August had expected to find Wren’s body lying on the floor. Her contorted form thrown across the ground, broken and wrong. But when he finally spotted Wren, she wasn’t on the floor anymore.
In fact…she was awake.
Wren was standing. A serene expression had fallen over her face, a look of pure calm.
For a fleeting moment, relief rushed through August. The tiniest spark of hope.
But it was quickly ripped away when he noticed what was surrounding Wren.
What was pouring out of her.
Shadows.
They were everywhere. Coursing through her veins. Exploding out of her. Dozens upon dozens of shadowy tendrils sprouted from her body, slithering around her limbs with an almost ravenous desperation. Even her dark blue eyes were blotted out by shadows, nothing but two pools of darkness staring back at August, the ghost of a smile curled onto her lips. Wren hadn’t simply succumbed to the shadows…she hadbecomethem.
August stumbled forward. He reached for her, hand trembling.
“Darling”—his voice cracked as he fought to speak—“what have you done?”
But Wren—or what was left of her—didn’t answer.
He wasn’t even sure she had heard him.
Suddenly, Edith stepped forward. She approached Wren tentatively, eyes gleaming with something feral and terrifying. She stopped abruptly, and August stiffened, prepared to throw himself in front of Wren. But Edith didn’t draw her weapon. She didn’t even call upon her own shadows.
Instead, she did something August had never imagined his sister would do.
She knelt.
The sea of Demiens surrounding them followed suit, knees pressed against the ground and heads bowed in reverence. August watched as, all around him, Demiens fell. Even Quinn and Arthurlowered themselves onto their knees, though August didn’t miss the terror reflected in their eyes. The horror.
In the end, only August remained standing.
In front of him, Edith raised her head, meeting Wren’s eyes. And this time, when Edith smiled…Wren smiled back.
A shudder ran through August. It was a wave of agony that finally brought him to his knees, pushing him to the ground. He kept his eyes locked on Wren the entire time. He couldn’t bring himself to look away…to avert his eyes from the destruction he had caused. Because this was his doing. His responsibility.
Wren was the cosmos. The very stars themselves.
But Wren was gone.
And now the catalyst had awoken.
Part V
The Reunion
36
IRENE
Then go on. I’m right here. Do it.
Masika’s words echoed in Irene’s mind, seared into her memory. Would she have been able to go through with it? Would she even have had another choice?
When Irene spotted Masika in the forest, it had felt like her entire world had jerked to a halt. She’d spent the past few weeks preparing for her friend’s demise, convincing herself that she was better off without Masika, that Masika’s destruction had always been an inevitability, but all that forced acceptance had gone out the window the moment Irene had laid eyes on Masika again.
Irene had felt it instantly, smacking hard against her chest, unwilling to be ignored.
