bChapter /bb190 /b

    bEryx /bbPOV /b

    bFor /ba long moment, I stare at her. I look at her silhouette half–lit in the silvery blue light that leaks through the trees. bHer /bhair is shifting in the wind, as if it’s too caught between leaving and staying. There’s something in her eyes bthough/b, something that I’ve never seen before. It’s wild, hunted, and ancient all at once, as though she’s not just Aprilb, /bbbut /bball /bthe women who came before her. Bearing their pain like a crown.

    I don’t move and let myself feel that ache for just a second. Then I grasp her arm gently, not too tight but enough bto /bhelp anchor her here, in this world. i don’t want her to slip into the world that’s calling out to her. The one that’s within the Hollow somewhere. It’s too much of a risk that she would go there without a thought for her own safety.

    “We’re going inside,” I say. My voice is steady and low. It reminds me so much of my father’s voice that he uses when he wants obedience and not argument, and in a way, it shocks me how much I can sound like him. I don’t have time to dwell on that though. “Now. No more walking out here alone, April, not ever. If you feel it calling, tell us.”

    Her head raises and she looks up at me, she’s searching my face for any trace of doubt, but she won’t find anyi. /iSlowlyb, /bshe nods and her jaw tightens. I can feel her trembling, only a little, but it’s enough that I know she’s still fighting whatever is calling out to her. I know that feeling, it’s the one my magic used to give me until I trained. It’s like it’s singing under your skin.

    Carefully, I turn her away from the trees, putting myself between her and the unseen thing in the woods. The guards at the gate tense, but they don’t challenge us. They know better than to question me right now. If anyone asks, I’ll burn the question to ash before it leaves their lips. Cruel maybe but I guess I learnt that from my father.

    April stays beside me as she walks in silence, one of her hands is curled into the fabric of my shirt, as if she’s afraid that she’ll be swept away if she releases her hold. Her breathes quick and sharp and every step toward the pack house should make her feel safer. But I know it doesn’t, the air hangs around us, growing heavier, and charged with the kind of tension that feels more like a warning than a wee.

    My skin prickles with it, and the urge to look back, just to be sure that nothing is out there. To be sure that nothing ising out of the darkness to follow us, it makes my hair stand up on my neck.

    As we reach the doors, I press my palm against the runes that are carved deep into the ancient wood. I feel their heat bloom beneath my skin as they recognize my magic, and the door swings open. It’s a protection spell that my mother built into the pack house so only those permitted can enter without approval. I lead her through the entry, not pausing until I’m sure the barrier has sealed behind us. I’m grateful for it right now, before I hated it, I felt like it was a trap, a way for my parents to track my movements.

    The light is warm inside, but harsh after the moonlit world we’ve just walk away from. I can feel April’s relief, and can bsee /b

    the slump fo her shoulder but her eyes keep darting to the windows as though she’s afraid the Hollow might slip bthrough /bthe walls and drag her out again.

    My parents are waiting in the main hall, standing at the foot of the war room stairs. My father’s arms are folded, his jaw clenched; my mother’s face is pinched with worry, her eyes shadowed and searching. They both look at bus/bb, /bactually, at April, more precisely, as if she might shatter or vanish if they so much as blink.

    “What happened? Why were you outside?” my father asks, his voice low, deadly calm. He’s not asking bif /bbshe’s /bbhurt/bb, /bbhe /bbcan /b

    bChapter /bb190 /b

    bsee /bbshe’s /bhealingb, /bcan smell the witch–magic that still clings to her skin. He’s asking what went wrongb, /bbwhy /bbshe /bbwas /bbout /bbthere/b, what we’ve all missed. I don’t me him for being suspicious it’s not a good thing that she went bto /bbthe /bHollow, even if I caught her before she got there.

    bI /bbstep /bin front of April, shielding her from their scrutiny for just a moment longer. “It’s the Hollow,” I say. “bIt’s /bcalling to bher/b. She almost crossed the boundary. I barely stopped her in time.”

    My mother’s eyes go wide, and I see the glimmer of her own power flicker behind her pupils. “Was it Rnd’s magicb?/bb” /bshe asks quietly. “Or the Queen’s?”

    April answers before I can. Her voice is small but unbroken. “I’m not sure, both, I think. I can feel something moving inside me. It’s not my wolf, it’s not even just his im. It’s something else, a thread, pulling me toward the Hollow. I didn’t want to follow it, but I couldn’t stop myself. It was like I had no choice, and my body wasn’t mine.”

    She shivers, and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, holding her tight. My mother moves quickly, crossing the distance bin /bthree silent steps, her hands raised, magic pulsing in the air. She’s careful as she scans April, searching for spells, for curses, for any sign of a breach. I watch my mother’s face harden as she traces the outline of the mark on April’s neck.

    “It’s the Queen,” she says, her tone grim. “That’s what it is. Her magic is inside you, April. Not all of bit/bb, /bbut enough that she can pull you if you’re close to the Hollow. The closer you get, the more power she gains, you can‘ not go out there. That ce is her anchor, her wellspring. She’s using you as a doorway. We can’t let you out there againb, /bnot without protection, not with that connection still alive.”

    April’s eyes widen, and she looks between us, her eyes brimming with fear and shame. “What do I do?” she whispers. “I don’t want this, I didn’t want this and I don’t want to be used again.”

    My father steps forward now. His expression is fierce but not unkind. “You’re not a weapon, April. Not for her, and not for Rnd. You’re our responsibility now, and we’ll fine a way to cut this tie. No matter what it takes, we will figure it out.”

    My mother brushes a strand of hair from April’s forehead, her touch gentle but her power fierce. “You’re staying with us. No more med bay, no more istion. From now on, you’re never alone. If the Queenes for you, she’ll have to get through us first. We won’t leave you alone.”

    I feel the tension that was building in April’s body cken just a fraction. She turns slowly and looks back at me, and there’s something like hope flickering in her eyes. I nod, a silent promise passing between us.

    “You’ll sleep in the warded rooms tonight,” my father says, already issuing orders to the guards with a wave of his hand. “We’ll reinforce the house. No one in, no one out without my word. And tomorrow, we begin the work of breaking this bond. Eryx, you stay with iher/i. I want someone with eyes on her at all times. No more risks.” He looks from her to me. “You don’t leave her side, do you understand?”

    “Yes, sir,” I answer, not out of obedience, but because it’s the only thing that matters. I wouldn’t have left her tonight anyway. No way in hell would I leave her

    April clings to my hand, and her grip feels desperate but cold. I pull her closer to me, and hold her to my chest as bmy /bparents move around us. They begin issuing orders, and calling for more magic, more protection. I make a promise to myself again, no matter what the Queen wants, no matter what darkness is rising in the Hollow, she will not take April from me.

    Rnd did, her family did, but there’s no way I’m letting anyone else take her now. She’s back, and this is exactly bwhere /b

    bshe’s /bstaying