Page 107 of Ecliptic

I cleared my throat, and both of their eyes shot to me as if they suddenly remembered my presence.

“I found the Eye of the Sun, and Thaydril told us what room was yours,” I said as we steered ourselves deeper into the shadows.

“I have only seen my cousin a few times by the way of the staircase,” Rayal said softly. “We’ve been kept apart, both of us heavily guarded.”

Since I’d seen her, she’d pierced the center of her bottom lip with a delicate golden hoop. Her dark hair was lighter, streaked with caramel highlights from the sun.

As I studied her, she studied me. “You are changed. Last I saw you, you were human, and now you resemble the Ancients,” she said at last, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I told you your power could be changed and altered but never taken. How did this happen?”

“Erovos,” I answered, though the name left a rancid taste in my mouth. “He broke me down until I was nothing but the Alcreon Light, and the Elder Spirits built me back up in an elven body. It was the only way I could . . . come back.”

“The Dark Spirit?” Rayal confirmed, her eyes going wide. “I heard whisperings of his name in the Crystal Crypts. The False Queen mimicked his power by siphoning energy from life. It is he who is?—”

“Who is destroying Luneth,” I finished, my voice steady yet urgent.

“He is amassing an army of astral demons,” Dyani said, squaring her shoulders to the princess. “I have seen and battledthem myself. They are waging war on Luneth, and I have pledged my blades to the Synodic Daughter.”

I’d never heard her call me that, and the changed title struck me. It carried a weight of purpose to reclaim and heal what had been lost. It made this mission all the more dire.

“That is fortunate for her. I saw you in the Crypts when you were battling the false queen’s men. You are quite a skilled fighter,” Rayal said.

I could have sworn Dyani’s cheeks flushed. “Will you pledge yours?” she asked, gesturing to the letter opener in her pocket.

“If only it were up to me,” she responded, downtrodden. “I’ve barely been outside my room and balcony since I returned. You helped me escape one prison only to return to another.”

“You said we would be amongst friends?” I asked in confusion.

“It was true at the time,” she replied as tears filled her lower lash line. “Or would be true if my father was still alive. When we were saved from the Crystal Crypts, I came home to find he had returned to the Eternal Sun Stone. He died of a broken heart when I never returned.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said as her loss pinched my heart. It was hard losing a parent, no matter the circumstances.

“Thank you. My father was frail and old. He lasted longer than he should have. But I couldn’t wait around for him to die, leaving no hope or future for his people. Lake Imperial was drying up faster than the rains could fill it. He didn’t want to alarm his subjects and cause pandemonium. So, I left quietly to find hope. The throne was mine to inherit. I had a legacy to protect. I never thought I would be gone for nearly a sun’s turn.”

Urgency burned me from the inside out. “What do you meanhada legacy? What happened?”

Her nostrils flared. “While I was imprisoned in the Crypts, my step-uncle Aedris claimed the throne.”

The loss of her father saddened me, but the loss of her throne and her ability to provide for her people enraged me. “But you’re back now. Can’t you claim it?”

“Aedris is ruling with fear and an iron fist. I’m afraid there isn’t much more I can do,” she said, her eyes boring into me. “I left to find hope. And I did. I found you. You can heal this earth and, in turn, my people. Their safety is more important than any title.”

“Tell me how to help,” I beseeched.

She grabbed my hand and held it in hers. “You must convince them of what I already know. You must bleed for them.”

My heart thumped against my chest, and I glanced at Dyani. “W-what?”

“The blood-soaked soles of your feet brought the dying land back to life. I heard your Elven-head speak of it after she blasted open the Crypts. How the plant life led her to you—to all of us trapped beneath the ground. As everyone escaped, word spread of what you had done. The world is waiting for you.”

“I will find a way to tell them,” I said, willing to scream it from the canyon tops if I had to.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “You mustn’t tell them. You mustshowthem.”

“My powers don’t work here,” I confessed, gripping her hand in mine.

Rayal’s eyes were knowing. “The charms my uncle has on the city are strong. But nothing is stronger than blood. I know you have already bled so much, but I must humbly ask you to bleed once more. Open your veins for my people.”

Before I could react, she pulled her letter opener and sliced it across my palm. “Ow,” I cried, trying to pull my hand away.

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