There was no way the twaelin hadn't nestled himself inside of a private bubble of energy. A place I couldn't get into easily, the walls clearly a part of Valenforth himself.
That was where I imagined Gale's body was.
Why he had it was what I hungered to know.
Darting around between the planes, I felt the first tickle of Ethlyn's energy. It was in the middle of downtown, near the very place we'd first fought.
Aching for answers, I shifted faster, appearing in the air above the tall buildings. There, I see him! Ethlyn was perched on a ledge, facing away from the lights of the early morning. People would be waking soon, milling about their day.
Right away, I noticed his body was different. He's in his original form, I guess that's to be expected. The memory of that day on the beach, my angry fists rampaging down on Ethlyn's body...
It pushed me into action.
He was sitting there, one leg to his chest, the other dangling over the side. When I appeared in front of him, hovering like a bird on a wire, he hardly winced.
“Ethlyn,” I said, hands crackling with violently black energy.
He looked at my fingers, my face, and still he didn't move. Was he going to simply let me destroy him once more?
It was so tempting, thinking about her pale face.
“Nethiun. I thought you'd show up.”
“You knew I'd come looking for you, then. Fine. Let's not play around, tell me where she is.”
Laughing dispassionately, he tilted his head. “Normally you're the one who likes to play. Gale's exactly where you'd expect, at the side of the Corpse King.”
At his side...?
My mouth fell open, hands lowering an inch. “He brought her back to life?”
“Of course he did, are you really shocked?”
I was, but I couldn't admit it. It was an oversight I hadn't considered. Now, my mind was feverish. “What is he going to do with her?” Is she okay? Is she in pain? So many questions, I could utter none of them to him.
That flutter of infatuation that had been gone since I'd placed her head on the sand, hair swaying in the breeze as if waving me to come back, it returned with a vengeance. Gale was alive. Suddenly, my world felt brighter.
“You're smarter than this, Nethiun. You know what he plans to do.”
He was right. There was only one thing Gale was capable of, why the Corpse King would bring her back at all. “How would he ever convince her to do something so dangerous?”
Ethlyn looked away, shame soaking over him. “Because she believes the Queen was the one to murder her.”
Tensing up, I felt my eyes straining. “You and I both know that isn't how it happened.”
“Of course I know!” He turned towards me, projecting his guilt as clear as the coming day. “Do you think I'm happy about this? I never meant to hurt her, I never wanted that! I just... I lost control, and now, I get to lose everything else. It's my penance.”
Inhaling deeply, I narrowed my eyes in scrutiny. “How will you achieve this penance?”
When the twaelin said no more, I darted forward, hands wrapping in the front of his sweater. Standing on the edge where he had been moments before, I yanked him up before me. “What's going to happen, Ethlyn? Tell me what Valenforth has planned!”
I expected scorn, anger, the things Ethlyn had been so quick to give in the past. Now, he grabbed my arms without struggling. His defeat was palatable. “All of us, we're going to die. We'll finally be destroyed, so we can answer for the sins we've made over our endless lives. So we can atone for being the demons that we are.”
Lowering my eyebrows, I released him roughly. “We aren't demons. And dying does nothing to mend past mistakes.”
He stumbled back, eyeing me warily as he regained his balance. “You can't stop it, Nethiun. He's going to bring her to meet your Mistress, and then it will all be over.”
“Does he wish to end his own existence too? Has he asked her to snuff it out when we're all finished off?”
“He has, and she's agreed. This world deserves better than us. She deserves better than us.”
Contemplating his tired voice, I stood there like a pillar in the wind. “She deserves everything, and so much more. She won't get that doing this.”
His eyes, blue as the lips of a drowned man, watched me imploringly. “Nethiun, don't fight this. Don't fight her. Let it all be over, it needs to be over.”
“No, it doesn't. I'm not done living this life yet, I've only just started to understand what it even means to have something to live for.” Turning away, I spoke without looking at him. “The next time we meet, you may get your wish for an end to this chaotic existence. I won't give in so easily as that. Not when there's a chance I can still save her.”
I left before he could even attempt a response.
Chapter 24.
Gale Everette
I'd sat outside in the rising sun, my desire for sleep nonexistent. Without hunger, without exhaustion, I didn't feel human at all.
Maybe I'm a zombie, he did raise me from the dead.
Digging at the back of my hand with a nail revealed I still felt pain. Not entirely convinced, but with nothing to prove otherwise, I gave up trying to understand if I was alive or not.
What did it matter?
My nerves were returning as the time passed, the knowledge that the battle would be coming soon. I didn't know what it would be like to face the Queen of Dreams.
I've seen twaelin battle before... haven't I?
Rubbing the spot between my eyebrows, I headed into the house just to change my scenery.
Wandering around, avoiding the pantry area, I ended up standing in the hallway upstairs. Poised in the doorway of the bedroom I had awoken in, my eyes were fixed on the mattress.
It was strange, thinking I'd woken from some forgotten dream, to end up here. Maybe this was what Ethan thought would happen to him, when he told Ethlyn he would be happy to relive a better life.
