Then he heard the faintest echo of a whisper resonating throughout the castle. A little tugging on his thoughts, from far off.

“Nor?”

The sound of her name was labored on his lips—though he shouldn’t be breathless, shouldn’t even feel the need to breathe. For here he was all mind, no body.

And yet he felt heavy, as if weights were tied to his limbs.

Valen turned, a sigh pulling at him, and headed back toward the front doors to his castle. He’d just made it to the threshold when the torches behind him began to gutter out. His vision dimmed, dark spots appearing before his eyes...

And then he found himself waking up, lying on his back in Kalee’s garden, blood crusting the skin beneath his nose.

The sky above was dark, the twin moons blinking down at him as if they’d been watching. Valen sat up shakily, his head throbbing with the awful, persistent headache he hadn’t been able to shake in days.

“Valen.”

This time, he was certain he’d heard Nor’s voice. The ghost of it, perhaps finally reaching him now that he was back from the depths of his mind castle. But when he prodded at the doorway that linked them, he couldn’t find any trace of his sister.

Just the lingering feeling of fear.

Something had gone wrong, while he’d been away.

Valen stood up, head throbbing with the effort. He wiped the blood from beneath his nose as he headed toward the mansion, eager to find his sister. To make sure she was alright, and to tell her what had just happened—how for a moment, he swore his power had flickered.

Like a dying star.

CHAPTER 11

NOR

Nor couldn’t shake the chill in her bones, even with the roaring fire in the marble fireplace of Averia’s great room. The walls around her were gilded in gold, the ceiling stretching high into a towering dome. The Godstars were painted there, likely meant to be a comfort to anyone who found themselves lying on one of the plush couches, staring up as they lost themselves in their thoughts.

But tonight, Nor felt like the Godstars were glaring down at her. Just waiting for her to fail in the mission laid before her, broken now in the shadow of the unnamed general who’d taken her rightful place.

“We’ll figure it out.” Zahn’s voice drew Nor’s gaze from the shining ceiling and back toward the fireplace, where he stood before the flames, his muscular arms crossed. “For now, you may as well rest. Give yourself time to gather your strength for the days to come. You’ll be no good to anyone exhausted.”