Breaking through the water’s surface, I inhale sharply. I shake my head, flinging soaking-wet hair from my eyes. A second later, Ravi emerges beside me. Beads of water roll like diamonds down his face.
“We’re here,” he whispers, but I already know.
A strong gravitational pull is tugging me toward the lake’s floor. As I swim against it, my body feels drawn out like a sniper’s patience. Out here, the wind no longer touches my face; the air is stale, and the water is unnaturally still.
“What’s your plan?” Ravi asks.
“I am going to bring Leigh back,” I say firmly. “Find Jax and the others. Tell them to set up a blockade around the lake in case any daemons come through. Inform him that no one is to enter the portal. There’s no telling what is waiting on the other side. If Leigh and I are not back before sunrise, you close the gate.”
Ravi stares, pupils blown wide. “With you still inside? Leigh needs to come back.”
I nod. If Leigh and I aren’t out by sunrise, it means we’re gone for good. I refuse to endanger another child—or let those daemons claim anyone else—by keeping the rift open.
“Then, you’d better wish me luck.”
“The B-Blades will take the news better if it comes from you,” Ravi sputters.
He’s right, but they can’t depend on me anymore. Leigh is my priority. The rift is theirs. “If I don’t see you, take care of yourself and this kingdom.”
I inhale a deep breath before delving beneath the water’s surface. As I let my body become an anchor, I sink to the bottom of the lake. There, nestled among the dark sediment, I spot a giant tear, resembling a crack in the earth’s foundation, glowing a pale purple. I swim straight for it, praying that Leigh is okay and that, by some miracle, she’s already found the boy taken by the Dullahan.
All at once, the world dissolves into havoc. Suddenly, I’m not just falling; I’m tumbling through an endless prison with no end and no beginning. The air isn’t just seeping from my lungs; invisible hands are yanking it out.
I gasp at the emptiness. I clutch my chest. Is this what death feels like? This sensation of my soul being ripped away from my flesh, layer by excruciating layer?
Heaven above, what the hell have I done?
If I fallfrom this height, all the bones in my body will shatter.
The harpy’s talons dig deep into my arms. They are sharp enough to make me wince while somehow not breaking skin. We soar through the dense clouds, slicing through thick thunderheads that hover like mourners above the gray wasteland. We veer right, moving away from the castle. My heart plummets. That’s where I need to find Fynn.
“Where are you taking me?” I shout, but the unsteady drum of my captor’s giant, feathered wings against the storm drowns out my question.
Lightning strikes. It’s too close. I scream.
The wind pushes us off course, and my harpy captor struggles to redirect herself.
“We can’t fly in this!” I don’t even know if the harpy can understand me.
The treetops below grow closer as we descend. The harpy cries as she brings us closer to the green canopy beneath us. The scent of pine and petrichor overwhelms me. A massive nest appears, and my limbs prick with pins and needles.
Oh gods, I’m about to be harpy food.
We hover above the nest, and I shut my eyes, refusing to see my end. When her talons release me, I cry out, plummetingbefore landing in the center of an empty nest surrounded by wet, scattered feathers. However, it’s not filled with ravenous chicks.
The harpy lands beside me seconds later, her powerful wings knocking me backward toward the edge. I manage to catch myself before falling. I look down and gasp. We are at least one hundred feet above the ground, high up in the trees.
Now what?
Slowly, I turn to face the harpy. Her clawed feet grip the nest as she fixes me with a glare that suggests I am responsible for all the world’s suffering.
“Please,” I try to reason. “Let me go.”
The harpy’s scarred human face, red with fury, studies me. I step closer with open palms.
“I need to go to the castle. I’m…” I’m wasting my breath. It’s never going to let me go.
The harpy cocks her head, its tangled hair falling to the side.