Thinking about the dark-haired man made my muscles tighten up. I didn't know where he'd gone, and didn't know what I could even say to him to soothe his soul.
My attention shifted, spotting my backpack where it lay on the blanket. Steeping over the threshold, I sank down on the bed, listening to the scream of the springs.
Gently, I ran my fingers over the canvas material of the bag. It felt like an artifact from a whole other life, one I wasn't sure I wanted to open up.
Maybe that book can tell me more, even if it's just something about what it might be like to go into the den of the Queen.
The zipper was crunchy, full of sand. Frowning, I reached inside, removing the heavy tome. Spreading it on my lap, I flipped the pages, unsure what I was seeking.
Perhaps I missed something before.
Blinking, my thumb brushed at a slice of notebook paper. Tugging it free, my nails peeled it open to see the contents. It was nostalgic, but I couldn't figure out why.
Scanning the writing, knowing it was mine, I felt my brain buzzing. It was like angry wasps, all trying to get my attention at the same time.
It was a few drawings, but that wasn't what was calling to me.
These names. I know all of these... Valenforth, Canendore, Ethlyn—and this, who is this?
Who was Nethiun?
It was biting into an apple and discovering the rotten core. I knew this was a missing memory, and it tasted awful.
Holding my head, I hissed through my teeth. Trying to remember was painful, but not knowing was just as bad.
When I heard footsteps in the hallway, I turned, glaring at Valenforth. He was watching me calmly. I saw him take in my expression, then the book. “What is it, Gale? What's wrong?”
&
nbsp; “Who,” I said carefully, lifting the sheet of notes, “is Nethiun?”
Moving closer, he filled the door frame. “A servant of the Queen. Did you forget?”
Shaking my head, as if it might rattle things into place, I looked back at the paper. “I—I guess I did. I'm starting to almost feel like... myself, I guess. Even with that, though, I have these uncomfortable gaps in my memory still.”
“Don't worry about it,” he said gently. “It will all return very soon. Now, come, you may not be hungry, but you should eat something.”
A wave of dizziness hit me the moment he mentioned food. “No. No thank you.”
Tilting his head, he came closer to me. I didn't like that, not at all. “You realized, didn't you?”
Leaning away on the bed, I inched to the other side of the mattress. “I did. Are you going to give me a story about how you didn't actually kill the Birches?”
Part of me wished he would.
“No,” he sighed, looking grim. “I take responsibility for that. It was needed, but it's alright if you don't understand.”
“Why would I want to understand murdering innocent people?” I growled, sliding towards the far wall. I wished the room was bigger, much bigger.
“Do you hate me, Gale? Do you hate us twaelin?”
Parting my lips, I answered carefully. “I think I might hate you, yes.”
“Then,” he whispered, eyes cold coals, “you'll have no issue destroying me. It's all I can ask, and no doubt something you'll enjoy.”
“I won't enjoy it.” It was easy to deny, who could enjoy killing anyone? Thinking about the portrait in the cellar made me second-guess myself.
Valenforth said no more, basking in my contempt before turning into the hall. “Soon, this will all be over, Gale Everette. Then you might wonder about your words.”
For the first time since I'd been brought back to life, I wondered if I was making the right choice by taking part in this battle.
****
I forced myself to eat some of the cereal in the pantry, hating every bite. Returning to 'normal' was making it too hard to go without food. I needed to be able to think, the haze of starvation intervening.
My body craved nourishment, so I ate in great, deplorable bites. Afterward, a shower so hot that it should have melted my flesh off—that would have been welcome—left me feeling cleaner.
The Corpse King had brought me a pair of green flats, insisting I shouldn't go around barefoot. I slid them on begrudgingly, resisting the urge to ask if they'd belonged to Mrs. Birch.
I was pretty confident I knew the answer, if my clean clothes were any hint.
Ethlyn finally returned when the sun started to set. He appeared in the kitchen, saying nothing, not meeting any eyes.
Valenforth gave him a cursory glance, before putting every ounce of seriousness into the face he lay on me. “Do you truly understand the plan tonight?”
“Yes,” I mumbled, wishing I felt as detached as I had the day before. “I'm going to commit genocide, am I right?”
“You're getting revenge,” he answered flatly, “then ending our pointless lives in this world. Gale, your power is a blessing. Remember that.”
Yes, a blessing, I thought bitterly.
Ethlyn was watching me covertly. When I tried to catch his eye, he turned away.
“Now,” Valenforth said crisply. “We're going to go in. It will be potentially dangerous, keep that in mind.” His long fingers stretched out, hovering in the air in front of me.
I understood he wanted me to take his hand. This, this too—it's so familiar. Someone else once did this with me. My hand clasped in his, watching his palm close like a vice.
In less than a breath, the world shifted away.
Tepid warmth, a lack of scent and the color of ink wash. Everything moved, even my insides felt like they twisted. It didn't hurt, it didn't even leave me feeling ill.
