Page 94 of Shadow and Smite

The battle had gone on through the day. We watched through the night, the coldest hours. Hours when I whispered to myself that the sun would rise.

Darkness was inevitable, but the sun would rise.

The sun would rise.The sun would rise. I repeated it, again and again, until I lost track of the meaning.

While Eleanor and I waited, Ninti left the throne. She patrolled the stronghold. The Shades were gone. Zayne had succeeded—he destroyed the army, and my Brand was gone.

In exchange, he bordered death.

We needed a plan—to discover what food stores were available and discuss ways to protect the throne.

Instead, heartbreak ravaged me. I couldn’t leave Zayne. I couldn’t sleep.

Ever since my strange song, I felt bound to him.

As the night wore on, we didn’t talk much. There was nothing to say while we shared the long silence.

I felt numb. It was more than the cold. My mind turned silent as time became slippery. I felt nothing and was glad for it.

Eventually, finally, dawn crept upon us, the light sluggish and scattered through the mists of Gloom.

We waited.

We remained.

Moving on wasn’t possible.

Moving on meant accepting Zayne was…

I inhaled,that scent.

My back straightened.

In my grief, my nose must have started playing tricks on me. Because I scented cedar and amber.

It made me want to sob, but I held the breath, afraid I would never sense him again.

In my grief, I must have become delusional. My eyes must be deceiving me. Zayne’s chest shifted…

—ahh—

He sighed.

That wasn’t my imagination.

His chest heaved, lungs sucking in life. He coughed and spluttered.

I lunged forward, pulling him into my arms. “Are you okay? What do you need?” I choked on my tears. “How is this even possible?”

Eleanor teetered behind me.

He glanced at her, but his gaze settled on me. His eyes shone as he answered, “While you held the tether, I climbed from the depths.”

40 | The Ties that Bind

Zayne

The throne room was welcoming, even in the depths of Gloom. Ayla pulled me closer, and I thawed in her embrace.

---