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Outside in the snow, I turned to see the dragon swooping lower through the skies, its scales gleaming under the winter sun—stygian black blending to a deepmaroon at the tail, the colors of soot and dried blood. It swooped above us and unleashed a gout of fire that arced into the gray sky. Heat seared the air, and icicles shot from their branches into the snow around us. As the dragon circled, Aeron pulled me north. I ran through the snow, the air smelling of dragon musk and the scent of burning oaks.
I felt as if a serpent had coiled in my chest, stealing my breath.
As Aeron urged me on, the snow melted into the thin leather of my boots and stung my toes. His grip on my wrist was iron tight, and I knew I was slowing him. But my muscles felt leaden, shaking. The panic swallowed me whole until I could no longer understand what Aeron was saying to me.
The dragon swept in an arc above us, then unleashed a stream of fire on the trees to the south. The trunks exploded into flames, a forest blazing like an army of giant torches. A wall of fire erupted before us, cutting off our access.
Aeron swerved and yanked me in the other direction. My body vibrated with fear. Dimly, under the wild panic of my thoughts, I could only hope that Aeron had a plan.
Behind us, the dragon’s wings beat the air, and it circled again, fanning the flames with its wings, the sound a thunderous rhythm that blended with the roaring in my ears, drowning out all my thoughts. Snow whirled around us, mingling with cinders.
I was too out of breath to ask where we were goingand if there was a plan at all. Our feet crunched over the snow, and the dragon let out another roar.
And yet, we were still alive. The dragon could have killed us ten times over.
Why did I have the disturbing feeling that it was herding us exactly where it wanted us to go?
27
AVA
Icrept through the enormous tunnel, its walls made of mossy blue roots and floors covered with lichen. Curling black vines snaked over the rounded walls with leaves of claret. As I tiptoed over the ground, my heart was a wild beast.
Beneath the castle, my eyes adjusted to the dark, and my heart thrummed in my chest. Shadows flickered around me, dancing across the wooded tunnels like unquiet spirits.
Through the gnarled roots beneath my feet, I felt the vibrations of fae moving somewhere nearby. When I closed my eyes, I could see them: a group of soldiers moving quickly, heading right for me. Of course, the disruption I caused when I freed myself must have alerted the entire palace, though I don’t imagine they’d suspect I was choosing to go deeper into the castle itself.
I went still, and the sound of horns blared through the air—the Unseelie alarm.
I scanned the passage around me until I found a large, dark crevice in the indigo tree roots. I nestled back into the oaky fissure and called the boughs and vines to cover me, cloaking me in shadow.
As the sound of footfalls grew closer, I held my breath. Shielded by plants, I watched the group of guards thunder past me, heading for the cell where I’d buried Morgant in stone.
As soon as the soldiers disappeared around a corner, I let the vines slip away. I broke into a sprint, eager to put as much distance between myself and the cell as possible.
When I reached a narrow spiral staircase, I rushed upward. I needed light and windows to orient myself so I could figure out which way was west. But as I climbed, it didn’t take long for my muscles to start aching. I was desperately dehydrated, energized only by adrenaline.
On the first floor, the bluish tree bark melded into stone of the same color. From behind a column, I peered out into the hall. Shadows gathered beneath the towering arches of the corridor. People bustled around, moving between columns under the soaring stone vaults. On this floor, diamond-pane windows stretched to the ceiling on my left. Outside, light streamed through the red leaves, staining them with coral and gold. At the far end of the corridor, a distant pinprick of rose gold light angled through the windows.
My delirious brain snagged for a moment, trying to decide whether the sun was rising or setting. But I was pretty sure it was evening now, the light casting theruddy flush of sunset on the cold floors. So that was west.
Twilight, when the veil between the worlds grew thin and shadows flickered between the living and the dead. Almost, I imagined, I could smell Torin’s oaky scent and hear the velvety timbre of his voice.
Loneliness carved open in my chest, the feeling so painful, I nearly lost my balance. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to sharpen my focus.
With the western light pouring in, I knew where I needed to go. But I couldn’t get to the far side of the hall with all these people bustling about. The alarms still blared, and most of these people would be hunting for the escaped prisoner.
From my hiding spot in the stairwell, I gripped the stones, scanning the hall for a route to the other side. What I needed was a diversion.
I knelt, pressing my fingertips to the arboreal floor beneath me, and closed my eyes. I envisioned the entire castle, the blue stones that seemed to rise from gnarled roots and the ruby-flecked branches that curled around it protectively, like a mother’s embrace. In my mind’s eye, I had each of the boughs mapped out. A rush of power thrummed through me as I felt the entire castle in the grip of my magic. I controlled this place now. I breathed with it.
To the north, I envisioned one of those enormous midnight limbs shifting just a little, then smashing through the windows on that side.
The castle floors shook, and the sound of shattering glass echoed through the halls.
My magic vibrated up from the tree and into my body. Distantly, I felt the vibrations of the breaking glass. With the tree’s shift, poppy-red leaves rained down outside, and the stone halls filled with the sound of commands barked in the Unseelie language, directing soldiers, I assumed, toward the tumult.
Chaos reigned, which sent a shadowy thrill through me. As anarchy gripped the castle, my own thoughts quieted.