In the end, the three of us stood in a giant tunnel, the world above fading into pitch black. The ground was sepia, smooth and featureless. It was bland, the sound muffled like I had put on headphones but neglected the music.
“We're here,” I said simply.
“Yes, we are.” Valenforth released me, his eyes traversing around. “Come along, her castle isn't far.”
We walked in a line. The Corpse King led us, while Ethlyn kept up the rear. It was obvious they were keeping me safe. While I was the one wielding the ability to erase this 'immortal' bunch of creatures, it had already been shown I still wore the frail body of humanity.
One wrong move, and I guess I could be dead all over again. Does my mother know I died? Does anyone?
The idea of Becky, crying over my body, flashed by. It, too, was something that seemed to have happened before.
When did she cry over me, when did she think I had died...?
My silent pondering ended as the world of black fog drifted away before us. The tunnel opened up, revealing an expanse of open sky. It was charcoal, floating bits of rock hovering around.
Amazing, but not what I was staring at.
Hovering, defying gravity, was a spiraling structure shaped like an orb that had merged with the roots of a tree. It was strange and unsettling and beautiful, all at once.
“That's the Queen's castle?” I asked.
Valenforth ignored me, glancing over my head to Ethlyn. “Prepare yourself, he's here.”
“Who's here?” I whispered, looking out at the grand spray of inky sky.
“What should I do?” Ethlyn asked, “hold him off?”
Who is it, who?
“No,” Valenforth said, “more, if you can manage.”
“Who's here?” I asked desperately, my intuition acting up like briar thorns in my fleshy brain. But then, it didn't matter.
It didn't matter, because I saw him.
Floating in the thundercloud-colored sky before us, his white shirt almost glowed with the backdrop. Pale skin, whiter hair, and a smile I'd come to know—come to know, somehow.
Seeing it made my temples throb, images of warm lips, teasing whispers, and opal eyes that had once terrified my soul.
Now, those orbs were chipping away at the fog claiming my head.
“Nethiun,” I said softly, the name rolling free from my subconscious. Stepping forward, I felt the Corpse King's wary stare.
The blonde twaelin looked down at me, eyes so inhuman somehow the most welcoming thing I'd encountered in what felt an eternity.
I knew him, knew him. My memory fought to make sense of it. He was a stranger, yet somehow the closest person to my heart. A foreboding sight, and the most welcoming thing I had ever craved.
“Gale,” he called down to me, sinking through the air without fear of falling. “I never imagined I would—”
The explosion of blue fire flew close to my skull, missing me by a few feet, skidding past Nethiun by only a fragment. He vanished, flickering back in closer to the castle.
Spinning around, my hair whipping my skin, I saw Valenforth had his palm raised. “Ethlyn,” he growled, “go after him before he messes everything up!”
“Wait!” I cried, my emotions flaring. This doesn't feel right! “Don't attack him, he's—”
“He's on her side, Gale,” Valenforth said. I hadn't seen him so worked up, but now, his eyes were wide and fierce. Reaching out, he snatched my arm. “Ethlyn, go already.”
The long haired twaelin said nothing, he simply jumped past us both. Flying into the air, he dove after Nethiun with calm precision.
Gasping, I yanked to get away, but the grip Valenforth had on me was iron. “Let me go, I need to go stop them!” They're fighting, again, this is... is this déjà vu?
�
��No, you need to come with me. Nothing can be solved until the Queen is dead.”
“I want—”
“You want to get killed,” he snapped, pulling me forward down the path. “You can't do anything here, Gale. Think about what you're saying.”
Gritting my teeth, I looked off into the sky, watching the eerie black and azure bursts as the pair battled. “This has happened before, hasn't it?”
He didn't answer me. When we hit the edge of the ground, I stared down at the abyss below.
Easily, he pulled me into his arms, a position I didn't desire. Being cradled by someone like the Corpse King made my blood twinge.
Quickly, he flew us upwards; aiming for the front of the knotted, twisted castle. “Valenforth,” I said, trying to look behind us. “I know Nethiun, I know him. Why is that, of all things, gone from my brain?”
We landed gently on the front step of the granite pathway, stone roots coiling all around us. “Nethiun serves the Queen. It's no doubt part of why you don't recall the murder. When she's dead, you'll remember everything. I promise.”
Why do I have all this intense, emotional lust for him? For who Valenforth claims is my enemy?
He set me down, the two of us standing before the hole that bore deep into the fat orb in the sky. “She's in there,” he said quietly. “Are you ready?”
Shaking my head, hearing the sound of the fighting above us, I didn't fib. “No. Not at all.”
Together, reluctantly or not, we entered.
Chapter 25.
Nethiun
When I sensed her energy, saw her face, heard her voice... everything inside of me illuminated. In that moment, rejuvenated by the confirmation of her existence, I knew I could take on anything.
Nothing could possibly stop me from being with Gale Everette. Not Ethlyn, not the Corpse King himself.
Nothing.
Dodging easily around another blast of blistering indigo, I let my smile shine. “You're off tonight, Ethlyn.”
Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) Page 24