CHAPTER 28

Althea severed the rope from her mother’s neck, the muscles in her arm tense with every saw of the blade. Once it finally snapped, Queen Lyra’s limp body fell into her daughter’s arms before being carried down to the ground and laid out beside the rest of the Cedarfall family. And not once did Althea cry. No tear escaped her defiant eyes. It was not sadness that billowed from her in powerful waves. It was fury . Hot, melting vehemence trapped within the casing of flesh.

They didn’t need to die. As I watched the unnecessarily grotesque scene, I knew that Aldrick could’ve taken the keys without the need for murder. But he did it anyway, because this was all a game to him. A sign. And with every life lost, and the promise of more to come, I wanted to repay it back to him tenfold.

Gyah waited off to the side, never once taking her eyes off Althea. She held the pile of folded white sheets to her chest almost protectively. That pile lessened with each Cedarfall Althea freed from the noose at their necks. One by one, the bodies were then covered. Harsh burns marked their skin, left by the rope. The blue tint of their flesh and the wide, bulging eyes were finally covered when the sheets fluttered down over their corpses.

There was no hiding the horrific image of their bodies that could conceal the truth scorched into my mind. I still saw their deaths clearly, and refused to forget them.

Dawn had arrived, bringing an air of peace with it. The sky, still bruised with ominous clouds, no longer flashed with lightning. Everything seemed so still.

The giant trees of Aurelia shed their leaves, casting the city in a bed of gold. Even the earth grieved for what was taken from them. The air was still thick with the scent of charred wood and flesh, piles of Hunters’ bodies collected swarms of flies, whereas the dead fey were gathered like twigs and used to build pyres throughout the city.

Each one burned with Althea’s crimson fire, the rightful end of a Cedarfall fey.

Lady Kelsey, Althea’s aunt, sobbed among the crowd of survivors. She’d been among the small group of fey who’d barricaded themselves within the manor. After Erix freed me from the iron cuff, we cut through the remaining Hunters who’d also fled into the manor. The hallways toward the great hall in which Kelsey and the rest of the fey were hiding were soon littered with shards of shattered, ice-hardened flesh of the Hunters I’d fought. It was over for them before it could begin, and I was disappointed – disappointed I couldn’t take out my pain on more, destroy more, wound Aldrick as he had wounded us.

In time, I promised myself, he’d meet an end worthy of the monster he was.

My heart stung as I heard and watched the grief. I pressed my bandaged hand over my chest, hoping to keep my heart from bursting free from my ribcage. If I had tears left to shed, my face would’ve been sticky with them. But I was empty – a vessel of nothing but power that demanded to be released.

But I would wait until the time was right.

Throughout the crowd of survivors, there was a symphony of wailing and screaming. As we watched the last of the Cedarfall royals lowered to the ground, everything went still for a brief moment. Then every set of eyes turned to Althea, seeking the one thing desired in a moment of chaos.

Guidance.

The Cedarfall Court and its crown belonged to Althea now. All that was missing was the Cedarfall key that Aldrick had taken. But the snivelling, magic-wielding human, who took tenancy in the dungeon I’d not long left, would help us get it back .

“I can’t bear to watch this anymore,” I whispered, tightening my hold on Duncan’s steady hand.

He tugged on my arm in gentle suggestion, pulling me into his side. I turned to face him and buried my face, eyes closed, into his chest as he coiled his arm around me.

“I’ve got you,” he said, voice monotone with heavy emotion. “I’ll always have you.”

I hated how he sounded, as though his grief was lodged in his throat. There was no question, he felt some guilt toward what’d happened – Kayne’s deception.

Duncan had said little about what became of his friend after he chased Kayne through Aurelia. From the whispers I’d heard among the survivors, Kayne had been dragged through the city by his ankle and dumped within the manor. What happened beyond the closed door with just Duncan and Kayne was still a mystery, and I was almost happy to leave it as one. I did, however, know that Kayne was dead. The Tracker’s blood stained a path from the place Duncan took him, that was enough for me.

