CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE #3
“No. He is where he needs to be,” was all Kodhan offered, which did nothing to smooth away Gideon’s concern.
By the beat of silence that followed, I surmised a conversation was being held mind to mind. And for once, I was glad not to be involved.
I wondered if Diana knew. Would she be at Maverick’s side when he tore Kodhan’s father apart, limb by limb? Or would she be hidden, waging her own battle with the rest of Maverick’s court, clawing for the Second’s position before his blood ran cold?
It didn’t matter. At least, not to me. Kodhan, Brannon, and Theia could worry about those things. I wouldn’t waste my potentially limited time on speculation.
I needed power. Needed to break my curse. Halt my descent into madness. That was what mattered. The only thing that mattered.
“We need to go. I can answer more questions while we walk,” Gideon urged, and I was the first one to step forward as he led the way. Bile rose up my throat.
The last of the Starlight Trials. I would either conquer Wit, or have my soul played by the Hearth of Song. Death watched me through every clouded window. Waiting to collect.
Shadows quivered behind a nearby pillar. Agitated. Just like I felt. You will not have it. Not yet.
Brannon followed close behind, but Kodhan and Theia hesitated, still engaged in their silent conversation.
Theia scoffed, shooting Kodhan a withering glare laced with disgust and disappointment. Reminding me of their argument in the tower. She then stomped towards us, chin held high.
“Should I bother asking what that was about?” I whispered to Brannon.
He grimaced. “No.”
Gideon, catching every bit of it, wisely said nothing. He merely rested a hand on the pommel of his sword while he led us through the castle, his back rod straight.
I wanted to tell him everything. Ached to give him the truth he deserved.
But now wasn’t the time. Not when prying ears could be listening.
We passed several maids, stewards, and cooks, all who gawked openly at us, or sneered with clear intonation that we were certainly not the group they hoped would win.
The northern exit of the castle was left open for us, so I expected a line of cheering people trailing to the Dome, with a mountain of rubble to accompany them. But as soon as my foot touched grass, a shiver seized my spine.
And it had nothing to do with the cold air kissing my cheeks.
Not only had the tower been completely eviscerated, but the Dome was also nowhere to be seen. Any sign of existence regarding either building had disappeared, and in their wake lay a sprawling forest spanning easily several hundred acres.
An entire portion of the castle, gone. Replaced with long, spindly leafless trees, looming high above our heads like towering entities waiting to devour us whole.
A creeping suspicion nagged at me. One that warned against entering the forest at all.
For this was not a forest teeming with life—not like the one housing the wisteria tree. No, even from a distance, this forest spoke of death. Not a sound could be heard from within—no birds, no wildlife. The grey bark of the trees looked like thousands of blank tombstones.
Our names might even already be carved somewhere, I thought. Binding our souls to earth and root forever.
I shivered again, wrapping my arms around myself.
Branches clattered and snapped, and I swore I could hear moaning whispers. Come closer, the trees seemed to chant, dancing on a non-existent wind.
Let us taste your bones and weave your veins like threads of silk.
“Gods almighty,” Gideon croaked, and I almost echoed him. That was why the windows had been tampered with. Maverick didn’t want us seeing the forest growing right under our noses.
“What are you hiding this time?” I asked out loud, as though he could hear me. I was almost certain that he could. The hair on the back of my neck lifted, proof that he really was, somehow.
“Or maybe you’ve finally decided to destroy what’s left of me, before I can pay your price.
Perhaps you’ve revoked my choice on that matter, too.
” All eyes snapped to me, but I didn’t care.
The chill in the air intensified until my breath came out in small clouds.
Beads of ice gathered along the tips of my eyelashes, and someone swore to my left.
I tilted my head up, searching for an explanation written between the stars. They blinked brightly at me, like always. But no guidance could be found in their glow. No glittering compass pointed in the right direction.
I was on my own.
Without any warning, Theia threaded her fingers between mine. “Ready?” she asked, softly.
“No.” Far from it.
Her fingers squeezed. “Me neither.”
I wrenched my attention away from the sky. She beamed at me in a smile that displayed all her teeth. “At least we’re in this together, right?”
Realization hit me square in the chest, further cracking the barrier around my heart. Or what little was left of it. One more hit, and it would burst irreparably.
The stars did send guidance.
But it wasn’t in the form of a glittery compass, or a cryptic message inked on paper.
It was in the form of three traitors to the crown.
“Right. Together.”