THE ROSELIGHT BLINKS OUT LIKEa dying star. I shake the orb as shudders pulse through the rock, spaced apart like approaching footsteps. The light does not revive itself.
Blackness blooms before my eyes. Despite holding my hand in front of my face, I can’t see it. And the longer I am without light, the greater my panic grows, spinning out of control. What happened to Zephyrus? How am I supposed to navigate these tunnels?
Again, I shake the glass furiously. “Light,” I whisper. “Please.”
It remains stubbornly dark.
My hands tremble. I tighten my grip on the orb as though it is an anchor. If it will not work, then I will find another way out. My sight may be masked, but I still have sound, smell, and touch to guide me.
Sleep speaks again, and it is like the essence of the world, before darkness, before time. “Why do you touch that which does not belong to you?”
I stumble in the direction of the wall—away from Mnemenos, whose touch brings forgetfulness. With my hand braced against the cave wall, and the river to my left, I retrace my steps.
Progress is slow. With my sight veiled, I have to lift my feet higher than I normally would to avoid tripping on cracks in the ground. Then there is the increasing drowsiness, my mind drifting in this dark womb.Zephyrus, I think. I must find Zephyrus.
As I travel farther from the garden, the murk gradually begins to lift. My roselight flickers. I push my legs faster. Soon, the pink light blooms, forcing the black into retreat. Perhaps the light, too, is muted by Sleep’s power.
In the end, I need not find Zephyrus, because he finds me first. As soon as I reach the large entrance chamber, I trip over something on the ground. The West Wind, unconscious.
“Zephyrus.” I shake him hard. His head flops to the side. It’s no good. Even slapping him across the face fails me, and the urge to laugh squeezes my lungs so fiercely only the reminder that I stand alone in Sleep’s dwelling grinds the urge to dust. My options are limited: save myself or risk my life dragging Zephyrus to safety.
Something stirs in the long black throat of the cave.
My fingers tingle inside my gloves where they grasp for Zephyrus’ sleeve, and for whatever reason, I can’t concentrate long enough to grip the fabric. It continually slips through my fingers. The tingling sensation spreads up my arms, chest, and face. I can’t catch my breath.
“Zephyrus.”
Rest, the air croons. A deep, restorative rest in a dark mouth surrounded by red petals. Bloody things, growing things.
Sleep slides across my consciousness, and the world fades into obscurity.
I drift for a time, and I dream. Nonsensical things, mostly. But then my eyes fly open, and blackness seeps into my vision, cloaking all sight.
Am I dreaming?
“My lady?” The whisper tickles my ear.
Not a dream then. I hear Thyamine’s voice, but I can’t see her; I can’t see anything.
Pebbles dig into my lower spine. “Where am I? What happened?” I become aware of my arms and legs bound together where I lie on the ground. Why is it so dark?
Sleep.
This is his cave, his domain. He must be somewhere nearby, and if I folded to his power once, it could happen again.
Pink, shining light blazes forth, and I squint against the intensity. Thyamine rises over me, the roselight flickering in her transparent hand, her lips all but nonexistent, so forcefully are they pressed together. Wide, terror-stricken eyes peer at me behind her glasses. She holds a finger to my lips to signal for quiet.
“Please, my lady. You mustn’t speak.” She glances over her shoulder watchfully.
Bit by bit, the roar in my head dissolves, and I strain for any sound—the river, footsteps, clattering pebbles. It’s silent as Thyamine sets down the roselight and begins to pick at the knots binding my wrists and ankles.
“When you didn’t return,” she says in a fretful tone, “I grew worried. You told me to stay put, I know. I’m sorry I disobeyed.”
“No, you did the right thing.” What would have happened had she not come? Was this to be my new prison? Would the Frost King have even noticed my absence?
She shudders. “I found you collapsed on the ground. I tried to wake you, but Sleep came. I ran. Hid. He dragged you away, but I followed. I couldn’t let him take you.”
I’ve never been more grateful that Thyamine refused to follow instructions. “Where’s Zephyrus?”
