Then what?
Did he open his eyes?
“She woke the dead.”
“I saw it.”
“I saw it too.”
“It’s forbidden.”
“It’s corrupt.”
My stomach turns as the men start to circle. The strength I felt as I ran through the forest has faded. My arms are heavy, and I’m weak.
Glancing around, I look for a way out. But the prison tightens its hold. It erases any escape. It wants me here with them.
“I didn’t do anything.” My voice shakes. “I didn’t.”
I take a step back, trying to avoid the men as they quickly close in, but it’s no use. My back strikes a wall, and I’m cornered. I press my palms to the stone behind me, and darkness collapses like a waterfall of shadow. I can barely catch my breath as everything disappears.
When I blink my eyes open, I’m no longer in the prison. I’m outside on a stormy day, standing near the gates.
“What—”
“Elorie.” Callum’s voice comes from behind me, and I spin around to see him standing with the line of the Fae guard where the morning glories used to grow.
The prison let me out?
I run for Callum. Not caring that his armor is streaked in blood or that everyone is watching. I throw myself at him, but it takes only a moment to realize he doesn’t hug me in return.
“Callum?” My eyebrows pinch when I meet his stormy gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry.”
If I didn’t know him as I do, I’d think his tone is emotionless. But that small catch at the end paired with the pinch between his eyebrows makes it clear he’s regretting something.
“What are you sorry for?”
Callum swallows hard, holding my gaze for a moment. He searches my face as if it holds the answer to something he’s trying to figure out.
After a long beat, he glances behind me. “The king summoned her. It’s time.”
“The king?” My heart starts to race, but when I reach for Callum again, he steps back. “What does the king want with me?”
And how long have I been in the prison?
“Four days,” Callum answers, and I realize I must have asked that out loud.
“That can’t be right. I just walked in and—” And what?
I’m already losing pieces of what happened. The rebels. My mother’s sword. My father.
“Father.” My gaze darts up to Callum. “I need to get to him. He was dying and…”
Callum’s cold expression doesn’t flinch. He shakes his head just once.
Father is dead.
