Embry sighed and placed her other hand on Evelina’s shoulder, forcing her to face her again. “You’re not dead and this isn’t Caelum,” Embry said firmly. “Breathe.”
Evelina’s pulse still raced, but she took a steadying inhale with her mother.
Embry smiled and cupped Evelina’s cheeks. “Let me explain.” She dropped her hands and tilted her face toward the stars. Evelina glanced up, too, still wondering why she didn’t recognizethe night sky.
“The constellations are all backwards here. It’s like we’re on the other side of the stars and we’re looking at it upside down. You’re among the very few that have been brought here, a place where no one can travel unless chosen.” Embry looked away from the sky, bringing her gaze to Evelina’s. “This is the Celestial Plane, the dwellings of the Divine.”
Evelina sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes bouncing between the unfamiliar sky and her mother. “Why am I here?”
Embry tucked a stray piece of hair behind Evelina’s ear, her touch light and warm. “You are not the only one who was brought here.”
A gasp came from behind Evelina, causing her to jump. She spun around and found Carwyn lying on the ground. Panic gripped her chest, pressing down like a boulder.
Carwyn’s eyes found the two of them standing beside her. She scrambled to her feet, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
“Mother?” Her gaze flickered over to Evelina. “Evie?” She didn’t run to her mother like Evelina had. Instead, she flinched back from her. Shame swirled in her gaze. “What’s happening?” she asked.
Evelina didn’t know how to answer—she wasn’t even sure herself.
“Carwyn,” their mother said gently. “You have been brought to the Celestial Plane.”
The fiery crown had disappeared from above Carwyn’s head. Darkness seemed to cling to her; a shadow followed her every move. Evelina’s eyes dropped to the ground, unable to stand the look of pain in Carwyn’s eyes, a look she didn’t understand. She gasped, finding the grass beneath Carwyn’s feet had decayed.
Her sister took a step forward. The moment her foot touched the ground again, that patch of grass died too.
“Carwyn,” Evelina said, lifting her gaze. “The grass.”
They both looked down. Carwyn backed up, another patch of grass dying, then another and another as she backed up further.
“No.” Her voice was panicked, nothing like the strong and confident ruler she had been at the lux.
“What’s happening?” Evelina turned to their mother, desperate for an answer.
Embry’s eyes were sad as she watched Carwyn. “I think only Carwyn can answer that question.”
Carwyn covered her mouth with her hand, muffling the sobs attempting to break free.
“Carwyn… What have you done?” Evelina whispered.
“I thought Eurydice had given up on us,” Carwyn said in a pleading voice, as if seeking understanding. “We’d been losing for so long—and then when mother got sick, it all but confirmed Eurydice had turned her back on us.” She slowly lifted her gaze to Evelina’s, her voice growing quiet. “I turned to the dark gods for help.”
Evelina froze. It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.
Carwynalwayshad stronger faith in Eurydice than anyone she had ever known. It was Carwyn who said Eurydice would guide them to victory only moments ago at the lux.
“I was having horrible nightmares every night about mother dying before she got sick.” Her gaze flickered over to Embry. “And then when shedidfall ill, it felt like my nightmares were becoming reality. None of the healers could save her, and when the Sacred said it was because the land was dying, I had to do something. I couldn’t sit back and donothing.
“So I asked the dark gods for help. I prayed to them to save Mother, and they listened. The price was a small portion of my Essence—nothing compared to saving our mother. And for a few hours…she got better. I thought it had worked.” She swallowed, her eyes dropping to the ground. “But then she got worse. Right up until the very end.”
Evelina could shake her sister for being so foolish, though she knew her intentions came from a good place. “You didn’t specify how long Mother would get better for, did you?” she asked slowly.
Carwyn shook her head, her shoulders dropping.
The dark gods were unpredictable. Cunning and selfish. They knew exactly how to take advantage of even the most brilliant minds in their most desperate moments.
“But it was a mistake,” Carwyn rushed to explain. “I can still be queen.”
Their mother pulled her in close, wrapping her in a hug.
