II

  I couldn’t breathe.

  There was a pressure at the center of my chest. I couldn’t breathe or move. At first, panic engulfed my entire body. My eyelids refused to open, and every sound around me reached me as a muffled hum. What had happened to me? My memory was a blur.

  When I finally regained full consciousness, I forced myself to calm down. It was then that I realized everything around me was all too familiar: the softness of the bed beneath my wounded body, the orange sunlight filtering through my eyelids — and the weight resting upon me…

  I felt two tiny, warm hands touch my cheeks. It was soft and reassuring — a quiet reminder that I was home. A feeling of trust and peace washed over me, but it was short-lived. That small hand struck my cheek so suddenly that I woke with a cry of pain. Coughing and gasping, I was met with the mischievous smile of my little cousin sitting on my chest.

  “Lio!” I cried out again. Every part of my body throbbed with pain, and I despised this wretched, mortal frailty.

  “She’s awake!” Lio bounced in excitement, and I let out a groan as my ribs protested under his knees. “Nerissa, Asterin is awake!” He jumped off the bed and ran to Nerissa, who was standing in the doorway.

  I frowned and looked around. I was in my chamber within my grandmother’s castle, and I could not recall how long it had been since I had last slept here.

  Nerissa sat down at the foot of the bed with Lio in her arms. Her features were shadowed by unmistakable concern. “How are you feeling?”

  “How do you think I feel?” I must have been in a dreadful state, if Nerissa’s averted gaze was any indication.

  “Dawn is breaking. Soon you’ll be able to heal your wounds.” Nerissa turned to scold Lio, who was trying to pull the starfish-shaped barrette from her hair. “Lio, stop it!”

  I pushed myself upright. The things I had experienced before losing consciousness began to hit me like a series of blows to the face. Ilmestys taking flight, turning on me as though she truly meant to kill — it felt less like reality and more like a nightmare. As though I might wake at any moment and find her still there when I returned to the hillside.

  “Grandmother wants to talk to you,” Nerissa said.

  “Is Cousin Asterin in trouble?” Lio asked, fiddling with the barrette he had finally managed to pull from Nerissa’s hair. “Again?"

  “Yes, Lio — yes, again,” Nerissa replied. The way she looked at me, it was as though she were glad she wasn’t in my shoes.

  I pressed a hand to my forehead, shivering from head to toe. I had made a mistake, and my punishment was about to be revealed. I had to face my grandmother now — I knew that the longer I delayed, the more formidable she would become. I threw off the blanket and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “I’ll be right there.”

  ***

  My grandmother tapped her long nails against the table, and I struggled to keep my knees from shaking. The stone walls of the chamber seemed darker than they truly were, and the judgmental gaze of the ravens perched throughout the room felt fixed upon me alone. Even the thin smoke rising from my grandmother’s pipe felt suffocating; whenever I faltered, this room became unbreathable in my eyes.

  Yet the oppressive silence surrounding us held little anger. I couldn’t decide whether that was better or worse.

  She took a deep drag from her pipe and blew the smoke through her thin lips. The raven perched on her shoulder, disturbed by the smoke, cawed and broke the silence. I startled where I stood.

  “There will be an auction,” Grandmother said, her voice hoarse and calm. Her eyes were fixed upon the papers on her desk; she did not even glance in my direction. “In a week. In the Elven capital.”

  I blinked. This wasn’t what I had expected. Still, I did not speak — I feared I had lost my voice.

  “It will be held at the palace. Priceless items you’ve never seen in your life will be up for bidding.” She rose from her chair, folded her arms across her waist, and gazed out the arched window at the streets of Varrendale. “And only the nobility will be allowed to participate.”

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  I swallowed hard. In the Elven Kingdom, gold held no value—just as it didn’t in Varrendale. Instead, buyers traded their blood for goods, a price that multiplied their worth.

  “You want me to steal them." I managed in my cracked voice. Damn it — perhaps this duty itself was my punishment.

  “Everything.” Even with her back turned, I could hear the smirk in her voice.

  I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. “Understood.”

  ***

  My heart was still racing when I closed the door behind me and stepped into the dim corridor. The Elven capital… Once there, I could visit Iskra’s Forge and have a new whip made. I could find another dragon egg in the capital’s market and begin anew. I could leave this failure behind and prove myself once more — if only to myself.

  But could I truly forget Ilmestys? Could I go on living as though she had never existed?

  “That smirk on your face is terrifying.”

  Nerissa’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was leaning against the wall at the entrance to the arched passageway, her arms crossed. “So, what’s your punishment?”

