Ash reached inside and undid the lock. He led the way down the steps and into a darkened room. Eden let a muted orb of light blossom in her hand—enough to see a few feet ahead but not enough to alert anyone to their presence. The room was small and included a kitchen and dining area lined with banquette seating.
Ash slumped onto the one closest. He leaned forward, cradling his head in hands. Eden had no idea what to do or what to say, and the steady click of boots along the pier told her she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She let the orb in her hand wink out.
The officers weren’t running, which told her she and Ash hadn’t been seen; they were just doing a routine sweep of the area. The shine of a flashlight flashed in her peripheral vision causing her to scurry out of view.
She glanced back at Ash. “Get down,” she whispered.
Ash looked up, his eyes wet with tears. But then he locked onto the flashlights and instinct kicked in. He slipped off the bench and onto the floor.
More boots. More flashlights. Eden’s pulse pounded.
The window.
The police would see the broken glass and come inside to investigate.
She slid down the wall and crawled toward the door. Shattered glass lay in pieces all along the stairs and the surrounding floor.
Eden closed her eyes, and in her mind, saw the glass as whole. When she opened them, she exhaled with relief at the sight of the glamour holding.
Lights crisscrossed through the boat, and Eden held herself as still as possible, not even daring to breathe.
One of the officers barked something in French, and the lights swung away, heading back down the pier.
Eden exhaled, her shoulders sagging.
Ash reached out his hand, pulling her to her feet.
“Good thinking with that.” He gestured toward the window.
“Thanks.” Eden let the glamour fade.
She crept deeper into the shadows, going slowly and feeling her way; she didn’t dare spark another orb.
“Stairs,” she said when she reached the end of the cabin. “There are probably beds down there. We shouldn’t leave until the police do.”
They’d long since missed their bus.
“We should stay up here.” Ash retook his seat on one of the benches. “If they come back and find us down there, we’ll have no way to escape. At least up here, we have windows.”
Eden nodded but turned back to the stairs. “I’ll get us some blankets.”
She assumed yachts had some type of heat, but had never been on one and certainly wouldn’t know how to get the furnace running. Even without Olivia around, the harsh chill in the air made her shiver.
When she returned, her arms were filled with comforters and pillows. She handed one of each to Ash and laid her own out across the banquette opposite his.
Her heart had ceased its pounding, and the adrenaline was wearing off, but she still couldn’t think of sleeping. She was wired. Angry.
“When were you going to tell me about her?” Eden asked, smoothing the edge of the comforter in place.
“I don’t know.” He made no move to set up his bed. “Maybe never.”
His answer made her furious—almost jealous—but Eden knew it was a result of this enhanced bond between them and pushed the emotion aside.
“I can understand that.” Who would want to reopen such a wound? “But now that she’s here…” Eden pressed on, but delicately. “When did she die?”
“A year ago.” Pain was etched into the lines of his face. “I thought she’d crossed over. I had no idea she…” He turned to Eden then, as though it were important she believed him. “I didn’t know she was watching us.”
“I know.” She sat beside him.
“The Olivia I knew was different. She would never have hurt you. She wouldn’t have hurt anyone.” Whatever memories were running through his mind, they brought fresh tears. Tears he blinked away.
“Maybe death changes a person.” The instant she’d said the words, Eden wished them back. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing to say.”
Ash gestured as though saying not to worry about it. “Olivia was a healer. Like the rest of the Custos, she could use magic freely given. She saved more lives than anyone I know. She healed my sister once. Ani had been stabbed. I was sure she was going to die.”
Trying to align his description of Olivia with the woman Eden had just met was akin to forcing the wrong puzzle pieces together. It just didn’t fit.
Ash went on. “But somehow Olivia saved her. And then two weeks later, Olivia was gone.”
“How did it happen?” Eden wanted to tread carefully, but this Olivia had tried to kill her. She needed answers.
“I don’t know. A sickness of some kind. It started slowly. She began forgetting things. When her symptoms worsened, I searched for answers. Took her to Marcus, where she had…an outburst. That happened sometimes—it was like she was possessed. But it always passed.”
“How long did that go on?” Eden could only imagine the torture that had been for both of them.
“At least a year. Maybe longer. I think she hid it from me at first. I sought out healer after healer. Witches. Shamans. Priests.”
“And you never found out what was wrong?”
Ash shook his head. “It got worse and worse until she just…faded away. She died in my arms.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Eden squeezed his arm, remembering what he’d said at the top of the Tor about failing someone once. “You did everything you could.”
“It wasn’t enough.”
“I’m sorry.” Eden’s heart ached for him. To lose someone you loved that much…
“I won’t let her hurt you.” Ash’s eyes were more intense than they’d ever been. “I need you to believe that.”
“I do,” Eden said.
She wanted to say more…ask further questions. But she could tell Ash was hanging on by a thread.
“We can talk tomorrow.” She reached for Ash’s comforter and spread it on the bench. “My limited knowledge of ghosts tells me appearing the way she did takes a lot of energy.”
“She won’t be back tonight,” Ash agreed.
