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“Take her where?” Crescent frowned. “Has she told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Told you that her family attacked the Rose Court. That my sister...” His voice hitched, and for a brief moment, I glimpsed the pain he was in. “My sister is dead.”

“They weren’t my family,” I started to counter. “They’re as much my family as they are Morgan’s. It wasn’t my fault.”

I heard the words as they left my mouth. Hollow and empty.

The truth was, it had been my fault. Deep inside, I knew it was. All of it. Odessa’s death. The attack.

If I was the spear, if I was the king-killer... then I was the problem. I had always been the problem.

My mother had created me that way.

“Can Crescent take me to Morgan? Is she with my grandfather now?” I asked Kaye.

He nodded.

“I’m not taking you anywhere.” Crescent frowned. “We have to get Kaye to safety.” He looked at my uncle. “Taina is at the temple. We’ll take you there, too.” He glanced at me. “Both of you,” he conceded. “You’ll both be safe there.”

“Take me to my aunt,” I demanded. “Kaye says you can stitch me there.”

“I can show you the way,” Kaye said quickly. “If Crescent will just take my hand...”

“This is ridiculous. You’re both children. There’s no time to waste. I don’t know what you think is going on, but the castle was just attacked. We can’t stay here. Come, Kaye. I’ll help you up.” He reached the bed and began to help Kaye up. “I’m not stitching Medra anywhere. Certainly not to Morgan. We agreed stitching would never be used while she was away. And I’m not about to send Medra when I’m supposed to be protecting her.”

“Protecting me?” I exploded. “Is that what you’ve been doing?”

But it didn’t matter. Even if Crescent somehow agreed, it was too late.

A pain was inside my head. There was a knife stabbing me from the inside out.

I cried out in pain, sinking to my knees, covering my head with my hands.

“Medra.” From a distance, I saw Kaye sliding out of the bed. I caught a glimpse of Crescent’s shocked face.

Kaye fell to the floor and started to crawl towards me. “It’s happening. Medra, you can stop him. Try!”

“I can’t,” I screamed.

I was being torn asunder. Was this stitching? If so, I feared I would be torn to pieces. There would be nothing left of me.

“What’s happening to her?” Crescent’s voice came from a long way away. “What do we do?”

The room was spinning.

Blurrily, I thought I saw Crescent crouching next to me. He reached out his hands to grab me, but they passed right through.

“Kaye, she’s slipping.” His voice was frantic now. “Who’s doing this? Kaye...”

But it was too late.

I was gone.

CHAPTER 38 - MORGAN

“Shall I reach for her now?” My father smiled at me. “Shall I show you the spear? The new one?”