by Brenda Drake
Arik towed me into his arms, and I clung to him.
“How did he die?”
“Veronique,” he said, his voice holding as much pain as I felt.
“Lei.” I coughed on the sobs rushing out of me. “Lei. Where is she?”
“They took her to Asile,” he said, swallowing hard. “She’s distraught. Shocked.”
I buried my head into the warmth of Arik’s arms and cried. Now was the time to mourn, but I made a secret pact to Kale, Faith, and Gian. I would stop Conemar. I would get Nick back. And I wouldn’t stop until there was justice for what was taken that day.
Chapter Thirty
The days went by in a blur of funerals and healing. The sunsets in Asile were beautiful, a watercolor painting of blues, reds, and oranges. The vibrant sky was in deep contrast to the heart heavy in my chest, varying shades of black and gray.
I stared out the window, fingering Faith’s charm around my neck. It was all I had left to remember her. The Red had disappeared after the battle, and I wondered where he was hiding. There were so many unanswered questions I had. He was against the Wizard Council, but he had helped us fight Conemar. Why? And why had he jumped to Santara right before it was attacked? I would never get my answers unless I sought him out.
I was vaguely aware of the pendant clanking against the glass locket with Pip’s feather in it. A depressive fog separated me from the world.
A search for Nick turned up no leads. There were no sightings of Conemar traveling the gateway books or entering any of the havens or Mystik cities. Conemar and his legion of creeps seemed to have disappeared into the human world.
Hundreds of prisoners from the Somnium had escaped to Esteril. Fear grabbed hold of every creature in the Mystik world. The Wizard Council fueled the fear by holding siege on Esteril, surrounding the haven with charms to keep its people from leaving. The innocents were locked in with the villains. Protests erupted around the havens to free the innocents of Esteril.
During the fight, the man posing as Emily’s uncle fled. Emily was an orphan. Several years ago, Conemar had stolen Ruth Ann Proctor’s spirit from the secret graveyard and put it into Emily, a descendent. She was the only one who could host Ruth Ann’s Bane witch powers. Emily had been born a Pure witch, like Nana Kearns. When Emily crossed Conemar and sided with us, he removed the spirit from her. Now Emily was weak, her health failing. Nana had taken her in and was working to find a cure.
Emily had spelled Arik and I wasn’t sure if I could forgive her. But really, what did it matter? The damage was done. Just as a river couldn’t change its course, I couldn’t change the direction my heart was heading. Even if a tiny part of me still longed to rush back to Arik.
Bastien’s strong arms wrapped around me from behind and he rested his chin on my shoulder. “You’re in deep thought, mon amour. Tell me what’s troubling you. I sense a struggle inside you.” Bastien kissed my neck, sending prickles across my skin. “I will remove all your worries if you let me.”
I turned to face him. “I’m just sad. I can’t believe Faith and Kale are gone…and…Gian.”
Tears trickled from the corners of my eyes. Bastien cupped my face and wiped them away with his thumbs. His touch was gentle and full of love. His best quality was compassion.
“One day there will be happy times again.” His beautiful blue eyes held so much warmth in them I couldn’t look away. “All of this will be over, and we’ll have celebrations. We’ll love and be loved. For now, we grieve those we lost, and when we’re done, we’ll emerge stronger than we were before. In the memory of our dead, we will strike down those who killed them.”
He lowered his head, and I tilted mine to meet his lips. The warmth and softness of his kiss sent all my doubts about us flying away. He smoothed the hair away from my face and cradled my head in his hands. I pressed my body against his. My nerve endings ignited, sending sparks across my body and melting the coldness festering inside me.
A light tap came from my door. I ignored it, kissing him as though he could remove all the pain rotting my soul. It hurt to think. It hurt to remember what had happened to my friends. What happened with Arik wasn’t fair, but I belonged with Bastien.
The door clicked open.
“Gia?” Afton sounded uncertain about entering the room.
