The word unsettles me. I've never had one. Never wanted. And now, the loss of her grinds through my bones. My teeth ache. My spine feels brittle. The hollowness reaches so deep I feel like I could split open and become a trench myself.
“It’s dark as fuck down here,” Caspian mutters, dragging me out of the spiral.
“Calm down,” Moireth says ahead of him, sure-footed in the gloom.
“What was that? Oh my god, somethingtouched me.”
“Caspian—please.”
“No, I’m dead serious, carry me. YouknowI don’t do dark spaces.”
I glance up and watch, faintly amused, as Moireth hoists him like a backpack. He latches on like an opossum—limbs wrapped tight, muttering curses as they reach the edge of my open throne room. With a thought, I pull light into the chamber, illuminating the vast black stone, the carvings along the walls.
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t be rude,” Moireth scolds. “We may have a lead on our precious Ambrose. His sisters were kitchen witches. Have you spoken to Ione? She’ll need to be careful—”
“Of anything she eats,” I finish. “We’ve found out the hard way. Whatever he’s feeding her is robbing her of reason, of memory. Of me.”
“Damn,” Moireth breathes. “Well, the good news is—I might know where she is.”
“Where?” My voice cracks like lightning. “Why not start with that?”
Moireth just smiles, sly. “Everywhere and nowhere. Omnipresent. She’s between time and space. Hiding in a pocket—just need to find which one.”
Caspian groans, eyes still darting around. “Somewhere Mediterranean, if I had to guess. Maybe the Strait of Messina. I hate it here. No offense, Harbinger of Final Silence, but I’m scared as fuck down here. And I know Ione would be, too. You need to put up some lights. Or, like,glowing fish. Something.”
I chuckle, low and bitter. The smallest drop of warmth slips back into me.
But when I look at my hands, the blood is there—trickling between my fingers. Not mine. His.
Ambrose.
I’ll tear that mage to pieces. No—death is too kind. Too clean. I’ll keep him alive. Cage him in silence and darkness, and visit him from time to time, just to watch the rot take him. Let his mind turn itself inside out in the absence of light.
I smile. “Meet me in the Atacama in three days.”
Chapter thirty-seven
Something's Not Right
Ione
"Ican'trememberwhatI was thinking about." I say to Ambrose over dinner.
"You were talking about your sea shells, cutie." He smiles at me. "Don't you remember?"
"No, that's what I just said." I snapped. "I'm tired."
"Ok." He watches as I walk out of the kitchen, unmoving.
My feet stop in the hall, across from his potions room. What was I supposed to be doing? I'm getting frustrated, irritated that I can't seem to recall. Someone was talking to me today, I can feel hands on my body. A kiss on my lips. Who was that? Someone important to me. I had feelings that were…what were they?
It's sometime later when Ambrose joins me in the room. He places one arm over me and cuddles up close. "Sleeping?"
"I was," I sigh. "Before someone came stomping into the room."
He laughs. "Want to hear a story then?"
