“The Idols will revolt against your influence, as they’ve been left unchecked for far too long,” Wilhelm warns.
I swallow the tea, determination settling in my soul. I can deal with revolt. There’s only one fate I want to change, and it’s no longer my own.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Large tents dot the lush garden behind the cottage, a fire crackling in the center, sending sparks up toward the sky, where stars scatter across the vast darkness like forgotten wishes. The others settle around the flames, exhaustion settling into their bones. Gwyneth curls up beside Charming, murmuring softly. Their budding romance seems sweet. Maybe Charming has changed his ways. I trust my sister to know what’s best for her.
Theo leans against a tree, using a blade he stole from the kitchen to sharpen a large stick into a pointy weapon. Malachi and Hart pass a flask of something alcoholic between them, their laughter quiet and subdued, the weight of the last few diurnals pressing down on us all.
I sit apart, knees pulled to my chest, staring into the flickering embers.
My gaze flicks over one of the tents. A lantern swings from the center, a welcoming beacon. I should sleep. I should close my eyes and let the exhaustion take me, but every time I do, I see him. His smile, his teasing words, the steady and unwavering belief in me—and then the image of him falling, the way the ice swallowed him whole, and how helpless I had been to stop it.
I can’t breathe.
I push to my feet, my hands shaking as I wrap my arms around my rib cage. The cool night air is sharp against my skin as I step away from the fire. I don’t know where I’m going, only that I need to move.
“Where are you going?” Gwyneth calls out.
“Not far. I just need some space.”
“Stay within the garden boundaries,” Jacob calls out. “You are safe up to the river that runs around the property.”
I give him a thumbs up as Sir Sweeps-A-Lot brushes against my ankle. I grab his handle. “Stay here.”
He floats to the ground, sad that I’ve instructed him to leave me alone. But my people-pleasing energy is at an all-time low, and I can’t breathe when everyone is watching me like I’m two tempos away from losing my shit.
I need privacy to fall apart, to scream to the stars in the sky that they stole a light too soon. I need to reason with the powers in the realm to return a soul to this world. My breath gets stuck in my throat as I remember I’m about to be that power.
I leave behind the warmth of the camp and plunge into the darkness of the trees.
The forest hums with life, the rustling of leaves, the whisper of creatures unseen. Nothing threatening, simply curious. My boots crunch against the earth as I move, the pain in my chest unbearable.
I don’t hear him approach, not at first. It’s only when a shadow moves between the trees that I sense him.Nash.
“What are you doing?” His voice is low but sharp, like a blade honed to perfection.
I don’t stop walking. “Go back to camp, Nash.”
“No.” He steps in front of me, blocking my path. “Not until you tell me what you’re doing out here alone.”
“Thinking.”
“Dangerously?”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Always.”
His gaze darkens, frustration flickering across his features. “You don’t have to be alone.”
“Don’t I?” I snap, my emotions unraveling faster than I can control. “Because it sure feels like I do. You are all back there joking and drinking like we didn’t just witness a friend give their life to save ours.”
His jaw clenches. “That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” My voice rises, my chest heaving. “Eron is dead, Nash. I can’t bring him back. I can’t fix this. And now I’m supposed to what? Move on? Embrace my destiny? Pretend like my heart isn’t breaking?”
His eyes flash with something unreadable. “No one is asking you to pretend, Daphne.”
