Page 38 of Mother of Death and Dawn

A tent of blue cloth, staring up at the sky. Grief ate me alive, but I would not show it. I swallowed it deep. I knew this soul. This was Tisaanah’s.

For a moment and an age, I felt them so vividly, like their hands were interlocked with mine.

And then the roar of this terrible, broken magic took me away.

* * *

I stumbled across my room.The buzzing still filled my ears, my skin covered in goosebumps.

That was not a dream. That was not a memory. Something was happeningnow.And whatever it was still persisted, beckoning to me.

I went to the door and sagged against it. For a moment I looked at my hand on the knob.

Caduan always told me that I could leave as I pleased, but I never wanted to go anywhere. I hated this room, but at least it was safe, far away from the judging eyes. Even now, a part of me hesitated—longing to stay tucked away here.

And yet… the call was too strong.

I opened the door.

* * *

I didn’t knowhow I knew where to go. I just did.

I walked through the empty halls of the castle, then down, down, down staircase after staircase. I found myself wandering out into the cold night air, treading barefoot through the forest. I passed the building where Caduan had taken me before, and kept going.

My steps were graceless and uneven for reasons that had nothing to do with my cut-up bare feet. The tear in the magic below left me off-kilter. Whatever it was… it was wrong. Dangerous. And, in equal measure, enticing, pulling me ever forward.

I came to another small, stone building. The door opened easily at my touch. Orange light warmed my face. The floor was rusted, dark metal, with carvings etched into it that spiraled towards its center, illuminated with a faint, throbbing glow. At its center was a large, circular table that continued the same patterns. The light emanated from an orb at its center, so bright that for a moment it overwhelmed my eyes and drowned out the shadows.

The glow faded slightly. My vision adjusted to the darkness, and what I saw within it made me gasp and stumble against the brick.

The room was lined with creatures—creatures made of shadow, standing perfectly still against the walls, faces yawning pits of emptiness. They were silent. One by one, they stepped backwards, simply disappearing into the dusk.

They were… strange beasts. Unnatural. They should not exist.

“Aefe?”

The voice made me jolt.

My eyes fell to the opposite wall. I had been so distracted that I hadn’t even noticed him—Caduan, sagging against the table’s edge, as if the stone was the only thing keeping him standing.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I—”

Words were gummy in my mouth. The strange buzzing sensation was starting to fade, but only barely. I could not take my eyes from those creatures.

Caduan followed my gaze. “Don’t worry. The shades are harmless to you, and they will be gone soon.”

His voice sounded strange. His lashes fluttered, like he didn’t have the strength to keep his eyes focused on me.

I approached him slowly.

“What is wrong with you?”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“What is this? What was— I felt something sostrange. Something deep, something—” I didn’t know how to describe it. I looked to the table at the center of the room, and the glow at its center.

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