And then I’m going to make her open the Rip.

PART I

LOST

CHAPTER 1

BLAISE

I’ve spent over two months cooped up with the male whose life I intend to destroy.

Evander’s been here too, though none the wiser.

We meant to set out for Othian, to rejoin Asha and Ellie, the day after Kiran and Evander arrived at the castle.

The blizzard had other plans.

I can’t help but wonder if it’s a sign from the Fates, the extension of a deadline, a plea for me to reconsider.

If it is, I’m not listening.

I’ve spent the past months reweaving Nox’s story, keeping him from deaths that sometimes occur so suddenly, so cleverly within the Fabric, I don’t always see them coming.

I fear the Fabric will outsmart me one of these days.

But the storms have finally subsided, the path between the mountains cleared as the snow melts away, leaving behind a sickly sludge.

We leave for Othian tomorrow.

As I stand at the abandoned wall on the west side of Ermengarde castle, hidden from view of the windows, Kiran’s bag of coins pulls at the inside of my back pocket, weighing my coat down and dragging at my collar. Like it’s going to cut off the circulation to my throat.

I haven’t figured out what to do with it. Not when I’m not actually hiring anyone to take care of Nox’s and Zora’s bodies.

Well, I suppose I am hiring someone. It’s just that his price isn’t money.

Kiran and Evander think I’m going with them to hunt for Abra. They think Abra is the only one who can bring Nox back.

I can’t remember if I’m the one who planted that lie, or if I just allowed them to assume.

Either way, I’ve had to tuck Kiran’s gift away, as well as the black adamant box I’ve stuffed into my bags.

Just in case I happen upon Abra again.

Just in case the parasite, who now resides within Abra, needs to be contained.

Az watches me intently as he holds open the flap to the back of the wagon. “They’ll be safe with me. You know that, don’t you?”

“As long as I do as you ask,” I say, cutting my eyes away from him and tucking my hands into my pockets, as if I have need of the extra warmth.

Az puts his hand on my shoulder, and rather than squirm away from his touch, I snap my teeth at him. He appears undeterred. He knows I want his help badly enough to control myself around him, even if his blood does smell delicious, but he removes his hand from my shoulder all the same.

The wagon is tucked within the cover of pines that border the north side of Ermengarde castle. I carried the two bodies out here by myself. They think our initial plans for transporting the bodies have changed, that instead I’ve hired a mercenary to protect the bodies while I’m away. Though I’m fairly certain the idea makes at least Evander nervous, he’s walking on eggshells around me, so he hasn’t argued too much about it.

Besides, Kiran seems convinced that the amount of coin he offered couldn’t be outbought, ensuring Nox’s and Zora’s safety until we can find Abra, or until Kiran can send his personal envoy to look after them. At least I’d convinced him not to try to bring them back to Othian with us.

Of course, Nox’s and Zora’s bodies won’t be here when the envoy arrives.

“We’re going to get them back,” Az whispers to me, and for a moment, he actually manages to sound comforting.

I don’t know why it’s so much easier to believe when Az says it than when Evander says it. Perhaps because Az actually possesses the ability to carry it out.

Because he’s right.

We are going to get them back.

I’m going to get them back.

All it will take is Asha opening the Rip, the magic emanating from such a monumental event enough to sever Farin’s soul from Nox’s body.

And then I can finally let the tapestry run out, hopefully allowing Nox to wake up.

I just have to make sure the tapestry doesn’t write his death before then.

“Any intel you’ve been able to gather while the three of you’ve been stuck up in that castle?” Az asks, returning to business now that he’s spent his best efforts comforting me.

I shake my head, biting my lip and staring at the wagon, listening for Nox’s shallow breathing.

Az frowns. “Nothing?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I can’t help it if Kiran isn’t exactly the sharing type.”

“Maybe. But from what you tell me of Evander, he is.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean Kiran shares anything with him, either. I’ve already told you all I know. They have their sights set on Abra, which should be good news for you.”

Az levels a stare at me, and I force myself to meet it, even though it makes me feel as if he’ll see right through me.

But then something like sadness overcomes his expression, an anxiety I only get glimpses of.

“What?” I ask him.

His huff of air causes steam to appear in the chilled air before him. “It’s just that things would be so much easier if I could find a way to depose him.”

“You don’t think an army of Others will be enough?” I ask skeptically, hoping to get a tad more information about how Az plans to control said Others once the Rip is opened. So far, he hasn’t clued me in on many details of his plan, though I assume he has that part covered. Still, it would be comforting to know for sure that I’m not aiding someone in releasing a band of predators into Alondria unleashed.

“I just…” Az stares at the ground, tracing a path into the snow with the heel of his boot. “I just want to ensure she makes it out of this safely. Blaise, anything you know that could get her away from him…” He looks as if he’s about to choke on anguish.

The air chills in my lungs. “I thought you said you and Asha no longer saw eye to eye.”