“Get in.” Sarah gestured to the car. “How do you feel about heat?”
Chapter 45
“I hope you weren’t expecting anything fancy.” Ash paused at the door to what would be Eden’s room.
“I’m expecting not a bus,” Eden said. “So as long as that’s not what’s on the other side of that door, we’re good.”
Ash flashed a small smile. “Not a bus.”
He opened the door and flicked on the light. Eden stepped inside and found a perfectly normal, if small, bedroom.
“Ani insisted she get the master, so you have your own bathroom.” Ash gestured to the corner.
“Never thought I’d say this, but thanks, Ani.”
Eden rubbed her arms briskly. The bedroom was chilly. Not Olivia cold, but definitely not warm.
Ash went to the small fireplace and slid aside the iron screen. He pulled split logs from a basket and began stacking them on the hearth.
“I don’t think Magda liked me.” Eden sat on the edge of the bed.
Ash began twisting newspaper. “Don’t take it personally, she doesn’t like anyone. She even hated Olivia, and the whole village loved her.” Ash stopped twisting and glanced up. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t mention her.”
“I imagine we’ll be talking about her a lot if we’re going to figure out how to convince her to cross over.”
Ash flashed her a grateful glance and resumed working on the fire. A match hissed to life, and he lit the newspaper. He waited for the thin strips of kindling to catch fire before replacing the screen.
“That will burn for a few hours.” He moved to a tall cabinet above the closet and pulled out a thick blanket. “But you’ll probably need this when it goes out.”
He laid it next to Eden on the bed. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No. Thanks for the fire.” Eden stood.
“You’re welcome.” He almost turned to go but stopped, searching her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” Eden did her best to smile. “Just tired.”
“I can tell when you’re lying, you know.”
“Right.” Eden blushed. “The bond.”
“Not because of that.” His gaze softened as he spoke. “Because I see you. All of you. Even the bits you think you’re hiding from the world.”
Eden’s heart fluttered. “That’s a little terrifying.”
Her safety had always stemmed from being whomever she needed to be in order to get by. Mostly that meant saying she was fine even when she wasn’t. She’d spent the better part of twelve years pretending without anyone noticing.
Ash cupped her face in his hands. “You’re safe here.”
He could have meant she was safe in the village, but Eden sensed he meant something more. She was safe with him.
“We just fought so hard to get here.” Eden felt the weight of his gaze, urging her to be honest. “Once we did, I thought I’d feel better, but mostly I’m just scared about everything that comes next.”
Ash tilted his forehead so it touched hers. “I wish I could take that from you.”
Eden inhaled the sweetness of his breath.
“I think it’s mine to keep. Sort of like the destiny version of a gift with purchase.”
“It’s not your destiny to live in fear.” He inched back just enough so their eyes met. “I don’t know much about fate beyond what we make of it, but I am sure of that. If you’re afraid, give it to me. I’ll carry it.”
A tear rolled from her eye, and Eden wasn’t completely sure why, except that she fully believed if she could give him her fear, he would bear it and be grateful.
“I believe you,” she whispered.
Ash pressed his lips to hers, a kiss softer than she’d have thought him capable. She yearned for more and sensed he did too, but he pulled back.
“You need to rest.” His thumbs traced her cheeks.
“What I need is a shower.”
Ash grinned. “That too.” He moved toward the door. “If you need me, I’m just across the hall.”
When he’d gone, Eden collapsed onto the bed, the weight of sleeping—or more accurately, not sleeping—upright the past two days pressed down upon her.
But she couldn’t even think of crawling into clean sheets yet. Not when she felt downright gross from two and a half days on a bus with no shower.
Eden forced herself up. The bathroom was tiny, but a welcome sight all the same. As she undressed, she became certain she’d never wanted anything more than she wanted this shower.
The pressure was lacking, but the water hot, and for two solid minutes, she stood still and let it wash over her, the warmth unwinding muscles that had tightened into the shape of a bus seat. It was only when the water began to cool that she exited the small enclosure.
She donned her pajamas and slid into the bed. The mattress was thin, and the sheets far from luxurious—but to Eden, it felt like heaven.
She touched her mouth, remembering the feel of Ash’s lips against hers. He’d wanted to get lost in the kiss as much as she had, but he’d stopped, and Eden suspected why. The bond.
He didn’t want to take advantage.
But he wasn’t. Yes, she felt the pull to him, the connection created by sharing magic. Her feelings for him were separate from that. Without the bond, they might have taken longer to develop, but that didn’t make them any less real. Ash was as real as a person could get.
And just across the hall.
Eden ached to go to him—to see the moment when he realized he wasn’t alone, that she felt it too.
The ache grew until she slipped from her bed and padded to the door. Her pulse quickened, and she considered how fighting demons was nothing compared with the vulnerability of what she was about to do.
She crept into the hall and paused in front of Ash’s door. She reached for the handle.
A sound from the living room froze her in place. She heard the front door open and then close. Now her pulse raced. Someone had come for her.
She held her breath and turned the knob as silently as she could, slipping into Ash’s room. It was dark, only the light of a waning moon illuminating the space through thin curtains.
