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So Bryce stuck one foot over the ledge. The beasts didn’t move. She let her foot drop a little lower, dangling bait—
Nothing.
Her heartbeat ratcheted up, and a massive head rose, pivoting her way—
Through love, all is possible. She called up the memory of Danika’s love and let it course through her, steady her as she lowered herself onto the ground.
Into the beasts’ nest.
They lay before her like obedient dogs. She didn’t question it. Didn’t think of anything but the star on her chest and the tunnel it pointed toward and the desire to see the faces of those she loved once more.
Bryce took a step, her neon-pink sneaker outrageously bright amid the dark scales so terrifyingly close. Then another step. The creatures watched, but they didn’t move a single talon.
Ruhn had called her a queen before she left. And for the first time in her life, as she walked through that sea of death … she might have lifted her chin a bit higher. Might have felt a mantle settle on her shoulders, a train of starlight in her wake.
Might have felt something like a crown settle upon her head. Guiding her into the dark.
* * *
Tharion finally worked up enough concentration and energy to get to his feet and amble toward his room. Holstrom cornered him a second later.
“What the Hel happened?” the wolf asked, halting Tharion on the threshold.
“The River Queen was gunning for me.” Gods, his voice sounded dead, even to his ears. “It was either death or imprisonment at her hands or … this.”
“You should have come to me.”
“For what?” Tharion’s laugh was as dead as his voice. “You’re a defector, too. We’re packless wolves.” Tharion nodded to the wolf now sitting on the couch beside Flynn. “Speaking of which … Sigrid Fendyr?”
“Long story. She’s Sabine’s niece.” Ithan’s mouth tightened. “She was the female mystic in the Astronomer’s place. I pulled her out two days ago.”
Tharion’s head spun. “So what are you doing here?”
“Before Sabine showed up to kill Sigrid, we were just getting to the part where I convinced everyone to come free you from this shithole so we could get onto the Depth Charger and save Ruhn and Athalar.”
“That’s … a lot of words.” Tharion’s heart was swimming with them.
Or maybe that was the venom. His stomach was churning, and he really needed a toilet or a bed or a single moment of peace.
“You can’t stay here,” Ithan said, but his voice seemed distant as Tharion walked to his bed and collapsed face-first onto the mattress. “We’re gonna find a way to get you out.”
“Too late, wolf,” Tharion said, words muffled against the pillows. They slurred further as sleep grabbed him with sharp talons and tugged him down. “There’s no saving me.”
* * *
Ithan found Sigrid pacing before the window overlooking the now-dim fighting pit. It was late enough that even its lights had been shut off.
“You should sleep—the couch is yours.”
Dec, Flynn, and Marc had all claimed spots on the floor—though from their breathing patterns, Ithan knew they were awake. After the night they’d had, how could any of them sleep?
Sigrid wrapped her arms around her thin body. “We’re trapped here.”
“No,” Ithan insisted. “I won’t let that happen.”
“I can’t be trapped again.” Her voice broke. “I can’t.”
“You’re getting out of here,” Ithan said. “No matter what.”
