Irelax my shoulder and the muscles in my face, ensuring my expression is neutral, showing no fear, no guilt. I suppose not everything I learned in the tower was useless.
Zorwal is holding the light, his face eerie with only one point of light coming from under it.
“You wanted to see me?” I ask, my voice casual.
His smirk is way too satisfied for my taste. “Not really. Do you think I expected you to be snooping on me? The answer’s obviouslyno. And yet…” His eyes take a glint that would be joyful on any other person. “What a gift.”
A chill takes over my entire body. Whatever he’s planning, it can only be something absolutely dreadful. A few quips cross my mind, such as “glad to help”, but the remaining bit of prudence left in me is telling me that it’s better to remain silent.
He narrows his eyes. “Who told you to come here?”
Nowthisis a question that deserves a reply. And I need to make a quick choice on whether to implicate Mirella or not. I choose to lie. “I saw Otavio and I thought he came because of me. A foolish presumption, obviously. And silly curiosity. Apologies. I meant no offense. It won’t happen again.”
“That much is obvious. Now, how did you know? About this passage?”
“Renel showed it to me.” This is a more plausible explanation than claiming I found it by accident or something, and for now, I’d rather not cross Mirella. I don’t need any more enemies.
“Oh, did he? And that made you think you could spy on me?” His tone is light, but he still has that satisfied tone that makes me more worried than if he shouted.
“No. I… was just curious.” There isn’t much I can say or do.
“And yet you broke my trust. You broke our deal. Do you know what that means?”
“I’m not sure.” My body wants to tremble, and yet I will it to stay still.
Without turning around, he retreats in the hallway and says, “Follow me.”
I freeze. For a second, I want to stay here, as if this passage would keep me safe, as if it would keep me out of Zorwal’s reach.Of course, hiding is not a solution, and if I’m to face any torment, delaying it won’t lessen it.
With calm steps, I follow the creepy old fae out of this hideaway, my heart pounding in my chest. When we reach the hallway of the castle, he steps aside, so that I come out in front of him, then he turns me around and grasps my arms, then whispers in my ear. “NowI can harm you.”
I’m not so sure that’s how our deal works, but it’s not like I can ask for clarifications now. I assume I could also harm him, if I ever figured out how to kill him, of course.
“Guards,” he calls. “Take her to thespecialprison.”
I hope he means special in the sense that it’s for super important prisoners, that it’s a prison with a lovely bed and beautiful windows.
Nah. I know I’m screwed.
AZUR
My goal was to give myself one day to live as if I had no curse upon me. One day, as if doom was not closing in on us, as if my end wasn’t hovering above me.
And yet sitting with Lidiane, talking about silly and important things, sharing memories and wishes, makes me want to live, to survive. I could become a desperate fool, ready to risk the world for another day like this, sitting by the water, hearing her voice.
She told me some of her childhood, I told her some of mine—and yet still part of me remains hidden, as I’m not ready to reveal my origin to her. I should tell her everything, tell her I’m the legitimate Nether Court king, and yet I don’t want to mentionmy promise to destroy the Crystal Court, a vow passed through generations and generations.
I don’t want her to think I have some nefarious goal. While I might have wanted to see Marlak dead, right now, I’d rather see him alive and destroying the Witch King. We can resolve our differences later—if ever there is such a thing aslater. Perhaps I don’t want to risk having Lidiane looking at me differently, breaking the enchantment of this moment.
Astra knows who I am—but she won’t tell anyone. How can I place so much trust on my nemesis’ wife? Or perhapsformernemesis’ wife? We faced death together. I shared my blood with her. I just know she won’t betray me unless she has no other choice, and hopefully, she’ll never have to make that choice.
Lidiane watches me, eyes wide. “Shall we go inside?”
“When we could watch the stars rising over the Endless Mountains?”
Her smile is sweet and makes my chest ache. “The Mountains won’t move. And the stars will be here tomorrow.” We both knowImight not be here tomorrow, and yet we can never manage to poke this horrible truth. “But I think… I’ll make new capes. We might need to go somewhere and not draw attention. And we might want to eat.” She gets up, as if she’s made up her mind.
I don’t want to step away from this corner of the island, this little sanctuary, and yet I get up. “Well, let’s go. But I still don’t want to hear any secret conversation.”
