Chapter 1One year later…
Rue Yarrow walked through his garden. The flowers stretched to meet his fingers as he moved his hand near them. A little trickle of energy fell like golden drops and melted into their petals. They should be asleep—flowers and men alike—but Rue couldn’t sleep.
He feared he’d never sleep again. Not for more than a few minutes at a time, at least. The moment his eyes closed, the darkness took form and slicing pain engulfed him.
He might be able to keep a plant alive with minimal effort, but he was fading.
Gertrude forced him to speak a few sentences every day, forced him to eat, and he hated her for it. He would have melted away into nothingness if it hadn’t been for her. And now she was forcing him to move out. She claimed she wasn’t, but he could see what was ha
