I laid in bed, my hands resting atop my chest, with my fingers curled into my palms. Shadows cast by restless trees outside the window skittered across the ceiling, and skeletal shapes sent shivers across my skin.

How had so much changed so quickly? Hours ago, in this very bed, Calix had shown me pleasure I didn't think was possible, and he'd claimed me as his. Forever. The trials ahead hadn't seemed so great with once the bond stretched between us like a shining, tangible thread of the love we shared.

And now I had no choice but to sever it.

An ache spread through me, turning my bones hollow as I turned to my side. After Orla announced her ultimatum, Calix had snapped completely, and the iron chains around him had groaned and flexed as he fought to free himself. The queen's beautiful face paled, and she struck him three times to render him unconscious.

Cyra dragged me from the throne room, saving me from watching his limp form dragged away, and all the while my skin stretched tighter and tighter, burning as it struggled to contain whatever it was that wanted out.

Three days. That's all I had to decide mine and Calix's fate. The princess promised she would figure out another way. There had to be some law her mother had broken, or someone with greater power who would stand against her. I thanked her, my cracked heart trembling as my mind whispered it would be no use. The Autumn Queen had tricked and trapped us.

Throwing back the covers, I slipped into the translucent robe beside my bed and walked to the window. It reminded me of my last day in the human realm, when I had accepted that death was coming for me, and perhaps that memory should offer some comfort. After all, I hadn't died in the human realm, but if I'd known this was what I was coming back for, would I have chosen to stay?

A hot tear streaked down my cheek. I didn't bother to wipe it away. Yes. If I'd known this would be the end, I would have come back just to have last night with Calix. I could hold on to that memory until it crumbled at the edges, and maybe when it faded into the centuries, the pain would have faded too.

That was a doomed hope because I wouldn't just be carrying my pain but Calix's, too. He would hate me for choosing this. For choosing a beating heart over a whole one.

Behind me, the door creaked, and I turned around quickly. "Cyra? Lorcan?"

The last name I said roughly, rage fueling my feet across the room. The former king had not shown his face once since Calix was summoned, and he had not come to me since then. If he had been watching me as he was supposed to, I expected he would have followed us to the throne room, and he would have heard everything.

No one was at the door, but when I peered down the corridor, I caught sight of a flickering blue light just before it turned the corner.

Tightening the robe against my body, I debated the wisdom of chasing a light in Faerie. Will-o'-the-wisps were dangerous fairies that had led many a mortal and magical being to their doom, but they stayed in their forests, so I doubted the light was one.

It could very well be another trap. Perhaps another way for Orla to bind me to her. If my life, my heart, and my potential magic were not enough already. I didn't know what else I had to offer.

Yet... As I crept into the hallway, I could not shake the feeling that I needed to follow the light. The stones beneath my bare feet were cold as I sprinted to close the distance, and I made the turn just in time to see the light dart up a narrow staircase, its cool glow bouncing off the walls as it ascended.

"Cyra?" I called out again, palm resting on the wall at the base of the stairs as I caught my breath.

The Autumn Court was known for their shapeshifting abilities, and while I was certain the princess could take the form of a fox, I couldn't rule out the possibility that she could take other forms. Niamh certainly wasn't limited to the blue hawk.

Niamh. I inched away from the stairs. What if she had somehow entered the palace, and this was her way of kidnapping me? Calix would throttle me when he found out how blindly I'd followed this damn thing.

The light whizzed back down the stairs and rushed toward me, its brilliance nearly blinding me now that it was so close. A gentle buzzing filled my ears, and in it, I could hear something soothing. Reassuring. And I knew it was not an enemy.

"Alright," I muttered, holding my hand over my watering eyes. "Do you want me to follow you?"

It buzzed louder and zipped around me like a playful puppy. Sparks flew off it and settled on my skin like warm kisses.

"Can you...Can you help me save Calix?"

Its light flickered and dimmed, but only for a second. Then it moved up and down like a nod. Whatever awaited me—salvation or doom—it didn't matter. It couldn't be worse than what Queen Orla wanted from me.

"Then lead the way," I replied, inhaling deeply and following it upward into the blackness.

