I lift my sword, pointing it towards the darkness, noting every door stands open and every cell stands empty. Did the rebels come down here to break out their friends? Moving along the narrow corridor, I sense there’s more to this eerie dread swirling in my gut. What if they saw Atlas and tore him to shreds? My feelings for him are complicated, but I would never wish him that.

I continue walking, staring into each empty cell, then reach the end as my breath stalls in my chest. A neatly folded golden jacket lies on the floor in the middle of a cell. On top of it sits an ornamental gold crown, like an offering.

Not an offering. A signal. The immutable evidence that Atlas was here and now . . . he isn’t. I recognize the crown and jacket he wore during the presentation when I tore apart my home.

I swing around, wondering how he escaped, then bile surges up the back of my throat.

Drex and Syran, the warders I assigned to guard Atlas, hang suspended to the wall, iron pins shoved through their white wings, and long gashes slit across their throats. Gold blood drips down their feathers, and crimson stains their gilded armor, their heads hanging, and their bodies limp.

And Atlas . . .

That fucking traitor is gone.

CHAPTER 5

LOR

ALLUVION—THE CRYSTAL PALACE

Isit in my cell and wait. I’ve considered a thousand options to extricate myself from this stone box, but none of them make sense. Sure, I could use my magic to blast a hole through the wall, but I need to earn Cyan’s trust. The ark isn’t just lying around for anyone to find, and I’ll have to talk—or trick—him into revealing its location.

I’ve already lost an entire day languishing in this prison, and I try not to think about Nadir’s pallid face, but I see it every time I close my eyes. The way he appeared, teetering on the razor-fine edge of saving. Is he awake? Does he know what happened? Does he think I left him with Zerra?

My heart squeezes with a physical pain that makes my bones feel too tight. I stare at the ring he gave me for my birthday and remember the promise of forever he made with it. I clutch my chest at the thought of losing him. I can’t do this. I can’t lose him. I just found him. I suck a deep breath in and then let it out, trying not to spiral into a pit heaped with regrets and self-loathing.

Left alone with my thoughts, I also can’t stop thinking about everyone back in Aphelion. My brother and sister. Amya. Mael. Even Gabriel. Gods, how I wish I could see them all. Wrap them in my arms and make sure they’re safe.