Page 102

“Leave me alone,” she pleaded. “I’m sleeping.”

Quicksilver did not respond.

But someone else did.

Help us, Thorn.

Thorn’s tired eyes snapped open.

The sting of Zaf’s kiss blossomed into a knot of warmth on her cheek, and when she touched her fingers to the spot... itmoved.

Thorn sat up slowly, staring in wonder at her hand. A faint white glow dusted her fingers, as though she’d dipped them in a jar of moonslight.

She wiggled her fingers. Would the light disappear? Was she caught in a dream?

The light rolled in droplets down her shifting fingers, collecting in the cradle of her palm. It hovered there, turning slowly in place, like the tiniest of stars pulled down from the sky.

Still alive, Thorn.

Thorn stared at the floating orb of light that spoke with Zaf’s voice. Her chest squeezed around her pounding heart. She brought her hand up close to her face, staring at the light until her eyes stung.

A dream?

A trick of her mind?

She exhaled, blew a soft breath across her palm. The light shifted, brightening.

Help us,it whispered, and when Thorn closed her eyes, she could almost imagine Zaf was there beside her—Zaf on one side, Brier on the other, and Bartos watching over them.

Hurry, Thorn.

Hurry.

.39.

The War of Thorns

Thorn stumbled to the wall, cradling the light in her hands.

“Quicksilver!” she cried, forgetting they were being held prisoner, that there were guards outside in the hallway, that she didn’t know where Noro was.

All she knew was that she held Zaf’s voice in her palms like a precious jewel.

“They’re alive!” Thorn’s eyes filled up. She bounced on the balls of her feet. “They’re alive, and we have to go get them!”

Quicksilver murmured, “Breathe slowly for a moment, Thorn. And speak soft. Remember?”

“Look at it.” She held her palm up to the crack in the wall so Quicksilver could see.

Quicksilver’s gray eye blinked. “Great stars. Where did that come from?”

Thorn, realizing the truth, smiled a beaming smile.

“Zaf’s kiss,” she whispered, her cheeks growing warm. “It came from Zaf’s kiss.”

The light in her palms shifted, its brightness fading ever so slightly.

Hurry, Thorn.