A lump forms in my throat as I stare back at Marina. My enemy and then my friend. A pain in my ass, and my most treasured advisor. She has seen me since I was a boy cowering at the Aeternalis’ feet; She has seen me as a man hating myself for my mercy; She has seen me as an unwilling king who learned to love his people fiercely. And she has seen me simply as Niko, learning to love myself through loving Willa.
There are so many things that happen to us—so many things that slice through our skin, and take pieces of our souls until we no longer recognize who we are. Until we hate the pieces that are left, simply because they are different than they began.
Marina is right. I spent so long hating myself for the decisions I made, but loving Willa has made them easier to see in a new light. Because how can I hate anything that brought me to her?
The pain, the loneliness, the selfishness. I claim all of it now.
I can only hope that Willa is able to say the same. To see herself through my eyes—to love her fractures and her jagged edges.
“And you, Rina? When will you learn to see yourself as Chrysanthemum saw you?”
The little pixie’s gaze flickers. A long moment passes before she makes a forward motion with her hand that meansfuture.
“She wouldn’t want you to be alone. Someday, you must allow the rest of your kind the chance to know your heart as she did.”
She hesitates, her face twisting.Someday, maybe I will.
“I will be here every day to remind you until someday comes.”
Marina gives me a small smile, and it’s enough.
Rising to my feet, I extend a gloved hand to help her up.
“Shall we join the party?” I laugh at the sudden fury of her expression. “Now, now, Rina…which is worse? A reputation of violence? Or a reputation of being dull?” I frown, crinkling my nose. “On second thought, don’t answer that. Just come with me. You deserve to celebrate Chrys’ life as much as anyone.”
Marina glares up at me like she’s considering slitting my throat, but before she can decide, the Lunaedon rocks on its foundation. The windows rattle in their panes, the walls eliciting a deep groan as they bow and shudder. It is over as quickly as it began, the following silence somehow as unsettling as the noise.
I lurch toward the windows, my death crawling up my chest and throat like morbid armor. Its chill sinks into my bones, mingling furiously with the dread already pooling in my stomach. I stare out at my kingdom—only to see it burn.
Flames rise into the sky, racing over the forest canopy. Dark smoke wreathes the sun in odd streaks of gray and red, paintingit into an ominous omen of the ruin to come. Alarms ring from Caelum’s harbor, but there is no escape, as it isn’t only the forest that burns, but thesea.
“By the second star,” Marina whispers in horror, taking in the destruction ravaging through every inch of the island. “He’s returned.”
My death flares in fury, spearing through the window before us. Shattered glass rains down onto the lawn below. Rot crawls from my heart, spreading decay through my veins until I cannot see nothing but vengeance.
The Aeternalis has returned and brought the Strayed with him. I thwarted my brother’s attempt to goad Willa into giving the last of herself over to the shadow, butthis—how am I to stop this?
We could give all of ourselves, and it will never be enough so long as the Eternal Boy lives.
The doors to the throne room burst open so hard, they ricochet off the walls with a loud crack.
“Niko!” Willa shouts, tearing across the floor toward me. Her hair is wild around her panicked face, her soft blue skirts tangling around her bare feet. Tiernan races in after her, his sword already drawn like he’s ready to slice through flame itself.
“What the fuck happened?” I bellow, my own panic surging up my throat at the sight of her. “Are you okay?”
I take heart in the way Willa meets my gaze. There is no fear written in the splashes of gold and green—only pure determination. “We were on our way back from the lagoon when we saw him return.” She swallows. “He’s brought at least a thousand new Strayed, Niko. They’ve surrounded the only parts of Caelum that do not burn.”
I haven’t even begun to formulate a response when a pixie tears into the room, his sky-blue hair sticking up wildly, his delicate features pulled tight in fear. “Your Majesty,” he saysto Willa, bowing quickly. “A distress signal has been sent from the Grove. The Strayed you buried there last year…they’ve been reanimated.”
Rage pulses through me in a rush so violent, it nearly sweeps me from my feet. Then Willa places her hand in mine, interlacing our fingers, and I am steadied. She squeezes my hand, her hair alight with the glow of distant flame as she whispers, “Do you trust me?”
Regret. Anger. Vengeance. Those have always been my language. And though Marina is right—I no longer hate the way they’ve honed my heart and soul—it is different now. Love lies beneath them, a fortifying foundation, so I know that even as the world crumbles, we do not.
There is no hesitation—no bone in my body that rebels against my answer, no matter what it may mean. “With everything I have.”
“Then I need you to come with me to the Crocodile.”
She gazes at me steadily, the unspoken trust in her eyes slicing through my heart. Willa has been hurt by everyone who was supposed to love her, and now, we stand on a precipice, one that will save or ruin both us and the kingdom.
