Grump’s hand squeezed my shoulder once. He didn’t say anything.
He didn’t have to.
“You’ll go out with Archer tomorrow. He’ll show you the perimeter and how to watch for our enemies, especially the harpies.”
My stomach dropped. Harpies. Those magnificent, deadly creatures I’d frozen in the sky. The ones that served the queen without question or mercy.
And he wanted me to go up against them?
Before I could respond, Grump turned and strode out of the cavern, leaving me standing there with a legendary bow and a head full of impossible things.
Darius wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “You’re full of surprises. How the hell did the coven not recognize how powerful you truly are?”
I stared into his silver eyes. My heart beat frantically. He was exhausted—I could see it in the shadows beneath his eyes, the pallor of his skin—but something else burned beneath the weariness. Wonder. Maybe even awe.
No one had ever looked at me like that.
“Because nothing worked,” I whispered. “Not there. Not with them.”
He leaned closer, his breath warm against my lips. “Maybe it’s because you didn’t believe in the impossible.”
Then he kissed me—deep and slow—and for one perfect moment, I forgot about harpies and queens and impossible things.
There was only him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alice
His hands slid to my waist, but I felt the tremor in them. The kiss slowed. I pulled back and found his face pale, his breath uneven.
"You're still healing," I whispered.
He started to protest, but I pressed a finger to his lips. "Rest. I'm not going anywhere."
He didn't fight me. That alone told me how exhausted he was. I curled against him, his arm heavy around me, and listened to his breathing even out.
I hadn't slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw harpies diving, talons reaching, arrows flying wide of their mark. When dawn finally came, I slipped out without waking him.
Now, following Archer through the pale morning mist, I couldn't shake the feeling that today I'd prove everyone wrong—and not in the way they hoped.
I wished Darius was with me. His presence always made me feel more confident. Braver. But he was still recovering from the poison. I’d stopped it from killing him, but not before it had done its damage. Doc said he’d be better in a couple of days.
A couple of days felt like an eternity to wait.
Archer pointed up. No words—just the gesture. Right. Climbing a tree made sense. Higher ground meant a better view of the queen’s soldiers. Or harpies.
I followed him up, branch by branch, trying not to think about what came next. Spotting enemies was one thing. But what happened after that?
I had absolutely no training with the bow. Just a couple of shots in the cavern. I'd assumed there would be more—days of practice, at least—before anyone expected me to use it for real.
I’d never killed anyone. The thought alone made my stomach lurch. The wanderbread I’d eaten for breakfast churned, threatening to come back up.
Please don’t throw up. Please don’t give away our position by vomiting off a branch.
Archer stopped midway up the tree where the branches were thickest, the leaves forming a canopy around us. I settled onto a branch beside him, my fingers gripping the rough bark.
From here, I could see everything. The forest stretched out below, dappled in morning light, deceptively peaceful. Birds called to each other in the distance. A breeze stirred the leaves.
