Chapter One
Annora
Thirty days without Jasce.Thirty days without the sun. Thirty days with my heart aching.
Ever since Aleksander and Asha ripped me from Jasce’s arms, I have been unable to think of anything else.
They have stolen my joy, crushed it beneath their boots like discarded seashells.
The worst part is, they don’t care—not when they walk around, reveling in their perceived victory at Sharhavva. Thousands of men from House of Silver died when Asha attacked House of Crimson, but she doesn’t even mourn them.
How can she be so callous toward death?
She’s not the sister I once knew. She’s someone different now—someone corrupt, a twisted reflection in a shattered mirror.
Ineedto see Jasce,needto embrace him.
The gods help me!
He’s so far away, and I’m stuck in Bakva.
This fortress doesn’t feel like home anymore. Not with Asha’s betrayal and Emerin still missing.
I reach for my seashell pendant and squeeze my fingers around it as I move to the window and stare out at the clearwinter day. Unfortunately, the winters in Bakva aren’t much different from the summers. The days are still cruelly hot, and the nights are painfully cold.
If Jasce were here, he would wrap his muscular arms around me, and I would nestle against his chest. Then, I’d feel warm again—instead of this resentment festering inside me.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
Desperate for peace, I close my eyes, imagining the sound of Jasce’s voice, and for a moment, the ache in my chest eases, replaced by a flicker of hope and a promise of a future where we are together again.
But how can I make that my reality when I’m trapped here? I can’t even wander too far from Aleksander because of the magical bond.
How I wish I could run and never look back.
Frustration flares through me as I stare down at the silver bracelet on my wrist. It’s been there ever since Aleksander tricked me inside of The Hollow.
When I returned to Bakva with Asha and Aleksander, I spent days in the library, poring over ancient tomes and scrolls, searching for a way to sever the magical bond, but I didn’t find anything.
Nobody can even kill Aleksander. Not without killing me.
Curse this bond.
Curse him!
The door swings open,and I glance up as Aleksander steps into my bedchamber, carrying the book about crimson magic that he gave me in Sharhavva.
I reach for my veil and pull it on, not wanting him to stare at me and judge me.
He looks the same as he always does—arrogant and proud—and sadly, he resembles his older brother. He has the same black hair, bronzed skin, and dark eyes, but he lacks everything good about Jasce, everything honorable.
I scan Aleksander, noticing the absence of any visible weapons. If I didn’t know the true depths of his cunning and ambition, I might mistake him for an innocent lord, but I know better now.
There’s nothing innocent about this man!
Everything is his fault. Being separated from Jasce. Being stuck in Bakva. Watching Asha change more and more every day.
She’s not the sister she once was. She’s bitter, and she looks painfully like our grandfather.
