Again.

They...

Again.

They didn’t, did they?

Confusion swirls in my mind, the truth obscured by pain. Lost to it.

I scream...and I break.

“Stop!” I beg. “I’ll tell you. Just stop. Stop!”

Triumph gleams in his eyes.

Horror fills mine as I feel the bond between me, Adriel, and Damrion stretch thin...and then shatter. An anguished scream rips from my throat as they’re wrenched out of my soul.

I jerk awake with a choked cry, sucking air into my starving lungs, my cheeks wet with tears. My heart races, still caught in the throes of the nightmare. I reach for Damrion and Adriel, only to find cool sheets.

“Adriel? Damrion?” My voice shakes on their names. I sit upright, looking around. Sunlight pours in through the windows, but they aren’t in the room with me.

Where are they?

I throw the furs and sheets off, practically diving to my feet. I stumble toward the clothes I left littered across the floor, pulling them on with shaking hands, desperate to find my mates. I need their arms around me.

I fling open the door and race out into the hall, rushing down the stairs. “Adriel? Damrion?”

Rissa and Tori glance up from the table where they're seated, their heads together as they whisper back and forth.

“Abigail? Are you okay?” Rissa asks, her voice soft and worried.

"Where are Adriel and Damrion?" I ask instead of answering, trying to keep the panic from bleeding into my voice.

I don’t think I succeed because they exchange a worried glance.

“They’re out scouting with the others,” Tori replies. “They didn’t want to leave you, but you’ve been asleep for a long time.”

“H-how long?”

My sisters exchange another glance.

“Since yesterday,” Rissa answers for them.

My heart sinks. I need their arms around me, but they aren’t here. And I’ve been sleeping for a full day. I scrub my hands over my face, trying to calm myself. I can survive a few hours on my own. I’ll be fine.

“Come on,” Tori says gently, rising from the table to grab my hand. She tugs gently to get me moving. I follow along blindly, allowing her to lead me across the room. She presses me down into a chair beside Rissa, her hand gentle against my shoulder.

Rissa slides an arm around my shoulder, resting her head against mine. “What happened? Talk to us. Was it a vision?”

“Nightmare,” I whisper, popping my eyes open wide as images threaten to intrude. “I was back in the cavern with the Forsaken.” My voice shakes. “He kept torturing me. I thought...I thought Adriel and Damrion left me there, that this was all a dream. I let him break me.” I choke on the words. “He severed my bond with them.”

Tori gasps, her blue eyes wide with horror. Rissa’s arm tightens around my shoulders.

“That sounds awful, Abigail,” Tori whispers, reaching out to grab my hand as if to offer me a little of her strength. She shines so bright. So does Rissa. I’ve never had sisters before them. I’ve never really had friends. But I feel connected to these two in a way I’ve never felt connected to anyone.

It’s different than it is with Adriel and Damrion. My mates are part of my soul. These two are part of me, connected by some ancient magic that no one understands. Our fates are tied. So are our powers. We were sent together to save the realms or destroy them.

Our connection to one another is every bit as important as the bonds we share with our mates. If they protect our souls—we guard each other’s humanity. We must. Without each other, any one of us might fall. And if one of them falls, I fall too. I’ve seen it. I’ll break trying to save them. And if that happens...well, we all know how that ends.

“It was awful,” I whisper. “I felt them being wrenched from my soul. It felt like I was dying.”

“That won’t happen,” Tori vows, squeezing my hand. “We won’t let it.”

“You can’t.” I lick my lips, staring at her and Rissa. “If I lose them, I’ll fall. And if I fall, we all do.”

Stark terror flows through Tori’s eyes before she nods.

Rissa bumps her dark head gently against mine. “That will never happen, Abigail,” she says. “No matter what, we won’t let it.”

“I need you to promise me something.”

“No,” Rissa says with a sharp shake of her head, her striking blue eyes narrowing. “I know what you’ll ask, and the answer is no.”

“But Rissa—”

“No, Abigail. You won’t fall, so it won’t ever come to that.”

“It could,” I whisper, my throat raw. “I’ve seen it.”

“And I’ve seen your Light. I’ve seen our Light,” she says, her voice firm. “I’ll bet on it any day of the week. But I won’t agree to kill you. I don’t care what’s a stake.”

“If I fall, you might not have a choice. If there's a chance of that happening, you have to promise me that you'll stop me before then.”

“If we lose you, we’ve already lost, Abigail,” Tori says.

We fall silent for a moment before Rissa speaks again. "Have you seen anything in your visions that will help us open a portal?"

I glance at her.

"We were going to try to open one to bring you back," she says with a shrug. "But then you sent your vision, and we set the plan aside, but we've been talking about it. We think…" She glances at Tori, who grimaces. "Well, we need to figure it out sooner rather than later. When the Forsaken come, a portal may be our only way out."

She isn't wrong. If they come in the numbers I've seen, Eitr won't hold. We'll be overrun again. "I know the portal is open," I say carefully. "But whether we open it or they do, I don't know."

"I don't mean the Portal to Valhalla," she says with a shake of her head. "I mean one like theirs." She licks her lips. "I have my father's soul."

"Rissa, no."

"We might not have a choice, Abigail. If they get their hands on you again, you may fall. A portal may be the only way to save you."