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“It’s too late for me,” I said, suddenly so tired. My shoulders deflated. “I’m ruined.”

“No, you’re not!” Nyah stood with a sudden outburst that made me gasp. “You’ve been through a lot, yes. More than anyone else, it’s true. But that doesn’t mean you get to just give up! Damn it, Rune, you are more powerful than anyone, and you refuse to use it for anything but running and hiding.”

Pulling my knees to my chest, I buried my head. But she kicked at my foot until I looked up to find her frowning down at me.

“Look,” her tone softened as she crouched before me. “If I am strong enough to kill that monster, that means you’re strong enough. I am a part of you.”

“I know, okay? I never asked for any of it, though. I never asked to be the princess or have any magic.”

“But you do. And it’s time to use it. You aren’t alone, Rune. You have people to help you. Not just me, but Torvo and Rivven.”

I laughed and sniffled at the same time. “I get the feeling Rivven wants to kill me, not help me. He blames me for his being down there, and I blame myself too.”

“He’ll get over it.” Nyah smiled in a way that made my chest feel hollow, and the old jealousy returned. It was hard not to feel that way when she had everything I always wanted but knew was impossible.

Was it though? Maybe with my father taking to Torvo… The glimpse of a future I never thought possible felt almost within reach.

“Rivven tied me up and accused me of being a spy when we met. But his heart’s in the right place,” she continued. Then she squatted before me, placing her hands on my knees. “Rune, sometimes life is worth the risks.”

I swallowed the emerging lump in my throat, staring into my sister’s eyes. “I’m scared.” Saying it out loud, even though I knew my actions already screamed it, made me ill.

“So am I. How do you think I felt in the Imrati? But I did it anyway.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“I want you to start by letting me out again. Then we’ll do the rest together. We’ll get Rivven and Torvo out of here and find Galan and⁠—”

“No. I’m sorry. I can’t let you out.”

Nyah’s face seemed to turn to stone.

“You’re my sister,” I said, trying to word it another way. “I don’t want to hurt you. But I’ve tried, and it isn’t working.” I pressed my eyes closed and searched with my magic. When I found what I was looking for, they snapped open once again. “There’s something powerful in you that isn’t me.”

Nyah stayed silent for a moment, mouth open. “What?”

“It’s not part of me,” I repeated “I felt it, and I don’t…it makes no sense.” I dropped my gaze to the floor.

Around us a breeze picked up, raising the hair on the back of my neck. It wasn’t my magic. It was like mine, certainly, but I understood somehow that it didn’t belong to me. And if there was something in Nyah that wasn’t from me⁠—

“How is that possible?” Nyah breathed, stepping close and forcing my gaze to hers.

This time I looked beyond her eyes that matched mine. Deeper, I found a spark of such intense light and multitude of color that I gasped, stepping backward. I’d never seen anything like it.

“Tell me,” she demanded, grasping my arms and shaking me, but all I could manage was to bob my head back and forth wordlessly. Tears formed, gliding down her beautiful cheeks. “You said I’m a shadow hand.”

“You are. I…I thought you were. But it’s like…it’s like someone added to the magic.” My voice cracked as I reasoned it out, squinting to maintain even a glimpse of what I’d just seen in her. “I knew I was powerful, but not like that. Unless⁠—”

“Unless what, Rune?” she shook me harder, my snowy hair flying out in whisps like pieces of cloud.

“Unless it was in me but blocked somehow. Either way, it isn’t mine!” I shoved her shoulders, forcing her back, only to find myself out of breath from the exertion, even in my dream.

This was a dream, wasn’t it?

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I said, referring to more than just the shove.

Nyah laughed, but it was a sharp, curt sound. “I’m actually proud to see that you’re human enough to get angry.”

Dropping onto the edge of my mattress, I folded my hands in my lap, wringing my fingers together. “What is in me? In you? And where did it come from?”