: Chapter 59

Nora isn’t dead. That should be a relief, but it’s not.

Blood is trailing out of her mouth while she chokes. Her eyes were desperate for a while, but now the life in them is beginning to fade. I’m holding her hand, kneeling in the leaves. I’m terrified. I’m pleading. Stars keep flaring in my eyes, and I must be lightheaded from the shock.

“Please,” I’m crying. “Please.”

The queen has her hands on Nora’s chest. “I’m trying,” she whispers. “I’m trying. I’m not like Grey.”

One of the winged creatures who attacked the soldiers lands in the leaves beside us, and I shriek, covering my sister. “No!”

“Be at ease,” the creature says, and her voice is softer than I expect, behind the fierceness of her countenance. The first one had gray skin and dark wings, with a length of black hair, but this one has purple markings on her skin and the underside of her wings, with a long purple streak through her hair. The air around us turns ice cold, and she reaches a hand toward Nora.

“Please,” I whimper. “Please don’t hurt her.”

“Children are sacred. We do not harm them.” She lays a hand over the queen’s. “Pull the magic from the air.” Ice forms on the leaves around us, and I shiver. My tears freeze on my cheeks. Nora’s blood crystallizes along her jaw.

Magic. Every beat of my heart wants to rebel against it. I’ve spent my entire life fearing it.

But I can’t. Not when it’s Nora.

“There,” the creature says, satisfied. “You feel the magic more clearly now, Your Majesty.”

Those stars are still flaring in my vision, and I’m worried I’m going to pass out. As I watch, the wound on Nora’s chest begins to close, and I gasp.

From behind us, a man says, “You don’t need me at all.”

The queen lets out a sound that’s almost a sob. “Oh, Grey. I’ve never needed anyone more.”

Grey. The king.

I’d take a moment to examine that, but Nora coughs, and I blink away the stars to look down at my sister.

She’s peering up at me. “Cally-cal? I’m so cold. Can we go home yet?”