“Maybe she wants the wedding night experience,” Slade said, and Thorne groaned.
“I’d rather not imagine that scenario, if you don’t mind.”
I couldn’t help but make a face of disgust. “Agreed,” I muttered.
“And if she gets the throne’s power for herself?” Slade asked, serious again.
“Then Autumn falls,” I said quietly. “And she moves on to the next throne.”
A shiver ran through me.
The more thrones she drained, the more unstoppable she’d become.
My fingers brushed the rune at my throat. Tender. Sore. As if something ancient inside me had clawed to the surface that day. As if it wouldn’t be buried any longer.
Thorne must have seen something in my face. “You’re not alone in this.”
I breathed slowly, trying desperately not to think about how Rydian wasn’t here. Or that I had no idea where he was. Or if he was okay. “Feels like it sometimes.”
“You’re not,” Slade said quietly. “Keres, Daegel, Eirnan, Lesha. Rydian. Us. You’ve got more people than you think.”
It helped, those words. More than I expected.
We camped for an hour under a dense cluster of pine boughs while Slade regained his strength. Somehow, I managed to doze off. Boots rustling jolted me awake. Slade stood over me, Thorne beside him.
“Ready?” Slade asked.
I nodded and let him pull me to my feet.
Thorne rolled his shoulders. “Let’s go save your ex.”
Slade grinned. “And ruin a wedding—again.”
“And stop an unstoppable queen,” I added.
“And not die,” Thorne finished dryly.
Small goals.
Slade took our arms again.
Shadows surged.
The world folded.
We stepped out into the world again near the edge of the forest. And there, through the trees, stood the walls of Grey Oak. Tall. Weathered. And wrong. Ice veined the stones like frostbite, creeping outward from the highest tower like a beacon. A thin layer of snow coated rooftops.
My stomach hollowed.
“She’s already here,” I whispered.
Slade wiped his nose—blood streaking his thumb. “That’s it for shadow-walking. I’m done.”
Thorne scanned the tree line. “Her soldiers are patrolling the roads. We need a place to lie low.”
“What about the townhouse?” I asked.
The two of them exchange a look. “We’ll need to make sure she isn’t recognized. But you and I should be safe enough,” Slade said.
