Page 54 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

He glanced over, his easy smile winking to life even in the direst of circumstances. “Take it easy, lass. We can do this, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I managed.

I got my fingers moving almost of their own accord, my instincts kicking in as I reached out to Bonnie, channeling magic through our bond to send her out the mouth of the cave.

No one was better with a lock than me, but right now, with all these lives hanging in the balance, I felt clumsy and slow.

I flicked a magnifying lens from my loupe into place, and the path became much clearer as I got to work.

The floor rumbled, stone and dust falling from the walls. Almira wasn’t far now.

Bonnie’s conscience tickled mine, and I channeled my energy into her, seeing the world through her eyes as she flew over the cave. The sun seemed to have set, because I could barely see. It was only when Bonnie turned her gaze to the sky that I understood.

It wasn’t dark out. The mass of monkeys—tens of thousands it seemed, headed our way—had blotted out the sun.

My throat closed as I tried to stay calm. A few dozen fighters, no matter their skill, could never withstand that horde.

The next lock clicked open, but it hardly even registered as the lockpick clattered from my shaking fingers.

“I thought only a few monkeys could bear the sun?” I said to Gayelette as Paddy worked to free her from the strange jacket next.

“There is no sun, child,” Gayelette said, sounding as defeated as I felt. “She just let you think there was. A simple glamour spell.”

The world spun as I thought back to our journey here. That was why it had been so cold, even when I turned my face to the sky, there had been no hint of warmth. It had been a false sun all along, and giving it warmth would’ve used up too much power.

With the horde on its way and Almira closing in from below, we were trapped.

“There’s no way out.”

I left Paddy with Gayelette and bolted into the hall, nearly tripping over the dead monkeys as I went. Hook was ripping his saber from the chest of one of Almira’s human foot soldiers as Billy and Duncan finished off the last of the monkeys in sight.

“James, Billy, Duncan!”

I rushed back to Gayelette’s side, catching her as Paddy finished the job of freeing her completely. She rubbed at her raw, bloody wrists and pushed the greasy mass of hair from her face.

“We have to move.” Behind us, the stone floor began to shudder and crack, like some kind of earthquake.

Gods damn it. This couldn’t be how it ended, not after everything we’d been through.

I dug frantically through my bag, fingers closing around the smooth surface of the clock just as Hook, Duncan, and Billy rushed into the room behind me.

“We’re in trouble.” My voice cracked as I turned to face them. “She’s got us boxed in. We need a new plan, and we need it now.”

“There’s only one way out,” Gayelette called weakly. “Surely you know what it is…”

“No more of your cryptic bullshit!” I snapped. “Just spit it out!”

“Use your magic. You already have what you need.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the clock until its edges bit into my palm, and willed with every fiber of my being for it to do something. Anything that could stop this or give us a moment of reprieve to think.

Then, everything went silent.

I opened my eyes, breath hitching in confusion.

Hook, Duncan, Billy, Paddy, and Gayelette were staring at me, looking just as shocked.

The hall behind them was still, monkeys frozen mid-air, their faces twisted into snarls.

Scotty and Jacob stood immobilized just beyond Billy, frozen mid-stride like stone statues.

A faint, shimmering blue barrier surrounded us in a circle about ten feet in diameter. Beyond it, the world had simply…stopped.

“What the—” Billy reached out, poking her finger at the edge of the barrier. The field shimmered as it sank into it, and she yanked it back, eyes going wide as she stared down at it. She poked at it a few more times. “Oh, that’s a good one.”

“We’re frozen in time,” Duncan said, letting out a sigh of relief.

“We aren’t,” I corrected. “Everything else is. But it won’t last long. We need answers.” I turned sharply to Gayelette. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“You still haven’t figured it out…Either one of you?

” Her gaze softened, as she turned her gaze toward Hook.

“You weren’t the only child of C’an Saas to be sent into the fairytale book that day.

I sent James first. But not before half of your magic was placed into him for safekeeping.

The darker half. The half that I feared would be too hard for you to control without guidance…

too dark for you to bear without driving you mad.

It was always meant to return to you once you were ready. ”

My mind tripped over the words even as my soul absorbed them.

Hook’s suffering…all that he’d gone through, had never belonged to him.

It was meant to be mine.

The implications weren’t lost on anyone else either, and the room felt as heavy as a blanket made of lead.

“You’re ready now, and you must take it. Whatever he can do with his Tideblessings, you, as the original witch of that magic, can do tenfold.”

“T-take it, how?” I croaked.

Gayelette hesitated. “The only way magic like that can ever be taken, Harmony. By dealing the death blow.”

My vision blurred, bile rising in my throat. “No. No, that can’t be right.”

I could sense Hook’s movement beside me as he went to his knees.

He’d been silent so far, and stayed that way as he flipped his blood-stained saber, grabbing it by the blade, holding the handle in my direction.

His gaze locked with mine as he pulled his hook across his shirt, tearing it open to bear his chest.

“Do it, Harmony, and don’t argue. It’s the only way.”

I batted the sword to the ground and grabbed at his wrist, yanking hard. “Stand up. Stop this, right now. You’re wasting time!”

“You’ve had my heart from the start, now take it. It’s yours.”

Gayelette clicked her tongue, her voice harsher than before. “Look at these people! Think of your subjects! Their lives are in your hands now. This is your destiny…and his. One life for many; it's an easy choice.”

My heart seized, memories of the trial flooding my brain. I’d failed before, choosing the few over the many. I didn’t have the courage to make the hard decision then.

As Queen, the choice was clear.

My fingers curled around the dagger at my hip, drawing it out in a shaking fist. I met Hook’s steady gaze and reared back, plunging the blade deep…into the wall behind him.

“No!” I spun toward Gayelette, grabbing a fistful of her dress and dragging her closer, until we were nose-to-nose. “Fuck you, and fuck Almira. We win together or we lose together. You can join us or you can stay here alone. What’s it going to be, Gayelette?”