Page 73 of To No End

I knew what I was suggesting would be ignored. They’d made it clear. It was the Order or nothing at all. I sat on the bed across from Nori, who reached out and clasped my hand in hers.

“Thank you for being my friend, even if I am useless.”

I tried to fight back the stinging tears building in the wells of my eyes. “Just give me time, that’s all I’m asking.”

Nori did not reply or give me any indication that she was going to grant me my request. I left her room feeling utterly defeated and on edge, trying to anticipate when she might make a move. But if she did, how would I stop her? What could I do that wouldn’t put my safety in jeopardy?

All afternoon I was distracted by my encounter with Nori. I debated telling Saryn and Theory, I almost let it slip to Gia. Maybe the threat of leaving and the enchantments weren’t true, or maybe Nori would find a way to slip past them. Perhaps Sarynwould just let her go, since she had been nothing but a “thorn in his side.”

While making my way toward the terrace, I heard a loud commotion. I looked up to see Cairis running back toward me, frantically yelling that Nori was leaving. “What?” I gasped, in shock that she would already attempt this so soon.

“Where is she?” I asked exasperated.

“She told us not to follow her and then flew down to the stream in the valley. She’s walking alongside it now!”

“We have to go after her!”

Cairis’ expression told me everything I needed to know before he said it.

“No one will go. They’re heeding the warning about the boundaries.”

I took off sprinting back into the stronghold, desperately searching for Saryn or Theory. I finally found them together, strolling casually toward the flight deck for class. I worked to catch my breath and string together a coherent thought.

“Nori’s trying to leave. We have to stop her!”

Saryn looked at me, zero surprise on his disinterested face. “Great, this solves the problem of what to do with her.”

If I hadn’t already panicked into action, I might have taken a moment to try and punch that disinterest off his face, but I didn’t know how much time she had left before encountering some invisible border along the valley.

“She thinks there won’t be any consequences because she’s an only child, she’s not thinking straight!” I hunched over, resting both my hands on my knees, heaving deep breaths.

I heard Theory let out an amused laugh. “She’s very misinformed. If her life is forfeit and there are no other children, they’ll come for her mother. From what I hear, she’s still quite young. I hope she’ll be more pliant than her daughter.”

My eyes bulged with horror. To be eligible for the Offering, you had to be of age for conscription and childless. If Nori was gone, then that makes her mother eligible. If she had known this outcome, she would’ve never attempted this. She’d never let her mom take her place. Were they telling the truth or just trying to scare me? In any case, I had to stop this somehow.

As if Saryn had been reading my mind, “Don’t waste your energy, Cress. She will drag you all down. She already is, with this whole charade. Let her be useless in the afterworld.”

His harsh words set off an overwhelming chain of thoughts in me that narrowed with perfect clarity. I thought back to what Nori said this morning:“I’ve seen their tortured nightmares,” “run a knife across a stranger’s neck,” “to witness someone I care for be intimate with another.”

She had been inside my head. My dreams. There was no other possible way she’d know. The flashes of dreams flooded back into my mind. Me holding a knife to the neck of a person I’d never seen and sliding the blade across, blood splattering over my hand. Then Trace, undressing another female, causing my jealousy to boil. She’d been in our dreams, all of us, including Saryn and Theory.

I gritted my teeth, seething my words at Saryn, “She’s not useless you piece of shit. She’s a Dreamwalker, and I’m getting her back!”

Saryn’s eyes narrowed with disbelief. Before I let him say a single word, I spun and took off running toward the tunnel to the terrace.

I saw everyone on the landing looking out over the valley.

Cowards. That’s all I could think as they stood there idly.

There was no time for hesitation, and I prayed that my wings would come quickly when I called to them. With each stride, I closed in on the ledge, and yet my wings did not stir. My will was focused sharply on stopping Nori. I leapt from the ledge,knowing full well if my panic stopped my wings from unfurling, I’d be falling straight to my death.

As soon as my feet left the ledge, I looked out into the valley, seeing the sunlight blanket the trees, and felt the weight of my body dip for just a second before my wings finally splayed outward, catching me and carrying me on the wind. I began to fly lower, scanning the river, looking for signs of Nori when I finally spotted her.

I flew so fast that the crisp air cut at my cheeks. I swooped in and prepared for an abrupt landing. When she heard the thump of my arrival a few feet behind her, she looked over her shoulder, surprised.

I raised my hands trying to show her that I meant no harm and began to pace slowly toward her. “Please stop and just talk to me.”

But Nori did not stop. Instead, she took off in a sprint full speed toward her destination. I gathered my resolve. I had to stop her, to at least tell her about her mother, and then she could decide; from there I’d have to respect her decision.

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