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D evrix convinced me to leave shortly after, not wanting to risk me being caught away from my room.

I made it back unseen. A hug of giddiness enveloped me as I fell asleep.

The same sensation greeted me in the morning.

However, doubt lurked in the shadows. Would fate allow us more time, or should I consider myself lucky to have had the moment we shared?

What chance was there of us being together after my Blood Offering was complete?

I fought my skepticism, refusing to give in—that was, until I woke and thought of Claire. I shot from my bed, only to find her still missing from her room.

Why has she been away this long? Surely she would return during the day, and then I would look after her as I had done before, and as she had done for me.

I would share highlights of my evening with Devrix to bring a smile to her face, and help her forget of the horrors of the dungeon.

She would be thrilled to know that he was fighting for us both.

Offer her a slice of hope after she had been stuck in the darkness.

By the end of the day, my giddiness had faded to a dull warmth. My concern over Claire had rooted too deep. Hungry and defeated, I slunk back down to our servant’s hall.

Arden was standing outside of Claire’s room. I rushed toward him. “Is she back?”

Arden’s complexion was ashen. He shook his head.

I went to push into Claire’s room when he reached out a hand, stopping me. A protest lay at the tip of my tongue when I noticed the door was cracked. Jarrett was inside, but Claire was still absent.

Arden turned me toward him, a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Nova,” he murmured. “She’s gone.”

“Gone? No. She was …” What is he saying? I pulled back, searching Arden’s face. The corners of his mouth were tight and down-turned. Sadness lined his eyes.

Jarrett approached the doorway, opening it wider. Claire’s journal in his hand.

“That’s Claire’s.” I snatched the notebook from his hand. “Where is she? I want to see her!” I demanded.

“Nova, it’s not possible,” Jarrett said, his tone somber. I heard him swallow hard. “She is gone.”

My gaze shot between them. A strangled cry escaped. “No!” Arden’s hand returned to my shoulder. “No!” I cried, pulling away. “She is just in the dungeon. I’m sure she will be returning at any moment.”

I looked from one man to the other, but they both stood silently, heads tilted down.

Claire is gone. My knees buckled, and I leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, doing everything to keep from shattering to the ground.

After giving me a moment, Jarret said, “We’re preparing to take her body away. I just wanted to send her few possessions with her.” He nodded to the journal clutched to my chest.

“Can I …” I inhaled deeply. “I want to say goodbye.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Arden replied.

“He’s right.” Jarrett added.

Another moment of silence passed. No one moved.

“I have to say goodbye,” I repeated.

They exchanged glances.

Jarrett took a long breath. “Write it in there,” he suggested, gesturing to the journal. “Maybe it will help. I’ll make sure it goes with her.” He guided me into the room, sitting me in the empty chair beside her cot. I looked down at the notebook.

The binding was worn, many of the pages loose. It was the journal Claire had written her mother’s stories in. Written her stories in. They were the pages which she read to me, the tales she felt safe enough to share with me.

Now she is gone —no more stories would be written. No tales of bravery. No legends of hope. No accounts of escape. And no details of survival in the direst of circumstances.

I flipped to a blank sheet. What could I say? How could I ever apologize?

Jarrett held out a hardened ash stick for me to write with. I knew there were no words that mattered. No words to bring her back.

Claire,

Your kindness was everything. Your friendship kept me going. You were the brave one, and I’m lost without you!

I’m sorry I gave you false hope.

Forever your friend,

~Nova

I closed the journal and pushed it into Jarrett’s hands. Without a word, or sparing either man a glance, I marched back to my room.

Falling to my cot, I pulled my blanket tight over me, shutting everything out.

Unbidden tears flooded my eyes, and I furiously brushed them away. I wouldn’t allow myself the relief of releasing them, not when Claire was dead because of the Slip I caught—because of the choices I made, the plan I had devised.

I spun the blue beads of my bracelet over and over. There is too much loss in living.

“And did Lord Embers see the body?” Jesmine’s voice rang from the back room, disrupting my thoughts as I entered the lab.

“Yes, my lady,” Jarrett replied.

“And? What did he say?”

“Nothing. He seemed unmoved by it, my lady.”

Unmoved. The word stunned me … the Devrix I knew would never be so callous. Either Jarrett was lying, or Devrix had put on an act he knew would appease Jesmine.

Devrix had told me he was trying to help in the ways he could. I would give him the benefit of the doubt—because that is what I wished I had been given in the past.

Although it pained me to admit it, the fact Claire was dead had sown more uncertainty about whether he would be capable of rescuing me in the end.

“Hmm.” Jesmine stepped out into the lab. Her attention snagged on me and a thin-lipped sneer appeared. “My dear Nova. It looks like you have moved up to number one caretaker of the guests’ floor.”

Disgust and rage heated my blood. My body shook with it. I wanted nothing more than to choke every last flicker of life from Jesmine’s body. To watch her suffer, as I’m sure Claire had. A war raged within me, my legs froze in place to see which side of me would win: rage or self-preservation.

