Page 152 of The Stars are Dying

“You have given me no reason to trust you.”

“Have I not? I’ve known who you are this whole time and kept your secret.”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve far better than the misery he will always cause you.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Nyte? Why is he locked down there?”

“The same reason any beast needs to be contained.”

Maybe it made me a fool to deny the prince’s claim. As he slid a step toward me, I cast out my hand on instinct at seeing the glint of a blade.

In an instant power surged for him, and all I could do was brace against the key—against whatIseemed to command. The flare of purple light hit Drystan, and with the impact of his body slamming against the wall I lurched with regret.

He fell, and I winced with a thundering heart as he lay unmoving.

The beat of a countdown was drumming. The king could arrive at any moment from Hektor’s alert, or maybe he would have felt the awakening of the key, which hummed with an energy through the air.

I had to make a choice, not knowing if I’d fatally harmed the prince. Though it wasn’t without a new seed of guilt that I turned…

And ran.

I chose Nyte.

46

It was the second time in far too soon that I was sprinting faster than my lungs could cope. I didn’t have the luxury of leisure. When the king discovered the shattered keys and found me gone, he would figure out where I’d headed.

I clutched the key tightly, feeling its desire to aid me, but I wasn’t sure how to answer it, use it. I only prayed through my exertion it would hear my desperate call to free Nyte.

The castle came into view, and I took the same route around it. I had no bow this time and no choice but to dart right past the guard. He called out, alerting the others, but his large body couldn’t chase me through the fence. I tried to keep out of sight as more guards grew alert and the courtyard became a hunting ground.

The main doors were sealed, so I darted around for the cellar entrance. Fire tore through my thigh, and I cried out, falling instantly. My palms froze against the snow. It seeped through to the skin of my knees, and though it stung I was glad for the contrast that distracted me from the arrow protruding from my thigh.

Raising a shaky hand, I whimpered. Dizziness swept over me as I realized I needed to pull it free the same way it had gone in since it hadn’t struck right through.

I was running out of time.

With a cry I tried to pull the arrow out, but with the resistance and pain I swayed on my knees. Instead all I could muster was wrapping both hands around the arrow to snap the length with a sob.

Calls around me surged my adrenaline, smothering the pain enough for me to get back to my feet. I took a limp step.

Then another.

And another.

Then, with clenched teeth, I ran.

It couldn’t end here.

Voices grew, and I knew the guards would be closing in. I could have cried with relief as I made it to the hatch, hauling it open and slamming it shut behind me. I didn’t have a chance to notice if anyone had seen where I entered. I hastily descended, my grip tensing as my wet boots slipped.

Only a few meters down, my clumsy, slick footing became my downfall. I braced in time for the impact. The vibrations slammed through me, stunning me still and jolting a wave of disorientation through me that didn’t pair well with the dark. My body ached so badly I wished for it to be gone. For a second my mind was content to give up here in the lonely dark.

Drip, drip.

I tuned in to the familiar sound of leaking water.

---