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Everything in me felt like it had been stripped away.

I sat in the middle of the flat obsidian field alone.

Graff decided it was best to stay in the castle for the night in case the queen came snooping.

He’d be there to cover for me. But even with the fleet of invisible Elizians guarding the crystal fields, I felt utterly alone.

The towers of crystals being mined that jutted up from the ground were my only company .

The feeling of dozens of eyes watching me made me feel like a prisoner.

I curled myself into a ball in a long black coat Graff had given me to keep warm. I rested on a particularly rough section of the ground and wept. Last time I was here, I had Cuddles by my side. His teal eyes appeared in my mind as I pretended he was here, licking my face.

In an attempt to fix everything, I’d now obliterated my chances of destroying the Cidris. I could not protect myself. Fletcher had my split. And I was going to die eighteen years early. The only solace I could find was that I sacrificed it all for Fletcher.

I tuned into the energy of the ?lden Lands, feeling its life rumble quietly under my body then spread out across the expanse of the field. It was calm and gentle. It caressed me when I let my eyes close to really listen.

A tingle on my tattoo turned to a familiar burning. I pulled down my collar to see the number eighteen fading to seamless, pale skin. Magic swelled in my chest and my heart hitched.

Fletcher!

The mass of chaotic magic spindled into my chest, exploring all the corners of my body and finding its home at my core. I brought forth my magic before my split could adjust, teleporting myself to the sorceress’s den.

As the domed-rock home came into view, I watched the opening as Fletcher stepped out. His eyes locked on mine. Without a word, he strode past me.

Whatever deal he had made had to have been so grave that he didn’t even bother to acknowledge me.

Rage simmered. “This was the only way you knew how to fix it? Selling more of your life?”

He didn’t answer.

I set my jaw and narrowed my eyes to slits. “If you can fix things without me. Then so can I.”

That comment broke his composed demeanor. His brows pulled down and one foot took a step toward me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

His temper enticed mine. The edges of my vision darkened with whispers of wicked ideas. And it clicked something open inside of me that wanted to come out and play. My split.

“It means that maybe my husband is better suited for me.” They fled my lips without warning, but I didn’t correct them.

I tried, but I couldn’t. A part of me enjoyed it too much.

Instead, I just stared at him, unsure how they landed.

But a second after I saw Fletcher’s expression change, that darkness inched closer to the center of my vision, filtering my perception in twisted ways.

He didn’t respond, and I suddenly didn’t care. I watched as his brows furrowed and his lips parted like he had realized something.

Then, the filter deepened as I recognized my split magic flaring in me like a black star exploding in a freeing sweep. My magic and Fletcher’s were where they belonged. Tiny. Useless. Nothing. They burrowed into the depths of me, taken hostage.

The dark sapphire hues sped down my arms after I let out an amused laugh. The wind came and snatched me, sending me to the mountains behind Elizy.

A perfect place to hunt.