I rub a hand down my face.

When did I get so good at kidding myself?

“I thought you’d say that,” she says with a simpering smile. “You have five days.”

“What? That’s not enough time!”

But a second later, my surroundings blink out in a flash of white light, and I find myself lying facedown on a warm patch of sand, a strong wind tossing my hair and tugging at my clothing.

I cough the grit out of my mouth as I roll over to find an expanse of crystal-blue ocean filling the horizon. Sitting up, I scan my surroundings and realize Zerra must have dropped me in Alluvion.

At least she did me this favor. She must really want that ark.

“That bitch,” I say, wiping sand from my mouth, but the effort only deposits more fine grains onto my tongue. I try to spit them out, but more wedge between my teeth and in my throat.

I wince at the ache in every joint and muscle. Between the fight and the chase inside the Sun Palace, trying to heal Nadir, and the emotional weight of losing my mate, I feel like I’ve been filled with a thousand pounds of lead.

My quest stands in the distance. A shimmering palace made of what looks like sea glass sits on the shore, glistening in the sun—the Alluvion King’s home.

I stare at it, wondering how to approach this. Walk up and announce myself? Tell Cyan who I am? Would he believe me? And if he does, will he welcome me or vilify me for my grandmother’s actions? Maybe he’ll try to use me like everyone else. Can I trust my secrets with him? Do the rulers of Ouranos know the heir of Heart has surfaced?

I stumble to my feet, dusting sand off my golden Sun Palace livery. I think of Nadir in his black clothes and how he refused to wear the uniform during our mission to the Mirror. A sob cracks in my chest, and I hold my hand against it as though I could stop my heart from leaking out and bleeding through my ribs. But I have to keep it together for his sake.

I attempt to straighten my wrinkled clothes and finger comb the tangles out of my hair. I rub my face as if that might do something to make me more presentable. I must look like something the ocean vomited onto the shore.

“You couldn’t have given me something clean to wear?!” I shout at the sky, but I’m met with only belligerent silence.

Zerra’s probably watching me, loving every moment of this.

“Fucking gods,” I mumble to myself as I pick my way through the soft sand that’s already filling my boots, chafing my skin.