Duncan hadn’t been the same since he returned from that room. Quiet, distant, although never straying far from my side. Although he held me up as Gyah lowered the final white sheet across Lyra’s body, I sensed that, somehow, I helped hold him up, too.

I hated Kayne for what he did, but more so for what he had done to Duncan.

I swallowed my thoughts and focused on this moment, not wishing to give Kayne’s memory any more power. I had more important things to focus on now.

Like killing Aldrick, reclaiming Altar’s keys that he’d stolen, and righting all the wrongs that threatened to tear Wychwood apart.

Above the stillness, someone cleared their voice, followed by stern cut words.

“This would be the moment I have to say something, but I admit I am struggling to find the right thing to share with you all.”

I turned back to look at Althea, who stood with shoulders back as she addressed the crowd, Gyah standing a step behind her, a constant shield at her back. I could see the grief Gyah carried in her golden eyes, it almost concealed the desire for vengeance that mirrored what festered inside of me – almost .

“You may expect me to encourage you, or perhaps spark strength back into your hearts with the promise of revenge. But I cannot lie to you. I cannot or will not make promises I am not confident I can keep.” Althea Cedarfall washed her gaze over the mounds of her dead family before her. We all watched as her face softened by the time she regarded her mother’s crowd again, her eyes glistened with unspent tears.

It was her crown now.

“Cedarfall has been violated by evil. Poison. Our enemy saw a moment of unsuspecting weakness and pounced. And so many lives have been stolen from us because of it. We can all agree, Aurelia will never be the same.” Althea’s voice cracked, Gyah stepping forwards in response. But Althea raised a hand, signalling she was okay, that she could continue. “ My city is scarred, mirroring the marks left upon our own hearts, our souls. I know that there is nothing I can say, nothing I can do to help heal you, or give you back what was stolen from you. Nothing that will fix…” Althea choked again, chin dropping to her chest, shoulders heaving as she took a hulking breath in.

I stepped forward instinctively, but Gyah was there in a blink, taking Althea and pressing a kiss upon the wild red curls stuck to her forehead. This time, Althea didn’t make her stop. Gyah’s affection had the desired effect, allowing Althea to gather herself to finish speaking. “Nothing that will fix me.”

Gyah whispered something to Althea, whose forehead creased with lines as she nodded in silent agreement.

I was surprised when I felt my heart crack. I’d thought it’d already shattered beyond repair, but seeing my friend in such a state of grief made me ache for her. We locked eyes and I mouthed my words of encouragement.

“You’ve got this.”

Althea’s jaw tightened, the resolve in her hazel eyes sharpening. She nodded, faced the crowd, and continued.

“This is not over,” Althea bellowed so suddenly the air sparked with heat. “We will not submit as the enemy may hope. Not now, not ever. As long as Aldrick continues his campaign against the realms, more lives will be taken. Our enemy tried to destroy Cedarfall just as they did with Elmdew. But the pain doesn’t stop here. Innocent people will continue dying as long as our enemies breathe. But like the smoke that coils and dances in the wake of the Cedarfall’s mighty flame, I will stop at nothing until they suffocate. I will burn them out of their hiding places, scorch everything they hold close, so they know the suffering that is our flame. Not even the winds will dare collect their ashes. The ground will regret them. The water will refuse to wash their memory away. I promise – promise to see this dark time come to its end. Nothing can extinguish our hope, not even Aldrick and his band of twisted, hateful followers. We will rage, we will consume, and we… will … devour anyone else foolish enough to stand in our way.”

If Althea’s speech had been given at a different time, under a different circumstance, I could only imagine the explosion of applause that would have followed. Instead, the crowd was silent. But no one cried in the quiet that followed, no one uttered a word.

Instead, they all bowed. A wave of respect, cresting like a wave across the crowd, all whilst Althea watched on.

