Duskbound

by Bree Grenwich

This realm is dying, and you’re the single fucking thing that has the ability to save it.”

It was then that the Vördr turned on its hindquarters and faced me, stepping close enough—so close I was certain it could smell my fear. Breaths came in shallow gasps, heart hammering in my chest, as the creature’s gaze locked onto mine. It was impossible to look away. Slowly, it bowed its head before me, its enormous form lowering to acknowledge me in some way I couldn’t begin to comprehend. “Tryggar has just claimed you.”

“Essence runs through her, but it’s not a tether,” he finally said. “There is nothing tying her to the land. The essence within her is… self-sustaining…” He trailed off, blinking as if to force understanding.

giving him a simple nudge. “This should

His eyes remained locked on mine, fully aware, chest rising and falling deeply. I tried to ignore how intimate this felt, having him let me in like this. But I didn’t hesitate. Aether’s palm cracked across his own face. He blinked, then blinked again as I released him. A laugh bubbled up my throat before I could stop it. The sight of Aether slapping himself was something I’d treasure forever. “Feeling better?” He rubbed his jaw, but I caught that slight curl of his lips. My chest felt lighter than it had in weeks.

A woman—one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen—with jet black hair and golden eyes, running towards me with anguish streaked across her face. The desperation in her movements made me want to reach out, but the pain was too great, too much. I was moving away from her—floating, or flying? She screamed something, but I couldn’t hear her, as if my eardrums had gone numb. And then it was black again.

NOO HIS SISTER IM DYING MY THATCHER

Valkan shrugged, and walked to the empty space next to me. Chills ran across my skin as I felt him lean in. "You're even lovelier up close."

"It's not about proving them wrong, you know. It's about proving to yourself that you're worthy. That you always were."

"Looks like it." Aether's tone was distinctly unimpressed. "They're painted on the windows of the archives too." "Yes, they're inescapable, it seems." "You don't sound like a fan." "I've never given much interest to the idea of a higher power," he said flatly.

If only he knew

At some point, I drifted off to sleep, Aether's shirt still wrapped around me, their voices a gentle murmur in the background. Although I could have sworn, sometime during the night, that I’d seen a pair of golden eyes peeking into the room. Or perhaps I’d imagined it.

He loves her bad

"So you tell the Council. You tell them that what Valkan did was an act of war. You tell them that he captured and fed from the heir to the throne of Umbrathia."

I should’ve known

His hand moved as if to touch my arm, then stopped, fingers curling at his side. "I'll be with you. Always."

A massive stag stood before us, its coat pure white, antlers branching toward the sky. It regarded us with no hesitation. Even the Vördr seemed locked in place, a drastic contrast to the last time they'd chased a deer through Draxon's territory. "Esprithe," Effie breathed. The stag's gaze swept over our group. "Fascinating," Tamir said, his tone tinged with awe. "The white stag is the symbol of Riftdremar." "I've never seen anything like it," Vexa whispered.

"Everything you've done since you've been in Umbrathia has been selfless. I've never wanted to know someone so much."

"I already told you." His voice was low, dangerous. "I'm with you. Always."

"I felt nothing for decades." His voice was rough. "Existed, but barely lived. Hiding from no one other than myself, but hiding all the same. And then you showed up. And now..." His voice trailed off, pain crossing his face as he tried to collect himself. A dark familiarity tugged at me. "I've tried to go back to that place. But I can't find my way there. I'm not sure it even exists anymore. Not since you showed up and destroyed every wall I'd built."

"You can tell no one else. For my seeds of doubt to develop organically, you have to leave now, go back to Umbrathia, and wait for my signal." "But Raine, Briar⁠—" "You cannot tell them anything. Not only does it put them at risk of being named as traitors if things go badly…" He trailed off. "But you also have no idea who you can truly trust. I know they're your friends, but when it comes to matters such as this, you'd be surprised how fickle people can be."

Oh god

"I believe I understand now." Aether's eyes swept across the field, falling on the arcanite where essence pooled just beneath its crystalline surface. "All of those decades spent here, all of the sleepless nights searching for any kind of meaning to my existence—it was so that I could find you." The wind caught his hair, dark strands falling across his face as those golden eyes found mine again. My heart thundered in my chest at the raw honesty in his gaze. "I give myself to you," he said, voice deadly calm. "My life, my shadows, my loyalty—they belong to you now. Not because you're the heir to this realm, but because you're the only thing I've ever wanted to believe in."

Crying actually