The dagger disappeared into the Void with the same sense of un-existing that had swallowed Wren earlier.
As Alaric threw it, Rowan shuffled forward on unsteady legs, searching for the butterfly but unable to find it at first because the illusion was so faint. He spotted it halfway across the pond, skimming over the tops of the lilies on wings as clear as glass.
Loma had risen to her feet behind him. Both she and Alaric had gone completely still as they waited with him for some kind of sign that his sacrifice had been enough.
Rowan's stomach sank when the butterfly dropped mid-flight toward a part of the pond that was exposed between two clusters of lilies.
The wisp of Wren's magic vanished the instant before it grazed the surface of the Void.
Rowan's heart had been racing this whole time, but now it seemed to lurch to a stop.
He blinked, hoping he was imagining things, but he wasn't. The butterfly was gone.
