Rían stilled before stepping to the back of the closet and pressing an ear to the wall. His eyes widened as he drew away. “There’s something in there.”
His hands slid along the white stones. One, about halfway down, protruded slightly. I nudged him aside and pushed the stone as hard as I could.
Something inside the wall clicked. And then an entire panel slid to the side with a scraping groan.
Rían stepped into a hallway so slender, he had to turn sideways to fit. Floor-to-ceiling shelves stretched into the darkness, lined with silver bird cages.
Only the cages didn’t hold chirping birds.
They held beating hearts.
There had to be hundreds, if not thousands.
“Whose hearts are these?” I whispered, dread pooling in my chest.
Rían shook his head, running a hand down the silver bars on the closest cage. “I haven’t a clue.”
The only distinguishing marks were numbers engraved on each base. Not random numbers. Dates. “Do you remember when she took your heart?”
He touched another cage. The heart inside continued its steady beating. “Not exactly the kind of thing a man forgets.”
We continued back and back, traveling centuries into the past.
At the very end of the hall, he froze. “Shit.”
I tried to peer around him but there wasn’t enough room. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“There are two from the same day.”
Sure enough, two hearts sat side by side in silver cages almost at the end of the corridor. “We can take them both.”
He reached for the first cage from almost three hundred years ago.
Three hundred years without a heart.
Three hundred years of not knowing when his mother would take control.
The second heart with the same date started beating faster. “Look.” I gestured toward the quickening organ.
The moment Rían’s fingers connected with the bars, the little door flew open.
Before he could reach in, I stopped him. “Let me do it.”
Although his brow furrowed, he turned and let me squeeze past. Bile burned the back of my throat when my fingers wrapped around his warm, wet, and still-beating heart.
We’d done it.
We’d actually done it.
“We need to put it back.”
He took my arm, tugging me toward the doorway, which was barely visible at the end of the corridor. “When we get to the cottage.”
I dug in my heels, refusing to budge. If the Queen returned, we would both be dead. This couldn’t be for naught. At least with his heart back, he could be free. I’d known the moment I walked into the Forest that I may not make it out.
“We do it now,” I insisted, cradling his heart against my chest.
“Aveen, there isn’t time—”