Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
The light waits
nik
Pale, watery sunlight soaked the floorboards. I was surprised there wasn’t a track in the wood from all the pacing I’d done. My legs refused to be still. Too many thoughts churned through my mind. Too much blood pumped through my chest.
Adalia emerged from her kitchen, a mug of steaming coffee in her hand. “You’re going to make a hole in the floor if you keep up with that.”
I stopped pacing to take the cup she offered. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to be still when Sapphire is in Oscuro . . . with Snake.”
Adalia winced at the name, the sound of it painful after a year spent believing he was truly dead—lost to the dark abyss. The only place a soul could rest if it was killed beyond the death it had already succumbed to.
I’d watched the way the arrow buried deep into his back. I’d been the one who shot him. I saw the way his body fell to the dust, heavy and solid. But he was back—crowned, breathing, ruling Oscuro.
Matthias stood at the window, looking out at the rising sun, presumably deep in thought. We’d only been home for a few hours, trying to figure out a new plan moving forward.
Adalia curled up on the lounge chair, auburn hair spilling about her shoulders. “How in all seven districts is he still alive?”
Matthias twisted, hands in his pockets as he sauntered over to sit beside her. “I don’t know, but I’d like to find out.”
I despaired over Snake's sudden reappearance from the Abyss, yes, but it was thoughts of Sapphire that plagued me.
I'd almost found her, only for her to slip from my grasp . . . again. The thought of her in Oscuro gnawed at my gut. I’d been there for all of a few hours and felt it sucking my soul from my body.
She's been in there for over a week. I could only imagine how she must feel.
I began pacing again. Adalia's eyes tracked me. I could sense it. “We have to go back. I can’t leave her there.”
“You also can’t just storm back through the gates.” Her voice was soft, but firm.
I paused long enough to take a sip of coffee. “I can’t stay here either.”
Her brows drew together. “You have the advancement ceremony in a few days. You’ve been studying for months.”
Work had become a distant thing—paper, duties, titles—all meaningless noise. I couldn’t think about any of it. None of it mattered, not when Sapphire was so close. I’d been within reach of her, and now she was trapped in the palace with the one man Matthias and I had both sworn was dead.
I placed the cup down on the table and leaned my hip against the edge. “What’s the point of being a Lightner soldier if I couldn’t even protect the one woman I’d been asked to protect.”
“Nik—”
“The king told me to bring her home.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “He entrusted me . . . I can’t fail again.”
Matthias cleared his throat. “But making rash decisions right now won’t help anyone.”
He was right. They both were. I had to be smart about this or I’d end up a prisoner in Oscuro, or worse—True Dead. But if I was honest with myself, the moment I locked eyes with Sapphire there was no hope for me. She’d pulled me in with a single glance. I was already a prisoner.
I ran a hand over my face. “So how do I get in and out of Oscuro without being seen?”
Adalia glanced up at her prince. “Matthias just needs to figure out some place to winnow in and out to.”
His blue eyes locked on her. “What about Abby?”
“The tattoo artist?” she replied.
Matthias sat up straighter, like he’d truly stumbled on the answer to my problems. “She was always kind and welcoming when I lived there. Probably the only nice thing about Oscuro.”
Part of me didn’t want to hope it was true. If it didn’t go in our favour, I’d be risking not just my life, but Matthias’s too. Still, I couldn’t turn away. I had to try—for her.
I pushed off the table and began pacing again. “Does she live somewhere safe?”
Matthias nodded and rose from the chair. “Last time I was there, she had her own place.”
It was all the answer I needed. “What are we waiting for then?”
Adalia stood next, then made her way to my side. “Nik, wait. Before you go blazing back into Oscuro, what makes you think she will come back with you if you find her?”
My shoulders lifted and fell. I didn’t have the answers. Maybe she’d run. Maybe she’d blame me for leaving her to die. Maybe she’d already forgotten my face.
“I don’t know,” I said, the words coming out rough. “I don’t know what she’ll do.”
She waited, and that silence made it worse.
I raked a hand through my hair, the tension burning through my chest. “I just—I have to believe she’ll want out.
That the offer of something better will be enough.
Because if it’s not, then what am I supposed to do?
Drag her out kicking and screaming?” My voice cracked, half anger, half grief.
“She deserves a choice. Even if she says no.”
