Page 46 of The Shadow Heir

It was almost like he wastellingus to leave. I shook the thought away, not caring why the fae prince might say such a thing, only that if tonight held any chance to escape, I had to take it.

I turned another corner. A pale light pulsed to life above my head, throwing the carved lines into relief at the end of the hall. My heartrate tripled in excitement.

A pointed-arch doorway marked with an eye waited for me. The eye already pulsed a soft blue, as if the magic here was eager, ready to be used. Behind the image of the eye was a vivid cliffside ocean scene, despite the monochrome black of the stone.

I’d seen these cliffs once before.

Up the coast from Leor, the beaches disappeared and tall brown cliffs hugged the sea. Papá traveled often to Risona, a large town perched atop these cliffs, for business, and the summer I was fourteen, he’d rented a small flat in the heart of the seaside town, where I’d spent a month gazing at these very cliffs.

When I’d found the door that had first brought me to Nightsong, the one at the base of the branching stairwells, the image behind the eye no longer showed pine trees like it had the night I’d arrived. Each time I’d seen it, that one door had a different scene etched on it. Which was why, tonight, when I had a chance at escape, I came to this door instead.

I could almost smell the salt and feel the sea breeze on my face as I stepped near the door. Avencia waited beyond this door.Freedom.The carved scene in the stone sank deeper and filled with a shining black liquid that rippled along each line and quickly turned to color, filling the entire door like enchanted paint.

A warm breeze tousled my hair.

I gasped.

The cold, underground tunnel whooshed with hot air from another land. A quick glance behind me revealed I was still standing in Nightsong, the home of the shadow fae. Ahead stood my country—my home.

With a yelp of delight mixed with fear, I stepped forward and fell through the opening.

My whoop of victory morphed quickly into a shriek of terror. From my forehead down to my toes, a strange binding sensation cascaded over my muscles, locking me in a rigid stance with my arms pinned to my sides, as I plummeted face-first toward a grassy cliff edge high above the gray sea twinkling with blinding sunlight.

A strong, warm breeze pushed against my body as I fell, angling my trajectory over the calm ocean rather than the grassy clifftop meadow. The sea air, thick with salt and moisture, stung my eyes as I shot toward the gently crashing waves.

Panic blocked the air from my lungs, but my head was about to strike water, and I needed to take a deep breath.

Needed to be able to move.

Needed to back up and decidenotto jump.

Five seconds ago, this place looked like freedom wrapped in adventure, a welcome friend waiting to take me by the hand. Now, I plunged toward my death, and I couldn’t even fight it.

By the time my body shot past the cliff edge, narrowly missing the rocky outcroppings, my skin prickled. A blink before my head pierced the water, my entire body burned like I was falling through flames rather than air.

My only consolation was that I hadn’t let the fae laugh at my death. I only wished I’d been able to find real love, the kind my parents had once shared, the kind that never lets go.

Ivy, I’m sorry I abandoned you. Talia, I wish I’d found you.

Father, I wish I could have seen you again. Wish you hadn’t let me go…

Sun above, this was going to hur—

Splash.

21

Zara

Like an arrow aimed at the sandy sea floor, I shot straight down. Pain lanced through my spine and my awareness dimmed as a massive headache exploded through my skull.

Dark shapes swarmed around me, but they moved too fast, and the light faded too quickly for me to register what these creatures were.

Then something grabbed me.

My entire body lurched as a force yanked me upward, sucking me from my watery grave. The magic binding my muscles vanished, and my limbs floated outward in the water, as did my dress. My hair billowed around my face, obscuring my view as the darting fish swirled and writhed in the waves around me.

Cold hands grabbed my ankle, then my waist, spinning my body until my face pointed up. My eyes stung too badly to register what was in the water with me, but strong arms wrapped around me as we rose.

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