Page 8

“Well,” Vexa remarked, eyeing me up and down. “Seems like everything fits. Although you could fill it out a bit more.” She huffed, then narrowed her eyes at my food tray, still half full, stale polenta clinging dryly to the plate.

“I’m still... getting used to everything here.” I looked down, my fingers curling uncomfortably into my pockets. The food was bland, like the ghost of something once edible. Even its color seemed muted.

“The food is different.”

“I’m sure it’s much better where you’re from.” She clicked her teeth but she stopped herself from saying anything more.

The silence that followed was thick, uncomfortable. Vexa’s eyes lingered on me for a moment longer, some kind of pain brewing in their depths before she turned around, her gaze sweeping the room. I let out a slow breath, my chest tightening. I was about to leave this tower for the first time, the last thing I wanted to do was piss her off and make her change her mind.

“What did you call them–the beasts, I mean,” I said, forcing a softer tone.

“Vördr.” She hummed, inspecting invisible lint on her left forearm before dusting it away. “And don’t get any ideas. I know it might seem tempting to fly off on one of them, but they wouldn’t let you mount them even if you tried.”

“I’m not going to do that,” I assured her, keeping my gaze on the floor as she turned away from me.

“Ready?” she asked, no sign of ice left in her voice.

I followed slowly, the scent of soot wafting off her, lingering beneath the sharp tang of iron. As if she had just come from a forge.

“Alright, let us out.”

The metal screeched as the lock lifted. Aether’s form filled the doorway like a shadow. I hated how he could make even the smallest gesture feel like a weight pressing down on me. He didn’teven look in my direction. Not a glance, just a heavy silence that seemed to stretch on. I watched as his structured jaw ticked, framed by the raven-colored hair that barely brushed his shoulders. The simple movement caused his metal piercings to refract the light, and I caught a glance of those shimmering golden eyes. The ones that had haunted my dreams for the last year.

“Thirty minutes,” his hoarse voice managed. My insides tightened at the sound, curling into a ball of resentment. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be back home now. If it wasn’t for him, I’d never have been captured in the first place.

“Understood?” he asked, irritation lacing his tone.

Vexa rolled her eyes, leaning against the doorframe and pushing her hand against his chest to allow her out. “I heard you the first twenty times you said it.” She sighed, “I’m sure you’ll be trailing behind us like our own personal guardian either way.” She brushed past him and motioned for me to follow.

I took one step toward the door and froze. Not by choice. My body simply stopped responding, like every muscle had turned to stone. Vexa disappeared from view around the curve of the stairs.

Aether stepped into my line of sight, and the amusement written across his face made my blood boil. His gaze raked over me dangerously, taking in my futile attempts to move. Panic flooded me as I remembered that moment in the tower weeks ago—how my fingers had uncurled from the dagger against my will, how my hand had frozen mid-strike.

Fuck.

His breath ghosted across my ear as he leaned in. "You can try to mess with my mind all you want," he whispered, voice deadly soft, "but if you try your luck with any ofthem, I will make you wish you were dead."

"Is this really necessary?" I managed through gritted teeth, hating how close he was, hating even more how my body refused to move away.

"Just making sure we understand each other." The warmth of him was maddening as he lingered there, too near, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

"Fia?" Vexa's voice echoed up from below. "Do I have to drag you down the stairs myself?"

The pressure holding me vanished so suddenly I stumbled forward. Aether's hand shot out to steady me, and the brief contact sent electricity through my skin. When I met his eyes again, that dangerous edge had been replaced by that unreadable calm.

"After you," he said, gesturing toward the stairs.

I shoved past him, trying to ignore how my heart raced.

He waited for me to step down onto the first landing before trudging down the stairs after us, Vexa now pulling at my arm with calloused fingers as we began our spiraling descent.

When the door finally opened, I shielded my eyes in reflex, expecting the light of a blinding sun, like the small windowless descent through the tower had somehow robbed my mind of what I knew to be true. I had become all too accustomed to the nightless, muted days. Like this realm was stuck in time, the sun never peaking beyond the gray mountains, the moon never leaving its position in front. The day was gray, just like everything in its reach.

I followed Vexa out onto the lawn, stale grass crunching under my feet, as if it had been burned, or dead long enough to dry out on its own, leaving its frayed skeleton behind. Through glimpses of fog and the cramped towers we walked between, I could see the intimidating architecture of Ravenfell piercing the muted sky.

Stone creatures from nightmares were encroaching from their peaked windows and rooftops, adorning all of the spires as far as my eyes could see. We were nestled in what seemed to be a corner of the city, the right side backed up to some barren lands in the distance. To the left, sharp stone encapsulated the perimeter andbeyond those walls looked to be the remains of a forest, the trees twisted and dried.

Eventually we stepped onto a path, and rocky bits of broken stone ground beneath my boots with each step. I gave myself a brief moment to savor the feeling of the wind on my skin before the smell of wet hay and manure invaded my nose.