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Thicket could walk away now. Decline the Seeker of Soul’s offer and guarantee her safety. She had beaten her sister. She had saved her kingdom. Had accomplished what she set out to do. There was no need to risk it all. But the refusal wouldn’t come.

Everything she had worked towards up until this moment… It had never been about beating her sister. It had been about finding the one place she belonged. Now, she had the power to make that wish come true. Not just for herself but for everyone.

I think there is always a solution, Elian had told her. It may not be the easy one or one that fixes all the problems, but it is the one that will do the most good. Those are the kinds of decisions I want to make.

Thicket didn’t want to begin her rule with the blood of someone else. If there was a way she could not only protect her kingdom but give her sister the same chance she had been given, she wanted to take it. What kind of ruler—what kind of sister—would she be if she didn’t try?

Thicket squared her shoulders and met the Seeker of Soul’s unearthly eyes. “I accept.”

For a moment, the world seemed to still.

Then, the mist fell away, shaping into a world Thicket would have thought only existed in dreams.

A valley loomed in the distance. The dark green grass of its center faded into pointed stone tips that brushed the cloudy gray sky. Mist still clung to the edges, though the gloom was chased away by glowing dandelions. Their golden light flickered like the bottom of a lightning bug, bringing a hint of whimsy to the otherwise lackluster world.

And in front of her loomed a forest of stones. Or at least, what looked like a forest.

The stones were massive, standing at least ten meters tall and spread around the clearing before the valley like a clock. There were exactly twelve of them—one for each of the twelve Numyna, the most ancient beings of this world.

In the center of the stones, once shrouded by mist, a cave mouth yawned, as though ready to swallow her whole.

“This is where you will descend,” the Seeker of Souls said. “In order to meet the rest of my brethren and have your wish granted, you must prove your heart is pure.”

“How do I do that?” Asking her to prove something as fundamental as that felt like being asked to prove her own name.

“Your soul calls to us, human. We know what turmoil lies within. Stay true to yourself, Thicket Rose Vogeli. Do not hide away from the truth, no matter how painful. This will be your only warning.”

Gathering all of her courage, all of her strength, Thicket lifted her chin and descended into the cave.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Thicket’s hand grew numb from dragging it across the rough cave wall. Not a single ray of light permeated the cave. Instead, the darkness surrounding her was as thick as blood. The only indication she was making any progress was the increased chill seeping from the walls and into her skin. Her teeth chattered. Every breath was painful, coating her tongue with the taste of stale water and pin pricks of ice.

What was perhaps harder than warding off the chill was preventing the doubt from crawling into her mind. It was there, peering at her from the darkest crevices where her insecurities lay in wait. She may have beaten her sister and saved her kingdom. She may have done the very thing she once thought was impossible, but that didn’t wash away a lifetime of feeling less than.

Up until now, Thicket had spent every waking moment since the curse searching for a way to save her kingdom. She had been so lost in self doubt she had been unable to truly see a future in which she succeeded. Now that she had, she had her entire life in front of her. An entire life she would spend as Queen of Vindrya.

Thicket would be lying if she said the thought didn’t terrify her. When she had first woken up, Thicket hadn’t seen herself as a princess, nevertheless a queen. Bern, Lotta, and even Elian all knew exactly what they wanted to do with their lives. All Thicket had ever wanted was to belong.

But what if she stopped viewing ruling as something she had to do, and instead started treating it as something she wanted to do? She could use her position to not only secure her place—but to shape it into something she was proud of. To bring back the world of color, magic, and wonder she always saw in her dreams. There were so many possibilities. So many things she had yet to discover about this fantastical world.

For once in her life, the unknown didn’t petrify her.

Thicket pushed on, deeper and deeper into the cave.

Time was lost to her. It could have been minutes, hours—maybe even the entire night.

She gripped the pommel of her sword, comforted by the creak of the leather and clink of Elian’s ring. Even sleeping, she felt her phoenix’s warmth, radiating through her, filling the loneliness that had been carved into her heart.

She was not alone.

Thicket’s hand lost purchase from the wall. Her stomach tumbled and she careened forward as the floor beneath her vanished.

She squeezed her eyes shut, body clenching as it waited for the impact. Thicket’s feet stumbled, fighting to regain their footing as they came into contact with the ground, only a few paces from where she had fallen. She opened her eyes. Her frigid breath surged as lights woke around her, winking all throughout the cavern until the entirety of it was glistening with sea-green crystals.

Thicket’s head arched up and across the ceiling, taking in every inch of the breathtaking cave. Soft ripples bobbed across the ceiling, followed by the rustle of water. She followed it into a second cavern chamber, nearly devoured by turquoise waters. Crystals protruded from the cave walls like grinning teeth, beckoning her to the tunnel at its end. It shone even brighter than the cavern with row after row of the glowing crystals.

That was where she needed to go. Steeling herself, Thicket stepped into the water. The shock of the cold was like liquid fire, surging up her legs to her arms. She clenched them as gooseflesh rose along her skin. Each step made the water crawl higher until everything up to her waist was drenched. She bunched every muscle in her body, as though the pressure could ward off the cold.