ATASHA’S POV


    E56 vouchers


    I heard one of Reina’s soldiers bark augh, but the pain drowned it out. My hands shook as I slid my fingers under the lid and lifted.


    The box opened with a dull scrape.


    Pressure exploded outward. It hit me so hard my vision went white. My stomach lurched, my legs buckled. I clung to the cot to keep from dropping the box. The air thickened as if the tent had lost all its air in a heartbeat.


    But I wasn’t the only one who felt it this time. Gasps snapped around me, Reina’s, the soldiers‘, even Grace’s<b>. </b>I wasn’t the only one who felt it. The weight pressed on all of us. I heard someone swore. Another muffled a


    cry.


    Grace moved, but she didn’t step aside. She nted herself between me and the door, sword raised, chest heaving against the invisible crush. “Stay back,” she warned. I was already having a hard time breathing.


    “She’s doing it!” Reina shouted, pointing at me. “Whatever she’s doing, she’s trying to kill us all!”


    Boots pounded outside. More soldiers pushed through the p, spears lifted, eyes wide and unfocused as the pressure rolled over them too. Reina let out a harshugh and lifted her chin. “Even if you’re a strong wolf, Lieutenant, you can’t hold all of us. Hand her over.”


    “Councilman Halden!” Grace shouted, cutting across her. “You-”


    “I came as soon as I could,” Halden called, forcing his way into the tent with two guards at his back. He blinked, fighting the same weight pinning the rest of us. “What is going on?”


    Reina didn’t wait. She jabbed a finger at me. “Can’t you see? That woman is a witch! She’s killing us!”


    Halden’s eyes snapped to her. “What are you doing, Reina? That is the Consort.” He looked straight through the pulsing haze and frowned as if the opened box weren’t there at all. “I’ve already told you, she’s not a witch. Stop this. Now.”


    “Father, can’t you see?” Reina’s voice cracked. “Matron Yara was right, this woman is hiding something.”


    Halden’s expression shifted. “Matron Yara?” His gaze sharpened. “Is that why you insisted oning here? You put everyone in danger because the Matron told you the Consort is a witch?<b>” </b>


    “Wake up!” Reina snapped, stepping closer. “Have you been bewitched too?” She didn’t wait for his answer. In one fast motion she drew a thin de from her sleeve and drove it into Halden’s forearm.


    He staggered, eyes going wide as the steel punched through flesh. For a heartbeat he only stared at her, stunned. Blood ran in a steady line down his wrist and dripped from his fingertips.


    “Don’t worry,” Reina said, voice icy. “It will heal. But the pain should be enough to clear your


    head.”


    “Are you out of your mind?” Halden snarled, clutching his arm. “She is not a witch!”


    9:59 Sat, Sep 20


    83


    55 vouchers


    Around us, the tent tightened with panic. I could feel soldiers shifting, knuckles whitening on spear shafts, eyes cutting between Reina’s de and Grace’s dagger. The pressure from the box surged again, a heavy throb that made my ears ring.


    I forced my gaze down. Inside the boxy a stone the size of a fist<b>, </b>slick with mud and scored with thin lines that crawled across its surface like veins. The closer my hands came, the stronger the ache behind my eyes


    grew.


    “Put it down,” Reina ordered, edging past her soldiers. “Now.”


    Grace shifted to block her path. “One more step,” she warned. “And you bleed before you breathe.”


    Reina smiled without warmth. “You’d draw on me, Lieutenant?”


    “If you threaten the Consort, yes,” Grace said.


    Halden’s guards raised their palms, trying to calm both sides, but no one lowered their weapons. I saw blood dripped from Halden’s arm to the dirt with soft taps but he seemed to be ignoring it.


    “Father, give the order,” Reina said through her teeth. “Seize her.”


    “No,” Halden snapped. “Stand down.”


    No one moved.


    Just as I struggled to touched it, the stone pulsed again. A cold wave rolled out, and the tent ropes creaked as if the canvas itself reacted. Someone gagged near the p. Another soldier stumbled to one knee.


    My fingers tightened around the box rim. Every instinct screamed to shut it, to smother the thing, but something in me knew that would make it worse. I swallowed hard, tasted metal, and dragged in a breath that didn’t feel like air.


    The stone pulsed again, and my body shook so hard I thought my bones might splinter. It was calling me. Every instinct screamed to keep my hands away, but the pressure pushed back, forcing me closer. My chest burned, my head splitting with pain, as if I were about to burst from the inside.


    Reina snorted. “Enough of this. Surround them. Grab the Consort.”


    The soldiers obeyed, spreading out in a half circle. Spears angled toward me and Grace, their boots crunching on the dirt floor.


    Halden staggered forward, trying to raise his good arm, but then his body locked stiff. His eyes went wide. “Reina… what did you do to me?”


    She didn’t even blink. “Temporary paralysis,” she said coolly. “Don’t worry, Father. You’ll move again once I’m finished showing you how wrong you’ve been.”


    Her de shed as she lunged at us.


    Grace shifted instantly, shoving me back with one hand and raising her dagger with the other. My heart lurched. There were too many. Even if she fought, she couldn’t hold them all.


    9:59 Sat, Sep 20


    …


    <b>83 </b>


    55 vouchers


    Just as Reina closed the distance, a sharp twang split the air.


    An arrow hissed past, embedding itself in the ground inches from her boot. She froze mid–step, eyes wide.


    “Who’s there?” she barked, spinning toward the shadows beyond the tent p. “Show yourself!”


    Boots crunched over gravel outside. From the dark, a tall figure stepped into the torchlight. His cloak shifted with the breeze, silver sp glinting against ck fabric. His face, pale as frost, caught the dim light and his crimson eyes swept the tent with a sharp calm that silenced the soldiers.


    Prince Kaelith.


    And behind him, was Agape. His face was as unreadable as ever, but his gaze flicked once toward me before narrowing on the stone in my hands.


    Reina stiffened, her jaw tightening. “Who are you?” she demanded, though her voice faltered as the air seemed to thicken around him.


    The question went unanswered. Because at that moment, the stone pulsed again. This time, it was harder, louder and I couldn’t stop myself. My hands jerked, closing around it.


    The instant my fingers touched its surface, the world copsed inward.