You have one chance to save her before the sun sets today.
Bring that which wasn’t yours to take, or from her deep slumber she will never wake.
Meet at the place where the secret ashes lie.
Come alone and tell no one, or the child will die.
The note slipped out of my fingers.Divine goddess. No.
The murderer had taken Amalie and was threatening to kill her if I didn’t meet them, alone, before sunset. This was clearly a trap. A snare laid especially for me.
I couldn’t breathe. The tightness in my chest threatened to suffocate me. My entire body quivered with undiluted fear as I read and reread the note. I couldn’t make sense of what themurderer wanted from me—not when panic was like a cloud hovering in my mind, smothering my thoughts.
Bring that which wasn’t yours to take.
What did I take?
Meet at the place where the secret ashes lie.
Ash trees? I had seen ash trees in the forest.
The forest.
Realization came like a jolt of lightning and sent a devastating shockwave through my entire body. The note didn’t mean ash trees. It meant Basia’s ashes. The murderer had taken Amalie to Basia’s cottage and wanted me to bring the grimoire. Before sunset.
I glanced out the window—it looked to be late afternoon. It would take me hours to get to the cottage. If only I could saltate, I would be there in a matter of seconds. But there was no use in wishful thinking. I needed a solid plan. If I took a horse, I might, by divine miracle, manage to get there in time.
Time.I didn’t have enough time to go to Hugo and Filip. I was inching closer to sunset with every breath I took. An impossible decision had presented itself to me.
Break the enchantment on Tarben and possibly end the curse on Vantillios. Or save Amalie’s life.
Be the savior of Tarben—the savior of Vantillios—or the savior of the princess.
Spare myself from the Crow or sacrifice myself for someone else.
I had worked so hard to successfully complete my task. The fact that I was even considering going into the forest was madness. To do so would be to damn myself. And for a girl I’d only known for weeks, no less.
Maybe I should alert the Royal Guard. Have them go and retrieve Amalie and hope that the murderer was bluffing about killing her. But did I really want to gamble with a child’s life?
I needed to decide now, knowing that, regardless of what I chose, I would have to live with dire consequences. An eternity bound to the Crow, or the blood of an innocent on my hands.
It shredded my heart, but my decision was made.
Chapter 44
The wind whipped my hair as I galloped through the forest. The brisk air came as a relief to my flushed face and cooled the sweat on the back of my neck.
The beat of my heart moved in tandem with the pounding of hooves against the underbrush. And my nerves, which had come and gone in waves, made themselves at home in my stomach and chest.
The stable boys hadn’t asked questions when I’d arrived in a frenzy and demanded Hazel be promptly saddled. If they thought it was strange that I was still dressed in my wedding finery, they didn’t say.
I was thankful for the riding lessons Tarben had given me. While I was by no means an expert, at least I knew enough to mount her, set her in motion, and steer her towards the forest. I began with an easy trot but, painfully aware that it wasn’t long before sunset, I wasted no time in urging her into a gallop.
Despite my being a novice, Hazel was expert enough for the both of us. She confidently navigated the muddy surfaces, rocky paths and uneven terrain of the forest floor. Sensing my urgency, she maneuvered around trees, low branches and dense bushes at lightning speed.
I kept my eyes trained on the path in front of me, but, every now and then, I loosened my grip on the reins to make sure thegrimoire was safely tucked into the pocket of my cloak. I was terrified of losing it, given it was possibly the only way to save Amalie.
Please let her be alive. Please let her be alive. Please let her be alive.The thought replayed in my head as I inched deeper and deeper into the forest. The chant was occasionally broken by another, more terrifying thought.What if I’m already too late?
