Page 82 of Hunger & Harmony

If she and Ryel are both here, what about Ezren? I comb through the crowd, wondering if he’d be shining brighter than usual.

“I saw.” His voice travels from the very back, so far I can’t see him. “Mendax revealed her truth, and there's no doubting an artifact that can't lie.”

For only a moment, my anxiety eases. Only two in the crowd are on my side, but that's more than zero.

“Intentional or not, she is a threat,” Ryel bites back. “A Dissonant through-and-through. Already bonded to our king. Already unraveling our customs.”

His absolutes are undeniably true. Just looking at the glow of this courtroom is wrong. Not a whisper of wrong notes, either, and no Vox Crown’s song. It’s a silent, pleasing mirage. I would be angry, too.

Niko remains silent. While I don’t want to, I lean into the fragments of him tangling with my own thoughts. It’s not like I can truly help it.

“It isn’t like we didn’t know this would happen,” Ryel continues from behind his mask. “Let us not forget the prophecy.”

Niko’s body jerks. Only slightly, but enough for murmurs to burst throughout the crowd. The same words echo around.

Dissonant. Prophecy. Treason.

What prophecy? What treason?

Searing pain arcs out, like an old wound that never healed being ripped further open. It bleeds into my chest, and I grasp myself with a silent gasp. The necklace Niko gave me—the one he fastened onto my neck again—pulses against my heartbeat.

A web of sensations jumble and thrash between us. Ryel cut deeper than any others; that much I can tell. I keep my hand steady against my chest and search for him in the crowd again. He must’ve receded.

“We must break it!”

More voices chime in, their sentiments mirroring that.

“Break the Dissonant bond!”

“Destroy the bond before it destroys us.”

“We implore you, Your Majesty!”

Each shout reverberates in my mind. Every insult feels like law. The assembly closes on a bitter note.

After hours drag by, and I find myself alone in the first light of day, I still hear them so clearly.

Niko’s silence is almost louder. I don’t know if I can forgive him, even if I understand. I haven’t felt this alone since before leaving home.

I checked my phone earlier, and the stillness crushes me. Why can’t my parents blow up my voicemail to berate my decisions? Why won’t Viola text me that she told me so?

Dawn prickles against my skin. Light already behaved so strangely on Mount Umbra, and now it’s worse. I’ve made it worse, haven’t I? Because the sun should never kiss these rocky ranges.

Everything is my fault.

I raise my hand to the sky to shield my eyes from daylight. To my left, a glimmer catches my attention, and my brows furrow.

Light dances off the bronze statue, mesmerizing amongst limestone dust. It stands alone in this barren courtyard, and as I slowly approach, I wonder if anyone else has greeted it recently.

As I circle around to see it’s a man with etched jewels and formalwear, I hum thoughtfully. It reminds me of something. I stop in front of it, looking down for a placard. Nothing.

“Who are you?” I ask softly, leaning in to get a better look.

That’s when I spot the small sign around the back. Why would it be back there? Like no one wanted to know.

I step around the imposing statue and have to crouch down to read the small print.

“The Vampire,” I whisper.