by Kresley Cole
I stopped in my tracks. "I can't believe you're using my heartache to pitch me an overthrow of Aric's home--"
"Heads up!" Joules cried as shapes materialized in the cave.
Kentarch and Jack appeared, dragging something with them.
I stumbled to Jack, wrapping my arms around him. Relief flooded me, until I registered blood. "You're hurt!" My hands flew over him, checking for injuries, brushing away crimson snow.
"Not my blood, peekon. I'm fine." He looked wiped out, but in good spirits.
Kentarch certainly was. "Your hunter deserves the name. He took down a lion with merely a crossbow."
Joules crouched beside the creature. Its lifeless eyes stared at nothing. "Fauna's got a lion on her card."
In the previous games, they'd surrounded her. I'd once asked her why she now favored wolves. All business, she'd said, "Better suited for the terrain here."
Lark would be furious at this loss. "Jack, I thought you were going to snare a hedgehog or something." When he reeled against me, I said, "You need to sit and rest."
"Bonne idee." Good idea. He all but collapsed by the fire.
Sitting beside him, I stroked damp hair from his forehead. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
Kentarch answered for him. "He carried this game through the snow--what should have been an impossible feat--while the Archangel bore down on him."
Joules's head whipped up. "You saw my boyo?"
Jack nodded. "Since when did he grow wing claws?"
"One of his cult elders said that he'd grow 'em eventually, along with his wings getting bigger and tougher. Must be all the food he's tucking away at the castle." Joules bit out a curse. "I canna believe he's still under the influence."
"Gabe was twisted." Jack looked at me. "Is that what Dominija was like?"
"Worse. Gabriel doesn't have a history with you or a reason to hate you. And you're not an Arcana."
Joules poked the lion carcass with his javelin. "Is this one of her familiars?" Poke. Poke. "What if it comes back to life?"
Kentarch assessed the animal. "Aren't her familiars giant like those wolves?"
I shook my head. "No, the wolves grew so big because they drank her blood when they were pups. Her falcon is a normal size. This lion could be connected to her."
Joules stumbled back. "Can we eat a familiar?"
Jack said, "After what I just did to bring that back, we're goan to clean its goddamned bones."
At this point, I had no qualms about dining on one of Lark's creatures, but what would lion taste like? Would I be able to keep it down? "We probably want to cut its head off as quickly as possible." We? Right now, I couldn't cut butter with a hot knife.
Kentarch gestured toward Joules. "You and I will take it outside to butcher."
"Tarch, I'm more on the consumption end of things. Less production, you understand? But I'm an ace baster."
"Now, Tower."
As the two hauled up the lion, Jack started to rise, but Kentarch waved him down. "Stay and rest." Catching my gaze, he said, "I'm sure you have much to tell each other." So he hadn't revealed my secret.
Perfect. I'd get to.
At the cave entrance, Kentarch turned back and told Jack, "A lion marked me when I was young, nearly taking my life"--he'd never volunteered anything about his childhood to me and Joules--"but now one will save us from starving. Good work, hunter."
Jack gave him solemn nod. "Thanks for the ride, podna."
This exchange reminded me of how people responded to Jack. He commanded loyalty because folks genuinely liked him. Aric commanded loyalty out of fear.
Once we were alone, Jack pulled off his bow and bug-out bag. "Adrenaline's wearing off." He snagged a flask from his coat pocket.
When he offered me a drink, I held up a hand. "All good." Just seeing his face was a luxury for me. He was safe. Warm. Larger than life. I leaned in closer to him.
One of my biggest regrets was never telling him that I loved him. How would he react to those three words? And to my news?
He took a swig, then stared into the flames. Was he remembering his harrowing escape from Richter?
Needing to comfort him, I took his hand in mine.
He turned to me, and a marked longing lit his gaze. Then he tapped my ring. "So, you and Dominija, huh?"
Voice soft, I said, "I thought you were dead. We all did."
"That's all that needs to be said, then." He took another drink. "You get hitched?"
"Not officially in this life. Kind of a leftover from the last game." Aric had never considered us not hitched. Not even when he'd been trying to behead me.
