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The decaying reed tickled Mara’s legs when she hiked her wedding dress up, her feet sinking into the mud. She swallowed heavy breaths as she ran through the wetlands—no end in sight.

She slowly came to a stop, spinning around, her eyes searching the hazy land. Aerosols sparkled through the air like a dream. Where would the break into the Dusk Court be if I were it? she thought. She chided herself; she was not fit for this. She shouldn’t be the one to save the kingdoms. She wasn’t clever enough. She wasn’t brave enough. She surprised herself at how fast she was able to lock back her tears, the horizon glowing faintly, calling to her like pages that had yet to be written.

Words from Lord Cofsi rang in her ear about the balance of the kingdoms and the way that reflected into the Veil. The Shadowed Isles were on the other side of Junefell, its islands all bordered by water. If Mara slipped into the sea, using its surface as a mirror, would it take her to the other side of Junefell instead? Would it land her in The Shadowed Isles? She gritted her teeth in anticipation, wondering if this idea was marvelously clever of her or exceptionally dimwitted.

Mara shifted on her feet and darted to the horizon where she could see the edge of the sea. The waves crashed in the distance, echoing no sound. Before she could reach the beach, a faint rumbling made her halt.

The rumbling vibrated through her again, only this time, it was accompanied by hands outstretching from the dirt. Mara immediately filled with the same terror that coursed through her when she was bonded with Acastus in the Hallowed Cistern. She feared the hands would claw at her again and she bared her teeth, about to sprint to the ocean, when she realized they weren’t coming for her. No, the hands were pulling themselves free from the dirt, heaving the bodies attached to them out onto the surface. Dark knights, absent of any distinctive features, all swirling with faded smoke, rumbled the ground as they woke.

The forgotten Glass People.

“Shit,” she gasped. One of the creatures snapped its head toward her at her words and Mara spun on her heels, darting for the waves.

The wind rustled her hair, her feet sinking into the dark sandy beach. She approached the water’s edge hesitantly, checking over her shoulder to make sure the creatures weren’t following. She edged into the water, the chill licking her ankles. She stared at the surface of the ocean, trying to focus past the foam and shifting tide. Then, it came into view. She could just barely see the faint image of a castle’s room. It was faded and blurred, the same way Acastus and Evrardin had looked as she stared at them through the mirror.

She took a deep breath in, hoping this would work, and squatted, pushing her hand under the tide. To her shock, her hand didn’t feel wet, but rather, light, as she wiggled her fingers. Her hand was touching air. She closed her eyes and dove into the water, half expecting to collide with the sand in the shallow tide, but instead, she collapsed onto cobblestoned ground.

She brushed off her skirt as she stood tall, spinning around the room. She wondered how much of her travel had been through sheer physics and manifestation.

The windows along the wall established it was dark outside, the pale glow of candlelight illuminating her vision, the room eerie in a comforting way. Elegant bookshelves made from dark wood lined the back wall, beautiful tapestries in between them, embroidered with what looked like moths. A circular rug splayed out on the floor—multiple, actually—all symbolizing the shifting phases of the moon. A tree towered in the corner, its bark dark and thick, branches sprawling out along the ceiling like it was part of the structure holding it up. Tomes laid open on the oakwood table, various quills and intricate tools splayed beside them.

“Who are you?” a shrill voice asked. She spun to face a woman in a deep-colored robe, too dark for her to tell what shade it belonged to, an iridescent yellow underskirt peeking through, making her look like she was lit up from within. Like she got her light from the reflection of the sun, just as the moon did each night.

Mara hadn’t realized she was marveling at the woman instead of responding. “Guards!” the woman shouted. Immediately, the clanking of metal filled the room, two Dusk Guards storming in and heading straight for Mara.

“Wait!” Mara cried.

The guards wrapped their armored hands around her biceps, almost hauling her completely off the ground.

“Lord Cofsi sent me!” she pleaded.

The guards began to move her away when the woman held out a hand. They paused as she slowly approached Mara.

“Lord Cofsi isn’t presently in Luna. He’s traveled to Solstrale for the Sun Prince’s wedding.”

“Yes. That’s where I’ve come from.”

She appraised her, giving her a skeptical once over. “By your lonesome?”

Mara nodded.

“You expect me to believe you made it to The Shadowed Isles alone, dressed like that? And I’m supposed to trust your words because you referenced Lord Cofsi by name?”

Mara heaved in an unsteady breath, wiggling against the bruising grip the men had on her arms. “No. I mean yes. I… I came here by glassfairing.”

The woman tilted her head, her eyes flashing with recognition. “You’re the Sun Prince’s bride.”

Mara nodded. “Maralena. And I’ve come to beseech your assistance.”

The woman’s brows knitted together, and then she motioned for the guards to drop her. Once they moved out of the room, the woman encouraged Mara to sit.

“Why would my nephew send you here?”

Mara tried not to ponder about family trees at this moment, brushing off her comment about their relations. “I believe he went to Solstrale because he knew the Sun Prince was up to something… dark. He confided in me. Told me about the magick the Dusk Court carries. I…” She hesitated. Should she trust this woman she didn’t know? She really had no other choice. “The prince is threatening all the kingdoms.”

The woman peered at her skeptically, her hands weaving together in front of her. “And how might he be doing that?”

“Dark magick,” Mara whispered.

