The truth slices clean.
“I know,” I grind out as my hands fist.
His gaze softens a fraction. “If they feel the shift you caused this morning?—”
“They felt it,” the genie informs us.
Eron nods once.
How do they know?
“They will accelerate,” Eron finishes.
I stare at my reflection in the water. Architect. Rebel. Idiot with good intentions.
“They forget something,” I murmur.
“What?” Hart asks.
My mouth curves.
“They are in my world, not theirs.”
The lake surface fractures around Eron’s image. “Hurry,” he says. The water bursts into a spiral, and then he disappears in a fine silver mist.
Birdsong resumes.
The genie exhales purple smoke. “Well,” he says, adjusting his cuffs again. “That is inconvenient. I shall put my affairs in order. Holler if you need a wish. Otherwise, I want to remain undisturbed.”
He disappears in a puff of purple smoke.
I turn to the knights and point at the horses. “We ride now.”
Theo first. Sister next. Idols last.
But they are all connected. I can feel it. Somewhere in the Hallows, four divine beings are turning pages that do not belong to them.
Chapter Seventeen
Daphne
Idoze on the shoulders of each of my knights as they swap me from horse to horse. We ride through So Far Away and into the land that exists on no map and holds no name.
The trees thin first, then the air changes. The birds grow quieter, as if they don’t want to commit to flying over whatever lies ahead. By the time the sun tilts toward the horizon, the ground is no longer kind.
We crest the final ridge, and the world opens into a breathtaking vista of mountains. Not the soft, rolling kind that swell into the sky, but jagged, punctuated landmarks. The wind howls between their peaks in long, low notes that feel less likea weather phenomenon and more like a warning. No one sane would wander into their unforgiving heights.
But there’s nowhere I wouldn’t go for those I love.
Nash’s chest presses against my back as he takes in the unfathomable quest ahead of us.
Malachi dismounts first and pulls me off the horse with Nash’s help. My legs wobble, and my thighs ache, but my back isn’t as stiff. I think I’m getting the hang of riding.
The tug in my chest makes me suck in a breath. “He’s here,” I whisper as my eyes flutter closed.
Hart shifts next to me. I don’t need to see them to know which knight is where. I can feel them as resolute as my existence.
“Beyond the pass,” he confirms. “We’ve only ventured here once before.”