Jarrett emerged, straightening before me and blocking my view of Jesmine at her workbench. “You can have a seat, Nova. I’ll be there in a moment.” He spoke with an edge of warning. Just enough to bring me down from the precipice.

I scanned all the sharp instruments around me, wondering which one I would have chosen to avenge Claire with. A thousand cuts with a small scalpel seemed fitting. Although when Jarrett opened my arm with that very tool, the pain seemed too insignificant for what Jesmine deserved.

Time was hurtling by. I felt like a leaf at the mercy of the wind. Scarred and struck by every branch and bramble I had the misfortune to encounter, only a fleeting moment of freedom in between the events that broke me down. I wondered how much more I could take.

My evening with Devrix had been overshadowed by the loss of Claire. Hearing Jesmine speak of her death as a minor inconvenience put me in a constant uproar.

My chest physically hurt. The tightness made it hard to breathe. For much of the day, I sat at the edge of a bed in one of the guest chambers, unable to move. The sun grew high in the sky. Time was running out. The moon was waning. My ultimate battle was close at hand.

Devrix found me that afternoon wiping down a table in the guests’ hall. When our eyes met, a smile curved his lips. The sight was so comforting I returned it, then quickly hid it away—first, I needed answers.

“I overheard something,” I said. “And I wanted to check with you before I made any judgments. ... Have you heard about Claire?” I asked.

At the mention of her name, his face dropped. “Yes. But I—”

“Wait. You said you would try to help her. Did you?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but I was sure he could hear it waver.

His gaze set on me. “I did.” He looked over his shoulder with concern as footsteps neared, then his eyes darted back to me.

A travel bag was clutched in his right hand.

His other hand reached for mine. “I’m sorry, I can’t explain right now.

I will return soon. Come to my room in three nights.

” He squeezed my hand just before he rushed away.

I was alone before my lips parted.

With all the chores resting on my shoulders, I abandoned the sling.

It got in the way and prevented me from getting the work done that I needed to.

My trial with the Slip had been over two weeks ago and the pain in my shoulder was more manageable than it had been.

To mask what discomfort remained, I took an additional dropper of Devrix’s medicine in the morning.

By afternoon the ache had returned and was joined by the pins and needles that shot from my knees as I scrubbed the floor. I shifted, hoping to ease the pain, when I heard someone approaching from around the hall.

There hadn’t been visitors for days, and none were expected for several more.

I bit the inside of my cheek as Jesmine appeared. She drew near, stopping in front of me. “Not too much longer, girl, and you can finally prove your value to me. But for now, I expect you to work faster. You are responsible for the chores on this floor. Get moving.”

Knuckles white, I swallowed the retort that burned at my throat. The urge to rise and put myself on equal footing was dangerously compelling. But the witch was gone just as quickly as she had come.

I rose to my feet and tucked the bucket of dirty water in a closet. The rest of the day, I shrugged off my servant’s duties. Jesmine could drown for all I cared. I was done cleaning. I had other things on my mind.

Devrix had told me many times he was working on a plan to get me out of the fortress. However, the way things had played out with Claire made me uneasy. I couldn’t understand how she was gone, and I was eager to hear his explanation of what had transpired.

In the meantime, I needed something to distract me from my grief—something to occupy my mind, a way to feel like I was helping myself … just in case. A backup plan was smart. If it came to it, I wouldn’t hand my life over to Jesmine. She would have to fight me for it.

This time, no one would be pulled down with me if my plans failed—a fact that pained me more than anything.

I went down to the first floor to start my work, alone.

After confirming all the windows on the first level were like the one in my bedchamber, too high or too small, I made my way up to the guests’ sitting room with the wide viewing windows.

Of course, the windows on the guests’ floor, while large enough to fit through, were all locked. I didn’t dare try any of the locks for fear of setting off an enchantment and getting plunged back into the dungeon. When the time came, I would just break the glass.

I walked up to the tall window, pressing my body close so I could see how long of a fall to expect —A trench?! How did I not notice that before? From this view, it looks like the ditch spans the entire perimeter … I wonder if there’s an elixir to cure a broken leg?

“Even if you made it through the glass, you wouldn’t survive the fall.” I turned at the timbre of Arden’s voice and pulled away from the window.

Gathering my composure, I retorted, “Maybe you would like to suggest an easier way out?”

He sneered. “And here I thought you had an Ashlora lord ready to whisk you away.”

I set my shoulders back and narrowed my eyes at him. “If you are not going to help, then please leave.”

“Nova, I tried to help you by telling you to lie low and follow orders. I can’t change that you chose your own path.”

Turning my back, I returned my focus outside. I didn’t have the energy to fight with him.

Arden huffed in defeat. “Jesmine has eyes everywhere. I just don’t want to see you hurt. I still like to think that we are friends.”

I wasn’t sure how to reply, so I didn’t.

He retreated moments later.