Chapter 52
“The dark shadows,” I repeated.
“Yes. The most powerful concentrated area of the dark shadows would be the shadow storm itself.”
Shadow storm? My thoughts were raging, my mind working frantically to stay one step ahead of Gerard.
But everything he was revealing to me shattered what I thought I knew. My confidence was broken.
Make a plan, I told myself. Make a plan!
An army was here, attacking the Shadow Court. Varius’s people. My people.
But I knew how to break the curse. I could end this.
I needed to somehow take the bloodstone from Gerard. I had Wraith Killer on me, and I knew I could best Gerard in a fight. I had done it before.
But I didn’t know if I could kill him. Not with an army about to burst through the doors.
And if I didn’t kill him, he could just travel through the shadows. As soon as I stole the bloodstone from him, he would know what I was about to do. He would teleport to the shadow storm and stop me.
“We have to leave, Sybelle,” Gerard was saying as he grabbed my wrist again. “We don’t have much time now.”
I nodded quickly. “I know.” I had to get away from him. I needed to talk to Azure, to form a plan with her, but I couldn’t do that with him listening. “I just—I can’t leave without Ramia.”
Not a lie. I would never leave without her.
His lips thinned, and I knew he was about to suggest I leave her here.
“I will not abandon her to be slaughtered!” I shouted. Let him think I was referring to the brutal unseelie fae.
In truth, I feared what the Earthen soldiers would do to her.
Gerard sighed. “Fine. Let’s go get her.”
I shook my head. “You can’t. The castle is enchanted. It will sense your ill intent and it won’t let you pass through its doors.”
Gerard’s eyes narrowed.
“Trust me!” I pleaded. “It did the same thing to me when I first got here. When you open a door, it sends you wherever it thinks you need to go. But it trusts me now. I can get through. Let me go to my rooms and fetch her, and I’ll return to you. I promise.”
He held my gaze for a long moment. He knew I could not lie to him.
And I would be back. I had to return in order to get the bloodstone from him.
Somehow.
He nodded tersely. “Be quick. I will wait for you.”
Relief filled my chest, and I gave him a quick smile and squeezed his hand in mine. Then, I took off toward the door, half expecting him to snatch my arm and stop me.
But he didn’t.
Please, please, please, I thought, internally begging the castle to be on my side. When I opened the door, my own chambers awaited me.
The knots in my stomach loosened slightly as I cast one last reassuring smile over my shoulder. Gerard only offered me a grim nod in return.
I stepped over the threshold and eased the door shut. Roaring filled my ears, but I kept my hand on the knob and held it there while I counted to ten. Inside, my pulse hammered with each panicked breath I took.
“Please keep him away from here,” I whispered to the castle. “ Please read his intentions. He wants to destroy this court. He wants to destroy my husband. Please keep him away. ”
Slowly, I released the handle, and I could have sworn I heard the faint click of the locking mechanism engaging.
I blinked, eyes wide. I hadn’t known the doors could lock. But perhaps I’d imagined it.
Another deep breath.
I turned and faced the room, searching for Ramia or Enzira. My heart sank when I realized the room was empty.
Well, shit.
Chewing on my lower lip, I thought quickly, then hurried over to my pouch of gemstones.
“Azure, are you there?” I asked, clutching the amber tightly in my palm.
“Sybelle! Thank the gods. I’ve been trying to stay quiet so as not to distract you. Is that horrible captain gone? What in all the realms is he doing here? Where are you right now? An entire army of human soldiers appeared out of nowhere, and ? —”
“I know. It’s a bit of a long story.” Azure had only been able to hear the words uttered from my lips, so I quickly filled her in on the most essential information I’d gleaned from Gerard. When I mentioned the death of my father—by Orla’s hand—I faltered, my chest cinching painfully.
“Holy gods. Sybelle, I—I’m so sorry.”
I nodded. An unexpected lump of emotion tightened my throat. Father’s death was no great loss to me. And yet… I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to him. Or utter the many things I’d kept buried inside for so many years.
Now, I would never get that chance .
Because of Orla.
I shook my head, pushing aside my emotions to focus on a plan that was forming. I grabbed my pouch of gemstones and shoved it in my bodice, wedging it between my breasts. I had no idea which ones I would need, so it seemed like a good idea to bring them all.
“Azure,” I said. “Do you know where the shadow storm is?”
“Yes. I had to fly west to avoid getting sucked into it. It’s like a massive tornado, tearing apart the lower towns of the kingdom.”
I thought of the refugees—the fae families who had been escorted into the castle. They had likely fled such a storm.
Were they safe now? If the army breached the gates, all those innocent fae—the mothers, the children—would die.
I had to stop this.
“I—I think I might have a way to end all this.” I took a shaky breath. “Are you with me?”
“Of course,” she said at once. “Sybelle, I am with you to the end. I trust you implicitly. Just tell me what you need me to do.”
Heat stung my eyes, and I blinked rapidly, finding it difficult to swallow.
“Thank you, dear friend. For now, I need you to stay out of sight. Gerard doesn’t know about you, and we need to keep it that way.
I’ll get him outside of the castle. Stay close by.
And, when I say go, I need you to come get me.
” I paused and took a breath. “For this plan to work… you’ll have to fly us into the heart of the shadow storm. ”
Azure only paused for a moment before she said, “Very well. I’m assuming this has to do with breaking the curse?”
“Yes. Are you able to do it?” If I wasn’t certain the shadows couldn’t harm her, I would have never asked her to do this.
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Az.” I glanced at the door, anxiety twisting my heart. Where were Ramia and Enzira? Had the Earthen soldiers made it inside the castle ?
Were my two friends already dead?
And what about Varius? He was strong, yes, but even he wasn’t indestructible. With a sizable army and the element of surprise, he could be overpowered.
Panic seized my chest, and I found it difficult to breathe.
I wouldn’t get to tell him goodbye. I would never get to tell him how much he meant to me.
There wasn’t time.
Because it had all finally come together in my mind.
Until one of my kind gives up her life for yours, this curse will live on.
The shadowstone and bloodstone were only part of the curse. Gerard’s life was only part of it.
There was one last crucial step. Without it, the curse would live on.
My life had to be sacrificed. I was the last piece.
The witches came from the Earthen Court. My court. I had their blood running through my veins, even if it was diluted with hundreds of years of human blood.
Tislora had confirmed it. The texts I’d read had confirmed it.
I was descended from the same witches who had been slaughtered by Varius’s ancestor.
By the stone of shadow and blood, I make this vow: Until one of my kind gives up her life for yours, this curse will live on, even as my line lives on.
Three pieces to the puzzle: stone of shadow and blood, a life willingly given, and Jessinda’s bloodline.
When the stones were destroyed, Gerard had said only a piece of the curse would be broken.
Varius had thought only one of the three things was needed to break the curse. But in truth, all three had to be accomplished.
The stones had to be destroyed.
I had to willingly give up my life for Varius .
And Jessinda’s heir needed to be killed.
Once I was dead—and the stones were destroyed with me—then all that was left was Gerard. And Jessinda’s curse would finally end.
I had to do this. There was no other way.