She was right. Nothing would have changed either way. “Then why were you there?”

“Simple. I was worried about Pyrite and wanted to keep an eye on him.” She opened the anteroom door and shouted, “Come out. The boy is here now.”

“Who are you…?”

Two figures ran desperately through the door. A tall man, and a woman with yellow shoes.

“M-Mom?” I couldn't believe my eyes. “Glass? What⁠—?”

Puma flung her arms around my neck. “Oh, thank the Reaper. We’ve been worried sick!”

“But how?” I stammered, my heart buzzing. “How did you get through the borders? Where’s Mama Robin?”

A graceful tear cascaded down her cheek, a soft hand on my head. “Pyrite's power could only take two across the border, so she stayed to watch the farm. We didn't hear from you for three days, until finally the scroll showed a reply from Pyrite. He said he needed our help to find you again.”

Glass wore his own set of classic City armor, but instead of bone-blades, he had a belt of medical equipment. “Where are Sharp and the others? Pyrite told us someone is trying to assassinate the king, but the fortune teller thinks otherwise.”

I gasped and grabbed my hair as I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. “Agh! I need to head back and help them!” I narrowed my eyes at Ore, her mouth curved in a deep frown. “No one is getting assassinated, but it’s still not safe for you to be in this tree right now. Ore, can I trust you to lead them out?”

Before Ore replied, my mother nodded her head emphatically. “I've known her since I was just a kid. She’s been trying to convince us Pyrite was not himself, and I can see now she was right.” Her grip on me tightened. “But you must come with us too. I knew I made a mistake, sending you here. A day after we didn't receive a message, one of the neighbors heard a rumor about an uprising brewing deep in the Dark. There's so much I should have told you, but⁠—"

“You can tell me later.” I peeled her hands away. “But now I need to help, and I need you to trust I can take care of myself. You shouldn’t have come after us.”

Glass raised his hand. “Wait⁠—”

“Don’t worry about Sharp,” I assured him. “She can definitely take care of herself.”

His eyes shined with pride. “I know she can.” He turned to my mother. “You need to go with Ore. I’m going with him.”

“No!” I argued. “Did you not hear what I just said? You’re vulnerable if you stay in this tree!”

“Dr. Gold-and-Silver. Is he with you?”

I hesitated. “He…had to stay behind.”

Glass gripped his belt with certainty. “Then I’m coming whether you want me to or not.” Just like Sharp, once he resolved to do something, he would not be deterred.

My mother looked ready to punch him, but Ore spoke up before she could. “You named this boy for the poem you once read in the prophecy room, didn't you?”

Puma shrunk at this accusation. “I…I didn’t mean⁠—"

“By doing so, you’ve sealed his fate,” Ore interrupted. The crystal lights above us began to dim. “I warned you girl. Forbidden rooms contain forbidden truths.”

My mother’s mouth straightened to a thin line.

Ore continued, “I am overcome by the feeling your own lives may be in grave danger the longer you stay in this tree.” She pointed upwards. "These lights are lit by the God Tree's own energy. The intermittent dimness only happens on two occasions: when there is lightning or when there is death.”

As if on cue, thunder cracked for the second time that night. “Lightning then. Good, for now. What are you waiting for, boy? Go! Follow him at your own peril, doctor. Puma, we must evacuate.”

I bowed my head. My mom kissed my forehead, wide eyes full of secrets kept.

Glass and I made our way to the throne room. The only people inside were Sharp and Piranha standing guard over the undead king. When she saw her father, Sharp expressed no joy. Daggers glowed from lavender eyes. “Dad? What are you doing here?”

“Making sure you kids are safe,” he answered simply, pulling her into a short hug. “I was afraid something had happened.”

The light flickered again. A crack of thunder punctuated Sharp’s command. “You should evacuate.”

“I won’t abandon you now,” Glass said. The words were quiet, but heavy with some other meaning. I’ll risk my life to know you’re safe.

“Where are the others?” I asked. “Did they find Melodia? Pyrite was drawn in by her voice and I don’t know where he went.”

Sharp gave her father what I can only describe as a loving glare. He would not be moved, so she exhaled and said, “They’re trying to prevent her from entering this room. Whatever happens, we can’t let her carve her name on that wall. Breaking the ceremony tradition will anger the God Tree and put us all in danger.”

Glass turned his attention to the man on the throne. “Y-your highness?” Like a good doctor, he knelt beside him. “Is he…”

“Dead?” The king creaked, possibly finding a little joy in giving strangers a small fright. “Not yet, unfortunately.”

After a cringing laugh, Glass touched an index finger to the king’s weak wrist. He blinked and frowned.

“Nothing you can do.” Obsidian donned an odd, happy smile. “Gold-and-Silver said as much, last we spoke. Today is the day I die.”

“Are you sure? I could–”

If the king had the energy, he would have yanked his arm away, but instead his hand twitched like a twig in a breeze. “One hundred and forty years doctor, that’s how long I’ve been alive. Death is not my enemy, she is my friend.”

The City doctor stared, and after a moment, bowed his head. Sometimes, the merciful choice is the one that goes against instinct.

Sharp opened her mouth to give an order, but something froze her. Her eyes became glassy and transfixed, while her arms fell limp at her sides. The black voice had reached her first.

In the face of direct danger, Reaper was my ally, shrouding my ears from the eerie notes. I was immune but the same was not true of the others. Piranha’s eyes took on the same faraway look, and their bow clattered on the ground. Glass slumped over, hand slipping from its place on the king’s arm.

“No!” I shouted, gripping the gossamer rope in each hand. My eyes locked on the threshold where the voice was emanating, getting closer and closer. Had Ivory and the others failed? My worst nightmare was coming true.

Now I was alone.

Chapter Fourteen

The Goddess and the Reaper

“Hide,” hissed a ghostly voice from the king's throne.

I remembered Sharp’s advice. Take your advantages whenever you can. I hadn’t seen Melodia yet, so I could make sure she didn’t see me either.

A dark blue mass floated into the throne room as the Unseen surrounded me. The song on Melodia’s sinister lips had a form of its own, wispy black smoke full of a sweet wordless sorrow. The sound had an uncanny volume, like multiple people were singing the same notes at the same time.

“No more waiting,” Melodia spoke, producing another cloud of smoke in the Unseen. “Release him now.”