Memories come unbidden to me: Tiernan telling me to go on without him, Osheen betraying me, being branded, taken from my home, my most recent wound, the years of headaches and vertigo. I breathe in and unleash every negative feeling, all the pain and anger and grief. The man’s grip on me falters, then falls. Through bleary eyes, I watch as the soldiers contort and bow over in pain.
Darkness floods in, and I plead with all the gods to get me out of this. I imagine myself in safety, far away from these soldiers. Away from Paramount, from the disembodied voice. I imagine away all the hurt and betrayal. My body is pulled and twisted, nausea rolling through me.
It seems to go on and on, until I’m certain that I’ll lose consciousness. Until I think I’ll never regain any semblance oflifeagain.
Then everything goes still, dull pain slamming into my hip.
When I open my eyes, I’m on the floor. Bright stars dapple my vision, the world around me a blur of oblivion. My muscles tremble, feeling like water, my stomach churns, and my skull threatens to split open. Dark tendrils of vapor cover my hands, reluctant to withdraw. Shadows creep into the edges of my vision, pressing in on me.
I blink again and again, trying to seeanything. I don’t know where I am. I cannot tell if I’m alive or dead. I don’t know ifTiernanis alive or dead. Or even Ava, Chiyo, Winnie, her friend. I’ve failed. We’ve all failed.
Ice shudders through my body as I keep trying to think warm thoughts. As I fight to retract the shadows. But they persist.
Is this how it ends? Is this how the dark magic is going to overtake me?
Something warm and comforting rests on my shoulder, but I cannot seem to open my eyes. A familiar sensation coaxes into me, over me, and my shadows withdraw. It’s swift and abrupt, leaving my body drained. Consciousness is already slipping out from under me. As much as I try to hold on, I can’t.
A different kind of darkness swallows me whole before I can grasp anything.
Chapter 65
I’m notsure exactly what I expected, but Murtagh’s newestbusiness endeavor—the building he’d allegedlystolenfrom Gruffud—is a far cry from it. The archer and I are lucky to touch down, fairly unscathed, within the building. Her bow and arrow clatter to the floor before her body follows. I’m left speechless, watching her dissolve into tears as I stand there. Useless.
“Koko!” someone exclaims.
My head whips up, my fists already poised for attack when the woman with the long braids appears. She rushes forward, a few others behind her, then stops abruptly. Her hazel green eyes dart around wildly before she sets a seething glower on me. I nearly wither on the spot.
“What the fuck happened?” she asks. “Where is Durvla?” She looks down at the archer, weeping on the floor. “Chiyoko! Where’s Durvla?” Panic laces her voice, and I look up just as someone barrels into me with full force. Arms wrap around my torso, hair that isn’t mine tumbling into my eyes as I’m crushed in a smothering embrace.
“Winnie. You’re alive. You’re alive.” Neris practically shakes me. I remain boneless, numb.
The Dreamwalker had come to rescue Tiernan, only to end up rescuing me instead … and sacrificing herself. I’m overcome with sickening guilt. The woman with the long braids is on the floor, her arms wrapped around the archer—Chiyoko—while the girl continues to sob.
When Neris finally releases me, I take in the other worried faces in the room. A curvaceous woman with a deep brown complexion stands aside, one hand crossed over her chest, the other over the lower half of her face. Beside her is a man with auburn hair, and two other redheads keeping a small distance.
They step aside, letting Murtagh walk through. I pull myself up to my full height, uncertain of how to respond to this familiar person from what feels like a totally different lifetime.
He approaches me, his ordinarily mirthful face drawn in melancholy. His arms clasp mine, and he says, “I’m glad you’ve made it.” He gives my arms a squeeze, but I can only nod.
My face is damp as Neris tugs me away. I follow her, but I’m unable to process much of anything. We got out of the castle.
But now Rheon has the Shadow Wielder he sought.
Shite …
“Winnie, what happened?” Neris whispers.
“I …” The words slip out of my grasp, and I shake my head again.
Neris holds my face between her palms. Firmly. “You’re all bruised up.” It’s the least of my worries—in fact, I don’t feel any pain. For the first time.
And I almost wish I felt something rather than nothing.
The older woman makes her way across the gallery, getting onto the floor with the other woman and Chiyoko. She whispers soothing words, and they pull Chiyoko to her feet. Her face is a blotchy mess, but as she stares across the room at me, the resemblance to Tiernan is glaringly obvious. His sister? Guilt rushes over me anew.
I need to get away. I wish I could head outside, but that would be dangerous and stupid. Instead, I march toward the doorway at the back of the room, hoping that it will lead me anywhere that isn’t here. That isn’t this moment.
A whooshing sound fills the room, a chill glossing over my skin seconds before a loud sound and startled shrieks follow. I turn as a small vortex of shadows swirls on the ground from where Chiyoko had just been moved. The shadows recede very slightly, enough to reveal that a body lies within it. A woman. She tries to sit up, but her arm gives way under her and she slips back onto her side.