I looked through the crowd and found Erix without meaning to. He hung at the back like a shadow, his arms folded over his chest, wings gathered at his back as though he carried a flag. It seemed he sensed that I watched him, for his silver eyes tore away from Althea and found me.

My breath caught in my throat, Duncan squeezing my hand in response to the fleeting sound.

Rafaela stood beside Erix, her face set into a grimace as she leaned on her golden hammer for support. She, like the rest of us, showed physical signs of exhaustion after our fight.

I was just glad to see they were all alive – my friends. And it was all thanks to the silver-eyed guard beside Rafaela. Duncan had revealed as much.

“There is so much I wish to say to him,” I whispered.

Duncan turned, and followed my line of sight. “You and I both. If it was not for Erix, we wouldn’t be here. Cedarfall would have fallen to Aldrick’s attempts, and more would have died. Erix saved us, he saved you. For that, I am indebted to him.”

Erix had been following our party the entire time since we left Berrow. He’d not made himself known, out of the respect that he believed I wanted him to leave. But his hesitation, his overwhelming sense of duty, kept him close. And thank Altar he had. Because he was able to slip in and save Rafaela, Althea and Duncan – before slaughtering the Hunters who’d stayed behind to destroy them.

Without Erix, Cedarfall really would’ve fallen to Aldrick. Without Erix, I would’ve lost everything.

“As am I,” I replied.

Erix looked away first, and I reluctantly followed.

“Robin, I want you to know I will never forgive myself,” Duncan said, as the crowd swelled, going to pay their respects to the dead. “I should’ve listened to your concerns. Kayne got this far because I allowed him to, because I was too blind to think my… friend was capable of changing.”

“Don’t,” I said.

“No. I need to say it, Robin. I’m so sorry.”

Discomfort clawed up my spine at Duncan’s revelation, but I fought to bury it. Hearing the guilt in his voice, the inability to hold my gaze when he spoke, only broke me down further.

“Even I wouldn’t have foreseen his betrayal, Duncan,” I replied softly, longing for Duncan to believe every word I said in reply. “Kayne tricked us all. No one is guilty but him.”

Duncan winced, brows furrowed. The scar on his face deepened, as did the lines across his dirt-covered forehead. I wished to reach out and touch his face. To draw him down to my mouth where he could forget his regrets. “Kayne got his comeuppance,” I added. “Don’t allow him to haunt you, Duncan. If anything, it won’t benefit you. We must not be distracted now, not with what we have left to do.”

“I hear you, my darling. But it will take time.”

I wanted to remind him that time wasn’t a luxury we had. No matter how I wished it was, until Aldrick was destroyed and his poison cleansed from the realms, we couldn’t hope for anything but the moment we were given.

“Do you want to free yourself from your burdens?” I asked when Duncan looked down to his broken knuckles. He kept doing it, ever since returning from that room where he and Kayne had shared their last moments together. “If you keep it all in, you’ll find that your guilt eats you from the inside.”

“Kayne hurt you. Guilt isn’t what I feel for his death. The only thing I’m guilty of is wishing so desperately that I’d killed him before he had the chance to–”

Althea’s voice raised in volume, silencing Duncan before he could finish. It seemed she wished for everyone in Cedarfall, living and dead, to hear what she had to say next. Duncan swallowed his words and pinched his mouth closed. I caught the feathering twitch of his jaw as he fought hard to keep himself quiet.

“I understand you have all been through a lot, and it is unfair that I ask anything of you. But I must. I ask that all fey with access to magic stand up and fight. Fight for those you’ve lost, and those you do not wish to be taken. Will you stand with me, as your queen? Avenge the Cedarfall name, and ensure we have one when this is all done?”

A beating sound began. I looked around and watched as fey slammed fists into their chests, a thud that soon became a booming song – a song of acceptance. Althea swept her eyes across the crowd, and for a moment, I saw the hint of a smile grace her lips. This time, when her eyes filled with tears, she let them loose.

Pride swelled within, watching my friend accept a fate that had unkindly been handed to her.

