Page 145 of Fallen Nocturne

Arescaine’s mouth twitches. “You’ll survive.”

He goes in first. I follow. One by one, we crawl through the channel beneath the wall. The darkness closes around us completely and we move forward into the belly of the Palace of Bones.

Moisture from the moss soaks through my gloves, and the stone presses close around my shoulders. The passage slopes downward before opening into a forgotten chamber beneath the palace.

Bones cover the floor, thousands of polished fragments arranged into spirals. Pale light leaks from between them.

Arescaine raises one finger to his lips.

Voices echo beyond the chamber.

We slip through a narrow archway and into the palace proper. The halls are silent except for the distant movement of guards. Columns carved to resemble intertwined skeletons rise toward vaulted ceilings.

Then something brushes against my mind.

A thread of silk. Jessica.

The palace corridor disappears.

For a heartbeat, I see through her multiple eyes at once.

The Great Plateau stretches beneath a moonless sky. Blaire sits upon Miss Bernadette’s neck at the front of Aelfheim’s army, surrounded by Darstan, Siofra, and thousands of soldiers packed into defensive lines. The Fae King’s forces advance across the field in numbers so vast that the earth itself seems to move. Mammoths tower above the ranks. Demons march between them, carrying hooked blades and banners made from hide.

Our army looks impossibly small.

Jessica waits among the ancient fae, her legs sunk deep into the earth. Around her, Hellios burns and the great worms burrow beneath the plateau.

Blaire raises her sword.

“My people!” Blaire calls out, her voice carrying across the space. “Today we face an army that outnumbers us. An enemy that wants to break us. But they don’t know what we’re made of. We’ve faced worse than anything they can throw at us. We do not break!”

The crowd roars. I see tears on faces, determination in eyes.

“I will stand with you on that battlefield!” Blaire continues, stepping into my role like she was born for it. “I will fight beside you! And together, we will show the Fae King that Aelfheim does not bow. We do not surrender. We will not fall!”

Another roar, louder this time. Weapons raised. Voices chanting. “For the queen! For Aelfheim! For the queen!”

I’m in awe of her.

Jessica’s sight releases me so suddenly that I sway. Arescaine catches my arm.

“What happened?” he whispers.

“Jessica showed me the plateau.” I force myself upright. “The enemy is almost there.”

Shade looks toward the corridor ahead. “Then we have even less time.”

“Let’s go,” I say, though fear twists through me. “We must save my mate and stop this war.”

I’m coming for you, Landon.

I send the thought down the golden thread connecting me to Landon, the one that hasn’t gone quiet no matter what they’ve done to him.

I just hope I’m not too late.

Chapter 20 Garrett

I’ve served as a Valorian Commander for centuries, and in all that time, I’ve never felt fear quite like this.