“I was confused for a second, but then I realized I was in your head,” Nylah continued, glancing up at Stellan. “So then I thought about what I wanted to see. Before I knew it, I saw a flicker of brightness. And then I almost… like reached out and grabbed it. If that makes sense.”
“And what was that?” Stellan asked, blinking rapidly like he didn’t quite know what to make of her. Bridget didn’t either. Nylah had been around magic foroneday and already seemed to navigate it better than she ever had.
“The best outcome.” Nylah straightened, then pulled the black stone from her jacket. In her palm, it glittered and glowed. “And what I could do to help.”
Color drained from Stellan’s face. He bent closer and peered at the stone, but did not reach out to touch it. His throat bobbed as he asked, “Where did you get that?”
“Cade…” Nylah replied, eyebrows creasing at his obvious wariness.
Stellan looked to Bridget for confirmation. She nodded. “I didn’t realize what it was until I came back. A rune, right?”
“Not exactly. Did he say why he had it?”
“Never,” Bridget said. “But it must have come from the vault in Mount Lugh. There was something missing in the case where I found the Bloodstone.”
Cursing under his breath, Stellan ran a hand through his damp hair. And then laughed. A sharp, humorless, shocked laugh. Like he wasn’t quite sure if he was amused or completely flabbergasted.
Archer gazed at him sideways. “That’s not just a rune, is it?”
“It’s one of the Tuathan artifacts,” Stellan said, then laughed again.
Bridget’s mouth fell open. “How is that possible?”
Suddenly, Stellan grabbed Nylah and spun her around in the air. At first, Bridget was shocked by the gesture. But as Nylah squealed, she remembered hedidhelp raise Marin. Her gaze softened as he gently put her back on the ground.
“You might be the most peculiar child I’ve ever met and what you did was extremely dangerous, but the whole city of Astraeus is about to owe you a very large thank you,” Stellan said, causing Nylah to glow proudly. “That stone should create a gate for us. Right here. To anywhere we want.”
Hope stirred in Bridget’s chest. “And you can use it?”
“No…” Stellan said. “But I think she can.”
Silence enveloped them all. After a minute, Nylah shuffled closer to Bridget. When she audibly swallowed, she stepped in front of her. “How?” Bridget asked. “She’s a human.” Which meant consequences. And payments. Andpain. Something she wouldn’t let her sister experience.
A hint of a smile on his face, Stellan held out a hand to Nylah. “Do you trust me?”
Chapter fifteen
Cassia
The palace always radiated a dreariness and reminded Cassia of a long, soulless tunnel. But on days the weather particularly nagged her, the suffocating emptiness of each room made her want to scratch her skin off. Leaning her head against the dusty window of her and Cade’s old training room, Cassia studied the sky. It was sunny, and bits of snow melted into the ground from the unexpected warmth, but something just feltoff. In the distance, where she knew miles away Kastron lay, dark clouds swirled above the horizon. They had for days. Each morning, she’d woken up and anticipated rain, but it hadn’t come. The clouds hadn’t moved an inch in their direction, despite the howling wind blowing their way.
Just as another gust of wind rattled the glass underneath her forehead, two figures strolled into her line of sight, invading the deteriorating garden below. One she recognized immediately. But the other… Hai? Or Ondine? She couldn’t remember which Kastronian girl had died during the tournament, but the alive one was currentlytryingto flirt with her brother. Even three stories above them, the girl’s loud, nervous giggle pierced the room through the window.
However, a girl trying to impress her brother wasn’t what had Cassia swimming in confusion. Over the years, she’d seen many girls attempt to woo her brother. Each one more nauseating than the last. What confused her was Cade’s receptive grin at whatever joke the girl spouted off. Still, it didn’t reach his eyes.
Cassia tapped on the glass, knowing he probably already sensed her watching them, and waited for the tell-tale prick in her temple that he was connecting with her mind. Below, he determinately turned his back to her and brushed some lingering, melting snow off of his companion’s shoulder. The Kastronian girl immediately turned red. Gritting her teeth, Cassia tapped again.
Finally, her brother’s annoyed, laborious sigh echoed through her mind.What do you want?
That was fast,she said.Didn’t you just agree to restart the tournament yesterday?
Didn’t you know? Father had all the girls and their families sequestered in Astraeus for months. Most of them returned to the palace this morning.
Cassia snorted. Of course he had. Their father’s plan had been to finish the tournament all along. He’d just been waiting for the right time. And he was the master of getting what he wanted.You played into his expectations like a fiddle.
That’s not what’s happening.
When Cade glanced up at her with a quick glare, Cassia fought the urge to roll her eyes. There was only one plan that seemed to be winning and in place right now. And it wasn’t Cade’s.