“Just as a Cedarfall is born from the flames,” Althea called out, each word striking into the heart of the crowd, “may they return to them.”

Althea waved her hand before the line of bodies at her feet as though gesturing farewell. Fire bloomed within her open palm, then fell in arching, golden waves upon her family until her blaze consumed each one.

No one left until the wind claimed the Cedarfall family’s ashes, and the ground was left eternally scorched.

“Are you confident that is what you saw?” My question echoed across the throne room. It wasn’t exactly empty, but for the grand size of it, the room should have hosted far more than the few of us. “It is important that we know every detail exactly if we are to make our next move.”

Lady Kelsey turned her red-rimmed eyes upon me. “I watched my sister’s murder. Every detail will haunt me until I am returned to the fire. Of course I am sure.”

I bowed, sorry that we even had to have this conversation.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Kelsey.” I hoped she registered the apology set in my expression. “I’m merely trying to understand it. If Aldrick is using the labradorite to extract the keys, then he is aware of the rites royalty conduct during the succession of an heir. If we can get it back, then we can give the power back to Althea.”

“It would make sense,” Rafaela added. I was thankful for her taking the weight of Kelsey’s eyes off of me. It had only been hours since her sister was cut down from her hanging place, and already I’d offended her with my careless comment. “Aldrick cannot use the keys to open Duwar’s gate until he has all four. This is as much a rescue mission as it is a mission to keep him from completing the task.”

I shot her a look, knowing the undercurrent of meaning beneath what she’d said. It was part of our plan, a plan that still had life in it yet. We either succeeded in getting the keys back, or we destroyed them.

But for the sake of not inspiring panic, we kept that part to ourselves.

“Aldrick has access to an abundance of labradorite in Elmdew. If he is fashioning boxes to collect the keys within them, it makes sense why the power has not manifested physically within Elmdew and here. He has successful captured it long enough to wait to get the rest.”

It didn’t feel right to describe it as a box. Kelsey had recounted what had happened, watching the Hunters cut through Queen Lyra’s wrists where they collected her blood within a box of labradorite. Not a drop spared, she had said.

Lyra hadn’t screamed or fought. She made no sound as she expelled Altar’s key alongside her blood. Now wasn’t the time to remind the group that Aldrick didn’t need to kill them to take the key – I trusted they all knew it deep down.

“It took hours,” Kelsey sobbed, her words barely audible as her hands muffled them. “I begged them to stop. Althea, I never wished to leave her in her final moments… but I failed her.”

Althea raised a hand and silenced her aunt. “Now is not the time for concerning ourselves with what has happened. I don’t wish to hear any more. We focus on our path ahead.”

Kelsey bowed her head, eyes smudged with kohl that ran down from her lathered eyelashes and left rivers of black down her grief-stricken face. She didn’t utter another word, but her muffled cries carried as background noise inside the room.

“Labradorite is not indestructible,” Rafaela continued to explain, aware that the entire room required her knowledge of the stone. Just like our knowledge of the keys, it seemed Altar wished to remove the true purpose of the stones from our history. Perhaps the gods wished to keep us in the dark to protect us, but all it had done was make us more vulnerable. “It is malleable. The Nephilim have used it for prisons, weapons and even the heart of our concerns, the gate which keeps Duwar locked away.”

“For now,” Althea said quickly, her gaze fixated on a spot on the floor before her. “We understand Aldrick’s intentions and know what he wishes to achieve. He may even claim the third key if we continue sitting around talking about it. Or, we act before he makes his next move. Robin.” Her eyes settled on me. “You are safest with us, but Elinor is currently in her court alone. I have already sent word to her, told her to prepare her borders for an inevitable attack.”

I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my dry throat. “And we are sure that Aldrick cannot use the keys?”

It was a question for Rafaela, one she answered freely. “There was a reason Altar made four. Because only a god can access the full power of four, and regardless of what Aldrick thinks he is, he is no god. To our luck, we only have his magic to contend with, and the force of his Hunters.”

