Page 9 of Crown of Ashes and Desire

As she spoke about the passages, Melo's eyes took on an odd, distant quality. Her head tilted in a way that reminded me of someone trying to recall a half-forgotten dream.

“Tell me,” I whispered urgently.

“There’s an old passage beneath the eastern wing—it seems to lead toward the forest beyond the estate,” she explained. “The shadows there are thinner somehow, as if repeated use has worn them away. The air smells different, too—fresher, with hints of pine and wild magic.”

“How soon can we try?” I asked, hope flaring in my chest for the first time since waking.

“Not yet,” Melo cautioned. “You’re still weak, and the shadow magic here is suffocating. We need to wait until you’ve recovered some strength and until they’ve lowered their guard. That Sarp character seems to watch everything, though he does it with such casual indifference you might miss it if you weren’t looking.”

I nodded, though impatience gnawed at me.

“What about Kiraz?” I whispered so softly that only Melo could hear. “Have you had any word from Nadine?”

“She’s safe,” Melo assured me. “Nadine sent a message before they left. She has taken Kiraz deeper into the countryside to hide her. Your sister may be annoying, but she’d die before letting anything happen to that child.”

Relief washed through me, though it was quickly followed by fresh worry. How long could Nadine maintain the complex illusion spells that kept the cottage hidden? The last time I’d visited, I’d spent hours reinforcing the protective wards, adding layers of my light magic to counterbalance Kiraz’s emerging shadow abilities.

“I need to reach them,” I said, determination hardening my voice. “Before Hakan discovers Kiraz’s existence.”

Melo’s turquoise eyes met mine, full of understanding. “We will. But for now, you must play along with his game. Let himbelieve you’ve accepted your fate. Let him lower his guard.” Her tail swished with agitation. “Though I still vote for the throat-ripping plan. Much more direct.”

I shook my head, though her bloodthirsty loyalty warmed me. “We can’t risk it. If anything happened to you…” I couldn’t finish the thought.

“Fine.” She sighed dramatically. “We’ll do it your way. The sneaky, complicated way. But if he touches you without your permission, all bets are off. I don’t care how many shadows he commands.”

I nodded, though the thought of pretending to accept this binding turned my stomach. But for Kiraz, I would do anything—even feign submission to the man who had broken my heart and nearly broken my mind.

“For now, rest.” Melo settled beside me. “Gather your strength. We’ll need every ounce of it to escape this place.”

I closed my eyes, my mind already racing with plans. Somehow, I would find my way back to Kiraz. And neither Hakan nor all his shadow magic would stop me.

Hakan

“You’re a terrible liar,” Sarp drawled, longing across the leather armchair. “At least to those who know you. Watching you try is honestly the highlight of my otherwise tedious immortal existence.”

I ignored him, focusing on the ancient text before me, masking the pain beneath my temple. I first felt it around two years ago when my father’s spell started fading—the slow return of memories he’d ripped away. But now I fucking felt it everywhere, drilling through my cells while the pain of remembering what I’d lost crashed into the agony of what I was about to do to reclaim it.

I drove Ada away five years ago. Nine months of agony later, when my grief threatened to undermine his plans, Erlik forcibly ripped her from my mind, leaving me hollow and broken. For two and a half years, I forgot she existed. Then the spell began fading, and with my returning memories came Erlik’s terrible realization—Ada was Gün Ata’s daughter, his oldest rival. My weakness had handed him the perfect weapon for revenge.

“I’d almost feel sorry for her if she weren’t so magnificently defiant,” Sarp continued. He swirled amber liquid in a crystal glass. “The way she stared at you…If hatred could kill, you’d be nothing but ash.”

“Are you fucking finished?” I asked without looking up, my fingers involuntarily crushing the edge of the ancient parchment as her name sent another wave of pain through my skull.

“Not even remotely.” Sarp grinned. “I met her fox companion earlier. Delightful creature. Sharp tongue, sharper teeth. I believe her exact words were ‘I’m counting the ways to separate his head from his shoulders while he sleeps.’ I offered to help.”

“Why would you go anywhere near that pest?”

“Some of us possess social skills beyond brooding and murder.” He raised his glass in mock salute.

“Your point?” I demanded, shadows coiling tight around me when an unwanted image of Ada’s face flickered through my mind, and I gripped the table so hard my knuckles turned white.

“My point, you magnificent idiot, is that you’re fooling exactly no one.” His expression sobered. “You staged that affair five years ago.”

“I did what was necessary?—”

“You pushed her away because her light was corrupting your precious darkness.” Sarp’s voice cut through my deflection. “You’ve been miserable as sin for five years. By the time I learned what had happened with Ada, your father’s spell was already firmly in place, and you couldn’t even remember why her name should matter to you.”

“Power has its price.”

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