Page 98 of Curse of Thorns
“But... then you will still be imprisoned here. Forever. And our court will fall. You are the last heir. The last one. Do you understand what that means?”
“It means we’re no worse off than before. No one knew I existed. ” I shrug.
His mouth falls open. “I thought you loved our court. I thought you’d fight for it, choose it, above all else.”
I nod slowly. “I’d choose it above all else. Except him.”
If I’d known all of this before... before the trials, before my time with him in the Crumbling Court, before crushing his heart to help—maybe I’d have chosen differently.
.
No, I cannot kill him because my own choices backed me into a corner. I am not that selfish.
I turn and face the fire, flickering gently in the darkness. My wraith—my ancestor—doesn’t make a sound, and I don’t turn to face him. I’d leave now if I didn’t know it was certain death to cross the plains at night. I must wait for the morning.
So, I wait, contemplating my entire life with this new information. Did my father know? That would make a lot of sense actually. And my Gran too.
It’s why they wanted to send me away. It’s why they thought my disobedience put me in danger. It’s why they feared me after I’d killed Reahgan. It’s why they pushed to have me banished. Because I had this dark power now that was dangerous to the whole realm.
Eventually, I slip into a fitful sleep, and when I wake ready to set off over the now vacant wraith plains to find Rev, my wraith is gone. Maybe he left the moment I chose Rev over his vendetta. I don’t care. My mind is made up.
I choose Rev.
I will always choose him.
***
THE PLAINS ARE AS EMPTYand open as they were yesterday morning. Though, of course, I know better. An army of wraiths waits in the shadows for any hint of Rev or me.
I suppose it should be a relief to know they don’t want me dead. They just want to capture me and take me to the Night Terror. Except, I also know better than to think that’s any not worse.
Death would be a mercy. That’s what my magic whispered in my ear those days I was bound by a bargain to the Night Bringer.
I cover myself in shadow. It would be preferable for me to save my magic for more important things than staying hidden, but after yesterday, I know this is a worthy use of my magic. It doesn’t take much anyway. I’ll just keep my shadow leaping to a minimum.
I take off at a full sprint across the plains. I find the massive footprints of the zombie bear and the dirt scorched from Rev’s magic, but the bear‘s lifeless carcass is nowhere to be found. I keep running. After a few miles and no surprising mishaps, I reach the looming shadow of the mountain pass. I don’t know where Reahgan took Rev, but I know where Rev will be heading eventually—through this mountain pass and deeper into the Schorchedlands.
I slow to walk when the ground beneath me shifts from ashy dirt to uneven rubble and stone. When light from the hazy sky is completely blocked from view by the massive mountains.
There are a few leafless trees here but no water sources. I’m already running low on water, but now isn’t the time to worry about that. I have to find Rev first. Figure out how to not die of thirst second—or at least somewhere on my to-do list.
I continue walking slowly, shadows still covering me, but a soft glow appears between two smaller mountains.
The glow recedes like nothing had been out of place at all.
On a whim, I follow the pathway toward the light. It’s winding, passing through a few small nooks between a set of mountains, and uphill. Finally, I turn a corner and suck in a breath at a tiny cottage smack in the middle of a red-tinted valley.
A fucking cottage in the middle of the Schorchedlands.
Now, even if this has nothing to do with Rev—I’ve got to find out what the hell is up with this place.
