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“I suppose you’re right,”I say, gnawing at my cheek. The sounds of Lucifer beating power against the barrier echo through the clearing, his yelling growing quieter with every step we take. “I’m starting to think we’re all villains here.”
“I wouldn’t say that, but you should know we’re being watched.”
“By who?” I peer through the trees and underbrush, looking for a sign of some sort and praying the damn ghosts who haunt this forest leave us alone. The sun is high in the sky and usually, that keeps them at bay.
“I’m not sure, but I hear their heart.”
We’ve wrecked civility, but Lucifer did say I might become his enemy. I just don’t think he intended it in this way. It’s time to carve my own path, and from here, it only goes up. When I step foot back in this realm, it’ll be because I earned my place here, even if all that’s left of my crown is ashes.
36
Epilogue: Alice
“Now!”Luri’s voice blares inside my head as I finish scattering the quartz stones in a circle and get ready to throw up my trap.“You don’t find it odd that he’s not fighting back?”
“Have you seen yourself?” I jog toward the cliffside, near the waterfall—ironically, the same one I leaped off of when she chased my ass through here a year ago.
Lowering myself down, I hunker on a ledge, just big enough for me to hide on while at the same time, suspending myself well over a hundred feet above the black surface of the water below. I’m not a fan of heights, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Fair enough, but he’s supposed to have power. You’d think he’d do something. I saw you fight him. He doesn’t seem like one to run scared.”
“He’s been following us for hours, Luri. If he wasn’t scared, he would’ve attacked before now.”
Leaves ruffle as Asmodeus books it through the trees and a sickening snap tears through the air as he’s whipped inside my circle. As it turns out, all of those magical hunting trips with my uncle are finally paying off. My aunt used to enchant crystals so they could set traps in the woods when he and his pack shifted. They’d always caught something for them to eat while they were in wolf form, and it kept the young wolves from wandering too close to the town. Now, those very traps are serving a new purpose—aka keeping Alice alive.
Peeking up over the rocky edge, I find the man of the hour on his ass in my little cage and a triumphant grin stretches across my face.Got’em!I lift off the ledge, crawling back onto the real ground and his amber eye meets mine, growing wider by the second.
“Fancy meeting you here.” I throw his own words back at him as his nostrils flare and his chest heaves. The man has run a marathon in the last thirty minutes or so, and he quickly jerks to face Luri as she slowly stalks out of the trees. “Are you going to explain why you’re following me?”
Casting my eyes to his wristband, the clunky metal contraption most of the monsters in our battle wore, I find a glowing green gem, as bright as day. I don’t remember seeing that before and it would be hard to miss…
The pieces come together as I crouch outside the circle to get a better look. The gem has been attached, like a plug-in of some sort. Maybe I didn’t see it before, because it wasn’t there. Maybe he didn’t try to fight Luri, or even me now, because the High King turned back on his mystical leash. My lips quip up as I meet his eyes once more.
“Is that a no, Asmo?” I ask, purposely dropping his mother’s nickname. She mentioned it in her memory and, based on the way his eyes light up, he’s figured it out.
“So, she is in the castle…” He brings his knees to his chest, resting his arms on top of them. Someone needs to get this poor man a shirt. He’ll freeze come nightfall.
“As it turns out, head diving the dead isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. You still didn’t answer my question.” Pulling the dagger from my sheath, I draw the flat side of the blade across my pants, making a show of it. “Now, I’m willing to bet you don’t have magic, or you wouldn’t have been so easy to trap. Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? We both know I’m damn good with a blade, so either start talking, or I’ll take your good eye. Capeesh?”
His jaw saws as he watches me stand back up to my full height. “There’s a bounty on you and my brother. After the charade you pulled, sending someone else in the prince’s steed, he offered me a chance to lose this,” he holds up his wrist, “but only if I bring one of you back.”
Finn’s spell must’ve worn off. That’s not a good sign.
“Is he going to keep my best friend as a house pet or send him to the gallows?”
He chuckles dryly, “What do you think?” Something about my face must tell him that I’m over playing games because the lump in his throat bobs and he continues. “His execution is scheduled in two days’ time.”
Something rumbles, like a giant stomping through the forest, but based on the way roots push up from the ground, and trees groan, it’s coming from below us. Asmo quickly stands, staring at the leaves near his feet and scanning the open area.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I can get through these woods and find Solaris on my own, but it’ll be faster with your help, especially since Luri can’t go near the city. So, help me and I can promise you that wristband will mean nothing.”
“And how might you do that? Trust me, little girl, I’ve tried to pry this thing off in every way imaginable. The only person who can remove it is the king.” His eyes still scan the ground as the trembles grow closer. We don’t have much time to negotiate. He’ll either make the deal, or he won’t.
“Look, you either help me or you stop following me like a lost puppy. I don’t care what you do, just give me a fucking answer.”
He cocks his head, narrowing his gaze at the ground. “Let me get this straight. You’ll just let me go? That’s it? Why?”
“Because… After seeing your mother’s memories, I don’t believe you’re as crooked as you’ve been made out to be. I think there’s a part of you that’s truly just trying to survive. Also, you have no magic. Therefore, if you do try anything, I’ll just take that lovely eye of yours and leave you for dead.” His mouth opens as if he’s going to comment, then snaps shut. “I’m starting a trophy shelf; it’ll be the first to go on it. You should be honored.”