She dashed to the bed and reached out to shake Ash awake, but his bed was empty. Her heart pounded in her chest.
“Ash?” She only dared the faintest whisper.
She sparked a small orb of light and cast it around the room. He wasn’t there.
No one had come in. Ash had gone out.
Eden raced to the living room. She grabbed her coat and donned her boots.
Eden reached out to him through their bond, an act of pure instinct that bore fruit. He was determined. And scared.
She raced out into the night.
Frozen ground crunched underfoot, and the thin flannel of her pajama bottoms provided little protection from the cold.
She cast her glance on the ground, searching for fresh tracks.
There.
She quickened her pace, following where they led.
What was Ash doing, alone in the middle of the night? Had the delagati summoned him?
His trail led away from the center of the village and out toward the wall until Eden found herself approaching a small section where the rocks had crumbled. Ash’s footsteps stopped there.
A low murmur of voices caught Eden’s ear. She scrambled silently up the fallen stones and peered over the edge.
“I knew you would come.” Olivia was beautiful. Radiant.
Ash stepped into view. “I had to.”
“I’ve missed you so much.” Olivia closed the distance between them.
Pain twisted Ash’s face. “I’ve missed you too.”
Eden’s mind reeled, wondering if she should interrupt or let this play out. Hadn’t it been Ash’s idea to consult the delagati? What was his plan?
“That doesn’t matter now. We can be together.” Olivia’s expression bordered on beatific.
“Olivia—”
“
I know you think you have feelings for her.” There was a bitter edge in her voice. “But whatever is between you, it’s nothing compared with what we have.” Olivia reached for Ash’s cheek, and he shivered. “You know it’s true.”
He held her gaze but shook his head. “You can’t do what you’re planning. Eden is innocent.”
“Innocent?” Olivia scoffed and stepped back. “What does that matter? I was innocent. It made no difference to the gods. They didn’t spare me like I spared so many others.”
“I know.” Ash spoke so softly, the words barely reached Eden’s ears. “It wasn’t fair, the way you died. With nothing to be done.”
Her eyes sparked with intensity. “But there was something I could have done. I could have let Ani die.”
“Ani?” Ash’s brow knitted in confusion. “What does she have to do with it?”
Olivia hesitated, for the first time seeming unsure of herself. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Of course. Tell me.”
Olivia reached out, her hand passing into Ash’s forehead. His eyes widened, and he gasped. Eden felt his cold in her own body, images flooding her mind.
Ash taking Olivia to healer after healer, each one warning her.
“You cannot keep supplementing the healing magic with your own life force.” The white-haired woman shook Olivia by the shoulders. “That is the source of your illness, which I suspect you already know. It’s why you’ve asked your man to wait outside.”
“He would tell me to stop.” Olivia’s voice was soft, her manner gentle—a far cry from who she’d become.
“I am telling you to stop. If you keep on like this, one day you will try to heal too much, and you will die.”
Another scene, this one of Ani, stabbed in the gut and bleeding out.
“Please, Olivia, help her.” Ash passed her a vial, glowing blue with magic.
Olivia took it, fear flashing on her face. “Do you have any more?”
Ash shook his head. “Please, tell me it’s enough.”
“It will be.” Olivia pressed her hand to Ash’s cheek. She uncorked the vial and slipped it out of his view.
“This is very touching, but can you please freaking focus?” Ani panted, staring wide-eyed at the slash across her middle.
Olivia’s hands hovered above the wound, and Ani gasped, her eyes rolling back in her head.
The glow from the vial weakened, but Ani’s wound was far from closed.
Eden sensed it, the moment Olivia began channeling her own life force into Ani, to strengthen the healing and stretch the contents of the vial.
As Ani’s cut grew smaller, Olivia grew pale, until her skin was the color of ashes.
Finally, Ani’s wound closed, and so did her eyes. Her breathing became rhythmic with sleep.
“Thank you.” Ash wrapped Olivia in his arms and buried his face in her hair. “Thank you.”
The image faded, and Eden was back to seeing Olivia and Ash just beyond the wall.
“Now, you see… I had to.” Olivia gazed up at him. “Letting Ani die would have killed you. I couldn’t live with that.”
“I didn’t know.” Anguish twisted his features. “I would never have let you…”
“That’s why I didn’t ask. We sacrifice for the people we love.”
“I’m sorry.” Ash’s words were barely a whisper.
“It doesn’t matter now.” Olivia flashed a gentle smile. “Don’t you see? I’ve been given a second chance.”
“You can’t mean to take over Eden’s body.” Ash’s voice was still quiet but firm.
“She can cross over. I’ve seen glimpses of what lies beyond, and it’s beautiful. You see the way she courts death. If anything, it will be a relief.”
“Stop it.” Ash held up his hand. “The Olivia I knew would never harm another soul.”
“I’m still the Olivia you know. But once he told me—”
“He?” Ash’s eyes narrowed.
Olivia stared at the ground. “Agamon.”
“Agamon is making you do this?” He began to pace. “I’d thought that might be true, but he can’t want Eden dead. If she dies, her magic goes with it, and so does any hope of freeing himself.”
