Not after I had met Analleia.
Not after I had gotten to know her.
I didn’t think I could go back to the way things were before.
“Valeris.”
I turned at the voice, finding Vera shadowed by the alcove.I glanced over both shoulders, striding toward her.
“Did you find anything?”I asked.
She nodded, but from the look on her face, it didn’t appear she liked what she had discovered.She handed my original drawing of Analleia’s dagger back to me.“I rode north and visited the archives where I found a scribe who specialized in weapons.He recognized it immediately.”
I lifted an eyebrow.“And?”
She hesitated.“He said it came from the tower.”
“The tower?”
She lowered her voice.“The tower of the Dark Walkers.”
I blinked, thinking I had misunderstood her.
I hadn’t.
“Thank you,” I said.“Tell no one.”
I turned on my heel, mind reeling as I raced toward my uncle’s office.The scribe had to be mistaken.Why would Analleia have a Dark Walkers blade?
The door to Uncle Wylan’s office hung ajar, blood dripping from the outside frame and onto the floor.I rushed forward, flying into the room.Howland drew his sword, bellowed for me to stop.
“Uncle!”
He struggled to get off the floor, a hand pressed to a wound in his side, blood seeping through his fingers.He gritted his teeth and looked up at me.
“She just left,” he said.“You have to stop her.She headed toward the main gallery.”
My throat constricted, brows pulling together.“She who?”
He gripped my arm tight as iron, fingernails digging into my sleeve.“Analleia.She attacked me.She’s an assassin, Valeris.A Dark Walker.She’s been playing us—you—all along.You have to stop her.”
The world spun, his words fitting into place, matching with Vera’s.The design on the dagger flashed in my memory, but it couldn’t be right.It had to be wrong.Analleia wouldn't—
“Guards!”I yelled, but Howland had already called for them.I tore out of the office, finding the trail of blood leading down the hall.
“Valeris, I need to get you somewhere safe—”
I ripped out of Howland’s grasp, charging forward, then barreled to a stop around the next corner, staring in utter bewilderment at what lay before me.
