Thessa's POV
"Don't let her in."
Erynd's voice cuts through my panic. He appears in the passage behind Maren's shadow, his silver eyes glowing with warning.
"She can't enter without your permission," he continues, speaking directly to me through the ice wall. "The sanctuary only opens to those who carry the goddess's essence. And only if you invite them."
"Sister, don't listen to him." Maren's voice drips with false sweetness. "He's kept you prisoner here. Filled your head with lies about me, about Cadeirin. I came to save you—"
"Save me?" I laugh but it sounds hysterical even to my own ears. "You orchestrated my rejection. You stole my mate. You put a curse on me when I was a baby!"
Silence. Long and heavy.
Then Maren laughs. Really laughs. The sound is nothing like her usual sweet giggle. This is cold. Ancient. Wrong.
"Oh good," she says. "You know. That makes this so much easier."
