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“I need that key. I can do it again, just…” I whisper, but he leans down.

“There are no second chances in this world. A kiss for the key. It will bind us and you will be mine. You will spend eternity with me, and I will never be alone again.” The creature pulls me to my feet, the humming song getting louder, but I push him away and my knees slam to the ground again. “But the key will be yours. I will allow you to use it to save your brother, and then you will come back. A single kiss. Then you will be bound to me forever. Like the others.”

He lifts his hand and points behind the stone. Sickness rises in my throat when I see it. A graveyard of bones. A thousand bones, dresses and jewels. A thousand women. Horror lurches in the pit of my stomach as I crawl away from him, but he crawls after me. “My bride, my eternal love.” He picks me up into his arms, and I fight his tight grip. “A willing kiss from my new witch bride.”

“I’m afraid, you ugly motherfucker, that I’m the only one she kisses in this world, because she is mine.” Shadows latch onto the creature, and he screams, throwing me away from him. My eyes widen, a thousand inky shadow wolves biting, clawing, ripping apart the creature. It looks at Ren, who is storming towards us.

“You shouldn’t exist. It’s impossible!” the creature roars as I grab the key out of his claw-like hand, backing away to the wall.

“Unlucky for you. Not all of us are dead.” Ren pulls his sword into the air, and he slices it straight down the middle of the creature, who explodes into fog and shadows, the humming song gone too. The fog fades then all around us, revealing the ship at the base of the island and the night sky above us.

Ren storms over to me, sliding his hand into my hair and slamming his lips onto mine. Finally. His kiss is fevered, passionate, and yet delicate and perfect all at the same time. His lips softly move across mine, demanding, possessive, taking everything from me with each stroke, and I give it to him willingly. Draven Elswyth kisses me like I’m his world, and if he keeps going like this, there won’t be a man in this world that will compare to him.

Chaos shouts up the hill, and Ren breaks away, leaving his forehead resting against mine. I want him to kiss me like that again, but I know we can’t do that.

“I thought you were going to die,” he says a little breathlessly.

I push him away because I have no choice. I can’t be in love with him, I can’t choose a future with him when all I can focus on is the wish. Ren was unexpected, and it’s more unexpected that when I thought I might die, it was him I was thinking about. Now he kisses me? Why? Because he thought I might die, and he didn’t want to lose the map or is it because it’s more than that for him? “That’s why you kissed me? Not just because you wanted to? I’m so confused, Ren. You’re so confusing.” How do I explain to him I’ve never chose anything for myself, not ever, and now I want to because of him. I want a life, because of him.

“Aren’t you tired of fighting?” he asks, the question lingering between us. “I kissed you because I wanted you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you. Why are you still fighting?”

“Because when I love someone, I will never stop fighting for them. My younger brother is my reason never to give up. I love him and I will always try to make sure he’s okay.” I go silent. I just told him about Rowe. I don’t know why I just did that. Ren looks like every question he has ever wondered about me has just been answered, and I feel like I’ve given up something by telling him about Rowe. This is the man who threatened to burn the Stilts to hurt me, to get back at me.

Ren’s lips part. “Your brother?”

“Yes, his name’s Rowe and he has an incurable disease. He is eight years old, and he’s my reason for fighting in this world. The reason why I needed the map. I need the gods to cure him because he won’t survive otherwise. There’s no cure in this world. Nothing.” I breathe out. “Even with the best medicine and even with the best healers, they would barely be able to keep him alive. He deserves a chance to be more than just alive. He is smart, brilliant, and the only family I have left, and he showed me how to fight like hell because he does it every damn day. Everyone looks at him and sees a weak person because of his illness, but I see the truth—the strength. I’m going to fight like hell to get back to him, and now I have all three keys. Now you know my reason. I’m not foolish or brave, I just…I’m trying to save my family.”

“I know exactly what that’s like, Miriam Vale,” he murmurs with a long sigh. “I understand now.” He looks sad…and I guess I know why. Rowe.

“You called me my name.” I smile.

“Yes. Yes, I did.” He offers me his hand. “And tell me more about your brother, Rowe. I want to know everything.”

Chapter

Nineteen

“There was a prince,

A prince with a curse,

A prince with a fate,

Oh, how fate liked to play with our prince until he met his mate,

And yet the foolish prince did not change his fate.”

Mellyn keeps singing as the ship sails through the sun in the morning. My stomach is full from breakfast. My map hasn’t changed, even with the three keys, and it’s been two days since we left the dream realm, or we were kicked out of it when Ren murdered the creature. I’m not sure, but none of us knows exactly what to do about the map and where we are meant to go. I’ve been counting the weeks since I left, and I only have two weeks left before it’s been three whole months. Lou might continue to care for Rowe, but I don’t trust her, and I need to be back before the two weeks are up. I’m so close to the end of this, and I can’t go back with nothing; I can’t look into Rowe’s eyes and tell him I didn’t get a cure when I risked everything for this.

As Mellyn keeps singing, as if my heart isn’t shattering in my chest at the thought of my brother, I listen to his song of princes and mates and how fate is between them. It’s a regular song that he sings to me, and when I ask him who it is about, Mellyn never seems to know. He told me once he can’t remember half the songs after he has sung them, but this one? It’s been on his mind since he met me.

“There you are, Map.” Ren comes up the steps. “Mellyn.” He nods at him. I have a feeling Ren has no idea what to do around children, and it’s actually strange to see him look uncomfortable. I thought at first it was Mellyn’s gifts that made him uncomfortable, but the longer I see them together, I know it’s not that. It’s because Mellyn is a kid, and kids clearly creep him out. A mind-eating creature? No problem. A snotty magical kid? Terrifying.

“Thought you called me Miriam now.” I raise a skeptical brow.

“I called you by your name once,” he dryly responds. “I never said it was going to be permanent.” He comes a step closer to me. Not Mellyn, though. I almost smile. “I have an idea about the issue of the map.”

“What is it?” I question.