Chapter 172

I’d been lost in my thoughts the entire walk back to my suite, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was in this alone—that this battle was one woven into the fabric of destiny, so much so that Ally had seen it herself, and had taken the necessary steps to try and ensure my success.

She’d done so even at the cost of her own life.

Dain’s voice was a distant melody in my ears, using its sweet notes to coax me from my thoughts. Once I felt his presence following me, I halted in my tracks and spun around. There was no cloud of impenetrable darkness, but the corridor behind me seemed to have dimmed enough to allow the shadows along each pillar to stand out.

“I know you’re there, Dain. You’re not very good at hiding during the day.” I pointed out, shifting my weight, and crossing my arms over my chest. The silken nightgown I wore wrinkled from the movement.

With a defeated smirk on his face, he emerged from one of the shadows the pillars made along the walls and dipped into a slight