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When she entered the room and I saw her expression, I knew she was just as anxious.
She curtsied.
“I am sorry for interrupting,” she said.
“You aren’t,” I said.
Adrian cleared his throat, and I glared at him, but he wasn’t looking at us. He had moved to the window and stared out into the fading twilight.
“I…wanted to give you something,” she said.
She crossed the room and held out her hand. In her palm was a necklace. The pendant reminded me of a lantern, both in the way it was shaped and the filigree that framed a large, red stone.
“This was Evanora’s,” she said. “I read that if you have something to focus on, it is easier to call power to you. I thought perhaps it might help you tonight.”
“Violeta, I—”
“Please, take it,” she said, moving her hand closer to me. “Evanora would want you to have it.”
I was not so certain about that, but she seemed so sincere, I took the necklace.
I had hoped that I might be able to sense some part of Evanora still attached to the jewelry, but there was nothing familiar about it save Violeta’s energy. I closed my fingers around the pendant and, without warning, drew the young woman into my arms.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
As she hugged me back, it was almost like I was embracing Evanora herself.
***
When Adrian, Violeta, and I entered the courtyard, Ana, Sorin, and Daroc were already waiting with our horses. Ana looked solemn and seemed lost in her own thoughts, though it was possible she was just focused on staying warm. The temperature had dropped significantly since this morning, and even dressed in heavy wool, I still shivered.
“It will snow,” said Violeta, who stood beside me. When I looked at her, she had her head turned toward the clear sky and there was not a storm cloud in sight, though I did not doubt her prediction.
“Let us hope we will be home by then,” I said. “I’d rather not be caught in a storm, and we need the moonlight for this spell.”
A blast of frigid wind roared around us. I drew my cloak tighter, dreading what would come once we made it to Galat Lake. The spell required us to enter the water and because of that, we planned to disrobe so we would not have to make the return journey in wet clothes.
I turned my attention to the rest of our company. Daroc and Sorin stood near one another, but they, too, seemed distant, both from us and each other. I wondered if Sorin had attempted to approach any of the issues he had talked about with me. If so, I had no doubt they were both hurting. “You do not seem to mind the cold like the rest of us, Daroc,” I said.
“It is because he is already so frigid,” said Sorin, and though I knew he was joking, Daroc’s jaw tightened at the comment. When Sorin noticed, his smile faded, and an awkward silence descended.
“Ready?” Adrian asked, and I looked at Ana and Violeta, who nodded, but just as we were about to mount our horses, another galloped through the gates, bearing Killian. He was winded and his eyes were wide and wild.
“King Adrian, you must come with me,” he said. “That man Solaris resurrected two days ago…he has killed his family.”
I felt numb, and it had nothing to do with the cold.
“His family?” I asked.
Killian nodded, and there was a hollowness to his expression. Whatever he had seen…he would never be the same again.
“The wife and two children.”
Bile rose in the back of my throat.
“Do we know where he is now?” Adrian asked.
Killian’s features were hard as he spoke. “No. There is a search party following body parts into the Starless Forest.”
