I nearly succeed, when a woman leaps from behind the wide trunk, her unexpected appearance speeding my heartrate once more. I plant my feet, my hand already reaching for my sword. But the woman makes no move to attack. She only stares at me with an intent disapproval, likeI’mthe one who’s accosted her in the middle of the woods.
She is taller than me by a few inches. Her blonde hair hangs in a disheveled braid down her back, her brown eyes bright against her dirt-smudged face. There is something familiar in the tilt of her eyes, something that tugs at my mind but refuses to be held.Like no matter how I reach for the memory, it slips between my fingers like it was never there at all.
Before I can consider it further, my gaze snags on her clothes—jeans, a sweatshirt, mud-caked sneakers. My stomach flips, shock sparking through me.
The woman is dressed like she’s come from the mainland.
I felt the Aeternalis’ arrival through the wards—who is she that I hadn’t felt hers?
Stiffening, I lift my chin, readying myself, but if the woman shares my distrust, she doesn’t show it. She simply tilts her head in frank examination, like I’m an equation she can’t quite make sense of. “You’re a hard person to get alone.”
Just like her face, her voice is oddly familiar. Like I’ve heard it in some past life; some dream I can’t quite remember.
“I’ve been trying for nearly a week, but one of Niko’s friends are always watching.”
My shadow stirs at the mention of his name, its renewed hunger rattling my bones.
“Do you ever wonder why that is?”
Irritation rankles the back of my neck. “Whywhatis?”
“Why his friends have stayed so close to you, even after you banished their king?” The woman stares like I’m a mildly interesting insect. “Whether it is out of friendship to you…or perhaps, a deeper loyalty to him?”
Her words aren’t accusing, only curious, but they pierce through me all the same. “Who the fuck are you?” I snap, yanking my gladius from the scabbard and pointing at her.
“I meant no offense,” she replies, not answering my question. “It’s only observation and theory. It would make sense for them to keep close, so that when Nik returned, he would immediately be informed of your every move.”
I stare at her, feeling as if she’s stripped me bare with one sentence. My insecurities, my fears—all of them rise, a loomingblack wave that my shadow devours.None of them want you,it whispers in my ear.And how could they? Who could love such a malformed heart? Who could want such a selfish soul?
But it isn’t the shadow’s whisper. Not really. It’s the echo of my own thoughts, a truth of my own making.
“You seem to know a lot about him for someone who just got here,” I reply, my mind snagging on the way her mouth fit around the nameNik. Like she’s said it a thousand times before. “But you don’t appear to know much about me, otherwise you’d know patience is not one of my virtues.”
I level my blade, my shadow’s excitement at the prospect of violence ricocheting through my chest. “I suggest you answer my question and tell me who you are before the little I possess runs out.”
The woman’s mouth turns down in measured distaste, and for a wild moment, I consider setting one of my imagined beasts on her simply for annoying me.
“It doesn’t really matter who I am,” she replies, her tone harsher than before. “I’ve come with a warning and a request.” And then, as if the words stick to the roof her mouth, she adds, “Your Majesty.”
I narrow my eyes, her voice shaking a memory loose. “It wasyou…”I breathe suddenly, taking two accusing steps toward her. “You were the one whispering to me after what happened in Caelum. The one whispering to me in my dreams!”
“I was trying to lead you to me, but I’ve never been any good with magic…” she replies, wringing her hands in front of her. “And that blasted Strayed was always lurking outside your door. I couldn’t risk him warning Niko.”
“Who—Do you mean Tiernan?” I demand. “Tiernanisn’ta Strayed. He’s my friend.”
The woman tilts her head in vague pity. “He was Strayed when I lived here. One of the last brought over from the mainland before Niko betrayed me and ruined the world.”
Realization drips over me like ice water. Her knowledge of Niko and the island. Her ability to influence dreams. “Wendy…you’reWendy.”
She hesitates, before admitting softly, “Yes.”
“You’rehow Niko got through the wards!”
“He gave me little choice in the matter,” Wendy replies, sharp bitterness lining her words as her fingers drift to massage her throat. “I never wanted to come back here.”
Her mouth tightens as her eyes skate to the forest around us, and I get the impression that where I see the dark beauty of Letum, Wendy sees something else entirely.
I take her in anew; Not as a stranger, but as the woman Niko once loved enough to damn his kingdom. Something dark flutters in my chest that has nothing to do with my shadow—something possessive and wanting—because despite her tattered clothes and dirt-crusted appearance, there is no denying Wendy’s beauty. Even in its haphazard braid, her long blonde hair shines in the dim light of the forest; her deep brown eyes are slightly upturned at the corner, dark lashes fanned over the creamy skin of her cheeks.
