“No!” I cried, but the knife wouldn’t drop from my hand. It dug into my palm, and I felt its blade slide through flesh. “No, no, no, no—”

“Tea.”

The fire wavered, faded, and I stood, rooted in complete darkness. The voice was familiar but odd to my ears. It held a note of fear, which I didn’t associate it with.

“Tea. Listen to me. I’m here, Tea.”

I opened my eyes—and nearly toppled off the ledge when I saw the hundred-foot drop before me. Why am I standing in an open windowsill? I thought, dazed. Why was I here? I could feel every breeze that sang through the palace, striving to upset my precarious balance.

“Tea. Take my hand.”

I turned slowly and saw Kalen, arm outstretched, ready to interfere should the winds have their way. “What happened?” Hadn’t I been asleep?

“Let’s talk after you get down from there.”

I took his hand. All gentleness disappeared. He dragged me inside in the space of an exhale, wrapping me in arms that threatened to squeeze the breath out of me, his heartsglass digging into my rib cage.

“What were you doing?” he choked out. Only then did I see Likh standing behind him, petrified.

We were in the castle library. I stood before an open window, staring down at what would have been a fatal fall. Clad in only a thin nightgown, my skin was chilled at the cold. “What happened?” I repeated.

“You walked in,” Likh gasped. “You opened the window and tried to climb out! I tried to stop you using runes, but they didn’t work!”

Kalen added grimly, “When I woke and you weren’t in bed, I thought you were sneaking off to do more research. Then I heard Likh call out. My runes didn’t work on you either.”

“I don’t—I don’t remember anything except for a nightmare.” I’d never sleepwalked before. My gaze traveled down. Even in the gloom, I could see the fading swirls of black in my heartsglass. I trembled.

“You scared me.” Kalen’s lips were on my hair. “I thought you were negating our runes somehow, that you wanted to—”

His voice broke. I began to cry, apologies pouring out of me in hiccups and tears. I clung to him, letting out all the frustration I’d tried to keep bottled in since Polaire had died, since my heartsglass had turned black, since the nightmares had begun. I heard Kalen saying something to Likh, promising to explain everything in the morning, then he rose with me in his arms and carried me back to our room.