Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Citrine
Chaos breaks out around me, voices shouting above one another.
“Mylah needs to examine your hand,” Willow presses.
“You can’t leave now,” Leda snaps. “Not like this.”
A growl from Aster, his voice dark as he grinds out, “Our focus is getting Nightfall. Not saving the life of one male.”
Echoes of agreement sound around us.
Nightfall is still my focus; it just isn’t my only focus.
As selfish as my reasoning may be, I need Graylen.
He sacrificed himself for me, and I can’t just leave him in the Vale.
Now that we’ve had a chance to recover and have a plan to retrieve a weapon that gives us the upper hand, he’s my priority.
We’ve left him there long enough—I’ve left him there.
And I won’t wait any longer.
I can’t focus on helping get this dagger if I know Graylen is suffering. With my attention divided, how will that help us?
Besides, if it came down to losing the dagger or losing Graylen, I’d choose to lose the dagger. Easily. None of this means anything if the people I care about are lost along the way. I know it’s selfish, but that’s what I’m going to do.
I’ll sacrifice myself to save the innocent in the kingdom, but I won’t sacrifice Graylen. That’s where my selflessness ends. A flaw I’m aware of, but still choose to give in to regardless.
If I searched for the dagger first, who knows how long we could be looking for it. Three season changes? Seven? All while Graylen suffers at the hands of Vidaris.
I won’t allow it.
I meet all of their gazes, the eyes of people I’ve come to trust. Brielle, who has supported me from the moment I met her. Calix, who has believed in me and stood by my side.
And Leda, who pushed me away and assumed the worst about me. Leda, my sister, who rejected me and kept me at arm’s length. But she’s also the same woman who defended me when Adrian showed up. The very person who has slowly begun to let me in.
“How did you see where Nightfall was?” Aster demands, positioning himself between Willow and me. She shoves him out of the way, shooting him a glare.
“Maybe you should sit down.” Sidra’s gentle voice drifts from behind me.
I ignore them, my eyes falling to where the shard remains on the ground. As the voices still rise around me, I tear off a piece of cloth from the bottom of my cloak with my teeth. Carefully, I use it to pick up the jagged white sliver, wrapping it tightly.
When I look back up, my gaze finds Leda, and a quiet understanding passes between us.
She holds a hand up, silencing those around us.
I briefly look around, taking in the curious glances from the villagers.
My voice is steady and low as I say, “I felt his pain. If any of you would’ve felt it, you wouldn’t let him stay there. I can’t go to Crea knowing what’s happening to him.”
Brielle takes a step toward me. “Lu—”
Leda bares her teeth, causing Brielle’s eyes to widen. Brielle may be a warrior, may be far older than Leda, but Leda is also her princess. Just as I am.
“Let her speak,” Leda says slowly.
I dip my chin, my eyes no doubt blazing with the fire sparking in my chest. “What if Daimon isn’t the only one that could get us into the Vale?
” I begin, the plan building in my mind like rocks being stacked atop each other.
“Of course, ushering dozens of souls out and freeing them would be too risky.”
Leda’s eyes darken, and she smirks, catching on.
“But we could test it. On one soul.” My nostrils flare as the words pour out of me.
“How would we do something like that?” Calix stutters, looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
And maybe I have—maybe I’ve lost my sanity for good. But I don’t care. I don’t need to be sane to save the man I love.
I shake my head. “We can’t.”
Leda huffs out of a hollow laugh and scratches her jaw. “But she can,” she says slowly, filling in the gaps. She nods to the shard wrapped in my hands. “With that.”
Calix shakes his head and spins away, pacing beside us. He brings his hands to his neck, muttering to himself. “Graylen is going to fucking kill me for letting you do this.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but Aster steps toward me. I shift my gaze to him.
“Are we forgetting that our focus is Nightfall?” Aster snaps. “The longer that dagger is with our enemy, the less likely we are to get it back. We don’t know what their use could be for it, but we know that it’s our only shot at taking Moros down for good.”
His eyes bore into me as he adds, “Before he does something our realm can’t survive.”
I steel my spine, meeting his stare without flinching. “And our goal will be to get Nightfall.” My voice comes out low and even. “After I get Graylen.”
“But—” Calix pauses. “You can’t get Graylen alone.”
Leda nods slowly, then takes a step toward me, her eyes strong and jaw set. “I’ll be there,” she says abruptly. “I’ll go with them to the border just as we planned and wait with Zephyr and Adrian.”
My chest tightens. She believes in me—believes that I can do this. It’s almost enough to make me want to hop on Zeph right this moment and fly out of here.
Leda nods to me. “I’ll bring Graylen back with me so he can—”
“No,” I rush out. No. I’m not leaving his side—not sending him to a place I won’t be. Graylen is strong and nearly as stubborn as I am. He wouldn’t agree to waiting in a healer’s cottage sipping warm broth while I walk straight into the lion’s den with Adrian.
I huff out a grated laugh. Graylen would likely rather be tossed back into the Vale than let me go back to Crea alone with Adrian.
“Graylen stays with me,” I hiss, daring anyone to say otherwise.
Finally, Leda lets out a long sigh. “It could work, but how do we know this isn’t a set-up?”
It could be. But that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
“Even if it is set up, his pain was real.” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat. “But I have to try.”
Maybe saving Graylen is selfish—maybe it’s putting my needs above the kingdom’s—but I can’t go to Crea without him. I can’t focus on getting Nightfall knowing where he is.
“He goes to the castle with me,” I add, stronger this time.
I’ll be damned if I let him out of my sight again.
“Small problem,” Calix says, one of his brows raised. “You still have to get to the castle to get the dagger. How are you going to do that?”
“I’ll go the way I left.” The corners of my mouth twitch upward. Calix eyes me warily, as do Leda and Brielle. “I become Amira again.”