“You’re being disgusting,” Dedra drawled, leaning back in her seat and sipping from a large silver goblet.
“I’m hungry,” Theo said gruffly, straightening in his chair, practically puffing out his chest.
“You’re always hungry,” Dedra replied, rolling her eyes.
Theo swallowed his food and smiled broadly at her, flashing his teeth. “It's why I’m the stronger twin.”
Dedra scoffed, setting down her goblet and leaning forward. “Wanna bet?”
“Any place, any time, sis.”
“If you’re going to argue, please take it outside. I have a headache,” Gunnar replied, having finally looked up from his plate, his face even paler than I had seen it last night.
Theo frowned at him—so did the rest of us.
“Another time then,” Theo said, turning back to Dedra with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
There was a beat of silence, but then, as if remembering something, Theo smirked and leaned toward Julian. “Speaking of strong men, how has your time with Randikus been, Julian?” He arched an eyebrow. “Seems you two are gettingcozy.”
With a chuckle, I reached for my goblet of water and watched Julian’s eyes widen, a flush creeping up his cheeks. Randy had been busy traveling to camps these past few weeks, but he’d visited recently to report on a few matters. Even in that short time, I noticed how they gravitated towards each other. The stolen glances, the subtle shifts when near each other. And Idefinitelynoticed the letters. A few had even landed in my hands by accident, Julian snatching them back before I could read more than a glimpse. But from what little I'd seen, it was evident that things were progressing very well between them.
“We are, well, we aren’t—what I mean is…” Julian stammered, clearly scrambling for the right words.
A movement to my left startled me, causing me to leap from my chair. Gunnar had slumped and was falling toward the floor, his chair scraping backward. I managed to catch his head just before it hit the stone, and everyone was instantly on their feet.
Blood trickled from Gunnar's nose and I laid his now unconscious body gently onto the cool stone. A hush fell over the room, no one dared to breathe.
I should have asked if he was feeling well, I could sense something was wrong. Seeing him sprawled on the floor like this, unmoving, it was the first time in centuries I truly saw his age.
Julian was at my side, his hand hovering over Gunnar’s chest. He let out a sharp breath, his gaze slicing to meet mine.
“His vitals are weak, very weak. He needs rest.” Julian’s face pinched. “He is malnourished and sleep-deprived.” Julian shook his head, looking back down at our friend. “This is my fault. I should have seen, should have noticed. I should have—”
“No,” I breathed. “It's mine. This is on me, Julian.” I shook my head. “I asked too much from you both, I—”
A sharp pain shot through my skull, and I gasped as I pitched forward, hands flying to my head. My vision began to blur at the edges, and it felt as though blades were piercing a barrier in my mind. I felt myself fall as if in slow motion, and collapsed beside Gunnar on the floor, falling into a memory.
Chapter 10
Zara
The wind whipped around me, carrying the sharp scent of wet grass and bark. Loose strands of hair drifted across my face as I drew in a steadying breath. Darkness stretched in every direction, broken only by the full moon rising along the horizon, its pale glow carving long, skeletal fingers of shadow across the forest floor.
The path beneath my boots was uneven, forcing my gaze downward to avoid the twisting roots that clawed through the dirt. The cliff plateau lay just ahead. I inhaled again, the pressure coiled in my chest easing slightly as the trees began to thin.
We were in Nexia, and Lana and I were tasked with rallying the witches here.
We had been meeting with them, plotting, rallying, recruiting. That wasn't the hard part. Apparently, they had been waiting for Morgana’s return for quite some time, having heard a prophecy centuries ago that it would happen.
Per Morgana’s instructions, we had been teaching them how to control the daka, something only Morgana knew how to do. This was proof enough for the skeptics within their ranks, and they now served their long-lost queen without question from a realm away.
But the book...the book was proving to be the real obstacle. Morgana needed it to overtake this kingdom. Without it, she couldn’t open the door between the two realms. So, until we found it, or got it another way, Lana and I were forced to continue coming here in secret to search for it.
Since we had to remain unseen, the witches were the ones raiding and attacking villages on their newly tamed daka. Their swift and brutal attacks provided us with sufficient distraction and cover to follow behind in the ensuing chaos and conduct our search.
There were far fewer witches than Morgana had expected; they were nearly extinct, much like the humans in Velra—forgotten.
A distant, echoing laugh seemed to resound within my thoughts, and I clenched my jaw at the sensation of something constricting within my chest. I've been noticing it more since I discovered Morgana has been messing with my memories, my mind.
