Page 163 of What Blooms from Death

The ground felt as if it was dissolving beneath my feet. My stomach dropped like I was falling, plummeting through a nightmare, everything around me racing by while I desperately tried to grab hold of something to slow me down. I thought I might be able to jerk myself awake if only I could get my hands around something,anything—

But when everything finally went still, the Lord of the North Reaches was still standing before me. Still smiling at me.

Run,urged a voice in the back of my mind.Run!

But I refused to show my panic. “Please excuse me for a moment,” I said. “I’ve forgotten something in my room.”

“By all means.” He gave a slight bow, and I escaped without another word, trying to move as calmly as I could despite the warnings screaming through me.

When I chanced a look over my shoulder, he was nowhere to be seen.

I picked up my skirts and walked faster.

As soon as I turned the corner, I broke into a sprint.

But to where?

I needed help, I needed answers, I needed to find Aleks and tell him—

Unless he already knew.

The possibility stopped me in my tracks so quickly I stumbled, catching myself against the wall. I heaved for breath. Thoughts and explanations tumbled through me, each more painful, more impossible than the last.

And I realized, all at once, where I had to go.

What I had to do.

I shoved away from the wall and ran, ignoring the few people I passed, pausing for nothing and no one until I reached the chamber where Luminor awaited. With trembling hands, I began to unlock the doors. The turquoise bracelet had gone still once I put space between myself and Zayn, but now it was alive again—not painfully squeezing, but gently lifting and pulling my hand this way and that, guiding my fingers over the ruts and glyphs until they began to glow.

Fear choked the breath from my lungs and made my legs feel like they were made of rubber, but I still pushed the heavy doors open and made my way inside. I had to be stronger than the fear. I should have been stronger before now. Should have divined answers from this cursed blade when I’d had the chance.

Whatever truths awaited within it, it was past time for me to see them.

Before I reached the center pedestal, it occurred to me that I had no idea how long it would take me to work the magic I needed to—I needed to secure this room first.

I turned, fresh terror gripping me as I realized Zayn was already there, quietly shutting the doors behind him.

Chapter Forty

Nova

I was reachingtoward the floating Sword of Light, but I was rooted in place, my eyes fixed on the closed doors.

Zayn stepped closer, blocking my view of the exit, his hands still shoved casually into his pockets—as if this was just an extension of the stroll we’d been enjoying together.

“Go ahead,” he said, nodding at the sword. “I think it’s time you knew the truth.”

I suspected I already knew it.

I forced myself to move closer to the center pedestal, anyway, reaching up and swiping for Luminor’s grip with a shaking hand. The sword was surrounded by powerful energy that made my bones feel as if they might splinter as I pressed toward it, but I managed to push through, to gently grasp the handle and pull it lower.

I laid a few fingers against the base of the blade.

It was a testament to how much control I’d gained over my abilities these past weeks, that I was able to focus on my task. To zero my thoughts in on the exact night, the exact moments Ineeded to see, ignoring the present moment even as Zayn drew nearer.

Show me,I thought, desperately.Please, please show me what I need to see—

Colors and shapes swirled behind my eyelids. Banners of blue and silver; a soaring white building overlooking a sweeping veranda with tiled floors; a night sky scattered with stars; vine-wrapped columns…

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