"I'd love to see the look on the Reaper's face when Gabe tells him I'm alive." I could only imagine Aric's fury. "Still can't believe he attacked you."
"Paul reverses a card, bringing out an Arcana's worst traits. You can actually see a tableau turning upside down. Aric's resistance to change and his rage were brought to the fore. His unresolved anger over the past spilled into the present, and he hated me. He truly would've killed me."
"Tell me everything that happened."
Staring at Jack's beloved face, rememorizing every feature, I told him about the Hanged Man and his powers. About Finn's poisoning and Lark and Aric's attack. About Gabriel and Joules rescuing me, and Kentarch saving the day.
Jack took it all in. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why weren't you affected by the Hanged Man?"
"Aric once told me I'm immune to brainwashing after my run-in with the Hierophant." But I didn't know why I'd escaped a reversal. After recounting everything to Jack, I began to see how distinct those powers were.
His fists clenched as he said, "I'm goan to kill the Hanged Man for what he's done to you. And Finn too."
"The problem is how. I didn't tell the others this"--I glanced at the cave entrance and lowered my voice--"but I clawed him and nothing happened."
"He regenerates like you?"
"It's hard to explain. His skin was simply unaffected. Aric told me he's invulnerable to harm."
Jack muttered a curse. "You think there's any way to lure the Reaper out of that dome? Gabe didn't seem keen to leave it."
"Nor Aric. He believes it protects him from my spellbinding, bringing him much-needed clarity. Since my escape, I've tried to goad him into leaving, but he refuses."
"How'd you talk to him?"
"Kentarch has a satellite phone that still works. I called Aric a couple of times. He's cruel. Jack, you can't believe how cruel." He'd been about to make me beg, had enjoyed my tears. Before I went down that rabbit hole, I said, "Let's talk about something else, okay?" I still needed to tell Jack about the baby, but he looked so whipped with exhaustion. "How did you escape from those slavers?"
"The Fool showed up and rescued me."
I raised my brows. "Matthew saved you?"
"In the nick of time too. I'd injured my leg really bad and wasn't long for the world--about to be served up as breakfast for the other slaves. Fucking hate slavers, me." Jack explained the carnage Matthew had caused, and how he'd felt like he hadn't known the Fool at all.
I shuddered. "Where do you think he went?"
"Doan know. And I didn't look for him after he left. Even though he saved my life, we got sideways on some things."
"Like why he allowed all those people to be killed by Richter?"
"Coo-yon said he had a reason. Said he 'sees far.'"
Sounded familiar. Would that be his excuse for letting Finn die?
"I tell myself something worse must've been in store for them." Again, Jack stared into the flames. "Cannibals attacking or the plague. I tell myself his reasoning was pure. Some days I even believe it." Could Finn's fate have been worse?
Yes. Definitely yes.
Jack cleared his throat and faced me. "So, what're the details on Circe?" He didn't want to talk about the massacre any more than I wanted to discuss Aric. "She's the one you fought outside of Fort Arcana?"
"Yes, but she and I have come to an
understanding since then. If free of Paul's influence, she'll try to help us. We just need to find her."
"Okay. We got a plan, at least." After a hesitation, he said, "There's something I need to tell you--"
A commotion at the mouth of the cave announced the return of Kentarch and Joules, with the butchered lion in hand.
"It can wait," Jack murmured to me.
"We wanted to give you more time to talk"--Kentarch set up a spit over the fire--"but hunger calls." Once the lion started to cook, he handed us each a skewer with a slice of raw meat the color of pork.
As we roasted them over the flames, my attention shifted back and forth from Jack--Is he truly here with me?--to the broiling meat. My mouth watered.
Joules inhaled deeply. "Smell that, would you? Hope we don't draw company. This is Richter territory, after all."
Jack rotated his skewer. "When's the last time anyone saw him?"
I said, "A few weeks ago, we encountered him and Zara. She's the Fortune Card, a chopper pilot. I've tangled with her before."
"What's her power?"
"Freakish luck. She can steal it through touch. She was just about to steal mine when Lark and Aric rescued me."
"Richter's targeting food depots," Joules said. "Anything they canna carry back to their lair, he incinerates. No one knows why."
