Page 134 of A Court of Thralls and Thorns

My heart stuttered. They were buried in someone’s chest.

I stumbled forward and dropped to my knees. Blood seeped from the body—Jax. His lifeless eyes stared up at me, accusing. My throwing stars glinted in his chest like silver teeth.

“No…” My voice shook. “No, no, no…”

“You did this,” a voice whispered.

I turned, and my father stood there, arms crossed. His smile was cruel. “I told you this would happen. You’re poison. Everyone you love dies or leaves you.”

I couldn’t breathe. My chest burned like fire had filled my lungs. The pain clawed deeper—a cold, gnawing ache in my ribs.This isn’t real. This isn’t real…

But then the ground cracked beneath me, and I was falling—into darkness, into nothing.

The air shifted the moment I landed hard. Magic coiled thick around me like smoke, curling through my veins and making my skin itch. The Aetherfield pulsed—not with life, but with power—unstable, volatile, and hungry. It would devour anyone too weak to command it.

Perfect, I muttered as I stared at the faint symbols in the air.

Kaelith, do you have any idea what I should do?

Trace the glyphs.

“Glyphs it is,” I muttered under my breath. My fingers trembled as I lifted my hand. Magic surged inside me, sparking hot and restless. The air shimmered as I sketched a glowing sigil—a twisting pattern that was both enchanting and haunting.

For a heartbeat, the glyph flared bright, stabile. My magic wrapped around it like a thread pulled taut.

Yes... Yes, I can do this?—

Kaelith’s presence flickered in my mind—distant and faint, like a whisper I couldn’t quite hear. The glyph dimmed. I pushed more magic into it, but without Kaelith’s support, my power felt like trying to catch smoke in my hands.

The glyph sputtered.

No, no, no?—

It shattered, exploding in a burst of sparks that sliced across my arm like shards of ice. I staggered back, clutching the searing cut.

“Focus!” Jax barked from somewhere nearby, his own glyphs blazing gold.

I gritted my teeth and tried again. Another sigil—this one shaky and uneven—flickered to life in front of me. Kaelith’s power was supposed to be anchoring mine, feeding strength back to me.

But she was hardly a breath in the back of my mind. Cold. Weak. Gone.

My second glyph lasted only seconds before it, too, burst apart—this time searing across my ribs.

Blood trickled down my side.

Fine.If Kaelith wasn’t going to help me hold the magic steady, I’d just burn through whatever power I had left.

I dragged magic from the core of my body—deep within my soul—and forced a third glyph to life. My skin burned with the effort, but this one held.

The Wellspring’s pulse changed, warping the air around us.

Flames erupted from the earth, burning in unpredictable bursts. I twisted away from one that shot up beside me, feeling the heat lash my skin.

The wind howled next, slamming into my side and sending me staggering mid-stride. My weakened glyph buckled, flickering dangerously.

Kaelith, I need you now.

Her presence stirred—faint, distant—but she didn’t answer.