Three powerful raps sounded on the closed doors. No one needed to accept the request for entry, for the door burst open. I turned and watched as Duncan and Erix entered, side by side. In the middle was a man I had hoped to see.

My knees almost buckled as I set my eyes on him. “Eroan.”

He bowed, black hair tipping over his eyes. “My king, it is good to see you.”

“And you.”

It took effort not to run to Eroan, the kind-hearted tailor who had greeted me with such warmth the first time I’d visited Aurelia. Relief at seeing him alive was all consuming. I’d hoped that I would see him again, but not under such circumstances, and certainly not as he pushed the wooden, wheeled cot before him. As much as I was glad he was alive, it was also because I required his unique skills.

And as I settled my eyes on the outline of a body upon the cot, covered in a sheet, I knew I was closer to the next step in my plan.

“Just in time,” Althea said plainly, resting each elbow on the edges of the gilded throne as she surveyed the new arrivals. “Eroan, I trust you have everything required for this?”

“I do,” he replied, although his hesitance was evident in each word. “It will take time, but I will do everything that is required of me.”

I left Rafaela’s side and paced directly toward the cot. There was no time for niceties as I offered Eroan a weak smile, trying everything in my power not to focus on the dead body he carted before him.

“I must ask myself, Robin. Are you sure this is what you want?” Eroan laid his tired eyes on me. Black as jewels, much like my own. Although he lived within the Cedarfall Court, Eroan belonged to Icethorn. Like Jesibel, I recognised my court in the blue shine within his black hair to his stare – as cold as ice.

“I appreciate your worry, and understand that this is a hard task, but I thank you for trying.” I placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Yes, I am sure. It is our only option. Turning Aldrick’s plans back on himself, giving him a taste of his own poison.”

There was a reluctance in his expression as his eyes trailed across me, searching. “Please, tell me there is another way.”

I shook my head. “This is the only way.”

Eroan sighed, gathered his emotion and boxed it away, leaving only a stern mask of determination lathered across his face. “So be it.”

I mouthed my thanks before turning back to the room. “We will have a short window to infiltrate Elmdew and deal with Aldrick. Going under the guise of a surprise worked for him with Elmdew and Cedarfall, and so it will succeed for us. Gyah, have we received word back from Elinor? Is she aware and ready?”

Gyah prowled forward from the shadows of Althea’s throne. Her hand lingered on the new queen’s shoulder, offering her the reminder that she was there, which had the desired effect from the way Althea’s face brightened. “No word yet. And there is no time to wait for a reply, either. If we wish to use the human teleporter, we must do so before Aldrick has enough time to understand that there is a problem. We can only hope that Elinor receives our request and acts immediately.”

I swallowed down my fears, feigning confidence in my plan. “She will. Elinor will do anything to protect her people and us. I believe it. And what of the Asps?” I turned to Lady Kelsey. “Have any been located among the Cedarfall survivors?”

Kelsey lifted her chin, broadening shoulders as pride practically glowed from her face. I knew the feeling was born from knowing she had something to offer toward the retribution of the family taken from her. “As they are my expertise, yes, I have had success in communicating with them. Without the assassins, I wouldn’t be standing here…” There was more Kelsey wished to say, but one look from Althea kept her on track. “This is the first time the Asps haven’t requested payment for their aid. They, too, have lost family and will stand by us. And thanks to them, the tonic you require to keep that leech out of your minds should arrive shortly.”

“Good.” My body trembled. “That’s good.”

Everything was falling into place. If the Asps provided us with stores of Mariflora, we could keep Aldrick out of our minds long enough to finish the task of destroying him. But the other issue was getting close enough, and that relied on Eroan, his magic and the body upon the cot.

I didn’t want to ask the next question, but the answer was important to our chances.

“How many of Aurelia’s survivors have agreed to come with us?”

Duncan cleared his throat. “Enough. Close to sixty, the rest will stay back and protect what is left of the Cedarfall Court.”