Jack said, "I'd wondered why supplies had dried up even more lately."
"Empress, tell him about Richter's other ally! Ol' Jackie boy will get a kick out of this. And by kick, I mean stroke."
As I reluctantly relayed the highlights of my partnership with Sol, the muscle in Jack's jaw ticked overtime. "Lemme get this straight: he made Baggers dine on you?"
"He also saved our lives from Zara and Richter."
Joules said, "We were in Death's truck, running from quakes. Didn't know we were headed right for a blown-out bridge and would've eaten it for certain. But Sol had his Baggers show us a safer route. You haven't lived till you've seen a Bagger hitchhiking with his thumb out."
True. "Sol's sense of humor is one of the reasons I liked him."
Jack's expression darkened. "And I bet he liked you too."
"Not in that way. He's a big flirt, but his heart is taken." By two. The tragedy of his love life rivaled mine. "Besides, I was so frantic to save you, I was on my worst Empress behavior with him. I'm surprised he could forgive me."
Jack asked, "How do you know which Baggers are . . . helpful? Which ones are under Sol's control?"
"I don't. Odds are against it. He can only sense through a limited number of them at a time, and only when he's awake."
"Like Lark with her animal sentries."
"Exactly," I said, even as I wished Jack didn't have to be versed in this deadly world I'd dragged him into. Arcana insanity.
Joules nodded at the cooking meat. "Looks ready. Let's see if the Empress can keep this down--"
"Because it's really exotic food," I quickly added.
Kentarch cocked his head at me, probably wondering why I hadn't confessed about the baby.
Jack took my skewer from me to blow on it before handing it back. "This'll be good. Good for you too."
I took my first exploratory bite. Lion meat tasted like a cross between pork and beef. "Not bad." Even as Joules and Kentarch chowed down, they kept their eyes on me, as if expecting me to hurl.
But my stomach welcomed this meal like a long-lost love. I dug in, ravenous.
We all did. Jack rolled his eyes with pleasure. Joules had grease smeared over his cheek.
Regeneration fired throughout my body. Aches and pains dwindled as I healed. Energy filled me. Lion meat; who knew?
"Another round of skewers?" Joules asked.
"Absolutely," Kentarch said. "We'll save the rest. If we ration it, we'll have meat for a few days."
After our third helping, I grew sated and warm for the first time in weeks. Jack was here with me, and the future wasn't nearly so bleak.
"Your color's returning, peekon. Amazing what one meal can do. How're your powers? Come on, flex for me."
Joules laughed. "Yeah, Empress, show us some vines." Asshole. "Maybe some after-dinner strawberries?"
"My powers have been a little wonky lately." Changing the subject, I said, "Did Matthew tell you where to find me?"
"Non. I knew you were at Dominija's castle, but he refused to come off the location before he ditched. He did leave me a message though, wrote it in soot. I figured if he took the trouble to write it, I should memorize it." Clearing his throat, Jack said, "The Flash taught them that all dreams are nightmares. They became bad dreamers. All hail the bad dreamers as good."
"What does that mean? Who's he talking about?"
"You're asking me?" Jack sipped his flask.
"So where had you been heading?"
"Up to Azey North."
"To lead them?" That would make sense. As their general once more, he would've been able to recruit scouts to help search for me.
Yet he shook his head. "I just wanted to show my face, me. Not slink away like some coward."
"Wait a minute. You weren't trying to find me?"
Jack scrubbed a palm over his nape. "Matthew told me you were safe with Dominija and your grand-mere. I wanted you to move on with your life."
I couldn't get enough air. "You were going to let me believe that . . . that you were dead?"
Kentarch stood. "We will allow you two to speak in private."
"Feck that!" Joules said. "We're just getting to the popcorn moment."
Kentarch collared him and escorted him out.
Once we were alone again, Jack said, "I was goan to let you live in peace in that stronghold, the one Dominija made sure to describe to me, the one with all the comforts I could never give you."
"Remember how you and I talked about being a team? I asked you not to make decisions all on your own for both of us. But that's what you did!"
