Chapter 164

Maeve’s POV

I had no way of knowing exactly how many hours had passed since I’d awoken in my mother’s underground spell room, deep within the castle’s winding halls. But after those long, torturous stretches of time, I was certain it must be dusk by now. The faint glow filtering through the narrow slits in the stone walls confirmed it.

I leaned back against the bed’s rough wooden frame and drew in a shaky breath. Draven still hadn’t returned, and I hadn’t seen Luther or Seraphine since I came to. The only faces I’d glimpsed were Marcello’s and Nyxara’s when they’d come to collect my blood, and I sensed Lennox just beyond those heavy doors, unable—or unwilling—to meet my eyes again.

I closed my lids against the dim light, and tears slipped free. They never seemed to stop, even now that the end was so cl