Page 108 of Ecliptic

“Princess?” we heard a voice call out from beyond her door. “Are you well?”

“I am well, thank you!” she called back as she held my hand firmly and pressed it to a nearby plant. Silver light bloomed in the darkness and illuminated our faces. The wilted edges of her succulent sprang to life. “Your blood is your power,” she whispered in awe, letting me go.

“Good to know,” I said, clutching my closed fist to my body. Dyani’s eyes widened in shock. She had only ever heard of my power, and seen its aftermath, but never witnessed it in action.

“Princess?” the voice called again, shaking us out of our stupor.

“You must go,” Rayal urged, pure terror in her eyes. “I can speak with my uncle. Because Thaydril led you to me, I might be able to help. Otherwise, Aedris would have kept me in the dark. Wait for him to summon you.”

“What should I say to him?”

“If you don’t open the door, we will bust it down,” another voice boomed.

“I’m coming!” she yelled over her shoulder before meeting my gaze. “My uncle will be intrigued with you. He enjoys shiny things. Keep him interested. He loves a challenge, but only if he knows he can win. Now, you must go!”

I couldn’t help it. I threw my arms around the princess and hugged her. “You came to me and brought me hope when I thought there was none. Your kindness saved me. I’ll do whatever I can to help you now.”

Her arms gripped me tight before we both let go.

I wished I could talk to her all night. We still had so much to discuss, but our time had been cut short once again.

Dyani and I quickly left the princess’s chambers and hurried down the staircase precariously hanging off the palace walls.

I quickly turned back and whispered the secret word to the stones. The rock pushed back into the wall with barely a sound.

And just like the disappearing steps, we vanished into the night like we had never been there at all.

By the time we arrived back at our quarters, Rowen was waiting on the balcony, and my heart burst with relief. As soon as he spotted us, he lowered the rope.

“You go first,” I said to Dyani, helping her climb into the harness. Rowen pulled her up as the sun began to rise, gently blushing the day with its fire.

My foot tapped impatiently. The sun grew brighter and brighter. Finally, the harness was lowered to me. As I slipped into the straps, Dyani hopped over to her balcony, and with a flash of her ponytail, she disappeared into her room.

The second my feet landed on the balcony, Rowen pulled me into a fierce embrace.

I remained in his hold as I told him everything.

His fingers dug into my arms. “Our suspicions are correct. It is not safe here.”

“Did you see something while you were out?” I asked, my gaze dancing across his face.

He nodded. “There is much unrest. A skirmish broke out while I was scoping the city.”

I clutched him tighter. “Are you all right?”

“Don’t worry, I stuck to the shadows. No one saw me.”

“What happened?”

He sighed. “Several elves tried stealing water from the oasis. They managed to fill several canteens before they were caught. Keira, the guards executed them on the spot. We need to be careful. We are in extremely dangerous territory.”

My stomach dropped. It was so much worse than I thought. “Soldiers guarded the palace, but they left their stations. The skirmish must have been the reason they abandoned their post.”

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.

“Go,” I urged Rowen as he tried to help me out of the harness. “I got it,” I said, quickly untangling the rope from myself and the railing.

Before Rowen opened the door, he turned to me to make sure I was ready.

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