Cora was gone.Teryn hadn’t been prepared. Hadn’t even seen Darius move. He and Cora had come to the same conclusion—that they didn’t have much of a choice but to humor him. Not when Darius held Ridine at his mercy. Not when he could come back at any time, fill their castle with countless soldiers, and claim victory by morning.
Either Darius was less capable than he’d made himself seem or he truly was desperate for an alliance with them.
They needed to find out which was true.
And how to exploit it.
That didn’t lessen his terror at having witnessed him taking her like that. His rage at knowing he’d agreed tolethim take her.
Hatred burned hot in his chest as he narrowed his eyes at the three spots of blood on the stones. Without a second thought, he marched into his sitting room, extracted a piece of parchment from the bureau, and placed the paper over the blood until crimson bloomed over it.
“What are you doing?” Emylia’s voice came from beside him. She was as semi-transparent as always, outfitted in an equally hazy loose dress that billowed on a nonexistent breeze.
“Were you here the whole time?” he asked, his tone low and controlled. If she’d been there before, he hadn’t noticed her. He’d been too focused on Darius and Cora. “Did you enjoy the show? Did you just stand there mute and watch him take her?”
“What could I have done?”
He was being unfair in taking his frustration out on her, but she’d been avoiding him ever since their last conversation on the battlement. When she’d refused to explain what she’d meant about feeling like she’d disappear if she came too close to him. He understood exactly why now. Because touching her ethera would force her to move on to the otherlife. To claim the peace she’d said she’d wanted but hadn’t been able to receive. Peace she’d only find after taking care of her unfinished business.
He knew the truth.
She didn’twantto move on yet.
And he didn’t want her hypocrisy right now.
Teryn finished soaking the blood into the paper and folded it. As he rose, he met Emylia’s accusing gaze.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to do what I think you are,” she said.
“What is it you think I’m doing?”
Her lower lip wobbled as her fingers curled into fists. “Let me ask you a question. Why have you been going to that tower room? Why have you been reading that book? You know it’s dangerous. You know what that book has done.”
He did know, but it didn’t shake his resolve, even though she was right in every way. He had no right going into the North Tower Library, reading the book Cora had left stashed inside a nightstand drawer. Seeking answers to the question that had plagued his mind over the past week.
In truth, he hadn’t learned anything new, but he had confirmed what Emylia had told him when they’d last spoken. It had all been there, just like she’d described.
“Why, Teryn? Why are you doing this?”
“Because I want Morkai’s army of souls.”
Her disappointment in him was plain, written in the downward curve of her mouth, the slump of her shoulders.
He shared some of that disappointment too. He’d wanted to wait until he could talk to Cora about it, but now he didn’t have time. He needed to act. If Darius returned to attack the castle, he’d be ready. He wouldn’t let him win. Whether now, later, or at the meeting at the border, he’d use this advantage.
“There must be a reason why I have this ability,” he said. “This connection to death.”
“Reason?” She released an angry huff. “What are you talking about? Do you think you’re part of the prophecy? You’re not. There is no special reason for what has happened to you, just a logical one. Blood magic comes with consequences, just like I’ve told you. You completed a blood weaving while you straddled the line between life and death. You forged a magical connectionwithdeath. It’s as simple as that.”
“Why, though? Whythisconsequence? Why does my touch send etheras to the otherlife?”
She flinched back at his words, demonstrating just how afraid she was of that very power. Then she shook her head. “We might never know. Maybe it’s because you succeeded at severing another ethera’s ties to your body—Morkai’s tie to the mortal world. Now you’re gifted and burdened with the ability to do the same for other spirits. To sever the chains that bind them here and free them.”
He clenched his jaw. “Then why can’t I use it for good?”
“Areyou trying to use it for good? Or are you lusting after blood magic for revenge?” When he said nothing, she closed her eyes. Finally, her expression softened. She turned a pleading look to him. “Just…take a moment, Teryn, please. Breathe. Connect to your heart. Don’t work blood magic on an impulse.”
He wasn’t acting on impulse. He’d been considering this for a week, weighing possibilities. Still, she was right about blood magic and its consequences. She knew better than anyone that what he wanted to do was wrong. Dark. Forbidden.
