Page 2

Her plan had worked for some time, but in this, she ultimately failed.

She pulled her hood tight as she approached the back of the castle, the dark void at the base of the mountain cominginto view. She kept her head down and her steps quick as she approached the portcullis.

Donika’s rooms weren’t on this side of the castle, but that didn’t mean anyone who might see her through their window wouldn’t report back. Luckily, her brown cloak blended in with the dead of winter, the colorless grass and the stark trees. It served as a form of camouflage, and she could only hope that as she approached, no one had seen her.

She advanced towards the entrance only known to a few and could see that the portcullis was already open in a giant yawn, the darkened corridor visible beyond.

Zion was expecting her, then.

She hastily stepped inside, a swell of emotion threatening to choke her as she bent to the lantern that had been left at the entrance. She struck a match against the stone and lit the lone flame inside.

The packed dirt floor of the tunnel came into view as she moved forwards, the lantern light flickering warmly against the ancient stone walls. She pulled the chain to close the portcullis behind her, allowing no one else who might know of this secret passage to enter. She didn’t want to chance being followed into the secret passages from behind.

She inhaled deeply to steel herself before moving onward.

After entering The Stone Palace without an invitation… there would be no going back.

Donika would never spare her a second time, and if her plan didn’t work out as she hoped it would, it would be the last plan she ever made. She prayed to the Mother that she never encountered Donika during her short stay in The StonePalace. Her daughter would surely smell the magic on her, despite her own spell binding. Her disdain for Stormshades had only grown over the years, and Annelise’s own spellbinding had begun to wear off weeks ago.

When she had received Zion’s letter, she hadn’t had time to reinforce it. Besides, she might need her storm magic to make it out of this mess alive.

Despite her past mistakes, she would do anything to protect Diana. To save her from her sister. The same couldn’t be said about Donika, and the guilt only a mother could experience made nausea roll fresh in her stomach.

How could you love a monster?

Annelise wasn’t sure she did anymore, and that fact brought a fresh wave of guilt all its own.

Annelise had one hand on the lantern—lighting the path before her—the other hand trailing against the stone wall to her right. The knowledge of these passages might have died with those that had lived in her tenure in the castle, and it was distinctly possible they were in disrepair. She risked these fragile stones caving in on her, trapping her.

But Zion had to have traveled these passages to open the portcullis for her.

The thought reassured her as she ascended one staircase after the other, quickly out of breath. She wasn’t used to traversing these passages any longer. The wind was nearly taken out of her lungs at the sheer number of steps she had to ascend simply to make it to the ground floor.

She pushed her hood back to wipe the sweat from her brow. Despite the cold winter air, the flame from the lantern and theexertion of scaling the tunnels left her panting and her skin warm.

She stopped at the door to the round antechamber, pressing her ear to the wood and listening. Once she had determined the chamber was safe to enter, she twisted the iron knob and the door squeaked open.

The chamber and passageway beyond weren’t dark as she had expected—the torches on the walls were lit and they filled the cavity with warm flickering light. The chamber also wasn’t empty, and she gasped as she saw a figure step into view from the shadows, her hand clasping her chest tightly.

For only a moment, she imagined it was Donika stepping from the shadows, waiting for her. That Zion had told her she was coming… that he had successfully lured her to the castle after all these years. So she could kill her for certain this time, finishing the job.

“Easy, bird. It’s just me.” Zion’s deep timbre filled the antechamber and her muscles relaxed.

Bird.

It had been so long since she had heard him call her that.

Too long.

‘Always taking flight’ he had once said. The nickname suited her more than he ever could have guessed. He had called her bird long before she had left to be with Osiris, and still long after.

Zion was a good man. A forgiving man. He understood they were better off as friends.

“Zion,” she breathed, collapsing into his arms.

The warmth of his golden skin was a soothing balm to her. She had missed his touch after all these years. She could sense the binding magic pulsing deep in her core, as if it had missed its other half, too. No matter how many miles or realms she traversed, she and Zion would always be bound.

Until death.