The woman hummed. “And what is it you need from me?”

“Lord Cofsi mentioned something about the prince shifting the kingdoms out of balance. Solstrale possesses too much power. I think…” Mara bit her lip. “I think he’s made a deal with the sun goddess.”

The woman paced across the room, eyeing Mara occasionally when she spoke.

“But I don’t know how he plans to do it.”

“And what has he given the sun goddess?”

Mara pondered a moment, remembering all those fleshy hearts. “Hearts.”

The woman sighed, shaking her head.

“What?” Mara asked.

“Hearts are often exchanged for soldiers. For bodies. The prince could very likely be garnering an army of creatures of the Veil.”

Mara’s eyes widened. “Creatures of the Veil?”

“Yes. There are many lost souls in the Veil—so compliant to any divine force. Take the hearts of dead men, give them to the sun goddess, and she lets her creatures slither into the corpses on our side of the Veil. And they can’t help but leave slivers in the break between realms—bringing darkness with them.”

Shit . “I’m never going to be able to stop him,” Mara panicked. What was she supposed to do against divine warriors? “I have to get back to Evrardin.”

“Ah.” The woman clicked her tongue. “The prince’s lap dog.”

Mara’s face contorted. “Don’t call him that. He doesn’t have a choice!”

“No? And why’s that, child?”

Perhaps if Mara told this woman, she’d be able to help. Mara trusted Lord Cofsi, and if she was amongst his court, she’d trust her too. “He’s under a subservient curse.”

“Something only done with draugr magick,” the woman thought aloud. “Something only the Dusk and Ghost Court possess.”

Mara nodded, looking at a tiny green flame that floated in a lantern on one of the tables. “Please. The prince… he’s…” Mara’s eyes lingered on the mossy light before slowly shifting her gaze back to the woman. “If you know how to break it… Please—” Her words got lodged in her throat.

The woman sighed, shaking her head at Mara. “Tell my nephew to warn me next time he sends runaway brides to my chambers.”

Mara gulped.

“That kind of dark magick uses blood. I’m going to have to assume the prince used blood magick to bind this person to him. So the only way to break it is by using his blood in return.”

“How am I supposed to obtain his blood?”

She tsked. “That is not my problem to solve, child.”

“Please, my lady,” she begged. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Willow,” she corrected.

“Please, Willow,” Mara tried again, her hands clasped together on the table in front of her in plea.

Willow said nothing before turning around and strolling up to the bookshelves behind her, her finger gently brushing against them as she read the spines, searching for the right one.

When she found what she was looking for, she yanked it from the shelf, not worried about the books that began to tip over and splayed it on the table before her. Willow fingered through the pages silently. After several beats, she spun the book and shoved it across the table toward Mara.

“Here. Read up.”

Mara studied the text, her eyes hesitant as they looked down from Willow. She mouthed the words as she read, her eyebrows squinting.

“It’s that easy?”

Willow scoffed. “Easy? You think finding draugr flora is easy? You think digesting just the right amount so you don’t succumb to the dark is easy? Even skilled sorcerers fear this incantation.” She scoffed. “I’m not surprised the prince has fallen to the dark. Those not of our courts are not meant for dark magick.” She seemed to want to roll her eyes, peeved by the idea of someone in the Sun Court—of all courts—using dark magick.

Mara grimaced. “But if I was to find the flower, how would I break the curse? I don’t have the prince’s blood.”

Willow shook her head, irate by the young princess. “Lord Cofsi likes you?” she asked rhetorically. “He always did like a weird lot.” The woman appraised Mara, making her shift uncomfortably. “If you can somehow manage to find a draugr flower, all you’d need to perform blood magick is for it to bind with your blood and to will the curse to break. But since you’re breaking someone else's subservient curse, you’ll need their blood instead.”

“What do I do with the blood once I get it?”

“Didn’t you just read the passage?”

Mara gritted her teeth. “It wasn’t exactly written with lucid instructions.”

Willow chuckled. “Yes, well. Sorcerers tend to not be straight forward. You’d have to ingest both items. Then summon the will. But only once the two have bonded.”

“And…” Mara began again, gaining an eye roll from Willow, “if I was to do two incantations with draugr, would I need double the amount?”

She hummed. “Not necessarily. As long as your blood is coated for the time being in the dark flora, it will allow you to cast dark spells. But take too much, and you will never return to your previous state. And even if you do everything perfectly correct, a piece of you will always be bound to darkness.”

Mara winced, trying to digest her words and not let them frighten her. “Would my blood work?”

“Were you the one to place the curse?”

“No, but…” She tried not to look as stupid as she felt. “I’ve bonded with the prince—with the Sun Court. Would that mean my blood is his?”

Willow began to shift through her belongings on various tables in the room, tidying as if Mara was not present. “No. You might be bonded, but it’s not authentic enough. And if he placed the curse before you were bonded, you’d have no connection at all.”

Mara let out a frustrated breath. She shouldn’t have taken on something this complicated. She was no sorcerer. She wouldn’t be able to help Evrardin, just as he had told her.

“However,” Willow began, standing up straight and turning to Mara, “I don’t see why actual blood relation wouldn’t work.”

Light fluttered across Mara’s eyes. “Like a sibling.”

Willow pursed her lips in thought. “Yes, like a sibling.”

Aevum .