Page 21

“It begins with headaches after every shift. No one has lived past three moon phases once those start. We’ll know it’s time when he bleeds from his eyes, ears, and nose—a final offering to his beast. And then he’ll be gone. I’d say within the day. Will you wait with me, or return to Thornwyn?”

“She mentioned a healer. Do you know where I can find him? I have things of value. I could barter for the boy’s treatment,” Nico offered.

“There is a healer. A damn good one, too. But there are some things even his magic can’t fix. There is no cure for this. It’s a death sentence.”

We sat in silence through the night. Death had taken up residence in the room—I could feel it in my bones. Mica’s mother never left his side, doing whatever she could to ease his suffering. At dawn, she began to falter, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.

I stood and stretched my stiff joints. Nico’s gaze tracked my every movement as I pulled out my bedroll. I laid it beside the bed and knelt beside Luella, gently resting my hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you get a bit of sleep? I’ve set something up beside Mica. I’ll sit with him and wake you if anything changes.”

“Only an hour. That’s all I need. Not a minute more,” she mumbled, too tired to argue.

I settled beside the boy, studying his face, wondering if this was what I looked like each time death came for me. The mattress dipped, and I looked up to see Nico sitting across from me.

He offered a soft smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, but I saw the intention behind it, and I was grateful for his presence.

I grabbed the water basin and gingerly wiped the boy’s brow, careful not to touch his skin.

For some irrational reason, I was afraid to touch him.

I’d cheated death too many times and I feared that touching him might siphon off what little time he had left.

Like I was some kind of leech, draining life from those around me.

Tears welled in my eyes, and for a moment, I wished I could trade places with him.

“Mic, are you alright?” Nico asked quietly.

“No, actually. I don’t think I am.” I let my head fall forward, hiding my tears behind a curtain of hair. “None of this is fair. I should be the one in that bed, and yet somehow I’m still here. Why doesn’t he get a second chance? How can your Divine be so cruel?”

“I try to remind myself in times like these that the Divine has a greater plan and that we’re not meant to know all the details. Life would lose its meaning if we did.”

“I feel so helpless. When I knew I was dying, my sister fought so fiercely. Even after I gave up, she held onto hope with everything she had. I wish I had that kind of passion so I could give it to this boy.” The words felt like grit in my throat, coated in grief as I spoke them.

I knew I’d regret being so raw in front of him, this king-to-be, but it felt cathartic.

“We all have a purpose. Sometimes it’s small. Sometimes it’s fleeting. But I know his mother would tell you his life had meaning. And I know there’s a reason you’re still here, Mic.” He brushed a tear from my cheek, gently tucking my hair behind my ear.

“The only purpose I’ve served is being a burden to the people I care about. Poor Michaela—always needing to be saved. Sometimes I wish you’d all give up and let me die already,” I whispered, laying bare the darkest corners of myself.

“When I wake up in the morning, it’s your smile I think of.

It reminds me this harsh world can still be soft, and kind, and beautiful.

It’s your words that lift my spirit, your courage that gives me strength, your selflessness that makes me want to be more.

” He sighed, turning my chin toward him, his chestnut eyes meeting mine.

“You awaken something in me—a desire to rise above my flaws. To become someone worthy of standing by your side.”

My heart stuttered to a stop. The crushing despair and the fetid room melted away, leaving only him and me. His words made me feel whole, stirring a light within me that had no right to bloom amid such darkness.

“Nico. That was… I…” The silence lingered between us. The things I wanted to say wouldn’t form into the right words and so they sat, unspoken, heavy on my tongue.

The floorboards creaked beside us, and I jumped.

“His eyes are the softest shade of brown,” Luella’s voice broke the spell between us and the cruel world came crashing back down around us.

The boy still lay in the bed, fighting for each breath, and guilt over our stolen moment washed over me like a wave.

“They’re the same shade as yours,” she added, motioning to Nico.

“I’d give anything to look into his eyes one more time, to hear him tell me he loves me.