Bastien slipped out of our embrace, and coldness reclaimed me. I tore my gaze away from his hypnotizing blues.
“Hey.” I gave Afton a welcoming smile.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can come back?”
“No, no, we were just saying our farewells.” Bastien kissed my cheek. “I must get back to Couve. Augustin has fallen ill. My people need me. I will return soon, or maybe you can come and visit for a time.”
“I’d love that.” I hated lying to him. We were going into hiding, and I wouldn’t be able to make that trip.
I wasn’t safe there.
The protestors outside the castle wanted me arrested. Said it was my fault that every prisoner in the Somnium had escaped. That the lives those criminals took fell on my head. So Carrig was taking me into hiding. Not even the Wizard Council would know where we went.
Carrig had made me promise to keep our plan from Bastien. It would be better for him if he didn’t know we were running away. He could get in major trouble keeping such a secret, especially since he was next in line to be Couve’s high wizard. I watched him take long strides to the door, knowing that I might not see him for a while. “And Bastien?”
He turned. “Yes?”
“Know that while we’re apart, I’ll be thinking about you.”
A sweet smile reached his eyes. “And I, you.” He moved past Afton and closed the door behind him. I turned and faced the window to regain my composure.
Afton crossed the carpet and stood at the window with me. “It’s quiet today.”
“Yeah, guess the protestors needed a break.”
“Are you doing okay?”
“I’ve been better.” I fixed a smile on my face.
“Carrig wanted me to tell you to get ready.” She stared at an old leather knapsack in her hands. “You leave tonight. Professor Attwood—I mean, High Wizard Attwood— Or do we call him Philip now, like we called Merl by his name? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned…”
I slipped my hand into hers and squeezed it lightly. “I think everyone gets confused about that. You should call him Philip, I think.”
She nodded and looked at her hands. “Anyway, he will remove Pip to clean his perch. That’s when you’ll all go.”
“Are you sure you want to stay here?”
Afton’s hesitation told me she wanted to say something other than what she would say. “I’ll be fine here. So will your pop.”
“You’re going to face a lot of heat if they discover you had anything to do with us running away.”
“What are they going to do?” She smiled. “Ground me? Come on”—she bumped my shoulder with hers—“I’ll help you pack.” She held up the knapsack. “It’s Professor, um, Philip’s bag. It’s all I could find.”
“It’ll do.” I bumped her shoulder back and took the bag. “You and Pop are leaving soon, right?”
“Yes. With Nana.” Her smile was like a whisper on her face, soft and barely there. “Pop will be fine. He’ll be with Nana. They’re going to a witch’s safe house.”
“I know. Nana will take good care of him until—” Thinking about all the possible outcomes, I couldn’t finish my sentence. Instead, I inspected the bag.
“Promise me something, okay?” she said.
I looked up from searching the pockets. “Sure.”
“Bring Nick back.” She strolled over to the wardrobe and started riffling inside it. “I can hardly think or eat since he was taken. I don’t think I can live without him.”
I dropped the knapsack on the bed, then shuffled over to her and towed her into a hug. “I won’t stop until I find him.”
She buried her nose into my shoulder and sniffled. “I
worry about what that monster is doing to him.”
Me, too. But I didn’t tell her that. Instead, I just held her and let her cry. Pushing my fears and worries where they belonged—out of sight.
...
In the early morning hours, when all of Asile slept, a band of Sentinels, a faery, a Malailes, and a Changeling jumped through the gateway book into the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. Because I was shielded, I was last, in case Pip was returned to his perch before we all could transport. I didn’t bother igniting a light globe, letting the dark and cold envelop me. I glided through the blackness with my arms outstretched and my body weightless. The dim light of the library shocked my eyes as I landed out of the book and onto the glossy floor.
The heels of my boots click-clacked down the long corridor between the tall bookcases lining each side. Our trench coats rustled in the quiet. The white busts of men were like bodiless ghosts floating in front of the tall black bookcases.
