The last time I saw her.
The realization came with a stab of pain.
“She was a bit quieter than usual, but that’s all.”
“According to the servants, she had been sneaking out of her quarters late at night. They thought nothing of it at the time,presuming she’d taken a lover.”
Guilt slammed into me. I should have asked her what was wrong; she might have confided in me. And, when she didn’t appear in my chamber the day before, I should have immediately taken that as a sign something was wrong. Instead, I was too absorbed in my own life, and now Runa was gone. Irreversibly gone.
“Is there anything else?” I asked, my voice sounding far away. Hugo shook his head, while Filip’s worried gaze only made me feel like I was about to crack. “If that’s all, I’ll head back to my bedchamber. Send me the books you think might be of use.” Without waiting for a response, I stood and left.
I didn’t stop until I reached my bedchamber. Slumping against the closed door, I permitted a single, hot tear to escape each eye. Fall apart, or track down the murderer and make them pay. Those were my options.
With the heels of my hands, I erased the traces of grief from my face. Sucking in a wobbly breath, I stood up straight.
It wasn’t really a choice.
I had no appetite for tears. Not when vengeance would taste much sweeter.
***
Perhaps it was the light filtering in through the open drapes, perhaps it was the surge of emotions flooding my body, but I woke up early the next morning.
My grief for Runa ran deep, but it was the bargain hanging over my head that threatened to drown me. There were only three more days until the full moon. Three more days to successfully complete my task or become the Crow’s prisoner forever.
Panic had, at last, seized me. It ran races with my heart andbreathed heat all over my skin, leaving me flushed and perspiring. It put the full force of its weight onto my chest, wrapped its claws around my throat, and choked me until I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Most of all, it whispered in my ear,“You’re in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.”
Try as I might, I couldn’t escape it. If Tarben didn’t return before the full moon, I would be facing my doom.
I got out of bed and looked out the window towards the mist-covered gardens. What was once lively and full of color now appeared desolate and monotone. Most of the leaves had deserted the trees, leaving them to stand naked against the autumn chill. A layer of frost had settled over the grass and flowers, whitewashing and wilting everything it touched. Even the birds seemed to have abandoned the gardens, leaving the grounds eerily quiet. What a difference two weeks had made.
Fat rain clouds were brooding in the sky—had I summoned them to keep me company?
I’d spent the entire day prior combing over the books Hugo had sent me from hisunorthodox collection. While the book I’d read on the history of witches had been interesting, I’d found nothing that shed any light on the meaning of the symbol etched into Hywell and the symbols engraved on the notebook.
I forced myself to open a musty, old book on magic,determinedto find something helpful amidst its yellowed pages. It was no use though; I was hopelessly unable to focus on anything other than my looming deadline. I spent hours examining the same text, rereading sentences as though they were written in a foreign language, barely able to digest any of the words. My time would be better spent focusing on the mysterious notebook.
I sifted through it, but each page remained tragically bare. Before I could think better of it, I dipped my quill into some ink and wrote on the first page.
What are you?
Almost as soon as I had written them, the letters vanished. I inhaled a startled breath and rubbed my eyes. In their place, new words formed in a handwriting that most certainly wasn’t mine. Afraid they, too, would disappear, I read them quickly.
I like to stay hidden, I live in the dark
I swallow you whole without leaving a mark
I can hold prisoners, or I liberate
For some I unite, for some I devastate
I belong to all, I am shared by some
Sometimes held by many, or sometimes by one
I can live forever, or I die with you
A shadowy friend you wish you never knew
