Page 159 of Their Wicked Cage

“It’s not working,” I cry. “My floramancy. The magic… It’s gone.”

“How is that possible? You were blessed by Death herself.”

Blessed.

There’s that word again.

Realization pommels me.

When I accepted the Viretree’s magic, did it… replace Death’s blessing with Aislinn’s?

Did choosing this path to serve Aislinn damn Riven?

I collapse over his body and weep. “What have I done?”

Achlys howls. There’s a startled gasp, the sound of paws on the ground as Achlys bolts into the resurrection circle. He’s whining, nudging Riven with his nose, pawing at him the way he paws at me when he wants me to wake and let him outside.

I push him away. “Achlys, don’t.”

“Sylithe,” Ava murmurs, pulling Achlys toward her and holding him still. “I call unto thee for mercy.”

Her lips move in prayer; her face angled toward the sky with the same beseeching tilt I offered Dagny in that dank cell. My chest tightens knowing Avaline’s prayer will go unanswered by Sylithe, just as mine had when I prayed to Dame Nature.

Goddesses aren’t known for meddling.

And yet... one did.

One came for me when all hope seemed lost.

Aislinn.

She hadn’t appeared before me with miracles or mercy, but with a choice and the promise to guide me.

Gods, I could use that guidance right about now.

My breath catches.

“Avaline, you beautiful genius.” I sit up, wiping my face with my sleeve. “You just gave me an idea.” I take a deep, grounding breath. “Aislinn, I call unto thee for clarity, for guidance. Ground my roots; I am yours to guide.”

Calm washes over me.

Vessaryn—no longer wearing my face—sniffles nearby. “The Sovereign Sisters are long gone, Gwyn. Praying to them is like praying to⁠—”

“To what?” asks Aislinn, stepping into view, as radiant as ever.

Arkyn breathes, “Holy mother of goddesses.”

She winks at him and turns to Vessaryn. “Isabel needs you. She’s being held in a cave at the bottom of the Solkiss Cliffs.” She gestures to the forest. “Leave now.”

Tears fall freely down her cheeks. “How can I ever repay you, goddess?”

“All I ask is that you remember.”

Vessaryn nods, hastily swiping at her eyes. “What about King⁠—”

“Go.”

She obeys, sparing me a sorrowful parting glance.