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There was still a cast of twilight over it all. The edges of things seemed dark, even as undeniable life pulsed within them. Not a dead world any longer, maybe, but one still fragile and fighting under the threat of decay.

But it seemed all the more impressive for its willingness to live in spite of the shadows, I thought.

Some things bloom brighter in the dark.

Some things were not given a choice.

I stared at that distant tree for a long moment. Imagining its roots—the way they had clung so stubbornly to life. They must have run deep.

So did mine.

My kingdom would bloom in spite of the darkness.

And so would I.

I would find a way to thrive in spite of it—no,withit. And the darkness I was going to unleash on Lorien the next time we met would be unlike anything he had ever seen.

I would not be afraid any longer.

Aleksander and I would not be a tragedy, becauseIwas the one writing the story now, and this was not how it ended.

I would get him back.

Steeling myself, I crawled out of my brother’s protective embrace. I picked up the things Thalia had left at my feet, wrapping what remained of my bracelets around my knife with slow, but steady movements. Then I stood and marched my way to the top of the hill.

Wincing from the pain in my shoulder, I knelt and stabbed the blade into a hard patch of ground at the base of the tree. And this was where I left it—a memorial to what I’d once been. What I no longer was. What I was becoming.

Shadows erupted around my body when I stepped away from it all, and I let them trail freely alongside me as I walked toward my palace without looking back.