Page 75 of The Shadow Heir

“Tell me where she is!”

The curse tore through my veins, shredding me like a scalpel from the inside. Humans couldn’t survive dragon fire, even the smallest burns, if they were left untreated. The magic in the flames would eventually turn their blood toxic. I’d been a fool to leave—to trust I could return when someone here wanted to keep me away.

“Look at yourself! That’s why I closed the doorway,” Alba exclaimed, pointing at my hands. “Because you don’t have enough sense to keep yourself alive.”

Shock pulsed through me, dulling the pain for a brief moment. I clamped two quick hands around my sister’s shoulders. “You did this.”

I had known. I had sensed her betrayal in my room, hours ago, when Zara had stood there asking who would do this. When I’d pieced together that my sister was the only person who knew how I felt about Zara. The only person who would care about me enough to try to stop my feelings. And as I looked into my little sister’s face, the face of the one person I cared for more than anyone else in the world, the stab of pain split me in two.

She gripped my forearm, her eyes wide as my balance faltered. “I was trying to help. You know what happens if your curse brings him home before we’re ready.” Her voice was thick with worry.

“She might die because of what you did.”

“And you’ll die if you go to her now, Cas. We both will.”

Because if Father came home tonight, he’d kill us both. The antidote wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t strong enough. We needed more time.

I shook my head. “I won’t let that happen, Alba. But I can’t let her die either.”

Alba’s mouth parted in quiet shock. “You really care for her.”

A moment of silence passed as I tried to master the pain that would render me useless to Zara if I let it. I had to take control.

My sister tucked her hair nervously behind her ears. Tonight, strands of tree moss hung among the loose curls she’d styled into her hair. “I thought…” She couldn’t seem to finish.

“You thought that if she died, I’d stop caring for her, and father would stay away longer.”

Alba nodded faintly, her eyes glistening brighter than before. In my words, she heard what I hadn’t said. That even death wouldn’t stop the way I felt about Zara. Admitting that shook something deep inside me.

“I’ve tried to show her that I’m not the monster she met a few weeks ago, but I’ve failed. All she can see is the danger I’ve put her in, especially after tonight. She hates me,” I said.

“Cas, I’m so sorry. I was only trying to keep you alive. I didn’t know it was…”

Lovehung unsaid between us.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the pain away. “All my life, I’ve been searching for…” My hand fell away. “I’ve been searching for her. Now tell me where she is.”

31

Zara

From a soft bed, I stared up at star-shaped chandeliers. Voices buzzed around me, but I recognized none of them. Pain danced down my leg and stabbed at the back of my hands. I was in a cave. Cool, moist air and knobby rock formations filled the chamber.

The palace of the Shadow Court. Nightsong. Cas’s palace.

Memories tapped against my mind like strangers seeking shelter. I couldn’t remember why I was here, or what had hurt me.

I recalled a woman’s freckled face and red hair. A white dress. A wide underground lake. Dragons.

My lungs sucked in air, and I tried to sit up.

A cool hand pressed me back down. “There now, she’s awake.” A man with pointed ears and long blond hair stared down at me. He wore an exquisite suit woven with golden threads, and a beaded headpiece adorned his brow. He was vaguely familiar, but my mind wasn’t filling in all the gaps yet.

“Leave me alone,” I said in a raspy voice.

He glanced up at another fae, a woman with honey-colored hair and amber skin. She was so beautiful that her skin faintly glowed. No—I reminded myself—that was magic.

Large cushions had been stacked under me, and several fae lounged against other pillows on the cavern floor. A woman played a piano a short distance away, filling the room with a calming sonata.

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