Page 41 of Curse of Darkness
I’m not going to free them.
The words die on the tip of my tongue.
I wasn’t going to offer the Mother of Night the crown either.
I didn’t want anything to do with any of this.
But now the Horned One is free. My mother is making feints at our borders. And Angharad is rousing an army for the Horned One.
Everything the Mother of Night predicted is coming true, and like it or not, I feel like I’m slowly circling the maelstrom, heading toward the whirlpool in the center, no matter how hard I try to swim against the current.
The Mother of Night couldn’t stop the Horned One.
How am I meant to do it?
“But don’t take that to heart,” Finn throws over his shoulder, as if he can sense my sudden consternation. His blue eyes lock on me, serious for once. “Don’t let your doubt or your guilt stop you from doing what you need to do. If you have to smash open the Hallows and the Grimm rises up and puts a leash on Baylor and Lysander again, then we’ll hunt him down and I’ll put this sword through his heart. If the Father of Storms rises, then we’ll steal a ship—preferably one of Prince Kyrian’s—and ram the figurehead on the front of it right through him. Thalia, Baylor and Lysander—they all understand that. We’re family, Vi. Now you need to understand that.”
My heart feels so fucking heavy in my chest. “I know.”
Finn falls back to clap a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not alone, Vi. I just want you to know that. And the weight on your shoulders isn’t your burden to carry alone.”
Hot tears threaten to spill down my cheeks. There’s a part of me—the little girl who watched as her sister was hauled away from her, doors slamming in her face—that feels like she’s always alone.
“Thanks,” I whisper, bumping my shoulder against his.
Giving my shoulder one last squeeze, Finn slips ahead. “The entrance to the Underworld isn’t far. It’s on an island in the middle of a lake. That’s where we’ll find him. That’s where we’ll find Kato.”
“What should I expect?”
“Nobody knows,” he says quietly. “Nobody’s ever come back from the Underworld that I know of.”
“There’s always a first time.”
Finn suddenly freezes, his hand coming to rest upon the hilt of the sword.
He holds his other hand up.
“What is it?” I whisper.
He suddenly shoves me behind him, drawing the sword in one smooth glide. The ringing in my ears is back, the power of the sword emanating from it in a teeth-gritting buzz.
I string my bow and put an arrow to it, searching the darkness of the forest.
Something moves. Just to the left.
And then Eris bursts out of the forest, a drawn bow in her hands.
“Run!” she yells.
And at the look on her face, I don’t bother to argue.
* * *
“What the fuckare you doing here?” Finn bellows at her as he shoves me ahead of him.
Neither of us missed the glimpse of sleek pale shapes darting through the snow behind her.
“Can we argue about this later?” she snaps, twisting and sending an arrow arching through the trees. “There’s an entire pack of ice wolves on your ass.”
