I nod and square my shoulders, walking side by side with Thorne back to the carriage. The men were there because of me.
No, because of Arion. He is the one who wanted you.
Right. I need to be smarter.
Faster.
Braver.
I need to become a monster if I wish to survive in this place. Blaming myself for everything won’t get me anywhere.
And that darkness, the one that has been growing in me, smiles from the depths of the abyss.
Part Two
Chapter 7
LIANA
One Week Later
The air hums when I wake. It’s the kind of sound that doesn’t just reach my ears but sinks deep into my marrow, slipping through bone and blood, and it leaves the faintest metallic taste on the tongue. The crystals lining my windowsill flicker in uneven rhythm, pulsing faint light over the carved ceiling.
“Liana,” the voice that once accompanied my dream whispers. This is different than last time—it’s not an echo in the shadows, it’s tangible. A part of me that has lain dormant for half a century comes to life.
I close my eyes, savoring the slip of his voice over my skin. It’s a guilty pleasure, one I really shouldn’t indulge in and usually am very good at avoiding.
Biting my tongue between my teeth, I wait. Rewarding him with a response feels like giving in. He hasn’t earned that.
When moments pass and he says no more, I let out a long breath. Maybe I didn’t hear him. Maybe…
My palms sweat and my back tenses.
Fine. You win, I grumble inwardly.
“Again, Shadow?” I say aloud. “I have not heard from you since my people fell all those years ago. Why return to haunt me now?”
My voice is quiet, barely filling my bedroom. But there is no response.
Breathing out through my nostrils, I stay in bed a second longer, letting the warmth of it comfort me as I feel foolish for answering. I should’ve known it was just an echo of a memory.
My shadow is gone. I don’t know if he’s crossed the barrier between life and death or merely has become so consumed with power and maintaining his court that he has forgotten me and all we shared.
Either way, I really shouldn’t care.
Today, Mrath of the Sisterhood de Bhaldraithe will return to our halls. After my meeting with the sovereigns and the council, the one where we were able to debate, investigate, and later confirm that Arlet has indeed been taken to the Elven Kingdom in Shvathemar, Mrath arranged to visit.
In that same meeting, we also accepted that Vann’s whereabouts are unknown.
I rise and cross my home to look out the window near the front door. Outside, I can see the rest of Council Road. Each member of the court was given a home in this area. More than half of the structures had to be rebuilt, but they all resemble each other in some way or another.
The clock tower that alerts the inhabitants to the hour begins to sing, and I listen to the tune absentmindedly. It’s morning. I watch the children emerge from Ra’Sa and Melisa’s home, and see other council members walking out as well, already prepared to diligently tend to their tasks.
The center of the city, beyond the residential section, is visible, and I see the Ardorflame Temple in the middle. It is essentially a massive chunk of Fuegorra, pulsing like waves of lava, surrounded by walls and pillars that have been broken since we arrived in Enduvida to escape the destruction of our civilization.
Everything grows brighter in the morning. Yet, it is still calm.
Channels of minerals carry light from the temple’s veins to thetwinkling crystals that line the ground, the stalactites, and the ceiling. They all shimmer, glitter, fade. Then, in a brilliant, rhythmic display, they come back to life.