Though that was with the blood bond. Now…now I had no light, but the light I had was not even real!
When Riyan had left me, I had tried so hard to tell him that I loved him, even though I had enchanted myself into silence to keep myself safe from the giants. Though my throat was frozen, my mind screamed “I love you too.”
But was my tongue silent because of my enchantment, or because I could not speak a lie?
I threw my hand in my pocket instead of crying out in frustration. My fire cooled as I pulled out the tiny scrap of linen from my pocket and traced each flower.
I grounded myself in each tiny bump of the threads, reminding myself of the promises I had made to Riyan before he disappeared.
Take charge of the Northern provinces.
Evereon had control. The North was secure.
Take care of Astrid.
Daigen had put a smile on Astrid’s face and kept her calm.
Try to be happy.
The fog of numbness crept around my ribs. Even if it was just an enchantment, I missed that golden light Riyan and I had shared. I missed feeling happy. I missed that part of myself I thought I had found before the magic of the blood bond made me doubt everything.
The scrap of linen fell back into my pocket. I closed my eyes and let the gentle wind dance around my cheeks.
Snow fell in my memory. I was fifteen again, staring out the window on a January afternoon. I sat in a stiff armchair hugging my knees, watching thin snowflakes drift to the earth like ashes.
I had stared out that window for two hours, accepting that I would never be truly happy again.
I took in a breath and my white flame danced. My blood warmed, melting away the memory. Soft words floated to the front of my mind:
Untouched by the endless winter,
I am warm even now.
Winter would no longer dig its icy claws in my chest. The Queen of the Giants wouldnevertake anything from me again. Regardless of how I truly felt about him, Riyan deserved his life back.
So I had to be brave, just like he once told me I was.
I opened my eyes and the sun had disappeared, leaving behind only the cool twilight and a few flickering stars.
Three stars twinkled brightly in the sky. My eyes traced them as I marked each one with a new promise.
I would find out who Riyan truly was. I would free Fraleigh. I would…
The flaming diamond in my heart sparkled as I traced the Nordingaard crystal over my throat.
I would still try to be happy.
My heart raced the moment we crossed the bridge into Hyton and I ran my thumb over the facets of my Nordingaard crystal to ease my worry. Daigen had wanted me to keep the crystal on my skin as much as possible while I was still new to my magic, but I could not risk being seen with it.
Any evidence that I was a sorceress would lead to an immediate death sentence.
I untied the ribbon of the choker and slid the crystal deep into my trunk that sat on the opposite carriage bench.
“Only a little while longer before we reach the palace, Madame Bloodstone!” Brandt called.
Paranoid Evereon had insisted someone accompany me to the palace and Brandt volunteered. Although judging from how he spilled his life’s story multiple times to the poor coachman over the hours-long journey, he was more nervous about the plan than I was.
The carriage rattled as the dirt path of the country turned into the cobblestones of the city. I pulled out Derrick’s letter from mytrunk and ran my eyes over the parchment until I stopped just above the signature.
