Page 59 of Cursed Crowns

The squiggle of ink was spreading, sketching a map of the desert before their eyes. “That’s Balor’s Eye!” said Shen in amazement. “And... look. There’s the Golden Caves!”

Rose and Kai crowded next to Shen as the map continued to show itself, the lines bleeding across the parchment until every inch of it was filled in. The map glowed brighter, and suddenly, in the dead center, a large ruby-red beetle appeared.

Rose gasped. “What on earth is that?”

Shen clutched his chest, as though something inside him was trying to hammer its way out. “That’s it,” he said, his voice hoarse. “That’s where the Sunkissed Kingdom is.”

Fathom snapped his chin up, staring at Shen like he was just now seeing him for the first time. “Ah!” he said as he rubbed his eyes. “Why didn’t I see it before?You’rethe key to finding the desert.”

Shen stared at the seer. “Me?”

Kai reeled. “Him?”

“Shen?” whispered Rose, in disbelief.

The old man nodded. Then he threw his head back and laughed.

21

Wren

Deep in the snowy mountains, Wren stood outside the chamber that held Prince Ansel’s body and tried to catch her breath. She had only been in the room for five minutes, but it had felt like a lifetime. She could still see Ansel’s lifeless face behind her eyes, hear the rest of Alarik’s bargain echoing in her head.You have three days to bring my brother back.Three days to fix what you destroyed in Anadawn.

Wren had no idea if it could even be done—if it had ever been done before. And yet, as the possibility of Banba’s freedom floated between them in breathy clouds, she had looked King Alarik dead in the eye and said,Yes,I’ll do it.

Yes, I’ll save your brother.

Hope had sparked in Alarik’s gaze. Or perhaps it was desperation that made his eyes shine brighter, bluer.Until tomorrow then, witch.With a curt nod, the king had swept from the room, leaving Wren alone with his brother’s body, wondering what on earth she had just promised.

Alarik and his guards were long gone now. It was just Wren and Inga hovering in the dark tunnel.

“The king has ordered me to take you back to your room,” said the soldier. Perhaps it was Wren’s imagination, but her tone was gentlernow. “You’ll freeze down here.”

Wren stepped away from the door, conscious of the numbness in her fingers, how she had lost feeling in the tip of her nose. And then there was the matter of thevery deadprince lying on the other side, mere feet from both of them. “Let’s get out of here.”

They hurried back the way they had come, Wren’s footsteps quickening as she made a beeline for her grandmother’s cell. Banba was sitting cross-legged on the ground, the crimson cloak cascading around her like a pool of blood. A wash of color had returned to her cheeks, and she was no longer shivering.

Wren came to her knees at the bars. “I know what the king wants from me, Banba.”

Banba looked up. “You can’t give it to him.”

“Is it possible?” said Wren, ignoring the warning in her grandmother’s voice. “Is there a way to bring Ansel back? I’ve heard tales of such things. When I was a child, you told me once of a—”

“Enough!” The old witch pitched forward, knocking against the bars with such force, the entire cell shuddered. “The question is notcanit be done, the question isshouldit be done. If I have raised you at all, little bird, then you already know the answer.”

“Three days,” Wren pressed on. “I have three days to bring Ansel back. Just tell me if there’s a way. Please.”

But Banba was stone-faced. “The witches of Ortha do not dabble in death. That is a door that must remain forever closed, for once it is opened, you cannot stop the darkness from seeping out. It will take from you until there is nothing left,” she said gravely. “What use is your body, once you’ve bartered your soul?”

Wren didn’t care about her soul. She cared about the frost that clungto her grandmother’s eyelashes, the tinge of blue that lingered around her lips. “So it can be done,” she said, reading between the lines of her grandmother’s warning. “There is a way.”

Banba’s gaze flitted to Inga, who was hovering over Wren’s shoulder. She dropped her voice, until Wren had to strain to hear her over the drip-dripping of ice water. “Some things aren’t worth the price, little bird. Or the blood. Take your three days and usethem to escape this infernal place.”

Banba pulled back from the bars. She raised her chin, signalling to Inga. “My granddaughter is shivering. Take her back upstairs before she gets frostbite. I don’t imagine your king would take kindly to you letting her fall into such a condition.”

“Banba!” said Wren, but her grandmother was already lumbering away from her, retreating to the dark recesses of her cell.

“I’ve said all I have to say to you, Wren. I don’t want to see you down here again.”

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