Struggling, I pulled and yanked but was only sucked in deeper. I was in the mud to my elbows and in such an awkward position, I couldn’t get the angle needed to roll or push away.
It suddenly hit me—I could die here. I would sink beneath the mud and no one would ever find me.
“Help!” As soon as I cried out, I realized it was pointless. The wail drowned out my voice.
I sank, lower and lower, until my chin was in the mud. Turning my face to the side, I waited to be swallowed whole. But it didn’t happen.
The earth seemed to reject me, spitting me right back out so hard I flew backward.
The breath whooshed out of my body, and I struggled, rolling around like a bug on its back until I could suck in air and get to my feet.
Taking off in the direction Killian had run, I flew over the ground. “Killian!”
There was a splash somewhere to the side of me, so I changed directions. The wail got louder and louder until it vibrated my bones and my teeth in my mouth.
I burst through the grass and stumbled to a stop.
There was a pond, small, but dark and murky-looking. It smelled horrible, like animals had fallen in and rotted.
But that wasn’t what had me covering my mouth with my hands. It was the men trying to kill each other as they hovered above the water.
Ronan. Flynn. Killian.
And the king.
The dead king.
His skin was gray, bloated, and his eyes yellow with milky irises. Ronan and Flynn stood next to him, thrusting, stabbing, slashing their swords at Killian.
For his part, he was merely parrying each advance. The wail seemed to quiet, just for a moment. “I don’t want to hurt you!”
And then it picked up again.
How is this happening?
“Ronan! Flynn! Stop!” They didn’t even acknowledge my presence. Teeth bared, they forged on, spreading out to surround Killian.
“Stop!” I slogged into the water, but something stopped me. Something invisible stood between me and the princes and the long-dead king.
That was when it hit me. Ronan and Flynn. This morning, they’d worn similar utilitarian uniforms—simple pants and a jacket. All of it was easy to move around in.
But not now. These men wore uniforms that glittered with gems and buttons. Their jackets had epaulettes, and their boots shone.
The real Ronan and Flynn weren’t here.
Your greatest fear. Killian was fighting his father, his brothers, while a voice wailed so loud I couldn’t hear myself think.
This was his greatest fear.
I stared at him, heart in my throat. The wail died down, and the king cried out. “You let me die!”
Shocked, Killian stumbled, his foot dipping into the water.
The false-Ronan used the misstep to his advantage, slicing down and knocking the sword from Killian’s hand.
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t stand here and watch. I screamed, slamming my fists on the shield between me and them. “Killian! It’s not real! It’s not real!”
He stood there, shoulders heaving with breath as the brothers advanced. And then he doubled over, his hands lifting to the sides of his head and his face contorting with pain. I didn’t understand. I no longer heard the wail, yet he didn’t stand to fight. It was as though he was giving up.
A crow dipped down from the sky near his head, and a violent shudder rolled through me. Was that—
The crow circled him again, and somehow, I just knew.
“It’s Morgan,” I screamed. “She’s using her crow to attack you!”
But he didn’t hear a word I said. Instead, he took one last ragged breath and plunged beneath the surface of the water.
“No!”
The forms above the water disappeared, the only sounds from frogs and insects and a crow cawing in the distance.
“No!” I pressed on, tripping when the barrier suddenly disappeared and I fell forward. Lifting my hands to brace myself, I waited for the splash.
But it didn’t come.
Sunlight dappled the back of my hands, filtering through trees as my fingers sank into soft moss. No, no, no. I was at the loch.
“Killian,” I croaked as I felt the magic of my invisibility spell lift. Where was he?
“Your prince is dead.”
The voice was as clear as the summer sky and as pure as a bell.
A white hand, graceful-fingered and slim, was thrust at me, and I lifted my eyes to meet the cool hazel gaze of the speaker.
“I knew it was you.”
Morgan Tauroc smiled, and a chill washed over my body. “Imogen Eveningsong. You are quite a thorn in my side.”