Up and up and up I went, following that demented light. I'd read a book once about the heroine training to go up and down ten thousand stairs, and I thought I might have surpassed that number by the time I reached the door at the top. Leaning into the door frame, I sucked in several deep breaths to fight off the wave of dizziness.

The little light was not a fan of taking breaks, and it zipped around me, butting up against my arms and back as if to push me forward. It turned red and spit sparks when I waved it away. Only then did I force myself to move again, too afraid that I might anger it and end up stranded at the top of...wherever we were...for nothing.

"Okay, Okay," I muttered, tremors wracking my legs as I followed it.

Dense gray fog clung to the ground. My steps barely disturbed it. On either side of me along the narrow walkway were low walls. Low-hanging clouds obscured anything beyond a few inches in front of me, and I was grateful I had never struggled with claustrophobia. Between the fog, the clouds, and the walls, I felt rather trapped.

The little light didn't seem to mind, and the mist cleared around it, creating a trail for me to follow whenever it flew too far ahead. I rubbed my arms to generate a bit of warmth and wished I'd known to grab a coat rather than the flimsy robe.

Then the clouds parted, and the fog vanished, leaving me with no other thought than pure awe as I stared at a circular platform floating over a sea of starlight and diamond. And in the very center of the platform was a giant flower with translucent opal petals curving upward to form a chalice. The light hovered over the flower, its light diminished by the glow rising out of the flower's center.

I stepped onto the platform and approached the flower cautiously. Through the thin petals, I could see some sort of viscous fluid sloshing about, and the smell of mountain pine and ozone permeated the air.

"What is this?" I asked, peering over the edge of the flower. The thing was big enough that Lorcan or Calix could have both climbed in and had room to stretch their long legs.

The light hummed and grew so bright I had to look away. When at last the light faded, I gasped to find the outline of a female in its place. She had no features, but I had the distinct impression that she smiled at me as she moved a hand over the flower.

"This is the Coire. The heart and origin of all magic in this realm."

"B-but how?" I demanded, hand going over my mouth as I stared at it. Calix had described it as a great beam of light coming up from the depths of a pool of starlight. While the pool seemed to be accurate, this was a far gentler, more feminine power than what he had described.

"Every palace in Faerie was built on a Ley line, and those who have the power and know the way can use them to travel great distances." She answered my spoken question first. "As for how it appears, the Coire appears differently to some, especially when approached without an audience. Some claim its appearance reflects your soul."

I swallowed. Surely not. The thing before me was beautiful beyond anything I had ever witnessed. Colors I had no name for flickered in the depths of each glass petal as it caught the starlight in the surrounding pool.

Shaking off my awe, I focused on the important questions clamoring for attention in my mind. "If this was available all along, why didn't Calix and Lorcan use a Ley Line to take us directly there? Then we would have had no need to pass through the Autumn Court."

And I would not be faced with such a terrible choice.

"They do not have the power or know the way." The outline rippled, and she looked into the Coire. "It has been lost for some time now."

"What do I need to do?"

"Bind yourself to Faerie and shed your human skin."

"And choose the Summer Court so Orla cannot command me to marry?" I grew excited and stepped closer to the Coire. I could keep Calix.

"You can..."

Her voice faded away. I sighed. "But?"

"But the better way is to allow the Coire to decide."

"The damn thing is a Sorting Hat then," I grumbled, rolling my shoulders back. "But if it binds me to the Autumn Court, then I am still under her jurisdiction. She will be within her rights to punish Calix and force me to marry another. And if it binds me to any other Court but Summer, then I could be in the same situation with another queen."

"Then perhaps that is what is meant to be."

"It can't be!" I shouted, recoiling from the Coire. "Fate could not have bound my soul to his if we were meant to be separated like that. I would rather not live at all than to live a half life without him."

"Then you must trust that the Coire will choose the right path."

Those were my choices then. To either choose Summer and know that I would be free to be with Calix, or to trust this thing to make the right decision for me. But if Summer was the right thing, then why did it matter? Why was the light making a big deal out of it if the result was to be the same?

Making up my mind, I filled my lungs and looked into the Coire. "Okay. Tell me how to do this."

She smiled. Or at least, I thought she did. Cupping her hands, she dipped it into the liquid. "Drink this and be reborn."