“He’s not making me. It’s my choice.” She raised her chin in defiance. “And her magic doesn’t have to follow her soul. There is a way…”
Ash stopped. “What are you talking about?”
“He and I have struck a deal. He’s shown me how to sever the magic from Eden’s soul and pin it to her body. Once I’ve entered it, you and I can live in peace. He’ll send us to any world we want.”
Ash’s jaw tightened. “But only after you do his bidding, right? After you’ve used Eden’s power to free him, and this entire world is his.”
“It’s the only way for us to be together,” Olivia pleaded.
“No,” Ash said gently. “There’s another way.” He walked slowly over to her. “We can cross over together.” He smiled and raised his shoulders. “What’s one lifetime when we can have eternity?”
Eden bristled, a chill racing up her spine. What was he doing? He couldn’t seriously mean…
Olivia shook her head. “I could never ask you to end your life.”
“I’m offering.” Ash traced his hand near her cheek and shivered. “Let me do this.”
He pulled a vial from his coat pocket. “Hemlock.”
Eden readied a weave, preparing to knock the deadly liquid from Ash’s hand.
He unscrewed the cap. “We’ll be together, and no one else needs to die.”
Just before Eden loosed the spell, Olivia’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not doing this for me.” She grabbed the vial and threw it to the ground. “You’re willing to die to save her.”
“It doesn’t matter why.” Ash was emphatic. “We’ll be together.”
“Of course, it does!” Olivia stalked away from him. When she turned back, her eyes were ablaze with fury. “No. You won’t die. I won’t let you. You will live with this. You’ll live with what you’ve made me do to her. And you can die with all the others in this miserable world when Agamon takes over.”
Eden’s breath caught. She spied Ash slipping another small vial from his pocket, holding it out of Olivia’s view. It pulsated with magic. He flicked the cork with this thumb.
“Please, Olivia. Cross over. With me or without me—whatever you choose. But cross over. Don’t betray everything you believed while you were alive.”
“You don’t get to talk to me about betrayal.” Olivia began to fade. “You won’t talk to me ever again. But your girlfriend will. When she begs for her life.”
Eden gasped when she saw the weave Ash was readying. The one that would burn Olivia from existence.
Eden scrambled over the wall, calling up the same spell. Ash’s words echoed in her mind.
It will taint you. It will mark your soul in a way that can’t be undone.
He’d promised never to forgive her, but Eden couldn’t let that sway her. Better he hated her than himself.
Ash hesitated as Olivia almost faded from view. But then he pulled deep from the vial, his expression grim.
“No!” Eden’s cry was enough to make Ash turn and Olivia remain a fraction longer.
In the space of that fraction, Eden cast the spell.
The fire that burst from her hands wasn’t physical. It was pure heat, unencumbered by the limitations of this Earthly world.
The weave arced across the distance between Eden and the ghost. It landed, searing Olivia’s torso and spreading out, the thin filaments that made up her soul disappearing into smoke.
Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her last expression was one of terror, and then it, too, was gone.
Eden sank to her knees, awash with the filth of the spell and the residue it left behind.
“Why?” Ash stumbled over to her. His eyes were wet as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Why did you do it? I was going to…”
“We carry the sta
in of our choices.” Eden fought to stay conscious as darkness and exhaustion threatened to pull her under. “I couldn’t let you carry the stain of this one.”
Chapter 46
Sarah raced down the passageway that led to the cavern as though her life hinged on it. Depending on Alex’s plan, it likely did.
They’d gone over the possibilities in the car, and Sarah felt sure Alex was going to widen the crack and let out more dark energy. The chasm seemed to be tempting people with their worst natures. Alex’s was already on the crappy side. Sarah couldn’t think of a worse person to be afflicted with more darkness.
Barely infected, Paige had taken the burn from the medallion in stride as they’d barreled down the road toward the hiking trail. She’d handled the news about Eden with equal aplomb.
Sarah shuddered to think how badly the medallion would burn Alex. By now, she’d had another thirty minutes of exposure to the source. Sarah wouldn’t let herself think about how terrible it would be if they didn’t reach her in time.
“Your turn.” Sarah tossed the medallion to Quinn.
There were taking turns holding it. The closer they got the crack, the more their worst selves would emerge. A few minutes of reprieve was all they would get.
“How are you doing?” Sarah glanced sidelong at Kai as they jogged.
Kai had taken a turn before Paige, which meant she’d gone the longest without the medallion.
“I’m okay,” Kai said, but Sarah thought she could see clouds brewing behind her eyes. “That last touch burned a lot worse than the first.”
Sarah turned a corner and skidded to a halt. Quinn now stood near the entrance to the cavern. He passed the medallion to Paige, who took it gratefully, her pinched face relaxing.
The four huddled, breathless. Sarah and Paige exchanged a glance.
“She’s already started,” Sarah whispered. “She’s using a lot of magic.”
A trickle of dirt landed on Paige’s shoulder, and she glanced up. “I don’t think this place is going to hold for long.”
“It just has to hold long enough for us to stop her and get out.” Sarah tried to sound as though that would be an easy feat. “Everybody ready?”
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