My heart skips a beat.
“Nightfall,” I breathe. “How?—”
“The dreadwolf belongs with Lunaria,” my mother explains quietly. My gaze snaps to her. “She did it. She found the blade, and this brilliant familiar brought it to us. How he made it all the way to the palace to find me, I still can’t figure out.”
Surprise ripples through every fiber of my being.
“How do you know that?” I ask, my eyes bouncing between her and the giant white beast.
She smiles sadly. “He told me.”
My mother has always had a knack for connecting with creatures of the land—she always explained it like she was an extension of Penyth once she gained the crown—but communicating in this way is far deeper than I’ve seen her do in the past.
“His name is Soren,” she continues. “And he brought me a message.”
Soren whines, lowering his head.
My magic evaporates, and Brielle relaxes. This creature isn’t a danger to us or my mother. He’s on our side. Despite that, my heart still beats wildly in my chest. Why does my sister always find herself involved with terrifying beasts?
“Lunaria and Graylen need our help.” My mother’s voice waivers, but she holds her chin up. “And we’re going to help them.”
Seventy-Three
Nuummite
Cold,wet stone bites into the newly opened wound on my palm from Nightfall. A steady drip of water accompanies the silence of the dark room.
Even with my eyes adjusted, it’s still nearly impossible to see much beyond my small cell. But the bars surrounding me… Those are impossible to miss.
They fuckinglockedme in adungeon.
It’s hard to tell when things truly went wrong. But I have plenty of time to keep replaying it all.
Adrian with Nightfall stabbed through his chest.
I push myself up, arms trembling and exhausted as I reach a plank position. Fire burns in my chest as I lower myself to the ground, body straight as my arms bend.
Opal smiling with Adrian’s blood staining her hands.
Another push-up, then another lower down. One after the other, despite my trembling arms and empty, clenching stomach.
There isn’t much else to do while confined to a small cell for…days—weeks? With the perpetual night clinging to the dark palace, it’s hard to tell.
But I refuse to let my body grow weak.
A ragged breath squeezes from my lungs as I press up again.
Graylen walking at Opal’s side, the man I love nothing but an empty shell.
“Stay strong and don’t stop fighting,” I mutter breathlessly as I do another push-up.
No one responds. Not that I expect anyone to. I’m alone here, or at the very least, if someoneisin here, they aren’t willing to answer me.
My elbows bend once more as I lower myself toward the ground. This time, my arms shake so hard that they give out, and my cheek crashes into cold stone.
“My darling weapon.” A voice slithers into the darkness, curling around my senses and digging into my skin. “Have you missed me?”
Footsteps echo off the damp walls, and I hoist myself off of the ground. I have to use the bars in front of me for leverage, my body shaking, on the edge of starvation and adrenaline.
