seconds to realize it’s Lidiane, pulling me back to reality.
For a moment, I was suffocated in my painful daze.
I look around and see ice covering the floor and windows around me. My ice—and I can’t stop it.
Well, better than fire. Anything is better than fire.
We’re at the castle’s heart, and my brother has just left to try to get back his guards and make sure the lower fae in the Jewel City are safe. Ferer and Ziven went with him.
This is not the time for worry to flood my mind or for pain to muddle my thoughts. It’s time to find a solution—and a way to get Astra back.
“Can you feel where he is?” I ask. “More than just underground?”
She looks up, thinking. “It’s… not clear. You should be able to sense her too. Can’t you?”
“Sometimes. She even called me once, when she was in danger. I was far away and I felt it.” The memory still squeezes my chest. “I felt it and I knew how to find her. But I don’t feel anything now.”
All I feel is a pit of emptiness calling me, and yet I need to crawl out of it if I want to have any hope of rescuing Astra.
Lidiane closes her eyes, her expression thoughtful. I hope she’s able to see more than I can, even if the idea that Ferer’s little sister somehow has a bond with Azur is something out of a nightmare. I’m hoping it’s some kind of temporary bond, perhaps some trick, nothing permanent. Still, I’ll make him pay if he’s duping Lidiane, who’s like a sister to me.
The thought reminds me that my real sister has left the castle with that crooked healing master. I’ll have to find a way to bring her back as well. Too many disasters at once; worry upon worry in interminable layers burying me in my own agony.
The layer of ice on the ground is a palm thick, and the windows are completely covered. Such a waste of magic.
Astra, where are you? Can you hear me? How can I bring you home?
I don’t know howshe reached methat time, and don’t know how to reach her now. I don’t feel that jolt of pain I’ve felt a few times when I sensed her in danger, but I sense that something’s wrong. And I’m sure Azur wouldn’t waste an opportunity to hurt me. It’s not just that he was Renel’s guardian; he has a personal grudge against me.
His words haven’t left my mind.Try anything, and I’ll slice your wife into pieces.
A shiver runs up my spine.
Then, Lidiane opens her eyes all of a sudden, as if startled. Something’s wrong.
“What is it?” I can’t hide my agony.
“I… think they’re safe. At least for now.”
“And?” I know there’s more.
“They’re in the…” Her shoulders droop as she pauses.
“Just say it,” I plead. Every second waiting is torture.
“They’re in the Shadow Lands.”
It’s like a punch in my chest. “Now?” Desperation laces my voice. “In the middle of the night? She’ll be dead.”
“But she’s alive, isn’t she?” Lidiane’s face is calm, as if any part of her words could comfort me.
I cover my face with my hands. No, no, no, no. “Can you find their location?”
“Maybe. Marlak, you’re right that it’s night, but if they’re safe, it means they found shelter, something. They probably can’t leave until morning. We can’t go there right now, when all the monsters roam free. Once the sun rises, then yes, I’ll come with you, and we’ll bring all the help we can.”
Thick layers of ice cover the windows, as a whirlwind of panic stirs in my chest. “It might be too late.”
“What do you want to do? Go to the Shadow Lands right now and die? Is that going to help?”
