as quiet aga

y as she tried to gather the magic that still burned faintly in her chest. The

t a few feet away, sharpening his blade even though it hardly needed it.

't know wh

she was "the key." And now, Ronan's confession-his part in h

something more powerf

so

but with her magic. Beneath the wind and leaves an

r of Bla

ey would not stop until everyt

rs

fell, leaving the Whispering Hollow behind. They didn't tal

t up camp by the river

d," she said quietly, her voice bar

he was unpacking dried meat

no

es casting flickering shadows acros

ic-but in spirit. She walked into rooms and people listened. Not because s

heart aching. "What d

dness." His mouth twisted

idn't anyon

l in ways no one understood. The king... your father... he beg

said from his spot by the tree. "T

They hate magic that can't be controlled. And your mothe

barely able to speak.

ken. I didn't know what was happening until the doors opened and she was screaming. Fighti

ds clenched

nued. "And she looked me in the eyes and

re cra

rgiven myself,

I used to think she just... vanished. But now I

ered her because she loved y

silenc

nd stepped closer. "

voice clear. "We find the Bl

Days

le towers and the air smelled of pine and rain. Ronan knew the land well, having patrolled the

port magical goods in secret," Ronan

?" Kael

legal outside of noble families. Before p

uried in ivy and moss. "There.

"I thought tha

relic-hunters trade in shadows. If the Black Thorns a

h the arch and into

ollow

tepping into

-silk and dragonhide were strung between old ruins, and strange music drifted through the

ns. A man with fire for hair juggled blades made of starlight. And in th

of her cloak. "We don't d

nked her silently,

ering "memories in glass." A child with silver eyes tried to

edge of the market, they fou

il. Her voice was deep and musical. "Seeking

of Black Thorns," Elara sai

grows in the dark. But not alone. It i

forward. "Whe

ted. Then slowly

e missing, her skin burned

In the old catacombs beneath the city. They call it the Thorn Nest n

re under

was firm. "The

an said sharp

y n

who was hidden behind castle walls

chest tighten.

r mother's daughter. And when the time comes, y

t N

den from the eyes of both hunters and ghosts. Kael took the fi

she sat, turning her mother

own," he s

im. "And you still c

I'm here for the fight. No m

p trying to protect me from it. Stand

shining in the fire

ter. "We'll ride at dawn. Th

e trees beyond, shadow

pital. She didn't know what the prophecy meant, or

e knew

e quiet girl hidden

daughter

as ready