  “I didn’t receive one,” I said as I walked toward her.

  Her eyes widened, she seemed as surprised as I was. “So she gave you a new mission, huh?”

  We began walking side by side down the passageway. “She wants me to steal from an auction in the Elven capital. In a week.”

  Nerissa swallowed. “So you’re attending the auction?”

  I shook my head. “Only nobles can enter.”

  When she stopped, I did too. “You’ll need a solid plan, Asterin.”

  I waved her concern away. “I’ll think of something.”

  Her slender fingers wrapped around my wrist. “Come with me.”

  ***

  “This is the palace,” Finnor said, marking a spot on the hastily drawn map with a red pen.

  I sighed and leaned back in my chair. Nerissa had claimed Finnor had useful information and had dragged me all the way to the Dusk Den.

  “I know where the palace is,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. This was wholly unnecessary. I had no need for counsel from someone who had never set foot there — someone who knew the Elven Kingdom only through books. I may never have infiltrated the palace before, but I was certain I knew enough of the realm.

  “The auction will be held in the great hall.” Finnor’s amber eyes found mine through the bangs falling over his forehead. “And the hall has a glass ceiling.”

  For the first time, I leaned toward the clumsily drawn map. “Now that’s useful.”

  Nerissa muttered, “What’s your plan? Hang from the ceiling with a rope?”

  I rolled my eyes as Finnor chuckled. “No. I’ll observe. I’ll note who buys what, then steal from them one by one.”

  “The Asterin I knew used to make a grand entrance,” Finnor said, swirling his drink. “You’re choosing the long and cautious path.”

  Then, offering one of his dazzling smiles to a half-fae, half-elf girl approaching the counter, he completely withdrew from the conversation.

  Nerissa frowned briefly, then leaned toward me. “How much time did she give you?”

  “She didn’t,” I said thoughtfully. “She only told me to seize all the goods.”

  “When we brought you back last night, Grandmother said you should be doing things more useful to us than dealing with those ungrateful dragons.” Nerissa tapped her fingers against the counter and glanced sideways at Finnor and the girl. Her jaw was tense, though her voice remained soft. “Perhaps she wants to make sure your skills haven’t dulled.”

  “Please. I can master both. Trust me, dragons are much more than you think. They can be great weapons.” I had tried to tell my grandmother this many times before, yet she had stubbornly dismissed my belief. She insisted that if dragons could truly be wielded as weapons, the Elf King would have done so long ago. She might have been right — yet the hope within me never faded.

  “Varrendale has only one weapon — and that is you,” Nerissa said, her voice heavy with sorrow. “Who else can pass through Gloomwood and slip into other kingdoms? Who else can steal what we need and secure our survival? Do you not realize how vital you are, Asterin?”

  I knew the people of Varrendale saw me as something of a native hero. Still, I could not let go of the power we might gain if my plan succeeded. If I did not try, I would never know — and I would regret it forever. I had to reach the capital early and gather everything I needed for a fresh start. “I know. That is why I will leave tomorrow.”

  “Why the rush?” Finnor had returned, as if he’d never left. Nerissa shot him a look, but he didn’t seem to notice. “You won’t know the participants or the items until the final day. Leaving early won’t give you an advantage.”

  “I have a few matters to settle in the capital.” Like finding a dragon egg. I pushed the empty glass toward him. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”

  “I’ll check the pantry,” Finnor said with a faint frown.

  When he disappeared again, Nerissa leaned closer. Her expression softened. “Look… I’m sorry you lost Ilmestys. I know how precious she was to you.”

  “Forget it,” I said, though I was certain she saw the flicker of pain that crossed my face. I waited for her to press further—to arch an eyebrow and look at me as if she could read every thought in my mind, to ask whether I had truly given up.

  But the dreamy expression on her face did not waver.

  “Tell me, Asterin,” she said. “That half-blood fae—do you think she’s pretty?”

  I didn’t bother hiding my smirk. It might have been the most foolish question Nerissa had ever asked. No living creature in Varrendale could rival her beauty.

  “Who knows,” I muttered. “Maybe you’ll ask Finnor yourself by the time I return.”

  “I have no intention of asking him anything.” Nerissa lifted her chin, though the faintest color touched her cheeks.

  When Finnor returned with several bottles, the subject was dropped. Still, it was impossible not to notice the blush that deepened on Nerissa’s face.

  As Finnor poured us each a glass, Nerissa met my eyes. “Promise me you’ll visit from time to time.”

  Finnor nodded in agreement. “It’s unbearably dull here without you.”

  I smiled and drew my glass toward me. “All right,” I said. “I promise.”