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After so many weeks spent in the palace, she had never felt the urge to give up quite so violently as she did right then. Through every bullshit test and trial, every random whim the Queen decided to throw at her, she had managed to grit her teeth and bear it.

But those had been mere annoyances; nothing compared to this new hell.

A manic laugh bubbled up and out, scraping against her throat like a knife. It really was funny in the worst possible way. After everything she had endured—harpies and magic spells and undead monsters—a simple game of tag would be her downfall.You’ll play until you win,the Queen had said. But she was never going to win. It was too much—stalking and hunting, fighting and casting, all while managing more pain than she ever thought possible. Just the idea of coming back here tomorrow, of going through this again and again and again—

Taly doubled over as her stomach gave another heave.

It all seemed so pointless. There were some days she wondered why she even bothered to get up at all. Because even if she did win, somehow managing to eke out a victory and earn her freedom, what would she be going back to? Would her family accept her now that she was fey? What would they say when they found out she was a time mage? That just knowing her could put their lives at risk?

And that, of course, assumed they were even still alive to be angry at her. Tempris was under attack when she left, and she had no idea how much time had actually passed. Time moved differently inside the loop, but what the hell did that even mean? What if her family was already dead? Or worse, what if they had been turned into shades? What would she do if she ever came across Skye, rotting and dead, staring back at her through milky eyes?

Oh Shards, what if her dreams came true and Skye—

Taly twisted her fingers in the red dirt, forcing herself to breathe.Skye. Just his name was enough to give her pause. She missed him. It snuck up on her sometimes just how much, pulling her from whatever she was doing and making it hard to think. The few nights she was able to take control of her dreams, somehow escaping those blood-filled visions of a future she prayed never came to pass, she would sometimes find him, alive and whole and waiting for her.

Those dreams were the only thing that still had her going to sleep at night.

Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes.Get up.She could practically hear the words, as clearly as if he were whispering in her ear.Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up. Get up and do it again. Come home to me.

Skye wouldn’t give up. Arrogant Highborn bastard that he was—he wouldn’t give up. And he wouldn’t let her give up either.

Taly gritted her teeth, swallowing back the next wave of nausea. It wouldn’t end like this. Not here. Not today.

Get up. And that’s exactly what she did. Slowly, aware of each lingering ache and pain, she staggered to her feet.

Do it again.And she would. Again and again. Until she won. Because she was stronger now, as strong as Skye. Because she was Talya Caro, and that bitch didn’t give up.

The first explosion crashed in the distance, and the ground began to tremble. Holding her head high, Taly wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve and began making her way back to the palace.

Azura hid in the shadow of the wide stone arch. “I can feel your judgment,” she said, glancing at the woman that had drifted a few paces ahead. More than a friend—a sister, even if there was no shared blood between them.

Leto floated back down the darkened tunnel to where the Queen had stopped to watch as the girl began retching in the training arena down below. “Permission to speak freely, Majesty?”

“Of course. You are always free to speak your mind. You know that.”

“You’re too hard on her,” Leto said after a beat of hesitation, never taking her eyes off the girl.

“I knew you were going to say that.”

“I’m not the only one that has raised concerns.”

“I’m aware.” She had ears, after all, and the fairies were hardly circumspect when it came to their whispering.

“She has passed her seal examinations in a fraction of the time than any other student you or I ever trained.”

Azura picked at one of the chains coiling around her wrist. “I know all of this, Leto.”

But her friend went on. “She told me what you had her do for the second seal assessment. Most mages would not have been able to hold up a simple coin so soon into their training, much less an entire temple ceiling. Under any other circumstances, she would be considered a prodigy, and yet you still belittled her.”

True.All true.

Azura said, “You know as well as I that the Lady Caro was prone to arrogance when she was younger. She said so herself.”

Leto gave her a sidelong glance. “Even so—this new trial is unorthodox.”

Azura kept her chin high. “I know.”

“Even at the highest levels of training, this would be considered needlessly vicious.”