Chapter 16 · The Price of a Living King

The silver needles turned toward me.

Not toward Ronan. Me.

They ripped free from the king's sleeve and shot across the burning room.

I ducked. One needle sliced through my hair. Another punched into the wooden shelf behind my head with a sharp little click.

"Mara! Get down!"

Ronan's voice came from the fire.

Then he stepped through it.

His coat was burning at the shoulder. Blood ran from his mouth and dripped onto the floor. His eyes had gone almost black, with a thin ring of gold around each pupil.

The moon-rage had him by the throat.

He still came for me.

I grabbed Nia's arm and dragged her behind a stone worktable. She stumbled, coughing so hard her whole body folded in half.

"Breathe," I said. "Nia, look at me. Breathe."

"I'm trying." Her voice cracked. "Mara, the book—"

"Forget the book."

The last page lay in my hand, hot enough to burn my fingers. My name wasn't on it. Nia's was.

NIA VALE.

DELIVER BEFORE THE ECLIPSE.

TO THE LIVING KING.

The ink crawled when I looked at it.