My stomach sinks as the familiar buzzing fills my ears again. The connection I have to the piece of this blade… Is it the blood that runs in my veins? My connection to the gods, as Nyx has claimed?
I swallow thickly. Nyx could have fabricated everything.
My mouth opens to tell Leda what I’m feeling, but Aster holds the shard up—inadvertently bringing it slightly closer to me. That’s all it takes.
The force drawing me in yanks my feet closer until it’s too late to stop myself from reaching out and plucking the shard from Aster’s hand. The moment my skin makes contact with it, I see a hazy image slowly roar to life around me.
Twenty-Three
Prehnite
My vision is hazy,like a screen separates me from the room. I blink several times, the image slowly becoming clearer like a disturbed pond settling into a smooth, glassy surface.
Dusty old shelves surround me—a small room, lined with books covered in cobwebs. There’s a small candle in the middle of the room, flickering against an invisible breeze and casting shadows along the walls. Gold paint shimmers from behind the webs, marking the spines of each tome.
I take a deep breath, my senses muted but aware enough to breathe in the scent that only surrounds old parchment.
Something stirs in my chest—a familiarity with this place.
A book has been left open on a small table in the center of the cramped room. I lightly pad over to it and peer down, reading the words on the open page.
Divinos Constellation,
The largest and oldest constellation created by Eurydice andAstoria. Also referred to as the Story of the Divine. A star representing each god and goddess, the only constellation that changes brightness depending on which god or goddess has the most power.
Eurydice’s star will always be the brightest, for she is the Keeper of Souls on Caelum.
My eyes scroll to the bottom of the page, finding another entry.
Vulpes Constellation,
Also known as the Winning Piece. A tale about Vidaris’s greatest weapon that she hid in the sky until she’s ready to use it, though the constellation hasn’t been seen in centuries.
Something about this place…
I spin around, my eyes searching the shelves. A title grabs my attention, and I tilt my head to read it written across the spine:The Healers: Creatures of the Wood. My breath catches, trapped in my lungs. I find another title.An Aegis Fae Training Guide.
This room—I’ve been here before.
When Graylen was the last person I wanted to see each day, he led me to a small room—a room filled with secrets about Penyth, about the fae and their magic. It’s no coincidence that this room is in the castle in Crea—the same place Moros is.
My teeth grind against one another as reality comes crashing down around me. Moros has Nightfall in the castle.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I spin around just as a figure shuffles into the room. His hair is peppered with gray, just as it was the last time I saw him. He wears a navy tunic threaded with swirls of gold, a necklace with large jewels hanging from his neck.
Moros. The man who’s told the kingdom his name is Wyman, a wealthy duke who was brother to the late King Avalon and uncle to the current king—Adrian. The last human king who has fed off of darkness to remain alive for centuries.
A man who let himself become corrupted by a vile evil, opening the door for Vidaris to have a foothold in our realm.
His head is down, and he’s mumbling to himself as he reads a book. I take a step back.
He freezes.
My lungs constrict as his gaze flicks up, his eyes searching the room—looking right through me. A sneer curls his lips and shadows gather in his hands as he snaps the tome shut.
“Who’s watching me?” he murmurs, his shadows slowly leaking to the floor and pooling into the room. They look…wrong. Streaked with crackling light and giving off a foul stench.
His gaze settles near me—slightly over my shoulder, but far closer than I would like.
