We slowed our horses to a stop at what felt like the edge of the world. “Do you think there are beasts still out there?”
“Yes. That won’t have been all of them,” said Kalen.
“And the storms? Are they gone, like the sun?”
“I don’t think we’re that lucky.”
I nodded, hating the sharp stab of pain that went through me. “How does the vow feel about you walking into a kingdom full of night and chaos?”
“It doesn’t particularly care,” he said in a dark voice. “I’m to kill the anchor. Nothing else matters, not even my own safety. Not even yours, love. You can still turn back now. You can return to Dubnos and wait with the others. Be with your sister. Find a way to contact Niamh and Val.”
I sat up a little straighter on Silver’s back, my heart pounding. “You are not getting rid of me, Kalen Denare.”
His eyes met mine, the sapphire gleaming in the dark. “I know. Stay close to me. But if something goes wrong, don’t hesitate to spread your wings and get to safety.”
There was no way I would leave him behind if something happened. “I would rather take my final breath than lose you, Kalen.”
I thought he might argue, but instead, he nodded. “I could say the same to you.”
He held out a hand, and I slipped my gloved fingers into his. That thread tightened around his heart and mine, and there was a part of me that never wanted to let go. But then we turned and faced the storms, and together, we crossed the border.
* * *
We rode quickly across the rolling plains. The mist streamed by us as our horses charged forward, taking us closer and closer to the crumbling city in the distance that was lit by a fiery glow. Neither of us said a word as we approached from the east, circling to the back gates instead of going in through the front. We had no idea if Bellicent would have any fighters or if she’d be pacing the streets alone. Ruari seemed to think she had no one with her, but one could never be too careful when it came to her.
The fiery glow turned out to be braziers that hung along the exterior walls, lit at regular intervals to bring some light amid the heavy gloom. When we were close enough for our sound to reach the battlements, we left our horses in the grass.
“Stay here,” I whispered to Silver. He stomped his hooves but made no move to follow us into the remains of the city. Smart horse.
As we approached Gailfean on foot, I tucked myself into Kalen’s cloak and hid my golden hair beneath the dark hood, just in case it stood out in the night. Kalen pressed a finger to his lips as we inched closer. His gaze was locked on the battlements above, but he made no indication that he spotted anyone up there.
The back gates hung open, half of the wood broken off. Even through the heavy mist, I could see the city itself was a shambles. Some buildings remained intact, but they were dusted by the ash that still fell from the sky all these days later. Most were nothing but rubble. The collapse of the castle had radiated through the rest of this city, likely destroying everything in its path.
My heart pounded as we stepped through the gate, my boots crunching against the pebbled ground. If we hadn’t investigated those catacombs beneath the castle, hundreds of bodies would have been crushed beneath the falling stone and collapsing buildings. If we’d just been an hour later than we had been. That was all it would have taken. It was as if the stars themselves had aligned, urging us to leave the Great Hall and explore the queen’s rooms. Once upon a time, I would have thought that was impossible, but I wasn’t so certain now.
In the distance, another fire blazed. From here, it looked as though it came from the center of the city, where that glorious castle had once stood. Kalen met my eyes and gave me a grim nod. That was where we were headed, then.
Together, we crept through the broken city. A sharp wind whistled through the crumbling stone, but there was no sign of storms on the horizon. The acrid scent of smoke drifted from somewhere nearby, along with that rotting twang I’d caught scent of the last time we’d been here.
That wrongness permeated the air, and with every step toward that fire, it grew more persistent. Even the onyx around us seemed to glow, pulsing with life—and warning. Whatever Bellicent Denare was doing here, it did not bode well for us or for humanity. Just as Fenella had pointed out, this was not her home. She had no reason to come here, not one of her own.
We both slowed when we reached the bottom of a towering mound of broken rock near the remnants of the castle. The onyx stones were more numerous now, intermingled with the slate gray rock from which the castle had been hewn. A small path had been cut through the rubble, leading up and up into the gray haze.
Kalen motioned toward my gloves. With a nod, I removed them and tucked them into my waistband just as he drew his sword.
He took the lead, his steps careful and steady. I followed just behind him. Our boots on the stone were too loud in the eerie silence of the city. Long moments passed as we climbed. My breath grew heavy in my lungs, and exhaustion tugged at my bones.
At long last, we reached the top of the stone mountain. It was oddly flat at the top, and in the center of it, a massive fire roared. The flames flicked their orange tongues at the dark sky. Four onyx pillars stood in a row. Their bases were buried in the rubble, keeping them upright. A chain had been hammered into the center one, and the opposite end led to a pair of manacles. I frowned at those pillars. I’d seen them before.
And then I realized they weren’t pillars at all. Those were the carved onyx lids to the gods’ sarcophagi.
An eerie shudder went down my spine.
“Kalen,” I whispered. “Something about this feels wrong.”
“Stay behind me,” he said, motioning toward the opposite side of the makeshift platform—away from the pillars.
But I could not stop staring at those chains—at the manacles. I followed Kalen and tried to piece together what this might mean. Those pillars had covered the stone coffins to trap the gods. I could still see the symbols that had been carved into them. But none of that had mattered in the end—not now, when Andromeda’s arrival meant they’d awakened.
