I reached a small stream that had large boulders fencing around its edges and picked one to climb onto. From this seat, I had the perfect view of the full moon—and a deep red silhouette flying across the sky that I knew was my grumpy dragon.
The rock was cold beneath me. I leaned back on my palms and stretched my legs in front of me, enjoying the quiet rustle of thestream. My eyes fluttered closed, suddenly so heavy I didn’t think I could open them again.
I know she will be with you wherever you go. So, when you’re needing a touch of Laney’s light, let your heart guide you to the brightest star in the sky.
Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked into the night sky once more. My gaze landed on the brightest star, nestled in the middle of a thousand smaller ones. A warm tear rolled down my cheek, but I didn’t wipe it away.
“Hi, Laney,” I whispered, my voice scratchy.
Fallon had gone back to look for her body so Laney could have a proper burial. I didn’t want to imagine what might have happened to her remains before then, but the fact my sister had tried—that said more to me than she would ever admit.
Fallon wanted the world to see her as the evil twin, but I had begun to see through her impenetrable exterior. She was just like me—like Rhodes, like Shayde. Broken in her own tragic way, doing whatever she could to survive another day.
“Fallon is a spitfire,” I laughed softly. “But for some reason, I think you’d like her. If anyone could break through her hard shell, it would be you, Laney.”
A breeze stirred the leaves. My chest tightened. For a heartbeat, I let myself believe she was here, standing just out of sight, waiting for me to turn.
“I know, I know. You’re right. Give her a chance. She’s surviving in her own way. But she still deserves to be loved. She deserves her own happy place too.”
A chilly breeze brushed over my heated skin, cooling the tears I let fall freely. I had so much to tell her. Why had I wasted so muchtime already?
“We’re going to the Shadow Glade. Rhodes told me his personal library would be up to your standards. And Nash… your brother is exactly how you described him. He’s funny, smart—and I think he has a thing for my sister. Elements help him.”
Lakota glided through the sky again.
“I’ve thought about purchasing travel to soar across the Wanderer’s Sea. Escaping this hellhole of a home. No one who leaves Kalymdor ever returns. And a part of me thinks that’s exactly what I want… but I can’t forget the part of me that cares about the people I’d leave behind.”
My throat tightened. My hands shook where they rested on the stone. Not from the chill, but from the weight pressing down on my ribs, squeezing until every breath scraped my throat raw.
“I never thought I’d have people to leave behind.”
My shoulders curled inward until I was small enough to disappear. I buried my face in my hands, knees pulled tight to my chest until they ached. Sobs ripped out of me in jagged bursts, each one stealing air from my lungs, each one leaving me a little more hollow.
“Why didn’t you take me with you?” I cried. “It was supposed to be me. It was supposed to be me. I don’t know how I’ll do this on my own, Laney. Why didn’t you take me with you?”
When the sobs finally burned themselves out, I dragged in a ragged breath and let it out slowly, as if it could carry the last of my pain away. My body trembled in the night air as I lifted my gaze to the brightest star, its light sharp against my blurred vision.
“I’ll save you a seat. When our home is safe, when the unrest is gone, I’m going to open our bookstore. I may have to change the name, though… I know you wanted to name it after me, but I don’t think I’m worthy.”
I closed my eyes and shuddered as another cool breeze washed over me.
“When the world is okay again—when magic is saved and the Mareki’s curse broken… I’ll save you a seat.”
Chapter 21
I may have overstepped.
Bright and early, we broke camp and set out in silence. We kept to an old dirt track that wound through the trees—a road forgotten since before most of Arya was civilized.
Nash and I lagged behind while Rhodes and Scarlet rode ahead, silent as statues. Wylder kept sneaking glances at my sister, but she never turned her head—her gaze fixed straight ahead like she was afraid to look anywhere else. I’d braced myself for his usual sharp tongue, ready to volley back with my own, but he hadn’t offered a single jab. The quiet was almost worse than the banter.
And thanks to the boredom, I found myself slipping silently into themarekemlike a thief on a mission. The most I could get from Scarlet’s end without being detected was a storm of convoluted feelings. Angry, yet yearning for comfort. Hollow. Lonely. Numb.
But the deepest feeling of all—pain.
I wasn’t one to talk about feelings, let alone show them. I’d learned young that weakness gets you eaten alive in this world. If Iwanted to survive—if I wanted to prove myself—I had to lock away every part of me that even hinted at fragility.
I didn’t care about others. I never would. Not caring protects me. Protects my peace—my soul.