Adalia’s expression softened, but she didn’t try to comfort me. She just nodded, slow and understanding.
I exhaled softly, with a shrug. “I don’t even know if she’ll look at me the same. I just . . . need her safe. That’s all I want.”
~~~~~
The world warped unnaturally, then righted itself. I kept my eyes closed for a second, letting my head and body adjust. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to winnowing.
A woman gasped, “Prince?”
I cracked my eyes open. Matthias walked towards a female with a pleasant smile and green eyes—paler than mine. She wore oversized red glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and there wasn’t an inch of exposed skin that wasn’t covered in tattoos.
No wonder Matthias had so many.
“Hello, Abby,” he said as he leaned his hip against the counter.
We were standing in what looked like the front of a small shop.
There was a chair in the corner of the room, a counter—which Abby was sitting behind—and a few books with designs scattered across the top.
Surprisingly, it smelled better than the rest of Oscuro.
Some sort of tea-tree soap and alcohol lingered in the air.
Abby stood from her stool, her eyes still wide with shock. “What are you doing here?”
Matthias folded his arms over his chest, jutting his head in my direction. “My brother Nik here is looking for someone. We didn’t know where else to go.”
She pushed her glasses back up her nose. “If the king finds you here—”
The corner of Matthias’s mouth lifted in a snarl. “You mean that ass wipe, Snake.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
My stomach twisted. The woman from the brothel had told us about Snake, but hearing it spoken out loud from Abby made the air in the room feel thinner. He was really alive. Not far from here. Ruling with a stolen crown of darkness.
“What happened to my father?” Matthias asked, his tone unfazed. Like he didn’t really care about the answer Abby might give.
“Snake shipped him off to some manor further west.”
I dragged my gaze from the framed sketches on the wall—lines of black ink turned into wings, teeth, roses—and huffed.
Abby’s sharp green eyes cut to me. “He convinced almost everyone that the king went mad after Matthias left. That it was best for him to live a quieter life.”
Matthias scoffed. “As if my father ever cared enough about me. Snake just wanted the throne. He always did.”
Abby nodded softly. “I think you’re right.”
“How does he rule?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.
Abby sighed. “He’s the worst, but leaves most of Oscuro well enough alone. As long as he gets his cock wet, and the finest foods Oscuro can offer.”
I cringed, my fists voluntarily clenching.
If he was using Sapphire for his pleasure, I would rip his throat out.
I stayed quiet, jaw tight. The truth in her words stung more than it should’ve.
It seemed like Snake didn’t have any issues taking anything that wasn’t his—crowns, lives, hope—and now he had Sapphire too.
“Anyway, enough about him," Abby muttered. “Who is it you’re looking for?”
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low. Who knew if there were Thorns listening through the cracks. “I’m looking for a woman, her name is Sapphire. She has blue hair, and from the information we gathered, she’s at the palace.”
Abby’s head angled to the side, her brow taut. “Definitely blue hair?”
Matthias answered before I could. “I know it’s an odd request, but could we leave a message with you, and if you happen to see her, could you pass it on?”
“Matthias could winnow in from time to time?” I added.
Abby still looked confused. “So a woman with blue hair?” she said, reiterating her question.
I nodded again. “Yes, her name is Sapphire. I need to speak with her but there are too many Thorns to keep wandering the streets of Oscuro.”
She took a moment to digest the words, and I feared she was going to say no, but she didn't. Instead, she headed through a small doorway, beckoning to Matthias and I.
We followed after her. Near the far side of the room, there was a black leather chair, presumably where clients got inked.
The room smelled stronger of alcohol and soap too.
Green plants littered shelves, and a lamp sat close to the chair giving off a golden glow. We didn’t linger though. She turned left, disappearing through another doorway that opened up into a small living room.
Matthias and I ducked under the frame, and my gaze followed where Abby was pointing. “Do you mean her?”
The room tilted. Abby’s voice blended with Matthias’s until it was a distant hum in the back of my mind.
It was her.
Sapphire.
She slept curled in the small bed across the room, her blanket lifting and settling with each quiet breath. My gaze caught on the mottled purple and blue marks on the side of her arm, and heat poured through my body. She’d been hurt.
My feet wouldn’t move, and my heart thudded so loud I feared it would wake her.
I couldn’t believe it. She was here? With Abby? But how?
Matthias sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened?”