Page 176 of Death of a Mortal

I nodded, and she left. With a final deep breath, I stared at myself in the mirror. I still saw the mortal girl who’d left Briarstead so long ago—no visible scars then but so brutalized inside. Now, I also saw the female I’d grown into, scarred but so much more sure, as if I’d lived an entirely different life since Nella and I left home. I closed my eyes and held my hand over my heart, picturing the time Nella stood behind me as I looked into the mirror in that ball gown. The memory strengthened my resolve.

Caedryn had taken enough. Now, it was my turn to take.

Chapter 40

She Knew

I climbed intothe saddle that was strapped to Bernitha in her giant eagle form, the light-imbued pendant with Kaelor’s glythyr joined with my silver ring on the chain around my neck. Kaelor wouldn’t activate it until the last moment, since it would consume raw magic from him the moment he did so.

Drayce stood watching me from a distance. We’d already shared an intimate goodbye before I came up here, my cheeks still flushed from the intensity of his kiss.

Aerie stood next to him with Noxie on her shoulder and gave me a nod.

“Be safe, Naci. Don’t do anything heroic or stupid ’til we get there.”

I smiled at Noxie and winked in response, putting on a much braver face than I actually felt. Leaving my Familiar behind felt wrong, but I reminded myself it was only until I found a weak spot in the wards of Ashthorn.

Bramick was the last of my crew to say goodbye, giving my shoulders a tight squeeze before joining Drayce, Aerie, and Kellan.

“Ready?” asked Kaelor.

I nodded, which was followed by the caws and squeals of Bernitha and the other three smaller avian vey that would survey Dolvenar while I circled the castle.

Kaelor stepped up, and I pulled the pendant from where it was tucked into my undershirt. He took it in his hand, activating the glythyr, and I felt the hum of the magic when it rested back against my skin.

“Let’s go,” I shouted before we took off. I could see myself and Bernitha flapping below me, but Noxie confirmed they couldn’t see us from below—Kaelor’s glythyr bent the light around us and made us invisible.

The other three birds took off, flying just behind us. After a few minutes in the fog, the coastline of Ashenholt came into view, and it struck me how different the place felt. The temperature was far colder, but something else seemed…more cruel and unforgiving. I shuddered.

But the silver lining? I much preferred flying to riding a horse. It felt incredible and freeing, even though I wasn’t the one doing the flying.

Maybe an hour later, Ashthorn appeared, Dolvenar just visible in the distance. I’d thought the city was so vibrant and alive the first time I’d seen it, but after walking through Elyndor’s port town of Fallorian, Dolvenar just seemed…dull and lifeless. Drained.

“All good?”Noxie asked.

“All good so far. We’re breaking off from the scout team to head toward the castle.”

Not a few moments later, the three birds banked to the right behind us as we stayed straight toward Ashthorn. They would survey the woods and ensure no one was watching when they eventually guided the rest of the infiltration team through.

“Let’s come around the castle from the north side, careful not to touch the wards. I’ll let you know if you get too close,” I said to Bernitha.

She cawed her response while I silently celebrated mydirectional navigation. Naci from the banshee’s forest would be so proud.

As we got closer, the faint white swirling of the castle wards came into view, no different from those around the base. It was incredible how much area they covered—they extended out from the castle all the way to its outer walls and towered at least double the height of the castle itself into the sky like a dome.

There would be no entering from that height anyway, so I directed Bernitha to fly lower, scouting the wards closer to the ground along the walls. I placed a hand over my right eye, turning my total vision black and white to better see the shimmer of the wards. So far, I had come up empty on any weak points or holes.

“Bank to the right slightly to get closer.”

Bernitha’s eagle form obeyed, keeping us just on the outskirts of the wards. We flew past the rose garden where I’d dined with the prince, and a ways later by the purple tree-lined grounds I’d walked through with him and the queen on separate occasions.

I hated being back here. All the memories and feelings were dragged back to the surface. I could feel my shadows stirring, my palms tingling as if itching to use my magic.

There were unresolved feelings lingering. But now wasn’t the time.

We’d circled nearly three-quarters of the castle’s wards and found nothing. I’d lost hope that there would be any accessible weak points.

Until I saw one small semicircle at the bottom of the stone border wall that wasn’t shimmering.