Trusting that they didn’t speak of what they had seen was another matter. They could lie. Betray me.
But then,she’dhave to pay.
I exhaled sharply.
Twenty-one days.
That was what we’d agreed to in our bargain.
Twenty-one days with her under my roof, touching my property, attempting to secure the wards without any ability to do so.
How absurd.
She thought she could help—with plants. It was laughable. She might have been able to help bring down her brother’s fever with the elixir, but what could a tiny herb do to keep out the queen’s army? Nothing.
Plants grew.
And plants died.
Especially when they were polluted by dark magic, like the poppy that was connected to my curse.
If Lilia could help…
I’d sensed magic within her, whatever peculiar type she had, and since I was as desperate as she was…
No.
No.
Hope was a dangerous thing. It could give a spark, a promise, only to let it crash out and die, leaving you even worse off than before. I wouldn’t dare hope that this weak human could do anything to help us here at the castle.
Because hope could break your heart.
And the poppy would finish hardening.
The wards would collapse.
The queen would come with her army and claim Valgarde.
I’d fight with my last breath to protect my land. But the threat remained—I might turn to stone before she even breached the wards.
Eventually, Valgarde would fall, and I would fall with it.
That hard truth pressed heavy on my wings.
Perhaps that was why I had agreed to make a foolish bargain with a naive girl who thought she could help. It had been a long shot. A desperate one. But I was out of options.
The end was coming for me, whether or not I fought against it.
CHAPTER 8
LILIA
The afternoon sun washed over the gardens. What could I find out here that would help with a protective ward? I grew plants for food, for healing—not for magic that I was unfamiliar with.
I’d said goodbye to Mom and Henri an hour ago. He was a bit stronger after the elixir, with more color in his cheeks, and they’d ventured on to the village to find a healer. The vast castle felt emptier without my family, every footstep echoing too loudly, the stone walls emphasizing their absence. To distract myself, I focused on my new goal—strengthening the wards.
A small voice inside me questioned if that was even possible, but I stifled it. Look how the herbs had helped Henri.