Eden returned to her makeshift bed and lay down, eyes fixed on the ceiling. If she could sleep at all, it would be a long time coming.
But it wasn’t Olivia who kept her awake. Not completely. It was the memory of that first fireball she’d thrown at her. It was only days ago that she’d made sure not to harm the pair of human acolytes who’d chased them by car. But less than an hour ago, she’d been willing to kill one.
Eden hadn’t first tried to bind or even injure Olivia. She’d gone right for the kill.
And the spell she’d almost cast…the one Ash had stopped. Eden shuddered to even think of it.
Who was she becoming?
Chapter 36
Eden was still staring at the ceiling as night faded and dawn broke.
Across the galley aisle, Ash pretended to be asleep. Eden could tell he was awake by how perfectly still he held himself.
“We should go,” Eden said quietly. “Before the town wakes up.”
Ash sat up.
Eden considered going downstairs and remaking the beds but dismissed the idea. Dirty laundry and unmade beds were the least of her crimes.
“Did you sleep at all?” Eden asked as she rose.
Ash turned dark-rimmed eyes to her. “Did you?”
“I guess we both had a lot to think about.” She picked up her overnight bag. Ash did the same with his small backpack, and Eden realized his other bag was still on the bus—long gone. “You lost your duffel.”
He lifted his shoulder a fraction. “I still have the stones.”
As if mentioning them brought up doubt, Ash did a quick check of his backpack’s inner pocket. Satisfied, he rezipped it.
He headed for the door, but Eden paused. She turned back and went to the cupboards of the tiny kitchen, opening each.
Jackpot.
She g
rabbed crackers and cookies and jarred spreads with labels she couldn’t read and crammed them into her bag. She added some fancy bottled water for good measure.
When she turned back, Ash cast her a dubious look. “Aren’t you the same girl who gave me a hard time for stealing a few pounds?”
“No.” Eden shuffled past, avoiding his eyes. “I don’t think I am.”
Outside, they climbed onto the pier and hastened toward the parking lot. They passed the ruined remains of the boat, and Eden hoped whoever owned it had good insurance. It hadn’t been a yacht, just a humble sailboat past its prime. Its owners were unlikely to be rich.
She eyed the broken mast on her way past. She and Ash were going to need to talk further about Olivia. Thinking of the ghost made Eden’s flesh pebble, but she knew it was her imagination and not the physical chill that signaled her presence.
At least there’s a built-in warning system.
It wasn’t much comfort. A psycho ex-girlfriend who could show up whenever she felt like it and—huge surprise given the way her luck was running—she, too, wanted Eden dead. A few seconds of warning might not be enough to save her life.
She glanced at Ash keeping pace beside her.
“We need to talk about this, you know.”
“I know.” His expression was hard, in contrast with the soft tone of his voice. “But later, okay?”
Eden hoped his version of later meant as soon as they’d figured out transportation.
The bus terminal wasn’t open yet, but according to the sign, it would be in thirty minutes. They dropped their bags and sat, Ash pulling out his phone.
After a few minutes of scrolling, he shook his head. “I can’t afford any of these tickets.”
Eden’s stomach dropped at the prospect of being stranded. “Can your family help?”
“What family?” His mouth twisted. “My parents are dead. Ani is gods know where.”
Eden almost said she was sorry but knew he wouldn’t want her pity.
“The Custos? Surely if this is a duty you all share…”
“They would if they could, but the past few months, I’ve had more money going out than in. I already owe more than I can repay anytime soon. Sacred duty doesn’t pay as well as you’d think. Or at all, really.”
“I guess it’s up to me then.” Eden stood.
“Where are you going?” Ash pulled himself to his feet.
“There’s got to be an ATM somewhere.”
“If you use your card—”
“My parents will know,” Eden finished. “But not right away. They don’t check my balance every day. Maybe not even every week.”
“And then what?”
“And then I’ll figure it out. I’ll say I lost my card. I’ll tell them it’s fraud. It’s not like we have much choice, do we?”
He ran hand across his scalp. “No.”
“Then help me find a cash machine.” Eden hoisted her bag and started walking.
Eden’s eyes widened at the balance on her account.
As teachers, her parents valued education above all else. They’d urged her to focus on her studies and not get a job during her first year at college. Once Coventry House had provided a scholarship and they were off the hook for tuition, they’d agreed to give Eden $300 a month. More than enough if she was careful, given she didn’t need to pay for food.
But there was an extra hundred in this month’s deposit, and Eden suspected when she checked her email, she’d find one from her mother saying they’d rather pay for her cellphone repair and let her concentrate on her classes.
The machine spit out the money, and Eden shoved the bills into her pocket along with the receipt.
She turned and rejoined Ash a few feet away.
“I’ve got three hundred-forty Euros,” she said. “Will that get us there?”
Relief passed his face. “Yes. With a little to spare.”
By the time they made it back, the sun was rising, and the bus terminal showed signs of life.
With an hour before their bus arrived, they settled in to wait.
“Is it later yet?” Eden glanced at him sideways.