But I don’t think the Divine is listening to my prayers anymore. ”

I tried to think of something—anything—that might sound remotely comforting, but everything that came to mind felt wrong, and the silence lingered.

A weak moan escaped the boy’s lips. I reached for him, forgetting my fear, and stroked his cheek. He settled under my touch, the furrow in his brow softening. His face tilted into my palm, and then, fluttering lashes gave way to wide, brown eyes.

“Mica?” Luella breathed, in stunned disbelief. I recoiled as though his clammy skin had burned me, stumbling backward from the bed. What was happening?

“Mom—”

“Oh my Divine! Laurel! Come quick—it’s a miracle!” she shouted.

“Mom, listen to me!” Mica insisted, sitting up and grabbing her shoulders. “I have to go.”

“Go? Go where? The Divine just healed you,” she said, as the room filled with onlookers.

No, Mom. It’s not a cure—it’s a goodbye. We’ve been given a gift.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered, the hope already draining from her eyes.

“I get the chance to tell you I love you. I’m supposed to tell you not to worry. That I know where I’m going, and I’m gonna be okay.” Luella trembled as he spoke, silent tears spilling down her cheeks as she struggled to stay strong for him.

“I love you too. But I can’t bear to lose you,” she pleaded.

“Yes ya can. The Divine tells me so. You’re gonna be okay, too.”

The two embraced in a moment so heartbreakingly beautiful, I could feel tears spilling down my cheeks.

Mica looked past his mother’s shoulder, his warm brown eyes locking onto mine.

“I have a message for you,” he said, and a chill burrow down into my bones. What message could he possibly have for me? I’d never seen this child before.

He pulled away from Luella and stood on the bed. A radiant light emanated from him, momentarily blinding me. When the colors of the room returned, I focused on his eyes—no longer the soft brown, but a swirling, milky white.

“The words are buried, a tongue long turned to dust,” he said in an ethereal voice.

My throat went dry. “But one still draws breath who can speak them. Not all who bleed are broken. Look for the flame that chose silence over glory. When the shield breaks from within, he will speak. The true wound has yet to be struck. While you reach for what was taken, the veil is surely woven. If you fail to see it, you will lose them all.”

I nodded slowly, unable to speak. I had no idea what the words meant, but I could feel an otherworldly presence in the room.

This message had come from some higher power.

Before I could contemplate what had transpired, Mica collapsed back into the bed.

The milky cast to his eyes disappeared, shifting back to brown.

“Goodbye, Mom,” he whispered in his own innocent voice. His lids fell shut, and crimson tears slid down his cheeks. Blood trickled from his nose and ears. Sawyer stepped beside me, his expression wary. I could feel him assessing me, seeing me differently now.

A few last rattled breaths escaped the boy, and when it finally fell silent, his family began to wail.

I stood frozen, horror spreading through me as a faint blue apparition of the boy materialized beside the bed.

Staring past his mother, his eyes locked on Sawyer and me.

I glanced around the room. Nico, Luca, and Lucius were all staring at the dead boy laying in the bed.

But Sawyer stared at the apparition, stepping toward him.

Another figure appeared, this one of a young wolf, padding forward to join the boy. My jaw dropped in shocked awe as the boy and the wolf reunited. Mica fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around the beast, who lapped at his face with a joy that transcended death. Together, they faded away.

“It’s done,” Sawyer said. “You can rest easy, Luella. He’s passed over to the eternal resting grounds.”

After allowing Luella some time with her son, I helped the females clean the boy’s body and prepare him for burial. Nico and the others stood in quiet counsel with Sawyer. I didn’t hear a word they said. I was still in shock, struggling to process what in the bloody hell I’d just witnessed.

“Dove,” Lucius said softly as he came up beside me. “Sawyer knows of a healer. Levi agreed to take us there. Nico and Luca are going to meet with a few leaders of the Raven’s Hand scattered across the city and regroup with us at Whisperhold. Do you think you’re up for the trip?”