Sinead pulled her bucket hat down over her ears. Cadby’s wings made a hump under his trench coat. With the knit beanie on his head, he sort of resembled a heavyweight boxer with yellow skin. Deidre bit her lip. She hadn’t said much since Nick had been captured. I understood her worry. I was also scared. If he ever came back, would he be the same old Nick?
Arik and Jaran flanked us, on alert for a possible threat. Lei took up the rear, her back straight, her face expressionless. She had struggled with the loss of Kale, but kept her Sentinel demeanor. She avoided speaking about him or talking at all, really. Jaran said the curers had given her something to help her deal with the loss.
“Where’s the entry into Tearmann?” I asked Carrig when we stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.
“We won’t be going to Tearmann,” he said, removing a thin gold rod from the inside pocket of his trench coat. “There be no way to keep you safe in the havens. Our little hideout be some place no one knows about. A secret place of me own. It’ll be grand, you’ll see.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Deidre said. “It’s a cottage. And it’s not at all grand.”
Sinead frowned at her. “Don’t listen to her, Gia. It’s quaint.”
“As long as we don’t get killed before we arrive there,” Jaran said, adjusting his backpack, “it could be a flea’s nest, for all I care. A tent and a warm fire would suit me fine.”
Arik’s hand brushed against mine, and he leaned close. “It doesn’t matter where we are, so long as you are there.” His whisper tickled my ear, and my pulse raced. There was no place I’d rather him be than beside me. We were a team. Trained to fight together and guard each other’s backs. Whatever internal battles we had didn’t matter. Our mission was to stop Conemar, destroy the Tetrad, and save both worlds. Or die trying.
A shudder ran up my spine, and I fastened the top button on my trench coat.
A light drizzle welcomed us as we stepped outside. Dublin was asleep. The brick roads slick and quiet, only a few early risers passed us. The buildings hugged the roads, and their doors and frames were painted vibrant colors. Not many lights shone throughout the city at such an early hour. The sun wouldn’t make an appearance for a few hours, and Carrig wanted us to be out of the city before then.
We moved quickly through the business and residential blocks, weaving our way to the outer limits of the city. Soon the city streets turned into country lanes. Rolling green hills spread out for miles, dotted with white rocks. Dogs barked at each other off in the distance. The muddy ground sucked at my boots and slowed my steps.
My feet were killing me. “We’ve been walking for almost an hour. Why aren’t we driving?”
“There wasn’t time to arrange it,” Carrig said.
I grabbed at a pain in my side. “How much farther do we have to go?”
“Do we need a bit of rest or do you want to continue?” Carrig shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand. “We’re merely miles from our destination.”
“We should continue on,” Arik said. “The sooner we get Cadby out of sight the better.”
Deidre clomped up and kept step with me. “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m hanging in there, and you?”
“Worried. About Nick. It’s good that you’re back,” she said. “We were so concerned. Pop was beside himself.” She watched her steps. “Besides, the room’s kind of quiet without you.”
I cut a sidelong glance at her and smiled. “I missed you too, sis.”
She walked alongside me for a while. We talked about Faith, musing over the silly things she had said, and about how her cooking was horrible. When we had nothing more to say, she trailed off to offer everyone the scones she had taken from the kitchen before leaving.
I picked at mine and kicked rocks off to the side of the bumpy road. My steps slowed, and I was a little bit behind the others, watching the clouds drift in front of the sun, then drift away.
Arik trotted back to me. “Is there something wrong? Do you need a rest?”
I glanced up. The others were far ahead of us. “I’m fine. I just got lost in my thoughts.”
A beam of light escaped the gray clouds, and he squinted against its light. “About Bastien?” he asked.
“Yeah. And other stuff.”
We locked stares for several seconds before his mouth curved into a smile. “Follow your heart. That is all I ask. If it leads to Bastien, I will step aside. Now, don’t fall too far behind.” He winked and picked up his pace, leaving me alone to digest my thoughts.
