I squinted into the horizon, and my body locked up. Near the path to the Sophos port, the tall grass was shaking—not the slow sway of the evening breeze, but a violent disturbance that could only be man-made.
Icy fingers slithered over my skin.
Seconds later, my fears became cruelly well-founded. The grass parted, and three men broke free.
Three familiar men.
A shrill, desperate “No!”tore out of my throat.
Teller, Luther, and Perthe sprinted toward me at a furious pace, with Doriel and their guards in hot pursuit.
“Stop!” I screamed. I shook my head and pointed for the shore. “Go back—leave me, get off the island!”
Uncertainty passed over Teller’s features. His pace slowed, but Luther was a man determined, and nothing would turn him from me.
My eyes shot to Doriel in the distance. They looked at my brother, then the sun, then their guards. They stopped running, and their gaze met mine. A heart-stopping apology settled on their face.
“Doriel,no,” I screamed, a burning stinging at my eyes.
It wasn’t enough. Doriel barked something at their guards, and they turned as a group, running for the Sophos port instead.
I flew down the Temple steps and crashed into Luther’s approaching arms. His eyes were wilder than I’d ever seen them. He gripped my face in his palms, swiping away the wetness on my cheeks. “You’re safe, my heart. I’m here.”
“No—Luther, you have to go. The Crowns cast a spell that will kill anyone on the island once the sun sets.” I tried to shove him off, but he held me firm. “Luther, please. Take Teller and run.”
“Understood. Let’s go.” He reached to grab my hand to take me with him.
I jerked away.
He fell deathly still. “You’re coming with us.”
To anyone else, the growling command would seem absolute in its resolve—but I heard the fearful question that trembled underneath.
I shook my head in despair. “The spell...”
His expression hardened. “I’m not leaving you behind. If you’re dying here, I’m dying at your side.”
“I won’t die, but you three will. You have to leave, Luther, time is running out.”
“Diem—”
“Leave,” I shrieked. I pounded my fists at his chest in an urgent frenzy. “If you love me, stop talking andrun. Take my brother and—”
My eyes snagged on a flicker of darkness over the swaying grass, then shot to the splinter of red-orange that had nearly vanished in the sky. There were minutes left at most—maybe only seconds. The Lumnos port was at least a twenty minute walk, the Sophos port even further. Even if they ran...
Too late.
They weren’t going to make it.
Luther caught me as my knees crumpled. “It’s alright,” he soothed. “We’ll leave now.”
“It’s too late,” I gasped, tears in freefall down my face.
I’m too late.
Everything shattered inside of me.
My most loyal guard, my baby brother, the man I loved—I was going to lose them all. They were going to die right here in front of my eyes.