Chapter 26

Someone had arranged him with his arms wrapped over his chest. His eyes closed, his face serene, his body limp and ready to return to the earth. It didn’t even look like Marc.

Though maybe a touch more than when she had snuck into the depths of the mountain to where they kept him in a cold place to prevent rot. The very thought shuddered through her as her teeth chattered, the deeper she crept. She was glad that she hadn’t asked Amber or Aurora to come with her. They’d never have made it this far. She hoped to find a clue, to find anything to tell her why this had happened.

But when she got there, she looked down at the body—his skin waxy, his lips blue, the puncture wound deep—and she realized her folly. There was nothing here. Nothing but a wave of grief. She’d fallen to the floor and cried for hours. Marc was gone. He was really gone.

Amber squeezed her hand, bringing her back to reality. Maya blinked back the weight of that grief. She had heard nothing that the man said, who was t