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We stay for as long as we can, until finally Maeve corave hts, until she disappears around a bend

One ht becomes darker each day, and the snow turns steady No one crosses our path It is as if ere traveling at the edge of the world Our travel settles into long silences, where none of us feel in the iano rides quietly by y of this terrain pulls us forward, calling to us I see illusions at night and during the twilight days, see thehost of Violetta walks alongside my horse Her dark hair doesn’t move in the wind, and her boots leave no prints in the snow She never looksa dozen different ways every few hours, each leading deep into yet another set of uidance, I have no doubt that ould lose ourselves out here in the cold

Then, one day, we halt in front of a yawning cave

It is an o into complete and utter darkness Still, we never would have found this place without the pull of its energy Here, I can feel the tangible presence of the pulsing power that calls to us, the strength of it like a thousand threads tugging against every o alone," Maeve says as she trots up beside us "My men, they cannot follow us this way" She nods to our horses, so froet to the entrance My own stallion refuses to take another step forward I look back at Maeve’s troops They also hang back I’d never thought about how an energy powerful enough to affect each of the Young Elitescommon men, but now I can see it on their faces Some have a sheen of cold sweat on their skin, while others look pale and weak They have come as far as they can If they enter this cave with us, they will die

Maeve swings off her horse and nods at one of her soldiers "Take them back with you," she says

The soldier hesitates Behind him, the others shift too "You will be left in a frozen wasteland, Your Majesty," he replies, glancing around at us "You--you are the Queen of Beldain Hoill you make it back?"

Maeve fixes him with a hard stare "We will find our oay," she says "If you join us, you will not survive This is not a request This is a coer I find rief Would any of my soldiers in Kenettra be so loyal to ainst them?

Finally, he nods and bows his head "Yes, Your Majesty" He places one hand over his chest, then kneels in the snow before her "We ait for you at the bottom of the pass We will not leave until we see you return Do not ask us to leave you entirely, Your Majesty"

Maeve nods Her hard composure cracks, the only"Very well," she replies

The soldier stands and shouts an order to the troops They salute their queen before turning their horses around, inally coo Would my soldiers ever salute me in honor?

When the sound of hooves fades to a dull rumble, Maeve returns to join us at the entrance of the cave Noexcept black--it is as if there were nothingness on the other side, and ould fall into it if we enter Raffaele stands at the edge and closes his eyes He takes a deep breath, then shudders He doesn’t need to speak forto say I can feel the pull We all can

The Dark of Night is at the end of this cave

Teren draws his sword and a long knife, while Lucent and Magiano do the saiano as we start to walk in Violetta’s absence is a gaping void beside me If she were here, I would tell her to stay close She would give me a quiet nod But she isn’t here

So I turn to face the darkness without her, and walk in I am too afraid to wonder whether ill be able to walk out

I can see nothing, at first, and it makes me hesitate with every step I take Our footsteps echo in the darkness, coupled with the sound of ainst stone The others e of the cave The air is bitterly cold in here and sulp over and over again, trying to keepin on us If only I could see--if only I could see My old fear of blindness now flares to life, taking on a shape of its own in this darkness, and I think I can see the eyes of et out of here, the whispers chant, pleased atterror You will live in darkness forever, just as you deserve

I jump when a hand, wariano’s voice comes out of the darkness like a beacon, and I turn toward hiht I force the whispers in ives th to take one step after another

After what seems like forever, rooves of stone in the cave’s ceiling, loorooves colow Slowly, as low e My steps slow as I try to get a better look at it