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Kovakian weddings had three parts—the blood oath, the exchange of marks, and the kindling. The blood oath was the official binding of the couple, the rest simply traditional rituals. Typically, weddings took place over two to three days, interspersed with eating, drinking, and celebrations. But because my father was in charge, this one was going to be fast-tracked.

Lila and I would be officially married by dusk.

45

Raven

My heart pounded as the Rathalans shoved Skyler, Sora, and me into the far corner of the great hall and drew their swords to keep us there.

We were all injured, but Sora was in the worst condition, looking like she was seconds away from passing out. Skyler reached for her just as her knees gave way from exhaustion. I helped him ease her to the floor and prop her back up against the wall. As I did, blood gushed from the deep cut in my palm, causing a throbbing pain to shoot up my arm. I bit my lip to hold back a cry. Beside me, Skyler was gritting his teeth from the pain of the claw marks on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” Sora said, her voice a pained whisper.

“What happened to you?” Skyler said, keeping one eye on the guards as he spoke. “Barrd and I went to Malengard to search for you but couldn’t find you. We thought the worst. Why did Bloodbain bring you here?”

“He came for me in the mine. It was only a few days after they took you, Raven.” Her words came slowly, like it was taking all the energy she had just to keep her heart beating.

As she spoke, Skyler wordlessly tore off a strip of fabric from his shirt and wrapped it around my bleeding hand as best hecould with both our wrists still shackled. The action felt gentle and familiar, like he’d done it before. Maybe he had.

“Who came for you? Bloodbain?” I asked, my face contorting as I took in the bruises painted across her skin.

“Yes. He said you had a suli map that you couldn’t read.” Her eyes shone with pain. “He knew I’d given it to you.”

I suddenly felt nauseated, remembering that I’d told Bloodbain about Sora that night he’d poisoned me in his chambers.

Sora took several labored breaths. She was thin and weak. It didn’t look like the Rathalans had fed her much since I’d last seen her. “He forced me to tell him everything about the stone, the Zavien tribe, the map, all of it,” she whispered, her voice filled with regret. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Sora. I was the one who started all this …”and left you in the mine to die, I thought.

“He was going to kill me, so I lied and told him that I could decipher the map,” she said, keeping her voice low so the Rathalan guards couldn’t hear her. They seemed to be distracted now by all the wedding preparations. “That’s why he brought me here.”

“We have to find a way to get back the map and get out of here,” Skyler whispered, pressing his hands against his injured shoulder. “We can’t let the Rathalans leave here with it.”

“But how?” I said.

“Do you trust that Kovak guy?” Sora whispered, her face scrunching like she was forming a plan.

My heart stumbled at the thought of Jeddak. Could I trust him? Mere days ago, my answer would have been a resoundingyes. But so many lies had risen to the surface since then, drowning out what trust I thought we once had. “Maybe,” I said finally.

“Absolutely not,” Skyler said, his jaw set. “He’s getting married in an hour, Rae. He’s not going to ruin his wedding to help us. You know that, right?”

At his words, the backs of my eyes began to sting. By sunset, I would lose Jeddak forever. Despite everything that had gone wrong between us, my stubborn heart still didn’t want to let him go.

Sora glanced between me and Skyler, frowning.

Skyler checked the guards weren’t looking before taking off a necklace that had been hidden underneath his shirt. Dangling on the leather cord was a thin black metal pendant in the shape of a feather.

“What is that?” I whispered.

His eyes met mine, not concealing the hurt in them. “You gave it to me.”

Oh.

“Hurry,” Sora rasped, realizing he was going to try to use the pendant to pick the lock.

Skyler reached for my shackles first, inserting the sharp metal pendant in the lock.

“You two have to fly out of here and find help,” I said, my tone urgent as he worked at the lock. “Bloodbain won’t kill me if he doesn’t have anyone else to decipher the map.”