Page 136

My witch magic has always been limited to inorganic materials, with metals holding the best charge. That’s what made me such a good bounty hunter. But this is something else.

A whole new world, discovered in a dying one.

“Interesting.” Kelaros steps closer to study the glowing handprint I left behind. His fingers twitch at his side, eager to touch, to take. “The court identifies you as kin now.”

“I’m no kin to this place,” I snap, but uncertainty threads through my denial.

How much of me remains human? How much is fae through the blood bond with Elionn? And how much has the court already claimed, replacing flesh with crystal one cell at a time?

Theron places a steadying hand on my shoulder. “All courts respond to Royal blood. Perhaps it’s Elionn’s magic working through your connection.”

I want to believe him, but the truth pulses through me with each beat of my transformed heart. This is my magic, but more.

What else has it changed?

“Can you do it again?” Kelaros asks, scientific curiosity winning out. “On purpose this time?”

I hesitate, then remove my glove. The blood tattoo on my palm pulses purple beneath my golden skin as I plant my bare hand on the crystal wall beside the previous handprint.

The connection snaps into place, stronger without the barrier of leather between us.

Magic flows from me into the court, and from the court back into me in a circuit of power. My breath catches, and my vision blurs.

The wall turns liquid where my palm rests, ripples spreading outward in widening rings.

Whispers go up among the Dark guards, some in awe and others in fear.

I ease my hand away, and the crystal solidifies once more, but different now. Where before it was cloudy with age and decay, now it clears to perfect transparency, revealing the corridor beyond the wall, and a shortcut through this labyrinth.

“The court reshapes itself for you,” Theron murmurs in wonder.

I flex my fingers as the residual tingle of power runs through them. “Not for me. With me.”

The distinction matters, though I can’t put into words why. The court doesn’t bend to my will so much as collaborate with it, two entities with aligned purpose, at least for now.

“We should continue,” Thalindor says, breaking the tense silence.

“This way,” I say with newfound confidence, pointing toward the revealed passage. “His presence is stronger now.”

As we move forward, I notice Kelaros watching me with renewed interest.

“Don’t get any ideas,” I warn as he falls into step beside me. “I haven’t forgotten your betrayal.”

“Nor should you, cousin. We are of a similar cut, you and I. It is disappointing you are diluted.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you disappointed for long.” I push past him into the new corridor, where crystal forms a frozen waterfall from ceiling to floor.

The new passage goes on for longer than the trip around the Great Hall should have taken. Then all at once, it spits us out into a vast circular glade, so perfect in its symmetry it can only be deliberate.

I stop short, my breath catching at the sight. Crystal trees form a perfect circle, their trunks twisted into impossible spirals, branches reaching upward toward a ceiling that ripples like the surface of a pond viewed upside down. Opalescent light filters through this liquid sky, scattering rainbow hues that send shadows dancing across the crystalline floor with each ripple above.

This is wrong. We were meant to exit near the Opalwell, where Elionn lies imprisoned and dying.

“What is this place?” I murmur, half turning toward Kelaros.

“The hollow stag’s territory,” he says.

“But we didn’t go this far before,” I protest.