So when he believed me, really believed me, it felt like being handed a future I hadn’t been sure I’d get.
The tears slipped free. I let them.
He wiped them away with his thumbs, his touch impossibly gentle. “Fate, you’re just what I’ve always needed.”
I opened my mouth to respond but?—
A low rumble echoed through the cavern, deep enough to vibrate in my chest.
I turned toward the sound. Across the chamber, the door to the grotto was grinding open, stone scraping against stone. The noise set my teeth on edge.
My heart leaped into my throat. Ari—he’d found us.
Darius was on his feet so fast I barely saw him move. He grabbed his sword from where it leaned against his cot, the blade singing as it cleared the sheath. Across the grotto, the Uncrowned drew their weapons. Caterpillar rose slowly, smoke curling from his lips. Even Chester had gone still, his usual grin replaced by something sharp and dangerous.
Darius stepped in front of my cot, his body a wall between me and whatever was coming.
“Don’t move.”
I wasn’t listening.
I slid my legs off the cot, ignoring the way my muscles screamed in protest. My bow and arrows were within arm’s reach. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out everything but the rasp of my own breathing.
I might be weak. But I still had magic left.
I reached over and grabbed my bow. The gold hummed warm against my palm—awake, ready, eager. I slung the quiver of arrows over my shoulder, ignoring the way my arms trembled.
And I wasn’t going to let them fight without me.
I nocked an arrow and drew back the string. This was it. Do or die.
If Ari stepped into the cavern, I’d fire.
Golden eyes appeared on the other side of our cots, glowing in the dim light. My breath caught—but then the rest of Chester materialized out of nothing. His usual grin was gone, replaced by something feral. All teeth, no warmth. He held a sword in his hand, the blade catching the faint torchlight.
Even Chester was ready to kill.
Caterpillar and the rest of the Uncrowned fanned out across the cavern, their weapons raised. The scrape of boots on stone filled the silence. The tension was so thick I could taste it—metallic, like blood already spilled.
A long shadow fell across the stone, stretching toward us like a dark hand.
I narrowed my eyes. Ari. The queen. The soldiers.
Show yourself.
But then a tall, thin man stepped through the doorway. Long white hair spilled over his shoulders, and pale gray eyes swept the cavern. He wore a long blue tunic over matching striped tights, a gold belt cinched at his waist. A pocket watch dangled from it, swaying gently with each step.
Grump stepped forward. “Rabbit, what are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to come until tomorrow. Is something wrong?”
The tension in my chest loosened by a fraction.
Only then did I lower my bow.
Rabbit bowed slightly. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness, but I have news.”
Highness? No one else had called Grump that. I kept forgetting he was the rightful king.
Grump lowered his sword. “What is the news?”
