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Taly stopped reaching. She barely felt it when the tears began to fall. Her mother’s necklace. The Queen had managed to taint even that.

The Queen once again turned, offering no explanation as she began to walk away.

“You seem tired, Madam.” Leto’s voice was melodic and soothing, and she placed a gentle hand on Taly’s shoulder. The buzz of aether made her teeth sing. “Would you like to retire for the night?”

Taly nodded wordlessly, allowing herself to be pulled to the side, towards a door she didn’t recognize.

“Everything will look better in the morning,” one of the fairies whispered sympathetically as they passed.

“She’s really not that bad,” another chimed.

“Yes, she is,” came a tinkling mutter. “But you get used to it.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.

But Taly had already stopped listening.

She was trapped.

That thought kept repeating in an endless loop.

She was trapped in a strange place with an even stranger woman. Trapped until she could complete a task that could take years.

As she trudged after Leto, she felt each one of those years opening up in front of her, a dark, yawning chasm from which she couldn’t escape.

Chapter 3

-From the personal notes of Azura Raine, High Lady of Time

Her name will be Talya, and she will be just a girl, chosen because she was unlucky enough to be born when I needed a champion.

His name will be Skylen, and he will be just a boy, chosen because he was unlucky enough to fall in love when I needed a sacrifice.

I hope that one day they will be able to forgive me for the things that I have done. For the things that I will force them both to endure.

Skylen Emrys, future Duke of Ghislain and acting commander of the Gate Watchers, leanedagainst the parapet of the compound wall, staring out into the gray haze of morning.

It had been five days since the attacks began, and the city of Ebondrift spread out before him—a broken husk. The winding streets were littered with rubble, doors of nearby buildings hung askew, windows had been broken. Just below, what used to be a bustling market square lay in ruins, a few tatters of smoke-stained cloth the only hint at what had only a week before been a colorful sprawl of canvas awnings.

The situation had only grown worse since Taly went missing. They were being attacked nearly every day with lethal precision, and the leadership was still fractured on whether to stay or go. The holdouts wanted to stay in Ebondrift, but, as Skye had continued to argue, that wasn’t an option. Their supplies were rapidly dwindling, and, as last night’s battle had once again proven, their walls had been breached.

The skirmish had been brief but devastating. The shades had somehow managed to infiltrate the underground tunnels beneath the compound, and due to a mistake in the guard rotation that Skye still couldn’t explain, the entrance beneath the keep had been left unguarded.

The first few minutes were a slaughter. Since the lower levels of the keep stayed warmer in the winter months, mortals and magicless—those more prone to disease—had been assigned to the undercroft. Almost twenty men died within the first few minutes, and the shades were already slicing through the mortal camp by the time a nearby contingent of mages was able to push back the swell of undead. Skye and a few others had spent the rest of the night clearing out the tunnelsand trying to find out who had dismissed the guards.

The search had been fruitless so far. Despite Kato’s suspicions and Taly’s abrupt departure, there were still traitors in their midst. Which meant that even if Taly was in league with their enemy—albeit unwillingly—she wasn’t the only one.

“You look like shit.”

Skye snorted, turning to face the dark-haired woman trudging up the stairs behind him. Even after five days of trying to restore order in a world gone mad, Eula was a sight. Her hair was coiled neatly around her head, and despite the dark shadows beneath her eyes, her scaled leather armor was clean, the sword at her waist polished to a shine.

When faced with conflict, some people crumbled. Eula, however—she just worked harder and longer and worst of all, she made it look easy.

Skye picked at a streak of dirt on his sleeve. After spending all night down in the tunnels beneath the keep, he’d only had enough energy to wipe away the blood before redonning his armor and preparing for the day ahead.

“Good morning to you too,” he said, forcing a smile.

“I thought you said you were going to try to get some sleep after last night,” she chided, coming to stand beside him.