Page 94 of Somnium

Cadi blew out an unsteady breath. “I’m trying really hard not to, but I’m starting to freak out a little.”

She looked up at him. The gentle concern in his eyes acted as an anchor, slowly helping to draw her back into her body. “I know I said I was fine but now that we’re here, and it’s real …”

“Shh,” he soothed, pulling her to his chest and pressing his lips to her hair. “You’re okay, I’ve got you.”

She breathed him in. His scent wrapped around her, burrowing deep into her consciousness to ease the tiniest fragment of the anxiety that threatened to consume her. He pulled back and gently traced his thumb against the line of her jaw.

“You don’t have to do this,” he murmured, “If it’s all too much … we can leave. We’ll find another way.”

She stared into his eyes, something pinching near her heart at the way he was desperately trying to comfort her, to find a solution that would keep her safe. Even from herself. But they both knew there was no other way. If they left, their chances of finding Ananke left with them, and she couldn’t let that happen. Her eyes drifted closed, and she pulled in a deep breath, then shook her head.

“No. I’m okay,” she said, shocked to find that she actually was.

He held her gaze for a moment with a familiar stare that told her he was committing a piece of her to memory. Then, he nodded.

Cadi turned to the sound of footsteps behind her. Sera strode toward them, her face a mask of calm that seemed to hint at the ancient knowledge she would soon wield. At that moment, she wasn’t just her friend—she was a goddess. Powerful even when drained, fully in command of her art. Her gaze landed on Elias, then shifted to Cadi, holding her stare for just a beat longer. It would seem everyone was concerned about her tonight.

“You two ready?” she asked.

Elias looked down at Cadi, and she nodded.

“We’re ready,” he confirmed.

Sera extended her hand, giving him the small dagger and two bandages that would be used for the first step in the ritual. He threaded his fingers with Cadi’s and gave her one final squeeze before he led her over the line of chalk and into the circle.

28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CADI

Cadi felt the shift the moment they crossed the chalk boundary, like thousands of tiny sparks dancing over every inch of her skin. Sera stepped forward onto the line, followed by the others, to encircle them until they had all found their positions. A shiver coursed through Cadi’s body at the way the energy that surrounded them seemed to thicken as soon as the last deity was in place. If this was the power of the gods when they were nearly drained, she could only imagine its intensity at full strength.

Elias turned when they reached the center and rested his hand against her cheek to bring her attention to him fully.

“You can do this,” he murmured. “You’re more powerful than you know.”

Cadi nodded, though she wasn’t sure her stomach had received the message. He lifted the dagger in his hand and offered it to her handle-first.

“Care to do the honors?” he asked.

For a moment, she didn’t move. She couldn’t. All she could do was stare at the gleaming object between them, the reality of what they were about to do sinking deeper. With a shallow breath, she forced herself to lift her hand and wrap her fingers around it. The piece was heavier than she had expected, the cold metal weighing down her already leaden arm. At least its mass helped to hide the near constant trembling in her fingers.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.

He smiled, brushing his knuckles against her cheek. “You’re the only one I trust to never hurt me.”

Somehow, even in the middle of a ritual, he still managed to find a way to say something disarmingly adorable.

Adjusting the dagger in her hand, she angled the blade against his waiting palm and held her breath as she pressed down. She felt a pop when his flesh gave way, and quickly pulled the knife across his skin. A soft gasp escaped her when crimson bloomed in its wake, slowly trickling into the center of his hand.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

“Don’t be,” he assured her as he flicked his thumb against her chin. “Barely felt a thing.”

He held out his hand and curled his fingers into a fist. Droplets of red fell in a steady pattern to the stone beneath them in silent offering. After a moment, Elias withdrew his hand and quickly pressed a bandage to his injured palm. A patch of scarlet immediately appeared on the white gauze.

Cadi’s pulse thundered in her ears when he took the blade, and she had to flex her fingers against the slight shudder that returned to her limbs in the absence of its weight.