“It’ll take just a sec.” I grab at the papers, but they are all suddenly blank.
“Curse the rebels and their stupidly convenient mystical secrets.” I mumble.
Grabbing the leftover stones instead, I shove them deep into my bag. I’m not sure how Sloth relics work, but I know they are better in my hands than theirs.
Atticus looks at me like I’m doing something dubious, but smartly keeps his mouth shut.
“Okay, we can go now.” I say.
“I don’t know how long these crystals will last,” he says, sounding doubtful. “We should head straight for the wards.”
I really don’t want to go back towards the academy, but I can’t argue with his reasoning. We don’t know how many rebels there could be in Academy Hollow right now, and with me being powerless, I would have no chance.
“You’ll need to hold my hand,” Atticus says. “Once we touch the crystals, we won’t be able to see one another.”
I stare at his outstretched hand, and I know the look on my face gives me away—revulsion twisting across my features before I can stop it. This guy has socially tortured me since the moment we met. The last thing I want to do is hold his hand.
Of course he notices.
“Arwen,” he says after a beat of hesitation, his voice dropping. “It’s the only way we won’t get separated. We’re safer together. We need to move. Now.”
My jaw clenches, but I slide my hand into his anyway. His skin is warmer than I expect, callused in a way that betrays more training than he lets on. The crystal digs into my palm as we both grip ours, and the world instantly shifts.
Light drains away. The air feels thick. My breath catches when I glance down—my hand is still in his, but I can’t see it. I can’t see him at all.
“Stay close,” he whispers.
We creep through the shack, silent as shadows. My chest tightens with each step, but I force myself to trust him, to let him lead me. The bond hums faintly, a low vibration under my skin, tugging at me in ways I don’t understand.
We slip out the door just as Briar appears, his scarred face unmistakable even in the dim light. A group of rebels flanks him. My whole body freezes, breath hitching sharply in my chest. Then I remember—he can’t see me.
Atticus shifts us to the side of the door, his movements deliberate, soundless. I feel a finger touch my lips. A sign to be quiet.
I stay silent, but Briar halts, head cocked, his ruined face turning directly toward us.
“Do you see that?” His voice cuts through the quiet. He points, eyes narrowed. “There was a flicker.” He scans the space where we stand, urgency sharpening his tone. “Did anyone else see that? Something’s not right.”
My blood runs cold.
Atticus’s hand tightens around mine. “The power is fading,” he says urgently. “We have to get behind thewards.”
I take Brix’s charm out of my pocket and slowly raise it to my lips. I whisper, “Release,” and all hell breaks loose as a burst of energy blasts out of the charm, knocking the rebels back and to the ground.
Atticus bolts, dragging me with him. “Why are you always so full of surprises?”
The world blurs into streaks of dark and pale as we tear through the crooked streets. My shoes scrape stone. I almost trip, and still he doesn’t let go. The sun is lifting, bleeding color into the sky, making it easier to see where we are going.
Trees rise ahead, and I feel the wards before I see them—an invisible hum prickling over my skin. The moment we cross, warmth slides through me as the temperature balances, a relief that drops me to my knees.
But Atticus doesn’t stop. He keeps pulling me deeper into the woods, even as our bodies shimmer back into view. By the time he slows, his outline is blurry, like a smudge on glass.
He yanks the crystal from my hand and tosses it to the ground with his. They clatter into the leaves, lying still, powerless. Atticus leans against a tree, chest heaving. I sagged down beside him, gasping for air.
For a long moment, we just breathe.
“What now?” The words tumble out. My mind working on overtime to catch up on all the events that had just transpired.
We sit in the fragile hush of dawn, the wards humming steadily around us. What am I going to do?
