But then Elara’s face flashes before me. Her laugh, her warmth, the way she used to hold my hand when we were little, as if she could protect me from everything. That’s why I came here. Not for myself. For her.
“But Elara…” My voice wavers, my resolve cracking at the edges. I force myself to hold steady. I can’t falter now. “No. I’m doing this for her.”
Taron grabs my hands, his grip tight, almost desperate. “She won’t give you your sister back. I know her. She lies and cheats. Her word means nothing.”
I pull my hands from his grip. His words are a punch to the gut. I won’t believe it – can’t believe it. “Why would you say that?”
“I’m just being honest.”
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
“Talia … why would I lie to you about that?”
I ask him the question I’ve been wondering about since I realized the true nature of his relationship with Madame Vera. The control she has over him. “That night in the tavern, you told me you’re here to free yourself. What did you mean by that?”
Taron’s face pales, but he doesn’t speak.
“Madame Vera has you trapped, doesn’t she? I saw it with my own eyes. She took your soul from you.”
“You saw that?” he asks. “When?”
“At the river. When that Soul Wraith lured you. I saw how she controls you. The things she made you do. I felt how desperate you were to escape.”
“You used your talents on me?”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
There’s a moment, a beat of silence. His face twists into something raw and vulnerable.
“And you think I’m lying to you?” he asks. “Trying to manipulate you into using our wish to get away from her? After everything we’ve been through … surely you know me by now.”
I do. And that’s the problem. I know him well enough to know he’s capable of doing whatever it takes to survive, to escape from the clutches of the woman who’s been controlling him for years. And I also know that, at this moment, I can’t trust anyone but myself.
“I wish that were true. But I’m not so sure I know you at all, Taron.”
A pause.
His expression hardens, becoming a familiar mask of stone. “In the forest, you asked me why I changed my mind. The day I stepped foot on this island was the first day in years I didn’t feel like Madame Vera’s shadow. She’s still there … in the quiet. In the corners. I feel her evennow. But the distance gave me space to breathe. To think without her voice in my skull. I told you I didn’t think I had a choice. But every decision I made these past few days was my own. Every feeling I felt…”
My heart flutters. I quickly force the sensation down.
“You can feel her now?” I ask. “Do you know where she is?”
“She’s getting closer, so I suspect she’s on the way here. But we still have time. We can still escape.” He dips his head towards me, and I take another step back.
My breath hovers. I feel sick. “I’m sorry,Wren.”
He looks like I’ve slapped him across the cheek. “You can’t give our wish away unless both of us agree to it.”
I meet his gaze. “Youwillagree to it.”
A pause.
“Because that’s what she ordered you to do.”
Shock ripples across his face, and I see the cracks in his resolve, the doubt that flickers behind his eyes. He knows I’m right.
Madame Vera might be further away, but she’s still entwined with him, inside and out. She’s been working her way into his mind, his heart, for years.
