August’s eyes locked on the hatchet as the woman sauntered closer. He had to do something.
The prickling in his fingers flared, and the air thickened to a shimmering, gossamer fabric.
He could get them out. He knew how. But he’d only done this once, and that was four years ago. Could he still manage it? Would it work with someone else?
I am here to save you.The anchored woman’s voice was a chilling whisper in the back of his mind, the memory of her icy hands on his shoulders—an impossible reality. She’d pushed him slowly forward, easily overpowering him. As his bare feet edged closer to the window, he reached out and grabbed hold of the fabric, tearing open the barrier between this realm and another. The hands on his shoulders had vanished.
The place on the other side was terrible and haunting, and the pain that met him when he returned was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. But it had saved him that night, and it was his only chance of saving them now.
The woman pulled back the hatchet just as a handful of City Watch surged through the crowd across the square. Too late. They’d never make it in time.
August reached out, and with a swift, decisive swipe, tore open a doorway.Please let me bring him.He grabbed Felix’s arm, tugging him forward and through just as the woman swung.
The veil didn’t resist. They both made it through.
Chaos roared behind them, the sound muffled as it pressed through the rift. Orders rang out. People screamed. Footsteps pounded.
Above it all, August heard his title called out like an order.
To his horror, the woman’s hand passed through, searching. He slammed the tear shut, severing the arm at the elbow, and it fell to the ground as the silence swallowed them whole.
He pulled in a jagged breath, staring out at the expanse of grey.
It had been four years, but the world beyond the veil was just as he remembered. There was no pain yet. No, that would come on the other side, excruciating and sharp, like icy claws tearing at his insides. Here, there was only an empty stillness. The air felt thick, like swimming in an inkwell.
After his first (and only) time here, August had taken to calling it the Hollow Dark, a name borrowed from a Jivanten fairytale their father used to read to them. A story of a runaway boy stuck forever in another realm among otherworldly creatures with wings and horns and pointed ears.
This place haunted his dreams as much as the anchored did, though it wasn’t a fear of the place itself. The Hollow Dark was undeniably peaceful, wrapping around him like a soft blanket. It was the feeling of his father scooping him up and holding him close, the gentle pressure of Lottie’s tight hugs. A quiet, steady, familiar comfort.
August loved how he felt here. Like he belonged. Like he was bound to this strange place. Andthatwas what scared him.
The air seemed to grab hold as it flowed through his veins. He felt like if he stayed there too long, it wouldn’t let him leave. Or worse, he wouldn’twantto.
Like the boy from the story.
And so Lucien sat to rest in the field of wondrous glowing blooms and impossible creatures singing wistful songs. He leaned against the ancient tree as it whispered gentle words of assurance and promises of adventures to come, all memory of his former life fading like night’s mist beneath the morning sun. There he remained until his body turned to bone, and then to ash, carried away upon the sweet breeze.
August’s gaze drifted lazily across the empty market square. He picked out a handful of anchored in the faint silvery light, but they were only wisps of fog against the colourless surroundings. Peaceful and drifting.
The crowds and Watch were gone, the shops and homes all hollowed out and decayed, dead vines sealing the shutters. A sea of dried, brittle leaves blanketed the square.
A subtle musty scent filled his nostrils as he took another deep breath, and the strange taste it left on his tongue forced his thoughts back into focus.
Dread crashed over him as the past few minutes caught up, the calm shattering like a mirror into a hundred splintered pieces.
August had just used his power in a public place. People saw. The Watch saw.
Felix saw.
He spun to face Felix, who was sitting on the ground, legs splayed, confusion creasing his brow as he stared straight ahead. His pale hair was a shock of light in the surrounding darkness.
What was August going to say? How could he explain this? He’d lied over and over, and now those lies were all on blatant display. Felix would never forgive him. August had just ruinedeverything—not only their friendship, but his entire life—with one spontaneous decision.
Panic rose like bile in his throat.
When Felix looked up, his skin was pallid, and heavy shadows circled his eyes. August may have belonged to this place, but Felix didn’t. They couldn’t stay here.
Felix’s head swam as he took in the strange surroundings. He couldn’t make sense of it. His city still stood around him, but everything had crumbled, decayed. The colours had been drained away. It was as if someone had sketched over the market square with charcoal, leaving the world the same deep gray as August’s eyes.
