“Quit wasting time.”
She’s right. Karl is in danger, and here I am, procrastinating because I’m afraid to focus on my oldest memories. Though the memory Luna mentioned is a happy one. I dive right into it, blocking everything else that’s trying to divert my attention. I remember like yesterday the feeling of my paws on the freshsnow, all my new enhanced senses. It was like a dream to be able to run like the wind and leave all my worries behind.
I’m deep in that memory when I sense I’m no longer alone. Luna is running beside me, and then my point of view shifts. I’m staring at the world from a higher vantage point—I’m seeing the world through Luna’s eyes.
“Holy crap. It worked!”
“Yes. Are you ready to walk the shadows?”
“Not really, but let’s go.”
The forest from my memory vanishes, and everything turns pitch-black. However, I don’t panic, nor do I feel sick like I do whenever I walk the wind. The darkness slowly fades, and I feel prickles against my skin.
“What’s that?”
“The wards protecting the Aquila castle.”
“I thought they weren’t supposed to be triggered.”
“They weren’t. What you felt is us breaching them.”
The world is bright and full of colors once more. We’re inside the Aquila castle, but we are in plain view, and we aren’t alone. I see Queen Maewe sitting on her throne, and by her feet, a blond male who looks worse for wear, chained at the neck. He looks familiar.
“That’s Telar’s brother, Selor,”Luna tells me.
“Can’t they see us?”
“No, we’re hidden in the shadows.”
“He’s been tortured.”
“Obviously.”
“He was supposed to be her most loyal servant.”
“He must have betrayed her. Look. There’s the vampire princess, the one you hate.”
I turn and see Manu hanging from a white tree. Her arms, legs, and neck are bound by silver chains, and she’s bleeding from a multitude of cuts everywhere on her body. A spear of guiltpierces my chest. I’ve wanted to give her an ass whooping for centuries, but I’ve never wished this type of punishment for her. There’s a man crying in front of the tree. The way he’s rocking his body back and forth while he hugs his knees tells me he’s spiraling.
“Do you know that man?”Luna asks.
“No. He seems to have lost his mind.”
The double doors open, and the guards enter, bringing another prisoner with them. Karl! I make a motion to go to him, but Luna says,“You can’t help him.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not here. Your body is back in Lynx.”
“What about you?”
“I’m present but in the shadow dimension.”
“So… you can’t help my brother either?”
“What would you have me do? Queen Maewe is a powerful Nightingale. I’d be dead before I got near her.”
Fucking hell. I didn’t think I could be more useless than before, but I was dead wrong.