“As I have said before, my people have lost enough,” Althea added sternly. “I do not wish for them to put themselves in harm’s way. I regret asking them to step forwards.”

“With all due respect, Althea, you did the right thing.” Duncan was careful with every word and the tone he used. “Your people would refuse anything but the chance to help. They, much like you, feel as though they have nothing left to lose. And there is nothing more frightening than someone with nothing to lose… trust me.”

Althea’s eyes sparked with flame. “I don’t disagree, there is nothing more terrifying than that.”

My blood cooled as Erix spoke next. It was the first time he’d uttered a word since he removed the iron cuff from my neck. He walked directly toward Althea, sparing me only a quick glance as he passed. He stopped when he reached the throne, then bent his knee and bowed his head.

“My duty started in this court,” Erix said to Althea alone, although he spoke with undeniable conviction. “It was my honour to serve your family, and it would be an honour if you allow me to do the same for you, my queen.”

“Stand,” Althea commanded. “Please, Erix. I don’t ever want to see you bend the knee to me.”

Erix stood tall, his leathered wings flexing naturally at his sides. Physically, he was not the same man who last served the Cedarfall Court. But his soul had not changed, deep down, it was still him.

I was glad for it, happy I finally recognised the truth.

“My life is yours,” Erix said, clear and stoic.

Althea’s brow softened, her hands tightening on the sides of her chair. “If you wish to continue your service to the Cedarfall crown, you will do as I ask of you, no questions.”

“Anything,” Erix replied, almost choking on the word. “Name what you need of me, and I will see it done until my last breath.”

Althea looked over Erix’s shoulder – directly at me. “You are to protect Robin Icethorn. Stay by his side, at all times, and keep him alive. He is your responsibility as his guard, that hasn’t changed since my mother gave you that command, and it will not change now.”

I felt every drop of blood inside of me cool. I dared not move a muscle as they both looked at me.

“Robin does not require me anymore,” Erix replied, all without looking at me.

I was thankful he didn’t glance back at me. If he had, my knees might have failed me completely. How I fisted my hands, his words cutting deep.

“He has Duncan Rackley to protect him now. Robin has his power–”

“And he will have you,” Althea persisted. “If Robin is still determined in his desire to be the lamb sent to the slaughter, it will be with as much protection as I can offer at his back.”

Even if I wanted to agree with Erix, I couldn’t form the words.

“Althea is right,” Duncan spoke for me. His sudden presence was beside me, a shadow over my shoulder. I was so focused on Althea and Erix that I hadn’t noticed. “Erix, you have Robin’s best interests at heart, as do I. If you refuse Althea’s request, I may just never forgive you. He needs you, and I need you. You have proven your loyalty over and over, that is all I could ask for. So please, I know I’m in no position to ask you to do this, but I will get on my knees and beg if it comes to it.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, or how Duncan’s plea warmed my soul more than I was brave enough to understand in that moment.

Duncan took my hand in his and squeezed. His grip was soft yet firm. As his thumb began tracing small circles on the back of my hand, my thoughts calmed enough for me to say something.

“They’re right, Erix,” I added. “I need you.”

Even the weakest of spring breezes could have toppled Erix over. We all watched as a wave of relief cascaded over him. He straightened, pushed back his shoulders and lifted his chin until he looked down the sharp arrow of his nose at me. “Then I will prove myself to you again.”

I smiled honestly. “There is no need, you’ve already done that, as Duncan has said.”

Althea stood from her throne abruptly. A black band gathered her mess of red curls into a bun and swept it off her sharp face. Still covered in muck, blood and other soils of war, she provided her final decree to the room. “Erix, Rafaela. Gather those who want to fight and get them dressed in the Hunters’ clothes. Aunt, you have an hour to get as much Mariflora tonic as the Asps can supply. I want every person in this room to waste not a moment in preparing for our strike.”

“I will see it done,” Lady Kelsey said, pride burning in her eyes for her niece. “My queen.”

