Page 146 of The Cost of Blood and Bonds

Later. I can comfort her later. Right now, I need to get her out.

“We need to go.” I’m already fumbling with the keys hanging on the wall. “Father knows. He’s coming to kill you.”

Her face goes pale.

The lock clicks open, and I grab her hand, pulling her out, already running.

“This way⁠—”

Footsteps crunch on the gravel behind us, heavy and deliberate. Father’s.

I drag her down the corridor, taking the back passage that leads to the southern grounds. We burst into the night air. The gardens stretch before us, silver and shadow in the moonlight.

“Rye—Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.” I don’t slow.

We cut through the hedgerows, past the rose arbors, deeper into the gardens, away from the castle, away from him.

But even as we run, the truth settles over me. Where is it safe? He’ll find her. He has magic, guards, resources, an entire kingdom at his disposal. She can run; she can hide, but he’ll never stop hunting her, and eventually he’ll catch her. Unless she has power too. The thought hits me so hard I stop dead.

She crashes into my back.

“Rye? What⁠—”

“The trials.” I spin to face her. My whole body is vibrating with the certainty of it. “The trials.”

She stares at me. “What?”

“If you go through the trials, you’ll awaken, and you’ll have magic.” The words tumble out of me half-formed and breathless. “He can’t touch you then, not as easily. You’d have a fighting chance.”

“The trials that kill people?” Her voice is frantic. “Tides, Rye⁠—”

“Just one night.” I grip her shoulders. “I’ll meet you tomorrow morning in the trials.”

“Rye, that’s insane⁠—”

I can feel the tension radiating off her, restless and tight, like her whole body is fighting the urge to run.

“It’s the only way.” I cup her face and force her to look at me. “He will never stop, Ella. Never. You know that; you know what he’s capable of.”

She goes still. Surprise or maybe confusion crosses her face, like I’ve said something she didn’t expect. Then she blinks, and it’s gone.

The dungeon gate creaks open. Footsteps and voices follow.

“We have to go. Now.”

I grab her hand, and we run deeper into the gardens. The castle looms behind us, windows blazing with light from the ball. Somewhere back there, Father is realizing the dungeon cell is empty.

I don’t stop until we reach the southeastern corner of the gardens. The Weeping Woods entrance rises before us, an arch carved into the imposing stone wall, ancient and foreboding. Unnatural fog rolls through the opening, thick and impenetrable, swallowing any glimpse of what lies beyond.

“Rye.” She’s gasping, pulling at my hand. “I can’t do this⁠—”

“Listen to me.” I turn to face her, gripping her shoulders. “There’s a reason the nobles and royals always survive. There are safe houses hidden throughout the Weeping Woods. They’re stocked with food, water, weapons—everything we need. We just have to move between them.”

Her eyes widen.

“The first one is about a half mile in, due north.” I’m reciting it from memory now, the instructions Hayes drilled into me. “There’s a ravine with a boulder at the bottom. On the eastern side of the rock face, look for a knot in the stone. Press it in, turn it left twice, then right once. You’ll hear a click, then the door opens.”