page42 (1/2)

And so she decided to ignore Zari’s words of caution even though they never stopped to niggle at the back of her mind Despite this, Soleil still couldn’t concentrate on anything but the soul seer’s warning She thought about it over dinner, thought about it while chatting with Ilie in her ht about it while she tossed and turned on her bed, feeling like she wasso obvious

Will you just sleep, theall the way from here

Then it’s a good thing you’re not here, she returned, or else you’d be deaf by now She rolled her eyes Grumpy, ancient—-

I can hear you, milady

Attractive, intelligent—-

Ilie chuckled It alive you that

She blurted out, I miss you But actually what she wanted to say was, Come back to me now Because without Ilie by her side, the world was just a little bit darker, drearier, and scarier, especially when the soul seer’s vision continued to play in her mind

I miss you, too

She drew a shaky breath and willed her tears to go away Come back soon

I will

And then the connection between them slowly faded

She, too, slowly drifted to sleep, only to hear so her

“Wake up, Soleil! Wake up!”

It was Aurora, calling out fro, and her blue dress created a puddle of water around her bare feet

Wide-awake now, she threw theopen and said urgently, “Come back inside—-”

Aurora shook her head and interrupted her, saying, “No, you have to be the one to co, and we don’t have much tiestured for Soleil to come down “Come on, hurry!”

Sliding her feet into her slippers, she hurried down the stairs and opened the front door “Won’t you dry yourself first—-”

Despite the shivers racking her body, Aurora still shook her head “Let’s go,” she insisted between chattering teeth

“But Aurora—-” Her senses prickled as she stared at her sister Soht But what?

Aurora’s brown eyes blazed “Are you going to leave me here to freeze to death?”

And finally, Soleil realized as bothering her—-

Aurora’s still dripping goas made of blue silk

She sed “Aurora?”

“What?” Aurora sto or what?”

Staring at her sister, Soleil heard herself ask, “Why is your goet?”

Aurora laughed, answering lightly, “Would you believe me if I told you it was because I fell into the ocean?”

“I see” Soleil forced herself to laugh even as words of the soul seer’s vision flashed in her mind

Blue

The shade of her death

Blue—-

Like the sound of the ocean with its crashing waves, like silk tainted with evil and tarnished dreams—-