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My heart pounds a furious rhythm in my chest. Because I’m not entirely sure why I asked the question.
“I…” His fingers dance down my arm, and he kisses my shoulder. “I felt it.”
I still, fingers tightening on his forearm. A power I didn’t know any of the gods possessed, let alone the God of Death.
“You what?”
He clears his throat. “I felt your pain like it was my pain.”
“H-how is that possible?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
He pauses, and I hear the click of his throat when he swallows.
“I honestly don’t know. There’s always been something about you. Since the first moment I saw you kneeling next to the River Axan, hand hovering over the surface.”
“Is that how you always know where I am in the Shadow Realm?”
“No. Usually I have to intentionally seek you out.”
I want to ask him about the wards, but it seems too dangerous a question. Instead I ask him something I haven’t asked in a long time.
“How long are you going to keep me here?”
“Eager to leave?”
His voice is hard but edged with possessiveness, and his arm tightens around my waist when I try to slide off his lap. The truth is, I’m not eager to leave. But that seems a dangerous thing to say too.
“Whether I stay or don’t, shouldn’t that be my choice?”
His body stiffens beneath me, and he stands up so fast I lose my balance, stumbling forward before he catches me by the elbow and rights me again. A deep crease forms between his brows as he scans my face.
“I have to go,” he announces, releasing me and striding to the door.
He takes one last look at me over his shoulder before disappearing, and I stare at the empty space he left behind long after he’s gone. I don’t really know what to make of the conversation we just had. Or the things he made me feel with his confession.
All of it’s a jumble in my head, tangled and looped like knotted string. A few weeks ago, the choice was easy. And now…
The faint scent of Thieran’s power still hangs in the air, and I press a hand to my bandage and the lingering warmth from his power. Bending to retrieve the book from its hiding place, I run my fingertips over the cover and down the spine. I only have to flip to the right page and read the passage detailing the ritual again.
If I do that, I’ll know for certain whether the ritual didn’t work because I missed something or if it would never have worked at all, no matter what I tried.
Instead I carry the book to the shelf where it belongs, climb the ladder, and fit it back into place.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“You’re sure this is everything?” I stare at the parchment in my hand, studying Kaia’s neat script.
“No.” Kaia shrugs when I glance up, brows drawing together. “It’s been a very long time since I helped write the ritual, let alone watched it being performed.”
She leans over my shoulder and plucks one of the pieces of parchment I’ve been making notes on off the pile, tilting her head as she studies it.
“Why are you so intent on putting together the pieces of the ritual that formed the Shadow Realm?”
I’ve still not told Kaia about Elora, and Railan has been sworn to secrecy. Though I imagine he would defy me if he thought he had a reason to. So far he doesn’t. But that day may come sooner than I’d like.
The Shadow Realm is weakening at an alarming rate. It’s taken everything I have to reinforce the borders between the realm and Acaria. Garrick and his men are on constant patrol around Meren and Síra to make sure souls stay where they should and don’t wander.
I won’t be able to keep my secret about the condition of the Shadow Realm from Kaia or the rest of my court for much longer. And once they find out, my brother and his high court will follow.
