Page 144 of Fallen Nocturne

Coral whines, pressing her head against my chest. “I know, sweet girl. But I’ll come back. I promise.”

Arescaine approaches, and Coral immediately goes to him, seeking comfort. He scratches under her chin absently, his eyes on me. “We should go.”

He’s right. In a few hours, the fae army will reach the Great Plateau. The battle will begin.

Arescaine looks toward the darkening horizon before turning back to us.

“I can open a shadow passage into Avalon,” he says quietly. “But not inside the Palace of Bones. The wards surrounding it are old and powerful. They will reject any portal that tries to breach them.”

Rainer folds his arms. “How close can you get us?”

“Within a few miles of the palace.” Arescaine glances toward me. “Perhaps closer, if the wards have weakened. I will not know until I reach for the shadows there.”

Shade adjusts the mask covering his face. “A few miles is close enough.”

Garrett nods. “We can approach on foot while the darkness covers us.”

“Do it,” I say.

Arescaine closes his eyes, and darkness begins to pool around his boots. It spreads across the ground in a widening circle, swallowing grass, stones, and the last violet light of twilight. The air above it shimmers before splitting open. Cold wind rushes through the gap, carrying the scent of snow and dead leaves.

“Ready?” Arescaine asks, his dark eyes finding mine.

I think of Landon trapped beneath the Palace of Bones, suffering alone in the darkness. I think of my people waiting upon the Great Plateau to face an army they cannot possibly defeat. I think of Darstan and Siofra’s son, and of every child in my kingdom whose future depends upon what we do today.

“Ready,” I say.

Arescaine steps into the portal first and reaches back for me. I take his hand. The others follow as the darkness rises around us.

The world drops away.

There is nothing beneath my feet and no air in my lungs. Whispers brush against me from every direction. Behind me I hear Garrett swear under his breath. I tighten my grip on Arescaine’s hand until his fingers close firmly around mine.

Then the darkness releases us.

We stumble onto frozen ground beneath a sky still filled with stars. I nearly fall, but Arescaine steadies me before my knees strike the earth. Behind us, Cedwyn emerges with Garrett at his shoulder, followed by Rainer, Shade, and the wolf. The portal folds inward and vanishes without a sound.

“Where are we?” Garrett gasps, looking around wildly.

“Avalon,” Arescaine answers. “Beyond the outer reach of the palace wards.”

Before us, rising from a valley of black trees, stands the Palace of Bones. It earns its name in every stone, its pale towers curving upward like the ribs of some enormous ancient creature.

I stand there for a moment and just look at it.

Somewhere inside those walls, Landon is waiting for me.

We descend through the trees without speaking. Shade takes the lead, moving so silently that his boots make no sound on the moist cobblestone. The wolf follows close behind him.

Rainer watches our rear while Arescaine guides us toward places where the palace wards feel weakest. The first patrol passes less than twenty paces from us. Arescaine pulls us into the shadow of a fallen tree, and darkness folds around our bodies like a cloak. Three guards move along the path without seeing us. Their armor is made from pale metal etched with twisting runes, and each carries a spear tipped with black crystal.

We wait until their footsteps fade.

Shade rises first. “There will be more near the walls.”

Arescaine leads us toward the northern side of the palace, where dead vines cover part of the outer wall. A narrow passage runs beneath it, half-hidden by thorn bushes. Arescaine pulls them aside with his bare hand.

Garrett crouches beside the opening. “That cannot be our way in. It’s too small and filthy.”