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I couldn’t sleep in Archer’s bed.

Couldn’t even make it past his studies after my horrible and eventful titling service. Instead, I curled up on the same balcony where we’d fallen asleep the night before, only now, I was buried beneath three duvets, and half a dozen pillows.

Malachi found me there a little while later, a bottle cradled in her hands. She dropped gracefully to her heels in that same pearl gown that oddly reminded me of Naraic’s scales.

“Drink,” she urged.

“What is it?”

“Moonshine,” she said. “Strongest liquor brewed in Night. But for tonight?” She unscrewed the cap, and a pale, amber liquid spilled down the side of the glass bottle as she passed it to me. “We say, screw everything and drink.”

She was right. “I just don’t know how to convince the Continent that Archer is innocent.”

Malachi leaned against the stone wall beside me.

“I used to think saving someone meant bleeding for them,” she murmured.

“Clawing your way through hell, barely breathing. But now... I know that sometimes, saving someone isn’t that dramatic.

It’s choosing to stay. Choosing not to leave them when they need you.

And sometimes… you can’t save them no matter how hard you try. ”

I passed her the bottle back. “Out of everyone who’s saved me, I think you’ve done it the most.” I paused. “You said you’d break me. But instead, you’re here risking expulsion because you thought I might still be alive.”

Her face softened. “You were the last one I could save,” she said. “I had three sisters. Two brothers. I don’t need a Seeker to tell me my fate.”

“What were their names?” I asked quietly. I’d never asked. Why hadn’t I ever asked?

She stared past the mountains, somewhere far beyond this realm. “Adina was the eldest. Then Iris. Vanya. My brothers...” Her voice caught. “Reid and William. William was only two years older than me.”

“Did he... know Archer?” I asked.

Malachi let out a sharp breath. “I don’t know. Maybe. Once they left, that was it. No letters. No word. Maybe they knew Klaus, too. Doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“I’m sorry. To die for this ,” I whispered, staring at the jagged peaks beyond. “It isn’t right.”

She didn’t look at me. “I don’t count my breaths anymore. Or my heartbeats. If I die tomorrow, at least I tried.” Then she turned, brows scrunched. “You need to be more of a bitch. More ruthless. Find that fire in you and fucking burn. ”

“I’m lost, Malachi,” I breathed. “I don’t know how to be an heir. Let alone rule a kingdom while he’s locked away.”

Finally, she said, softer now, “Sometimes we don’t know where we’re going. Sometimes we keep moving forward just so we don’t fall backward.”

I blinked. “Is it the wind that tells you these things?”

“Yes,” she said, lifting the bottle. “It’s the only truth I trust.” She took a swig and wiped her mouth .

Then the balcony doors burst open, and Amria stood there, her gaze wild as it swept over us, and our messy pile of duvets, dresses, and despair.

“Don’t tell me you’re sulking,” she muttered.

“He’s been sent to the prisons,” I said.

“Then get up and release him.”

“You think I can just smile, and they will let him go,” I said.

Amria stormed forward, snatched the bottle from Malachi’s hand, sniffed it, and grimaced. “Gods. Give me some of that.” She took a long drink. “Tonight, you sulk. Tomorrow, you fight.”

Malachi gripped my elbow. “There’s a trial at the Academy in three days. You must appear, for Archer’s sake. If you don’t, his realm will be seen as weak.”

My stomach twisted. “The final trial is in three days?”

“You’re a Serpent,” Malachi said. “Until Archer is released, you lead the Shadows. If the other Serpents see you... they’ll understand why he chose you. It’s worth a shot.”

Amria placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve held this place down long enough. I can manage a few more days. Go.”

I nodded. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the only one I had. Part of me wanted to attend the final trial. The other part, that old, familiar ache needed to do it for my father.