A tree has landed over the roof, caving half of the building in on the back left side. Moss and ivy have overtaken what’s left ofthe outside, covering nearly every inch. Brielle’s jaw tenses as she looks at it.
“Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s see if there’s anything salvageable left in there.”
I try the door, but it’s wedged shut. With a few forceful slams of my shoulder against it, it flies open. I stumble in, catching myself on the first large object I see. A half turned-over shelf.
Old jars lay scattered around the floor, most of them broken.
I bend down, examining them and grabbing a few that look useful. I can almost imagine my mother in here, her soft brown hair folded on top of her head as she runs through tinctures and herbs.
“Leda,” a familiar musical voice whispers, the ghost of the voice I’m thinking about, so present that it almost sounds real.
“Leda, darling,” the voice says again.
Not my imagination.Real.
I whirl around, my breath quickening as my eyes land on the last person I expect to see standing in the doorway of the old healer’s cottage.
My jaw unhinges and I freeze. Because the Queen of Penyth is staring back at me.
“Mother,” I breathe.
Sixty-One
Lapis Lazuli
I liein bed with Graylen, my body spent, my eyelids drifting lazily open and closed. With my heart stitched back together, I finally feel like I’ve found some semblance of peace. The connection to my magic feels loose, but I’m not as scared with Graylen by my side.
It’s been months since I’ve tried to dreamwalk—months since Avery and her mother, Annora, took me into the forest and showed me how. But it isn’t something I could forget—it’s more like a muscle that’s gotten weaker, but it is stillthere. Hopefully.
Finally, I let my eyes shut and focus on my breathing like Annora taught me. There are no Nocturna fae here to help me slip into my dream realm. I try to force my mind to quiet.
Worries of the future swirl around in my head, rising to the surface each time I try to relax. I bat them away, swatting them like buzzing flies.
I let out a long sigh and roll over to my left side.
We fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, but it wasn’t long before I scooted the overly warm Aegis off of me and kicked the blankets partly off to cool down. Graylen faces me now, his features smooth and mouth loose, sleeping peacefully.
Him being here grounds me—keeps me steady. He told me not to let him fall asleep so he could watch over me, but the moment he drifted off, I didn’t have the heart to wake him.
A small grin tugs at my lips as I flip onto my back again.
Nervous energy pulls at my legs, urging me to move—to get up and dosomethingother than lie here.
I try to close my eyes and picture something happy, but the moment I hold the thought in my mind, it dissolves.
I’m too distracted.
Frustrated, I fling the covers fully off of me—earning a grumble from Graylen as he snuggles deeper into the bed.
Soren’s head pokes up over the end of the bed as he sits up from his spot on the floor. He watches me with his all-too-knowing eyes as I slip off the mattress, tossing a small blanket around me. His gaze tracks me as I wander over to the window, and it doesn’t take long for him to join me.
Frigid air seeps in through the panes, and I pull the blanket around my shoulders tighter.
I sit down on the small chaise beneath the window, patting the spot beside me for Soren to join. He eyes it for a second, seeming to weigh if he’ll fit. Instead of hopping up, he nudges my bent legs, pushing until I’ve straightened them out.
The moment I’m settled with my legs sprawled out, he jumps up.
A softoomphwhooshes from me as he plops himself right on top of my legs, resting his head just above my knee.
