“Just do it,” I snap. The clock overhead continues to tick. “We’re running out of time.”
I try to move around her. She stops me.
“Whatever is behind the door, don’t make me face it alone,” she begs, clutching onto me. “We were alone in those cages. I—I can’t be alone again. You said you would stay with me. Youpromisedto never leave my side.”
“The outside world is there, Saipha,” I say gently. “It’s Vinguard. It’s home. It’s your sisters and parents and good food and a warm bed.”
Her eyes well with unshed tears. “I don’t believe it.”
“I saw Cindel go through.I saw the other side.”
“It’s a trick. It has to be.” She clutches tighter to me. “Come with me.”
“I have to get a token, and I need to know you’re safe to focus on doing it. I will be right behind you through the door, I swear it.” I grip her hand. Then I pull myself from her grasp.
“Isola, please.” She trembles like a leaf. I’ve never seen her look this scared before. Something in her broke these past three weeks, something that I don’t think I can fix, but as soon as we’re out of this I’m going to try. Her eyes are wide, tears welling in them. “I can’t… I can’t do it without you. Don’t leave me alone. I—I’ll wait until you have yours.”
What if it takes me too long? What if I don’t get one?I don’t trust her to go through on her own in this state. I need to see her go through to know she did. I can’t risk her facing whatever “final challenge” the vicar has for not getting through the doors.
“You’re stronger than this. It’s just a door, Saipha.Go throughthe door.”
“What if I’m not? Isola, you promised me—”
“I need to know you’re safe,” I say.
“You promised me you wouldn’t leave my side,” she says weakly.
“Leave, Saipha!” I snap, harsher than I wanted. She leans away, trembling like a leaf. A single tear falls. I reach out and grab her hand, saying gently, “I will be right behind you, I swear.” Then I release her.
But…as I start to turn to leave—to put my back to her and walk away—something catches my eyes, and I freeze.
She continues to tremble. She’s in a terrible state with multiple scrapes and wounds, ripped clothing, and dirt in her soaked hair. An abnormal amount of sweat covers her body, soaking through the fabric of her shirt. But her eyes are what catch my attention…
Her eyes are normally green. But they’re an unnatural shade of blue now. Her circular pupils narrow to slits.
Vicar Darius’s voice slithers through my mind, asking a question from our training months and months ago.What part of a dragon cursed changes first?
My throat is dry as I stare at my best friend.
The eyes.
59
No.“No.”The word escapes as a gasp. I step forward. “Saipha, I didn’t mean to—”
I don’t get to say anything else.
The eyes. Then the hands, the disembodied voice of the vicar drones in my mind, narrating one of the worst moments of my life.
Saipha’s hands stop trembling and go as rigid as the rest of her.
“Saipha.” Her name is a gasp and plea. I grab her shoulders, shaking her, as if I could rattle this from her. “Saipha, focus, please. I was wrong. You’re right, I promised. I promised, so I will stay with you.” I can barely speak the words as emotions choke me. “But I can’t do that ifyoudon’t stay with me.Stay with me.”
“Isola.” Lucan approaches from behind. I’m sure he learned the signs from the Creed, too. He sees what I see.
“We can go together.” I don’t say where. It doesn’t matter. Let her imagine anywhere. “We’ll go somewhere warm and safe.”
“Isola…” she whispers. “It hurts.”
