And she would not make it back in time.
Shehad failed.
She’d failed Arawn. Izill. Alaris.
She’d failed Six.
Her father … Erath …
She was the Acolyte’sdaughter.
She laughed at the sheer madness of it.
But was he even Erath? Or was he someone else wearing Erath’s skin? He was supposed to have been killed by the Masters; another lie she’d believed. At this point, she wondered if she’d ever learn the real truth.
She’d told Six to leave her, should anything go wrong. But some part of her knew …
The Acolyte would not let her raphon go.
It was the image of Six imprisonedagainthat drew Ezer to her feet.
She tried to pry open the barred door, but found it had no handle. She tried pounding her fists on it, screaming Erath’s name.
Please,she prayed.Please, don’t let them hurt Six.
Because she wouldn’t be able to survive that. She wouldn’t be able to get past knowing the raphon’s death washerfault.
‘Why?’ she whispered into the dark. And she wasn’t sure if she was speaking to the gods or to herself, to her mother’s spirit on the wind, but somehow hearing her own voice kept her panic from spiraling out of control. ‘Why did it come to this?’
She paused, cocking her head.
Because that was the sound of footsteps in the dark.
She had no time to gather herself before the door was pried open.
And a darksoul … a darksoul she knew, stood on the other side.
‘Zey,’ Ezer breathed.
‘Wolf Bait,’ said Zey.
She was once achingly beautiful.
Now she looked like the queen of nightmares.
Her pale, buttery hair was wild and free from its Sacred braid, with rings of black tied to the strands. Her eyes, once the color of the sea, had darkened to a pure, depthless black. The telltale dark veins spread outwards across her face. She wore darksoul robes.
And when she crossed her arms in a very Zey-like way … Ezer saw claws, where her fingertips once were.
She had completely changed.
‘You’re still alive,’ Ezer whispered.
Zey smiled, and those were fangs in her mouth. Fear rushed through Ezer, even as Zey stood twenty paces away.
She knew the darksoul could kill her in a breath if she wished it.
‘I’ll admit, I’m surprised. I didn’t think you had it in you.’
