"He lies."
"They lie."
"Tilly, listen to me." The beautiful voice rose above the noise again, clear and haunting. As she spoke, a cold, sharp pain erupted from my mark, a freezingagonythat demanded my focus.
"Do not fear the gate. I am waiting for you. I can help you."
Out here, the voices felt vibrant, as if this place brought them to life. Then I felt a surge of anger, pushing me forwardlike a physical hand. A voice I knewtoowell rose above the rest: "You do not need to die. There is another way."
I took one more step toward the cliff's edge, locking eyes with Horous. Before I jumped, I wanted him to know the truth.
“You will not take me and hang me like some grotesque sculpture.”
His expression shifted, confusion etched across his features as the girl who had been cowering suddenly exuded a chilling confidence.
Glancingdownat the sea once more, I turned defiantly toward Horous and his men. A wild, dangerous calm settled over me, and I smiled faintly.
“Better to leave my fate to the wind and the rocks,” I declared. “I won’t walk throughthatgate. You and your minions can all go to hell.”
For a brief moment, my life flashed before me. I wondered if this recklessness was the 'madness' they had pinned on my father, or if it was the first time I was making a choice that outsmarted them all—even if it cost me my life.
“No!” Horous roared, lifting his hand as I stepped off the cliff.
For a heartbeat, everything inside me snapped into perfect clarity. The wind tore past my face, cold and wild. For the first time since meeting these monsters, nothing pulled at my mind. No voices. No brothers. No prophecy. Just me—fearless and finally free.
Suddenly, two of his men emerged from the mist with predatory speed. Their rough hands clamped around my armsmid-fall, dragging me backfrom the abyss.
***
They hauled me toward themonolith’sdoorway, my boots barely skimming the ground. I twisted uselessly, but their grips only tightened. Yet the fear I had felt at the cliff was gone. The power that had surged through me as I stepped into the wind remained.
The adrenaline was part of me now. It wasn’t going to fade just because they dragged me back.
The doorway loomed ahead, and I dreaded what was about to happen as the ground vibrated with energy beneath my boots. The air shimmered around the doorway with violet and golden rays, but a dark mist moved through it, revealing that this wasn’t a place of light. My mark burned searing hot all the way up myarm, into my neck and head, as if screaming at me to run. But I was determined to face this fate.
“Bring her,” Horous commanded, his voice turning my stomach.
I was dragged under the arch. The moment I stood in its shadow, the noise in my head exploded, and a thousand voices and memories of my life flashed before me. The two guards forced me down to my knees.
“This is the Valari Kharun. It responds to the blood of the Marked. You see now,” Horous said.
“The prophecy isn’t meant to be fulfilled. It’s meant to be broken. And you can help me do that. Blood for blood, soul for soul, mark for mark. Through you, I can bring Ignara back. She can end this prophecy forever.”
The voices surged again, louder this time, sharper and almost panicked.
"He twists the truth."
"He wants what waits beyond."
"Tilly… trust me..." The beautiful voice echoed.
"Trust your own mind."Her silky voice slid through my thoughts like a dream I shouldn’t have had.
"I was sacrificed just like you."
"Fooled just like you."
"Loved just like you. But I can help you. I can help us."