Carrig led the way down a road shielded by trees. I couldn’t pull my gaze from Arik’s back. The shadows danced across his muscled frame, and every few strides he’d move into a patch of light that hit the golden strands hidden in his dark hair. How did I draw the long stick to have two guys, whose hearts were just as beautiful as they were, want me? I worried my lip.
The sun hit me as we came out of the trees. I lifted my face to the sky, soaking in the warmth on my skin. I climbed up a hill after the rest of the group, pushing my thoughts and worries from my mind. Carrig and the others paused at the top of the hill and stared down at the valley below. I stopped in between Deidre and Carrig.
Nestled in the valley between two hills that seemed familiar to me were three small cottages. One of which had smoke snaking from its chimney. Rocky walls cut through the green pastures in a disarray of patterns.
“I’ve seen this before,” I said to Carrig. “It’s from the memory you showed me of your past. You practiced your fighting here. This is where you grew up, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” He patted my back. “Now yours, as well. I lived here with your mother once. It was one of the happiest times of me life.”
“That was before we met,” Sinead teased, and headed down the hill. “And now, every day is his happiest, so I like to believe.”
Carrig chased after her. “I wasn’t meaning that our time together hasn’t been just as happy.”
She wrapped her arm around his back, and he encircled his around hers. “You big oaf,” she said. “You forget I’m Fey. I know your true feelings. If I didn’t, comments like that would have chased me away long ago.”
Royston came out of the cottage. He had his shirt off, which didn’t surprise me.
Deidre’s mouth gaped. “Who’s that?”
“Thor,” I mumbled.
“Huh?” She flipped me a quizzical look.
“That’s Royston.”
“You mean the one?”
I watched her suspiciously. “Yeah, apparently he’s going to save all human and Mystik kind.”
“He looks like a god,” she swooned, and clambered down the hill.
Demos came around the corner of the cottage, spotted us, and waved.
Arik scrambled down the hill and paused just below me. His brows pushed together as he gazed at me curiously, reaching his hand out. “Are you coming?”
As I stared down at the glorious site of the Ireland farmland, I knew what I had to do. I was surer of my feelings than
ever before.
I ignored his hand and scrambled down the hill. Arik kept pace beside me.
Wherever my chosen path took me, I knew it would lead me to where I belonged.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my agent, Peter Knapp, my strength during moments when I was weak, especially when I had tough decisions to make about this series. I’m so grateful for all the support and kindness you extend me. This book wouldn’t be in the great hands it’s in now if you hadn’t helped it get there.
With that said, an abundant amount of gratitude goes to my publisher and editor, Liz Pelletier, whose hands it did land in. Without you, this story wouldn’t be the one it is today. Thank you for believing in this story and working tirelessly to help make this book and series the best it can be.
A special thank you to Stacy Abrams for helping with edits. Your talent and eye for details amazes me. I’m so happy you had a hand in shaping this book. A warm thanks to Lydia Sharp for your additional edits. You have a sharp (pun intended) eye for details. I so appreciate it.
And many thanks to the entire Entangled Publishing team that worked on this book from editing to cover design to marketing and everything in between. Thank you for making my books pretty and getting them into readers’ hands.
Thank you, Jami Nord for the critique of this book. You are always so good to me. To Pintip Dunn for reading this book and for always being there when I need a shove to keep writing or an ear to hear all my concerns and fears. To Heather Cashman for reading this book and giving me your honest opinions. A huge thank you to Marieke Nijkamp for her early notes on this story. You are simply the best and it was greatly appreciated.
To Laura Jayne and Sabrina Simmonds for beta reading this book and giving me great notes and warm fuzzies. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to know you both. Thank you for making me smile often!
To my writer friends here in Albuquerque who meet for coffee whenever we can (we miss you Veronica Bartles), to the wonderful Pitch Wars community, and my online friends, thank you for keeping me company and just for being genuinely awesome.
