As I walk through the halls of the Keep, it feels strange and ominous that my father isn’t here. We might be completely wrong about our theories, looking for explanations where there aren’t any. But I also sense nothing amiss other than Father having descended into some kind of twisted madness. He abandoned this place to go searching for something.

Lord Herric of the Underworld.

Is that even possible? Were those the ravings of a madman too lost to the drink to see clearly?

Who was the “her” in his note?

I knock and Amya opens the door, blinking expectantly. Her dark hair is tied up, and she’s dressed simply in a black tunic and leather pants. She looks like she’s already been crying.

What I must do tonight, I must do with my sister.

“It’s time to see Mother,” I say, and she nods, understanding what that means.

Tomorrow, I will bond with Lor, and then we’ll go after my father. I don’t know what will happen, but if we succeed, then it is my every intention to end him. That has always been my goal, and no matter what complicated feelings I’m holding for the man who refused to be a father to me, that hasn’t changed.

That means tonight might be the last time I see my mother unless we meet in the Evanescence again.

When my father dies, so will she. We never got the chance to fix things, but there’s nothing I can do for her on this plane any longer. I’ll never forget the day my father tossed her into her room and shut the door on her forever. If we succeed, then she’ll finally be free, and that will have to be enough.

We skirt through the Keep and enter my mother’s wing, finding her staring out the window. One of her caretakers bows at the sight of us and then leaves to offer us privacy.

I kneel in front of my mother and take her frail, cold hands. She continues to stare out the window.

Amya stands behind me with her arms folded, her body curving into itself. She’s never been comfortable in this room.

“Mother,” I say. I get stuck on the words. I don’t know how to tell her this, but I have to. I don’t know where to begin, so I share everything.

Starting from the very beginning, I tell her about Lor in Nostraza and the Sun Queen Trials. I tell her about my mate, about how much I love her, and how she makes me feel. I hold nothing back. I tell everything to my mother, including the fact that we might never see her again.

I lay out my heart, my hopes, and everything I’ve kept in. It’s now or never.