I wasn’t sure if he was protected from the bargain or the fates, but one thing was clear—he wouldn’t fall. Not today. Yelling in frustration, I threw the sword to my side, wrenching it with both hands. It spun once, twice, then halted in mid-air, trapped in time like everything else.
I’d been so lost in my need for vengeance that I’d forgotten everything else. Remembering the others, I snapped my attention to where they were. Or at least, where they had been. It appeared the magic that bound our bargain had sent them home, and I would’ve wept in relief, except lying limp on the ground was Endymion.
He’d been left behind.
“No.” I dashed toward him and slid to his side. His lifeless form was unbelievably heavy as I pushed him onto his back with a grunt, and ran my hands and eyes down his body searching for wounds. I’d checked three times and couldn’t find a single thing out of place. Cradling his head in my lap, I leaned my forehead to his, praying to anyone who would listen to let him be okay.
It was faint, but as I sat there curled forward, the faint rise and fall of his chest pressed against my thighs. Not trusting my fae senses, I shifted, pressing an ear to his chest. A strangled sound left me as his unnaturally still heart, beat. Its cadence was so sluggish that I’d stayed there for serval minutes to ensure it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. Not sure if this was the effect of time standing still or not, I stood, the pressed an ear to a guard’s chest. Nothing. His heart was still.
Whatever was wrong with Endymion, it had nothing to do with Lady Time.
Pressing past the fear of what I might find, I closed my eyes and focused on the threads that bound us. For the first time unaided by magic, I saw those threads, and my stomach jumped into my throat. That familiar glittering darkness I’d come to know as Endymion’s was a dull matte black, and the threads that had stood strong, were now swaying as mine had. Most disconcerting of all was that the tips had begun to turn a sickly ashen gray.
I had no idea how I’d get us home, or how long Lady Time was inclined stave off my enemies. All I knew was that I had to get us out of there, now.
Stealing Endymion’s daggers back from the soldiers that’d disarmed him, I tucked one into each boot and did the same for my kintoran in the hopes he’d wake up.
A quick glance ruled out using one of the five exist. There were over double the number of soldiers I’d originally assessed—and of course there was, who wouldn’t want to see their High Lord become the most powerful being on Lumnara.
I shuddered at the thought.
My eyes followed the slightly curved staircase to the second floor, which I immediately ruled out. Not only was Endymion too heavy to carry him up them, but I had no idea where they led. Looking out the wall Artton had originally mistaken for glass, I steeled myself and made my way over to test it. Hopefully, whatever Wymond had done to clean my blood of the poison would allow me to pass.
Holding my breath, I pressed my palms against it and almost fell right through. Rebalancing, I ticked one hurdle off the list, the turned back to Endymion.
It was time to leave this gods-forsaken court.
Chapter 63
Tiny Hands
“Gah,” I gritted out as I fell to the ground for thousandth time trying to drag Endymion across the layers of leaves, which were suboptimal for footing, at best. Still on my ass, I kicked a heel out in frustration at him, which did nothing more than cover his boots in the damn foliage that was slick from the downpour earlier.
Luckily, time had stayed still. Unluckily, the sun wasn’t doing shit to dry the ground.
Standing, I flung the mud off my hands and grabbed Endymion by the feet again. I stood between his legs with him at my back, and placed one calf under each of my arms like I was a damn mule and he was the cart.At least carts had wheels, I thought bitterly. I’d learned quickly back the Great Hall that this was the easiest method to move him—or, I suppose, drag him. It wasn’t an elegant solution, but at least I’d been able to steal a hooded cloak from one of the guards and practically swaddle Endymion, ensuring his upper body stayed safe as his limp form trailed behind me.
“My, what sexy, broad shoulders you have,” I grumbled under my breath, resentful at how much he weighed as I trudged on.Endymion was muscular, tall, and had a decently wide frame, which meant he was heavy on a good day. Right now, he was like a statue, reminding me of how babies suddenly doubled in weight when they played in the Dream Realm.
Even without soldiers to contend with, it’d been no small feat getting clear of the palace grounds. The locked double gates were particularlyfunto get past. Silver lining, I had full access to my powers, which—other than being a convenient source of water—were completely fucken useless.
Once I’d finally got us past the wards, it’d felt like the world was mocking me.Congratulations, you made it to where you can valen. What? You don’t know how? Oh well, too bad for you.
Had anyone been there to witness the maniacal laughter that tore from me, they would’ve had me committed, and honestly, I couldn’t blame them. My tether had snapped. I was a pendulum of emotion from laughter to hysteria to screaming obscenities. Even now, I was pretty sure my sanity held on by a thread. Or maybe it had abandoned me entirely. Surely that’s what possessed me to continue walking for hours as if there was any hope we’d make it to the Summer border. Doubtless, we looked like a pair of idiots—no one would notice, right?
With my luck, we’d end up in the Winter Court. Because, why not? I hadn’t needed more proof that I was losing it, but the fits of laughter that consumed me after that thought were the nail in the coffin.
Without the sun moving across the horizon, there was no way to truly tell how much time had passed. If my exhaustion was any indication, it had been a while. I needed to stop. To rest. To eat; even though it was the last thing on my mind. But I couldn’t stop. No. Stopping meant thinking, and nothing good would come of that.
Theleft-rightcadence of my sodden steps was a metronome that kept me in the comfortable trance I’d slipped into, allowing me to evade the memories that were itching to haunt me as they followedin our wake through the eerie silence of the forest frozen in time. I couldn’t think about what had happened. I just… couldn’t.
Eventually, we’d made it past where Wymond’s deluge of grief and anger had soaked the land. I was grateful for the reprieve—Endymion slid across the dried leaves much easier, even if his upper body was completely buried by them at times.
Too tired, I’d long since given up on lifting my feet above the leaf line, opting to drag them through instead. I’d also stopped dodging the fallen leaves that littered the air as they for Lady Time to release so gravity could take them to their final resting place. Closing my eyes as a particularly large ruby-red leaf brushed against the soft skin of my face, my foot caught on a root, forcing me to abandon Endymion’s legs in favor of catching myself before I hit the ground.
“Fuck,” I muttered, then rolled over.
Breaths heavy, I laid my hands on my chest and took a moment. Looking up, small patches of pale-blue sky showed through the thick canopy of crimson leaves.
