If he knows I’m here, then he may know what we’re looking for. Which means he may moveit to another location. If we figure out where it is, the last thing we want is for him to move it to the furthest corner of Crea.
“Who are you?” he whispers, stepping closer.
I press myself against the small table, expecting it to screech as I bump into it, but it stays perfectly still. His shadows creep closer, hissing like snakes as they stalk toward my feet.
My muscles tense as my vision begins to blur. Every fiber of my being feels as if it’s been pulled—yankedaway—toward a force I can’t escape. Everything around me is dark, my heart pounding as I try to breathe.
I take a deep breath, my nostrils flaring as a familiar scent wraps around me like a warm blanket on a chilly winter night—the smell of the air right before rain falls.
The dusty room shifts and another image begins to take form.
Green eyes stare back at me. Eyes that shine like gleaming emeralds—a beacon to my wandering soul. They draw me toward him, anchoring me as I float through nothingness.
The image becomes clearer, but I already know it’s him. I would know those eyes—that scent—anywhere.
“Graylen?” I breathe as his entire face slowly morphs into view.
Hedoesn’t hear me—doesn’t see me—but it’s him.
A single tear rolls down his cheek, streaking through dirt and?—
Nausea barrels into me as I realize it’s blood smeared across his face, no skin visible even as the tear falls. It’s a mixture of dark, dried blood and bright, wet new.
“Uh, Lu?” a warm, light voice calls through the haze, followed by a press of a hand against my shoulder.
I cling to the image of Graylen’s face, willing my soul to stay with him. But the hand on my shoulder squeezes, and I find myself standing in front of Aster again, Calix positioned beside me, watching me closely.
“You spaced out for a second,” Calix says slowly. “Everything good?”
I swallow, the sound of crackling fire and laughter filling my ears. When I look up from the piece of the blade, I find everyone watching me, waiting for a response. It takes me a few breaths to blink through the haze, to feel the rocky terrain beneath my feet.
The scent of fresh rain still lingers in the air.
“The shard showed me something,” I croak, my voice hoarse.
Not just something, butsomewhere. Someone.
My mind races as I try to make sense of the two visions I saw. Moros in Crea and Graylen in the Vale. Why would the shard show me both? I can’t stop the swell of hope that bursts through my chest.
Nyx’s words float into my mind, whispering against my ear.Remember—Nightfall can pierceanydarkness.
And the darkest thing I know…is the Vale.
What if this shard could do more than lead me to Crea?
“It showed me a room—somewhere I’ve been before.” My hands tremble and squeeze into fists. I start with what I saw first, trying to stay calm. But my blood thrums in anticipation, and my words come out rushed. “At the castle in Crea.”
My eyes drift down to the pearly white shard in my hand,burning like a hot piece of coal against my palm. This was different from when I touched the cave wall—different from the crystal-clear awareness I had with Nyx.
What the shard showed me was hazier, like I was looking through a foggy lens.
“What are you saying?” Leda says slowly, pressing closer.
“I’m saying—” I take a shaky breath, my pulse pounding, “—I know exactly where Nightfall is.”
The shard in my hand suddenly flares with warmth, searing into my flesh with a violent hiss. I gasp and throw it to the ground, my palm itching and burning and numb. Willow rushes over to me, grabbing my hand and examining it.
“By the gods,” she mumbles. “I’ll get Mylah to bring some salve.”
