A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

by Sarah J. Maas

A shadow slammed into the earth before us, cracking the ice toward every horizon. Not a shadow. An Illyrian warrior.

I began crying in earnest, some leash I’d kept on myself snapping free as my friends landed.

The insignia of this court—our court. The promise that he would kneel for no one and nothing but his crown. And me.

But for my home, for Prythian and the human territory and so many others … I would clean my blades, and wash the blood from my skin. And I would do it again and again and again.

“Stay …,” it breathed. “Stay … until the end.” I took its hand in mine. “I’m sorry.” It was all I could think to say. I had done this—I had brought it here. “I knew,” it gasped, sensing my shift in thoughts. “The tracking … I knew of it.” “Then why come at all?” “You … were kind. You … fought your fear. You were … kind,” it said again. I began crying.

I understood why the Suriel had come to help me, again and again. Not just for kindness … but because it was a dreamer.

I didn’t know how long my sisters and I lay there together, just like we had once shared that carved bed in that dilapidated cottage. Then—back then, we had kicked and twisted and fought for any bit of space, any breathing room. But that morning, as the sun rose over the world, we held tight. And did not let go.