Page 87 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

I ran to her.

It occurred to me later that it could have been a decoy, a god veiled to look like Epiphany, or a trap.

But at that moment, I didn’t care. I hit my knees beside her and cradled her cheeks between my hands.

She screamed and jerked away from me, her pupils dilated so large they took over her irises, black pools of terror.

Right. The ghost light didn’t work for her.

But she was alive.

She was alive.

“Epiphany,” I whispered. “It’s me.”

“Val?” Her voice trembled, tears streaking down her face and creating tracks over the dust that coated her skin.

“We’re going to get you out of here.”

Troshon growled, a warning flashing in his eyes. He must sense something. Epiphany shuddered against me, leaning into my shoulder, and I struggled to pull away from her. “Someone’s coming, but I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t leave me,” she whimpered, so pitifully it tore at my heart.

“I’m not. I promise.”

She wept again, her body dropping into itself like she acquiesced.

Oh, gods.

Troshon hissed, and I grazed my hands over her arm once more before following him as he slipped into shadows and between a crevice. Large creatures with the heads of bulls—minotaurs—ambled past us and stopped before Epiphany. One reached out and gave her chains a rattle, causing another whimper to peel from her lips and rent through my soul before shrugging a shoulder and they both returned to the darkness.

Troshon changed forms beside me and whispered, “Her manacles are locked.”

“Do you think we could break them?”

He frowned. “I’m going to see if I can find a key. Don’t go to her while I’m gone. You won’t hear the guards coming.”

“But—”

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I swallowed. I wouldn’t help Epiphany if I got myself killed. “All right.”

He bobbed his head and then transformed and slipped back into the dark.

Sitting there, the ghost light reflected over one side of Epiphany, highlighting the matts in her hair, the rust-colored stains on her dress from blood—a great deal of blood. She whimpered again, and it tore through me.

Gods, this was torment. Waiting and watching her suffer and not being able to resolve it.

Troshon reappeared, a key in his mouth which he dropped on the ground before shifting forms. “I’ll keep watch,” he said.

I grasped the key and ran over to Epiphany, rocks scattering with my motion. Epiphany winced away from me, and I whispered into her hair. “It’s me, Pip.”

“Val.” She swallowed, her voice hoarse.

I unlocked the manacles, and Epiphany moaned as her hands dropped by her side. I pulled her into my arms gently as she sucked in air over teeth, and her muscles tensed against me.

“It’s okay.”

She breathed into my neck, and I brushed my fingers over the gritty texture of her hair, bumping against leaves caught in her curls. “I’ve hurt my shoulder pretty badly.”