Page 139 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
The tent walls close in on me.
Styx and Emrys have betrayed us? They’re working behind our backs, colluding with the enemy? Styx put Willow in danger—abandoned her?
A war rages inside me. Part of me wants to lash out, to punish him for leaving her alone. But another part recognizes that I can’t control everything. And what if this rage cost our Canary his life?
It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
“What tunnel?” Legion demands, voice tight.
“Beneath the keep,” Styx confesses, his eyes downcast. “Outside the Clock Tower. Or rather, shewasthere?—”
I grab him by the collar, ready to choke him. “What are you talking about? The Clock Tower?”
“It’s filled with our memories,” he explains. “It’s where Titania’s . . .”
“Spit it out before I break your neck.”
His blue eyes flit with sadness. He shakes me off and replies, “The Clock Tower holds our memories.”
Shadows flicker in the tent—Legion’s fragile grip on his control slips, but it’s me who feels like my world is collapsing. Am I the only one, apart from Varen, who doesn’t have his memories?
“How long have you known?” I growl.
“Since before the Baleful Gaze hit me.”
“And your full Sluagh powers?”
“They came when I started turning to stone.” He rubs his forehead. “Emrys already knew about the Tower. He didn’t want anyone else to find out because . . . because he was trying to make a deal. But I found out, got my memories, and he . . . it took me a while to remember who betrayed me, and when I did, Emrys—he threatened me. Everything is mixed up.”
“Deal with who?” I shake him. “Puck?”
“Where is Willow?” Legion interrupts, eyes wide.
“Emrys dared her to enter the tower or to stay with him, knowing they wouldn’t be able to resist her heat.” Styx’s eyes widen with disbelief. “She went inside, knowing that if she stayed . . .”
“Emrys would never trust her again,” Legion finishes.
“Take us, Styx,” I demand. “Take us to Emrys.”
Everything around us flickers. We travel through darkness and arrive inside a torch-lit tunnel. Emrys sits on the ground, head against the wall, staring at the Clock Tower door. The air is thick with the scent of fear, guilt, and something else . . . desire.
As I take in the scene, my fists clench at my sides. The burden of our tragic past—the betrayals, the pain—comes crashing down on me, and I have no defenses without my memory. But one thought rises above all others: Willow is in there, facing our darkest moments alone.
If only a glimpse of a memory can undo me, what will they all do to her?
I don’t pound my fist into Emrys’s face like I want to. Maybe once, I would have. I don’t know. But right now, I cling to what I know to be real. I am still the protector, and Willow is ours. My role, my duty, pulses through my veins like a second heartbeat. I point to the door, my voice low and controlled despite the storm raging inside me. “That’s the entrance?”
Emrys nods, his eyes haunted and hollow.
“If I go in there, will I regain my memories?” I press, the urgency in my tone barely concealed.
He gives another nod. “There’s a possibility of getting lost in there—of never coming out. And you can only go through it once. Otherwise, you could end up like Varen . . . at least until all of us have our memories returned to their rightful owner.”
“How long have you known, Emrys?” Legion demands, his voice as sharp as a blade.
I don’t wait for his response. I grab the doorknob and yank, the hinges groaning in protest. I hesitate but only to brace myself because once I enter this whirlwind, I will relive the moment I killed my brother.
Everything in my past has led me closer to Willow. If I erase it, then she disappears, too.
