"You've restored the next piece," Hawke says, awe evident in his tone. Then he stares at the wall.
Except it’s not just a plain wall anymore. There’s an archway outlined in black and covered in hairline fractures that spread across it like a spider's web, some thin as thread, others wide enough to slide a finger through. Several of the larger fissures are backlit with a strange glowing light.
"Wait—what is that?" I push away from Fen's protective embrace, getting to my feet. "I couldn't see that before."
Fen steadies me with a hand at my elbow. "The sword," he explains quietly. "When you connected the pieces, it revealed the portal to you."
I step closer to the wall, drawn by a terrible curiosity. Through the widest crack, I can see something beyond—not quite darkness, not quite light, but a smoky grey void.
And then I see her.
A figure moves within the mist. A woman, or something using the form of a woman, wearing what looks like the remnants of once-elegant robes. Her skin has an unnatural luminescence, like she’s made of moonlight. Her dark hair cascades in wild, chaotic streams around a beautifully terrifying face.
When she turns, her eyes lock onto mine—completely white, no iris, no pupil, nothing human there at all. They glow with a cold intelligence that reminds me of a predator. I know I'm being assessed just as thoroughly as I'm assessing her.
This is something… someone ancient that's been waiting to get out of this place a very long time.
I stumble backward with a sharp inhale, colliding with Fen's solid chest.
"You can see her now," he says, his voice tight. It's not a question.
"Who—what is she?" The woman's mouth moves rapidly, forming words I can’t hear, but I can feel a strange vibration in my chest, like standing too close to massive speakers.
"The Queen," Boaz says quietly, moving to stand beside us.
"She looks..." I search for words to describe the figure. Sad. Trapped. Deranged. Terrifying. Nothing seems to capture the unsettling presence behind those glowing eyes.
"She’s angry," Melinda supplies, her voice surprisingly steady as she joins us. "And getting stronger."
The castle shudders again, more violently this time. Dust and small fragments of stone rain down from the ceiling.
"I didn't see her before," I say, unable to look away from those glowing eyes that seem to stare directly into me. "I couldn't see the cracks either."
"None of us could before Melinda arrived," Hawke says, moving to stand on my other side.
I turn to Melinda. “You can hear her, can’t you? It’s why you look sick. She’s effecting you somehow.”
Melinda nods.
“What does she say?” Fen asks.
“She wants me to find her child.”
Fen's hand tightens on my shoulder. "Child? What child?"
“We do not know,” Hawke answers.
Kellan moves closer to Melinda, the green tattoos on his skin seeming to shift and ripple. I notice how his body naturally positions itself between her and the cracked wall.
The Queen's eyes lock onto mine again. Though I hear nothing, I feel a pressure building in my skull, a sensation like fingertips brushing against my thoughts. My wolf stirs uneasily within me, hackles raised against an intruder.
"She's testing the barrier," Wraith says, his yellow eyes narrowing.
Fen pulls me back gently. "Don't stare too long," he warns. "Even imprisoned, she has power."
I tear my gaze away, focusing instead on the sword pieces. It's easier to look at, much less unsettling despite its own strangeness.
"We should go," Boaz says urgently. “There’s no reason to stay longer. Our presence only agitates her more. And it is bad for Queen Melinda to stay here long.”
