“Baile was attacked by the rebels,” Carwyn said slowly.
Shock rippled through the room. Ren stepped forward. Daimon could practically see the wheels turning in his mind—he knew there was something Carwyn wasn’t saying.
“Blessed Divine,” Lyria gasped. “Another attack?”
Seretha stepped forward. “The tides are changing. Safety behind the borders is no longer guaranteed to us.”
“That is not all,” said Carwyn. Her voice broke and she closed her eyes for a brief moment. “Word has come that Evelina was there at the time of the attack.”
Daimon watched as Maliena laid a hand across Annora’schest, as if stilling her from running out. Annora’s eyes were already full of tears, anticipating the worst.
“Evelina?” echoed Neve hollowly, looking to Daimon. “Was she harmed?”
Carwyn braced herself, then said, “She did not make it out, but she saved the village.”
A wave of disbelief rolled through the room, then a cascade of emotions. Lyria fell to her knees, her gentle face scrunched in despair. Ren quickly dropped beside her, holding her in his arms. Maliena was staring at Daimon with an inscrutable look as Neve turned all his attention to Annora, stunned and rigid at his side. Seretha hissed with a contempt so terrible the guards trembled by the door.
“May Eurydice smite the rebels who did this,” Seretha cursed. “May she lay waste to every one of them.”
Keir and Senna raised their fists to their chests as they bowed their heads in respect to this wish.
Carwyn’s tearful eyes blazed. She clenched her fists. “May it be done,” she rasped, her voice raw, “in honor of my sister.”
The words struck Daimon in his heart. His shadows writhed just beneath the surface of his soul, begging to be let out, to taste the sweetness of death as they rained darkness onto the rebels. He had no mercy left to give.
Daimon cleared his throat, clinging desperately to any shred of strength that remained in him as he said, “We should still search?—”
The doors to the throne room burst open, nearly torn from their hinges. His shadows felt the light surging close. His entire body froze—terrified that his hope was a figment of his imagination.
The sight of her bright hazel eyes nearly knocked him over. Their gazes met, and he briefly wondered if he had died and passed into Caelum. Or perhaps he was hallucinating, seeing what he so desperatelywanted to see.
Lyria’s gasp echoed through the room as everyone else froze in place.
“I’m here,” the figure said breathlessly.
Forty-One
Daimon
The throne roomwas deathly silent. Everyone was frozen in time, their breaths held as Evelina’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
Daimon’s head was spinning. He didn’t even notice Brielle standing behind her until Evelina took a small step forward. Her skin was pale and smeared with dirt. She fell to her knees, her body trembling.
“You’re alive,” he whispered in disbelief, his throat hoarse.
His words set the room into motion.
Everyone jumped to their feet. Carwyn seemed spellbound, as if struggling to decide who they all needed more right now: the leader, or the sister. Lyria raced to Evelina and met her on the floor, knee-to-knee as they hugged. He watched the way Evelina’s mouth tilted downward and her hands shook as she embraced her sister. Lyria’s delicate arms held Evelina with a protectiveness only a sister could possess.
Ren ran over next, helping Evelina back to her feet and hugging her fiercely.
No one spoke as the siblings embraced. They had risen from their seats but were not yet moving, as if waiting for things tofall apart at any second. It wasn’t until they were all mostly calm that anyone dared disrupt the fragile moment.
“While we are all certainly glad to see you well, Princess Evelina,” said Seretha, drawing out the words, “we would all still like to know how you have made it back to us.”
“As you can see, I didn’t die during the attack,” Evelina said softly, her voice hoarse. Ren was close to her side, looking ready to catch her at any moment. “I was blasted back from the town’s square—by my light or the force of the shadows against it, I’m not sure. My Essence was drained, so much so that no one could hear me calling for help. Until Brielle came across me.”
“Vero spotted her from the sky. We rode back as fast as we could,” Brielle said, her gaze on Daimon.
