“I hope you didn’t have a fondness for your tattoos.” She juts her lower lip out and tilts her head to the side. “I know how you Aegis can be about your little markings.”
My nostrils flare as I fight to keep conscious, her gaze hungry to get a reaction from me.
“Oh.” She laughs, the sound crackly and rough. “You can’t see it, can you? Here, let me show you.”
She waves her hand, and shadows pool on the ground, theinky darkness crawling into the shape of a door in front of me. Slowly, it morphs into a mirror, reflecting an image of myself.
My strength wanes, and I let my head fall forward, unable to hold it up any longer. But sharp nails dig into my scalp, and my head is ripped back, forcing me to look at the shadowy reflection of myself.
It takes me a minute to focus on what’s in front of me. The first thing I see is Vidaris standing beside me, her hand gripping my hair and a cruel smile on her face. She angles my head down, and I catch a glimpse of my arm.
Bile rises in my throat, and it takes every ounce of strength I have left to control my emotions. My skin has already healed, so it’s hard to tell if the dried blood is from me or the sky above. But what makes ice spread through my veins is the remains of my flesh.
My tattoos have been slashed apart; the black markings crossed out by puffy red scars. Lunaria’s name—gone. Every swirl that meant something, every curve and loop—torn apart. Shredded.
Scars mar my flesh, and I don’t think they’re ever going to go away. My vision sways again, the edges tinted with darkness. This time, I let myself succumb to weightlessness.
Awareness slowly sinks into my body, bringing my mind alive and present. I’m back in the sea of stars, sleep still clutching my physical body while my mind slips into a dream state.
Aegis don’t dream like this—with an awareness within slumber. This is Nox territory; it’s not something I should be able to do. Last time, things were hazy, like my mind was only partially aware of where I was.
But not thistime.
My thoughts are clear, my senses alert. Like I’m trulyhere. Wherever here is. I spin around, my body freed from gravity and floating in the Divine Constellation. The last time I was here…
Lunaria.
Did she bring me here?
I spin around, looking for that wild smile and those fiery eyes.
“Lu?”I reach for the connection between us, the one that was cut off the moment I got locked inside the Vale, and feel a faint echo of our bond. Quiet, but there.
As much as I feared this just being another torture device designed by the Goddess of Vengeance, this string tying me to Lu isn’t something Vidaris could duplicate. She may be able to infiltrate my mind, but she can’t touch my soul. And that’s where this connection has buried itself—within the safety of my soul, winding around my Essence and binding me to the most incredible woman I have ever met.
The skin on my neck prickles as if someone is watching me—the weight of a gaze pressing into my back causes me to slowly turn around.
My lips part when I see bright hazel eyes.
The only thing I can make out is her familiar irises. She’s wrapped in shadows, her build and height the same, but her hair billows off of her as tendrils of darkness—as if she were made entirely of shadows.
I try to say something, but nothing comes out.
“Graylen.”Her sweet voice floats into my mind, sending a shiver down my spine.“Are you my mind’s way of bringing me comfort?”
Oh, Lu.My brave girl.
I do the only thing I can think of to prove to her that I’mme. Slowly, I float toward her, my body gliding through the night sky. I don’t stop until I’m close enough to touch her, our bodies gravitating toward each other.
“It’s me, Lunaria,”I say into her mind.“You brought me here.”
She blinks, those wispy shadows billowing off of her and veiling her expression. It only takes one single breath for her to move. Her arms shoot up, reaching for the embrace I long for.
My hands glide toward her waist, eager to feel her, to ground myself with the weight of her beneath my hands.
But as if we’re worlds apart, my arms bang into an invisible barrier, stopping me from touching her. Lu must feel the same thing because her body is propelled backward, putting distance between us.
“We can’t touch here, can we?”There’s desperation in her voice, and I wish I could ease it, wish I could tell her everything will be okay. But I can’t lie to her. We both know that nothing is as it should be right now.
