Page 94 of The Curse of Golden Blood
I clenched my jaw, fighting back the wave of emotions crashing through me. I couldn't believe she was saying these words. That she was choosing to stay, despite the danger.
"Fine," I said, turning away. "If that's what you want, then fine. I'll go alone."
I turned toward the door, my hands shaking with rage and hurt and something deeper I didn't want to name.
"Mira, wait—"
But I was already gone, disappearing back into the shadows of the corridor. If she wanted to stay and die with her precious Brond, that was her choice to make.
I had a portal to open.
The map led me through corridors I'd memorized from weeks of careful study. Left at the tapestry of the storm king. Right past the alcove with broken statues. Down the narrow staircase that spiraled into the palace's ancient heart.
But when I reached the place where the Storm Leaping chamber should have been, there was nothing.
Just a blank wall of gray stone. Cold and ordinary and wrong.
I pressed my hands against the surface, searching for hidden seams or triggers. The map was clear. The portal room was supposed to be right here. Had something changed? Had the palace itself shifted while I wasn't watching?
My fingers found nothing but smooth stone that didn't give under pressure.
"No." The word came out as barely a whisper. I'd been so sure. The ancient texts, the careful translation of fae symbols, the weeks of planning. All of it pointed to this exact location.
I stepped back, panic rising in my throat like bile. If there was no portal room, there was no escape. No way to save Pelbie or anyone else. We would all die here while the Rot consumed everything.
Movement caught the corner of my eye.
A flash of golden light, delicate and ethereal. I turned my head and saw it standing at the far end of the corridor. The emberhart.
I had no idea how the creature kept finding me, but the sight of her was a small comfort in the midst of despair. It shouldn't be here. Emberharts belonged to the Sun Court, not the Thunder Court. They were creatures of light and growing things, not storm and shadow.
"No way," I breathed. "It's you."
The creature turned its head toward me, ancient eyes meeting mine for just a moment. Then it started walking away.
"Wait!" I called out, louder than I should have. "Hold on!"
The emberhart didn't stop. It moved with fluid grace down the corridor, hooves making no sound against the stone floor. I ran after it, my bare feet slapping against cold marble. The creature stayed just ahead of me, always visible but never close enough to touch.
It turned left into a passage I hadn't noticed before. I followed, my breathing harsh in the narrow space. The wallspressed closer here, carved with symbols that hurt to look at directly.
When I rounded the corner, the emberhart was gone.
Dead end. Nothing but another blank wall stretching from floor to ceiling.
I wanted to scream. To pound my fists against the stone until they bled. Another trick. Another dead end. Another—
The energy hit me like a physical force.
It was the same feeling I'd experienced in the black garden when Narietta had touched the hidden door. That sense of magic waiting just beneath the surface. Old power that hummed with potential.
Had the emberhart brought me here on purpose?
I reached out and pressed my palm against the wall. My hand slid right through the stone like it was made of water.
An illusion. The wall was nothing but air and trickery.
I stepped forward and felt the magic part around me like a curtain. Cold stone gave way to open space and suddenly I was standing in the Storm Leaping chamber.
