Page 183 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

How could she save him?

‘Mal!’

She barely had time to brace herself before Kai was there, sprinting across the darkened earth, his movements quick, sharp—desperate. He reached her in a blur, lifting her clear off the ground, his arms crushing her against him in a grip she never wanted to leave.

The scent of ash and steel and home surrounded her.

‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded, his voice rough with emotion.

Mal swallowed, letting herself bask in the warmth of his embrace for one moment more before reality pulled her back into its cruel grasp.

‘I came to retrieve the dagger,’ she answered as he set her back down.

Kai’s eyes darkened. Something lurched in them—something wary.

‘Haven left yesterday.’

Mal’s stomach lurched. ‘What?’

‘She wanted to attend the engagement celebration.’ There was an edge to his tone, his jaw tightening as he spoke the words.

Mal did not ask more. There was no time.

‘Well, as soon as I have the dagger I shall be returning.’ She turned from him, her gaze lifting to the castle carved into the very heart of the mountain, the spires jagged like the teeth of a beast.

After spending so much time in the vivid warmth of the Kingdom of Fire, it felt almost unnatural to return to a world bathed in black, white, and grey. The only colour left to them was the bleeding crimson of the deadly moon, staining the heavens like a wound that refused to heal.

‘I cannot stay, Kai,’ she said, stepping away from the shadowed path that wound towards the towering gates. ‘Please give our parents a kiss.’

Before he could protest, Mal rose onto the tips of her toes, pressing a swift kiss to his cheek. And then she ran.

Her grey riding dress billowed behind her as her boots pounded against the rocky path, guiding her away from the castle and towards the edge of theworld itself.

Towards the Forest of Silent Cries.

She reached its border, heart hammering against her ribs as she stilled. And listened.

The dead trees loomed over her like ancient sentinels, their blackened limbs reaching out, the skeletal leaves rustling in an eerie symphony—but none fell.

Mal clenched her fists, fighting against the pull of grief, but her thoughts betrayed her.

Nyx.

Was her wyvern here? Did she wait for her in the restless embrace of the forest, caught between life and death, longing to soar once more?

Before she could lose herself in the question, the air shifted.

One moment, there was only emptiness.

The next—she was there.

The Seer stood before her, materialising from nothing and everything all at once, her golden owl-like eyes unblinking, inhuman. The feathers adorning her elongated skull rippled in the stillness.

Her head cocked to the side, as if assessing a puzzle she had already solved.

‘Why are you here, Mal Blackburn?’ the Seer rasped, her voice both ancient and eternal, as if the wind itself had spoken.

Mal did not hesitate. She could not.

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