"Matthew showed me visions of you in the aftermath of the massacre. I saw--no, I experienced--what you went through to bring me back. I felt you breaking for me, and I couldn't let that happen again."
Had he seen me rocking Tess's skeletal corpse? "It wasn't your decision to make."
"I wanted food and warmth and safety for you. I could only give you more Ash. Hell, I figured I'd be dead soon anyway, so why upset you more? Evie, you looked like you were dancing on a razor's edge."
I had been.
"Coo-yon took me to the graves you made for me and pauvre defunte Selena." Dearly departed. "He told me you were goan to make your way with Dominija. I wanted that for you, no matter how much the idea twisted me up inside me."
Jack loved me more than he loved his own life. I'd known that, but it'd never been so apparent as now.
"I told Matthew to keep my survival secret and let me stay buried."
"Well, he didn't. More than a month ago, he sent me a message of your voice. I thought you might . . . I prayed you'd survived."
"What the hell's he playing at?" Then, seeming to steel himself, he said, "Knowing what I did then, I'd still make the same choice."
My lips parted. "How can you say that?"
"Before the Hanged Man, you had to have been happy with the Reaper. You wear his ring."
"I walled off part of my heart." I'd loved Aric, but it must've been muted by my pain, by the tourniquet I'd used to keep from bleeding out. Twist, tighten, constrict. "I could never give him all of my heart--and he knew that. He thought my powers were suffering because I never fully grieved you." Holding Jack's gaze, I said, "I chose you."
"And you shouldn't have!" He threw a rock into the fire. "Doan you get it? You were goan to have Death either way--either you'd be with the Reaper or you'd die out here with me."
"I'm out here with you now. Of course, you're probably just passing by. At least I'll get to say good-bye this time."
Jack looked at me like I'd just blasphemed. "I woan rest until you're safely out of the Ash. Which means I'll do whatever it takes to get you ba
ck into that castle."
"Even try to defeat Death?"
Hesitation. "Matthew told me the Reaper saved your life when Richter struck. That true?"
I nodded.
"When I was in that slaver hellhole, fearing I'd gotten you killed, I told myself that Dominija is fast with strong senses. I told myself that he would have ridden out and rescued you from Richter. I think that was the only reason I didn't lose my mind down there."
"He did save me. I was running into the fire when he caught me and yanked me back at the edge."
Jack flinched. "I'm torn. I want to kill Dominija for hurting you. But how can I when he saved your life?"
I'm torn too. I was pissed that Jack continued to make unilateral decisions, but I also realized that Matthew had manipulated him for his own reasons. Jack would've been sick and exhausted--his confidence rocked to the core by the massacre--when Matthew had struck a blow as well. Still . . . "You were really going to let me believe you died. You were never going to see me again."
"Noble cuts like a blade to the heart." He raked his fingers through his thick black hair. "I wanted to do right by you, but all I did was put you back in the Ash. I left you with a man who would try to murder you just months later."
One who'd knocked me up--then tried to murder me. "The things I did to bring you back . . ."
"I couldn't have stopped you, no, couldn't have communicated with you. I was trapped in that mine."
He was right. I exhaled, unable to maintain my anger over Jack's choice. It was a sacrifice born from love. Matthew's actions, however--
Riiiinnnnngggg. The phone sounded from outside.
Kentarch jogged back in. "It's him."
Joules was on his heels, sparking angrily. "I got some choice words to say to that fecker. And to the Hanged Man."
Surprised to feel my claws tingling, I snapped, "Let it ring." Beg, Aric? Beg?
Kentarch raised his brows. The phone eventually fell silent.
Then . . . Riiiinnnnngggg. Aric wasn't going to stop.
"Oh, fine. I'll get it." I accepted the phone and connected the call. "This is Evie speaking. How can I help you?"
Aric's raspy voice carried over the line: "How long have you known he lived?"
"I got my first wave of hope on the night we picked up Finn. Matthew contacted me. My nose bled from his message."
"And you felt no need to reveal that to your husband? Yet more evidence that our relationship was not what you pretended it to be."
"I'd planned to tell you everything after Paul's banishment. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Jack is alive, and he brought us a feast."