I shoot a concerned look at Lachlan, whose face mirrors my own. My wings pop back out as I need their familiar weight centering me.
“Has there ever been an eclipse here before?”
But no one answers as the moon continues its journey over the sun.
Through quick breaths, Elowen says, “Tell me I’m imagining things.” Her voice pitched a bit higher than usual. Fear,genuine fear, shines in her eyes.
I shake my head, the movement ruffling the feathers on my fledgling wings.
The moon fully eclipses the sun, and the surrounding land is pitched into darkness. Only light blazing from the torches around the training ground illuminates our faces.
“The wolf will devour the sun, plunging the realm into darkness; the stars will vanish from the sky, and the war will begin,” Elowen whispers.
Her voice is hauntingly beautiful as it casts a chill in the air. Tane swears colorfully under his breath. Lachlan’s hand finds mine, and we interlace our fingers. His callouses scrape against mine as we watch Elowen’s vision come to life before our very eyes.
Her words ring in my ears:“War will begin.”
If war is beginning right now, we’re not even close to being ready. We’re still divided as a realm, seeing as I’ve taken more than half our people for the rebellion. I’ve made us weak by dividing us.
Guilt drops into my stomach.
“We’re not ready,” I mutter. “We need to unify our realm,” I say louder. “I need to take back my throne.Now.”
Lachlan gently squeezes my hand. “Key, they tried to kill ye.” He shakes his head. “We just discussed our ranks not being ready. And even if they were, we canna launch a full-scale invasion that quickly. Are ye just gonna waltz in there alone?”
Mathilda hums her agreement. Emotion sticks in the back of my throat, and I swallow forcefully.
“But now our realm is divided at a time when we very much need to be unified,” I answer. “We’ll have to go with just the seven of us.”
34
ECLIPSE
The sound of many booted feet thud along the grounds heading in our direction. Agatha appears with several warriors, each one carrying a torch.
Her voice carries out across the grounds to our group, “I figured I’d find you and your court here.” She hands out torches to Evander and Tane. “If you’re insistent on returning to that snake hole, you’ll need to be dressed for battle, my queen. Follow me.”
The land is as black as night, but there’s not a star in sight. Night-blooming jasmine floats along the breeze. The darkness blankets us as we follow Agatha and her troop back to the castle. Shadows slither along the path as the wind picks up, whipping the torch flames around.
Eclipses are a normal celestial occurrence in the human realm, but here, it certainly feels like one of the more sinister omens. Lachlan’s expression is grim from the slight glimpses I catch in the flickering light.
The weight of my gaze has him turning to face me, pulling us to a stop.
“I dinna think ye realize the weight of this decision.”
His posture is rigid, and his grip on my hand is strong. I flex my fingers, and he loosens his hold immediately, shooting me an apologetic look.
“I don’t want to go back there either, but I have to try.” His jaw flexes at my words, but I continue. “We could very well be wrong about Odin being trapped somewhere, and he’s just busy gathering the rest of his forces from the other realms. But Elowen said her vision meantsoon. And now it’s happening, just like she said.”
I try to make my voice light, joking even, but fail miserably.
“I canna lose you,” he announces, his eyes glittering in the fading torchlight.
I cup his face with my palm, the stubble of his beard grazing my fingers. “And you won’t,” I breathe.
He dips his head lower and rests his forehead against mine. I tilt my chin up until our lips touch. Our kiss is light, gentle in a way that eases the burn.
The world around me disappears until it’s only me and him.
