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The Shades targetedme.

The complications were more than I understood. Who was I?No one,I refrained. Yet, for the first time, I wondered if I was wrong.

12 | Hollow

Zayne

“Maybe she’s not coming,” Vanessa whispered, voicing my fears.

The sun neared noon, and Vanessa basked in the light. She sparkled, sunlight striking her watery skin as she sprawled on the deck. The Starlit Isle was known for its bright sunshine, and today was no exception.

This isle had no suitable home for the heirs of shadows, but Eleanor and I had tried. When the Starlit King offered us safety, we would have been remiss to reject him.

It seemed like only yesterday, yet it also seemed like an era ago. A month ago, Eleanor and I had left this shore, beginning her quest to claim the Shadow Throne.

We thought we understood the Shades. We believed we knew the location of the throne. Somewhere along the way, we had been misguided.

I swallowed. I didn’t know if our mistakes had resulted from foolishness or outside manipulation. Regardless, they had nearly ruined everything, becoming errors I had to fix.

I couldn’t stop. Not now that Eleanor was gone. I still believed she was alive, since Teyr had told me as much. It felt foolish to believe the words of a distant deity, but I needed the hope.

Guilt haunted me like a specter. As a child, I had lost Sandra. I couldn’t afford to add Eleanor to my list of regrets.

Now Ayla was tangled in this too.

She didn’t belong on this boat, and I couldn’t blame her for abandoning my quest. Ayla could wear her Brand boldly, burning bright like a falling star, flaring before fading.

Ayla was a survivor; I saw it from the spark of her eyes. She had intrigued me the night we met. By our second encounter, she had made me laugh. As we sailed into Port Saundyrs, she failed to hide her awe. And last night, as the fiddle played, she had tapped her feet, a fae taking her first steps on our magical lands.

First Sandra, then Eleanor. Would Ayla be next? How many would fall prey to the Shades?

My fire had died long ago, watching Sandra die. For years, I had faded, an exiled prince trapped in a cage. Eleanor had helped, sharing her motivation. Since her capture, I moved mechanically, urged by duty, resigning myself to my fate. I prepared to die for Eleanor because there was nothing to live for.

Once, I’d believed my family motto:a shadow may fade, but it always remains.I wasn’t sure I could remain if I lost another to the Shades. Ayla stirred the ashes of my heart.

Grinding my fist against the bulkhead, I faced the sea. Tired of looking at the empty docks, I embraced the horizon. Soon we would leave, and it seemed that Ayla would not be joining us.

The first of the noon bells rang. With a huff, I turned around, preparing to unfasten the lines.

“Sorry I’m late.” Ayla dropped a bag on the deck. She leaped onto the boat.

She was breathing hard, like she’d run all the way here. Under the duress, her throat bobbed, her Brand shifting. Regardless, my chest swelled—she had chosen this. I could still cure her.

Glancing at her bag, she explained, “I had some shopping to do. I lost most of my gear in the attack. Since I’m new to the fae markets, I got a little distracted—did you know there are towels spelled for cleaning? Wipe the cloth on your body and grime goes away. Pretty neat.”

Her ash-colored throat still captured my attention. My first impulse was to pull her into my cabin, to treat her Brand, to touch her. I would bring ashflower to her heart, making her whole.

“I wouldn’t know,” Vanessa said when I failed to speak. “Water sprites don’t exactly getgrimy.”

“Ha!” I forced a laugh. “Vanessa, you looked quite worse for wear when I met you at Vila Port.”

“Woe is the sprite who travels south. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ll never do that again.”

“Why were you there in the first place?” Ayla asked.

Vanessa sighed loudly and dramatically. “I left for reasons of the heart,” she said, stopping there.

I still hadn’t learned the truth of it. Vanessa deflected whenever I asked. The last of the noon bells rang across the bay.