Page 28

CHAPTER 27

T HE BOY WITH THE potent blue eyes offered me a small loaf of bread, brown and ordinary. Compassion was painted on his face, yet anger coursed through each of my veins. This was no boy. No person stayed a child for ten years.

I ground my teeth. “How dare you offer me bread?”

Still, the boy extended the loaf to me with an innocent grin.

“I don’t want your infernal bread. Give me what you promised.” I smacked the bread from his hand.

Through pressed lips, the boy spoke to me, his voice calm and confident. Why won’t you take the bread? It gives life . His doughy eyes, like those of a pup, wilted when I stood.

“Is this like the bread from when I was seven years old? Useless. Pointless. Inspiring nightmares. If that’s what you offer, you wasted my time and energy.” My voice trembled, and I willed it to be steady. “You said to come, and here I am.”

The boy turned away from me, walking through what once was a giant atrium. The bread disappeared into purple smoke between the weeds.

What’s going on? I stomped behind him. I would not let him go without giving me my gift.

He glanced over his shoulder. Again, he spoke into my mind, Wait here, Beatriz .

I halted. Goosebumps prickled down my legs and arms. A fog emerged from deeper within the castle, and I stepped closer. Rays of light radiated through the mist. The nearer I got, the more the intense light stung my eyes. The brightest glow I had ever seen engulfed the boy, and he disappeared … yet I heard his steps.

A voice called from within the light, “Beatriz, why do you reject what I offer?”

I stumbled backward. “Are you my whyzer? Will you not show your face?”

The shadow of a tall man floated forward. Long green hair blended into his ash-tinted beard and circled his angular features. His smoldering eyes glared down his nose and pierced me. It was closer to who I imagined I’d see—besides the green hair and the disdain radiating from him. But why should he disapprove of me when I had done what he asked?

I lifted my chin and took a tentative step in his direction. “When will you uphold your duty?”

His voice boomed. “What do you know about duty? I offer gifts for the good of society. You are less than worthy.”

My heart leapt. All this time wishing and hoping, only to be punched in the gut by his words. “You haunt my dreams. You promise much and give nothing. You watch from afar, seeing the scrutiny I’m under, and do nothing to save me from it. Now, you call me unworthy. I loathe you.”

The whyzer approached. The closer he got, the more my head tilted back until he stood right in front of me. I maintained my position with shoulders pressed back.

“I don’t choose your gift, but everything else is under my control.” The whyzer’s baritone voice vibrated off the crumbling rocks. “I will not give such power to a selfish princess. I know your thoughts about what you will do with your gift. Even your father, who loves to wield his abilities, humbled himself the day he received his.”

My fingers curled into fists. I devoured book after book of the ancient texts to understand this gift, to be ready to receive it. I thought I had been making myself worthy, yet the whyzer told me otherwise.

A memory dripped into my mind, and a ripple of hope grew within me. “You don’t have a choice, old man.” I raised my eyes to his. “Be rid of me, once and for all. Wave a hand or speak the gift into being. You must give me what is mine.” I held up my arm to show the faint markings, a sign thatI was destined for this.

“You are correct in saying I have no choice in the giving. But I will not make the same mistake twice. These walls stand to remind me of my past errors. I will never again give a gift that will be spent on a self-absorbed life. Until that haughty disposition of yours changes, rest assured I am content to withhold your gift until your dying breath.” He whirled around, marching into the mist. Deep within the thick air, he shouted, “Your oath’s curse is gone. I only offer you protection within the valley so you can get off my land.” He waved a hand, and racing light flew around my head and shot into the sky. “Take everyone with you.”

My eyes flicked wide in shock. Whyzers were consideredkind and ready to dispense blessings over their subjects. The vapors dissipated, swallowing the shadows of my whyzer with it.

A yellow bird swooped across my line of sight, then up onto what once was a window in the ancient wall. I wanted to crumble to the ground, but like the wall, I remained standing—even if the life inside me drained. Water continued to spill from the waterfall outside. This memory would burn strong all the days of my life.

Would Lux still leave Alexa for me even if I was gift-less? I trudged back to the entrance, knowing the answer. Best friends or not, whatever match we made must be approved by our parents. His father would never approve of me now.

As for Mamá and Papá, they now had a rebellious daughter who ran away and returned with nothing.Would they consider me a traitor for traveling with a prince of Himzo? I swallowed hard.

The hum of magic still simmered through the air while I exited the castle. I placed a palm on the column with the ancient letters scrawled along the beam andleaned my ear against the stone. Magic had a melody. It reminded me of Zichri’s campfire song and filled me with a sense of well-being.

Blas needs to live. Or should I wish for his death since he might go to war against Giddel? But I knew him and Milo, Jaime, Gonzalo, and Zichri. I could never wish for their deaths, and all of them had to feel the same way in return, right? They lied about who they were, but our time together hadn’t been a lie. The grass cushioned my steps as I dared to move forward to face all those who risked their lives for nothing. What would I tell Laude?

I gnawed on my bottom lip and crossed the bridge. The trail, grass, and trees all grew fuzzy, with moisture building along my lashes again. From among the blurry scenery, a tall figure emerged around the bend.