He’d been quiet that morning—more so than usual. Probably wanting to avoid this very topic.
And making sense of his dead girlfriend showing up.
“I guess it has to be.” He sounded resigned. “What do you want to know?”
Eden’s eyes widened. Was he being purposely obtuse?
“Anything you think might be relevant to the fact that your girlfriend—your deceased girlfriend—has joined the incredibly long line of those who want me dead.”
“I swear to you, I don’t know. She shouldn’t be here. Once she crosses over, she’ll be at peace.” He shook his head. “Why wouldn’t she want that?”
“It sounds like maybe she has unfinished business. With you.”
“Or you…”
Eden leaned forward. “What did you just think of?”
“I don’t even know if it’s possible, but…what if someone’s forcing her?”
“Who could force a ghost to do anything?”
She’d heard of communicating with the dead…but commanding them?
“Agamon.” Ash hesitated. “Maybe?”
“Agamon?” Eden’s eyes widened.
“You don’t know Olivia, but I do. I’ve known her my entire life. The woman on that boat was her…but it wasn’t. She was different, and yes, maybe death changes a person, but not that much. I don’t believe it.”
“So, that’s your theory? Even ghosts can be controlled—forced to do Agamon’s bidding?”
The notion was terrifying, but was this just wishful thinking on Ash’s part? Was he grasping at straws to excuse Olivia’s actions?
“His touch grows stronger by the day. I’m not sure any of us can be certain what he’s capable of anymore.”
“But she was trying to kill me, and you said Agamon doesn’t want me dead. He needs me alive to open his prison.”
Maybe she wasn’t trying to kill you,” he said.
“It…really seemed like she was.”
The mast of the boat had been about to hit her, not Ash.
“She won’t.” Ash was emphatic. “I made you a promise, and I mean to keep it. We’ll be with my people soon. Our village has wards Olivia won’t be able to penetrate. We can talk to the delagati about what to do. But until then, I need you to trust me. Do you?”
“I told you I do.”
“Enough that you promise not to do what you almost did last night?”
Eden flashed on the weave she’d readied before Olivia had disappeared. “She was trying to kill me.”
“I’m not judging, I’m asking. Do you realize what you almost did?”
Eden didn’t have a name for the spell she’d almost cast, but it was ancient, predating modern language.
“I just knew it would neutralize the threat. That’s how it works with the spells I’ve retained from Bes’tal. They come out when I need them to.”
“It would wipe Olivia from existence. The threads of her soul would unravel until there was nothing left…no hope of peace, no crossing over. Nothing. If you cast that spell, it will taint you. It will mark your soul in a way that can’t be undone.”
Eden swallowed. She hadn’t realized all of that, but she wouldn’t back down, because now he was judging her.
“I’ve lived under threat from within and without for months. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”
Ash shifted in his seat and stared at the floor. “That doesn’t give you the right to kill her.”
“She’s already dead, Ash. And if she crosses over, I’m happy to let her. But if she comes for me, I’ll do what I have to.”
“She won’t—”
“Stop it.” Eden couldn’t listen to more of his defense of Olivia. “If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, I’d already be dead. Spare me your protestations that she doesn’t actually want to hurt me.”
“Okay.�
� Ash’s eyes bored into hers. “But know this. If you try that spell, I’ll do everything I can to stop you. And if you succeed, I will never forgive you.”
“I understand, and I guess I’ll have to live with that.” She met his gaze with equal intensity. “But I will live with it because, at least in that scenario, I’m still alive.”
She grabbed her bag and strode across the terminal, taking a seat in the farthest corner.
Chapter 37
When their bus was announced, Eden stood and made her way outside.
Ash came to stand behind her in line, but Eden kept her back to him.
As they filed onboard, Eden took a seat near the front. She was about to swing her bag onto the seat beside her, leaving no room for Ash, but he didn’t slow. Instead, he continued to the back and took a seat.
He was mad at her? For what—not wanting to die at the hands of his former lover?
She faced forward, grinding her teeth in anger.
As the bus lurched into motion, Eden stared daggers out the window. Soon, the scenery sped by, nothing but a blur. She let herself be lulled by the visual chaos.
Ash thought she would be tainted if she used that spell on Olivia, but Eden wasn’t sure it was possible for her to be darker than she already was.
Images of frying the borahn and stabbing the Ultrabeast flashed in her mind, and she shuddered. That shudder revealed the truth. She would know she was fully in the grip of the shadow when she stopped being ashamed of the bloodlust. She didn’t regret killing either, but she was remorseful over her savagery in both.
That was the true mark. That would be when she’d know she was lost.
It might be closer than you think, pet.
She hated that voice. Hated that she could no longer blame it on Bes’tal. Hated that it might be right. And it was that hate she felt burning her up from the inside.
The miles stretched, as did Eden’s dread.
What was she doing here? Hurtling across Europe with a man she’d thought she was beginning to know but clearly didn’t. She missed Quinn. And Sarah. She even missed Kai. Kai, who had been right all along—she was poison to those she cared about. She was only glad her parents had been spared.
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