Althea bristled but made no comment on how that could be an issue. “We must fortify our minds, or this will be over before it truly begins. Go, with haste, we should not waste a moment. Robin, Eroan, you can use this room to complete the final task you have to do.”

The room was already emptying before she finished speaking.

“I will work as fast as I can,” Eroan said, glancing toward the covered body laid out before him. “But understand that a glamour is a sensitive and delicate thing. It can be as weak as powder upon one’s face or as strong as a mask. I will need time to ensure this works.”

“Eroan,” Althea replied softly. “Do your best with what time is given. You may just be the reason we save the realm.”

I sensed determination swell within the slender frame of Eroan, he straightened, lifted his chin as cold eyes set with focus. “Then I will not let you down.”

“One last chance, Robin,” Althea said to me. I could hear my breathing as the room emptied. All but Althea, Gyah, Duncan and Eroan, who fussed around the sheet-covered body as Roan rolled his sleeves up to his elbows in preparation. “If you tell me you have changed your mind, we will find another way. It hardly sits well with me knowing that you are going to put yourself in this position, but I understand why you must be the one.”

“And I will,” I said firmly, trying to mirror the outward resolve that Althea exuded. “We all have a part to play. This is my plan; I understand the dangers. I cannot allow anyone else to do this.”

Rafaela caught my eyes from across the room. There had been a change to our plan, but I hadn’t shared that with anyone as a promise for her aid. Before, I was to give up the key before infiltrating Aldrick’s lair. But if there was any time its power was useful, it was now. Rafaela had a contingency plan in case it all went wrong.

“I will be by your side, friend, every step of the way.” Althea placed a hand on my shoulder, standing at my side, offering me a meek smile.

“Which is why I have the strength to even take the first step,” I replied. “For you… for your family.”

Althea pursed her lips and exhaled a long, taut breath out of her nose. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in close. As I inhaled, all I could smell was fire. It was both pleasant and unpleasant.

I didn’t pull away.

“I’ll miss this face.” Althea’s eyes trailed across every detail of my face. I sensed her drink me in with her gaze. “How long will it last?”

Her question was not for me, but for Eroan.

“It is reversible only by the one who crafts the glamour,” Eroan answered. “As long as Robin comes back a victor, and I’m still breathing, it will be reversed.”

“Then you better stay alive,” Duncan added, casting a hateful look at the bundle of flesh hidden beneath the sheet. “You’ve just become the second most important man in my life.”

Eroan couldn’t hide his blush.

I hadn’t allowed myself to dwell on the new addition to my original plan. It had always involved a glamour and infiltration. But the face I was to take had only become a recent addition to my ever-changing plot. In my mind, there was no other option. It was practically handed to me on a silver platter.

“Let us leave them to concentrate,” Gyah announced, urging Althea toward the exit of the room with a firm hand. “It’s frowned upon to interrupt the artist who works on their finest piece.”

Eroan waited for the great doors to clang shut behind them before addressing me again. “I’m ready to begin when you are, Robin.”

“Let’s begin then,” I replied, focusing entirely on the covered body, not prepared for what I’d see when the sheet was finally taken off.

“Are you sure?” Eroan persisted. “I ask only a final time.”

“Not at all,” I replied honestly, forcing a wavering smile. “But this is my only option.”

“I’m here,” Duncan said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

I wondered if he would feel the same way when this was done.

“I am going to stay, too,” Erix said, voice as sharp as steel. “Little bird, you are not alone.”

Altar. Hearing those words were all I needed.

“You are going to need to sit for this,” Eroan said, edging his songful voice with command. “It’s best you are as still as you can be, so please try your hardest for me.”

I did as he asked, taking a seat in a chair provided.

Eroan rubbed his hands together. Then, with disgust drawn over his narrow face, he tugged at the white sheet covering the body and pulled it away. The material rippled onto the floor like water. Everything was silent as I took in the body laid out before him.

Until now, this idea had been a grand one. But looking at Kayne’s lifeless body filled me with nothing but dreaded regret.